July 2008 Archives

Today's cuppa: Raspberry pick-me-up iced tea

A month or so ago, I did a set visit to AMC's "Mad Men" for a syndicated feature story timed to this week's premiere. Since the story was used primarily in Sunday TV supplements, it's been hard to find on the Internet, so I haven't been able to link to it. But now I can, thanks to a little Web wizardry from the Albuquerque Journal.

It still may be hard to read for some, so below find the story as it appeared in Albuquerque (sans a lovely black-and-white photo). Soon, I'll also be putting up a post in which someone with firsthand memories of the "Mad Men" era comments on watching the first season on DVD.

AMC's 'Mad' ad world is back in season

Today's cuppa: chai spice black tea, Inukshuk blueberry icewine tea (brought down from Vancouver, Canada)

There was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Southern California yesterday, with the epicenter in Chino Hills . All the local news channels talked about it. All the cable news channels talked about it. Newspapers wrote about it; bloggers blogged about it. I got frantic messages from friends back East asking about it and whether I was all right.

Never felt a thing. Nothing. At the time of the quake, I was in the company of an FX publicist, and we had just arrived on location at a high school in Tujunga, Calif. (which is, for the record, in the Crescenta Valley, not the San Fernando Valley) for the upcoming biker drama "Sons of Anarchy," which premieres Wed, Sept. 3 (syndicated feature story to follow)

Shortly after we reached the location in a parklike area near the auditorium and gym, everyone was ordered back down to the football field. At first, I thought it might be for a safety meeting about a special-effects explosion, but it was just a temporary evacuation because of the quake -- which everybody on the set seems to have felt except for us.

As a friend said later on the phone, "You have the sensibility of a rock."

(Click on images to see a larger version.)

Anyway, the scene being shot was at a fund-raising fair in the fictional town of Charming, a Northern California hamlet that is home to -- and entirely controlled by -- a motorcycle club called the Sons of Anarchy.

There were several booths, including ones for a "Taste of Charming" and local law enforcement.

There was also a silent auction, with various and sundry items for sale, including fancy dishes, firearms and dead birds of some sort.

And, of course, there were motorcycles.

As for "Sons of Anarchy" itself, I'll just say here that the other show that popped into my mind as I was watching the pilot was HBO's surfer drama "John From Cincinnati."

Of course, if you haven't seen "JFC" -- and that's the overwhelming majority of TV viewers -- that's not a meaningful comparison. But in brief, both are set in small California towns dominated by a subculture -- surfing in one, motorcycle riding in the other -- both feature longtime leaders of the subculture that are having a hard time dealing with younger rivals for their power and position, both feature young men coping with the challenges of fatherhood, and both feature strong matriarchs.

After saying this to the publicist, I turned and was amazed to see Dayton Callie, who played drug dealer Steady Freddie Lopez in "JFC." A few minutes later, I saw Brian Van Holt, who played troubled surfer Butchie Yost in "JFC." Both have roles in "Sons of Anarchy."

And, one of the stars of "SoA" is Katey Sagal (who's also the wife of the show's executive producer, former "The Shield" writer Kurt Sutter), who co-starred in "Married...With Children" with Ed O'Neill, who, you guessed it, played retired cop Bill Jacks in "JFC."

It's all just one big happy TV world.

Also had a great chat with Jay Karnes of "The Shield," who's doing a multiepisode guest arc on "SoA." No, he wasn't on "JFC," but he has fun stories to tell (more on that some other time).

But, since "SoA" will air on Wednesdays, and the final season of "The Shield" will air on Tuesdays, at some point, Karnes will be on the same network on two successive days playing different characters in two different shows.

That may be a first. If it isn't, I'm sure someone out there will let me know.

Tonight's cuppa: Organic free trade decaffeinated black tea.

I'm back from a location visit to FX's upcoming biker drama "Sons of Anarchy." Yes, I heard about today's earthquake in Southern California. it's kind of a sore subject. More on that tomorrow (plus some pictures).

But until then, click here to read my Zap2it story on today's DVD release of "Stargate: Continuum," which includes comments on shooting on the Arctic ice from the lovely Amanda Tapping and the equally lovely Ben Browder (and the also lovely Christopher Judge, on why he stayed home).

'Night.

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea (which is getting a bit spicey from being stored next to the chai spice black tea in the Hershey Carrousel tin)

In a little while, I'm heading off to the wilds of a TV-show location somewhere in the Valley (not sure if it's the San Fernando or the San Gabriel Valley, I only know for sure it's not the Conejo Valley. For all I know, it could be another Valley altogether. Gotta work on the whole Valley thing) to watch bikers, or more precisely, actors dressed like bikers.

More on that later (and there may be more pictures).

In the meantime, here's this week's edition of my dead-tree column We'd Like to See -- and now my friends and co-workers will know why I emailed them and asked whom they'd like to see eaten by a dinosaur.

Without further ado:

Dinosaurs -- they're hot, they're sexy, they're extinct!
On Tuesday, July 29, History Channel premieres a 10-episode series called "Jurassic Fight Club," which depicts dinosaurs engaged in epic battles across the prehistoric landscape.
Episode titles include "Cannibal Dinosaur," "T-Rex Hunter," "Gang Killers" and "Armored Predators."
A meteor may have ended the dinosaur age on Earth, but on television, in movies and in merchandising of every kind, they still rule.
In fact, almost any TV moment could be made better by the unexpected arrival of a dinosaur.
Let's imagine...
"Mad Men": Don Draper is on the verge of landing the biggest account of his career, one that could put his name on the door of Sterling Cooper and change the history of advertising forever. He downs his fifth cup of coffee, chases it with a scotch, snubs out his 10th cigarette of the day and just as the idea is formulating in his mind, a T-Rex crashes through his office wall...and it eats him.
"SportsCenter": Linda Cohn and Stuart Scott are on the set of the ESPN highlight show one day, discussing steroid use in sports and incidences of violence attributed to so-called "'roid rage," when a stegosaurus crashes through the side wall and nearly tramples both of them. Scott then tries to explain to viewers what just happened, but his usual facility with language utterly fails him. Then a brontosaurus crashes through another wall and finishes the job.
"Dog Whisperer": Cesar Millan is called on a particularly difficult case, a Rottweiler/pit bull/Doberman mix that is terrorizing a suburban family of four. Using his technique of balancing exercise, discipline and affection, Millan is quickly able to turn the dog into a happy ball of fluff. He has more trouble with the family's other pet, a velociraptor that they keep in the garage. Armed with his 35-cent leash, he opens the door...and it eats him.
"Ax Men": A new logging season has begun in northwest Oregon, and the intrepid "ax men" are back on the mountain in the quest for "green gold" (Aren't logs more brown than green? Just askin'). One crew is just about to pull its last log up the hill when an allosaurus suddenly appears out of the forest and eats the yoader. It starts to go after the loggers, but they scatter into the trees, proving that sometimes small and maneuverable beats big and toothy.
"The Closer": Called to a crime scene in downtown Los Angeles, LAPD Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson spies a fleeing witness and gives chase down a back alley. She makes a wrong turn and finds herself lost in a maze of warehouses. Suddenly a predatory deinonychus appears. Thinking fast, Brenda tosses a Hostess cupcake at the dinosaur...and it eats it. The two then discover they're kindred sweets-loving spirits.

Today's cuppa: Raspberry pick-me-up iced tea (one packet raspberry vitamin drink mix, two pomegranate-raspberry green tea bags, one cold-brew black-tea bag).

The 20th Century Fox lot in Los Angeles has several stunning murals based on Fox properties (shown here are "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back." "The Simpsons" and "The Ox-Bow Incident") and good views of One Fox Plaza, the office tower that stood in for the Nakatomi Building in the 1988 film "Die Hard" (one of my all-time favorites). BTW, the man in front of the "Ox Bow" mural is painter Steve Sanchez.

Click on the pictures for a larger version.

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea and iced coffee.

A few weeks ago, I made a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., to get some face time with sharks for a story to coincide with Discovery Channel's annual "Shark Week" programming event.

Courtesy of the Boston Herald, here's a link to the story.

Below find some of my photos from the visit (click on the photo for a larger version). Clockwise on top: The Aquarium's Blue Cavern Habitat (with diver); brown-banded bamboo sharks in the Aquarium's Shark Lagoon touchpool; Aquarium expert Steve Blair shows off his culinary skills chopping shark food; volunteer divers. Below: Blair shines a flashlight through the egg case of a brown-banded bamboo shark, revealing the yolk and shark embryo,

Today's cuppa: Northern Lights strawberry-maple tea (straight from Vancouver, B.C.). Mmmm, tasty.

When I'm not blogging, I'm a writer of syndicated TV features and columns. Many of them are regularly reproduced on the Internet, some are not. So, every now and then, I'm going to share some of the second group with my loyal Cuppers.

Among them, as I discovered today, is Josh Temple -- a fan of the espresso coffee -- host of the upcoming "America's Toughest Jobs," the first NBC show from reality producer Thom Beers.

As any Cupper knows, I love the Beers, and I love him in print as well as online. I do a weekly column called "We'd Like to See," in which I often make up all sorts of silly shows that I'd like to see on TV -- without, as I often say, any concern about practicality, budget or even common sense. Here's this week's edition:

From crab fishermen ("Deadliest Catch") to to big-rig drivers ("Ice Road Truckers") to loggers *("Ax Men") to oil drillers ("Black Gold") to exterminators ("Verminators"), reality producer Thom Beers has turned working for a living into a cottage TV industry. And since he narrates most of these shows, in a sense he's become the voice of the American worker.

My job may not be as thrilling or death-defying as the above occupations -- although I did stab myself with a push pin the other day -- I'm sure I'm not alone in fantasizing that Beers' rumbling baritone could follow me throughout my day.

"Somewhere in the vast expanse of the Los Angeles basin, a lone TV journalist defies the odds to find a treasure of entertainment information. Despite the constant threat of wind, sun and carpal-tunnel syndrome, she strives to bring home ... Critical Gold."

Somehow it's hard to take the discomforts of "Big Brother" housemates too seriously after you've seen roughnecks and tree cutters missing digits and/or limbs. And while the contestants on ABC's "Wipeout" fly left and right off giant balls and speeding treadmills and whirling platforms, they do it with helmets, pads and protective vests.

(OK, does that mean I tried the "Wipeout" course when I visited the set? Heck, no. And I'm sure not going crabbing anytime soon, either.)

Other reality shows may have to kick it up a notch just to keep pace with the perils of The World According to Beers.

Let's imagine:

"American Flaming Idol": It's hard to sing under the withering glare of sharp-tongued British judge Simon Cowell, but it's nearly impossible to sing while running through a series of flaming hoops. Only "Idol" wannabes who stay on key and avoid getting scorched make it to the finale -- atop a volcano.

"Hell's Kitchen -- No, Really": Lucifer likes his deviled eggs done just so, and woe betide the cook who forgets to put croutons in his tomato soup. If aspiring chefs think putting up with Gordon Ramsay's salty tongue is tough, it's nothing compared to the forked tongue of the Prince of Darkness. He's opened up his gourmet kitchen to TV cameras, offering the deal of a lifetime -- and perhaps eternity itself -- to anyone who can produce an over-the-top meal in the Underworld.

"Dancing With the Stars: On Ice": The ballroom is flooded and refrigerated for a competition like no other, featuring guest judge and "DWTS" champion Kristi Yamaguchi, along with British ice-dancing legends Torvill and Dean. The music is live; the skates are sharp; the ice is cold; but the costumes are skimpier than ever.

Among the celebrities braving exhaustion, injury and pneumonia are former hockey star Wayne Gretzky, Canadian singer and celebrity golfer Anne Murray, ice-road trucker Hugh "Polar Bear" Rowland, Alaskan-born singer Jewel, Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and, in a surprise move, surfer Laird Hamilton and his wife, former beach volleyball player Gabrielle Reece.

"On March 23, 2008, the 184-foot fishing vessel Alaska Ranger sank 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor. All forty-seven members of her crew went into the water. Forty-two were rescued..."

Excerpt from dedication at the end of the July 22nd episode of Discovery's crab-fishing reality show "Deadliest Catch," which I just watched on the DVR.

It recounts an event I remember very well. For video and details, click on this link from Popular Mechanics.

I was sitting in Washington-Dulles Airport on that very day, grabbing some lunch in a pub between flights on my way back to Los Angeles when I looked up at the soundless TV screen and saw that a fishing boat had gone down in the Bering Sea. Afraid that it was one of the crab-boat captains I'd come to know from the show, I pulled out my cellphone and tried unsuccessfully to log onto the Internet for more details.

Then I called a publicist in L.A. who handled the show and left a panicky message. She called back by the time I reached my departure gate and relayed that she had already heard about the report and it wasn't one of the boats featured on the show -- which made it no less of a tragedy.

Say what you like about reality TV not being real, but the fear that this L.A. TV critic felt, sitting in D.C., looking at a news dispatch from Alaska, sure felt real. TV has the unique ability to lift us out of our world and drop us into a world we would never otherwise see.

Even when the news is sad, that's a remarkable thing.

Today's cuppa: Iced tea (half black tea, half pomegranate/raspberry green tea) chased with afternoon Earl Grey tea (hot).

There's a lot of talk these days about which members of the media are or aren't "in the tank" for one political candidate or another. We here at Hot Cuppa TV -- and when I say "we," I mean ... me -- have no intention of publicly jumping into any politico's tank. However, we're happy to admit to being in the tank for other folks -- and here's who they are.

1. We're in the tank for everyone who brings us great TV shows, and that goes from the executive perched at the top of the corporate food chain all the way down to the guy who sweeps the studio floor.
2. We're in the tank for the TV audience, the ultimate arbiters of what succeeds and what doesn't. No matter how hard No. 1 works, if No. 2 doesn't tune in, the show does not go on (Unless it's "The Wire," a criminally under-watched HBO drama that floated for five seasons almost entirely buoyed up by critical hot air.).
3. We're in the tank for the men and women of America's armed forces, at home and abroad, past, present and future. Without their courage and dedication, No. 1 wouldn't have the freedom to produce great TV shows, and No. 2 wouldn't be able to sit safely in the living room and watch them.

Speaking of the armed forces, here's an excerpt from the live table read of the upcoming 250th episode of Fox's animated comedy "King of the Hill," called "Serves Me Right for Giving Gen. George S. Patton the Bathroom Key," as performed yesterday for TV critics at 20th Century Fox Studios.

The relevant scene is reproduced below, so play the sound clip to listen along (headphones are recommended as it was recorded in a large theater and can be a little echo-y over speakers).

Mike Judge voices Hank, Boomhauer and the Young Vet. Stephen Root voices Bill, the Fifty-ish Vet and the Very Old Vet. Phil Hendrie voices the Bartender and the Second Old Vet. Toby Huss voices the Vietnam Vet. All voice the Vets.

Without being spoilery, the episode finds Hank on a mission for his late father, war vet Cotton, and the mission requires gaining entry into the men's room of a bar for military veterans, called the Chimney Pipe Bar and Social Club. For various reasons, Hank, Bill and Boomhauer need to distract all the patrons and the bartender in order to slip into the men's room.

INT. CHIMNEY PIPE BAR AND SOCIAL CLUB -- MOMENTS LATER

Bill is sitting at a table with some veterans around his age. They are all drinking beers. Bill downs his beer and belches.

Bill: Yep, Vietnam. That was the toughest war we ever fought.

A few of the VIETNAM VETS sitting around Bill get pumped up.

VIETNAM VET: I heard that!

The guys clink their beers. A VERY OLD VET at the bar leans in.

VERY OLD VET: At least we won ours, you whiny, dope smokers!

A SECOND OLD VET chimes in.

SECOND OLD VET: WW II was the last great war!

Some World War II Vets grumble. A YOUNG VET sands up along with his buddies. This gets the attention of everyone in the bar.

YOUNG VET: The Russians did all the dirty work for you guys. Now Desert Storm, that was the real gut check.

VIETNAM VET: (DISGUSTED) Desert Storm? You guys barely had time to eat a falafel before you high tailed it out of there.

A FIFTY-ISH VET stands up.

FIFTY-ISH VET: What about Grenada? Those medical students were trapped!

Now everyone in the bar is standing up and getting involved in the heated debate.

BARTENDER: Come on, you guys! Remember the rules!

The Bartender points to a sign that reads: "No Smoking, No Refunds for Ms. Pac Man and No War Debates." The VETS ignore him.

VETS: Not my rules!/Hell with the rules!/I can't read!

Everyone in the room is fired up. It's chaos. Bill signals behind his back to Hank and Boomhauer. They nod and then get up and run into the bathroom...

Today's cuppa: Office coffee -- yes, office coffee! I've missed you, office coffee. OK, not really.

Today was the last day of the Television Critics Association Press Tour, which was really more of an actual tour, because TV critics were able to visit sets both at Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox. I had to give up WB to knock out some work in the office, but I did head to Fox in the afternoon for a visit to the set of Joss Whedon's upcoming Fox series "Dollhouse" (not airing until January) and a table read of the 250th episode of the animated Fox series "King of the Hill."

More on that later, once I assemble all my materials, but meantime, here's a story that I can just about guarantee you will not appear on any other TV critic blog. Of course, after you read it, you may think it was better left that way, but here goes.

It all starts with some hair -- not just any hair, but rockstar hair -- which ended its useful life on Monday, July 21, in a wastebasket in room 704 of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Here's the story as related to me via email by publicist pal Carina Sayles, former occupant of said room.

She writes, "Hair stylist to the stars Daniel Erdman was at TCA to do hair for Bar Refaeli, host of Bravo's 'Ironic Iconic America' and supermodel girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio.

"While the lovely Bar is in her electronic interviews in the Executive Suite of the Beverly Hilton, Daniel goes over to hang out in the hair/makeup touch-up room that NBC has set up and runs into his friend Gilby Clarke ('Rock Star Supernova'), who is distressed that his locks do not look their best.

"Having time to kill and his shears at hand, Daniel starts snipping away quickly at Gilby's head -- after first asking permission to use a chair of the head NBC hair girl, who grants it. Nonetheless, an NBC staffer (who I shall not name; he's a nice guy but was very tense at the time) responsible for 'moving everything along' in the interviews and keeping all on schedule, comes in, sees the haircut in progress and freaks out, asking Daniel to stop, Gilby to vacate the chair and for the hair to be cleaned up.

"Bar wraps up her interviews and Daniel is given a break. Feeling a need for a respite from the madness, Daniel retreats to the room of the 'Ironic Iconic' publicist, who kindly lends him her key so he can decompress. Said publicist has to go set up for the next round of interviews anyhow.

"'Ironic Iconic' publicist eventually makes it back to her now-empty room to change for the NBC All-Star Party, and when she goes to toss out a tissue, spies a basketful of rockstar hair. Back in Bar's makeup area, she asks Daniel, 'Is there Guns 'N Roses hair in my wastebasket, Daniel?' He replies that indeed there is and explains the traumatic (but funny) situation..."

At this point, I entered the story, having seen the lovely Carina -- while I was interviewing Robin Dunne of the upcoming Sci Fi series "Sanctuary" -- and accepted her offer of her room as a resting place for my computer bag during the party. I spied the hair in the wastebasket, and as a big fan of "Rock Star Supernova" (and its predecessor "Rock Star INXS") and a frequent attendee at Sunday-afternoon tapings for both shows, I snapped a photo of the tresses.

Carina continues the story, "'Ironic Iconic' publicist is very excited at the prospect of taking a lock of the hair back to her 13-year-old son, who's a major 'Rock Star Supernova' fan" -- hear that CBS?? -- "However, she cannot quite bring herself, now nicely dressed for the party, to reach into the basket and take some out ...ew. She decides she will do so later, once she's located a nice baggie.

"But sadly, the Beverly Hilton housekeeping staff, doing their job, tidy Ms. Publicist's room during turndown service and decide that the hair was offensive and should be removed...and it is."

For those wondering what Gilby Clarke was doing at the Hilton during NBC's press day, Erdman reports via Blackberry, "He was there for a meeting. He's not allowed to say with whom or for what, but it's very 'rockstar.'"

Mysterious! BTW, for trivia fans out there, there was a murdered prostitute character named Carina Sayles in "Avatar," a third-season episode of "The X-Files," written by current "24" producer (and friend of Sayles') Howard Gordon, from a story he concocted with star David Duchovny. They both appeared at Press Tour -- Gordon for "24" and Duchovny for his Showtime series "Californication."

Playing the dead Carina Sayles was Canadian actress Amanda Tapping. She's starring in the aforementioned "Sanctuary" (which is based on a Web-only project). Since Sci Fi is part of the NBC Universal family of cablenets, Tapping attended the NBC party (saw pic of her 3-year-old daughter, so cute!).

So, at one point. the fake dead Carina Sayles was standing only a few dozen feet from the real living Carina Sayles. When worlds collide...

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold and Irish breakfast tea, and a bit of Beverly Hilton coffee.

The view from where I sit (complete with empty water bottles and an empty BH paper cup that once held the Irish breakfast tea) toward the stage of the International Ballroom (where the Golden Globes is held) between sessions for NBC Universal, on the final day of the Television Critics Association Press Tour. Farewell to the Peacock, farewell to the Beverly Hilton (bye, valet parking guys! Love ya!), bye to the TCA until we meet again in January at the Universal Hilton over in the San Fernando Valley.

Oh, right, was there news? Not really, other than it appears that Keith Olbermann is somehow able to rant and rave on his MSNBC opinion show "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," then magically shed those opinions to anchor straight political coverage and presto chango back into a sports guy for NBC's "Football Night in America" (assuming he'll lean more to the ranting persona than the straight newsman persona for this, but we'll see).

His bete noire, Bill O'Reilly of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" only tackles one of those things (hint: not the news-anchor thing and not the football). Triple threat, that crazy Olbermann!

Tonight's cuppa: British blend decaf tea (chasing Beverly Hilton coffee and Irish breakfast tea).

The Television Critics Association Press Tour is almost over, with just one more full day of presentations tomorrow, from NBC, then a day of off-site set visits.

Just back from the all-star party for the NBC Universal family of channels -- NBC, Bravo, Sci Fi, Oxygen and USA Network (the Weather Channel was recently added to the list).

Among the highlights of the evening was a chat with "Heroes" star Milo Ventimiglia, just returned from a USO tour to Iraq and Afghanistan (click on his name and see a Wikipedia page with a photo from the trip).

Ventimiglia and I made plans to talk again later in the week for more details on the experience (like how he was mistaken for a news photographer), but before we parted company, we did discuss our mutual love for the Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

Believe it or not, there is not a single Dunky D in all of Los Angeles or anywhere nearby. The coffee can be bought in stores, but it's not the same as the brew from the drive-through, which is my first stop when I fly back East (and it's the same for Ventimiglia, who's both a trouper and a Cupper).

As to what brew would best represent his hit NBC drama -- which he said is already shooting episode eight, having started work the first of May -- Ventimiglia says it would be strong coffee, served black.

But Ventimiglia is not a one-beverage kind of guy. He also shared his love for jasmine Dragon Pearl Tea, which he says is great with raw honey. And, coincidentally, in Nov. 2007, the California-based company sent tea to the troops in Iraq.

This Cuppa's for you, Milo and Dragon Pearl Tea!

Before I go, here's a few pix from my Saturday spent on location in El Segundo, Calif., with TLC's "Trading Spaces." On hand were host Paige Davis, designers Frank Bielec and Nancy Hadley, carpenter Brandon Russell, a group of local firefighters and El Segundo Mayor Kelly McDowell, who declared it "Trading Spaces" day in his seaside town.

The day included shooting scenes with the fire-station co-workers who were trading rooms , visiting the house Bielec was designing to confer with his team, including Russell, and then a paint-and-wood-buying trip to a home-improvement store. Click on the photos to see a larger version.

There is no airdate yet set for the episode, but it should be in the 3rd quarter of this year.

Today's cuppa: Chai spice black tea.

Last night was the CBS/Showtime/The CW all-star party, at a large club in Hollywood. Or at least I was told it was large, because to me it only seemed as big as the inch-and-a-half between my nose and the backs of the next celebrity entourage.

Rumor has it that there were 1,500 people crammed into this place -- with 60 percent of them crowded at the corner of any available bar, effectively closing off access to what large patches of breathable oxygen existed.

But there was fun to be found.

I ran into Rob Morrow from "Numb3rs," who shot "The Bucket List" with longtime idol Jack Nicholson. Morrow did do his Nicholson impression at one point (not bad!) and revealed that the Hollywood legend is a fan of his CBS crime drama. Cameo, I asked? Morrow wouldn't mind. Can you just imagine?

Anyway, he told a story about shooting hospital scenes with Nicholson (Morrow played a doctor) and coming in with a carefully concealed list of all the things he's ever wanted to ask him and then working them skillfully into the conversation.

Then he told me about a pilot he's directed for NBC called "The Green Team" (Morrow is also a busy director and producer) and within a few moments there appeared Curt King, a top communications exec at NBC Universal Television Studio (and one of the nicest folks ever, as is Morrow). I introduced the two -- who thought they may have met at some point in the past -- and left them happily ensonced in conversation.

Bringing people together, it's what I do.

Then I had a nice chat (OK, nice yell, it was loud in there) with Bertram Van Munster, executive producer of "The Amazing Race" (for which you may recall, I fake-Emmy-voted a few days ago). Regular Cuppers know that I did the first press visit to the super-secret "Race" HQ in El Segundo for an upcoming syndicated feature story. At that time, his wife and partner, Elise Doganieri, was less than two weeks away from giving birth.

Van Munster reveals that he now has a healthy baby daughter. As she was delivered by C-section, Doganieri unfortunately couldn't go on the the world-spanning scouting trip for the next season of the reality-competition show. Sadly, he didn't have a picture of the new addition, but he says she's gorgeous, and Hot Cuppa TV believes him.

Anyway, on the way out, I finally saw one of my favorite Hollywood folks, the smart and charming Emily Procter, who plays ballistics expert Calleigh Duquesne on the hit crime drama "CSI: Miami." She's promoting a new law to improve living conditions for commercial poultry raised in cages. I'm all for it. A happy chicken is a healthy chicken, and a healthy chicken is a tasty chicken. I hope to have more details down the line.

And I discovered that the lovely Ms. Procter is a Cupper in her own right, as the proud owner of an on-set teapot. We bonded over the love of the green and black tea, and Emily also recommends ginger tea to soothe the tummy.

We love the tea tips from the stars. Emmy, this Cuppa's for you!

Speaking of El Segundo, I'm off to there in a few minutes to visit a location shoot for the TLC room-makeover show "Trading Spaces." More on that later on...

Only at press tour could you talk to a news producer on a Monday and be listening to a ballroom dancer singing country on Wednesday.

And since I got to hear both, you will, too.

As for the news, I previously posted clips from Matt Frei of BBC News and John King from CNN, and I had hoped to catch a few minutes with Chris Wallace of Fox News last Monday. That may happen down the line, but I did grab a quick chat after the session with John Moody, executive vice president, news editorial.

Here's his take on what he learned from his almost-14-year stint at Time Magazine before coming to Fox News (he pauses a bit to answer, so don't be alarmed):

Professional ballroom dancer Julianne Hough has won two editions of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," with speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and with auto racer Helio Castroneves, and then didn't quite go all the way with Adam Carolla. But she has also always been a singer, and now she's released a self-titled debut country CD. She performed a few songs from the Mercury Nashville Records CD at a themed luncheon for the upcoming CMA Awards, airing Nov. 12 on ABC.

Here's a clip from a song called "Hide Your Matches":

And here's a bit of her new single, "That Song in My Head":

Weekday mornings, as I enjoy my first cuppa tea of the morning, I fire up the DVR and watch the previous night's "Red Eye W/Greg Gutfeld." Nothing like a little dementia to start the day.

This morning, I saw an acquaintance, comic Evan Sayet (a former writer in "Politically Incorrect"), on last night's episode (I think it was last night's, I had a couple backed up because of the time demands of Press Tour), and that reminded me that I got an email recently about a performance he's doing in L.A.

So, before I forget again to pass it along, here's a little info on Sayet's peformance next Tuesday night in Hollywood. I won't be able to make it, but just in case any of my local readers can ...

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea and the first of many cups of Beverly Hilton coffee

I'm listening right now to CBS entertainment chief Nina Tassler, and as you might expect, the subject of the recently axed "Moonlight" came up. Tassler -- who always got high marks from showrunners during her tenure overseeing drama at CBS -- announced her love for werewolves, vampires and things that go bump in the night, but apparently her research shows that a lot of the fan enthusiasm for the show was centered on star Alex O'Loughlin (which doesn't seem surprising to me).

Before the show premiered, when the entire cast was changed over except for O'Loughlin, I gave a call to then-executive producer David Greenwalt, who knew a lot about vampires from his tenure on "Angel." I asked why O'Loughlin stayed when everyone else went, and Greenwalt said, "He's the guy."

So, I just asked Tassler whether the network would like to find another show, either a current one or a new one, for O'Loughlin, and she said the network would "love to."

More later...

Tonight's cuppa: British blend decaf tea.

Home again from the Television Critics Association Press Tour after the second and last day of the Mouse -- a k a ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel. I now have a flash drive that looks like a round white Mickey Mouse head, with the USB plug in one of the ears. It's almost as cool as Fuse's guitar-shaped rubber flash drive.

How cool are flash drives? Nobody ever would want to wear a floppy disk around their neck.

The star of today had to be "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry, who appeared on two press-conference panels, one featuring ABC show-runners and the other featuring the "Desperate" ladies.

During the first panel, the voluble, witty Cherry carried on a comedy routine with "Lost" executive producer Carlton Cuse -- begun while they were working together on the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee -- in which sports metaphors have to be translated into their musical-theater equivalents.

I'm not sure what fourth and long would translate into, but I suspect it would be something from "Rent."

Later, during the "Desperate" panel, Cherry sat in the middle of his actresses and did a fine job directing questions to them, drawing out answers and generally acting as a master of ceremonies. If he ever wants to give up the TV-writing gig (he says "Desperate" will end after seven seasons, but ABC entertainment chief Steve McPherson looked up from his PDA to loudly express his doubts about that from the peanut gallery), Cherry would be an excellent talk-show host.

He could even be the new Mike Douglas. I'd tune in.

The day ended with the ABC/Disney/ABC Family all-star party, where I had a surprise encounter with "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin, who looks bleached blond, tan and happy. He said he was there as someone's date, and I was told later that he's back together with "Pushing Daisies" star Kristen Chenoweth.

Which led me to wonder -- would "Pushing" creator Bryan Fuller ever allow Sorkin to write an episode, and would Sorkin do it? Questions to ponder.

I was also thrilled to meet Brit Morgan, who plays confrontational spoken-word performance artist Lacey Thornfield in ABC Family's "The Middleman," who hadn't been on the set the day I visited. The episode I was on set for, "The Flying Fish Zombification," aired Monday night, and Brit and I let loose with an "Art Crawl!" cheer/fist-pump a couple of times.

Yes, I'm a big geek. But you knew that.

Tomorrow, CBS and Showtime.

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea.

Disclaimer: Please note the use of the word "Fake" above. Hot Cuppa TV in no way and under no circumstances encourages, supports or rationalizes voting fraud of any kind. Unless it's fake voting, like here. Fake voting is fine. And, in case you were wondering, the presidential election on Tuesday, Nov. 4 -- not fake. Don't try the fraud. You've been warned.

For those of you who rely on Hot Cuppa TV for all of your entertainment news (and, who are you? For goodness' sake, have you never heard of Variety? Have you never heard of the Hollywood Reporter? Have you never heard of "Red Eye W/Greg Gutfeld"? OK, I forgive you on the last one), here's a link to the Emmy nominations, announced before sunrise here in Los Angeles.

Let me say up front that I cannot vote on the Emmy Awards. I can only vote on the Television Critics Awards, which I did. They're announced on Saturday. No, they won't be on TV. The irony escapes no one.

Just for fun, I've decided to reveal my hypothetical votes on the few Emmy categories upon which I feel like voicing an opinion. This in no way diminishes my love for other shows and performers that I love, but just didn't love as much this past year as the ones that got my vote.

Feel free to play along at home. Your fake voting results may vary. My choices in red italics.

Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour)

Creature Comforts America • Don't Choke To Death, Please • CBS

King Of The Hill • Death Picks Cotton • FOX

Robot Chicken • Robot Chicken: Star Wars • Cartoon Network

The Simpsons • Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind • FOX

SpongeBob SquarePants • Inmates of Summer / Two Faces of Squidward • Nickelodeon

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Monk • USA

Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk

The Office • NBC

Steve Carell as Michael Scott

Pushing Daisies • ABC

Lee Pace as Ned

30 Rock • NBC

Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy

Two And A Half Men • CBS

Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Boston Legal • ABC

James Spader as Alan Shore

Breaking Bad • AMC

Bryan Cranston as Walt White

Dexter • Showtime

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan

House • FOX

Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House

In Treatment • HBO

Gabriel Byrne as Paul

Mad Men • AMC

Jon Hamm as Don Draper

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

The New Adventures Of Old Christine • CBS

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell

Samantha Who? • ABC

Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly

30 Rock • NBC

Tina Fey as Liz Lemon

Ugly Betty • ABC

America Ferrera as Betty Suarez

Weeds • Showtime

Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Brothers & Sisters • ABC

Sally Field as Nora Holden-Walker

The Closer • TNT

Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson

Damages • FX Networks

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • NBC

Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson

Saving Grace • TNT

Holly Hunter as Grace Hanadarko

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Entourage • HBO

Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold

Entourage • HBO

Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama

How I Met Your Mother• CBS

Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson

The Office • NBC

Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute

Two And A Half Men • CBS

Jon Cryer as Alan Harper

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Pushing Daisies • ABC

Kristen Chenoweth as Olive Snook

Samantha Who? • ABC

Jean Smart as Regina Newly

Saturday Night Live • NBC

Amy Poehler as Performer

Two and a Half Men • CBS

Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper

Ugly Betty • ABC

Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Boston Legal • ABC

William Shatner as Denny Crane

Damages • FX Networks

Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher

Damages • FX Networks

Zeljko Ivanek as Ray Fiske

Lost • ABC

Michael Emerson as Ben

Mad Men • AMC

John Slattery as Roger Sterling

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Boston Legal • ABC

Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt

Brothers & Sisters • ABC

Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker-Whedon

Grey's Anatomy • ABC

Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey

Grey's Anatomy • ABC

Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang

In Treatment • HBO

Dianne Wiest as Dr. Gina Toll

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program

American Idol • FOX

Ryan Seacrest, Host

Dancing With The Stars • ABC

Tom Bergeron, Host

Deal Or No Deal • NBC 

Howie Mandel, Host

Project Runway • Bravo

Heidi Klum, Host

Survivor • CBS

Jeff Probst, Host

Outstanding Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO

Entourage • HBO

The Office • NBC

30 Rock • NBC

Two And A Half Men • CBS

Outstanding Drama Series

Boston Legal • ABC

Damages • FX Networks

Dexter • Showtime

House • FOX

Lost • ABC

Mad Men • AMC

Yeah, I picked two. It's fake voting. Get over it.

Outstanding Reality Program

Antiques Roadshow • PBS

Dirty Jobs • Discovery Channel

Extreme Makeover Home Edition • ABC

Intervention • A&E

Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List • Bravo

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program

The Amazing Race • CBS

American Idol • FOX

Dancing With The Stars • ABC

Project Runway • Bravo

Top Chef • Bravo

Off to Press Tour (the BH java awaits!)

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea and Beverly Hilton coffee.

As I type, I'm sitting in the ABC executive session, listening to ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson answering a question about the different worlds of cable and network. To many viewers, it's just a show on their TV, and they don't spend a lot of time worrying about whether it's on a network or a cable station. A good show is a good show.

But where a show airs may wind up being more important to its longevity than whether it's good or not.

A reporter in the session pointed out, quite accurately, that while critical praise is heaped on AMC's "Mad Men," the viewing audience remains relatively small. Yet, AMC's needs in terms of audience are far different than a network, so it's happy enough with the performance of "Mad Men," and the show will continue.

If "Mad Men" was on ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox, it would probably already be gone.

It's not that a broadcast executive would love "Mad Men" less; it's just that their financial needs wouldn't allow it to continue.

An ocean liner takes a lot more fuel than a speedboat. The speedboat may be quicker, more maneuverable and nimble than the ocean liner, and it may have a few comfy seats or even a nice bunk in the cabin, but it could never offer the liner's level of accommodations, luxury, service and quality.

With their entertainment divisions, news divisions, sports divisions and 7-day-a-week primetime schedules, the big nets must set the viewing bar high to keep the tanks filled. At the same time, a network is not a studio, so its primary focus is on selling advertising, not on the long-term viability of a project in reruns or on DVD.

Reality shows are a lot cheaper than scripted comedies and dramas, and if they pull the same eyeballs, preferably from the desirable younger demos, hey, why not load up on 'em?

But the big nets also have a legacy and an image to uphold, so they can't go totally for quick-and-dirty reality (and at best, it's a short-term fix anyway). They want the prestige and the brand-creating presence of top scripted shows, and they're often the corporate siblings of the studios that produce most of those shows (big studios don't generally produce reality shows). So, it's a matter of pride, and it's also a bit of corporate synergy.

I hope there's a big brain out there who can figure out how to make the networks' business model work and yet still allow them to do short-run series -- because not all ideas are suitable for 22 episodes a year -- tolerate lower ratings on riskier, innovative shows and make room for greater experimentation.

The media world is in a churn of hurricane proportions, and if there's a time to sweep the decks clean and rebuild from the keel up, this may be it.

Besides, sometimes, if you don't make a decision, the universe will do it for you.

To quote one of literature's most famous procrastinators, Shakespeare's Hamlet, "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all."

Being ready is good; being ready with a plan is better.

Here's my new barometer to gauge whether the Screen Actors Guild has gone on strike:

Are the actors showing up at Press Tour -- without placards in hand?

Yes.

Ergo, not yet.

If that changes, I'll let you know.

Tonight's cuppa: Decaf British blend tea.

On a topic entirely unrelated to TCA, what shows with original episodes are you all watching this summer?

Here's my current list:

"Ice Road Truckers"
"Deadliest Catch"
"Verminators"
"Black Gold"
(yes, I have a Thom-Beers-show fixation. I freely admit it. Let's move on.)
"Holmes on Holmes" (newly arrived on TLC from Discovery Home Channel)
"The Middleman"
"Doctor Who"
"Dirty Jobs"
"Ghost Hunters" (and "Ghost Hunters International")
"Meerkat Manor"
"The Singing Office"
"Flipping Out"

I'm sure I've forgotten some, but that's the main DVR list right now. Still eagerly awaiting "Burn Notice," "Eureka," "Psych" and more...

Feel free to play along at home and post your results.

I'm back at the office, knocking out some columns, but I spent the morning at the Television Critics Association Press Tour listening to the presentations from FX.

First up was the cabler's chief, John Landgraf, who talked frankly about the channel's hits ("The Shield," "Nip/Tuck, "Rescue Me"), its ratings disappointments ("The Riches") and its failures ("Over There," "Dirt").

His point was, when you do as many series as FX does, and you do them on edgy or unusual topics -- "Over There" was an Iraq War drama; "The Riches" is a class drama about identity-stealing grifters -- you're bound to hit a rough patch now and again.

He also pointed out that while FX does a lot of original series for a basic cablenet, it doesn't have the resources of a broadcast network, so sometimes a good show with a small audience may have to give way to an untested idea with a greater potential upside.

Overall, Landgraf sounds more like a sensible, rational decision-maker than like a hypercaffeinated carnival barker -- a type of network executive not unknown at Press Tour.

The sessions focused on season two of the legal drama "Damages, " the first season of which I enjoyed a lot last summer (Ted Danson was there; draw your own conclusions); the new motorcycle-club drama "Sons of Anarchy" (looks like fun; I'll probably be doing a set visit); and the final season of "The Shield" (on Sept. 2, one day before the "Anarchy" premiere).

I did the set visit for "The Shield" months ago on the streets of Boyle Heights. It was during the WGA strike, when it wasn't certain if creator Shawn Ryan could come off the picket line to oversee editing of the final episode. Luckily, it worked out.

This has always been one of my favorite shows and one that I have consistently loved and watched (including recently re-watching the first season on DVD while listening to the commentaries).

This is a contrast to "Rescue Me" and "Nip/Tuck," whose sharp turns into bizarre areas have seriously dented my once enthusiastic support.

For years, Michael Chiklis has been promising me in interviews that, once "The Shield" is over, he'll share his opinion of his character, maverick LAPD Detective Vic Mackey. I plan to hold him to it.

Tomorrow, ABC begins.

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend tea and Beverly Hilton coffee (still good).

Fox Broadcasting presented its fall schedule yesterday. As they have only a couple of new shows, there were a lot of familiar faces, including the cast of the "24" prequel movie and a panel of animation producers (BTW, people dressed as characters from "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons" are creepy. Those characters are really not meant to be seen larger than life-size and in 3-D).

But what stuck out in my mind was the Fox News panel in the afternoon. As I reported last week, it featured "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace, political analysts Karl Rove (who most recently worked in the George W. Bush administration) and Howard Wolfson (who most recently worked on the campaign of Hillary Clinton), and John Moody, executive vice president, news editorial.

Fox News is often accused of editorializing and showing bias toward the conservative viewpoint. To be fair, the opposite charge of pro-liberal bias is often leveled at other news organizations. Viewers can, and do, decide for themselves.

The session -- which has been widely written up -- was generally civil, lively and interesting. Tough questions were asked and answered (as also happened at last week's CNN session and will no doubt happen at future sessions with network news people).

But at one point ,well, here's an excerpt of the transcript:

QUESTION: Mr. Moody, is -- to follow up on

that -- is Mr. Rove on the honor system regarding

his conversations with Steve Schmidt and other

people high up the McCain campaign, or have you

discussed a certain line that he won't cross?

JOHN MOODY:  He's always on the honor system.  All

of our employees are, but I can tell you as the

ultimate -- "the buck," if you want to call it

that -- where it stops, we get most of our

information about the McCain campaign from our

correspondent who's covering it, Carl Cameron.

He's faster than Karl.

QUESTION: But the question is more is --

JOHN MOODY:  I understand the question.  I don't

think Karl would cross an ethical line like that,

nor do I think that --

(Laughter)

-- nor do I think it's a question really that we

should have to look at a whole lot.  What kind of

information from Steve Schmidt is going to be

transmitted through Karl Rove to FOX News that

Carl Cameron our correspondent on the beat isn't

going to get first.

There was other laughter during the session, but that was generally in response to jokes or quips. I don't know for sure who laughed and who didn't at this juncture, but those who did appeared to be expressing an opinion about Mr. Moody's assertion and, by extension,  Mr. Rove's ethics.

Sayings about pots and kettles and people who live in glass houses come to mind...

PBS closed out its Television Critics Association Press Tour presentation on Sunday the 13th with an upcoming episode of "Nature," called "American Eagle," airing Nov. 16. The panel featured the coolest attendee at tour to date, a female bald eagle that lives at the L.A. Zoo. And here she is...Miss American Eagle (click on image for larger version).

Here's the feature-story result of a set visit I did a while ago to "The Cleaner," courtesy of The Oregonian's Website, OregonLive.com.

I'm sitting in a PBS session talking about the transition from analog to digital TV on Feb. 17, 2009 -- and PBS has a Website that explains it all -- and an interesting question came up, so I thought I'd toss it out to you all.

Right now, many households have TVs in every room, from the kitchen to the den to kids' rooms, and the old tradition of the family gathering around the TV to watch together is just about defunct. But households that have shelled out the big bucks for the HDTV -- and maybe also the home theater system -- may have already discovered that, unless you're rich enough to do it in every room, all TV experiences in the house are definitely not created equal.

(Those who lived through the big transition from black-and-white to color remember what that's like.)

So, will people get digital converters for every room? Will they replace all their old TVs? Will they put every TV on cable or satellite if they're not already?

Or, will the family gather around the so-called "good" TV and again watch shows together?

I'd like to hear what you guys think.

Today's cuppa: Yet more Beverly Hilton coffee (still not sick of it, so it must be good).

PBS continues today, with "NOVA," "Masterpiece" and more.

I'm still playing audio-clip catch-up in this space, so here's a few clips from CNN chief national correspondent John King.

He's the wizard of a large in-studio monitor (he showed off a smaller, portable version here last week at the Television Critics Association Press Tour) called, formally, the Multi-Touch Collaboration Wall, or colloquially, the Magic Wall. It's a touch-sensitive screen that allows King to display a wide variety of maps and graphics to illustrate voting trends, demographics etc.

It made its debut during the primaries earlier this year, and here's a good technical description of how it works.

Describing himself as a wire-service sort of guy, King told me had to warm up to the technology, but now he's starting to appreciate its capabilities.

We also spoke about how he's presenting the presidential candidates -- the presumptive nominees are Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democrats, and Arizona Sen. John McCain for the Republicans -- to the voters in the viewing audience.

Here's King on the candidates' relative executive experiences:

And on the candidates' generational differences in communication styles:

King is also working on a one-hour documentary on the presumptive GOP nominee, called "McCain Revealed" (his CNN colleague Suzanne Malveaux is working on an in-depth Obama documentary). While King describes the film as a "work in progress," he does share an anecdote about McCain that might make it into the final cut. It focuses on the contradictory nature of McCain, as reflected in stories from his former physical therapist:

Tony Snow, who was a syndicated columnist, editor, TV anchor, radio talk-show host, White House press secretary and musician, died Saturday after a long struggle with cancer.

Snow, 53, had worked on-air for Fox News and had signed with CNN in April as a conservative commentator.

Here's what CNN had to say.

And here's what The Daily Gut, the blog of Greg Gutfeld, host of one of the shows on my DVR, Fox News' "Red Eye W/Greg Gutfeld," had to say.

As someone who's dealt with health issues (not, fortunately, as devastating as Snow's), I admired his wit, charm, courage, and his grace under pressure and adversity.

My thoughts and prayers are with his friends, family and colleagues.

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic blend tea, Beverly Hilton coffee

For those just joining me, this is Day 5 of the biannual Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. We just finished four days of press conferences and presentations by cable networks of their new shows and movies. PBS has the weekend; next week we go into the broadcast networks, along with cable channels owned by the same corporate parents of the broadcast nets (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, The CW).

For those who've been here all along, I've been promising audio clips from the one-on-one interviews I've been doing. A girl of my word, today's posts will be largely dedicated to playing catch-up.

First, here's a clip from two of the men featured in History Channel "American Originals" series "Sandhogs," due out in the third quarter of this year. Like the loggers of History's "Ax Men," it features working men doing jobs that stretch back into history. In this case, it's a tight-knit brotherhood that works in the water, sewer and subway tunnels under New York.

Producer and filmmaker Eddie Rosenstein actually had to become a Sandhog, including joining their union, to film their lives (double-click on the photo for a slightly larger version).

Here's Morgan Curran (a native Irishman who migrated to England and then to New York) and New Yorker Ryan McGinty (who sports a union tattoo on one muscled arm) talking about Rosenstein:

And here's Curran, McGinty and fellow Sandhog Chickie Donohue on what they'd like people to learn from the series:

Today's cuppa: Had English breakfast tea in the afternoon. Call me cuppa crazy.

It's evening after a day that featured the longest Press Tour session ever in the history of ever, a 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. cable-o-rama from Turner Networks that managed to combine, among other things, election coverage, Yoda opening a can of whoop-sabre on unfortunate robots, a sitcom about a mom with a garage band and a guy who sounds either like President Bush or Charles Barkley -- but not at the same time.

Had a fascinating chat with CNN's John King, who shared some deets about his "Magic Touch Wall" that explains the electoral college map, the HD campaign-coverage bus and his  upcoming one-hour special on Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (his colleague Suzanne Malveaux is doing one on Democratic hopeful Sen. Barack Obama).

I'd promise audio clips, but you'd laugh. Oh, ye of little faith.

Outside the press conference, I discussed "Star Wars: Clone Wars" with Dean Devlin (who has a tasty upcoming TNT series called "Leverage") and made a pitch, as I've done before, for an "Independence Day" sequel. He said not yet. One of the things I love about that movie is that the African-American guy (Will Smith) and the Jewish guy (Jeff Goldblum) save the world and nobody in the movie saw fit to mention it (but Devlin said Hezbollah noticed and wasn't that happy about it.).

"ID4" also featured family values, faith and patriotism -- and lots of stuff blew up. Don't think it gets much better than that. Devlin agreed, but still said not yet. Darn that Devlin! (Not really, as I hope to do a set visit to his converted warehouse in Glendale.)

Former "Angel" star Christian Kane was also on hand for "Leverage," and revealed that he's signed with a record company and is coming out with a country album -- and that he's designing his own lingerie line called Maverix. Yeah, I'm still cogitating on that one. For all the info, click here.

Skipped the star-studded Turner party to take care of business on the home front. PBS launches its two-day presentation tomorrow with a new version of "The Electric Company." possibly the coolest kids show of the 1970s (except for "Zoom," of course. Can you speak Ubbi-Dubbi? Ub-I c-ub-an! Sing with me now, "O-2-1-3-4").

Sadly, Morgan Freeman will not be reprising his seminal role as Easy Reader.

Here at the ongoing Turner Networks session of the TCA Press Tour, we just saw a completed episode of Cartoon Network's much-anticipated computer-animated series "Star Wars: Clone Wars," which kicks off with a CGI feature film on Aug. 15. Did it look cool? Yeah. Did Yoda kick butt? Yeah. Can I tell you any more than that without being mowed down by Storm Troopers? Probably not.

But a thought struck me as I was watching -- other than the realization that, despite being a rabid "Star Wars" geek, I wan't all that excited -- was that an awful lot of robot soldiers were getting their heads and other body parts blowed up.

I know they're just robots, but they're written as being capable of sentient, independent thought and even having individual personalities and senses of humor. And yet, blowed up, at lot, with glee.

I'm no shrinking violet when it comes to movie shoot 'em ups. I can do "Die Hard" and "Pulp Fiction" all day long, thank you very much, but I snagged on this.

Faceless, voiceless robots are one thing, but...ah, I don't know. You'll decide for yourselves when the show comes on this fall.

Today's cuppa: British blend tea, Beverly Hilton coffee

Earlier this week, I sat down with Matt Frei from BBC News and posted some audio excerpts. As I'm typing, we're listening to a panel from CNN discussing that cablenet's convention and campaign coverage. Later on today, I'll talk to CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, and am hoping to post some audio from that (yeah, I know keep promising. But I will, really. Regular writing deadlines aren't suspended for the TCA Press Tour, so I'm paddling as fast as I can).

On the Fox Broadcasting schedule for Monday, I noted an afternoon hour devoted to cable newser Fox News. So I shot an email to Fox News publicist Irena Briganti and learned that the panel will feature Chris Wallace ("Fox News Sunday"); former advisor to President Bush and current Fox News contributor Karl Rove (considering his high profile, especially among the press, that should be fun); executive vice president of news editorial John Moody; and Howard Wolfson, a senior campaign advisor for Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has also signed on as a contributor.

Working on an interview with Wallace and possibly more folks. But the panel itself should be very entertaining, considering the criticism leveled at Fox News by many in the mainstream news and in the blogosphere.

More later...

Today's cuppa: Beverly Hilton Hotel coffee -- with great company

I came in early this morning to have breakfast with a longtime acquaintance, Dr. Bob Brier, an Egyptologist and mummy expert who has done many series for cable, mostly TLC, on a variety of subjects dealing with mummies in general and Ancient Egypt in particular. His next special, for National Geographic Channel, is about a French architect's fascinating new theory of how the Great Pyramid at Giza was built (ramp on the inside, like in a parking garage, to haul up the blocks, not on the outside).

Last night I had the pleasure of introducing him to Jonathan Prince and Robert Munic, executive producers of the A&E series "The Cleaner." I had met them on a set visit (Prince I had met much earlier on "American Dreams"), and they were still in the hotel after their Press Tour session.

Watching him explain pyramid-construction theories to them and answer their questions, and watching Munic describe his own show about an extreme addiction interventionist back to Dr. Brier was one of those strange but cool Press Tour moments that might never happen anywhere else.

After Dr. Brier headed off to his flight back to New York, I settled in for yet another cuppa Beverly Hilton coffee when I got an email from an Animal Planet publicist. Within minutes, I was talking to Capt. Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, whose efforts to prevent Japanese whalers from killing whales are chronicled in an upcoming Animal Planet miniseries called "Whale Wars," scheduled for November.

Apparently there were shots fired and grenades thrown...and not just at the whales.

Over lunch (and an Arnold Palmer, a lemonade/iced tea blend), I sat down with realtor and real-estate developer Kirsten Kemp Becker of TLC's "Property Ladder" and a late addition to the TLC lineup, Mike Holmes of the Canadian series "Holmes on Holmes," which used to air on Discovery Home (now reinvented as Planet Green).

Kemp Becker is now doing a new TLC show called "Hope for Your Home," premiering Aug. 9. It helps overextended and stressed-out homeowners whip their houses and finances into shape.

"Holmes on Holmes" episodes that aired on Discovery Home will now air on TLC, and new ones are in the works, helping homeowners recover from the ravages of dishonest and incompetent contractors. He's also working on building new homes in New Orleans, designing a line of work wear (like overalls with pockets for knee pads) and a bunch of other projects.

(BTW, in the press conference, I asked Holmes a question about getting permits for work, mentioning that I'd seen many problems in this area on his show. This caused one of my colleagues to look back at me with a grin and a nod, then to also ask a question, outing herself as a fan of the show. We happily shared our Holmes love after the session. It was a great bonding moment. And, neither of us owns a house, nor, in the Los Angeles market, are we likely to anytime soon.)

The most fun of the lunchtime conversation was listening to Kemp Becker, husband Darrell Becker (a custom home builder), and Holmes get to know each other and trade homebuilding and remodeling knowledge from their various perspectives.

Also, "Holmes on Holmes" fans may be interested to know that Corin "Pinky" Ames, the first female member of Holmes' crew, quit the team this week and headed back home to Canada. According to Holmes, the heat of a New Orleans summer just was too much for the Ontario native.

I know I promised "Sandhogs" audio clips yesterday and haven't delivered yet, so I'll just dig myself in deeper today by promising clips from today's interviews. I haven't written the stories yet, so it'll be hard to know what I'll need for print, but I'll hunt up a few good moments to share.

So, in one day, I went from Egyptology to saving whales to remodeling houses. And I thought I had a job writing about television.

As I'm typing, it's the last session of the day, a three-hour block for HBO. Ricky Gervais ("The Office," "Extras") is alone on the stage talking about an upcoming comedy special. When he came out he said, "I feel like Kofi Annan." He's saying that all his favorite comics are Yanks, from Laurel & Hardy to today, and that the most important thing in comedy is empathy, explaining, "I can't laugh at someone I don't like....Hitler had great lines, didn't make me laugh at all."

Later on, we'll be talking about "Generation Kill," a miniseries about U.S. recon Marines during the early days of the Iraq War (and apparently, Marines at Camp Pendleton approve). Believe it or not, there are some laughs there too.

Just finished one more cuppa BH coffee. Man, I need a cuppa tea! But they only have hot water here, not boiling water, so I'll have to wait until I get home. Some corners just can't be cut.

Today's cuppa: Lots more Beverly Hilton coffee.

Yesterday, today, Thursday and Friday at the summer edition of the Television Critics Association Press Tour are devoted to cable television, but a few cablenets are missing.

After PBS presents its new programs over the weekend, the broadcast networks begin on Monday. But there will be a lot of cablenets there as well, offering their programming either blended with or next to the shows from their corporate siblings.

FX and Fox News are presenting with Fox Broadcasting Network; ABC Family, Disney Channel and SOAPnet are partnered with ABC; Showtime is with CBS; and the NBC Universal cablers (Sci Fi Channel, Bravo, Oxygen and USA) are with the Peacock.

This sort of synergy has happened before at Press Tour, but never to this extent. It's one obvious sign of the move in the TV business away from strict distinctions between cable and broadcast in favor of a more integrated concept and greater overall branding.

But not all cablenets have broadcast siblings, and going it alone can be a challenge. An interesting point came up in the Hallmark Channel session on Tuesday about how the cabler finances its original movies. David Kenin, the executive v.p. of programming for Hallmark's parent, Crown Media, talked about the importance of revenues from foreign sales of Hallmark productions.

Basically, in the past, if a concept didn't appeal to foreign buyers, Hallmark wasn't able to finance the production.

Now that Hallmark apparently isn't as dependent on foreign financing, the channel can produce projects with a wider variety of subject matter, such as an upcoming movie called "Relative Stranger," which features a largely African-American cast led by Cicely Tyson and Eriq LaSalle.

That left me wondering how many other cablenets are in the same situation with their original programming. The world may be more with us than we know.

Later in the day, I met with a friend who's doing a cable special, and he filled me in, off the record, on some of the inside details of how the project was developed. It was an eye-opener about how the cool, collected exterior projected by some channels hides an absolutely wacky way of doing business. in this case, the business of show was barely recognizable as business at all.

And yet, somehow, good things still get made, even by the channel in question. It's a plain miracle.

On the interview front, I grabbed a few minutes with country star John Rich of Big & Rich. We talked about his new CMT show "Gone Country," and also a bit about his work with the troops. Here's a clip:

After leaving Rich, I sat down to lunch with three of the men featured in the upcoming History Channel series "Sandhogs," about New Yorkers who toil in the city's tunnels, underground piping and subway system. They were a colorful, outspoken and delightful bunch -- two Irish-Americans and one Irish-born American -- fiercely loyal to each other and their union.

I'll try to post some clips from that when I get a chance.

Which brings me to the other burning question of the day: Strike in the SAG? Not yet, and looking less likely all the time. The other performers' union, AFTRA, ratified its contract with the studio heads. SAG. which has been working without a contract since July 1, continues to peruse the producers' offer and should come up with a reply soon.

Today's cuppa: Chai spice black tea, chased with lots of Beverly Hilton coffee.

Strike in the SAG? Of the many actors asked today at the summer edition of the Television Critics Association Press Tour whether a strike was likely, none seemed to think it would happen (although Ed Asner, talking during a session for Hallmark Channel movies, seemed to regret that reality).

Day one of Press Tour began for me at breakfast with Matt Frei, anchor of "BBC World News America," which airs on BBC America, and his American executive producer Rome Hartman, formerly of CBS.

Frei and Hartman revealed that former "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel has joined the program as a contributing analyst, covering the Democratic and Republican conventions and other news, starting later this week -- a topic discussed later in the day during the press conference; click here for more details.

Though British, Frei proved anything but stuffy and reserved, but instead was lively, witty and engaging. A syndicated feature story will follow, but for right now, here are some brief audio excerpts.

On the British electoral process:

On how to do international news without shelling out heaps of cash

On the eloquence of an average American (a particularly fun one):

Tomorrow morning includes a press conference with the cast of AMC's "Mad Men," which launches its new season on July 27. Just because I like you, I won't make you wait until then to hear a couple of snippets from my interview with star Robert Morse, who won a 1961 Tony Award for his starring role in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," set at a corporation and in an era eerily similar to those of "Mad Men."

We talked in the set for the Japanese-themed office of his character, Bertram Cooper, head of Sterling Cooper, the early '60s Manhattan ad agency at the core of the series.

On his audition and an unexpected encounter:

On coming full circle from "How..." to "Mad Men," and a bit of a song:

Today's cuppa: Start off the morning with chai spice black tea, head through midday with iced tea (half decaf cold-brewed black tea, half pomegranate-raspberry green tea), finish off the evening with decaf British blend tea.

Strike in the SAG? Not yet. The outcome of the contract vote by AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) could be known as early as Wednesday, and it's unlikely that SAG (Screen Actors Guild) -- which shares many members with AFTRA -- or the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) will do anything major until after then. SAG and AFTRA have historically negotiated together, but this year, AFTRA negotiated on its own, setting off a nasty intramural battle in a town still reeling from the aftereffects of the three-month WGA (Writers Guild of America) walkout.

We watch and wait.

As I write this, it's the eve of the July edition of the TCA (Television Critics Association) Press Tour, a biannual gathering of journalists from all over North America that cover the TV industry. Or, this year, I should say annual gathering, since the WGA strike torpedoed the TCA's usual January convocation.

There was much fear that a SAG walkout -- its contract with the AMPTP ran out last Monday -- would put the kibosh on the July Press Tour, but as of right now, it goes forward for the next two weeks. That's one change, since it's usually three, but the WGA strike resulted in far fewer new shows being ordered, and so there are far fewer new shows to present to reporters.

The tour, held this time at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills (home to the Golden Globes, except for this past January, when the WGA strike axed that event, too), is a steady stream of large and small press conferences from cable and broadcast networks, sprinkled throughout with cocktail parties and evening galas in which reporters can mingle with and interview executives and talent, along with a few set visits and, since it's July, the annual TCA Awards presentation, which remains one of Hollywood's few non-televised kudofests.

I have no idea what the mood's going to be.

The tour happens as the new-media wave is upending the entire old-media world -- from TV to movies to newspapers -- leaving broken business models and lost jobs in its wake. Labor disputes buffet Hollywood, while plunging ad revenues threaten to pull newspapers under (yeah, I'm watching last week's "Deadliest Catch" right now. Sig, turn the boat! Phil, you're in the hospital, stop puffing! Keith, get some more tape to plug that leak! Sorry.).

Many veteran TV reporters won't be with us, lost to layoffs, buyouts and reorganization. Those that remain will face off with network executives and producers who have problems of their own.

My mission for this TCA, and I choose to accept it, is to put my ear to the ground and see what tidbits I can glean about TV's future and then pass them along to you. And while I'm at it, I'll try to have a cuppa with as many interesting people as I can -- starting tomorrow morning at breakfast with Matt Frei of BBC World News America.

I have a sneaking suspicion that, before long, we'll all know what the village smithy felt like when that first Model-T rolled through town.

In Bobblehead Land, former TV-cop partners reunite (click on pic for larger version)...

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk hazelnut coffee (monks in Wyoming, who knew?).

In honor of our Nation's birthday, here are...

FIVE REASONS I'M GLAD TO BE AN AMERICAN (TV CRITIC)

1: We have the best TV in the world. OK, I know a lot of Americans love the British dramas and comedies and the Korean soap operas and the Latin American telenovelas and the Japanese game shows. I salute them all, but the number one show in the entire world is "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," displacing the former champion, "CSI: Miami." Forensically speaking, we rule.

2: Because we have freedom of the press in America, I can say without fear that watching the U.S. Senate debate on C-SPAN is only slightly more exciting than watching roadkill decompose (see what "CSI" has done to me).

3: American TV produced the entertaining and informative (how often do those things go together?) "Schoolhouse Rock," and then American ingenuity produced YouTube.com, so we can watch clips like this and this and this.

4: Because we have freedom of speech in America, people can say incredibly smart, incredibly stupid and entirely incomprehensible things on TV every day, or just on "Red Eye W/Greg Gutfeld."

5: The U.S. government does not own our TV stations. If it did, all the TV shows would sound like IRS manuals.

Happy Fourth of July!

Today's cuppa: Iced tea (half cold-brewed black tea, half pomegranate-raspberry green tea, all yummy).

Strike in the SAG? Nope, and probably no more fireworks until after the weekend.

Did you know that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" creator Joss Whedon had a brother? He does indeed, and more than one. The particular one I'm referring to is Zack, and he used to work for another certified TV genius, David Milch, of "NYPD Blue," "Deadwood" and "John From Cincinnati" fame.

When I met Zack, he was Milch's assistant, but before you know it, he was a writer in his own right, even penning "John's" metaphysical finale (the bit where John and the monosyllabic surfer kid flew in over the clouds and landed by catching an awesome wave made me misty. It happened. And the theme song was cool.).

Into my e-mail box yesterday popped this missive from Zack:

Dear Everyone I've Ever Met,

I wrote an online comic.  It sounds too good to be true but I did and you can read it right here --

http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenum=12&storynum=2

It is about Captain Hammer, a character from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  What is that?  It is a three episode web series musical film video tv-show I made with Jed, Maurissa and Joss.  The episodes will air July 15, 17, 19 online and will cost NO DOLLARS to view!

I hope you enjoy it all. 

- Zack Whedon

www.drhorrible.com

(Update from Zack: Everyone --

I've gotten a lot of emails about why only one page of the comic shows.  You have to click on the page to turn it.  There are eight pages, not one.  Enjoy them all.

- Zack)

Congrats, Zack!

Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother") stars in "Dr. Horrible," along with "Firefly" star Nathan Fillion (why, oh, why, isn't he a giant star? But then, where had Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" been all our lives?), Felicia Day and Simon Helberg ("The Big Bang  Theory").

The project is top-to-bottom Whedons, as Joss wrote it with Zack and other brother Jed, along with Jed's fiancee, Maurissa Tancharoen. As writing partners, Jed and Maurissa also work on Joss' highly anticipated mid-season FOX drama "Dollhouse," starring former "Buffy" cast member Eliza Dushku.

But you don't need Whedon DNA to have benefited from working in the world he created.

Whedon's Mutant Enemy Productions is the production company for "Buffy," its spin-off "Angel," "Firefly" and "Dollhouse," and has also produced a steady stream of writers that have spun out to shows from "Lost" to "24" to "Battlestar Galactica" to "Smallville" to "Alias" and on and on.

I always wondered whether Mutant Enemy would turn out to be the new MTM.

Back in the '80s, "Hill Street Blues" signaled the dramatic coming-of-age for Mary Tyler Moore Productions, a k a MTM. Established by Moore and husband Grant Tinker to produce Moore's seminal comedy series, it was primarily a comedy shop until "Hill Street," which revolutionized the way American TV looked at the police drama (and boasted Milch's first TV script).

MTM went on to produce the acclaimed medical drama "St. Elsewhere," the celebrated comedy "Newhart" and many more shows until finally being sold in the the '90s, eventually folding into 20th Century Fox Television (which produced "Buffy," BTW).

The company also may have started the tradition of cute animated closing-credits logos, with the meowing Mimsie the Cat (a fluffy parody of MGM's roaring lion).

MTM alumni began to have a powerful impact on TV drama in the late '80s and through the '90s. If you get bored this holiday weekend, just go play IMDB roulette and follow the writers' links, starting with Steven Bochco, Milch, Dick Wolf and Tom Fontana.

The "Buffy" writing offices in Santa Monica didn't look like much. No doubt many family-owned construction companies had fancier office furniture.

But it turned out to be an important creative hothouse.

I suspect that Chris Carter's 1013 Productions ("The X-Files," "Millennium"), Milch's Red Board Productions and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, among others, are much the same (I mean the creative thing, not necessarily the furniture).

What all these companies have in common are strong creative voices at the top and at atmosphere that nurtures new writing talent (for example, Diego Gutierrez, who used to be Joss Whedon's assistant, is now a writer).

Even in the vast corporate world of modern entertainment, when it comes to creativity, nothing beats a supportive environment -- dinged office furniture and all.

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend tea (done just right) and office coffee (amazingly, done just right).

Had a great chat yesterday with "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner in connection with a syndicated feature story I'm doing for the AMC drama's second-season premiere on July 27.

He started off the call by passing along greetings from Marti Noxon, whom I met long ago while she was a writer (and later, co-showrunner) for Joss Whedon's WB/UPN cult classic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"Marti is consulting on the show right now," said Weiner, "and she's like, 'Oh, tell her I say hi.'"

Asked what he thinks Noxon will add to "Mad Men," Weiner said, "I don't know yet. She just started. But she's great on story, and she's a legend, so for me to have another voice in the room is very helpful.

"I'm a fan of all of her work. I think she's an interesting writer, and she has a voice. I like people who have something interesting to say, and I like weirdos, and she's both of those, right? Am I out of line?"

Hey, all I know is that, in an interview I did with her in 2004 for a premiere feature on the short-lived 2005 FOX series "Point Pleasant," Noxon drew parallels between herself and fellow executive producer Dawn Parouse, saying, "Dawn is my sister in the Queen of Pain-dom. She is one dark mother. We just really clicked. She has a very similar sensibility to mine."

Draw your own conclusions.

And, BTW, "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm did a couple episodes of "Point Pleasant."

Today's cuppa: Chai spice black tea, French roast coffee (see previous post) and now that it's evening, decaf British blend tea.

Strike in the SAG? Not yet. The Screen Actors Guild contract expired at 12:01 this morning, but no call yet for a strike. The world still turns.

Every now and then, I like to check in with friends and family back on the East Coast, just to see what's happening in a reality far removed from the overheated confines of Los Angeles.

This time, it's my mentor in all things tea-related, who, as she puts it, "works black (tea) ops for the federal government," somewhere in the Northeast (I could tell you where, but then I'd have to kill you ... well, not really ... not at all ... I just like to say that).

At her request, I'll call her Tia Cupps. (She also says her rap name is Heavy Cream, and her first CD, if she ever releases it, will be called "Whipped.")

Like me, Tia Cupps loves tea, but she also loves TV, and she graciously agreed to sit down to a virtual cuppa and answer a few questions.

Q: What's your favorite TV-watching position (keep it clean) and why?

A: I was gonna say "missionary," but you said keep it clean. So, semi-reclining, in the big chair with my feet up on the hassock.

Q: What's your favorite TV show of the summer and why?

A: So far, "The Middleman" wins that contest -- but that's only because I'm waiting for "Burn Notice" to return.

Q: Why the big love for "The Middleman"?

A: I've only seen the first two episodes, but I like it because it's something new; it's well-written; and it's funny as hell (can I say hell?). (HCTV: Sure, why the hell not?) It incorporates elements from "Men in Black," "The Avengers," the James Bond movies and "Wild Wild West," with a smidge of "Dudley Do-Right" and a soupcon of "Get Smart," so how bad can it be? The episodes (so far) are pretty much standalones, so you don't feel the onus of having to make the kind of commitment you have to make to a show like "Lost." If more people committed to their relationships the way they've committed to "Lost," the divorce rate would shrink significantly. So say I.

Q: Does anyone out there in America care about the possible SAG strike?

A: Not really. We were more upset about the WGA strike, because it was during the fall and screwed up our favorite shows. Since this potential strike is set for summer, it's not going to blip on our radar until fall when the new shows are set to return.

Q: What are the top tea-related mistakes you see TV characters make?

A: Gees, I don't think I've actually seen anyone on U.S. TV drink tea. The U.S. TV hot beverage of choice seems to be some form of coffee -- or warm beer. You can't really count Jean-Luc Picard's "Earl Grey, hot," because replicated tea isn't really tea. Or is it? (HCTV: "Star Trek" fans -- opinions on this one?) BBC tea is another story, and that one so often ends with the good china and something to nibble on.

Q: What is the thing that TV shows most often get wrong about the federal government?

A: That we are the de facto Galactic Empire. I'm not saying we don't have our fair share of Sith, but there are countless Jedi (and a lot of them wear khaki and camouflage), and they hardly ever get a shout-out.

Q: What do they get right?

A: The whole Jack Bauer/CTU thing...

Thanks, Tia Cupps, for your wit and wisdom. Now go back to preserving our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of a tasty brew.

Just nipped down to my local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to get my afternoon cuppa (large French roast, room for milk) and discovered that they've initiated a program called "Support From Home," which runs from July 1 until Aug. 31.

Click on the "Support From Home" link for the full press release and contact information, but here's an excerpt: "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®, the oldest and largest privately-held chain of specialty coffee and tea stores in the United States, today announced that it will host a 'Support from Home' campaign in stores from July 1 to Aug. 31. During this time, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will invite consumers to purchase a bag of coffee, a tin of tea and/or retail merchandise to donate to the troops. The product will be discounted by 10 percent at the store register, and the purchase will be sent overseas to military personnel. The company is pleased to facilitate product donations due to the fact that coffee is a rationed item for troops posted overseas; sending coffee is a simple way to provide comforting products from home that may not otherwise be available to military personnel."

They do have a special blend with a label on the back for purchasers to write a message to the troops, but I opted to express my appreciation with maximum caffeine and grabbed a pound of Espresso Roast.

Kudos to CB&TL and all the other organizations and individuals supporting our troops at home and abroad. This Hot Cuppa's for you!