November 2008 Archives

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend Irish tea

I can't find a link to a complete version of my syndicated feature story on tonight's HGTV special, but it's such a nice show, and I enjoyed doing the story so much, I thought I'd share the whole thing below...

Come Christmastime, even celebrity designers and carpenters like to kick back with friends and family and revisit some cherished traditions.

On Sunday, Nov. 30, HGTV lets viewers go home with a few of its stars, who get to show off their decorating, party planning and culinary tips to make the holidays shine.

Designer Monica Pedersen ("Designed to Sell") is host for the one-hour "HGTV's Home for the Holidays," which also features designers Vern Yip ("Deserving Design"), Lisa LaPorta ("Designed to Sell"), Kim Myles ("Myles of Style") and Angelo Surmelis ("Rate My Space"), and carpenters Eric Stromer ("Over Your Head") and Steve Watson ("Don't Sweat It").

Chicagoan Pederson is the only one of the stars who doesn't actually go home for Christmas in the special. Instead, she heads to the historic Deer Path Inn, located on the North Shore of Lake Michigan, in the town of Lake Forest, Ill.

Her father-in-law owns the 55-room inn, which opened in 1929 and is modeled after the 15^th-century Manor House, a half-timbered and stucco Tudor home in the English county of Kent.

"This place has got such integrity," Pedersen says. "There aren't many places like it. It's in a town that's very WASP-y and tree-lined, with perfect, great old homes."

It also represented a dream that Pedersen had with her mother, who, like Pedersen, is a dedicated crafter.

"We've gone there every Christmas Eve," Pedersen says. "My mom and I would walk by, and they had this little pastry village, and we would always say under our breath to each other, 'We could do such a better job that.' We always had this fantasy to do it.

"When this came up, HGTV said, 'Can we come to your house?' I said, 'No, my house is a disaster. I'm decorating, and my house is so not done. But I can tell you about this place that we can do it in.

"'I was already planning to do the holiday decorations there, and I've hired a couple of assistants to help me. I'm going to be doing this anyway. Do you guys want to film there?'

"So my mom and I were psyched."

Not only does Pedersen get to show off her decorations -- which include a 30-foot-tall poinsettia tree -- but she, her mother and a longtime family friend create a very special gingerbread house.

"We'd wanted to do a gingerbread replica of the Deer Path for so long," Pedersen says, "we were giddy, just giddy. We were so excited. It's a family affair, doing something that we love and have wanted to do for a long time.

"Then they said, 'Do you want to host it?' I'm like, 'Yes, this is awesome.'"

Watson -- who has done musical theater, acting and stand-up comedy, as well as home remodeling -- offers up a somewhat different version of getting a ring out of the old jingle bells.

He and his girlfriend hop on four-wheelers and head into the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California in search of a Christmas tree.

"A buddy of mine's got a huge property up in Altadena, up in the foothills," Watson says. "There are lots of small pine trees and medium-size ones. So I would cut a tree and plant a couple of saplings.

"I've been riding dirt bikes my entire life. I used to race dirt bikes, and I do desert races now. My houses kept getting larger and larger, and it kept getting harder to find good trees. So I started riding around on my dirt bike, looking for a tree.

"That sort of a hunt became a little bit of a tradition."

Watson then invites friends and family over for a gourmet dinner. It turns out that when he's not swinging a hammer, a chainsaw or a power drill, Watson's a whiz in the kitchen.

"I love to cook," he says. "That's how I Zen out at my house. I like to bury myself in it. I put on my iPod or put on some music, then I just sit down. I like to chop my own shallots. I like to mince up my fresh garlic."

While you may immediately think of turkey or perhaps roast beef for Christmas, Watson had a different idea for the meal HGTV filmed being prepared.

"The roasted pork loin with rosemary was pretty amazing," Watson says. "I've got a huge rosemary bush in my front yard. It's there, so I use it."

This year, Watson is flying in family from Tennessee for a celebration and another sumptuous feast.

"This year," Watson says, "I think I'm going to do a nice, big prime-rib roast. Sometimes I like to do a prime rib in the smoker; sometimes I like to put it on the grill.

"This year, I think I'm going to put it in the oven very low, let it slow roast for a good eight, nine hours."

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk decaf chocolate mint coffee

On Sunday, Nov. 30, HGTV premieres a special called "HGTV's Home for the Holidays," in which some of the network's stars share their culinary, party and decorating hints. Here's a link to an edited version of my feature story on the special -- if I find more links tomorrow, I'll pop them in here.

The full version of the story as offered into syndication also featured an interview with HGTV star Steve Watson ("Don't Sweat It"). In case you don't see that in your paper, click here to see my Thanksgiving Day post, which features a holiday recipe from Watson, who's as much a whiz in the kitchen as on the construction site.

(Or you can read the whole story, which is embedded in the post for Nov. 30)

Hope you had a safe, happy and yummy Thanksgiving, and good luck in the holiday shopping spree that began on Friday.

But as you prepare for Hanukkah and Christmas, don't forget that there are many serving in the U.S. military in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world that will be spending the holidays away from their friends and family (and many families will have an empty seat at the holiday table on the homefront).

The American Red Cross has partnered with Pitney Bowes for a program called Holiday Mail for Heroes, with a goal of delivering one million holiday cards to serving military personnel, their families and veterans in the United States and around the world.

(Photo: 12/25/2007 - U.S. Army soldiers from Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, take part in a candlelight ceremony during a Christmas party at Joint Security Station Torch in Yarmuk, Iraq, on Dec. 25, 2007. DoD photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill, U.S. Army.)

Click here for information on the program -- and a free, download-able card -- but don't waste time, as all cards must be postmarked by Dec. 10.

If you'd like to send care packages to service men and women overseas, the Red Cross recommends visiting America Supports You for information on how to do more than just post a card.

And if you have specific military personnel on your gift list, just a reminder that the U.S. Postal Service offers flat-rate boxes to APO/FPO military addresses. Visit your local post office or click here for more information. BTW, I've discovered that military folks really enjoy -- along with goodies and messages from home -- getting movie and TV DVDs.

After all, just because you're far from home serving your country doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to watch all three seasons of "Deadwood," catch up on the recent "24: Redemption" movie or grab a few laughs from "Shrek the Halls" or "Kung Fu Panda." (No endorsement of any particular on-line retailer is intended or should be inferred. Spend your money wherever you like.)

Today's cuppa: hot spiced cider for Thanksgiving

While waiting to go eat a fabulous Thanksgiving meal not cooked by me -- thanks, MaryAnn! -- I thought I'd offer up some cool linkage and a look at the culinary side of a couple of my favorite TV men.

First, click here to see my story on John O'Hurley and today's National Dog Show on NBC. He's posing in the picture with the latest breed added to the official AKC roster. The story explains the rest.

Here's a link to a site that offers a look at a larger image of George Washington's Thanksgiving proclamation and the full text.

Lest you think I've never cooked my own Thanksgiving dinner, I have -- and I make a mean sweet-potato/apple casserole.

Like many, I've also had dinner at the family homestead and at the home of friends.

While the Norman Rockwell image of Thanksgiving has the matriarch of the family offering the bird to the waiting clan, sometimes the man of the house is the one in the kitchen.

And sometimes that man is also a TV personality.

The other day, I checked in with Steve Watson, formerly of Discovery Channel's "Monster House" (we met on the set there) and currently the host of HGTV's "Don't Sweat it." Asked about his Thanksgiving plans, Watson wrote:

"Well, I mix it up every year. I have the same group of friends over every year, so I don't want them to get bored with the menu. Two years ago, I deep-fried a turkey. I use peanut oil.

Last year, I baked Turducken! (Click here for Food Network star Paula Deen's recipe for this multi-poultry extravaganza) Big Hit. This year, I'm going traditional -- 25 lb. turkey and slow-roasted prime rib -- with my dad's old stuffing recipe.

Four loaves of cornbread crumbled into a large pot. I boil a whole chicken, slowly, the night before. I pour the chicken stock into the cornbread and mix in the meat from the chicken. Add lots of sage, salt and pepper. Chop onions and celery. Pour in 4 cans of chicken soup and 4 cans of cream of celery. Stuff the bird and bake the rest like a cake. MMMMMMM...good!

Hungry yet?"

What? Sorry. Had to get a snack in the middle of that. Anyway, on to our next amatueur chef, actor and musician Christian Kane, who has moved from The WB's "Angel" to CBS' "Close to Home" to the upcoming "Leverage" on TNT, premiering Dec. 7.

On Election Night, I did a set visit to "Leverage" in Pasadena (syndicated feature story to come). During the evening, Kane confessed to being a huge Food Network fan and claimed to be no slouch in the kitchen himself.

Asked about his holiday culinary plans, he said, "I love to cook. It's my new art form. I was an art-history major in college. I was featured in a magazine -- I went in and made a rattlesnake steak, which is a bleu cheese-, bacon- and jalapeno-stuffed filet mignon.

"(For Christmas), probably a deep-fried turkey. George Clooney gave me good advice a few years ago. I was using just regular vegetable oil. He said to use olive oil. I use olive oil now, and it comes out unbelievable. I stuff it with garlic and lemons."

And as for that sweet potato/apple casserole recipe of mine, here's what I emailed back to Watson (and no, I don't measure anything, so do it to suit your own taste):

Get an equal number of sweet potatoes and apples -- peel (and core the apples) and slice. Get a couple of big sweet onions -- peel and slice. Starting and finishing with the onions, put alternating layers of all three in a coated casserole dish. Drizzle with a mixture of dark amber maple syrup, fresh-ground nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. Dot with butter if desired. Bake in a 350-degree oven until done. You can also toss in raisins, walnuts or dried cranberries. Try it! ... I'll be making this on Friday, while watching the "Deadliest Catch" marathon.

And here it is, the first "blogcast" featuring yours truly and Tia Cupps, vamping on last night's episode of "NCIS," called "Dagger" (click here if you want to watch it online). Enjoy...

Here's part one:

And part two:

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend Irish tea

Click here for my extended recap of last night's finale of "The Shield." Between rainstorms, cable blips, Internet outages and general bleariness (I think this puppy got put to bed somewhere around 3 a.m.), it's a little raw and a little free-form. Hope ya like it. Feel free to comment here or at the "It Happened Last Night" blog at Zap2it.

I also just got off the phone with Tia Cupps, and am working on our first "Cuppa With Cupps" conversation focusing on last night's "NCIS" episode, "Dagger." Check back here later today for that.

Just a quick shot to let "Deadliest Catch" fans know that there's going to be a marathon of America's favorite crab-fishing show (actually, it may be America's only crab-fishing show...) on Friday, Nov. 28, on Discovery Channel.

Check out this entry from the show's official blog, which discusses the Time Bandit's timely rescue of a crewman who fell overboard from another ship (turns out we haven't seen the last of the other fishing vessel involved in the incident).

The post also discusses the dangers of the Bering Sea, which I wrote about here in a syndicated feature story, and here in a blog post where the subject becomes more personal, both for me and for a blog commenter.

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend Irish tea

Tonight is the big finale of "Dancing With the Stars" (talk about a stuffed Tuesday, with "The Shield" ending and a new "NCIS," and "House" and "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"), and while I'm not going to make a prediction, I am going to express a preference.

In an earlier post, I expressed my affection for NFL star Warren Sapp and how much I enjoy watching him dance. That enjoyment continues unabated. Brooke Burke is technically dazzling, but I made a cuppa tea during her freestyle last night, knowing I could watch it on my work DVR today, so I can only assume that I just wasn't that excited.

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer's hip-hop freestyle was lame. Even if I liked hip-hop, which I confess I don't, especially, it was still lame. Any dance number from "Breakin'" or "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" -- which is about the time frame in which I last liked hip-hop -- would have blown it away.

Warren was awesome. Yeah, he's sometimes bumble-footed and not as flexible around the midriff as Lance and Brooke, but he's a real man, he's got some real skills, and he can show a lady a great time on the dance floor. And he hoists Kym Johnson around like she was a bedpillow.

He's also got a 1,000-watt smile, boundless good cheer and indefatigable energy (which he shares with a lot of my "Dancing" faves, including Helio Castroneves, Emmitt Smith, Joey Fatone and John O'Hurley, and Julianne Hough on the pro side).

There's enough stuff out there to bring me down. I don't want perfection; I don't want edginess; I want to be happy -- or, in this case, Sapp-y.

Win, lose or draw, he's my guy.

Tonight's cuppa: decaf Irish breakfast tea

Tuesday night, "The Shield" comes to a staggering conclusion after seven seasons on FX, making it, IMHO, the best police series since "Hill Street Blues" and the single most consistent drama of any genre that I've ever seen. It never put a foot wrong, and a lot of credit for that goes to creator Shawn Ryan and his team, natch, and also to the superb cast.

Obviously, Michael Chiklis, as the unstoppable force of nature that is LAPD Detective Vic Mackey, is the captain of this ship, but don't forget his wingman and lieutenant, Det. Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins).

Click here for my finale story with Goggins -- one of the true nice guys of television. See ya down the road, darlin'.

Also Tuesday night, CBS' "NCIS" does not end its season or, as far as I know, kill, maim or fire any major characters. Despite this, expect 17-18 million people to tune in, even though not that many of them will be in New York, Los Angeles or writing for trendy entertainment magazines. But I'll be there, I suspect you'll be there, and so will my tea mentor Tia Cupps (who gave me her thoughts yesterday on "24: Redemption").

After the episode, we're going to confab cross-country for our first audio podcast. Actually, it won't be a real podcast since I'm going to post it here in the blog rather than having it fed straight to subscribers, but if you put my blog into your RSS feed reader, that's close enough.

I'll get fancier later, after I listen to the recording and see whether we're as funny as we think we are.

If not, I'll make an especially strong cuppa, and it will all float away like a lovely dream.

Oh, and BTW, click here for my story with the charming and talented Rocky Carroll, a k a NCIS Director Leon Vance.

Later...

Today's cuppa: Darjeeling tea

There may be something to synchronicity.

Today is the second time I turn for comments on "24" to the estimable Tia Cupps, my mentor in all things tea-related, and the town is abuzz with word that the Screen Actors Guild may call for a strike authorization vote. The last time Tia appeared in this space was on July 1, the morning after SAG's contract expired.

There was no strike then, and for the sake of all the weekly wage-earners that depend on the entertainment industry for a living -- especially in this chaotic economic climate -- let's hope that Tia's presence in this humble blog has the same cosmic effect this time.

Anyway, once again, Tia Cupps is the alter-ego of a woman who, as she puts it, "works black (tea) ops for the federal government," somewhere in the great Northeast. In the future, Tia and I may do audio podcasts. Truly, America may not be ready for this.

Here are her answers to some questions I posited to her on "24: Redemption," the two-hour "24" prequel that aired to good ratings last night on Fox. Click here for my syndicated feature story on the movie.

How did you feel right before it started?

Breathless with anticipation.

Halfway through?

Frustrated.

At the end?

Angry at the diplomatic corps, but definitely psyched for the new season. Oh, my God, the ending was like the fall of Saigon.

Favorite new character?

Carl Benton (played by guest star Robert Carlyle)

Least favorite new character?

I'm not sure I could like anyone less than the U.N. guy, who, I have a feeling, we haven't seen the last of. There's neutrality, and then there's craven cowardice.

Which new character had the most impact on you?

Guess I'd have to say Carl again.

(When I pointed out that a land mine blew Carl up, Tia reminded me that we only heard the explosion, and quoted back to me a line from "X-Files" creator Chris Carter, which I have often quoted to her, "Did you see him die? Did you actually see him die?" Point taken. But I still think he's blowed up.)

Impression of the incoming President Alison Taylor (Cherry Jones)?

Not much chance to make an impression, but it seems she has hidden depths; not sure about her husband either, and her son has no personality. If you put two grooves in him, he'd be an ashtray. (Thanks, Cos, for the line.)

Should Jack have to face the music in front of the U.S. Senate for what he's done? (It's the main plot thrust at the beginning of season seven, which launches Jan. 11 and 12 on Fox.)

That would take three seasons in and of itself. However, it appears that even though Jack is in trouble, his country needs him yet again and is willing to overlook his bad habits of torture and detention.

The Africa storyline continues into season seven -- your impression of it?

It's new; it's now; and it's relevant. Plus, it isn't the Middle East. I thought the PSAs for Human Rights Watch and the tag at the end about there being more info on the boy soldiers on the Fox Website were a nice touch -- it brings the drama into reality.

Jack Bauer -- cowboy hero or cold-hearted hit man?

Why? Well, they're two sides of the same coin, really. Jack's biggest flaw is that he cares too damn much. I am beginning to believe that Jack has an aunt who lives in Cabot Cove, Maine.

The continuity fairy sez: Jack has an awfully Western haircut for being on walkabout for two years; burn mark from machete missing on Jack's cheek.

Total aside: Powers Boothe (as outgoing President Daniels) looks great; nice to see Jon Voight (as Jack's nemesis, the shadowy Jonas Hodges) on TV, he does eeeeevil so very well; luuuurrrve Robert Carlyle.

Howard (executive producer Howard Gordon) may get to live another season, because it looks like Jack is back. He only got blowed up, but he's OK. I'm always happy when stuff get blowed up.

FYI, Tia, me, too.

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk hazelnut coffee

The curvature of a Beverly Hills store window creates a world of tiny Smart cars...

Today's cuppa: coffeeshop iced tea

Well, the results are in for Wednesday's Franchise Wars polls (as of 7:20 PST, Nov.22), and they're interesting and a little strange. I'll lay out the numbers, reveal how I voted, and you'll let me know what you think.

What is your favorite "CSI" series?

• "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (the Las Vegas original) -- 57%
• "CSI: Miami" -- 10%
• "CSI: NY" -- 20%
• "CSI: Moosejaw" -- 12%

Me: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" ("Miami" is my chief guilty pleasure, but pressed to choose, I'd go with the original.)

If you've never heard of "CSI: Moosejaw," don't feel left out, since I thought I made it up, until I realized that something with a similar name was performed in Canada as a live musical spoof called "CSI: Moose Jaw: The Country Cases" (maybe it's time for me to revive my version of "Moosejaw," perhaps even here. Hmmm. Investigator Angus Hamish MacAngus may be soon ready for his closeup). It's a little disturbing that a fictional "CSI" franchise out-polled "Miami," which garners huge ratings both on CBS and around the world. One thing you can say about Cuppers -- they don't follow the crowd.

What is your favorite "Stargate" series?

• "Stargate SG-1" -- 67%
• "Stargate Atlantis" -- 30%
• The original "Stargate" movie -- 3%

Me: The original "Stargate" movie. Yeah, I know. I do. I watched "SG-1" and enjoyed it (and the cast members are some of my favorite TV folks ever, and I always loved visiting the set) but I'm kind of a Devlin/Emmerich loyalist with this one.

But from the Cupper side, it's pretty definitive. It's "SG-1" all the way. It'll be interesting to see if any possible future "Stargate" spin-offs can recapture the original magic, because at least among these voters, the first spin-off is second best.

What is your favorite "Star Trek" series?

• "Star Trek" -- 7%
• "Star Trek: The Next Generation" -- 30%
• "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" -- 30%
• "Star Trek: Voyager" -- 22%
• "Star Trek: Enterprise" -- 7%
• "Star Trek: The Animated Series" -- 4%

Me: "Star Trek" (with "DSN" running a close second).

Gee, with such low numbers for the 1960s original series, I can only guess that the poll voters fall on the younger end of the 18-49 demographic, since people often (though not always) hold closest to their heart the "Trek" they grew up with -- but I'm happy to see a little love tossed the way of the oft-overlooked. Emmy-winning Saturday-morning animated show from the mid-'70s.

What is your favorite "Law & Order" series?

• "Law & Order" -- 30%
• "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" -- 40%
• "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" -- 23%
• "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" -- 8%

Me: "Law & Order" (though I haven't really watched since Ben Bratt left.)

Again, Cuppers buck the trend, picking "SVU" over the venerable mothership, which is one of the most popular shows in reruns. But it's not too surprising, since "SVU" has both the respect of the critics and plenty of ratings love from the viewers.

What TV franchise(s) do you avoid entirely? (multiple votes OK)

• "CSI" -- 29%
• "Law & Order" -- 35%
• "Stargate" -- 19%
• "Star Trek" -- 16%

Me: Currently avoiding "Law & Order." Obviously, "'Trek" isn't in new episodes right now, but if it were, I wouldn't avoid it (and I definitely won't avoid the upcoming "Star Trek" movie from J.J. Abrams. Click here for an interview I did with Zachary Quinto of "Heroes," who plays the young Spock.)

In vote totals (and while there were good-sized differences in the totals, no franchise was an utter slam dunk and no franchise was a total washout), "Stargate" came first, followed by "Star Trek," "CSI" and "Law & Order," which almost tracks with the avoidance numbers. But since there are more "Trek" series than "Stargate" series, and the franchise has been around for 40 years in syndication and in network primetime -- making it much harder to ignore -- I'd consider those two shows to be in a statistical tie in this poll.

So what do you guys make of these results?

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend Irish tea

Just a quick reminder that "Larry the Cable Guy's Star-Studded Christmas Extravaganza" airs tonight on CMT. Below find the text of a syndicated feature story I did on the special, and here's a link to an earlier blog post I did with Larry (a k a comic and actor Dan Whitney).

The guy on the phone says he's Larry the Cable Guy, the proudly redneck, sleeveless member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, known for saying "Git-r-done."

Then he says he's Dan Whitney.

And under neither name does he have a Southern accent.

"If it's a TV interview, I do it in character," he explains. "But if it's a paper interview, I just do it as myself."

A Nebraska native who spent part of his youth in Florida, where he now lives, actor/comic Whitney created Larry for a radio call-in show.

"This character was developed over the years," he says, "because I was a little kid, and I hung out with old farmers. All I did my whole childhood was hang out at a cattle barn and load and unload cattle trucks. I'd listen to their stories and listen to how they talk, and it made me laugh.

"Then when I went to Florida, I picked up the Southern accent. ... I just combined everything together and made that character."

While Larry doesn't look much like Santa Claus, an elf or a reindeer, he's now the centerpiece of his second Christmas special, a 90-minute show called "Larry the Cable Guy's Star Studded Christmas Extravaganza," airing Friday, Nov. 21, on Country Music Television (CMT).

Taped this past summer as a live, free event at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) in Nashville, the event features Toby Keith, Terry Bradshaw, Charlie Callas, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Lewis Black and Blake Shelton in pretaped segments.

Appearing with Larry the Cable Guy in comedy sketches are co-host Tony Orlando (who was the co-host of Larry's first Christmas special, last season on VH1), Fred Willard, Joey Fatone, Ross "The Intern" Matthews, ventriloquist Terry Fator, Victoria Jackson, Jennifer Aspen, Nadine Velazquez and Angela Little MacKenzie.

Montgomery Gentry, Rodney Atkins and Emily West perform musical numbers.

According to Whitney, the special is based on the classic Christmas variety shows of the 1970s.

"I grew up on Bing Crosby's show and Andy Williams'," he says. "They don't do them anymore."

As to why he thinks the variety show has gone out of fashion, Whitney says, "I have no idea. I couldn't tell you why, because people still like them. The people making the shows don't think people still like that anymore. I know people still like it.

"I always thought those variety shows were great, but everybody that used to do them are either dead or in their 90s. So, hopefully the special still continues to do good, because I'd like to do one every year."

Today's cuppa: awesome hazelnut coffee from the gas-station convenience store

Earlier this week, I put up a story at the "From Inside the Box" blog at Zap2it about "Supernatural" guest star Misha Collins, who plays the angel Castiel.

Also offered to newspapers, the story proved pretty popular with papers as well, including here and here and here and here and here and here.

As the Zap story mentions, Collins has a big episode airing tonight on The CW, called "Heaven and Hell." But just for my loyal Cuppers, here's a bit more of our conversation, which took place over lunch at the Buffalo Club in Santa Monica, Calif.

Collins is good friends with actor Zeljko Ivanek, who played his brother in the first season of "24," and they spend time together making furniture, as mentioned in the Zap story. We also talked about shows that Collins likes to watch, which include "Damages" (which guest-starred Ivanek), "Flight of the Conchords," "Weeds" and "Dirty Jobs."

I mentioned to him that "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe gives talks about our current anti-work culture, in which some folks don't invest that much into their jobs and are instead just working for the weekend.

"I'm lucky," Collins said, "that I've never had a job where I'm waiting for the weekend. I always work really hard at what I'm doing, because it's always what I really want to do."

And this includes the work he does with his hands.

"There is really something inherently satisfying," he said, "in actually building something or actually seeing something repaired with your own hands.

"Most of the men I know these days, they don't know how to fix things, and it's really sad. I'm very glad I'm not one of them. There are plenty of things I don't know how to do, but I'm glad that when the washing machine breaks, I can fix it. That's a nice feeling."

When he's not acting or building furniture or fixing washing machines, Collins has another hobby.

"I am a founding member of the Los Angeles Map and Touring Club," he said. "We do things like tour the San Pedro landfill or the docks down in Long Beach. It's pretty awesome. I've been to a sewage treatment plant and a pickle factory.

"We hiked out to the Bridge to Nowhere in the San Gabriels. We went to the Police Academy. Did you know they have a diner there? It's such an awesome diner."

Today's cuppa: Darjeeling tea, chased with Mystic Monk Coffee, Cowboy Blend

Last week, I asked Cuppers to suggest ideas for new polls, and commenter Bethany came up with, "What's your favorite CSI?" She got me thinking, so I've decided to do a poll blitz focusing on some of TV's top franchises. Depending on your response, I may come up with further questions down the line.

So grab the cuppa of your choice, put on your lab coat or your holster or your spacesuit and let's roll:

Today's cuppa: office coffee

Bill Carter of the esteemed New York Times starts his article from Sunday on the seemingly sudden success of CBS' "NCIS" by writing: "While no one was looking, a six-year-old television series that lands on few magazine covers, enjoys almost no love from critics and never gets a sniff of a nomination for prestigious awards is suddenly the hottest show on the air."

No one? Well, there's me, the estimable Tia Cupps (my mentor in all things tea) and over 17 million other people. Actually, the viewing number recently hit 18.8 million.

That sounds like a lot of folks looking at the mystery/comedy/drama about the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which stars (from right to left) Mark Harmon, Michael Weatherly, Cote de Pablo and Sean Murray.

Missing in the photo is Pauley Perette, and since that won't do, here she is.

And of course, we can't forget David McCallum.

Carter goes on to try to figure out why "no one was looking" before (apparently, it's all about recent producer changes in the show, which explains why the show has gotten "almost no love from critics" in the past).

Whatev.

I can't speak for anyone else, but my newspaper and Zap2it readers have been interested in "NCIS" for a long time. Below find a sampling of stories and blog posts I've run on the show over the years.

There are more, but some feature stories and actor profiles (such as ones I did on McCallum and de Pablo) were for Sunday TV supplements and haven't wound up posted on the Internet.

(Tried to do a set visit last year, but the Writers Guild of America strike torpedoed it. Working on one for this year.)

'NCIS,' '24,' the New Establishment and What Happens Next... (Nov. 2008)
Writing Is Murder for McGee on 'NCIS' (April 2007)
McCallum Thinks the 'NCIS' finale Is Just Ducky (May 2006)
'NCIS' Brothers in Arms (Dec. 2005)
'NCIS' Exhibits Model Behavior (Dec. 2005)
Holly Decks the Halls on 'NCIS' (Sept. 2005)
Pauley Perrette Ponders Life's Puzzles (Aug. 2005)
'NCIS' Has Durning Hearing Echoes of War (November 2004)
'NCIS: Fun as It Looks (Sept. 2004)

Which proves what I've always thought -- the viewer knows best. FYI, I have an interview with new cast member Rocky Carroll in the can and will let you know when that's scheduled to run.

Today's cuppa: English afternoon tea

Last week, I went to a table reading for an episode of the upcoming Fox animated series "The Cleveland Show," a spin-off of Fox's hit series "Family Guy." Set to premiere in Fall 2009, it focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown (voice by series executive producer Mike Henry), who abandons Quahog, Rhode Island, to return to his Virginia hometown, where he rekindles romance with his high-school sweetheart, Donna (Sanaa Lathan).

That means creating a new blended family, with Cleveland's son, 14-year-old Cleveland Jr. (Kevin Michael Richardson, my pic to the left, with his serious face on) becoming stepbrother to Donna's 17-year-old daughter, Roberta (Nia Long), and 5-year-old son, Rallo (Mike Henry).

Henry shares executive producer credits with "Family Guy" creator and chief auteur Seth MacFarlane and Richard Appel ("American Dad," "Family Guy," "Kitchen Confidential").

The episode being read in a conference room packed with actors (including guest voice Monique Coleman, of "High School Musical" and "Dancing With the Stars" fame, who was cute as could be in a sassy short haircut) was called "Cleveland Gets Gang-Banged."

In it, Cleveland, now a part-time high-school baseball coach, decides to start a club to turn around the lives of a multicultural group of teen miscreants (one of whom bears a strange vocal resemblance to Bowzer from Sha Na Na).

Needless to say, it all goes horribly wrong, only to somehow right itself by the end.

The script included some fairly raunchy jokes (no surprise to "Family Guy" fans), some of which will likely be modified before the show goes on air -- such as one about Amy Winehouse's hair coming back home after a night on the town.

There was also one joke that, according to Henry, will never air at all.

Thrown in by series writers for their own amusement (and the general amusement of almost all in the room), it's a political reference involving a recent candidate whose surname begins with "P" and a derogatory term (usually four letters, but in this case a "y" was added) beginning with the letter "c."

I'll let you figure out the rest for yourselves.

After the reading, and before and after a great lunch, I chatted with that charming and warm Richardson (my pic to the right, with his smiling face on), whom I've been acquainted with since shortly after he did one of my favorite shows, UPN's short-lived 1996 sitcom "Homeboys in Outer Space."

It's possible that I and my mentor in all things tea, the estimable Tia Cupps, are the only two fans of this loopy sci-fi parody/comedy about hipsters tooling around the galaxy in the Space Hoopty. I could be wrong.

Richardson says he has DVDs of the show, which, as far as I know, isn't available commercially on DVD. It's lucky he didn't give me his exact home address (but he lives kinda close by, so I'm sure I could figure it out. Heh. Just kidding. Really.)

I also talked with Mike Henry (who's also worked on "American Dad" and "Robot Chicken") , who, as you can see from my picture (below right, white shirt). doesn't look a lot like Cleveland.

On the other hand, deceptively cherubic Seth MacFarlane, (left) the creator and chief auteur of "Family Guy," doesn't look much like Stewie the Baby or Brian the Dog (below)

Since this was a private table reading and not a public performance, I won't post audio, as I did with the "King of the Hill" 250th episode table-read this past July, but here are a few sample lines from the script (Warning, these are subject to change before air. Other warning: some lines are nasty and may not be suitable for younger readers.)

ROBERTA: Woo! Floor hockey got me sweating like Niecy Nash at Bikram yoga.

(That was for my fellow "Clean House" fans out there.)

CLEVELAND (to miscreant teens): I'm through watching my gosh-damn mouth with you mickey-fickeys! I know what you cork-snarkers are up to... drinkin' beer, drinkin' whiskey, peein' in the bed, pukin' in the bed, peein' on your puke, pukin' on your pee... same bullspit I used to do. Whatever you've done, I've done worse.

(He then recites a speech from "Die Hard." Nope, not gonna say which one, but I will say that the character bought Twinkies prior to delivering it. My photo to the left is Fox Plaza, the real-life location for the movie's fictional Nakatomi Building.)

CLEVELAND JR.: Are we still going to Williams-Sonoma?

CLEVELAND (again to multicultural miscreant teens): That's right. Now listen to me, all of you. Everything that I told you about  how you can be something better...how anything is possible if you believe in yourself. It was a lie! None of you is worth a good g-ddamn! (EDIT MINE) You're all thugs! Gangsters! And that's all you'll ever be, so act like it! Now, how many of y'all are packin'?

And my personal favorite...

CLEVELAND: Sir, I shall avoid you like Nicole Kidman avoids things that make her laugh.

Tonight's cuppa: Newhall Coffee, Patriot Blend

As you've probably heard, we've been having another bout of Santa Ana winds here in Southern California, which means hot air, low humidity, high winds -- and fires. And thanks for asking (if you did indeed ask), the fires don't threaten my domicile. (For articles and/or photo galleries about the various burn areas, click on Orange County, the San Fernando Valley or Santa Barbara).

(Hint, if you want to avoid fires in Southern California, don't live in, near or downwind of the general vicinity of a canyon and most especially canyons with brush and/or trees. Also avoid hills, as those are often near canyons. And when the rains come, hills -- especially hills near canyons where there were fires -- tend to get muddy and then slide, taking out everything on the top of them, on the sides of them and at the bottom of them. Unfortunately, hills and canyons comprise some of the most beautiful landscapes and views in the region. In conclusion, if you want to avoid fires and mudslides, don't live anywhere pretty. Here endeth the lesson.)

But courtesy of those same Santa Ana winds, ash from the fires in the San Fernando Valley and Orange County drifts everywhere over the region like delicate snow flurries -- I had an Adirondack winter flashback while brushing white ash off my car Saturday afternoon -- and making the air smell faintly of smoke and unhealthy to breathe.

On top of all this, it does a number on my usually pretty sunsets. So instead of this:

...or this...

...or this...

...I got this...

... and this.

But I'm grateful to be safe and sound when so many are displaced and devastated. If you have any good wishes to spare, send them for us for clouds and rain. We really need both (but not too much rain -- what with the hills and all). 'Preciate it.

Today's cuppa: chai spice black tea

Yeah, I know I said I'd be back on Monday, but how could I pass up the opportunity to share not only a pretty gross story from Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs," one of my favorite TV folks, but also give you a heads up for a neat "Nature" special tonight and once again show off the bald eagle pictures I took this past July at the Television Critics Association press tour?

Yeah, shameless self-promoter, I know, but just couldn't resist. Besides, the "American Eagle" documentary is pretty spectacular. Click here to visit the PBS homepage for the episode.

Here's my "Open Letter" column for this week:

During a session for the Nov. 16 episode of PBS' "Nature," called "American Eagle," at the July edition of the Television Critics Association Press Tour, the question came up about showing predation on television.

Filmmaker Neil Rettig, who spent a year and a half filming the raptor symbol of the United States for the episode, said, "One of the big dangers, and we all know this, that we're facing in modern times is the disconnection that young people have with the natural world. It's important that kids see this and understand the whole mechanics and the whole circle of life.

"Anybody that eats chicken or meat that's packaged in cellophane in a grocery store is letting someone else do the dirty work. And if you've ever been to an abattoir or a meat-processing plant or a chicken slaughter place, the eagles are mild."

Just recently, I had a chat with Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel show "Dirty Jobs," in which he apprentices in a dizzying variety of filthy occupations. He gave a wry chuckle when asked how he was doing.

"Slugging through another," he said. "I'm actually recovering, in a fugue state; just came back from a rendering plant."

In case you didn't know, rendering plants recycle dead animals (including euthanized pets), waste from slaughterhouses and rejects from supermarkets into products that can be called recycled meat, bone meal or animal fat.

These products are then sold to be used as protein in animal feed (including pet food).

"After three years of calling rendering plants," said Rowe, "we finally found one that let us in. Now I'm not even sure I want to talk about it."

Pressed for details, Rowe said, "I spent the morning with Lupe, driving around to various farm districts, picking up what he calls 'the deads' -- dead cows. You skin 'em, then you take the fluid out. Then you lower them into a meat grinder, and it's apocalyptic but important in terms of how the whole recycling thing goes. It's the ultimate recycling.

"And you know what, if people are stubbornly refusing to want to know where their food comes from or where it goes, I'm humbly suggesting that they're giving up the high ground to talk passionately about recycling.

"It makes sense to understand how it works, and man, oh, man, this is an eyeful. You know, it's all part of being the sadder but wiser guy.

"There's a whole lot of inconvenient truth in the whole business of getting the burger to the plate."

For the record, even after writing this, a cheeseburger, a roast chicken and turkey pot pie still look good to me. As for Rowe, well, I've personally witnessed the man eating frogs' legs, so draw your own conclusions from there.

Before I go, here's a few more of my eagle pix...

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk Coffee, Mystic Monk Blend

• Tea (made from tiny little tea leaves -- black, green or white): 52 percent
• Coffee: 33 percent
• Tea (made from grass, twigs or other non-tea plant material): 5 percent
• I do not partake of the brewed beverage: 5 percent
• Does a hot toddy count? (also the category for hot chocolate and hot cider): 5 percent

Evidently, tea wins big, but coffee comes in a strong second. This more or less reflects my ratio of tea drinking to coffee drinking, so I'm gratified to be a fair representative of Cuppers as a whole.

As for the non-tea-tea drinkers, the non-brewed-beverage drinkers and the toddy/cocoa/cider folks, thanks for stopping by even though you don't see your cuppas represented (I did do hot chocolate once, though). I appreciate your ability to transcend our beveragal differences.

Any suggestions for the next Hot Cuppa Poll of the Week? I'm contemplating the Marvel vs. DC comic-book debate, favorite TV network, cable vs. broadcast, comedy vs. drama, favorite reality show, serious drama vs. escapist entertainment, etc. (BTW, I enjoy elements of all of the above, as I'm sure many of you do, but we do have our preferences and favorites).

Do any of these tickle your fancy? Other ideas? Happy to hear from you!

Back on Monday with Hot Cuppa Pix of the Week and a preview of Fox's upcoming "The Cleveland Show."

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk Coffee, Mystic Monk Blend

Here's an edited version of a print story that came out last week that has yet to pop up in Google. If you missed the Friday, Nov. 7, premiere of "Whale Wars," here's a chance to catch up and learn about adventure and conflict on the high seas, with the fate of whalers, whales and eco-warriors at stake. Episode one repeats tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the premiere of episode two.

Animal Planet enlists in 'Whale Wars'

By Kate O'Hare

©Zap2it

Last Friday, Animal Planet premiered "Whale Wars," a seven-episode series chronicling the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's two-month mission to interfere with Japanese whaling ships operating near Antarctica.

For the society's founder, Paul Watson, the choice of Animal Planet to document his activities was a calculated one.

"With Animal Planet," he says, "it reaches a lot of people that we look on as our constituency. And (the late Australian naturalist) Steve Irwin was a big supporter of ours. Our ship's called the Steve Irwin. He was on Animal Planet.

"Teri Irwin (his widow) christened it, and we launched it last year from Melbourne, Australia. He was actually supposed to come with us to Antarctica.

"I was scheduled to meet with him about it. This was two weeks after he died, that I was supposed to meet with him."

Watson co-founded the international conservation advocacy group Greenpeace but left to start Sea Shepherd in 1977.

"We're marine wildlife conservation exclusively," Watson says. "We're not a protest organization; we're an interventionist organization. We're much more aggressive."

An Animal Planet film crew was embedded with Sea Shepherd, capturing the mission from the group's point of view alone. Sea Shepherd members have been labeled as activists, heroes and eco-pirates -- the group's vessel sails under a Jolly Roger flag -- and its goal is to cut into the profits of Japanese whaling.

To do this, Sea Shepherd's tactics include ramming and disabling whaling ships. Its Web site states, "Sea Shepherd has no problem with admitting to ramming a whaling ship involved in illegal whaling."

The press release for the show also mentions Sea Shepherd disrupting the processing of whale carcasses and boarding and dispersing whaling fleets (there is controversy over a boarding incident featured in the series).

"This is our fourth year that we've been going down there," Watson says. "So this really covers the campaign as it proceeds leaving Melbourne, through the different confrontations with the Japanese, ultimately resulting in the Japanese getting half their quota."

According to Watson, his group enforces international law as defined by United Nations World Charter for Nature, adopted in 1982,

"The problem is," he says, "international conservation law has no enforcement. We are the enforcement. We operate in accordance with the U.N. World Charter for Nature, which allows for individual and nongovernment intervention."

Watson adds, "The International Whaling Commission in 1986 passed a moratorium on all commercial whaling. So what the Japanese are doing, they are targeting endangered species in a whale sanctuary in violation of that moratorium.

"Their argument is that they are doing it for scientific research purposes. However, they've killed more whales in the last 20 years than they have killed in the last 50 years prior to that for that purpose. So it's illegal, and it is deemed so by international law."

According to documents released by the Japanese Embassy in Australia (a nation that has condemned Japanese whaling), the eating of whale meat is a long-established part of Japanese culture, and the ships are conducting research to prove the sustainability of whale harvesting.

The documents assert that certain research requires the killing of whales to obtain body parts and samples for study, and that byproducts of that research (such as whale meat) are sold at fair market value rather than being wasted.

The documents also claim that Sea Shepherd's activities have endangered lives and caused injury at sea.

According to Watson, his efforts are affecting Japanese public opinion.

"Most people weren't aware of it," he says, "but because of he dramatics of the campaign this year, it got into the Japanese media. We're doing a lot of Japanese interviews. We have a Japanese crew member; we have two more coming with us.

"Now more and more Japanese are becoming concerned about it. More and more Japanese are questioning, 'Why are we doing this? It's giving us a bad name around the world, and it has no economic gain.'

"That's why we decided that there's one language they cannot ignore, and that's to keep hammering them economically."

Watson also says he came under attack.

"This last campaign," he says, "I was actually shot by one of the Japanese. We don't know who it was, but I had a bulletproof vest that stopped the bullet. That's the only reason we have the bullet."

An Associated Press story from March 25, 2008, states that the Japanese claim to have fired stun grenades that lack shrapnel.

Watson says he has footage of one assault.

"They threw concussion grenades at us," he says. "One of the cameramen from Animal Planet was knocked flat on his back. He had followed cricket games in Australia, so he naturally followed the grenade as it came in, and it exploded right int front of his camera.

"It's good footage, but it knocked him flat on his back."

Today's cuppa: English afternoon tea

As you know, I often enjoy a hot brewed beverage while I'm watching TV for your benefit and mine. But do my loyal Cuppers do the same? (No, enjoying the hot cuppa is not a prerequisite for being a Cupper. There's room in the big mug for all.)

Please take my poll! There are no prizes except for the satisfaction of a job well done and a cuppa well sipped.

Thanks for participating. Now get back to work.

UPDATE: As of 4:49 p.m. PST, coffee and tea are in a dead heat, with 47 percent of the vote each. As of this moment, I officially designate the "Does a hot toddy count?" category as the official hot chocolate and hot cider category. Apologies to all chocolate, cider and cinnamon lovers out there for the earlier oversight.

Vote late, vote often! Final results tomorrow.

Today's cuppa: chai spice black tea

Here's this week's edition of my print column "We'd Like to See," which addresses TV resurrection:

Despite having died of brain cancer in 2002, Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) returns to NBC's "ER" on Thursday, Nov. 13, one of the events planned for the long-running medical drama's final season.

This proves what I've always said: Death is no impediment to future guest appearances.

There are many departed characters -- dead and and otherwise -- whom I'd like to see come back, but I don't see why they have to come back on their original shows. Wouldn't it be more fun to mix and match?

Let's imagine...

Omar Little on "Ghost Whisperer": The scarred stickup man from HBO's "The Wire" was the scourge of drug dealers in West Baltimore. In the end, he fell victim to a boy with a gun in a convenience store. No doubt Omar had a few unresolved issues, because he died so unexpectedly. Medium Melinda Gordon has dealt with some pretty rough characters from the Other Side. Let's hope she can help Omar release his anger, remember that he's the sort of man who didn't want to kill people on a Sunday, and find his way to his ultimate reward.

Dave Starsky on "Knight Rider": Sure, we could bring back David Hasselhoff's Michael Knight, but that's too easy. Besides, the car at the heart of this new version of the show is a souped-up Ford Mustang, and the brunet half of "Starsky and Hutch" drove a tomato-red Ford Gran Torin, so he might have a few handling tips to pass on to KITT's new driver. And he wouldn't talk any back talk from KITT either.

Colleen McMurphy on "House": It's amazing how Dr. House functions pretty much nurse-free, except for yelling at them, that is. He gets his team of doctors to do much of the work that nurses usually do (the shoe's most unrealistic aspect). So let's send the tough Irish-American nurse from "China Beach" to give House a taste of reality. If the North Vietnamese didn't cause her to back down, a cross word from House will bounce right off. And if he tries to use the cane -- well, let's put it this way: This woman had small-arms training.

Cigarette Smoking Man on "Fringe": I'm sorry, even if she has a Rob-hand, executive Nina Sharp of the mega-corporation Massive Dynamic just isn't scary. She has nice hair and dresses well -- she probably has those little wrapped guest soaps in her private washroom. If you want real menace, you've got to go back to the original bogeyman from "The X-Files," that tall, haunted fellow with the deceptively calm voice and the hangdog face continually wreathed in cigarette smoke. In the first episode, he didn't even have to talk. Now, that's scary.

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk Coffee Cowboy Blend

Reality-TV star and KISS frontman Gene Simmons ("Gene Simmons Family Jewels," "Celebrity Apprentice") throws down for all branches of the armed forces. Click here for the video

Today's cuppa: Darjeeling tea

This week, I have out a print profile of "Heroes" star Cristine Rose. It's a column that's not often posted on the Internet, so I thought I'd share.

Cristine Rose Is Mother of 'Heroes'

When fans meet actress Cristine Rose, who plays the Machiavellian Angela Petrelli on NBC's Monday series "Heroes," she says they sometimes don't get what they expect.

"What I've gotten is that people seem surprised that I seem so nice and cheerful, as opposed to this rather brooding, evil, manipulative woman. My friend that I've known for decades said, 'I've just never met her, Angela. Who have we been entertaining all these years?'"

As to whether this friend or others takes a step back after seeing Rose indulge her darker impulses as Angela, Rose quips, "No, but they handed me money and asked me to stay away. 'Please don't darken our doorway again.' 'But Christmas...' 'No, please, just stay away.'"

In the superhero drama, Angela has three sons: politician Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), who can fly; former nurse Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), who can do all sorts of things, some of them quite dangerous; and adopted-out Gabriel, a k a Sylar (Zachary Quinto), who can also do dangerous things, including sucking powers out of superheroes' brains.

"They're just heartache, heartache," Rose says of Angela's boys. "They've really missed the mark as far as a mother's dreams. Obviously, she's not shy about trying to do away with them as necessary -- one bullet to the head."

This season, Rose also gets to go toe-to-toe with veteran actor Robert Forster, who plays Angela's long-missing husband, Arthur.

"I've played murderers, wacky next-door neighbors and mothers a lot," Rose says, "and so to be able to play regular, major scenes opposite people my age has been a lot of fun."

We also ask stars about their favorite things. Here are Rose's answers:

• Film: "My favorite film and book of all time remain, after decades, 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Harper Lee's story is perfect in its depiction of evil versus good, hope, the triumph of love and the promise of change. My favorite film documentaries include 'Seven Up!,' 'When We Were Kings,' 'Harlan County, U.S.A.,' 'Hoop Dreams,' 'Grey Gardens' and 'The Thin Blue Line.'"
• Books: "I am drawn to books documenting true-life struggles for survival and justice. A few that remain seared on my brain are Elie Wiesel's 'Night,' Art Spiegelman's 'Maus: A Survivor's Tale' and James Neff's "The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Sam Sheppard Murder Case.' I love stories that chronicle the achievement of, or, at the very least, the demand for justice."
• Music: "As for music, I love much, but I'm a sucker for balladry and classic rock. Examples: James Taylor, 'New Moon Shine'; Neil Young, 'After the Gold Rush'; Marc Cohn, 'Marc Cohn'; Bonnie Raitt, 'Nick of Time'; Paul Simon, 'Graceland'; The Band, 'The Band'; Steve Winwood, 'Back in the High Life'; Bruce Springsteen, 'Human Touch'; Tim Buckley, 'Goodbye and Hello.' Does this list date me, or what?"

Today's cuppa: tea at two different coffee shops (I'm working on balancing my opposites)

For the second Saturday night in a row, cloud cover (but not rain this time) helped set the sunset sky ablaze. After last week's raucous pinks, blues and lavenders, this night was all about the orange and the purple.

The color deepens, from this...

...to this...

,,,and in the middle, there was a little bit of this (not the same palm tree, BTW, we've switched from the western sky to the southern sky)...

And up above, just a wisp of this...

Happy Monday, Cuppers. I'll be back in a bit with a hot cuppa TV goodness.

Today's cuppa: Mystic Monk coffee, medium roast

When interviewing celebrities, I and my fellow Tribune Media Services features writers often ask them what's on their DVRs. This has led to some interesting observations, including:

• Many celebs say they don't have DVRs.
• A few say they don't have televisions (mostly, I don't believe them).
• More say they have televisions but don't watch anything except news, sports, The History Channel, Discovery Channel, HBO, "Mad Men," "Battlestar Galactica," "Top Chef," "Top Design" and "Project Runway." (Dan Whitney, a k a Larry the Cable Guy, loves the C-SPAN.)
  
• Among those that do admit to watching primetime network TV, I recall that "The Office" and "30 Rock" come up a lot.
• A tiny minority love the TV and watch lots of primetime TV. Tiny. Minority.

Honestly, I can't blame them. For an actor, watching TV must be like a busman's holiday -- or torture watching other people play roles you tried out for and didn't get, or never got called for in the first place (which goes a long way to explaining why they like non-fiction TV).

But I am an entertainment journalist, and I get paid to watch the TV, so I do.

In the interests of full disclosure, here are the current series recordings on my DVR (In my defense, some of these shows aren't currently airing and some get recorded then whacked because I don't have time or aren't all that interested. Also, I watch almost nothing live, except news, and sometimes I DVR news shows, too, so I can skip the annoying bits):

1. "CSI: Miami"
2. "Bones"
3. "Friday Night Lights" (currently only on DirecTV; series returns to NBC in early 2009)
4. "House"
5. "Boston Legal"
6. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
7. "Numb3rs"
8. "Prison Break"
9. "NCIS"
10. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
11. "24" (two-hour movie, "24: Redemption" on Nov. 23; series returns Jan. 11 & 12))
12. "Criminal Minds"
13. "Heroes"
14. "Ice Road Truckers"
15. "Ghost Hunters"
16. "Dirty Sexy Money"
17. "Supernatural"
18. "Pushing Daisies"
19. "Chuck"
20. "Kitchen Nightmares"
21. "Doctor Who"
22. "Dirty Jobs"
23. "Ghost Hunters International"
24. "Top Gear"
25. "Lost" (series returns Jan. 21)
26. "Reaper" (series returns in early 2009)
27. "Dancing With the Stars" (and the results show)
28. "Eli Stone"
29. "Ax Men"
30. "RedEye w/Greg Gutfeld"
31. "Battlestar Galactica" (the final run of episodes starts Jan. 16, 2009, on Sci Fi Channel)
32. "Deadliest Catch" (and "After the Catch")
33. "Flipping Out"
34. "Burn Notice"
35. "Eureka"
36. "Sons of Anarchy"
37. "Fringe"
38. "Survivor: Gabon"
39. "Life on Mars" (the ABC one)
40. "Life"
41. "Dogs 101"
42. "Huckabee"
43. "Iditarod: Toughest Race on Earth"
44. "Eleventh Hour"
45. "Knight Rider"
46. "Don't Sweat It"
47. "My Own Worst Enemy"
48. "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew"
49. "Crusoe"
50. "Sanctuary"

Yeah, I know. Shut up. What's on yours? (And if you're wondering where "The Shield" is -- I've seen the whole last season now, either on DVD or at a screening, so I pulled it off the list.)

This afternoon's cuppa: English afternoon tea (nice to be literal once in a while)

On the Sci Fi Channel series "Sanctuary," airing Fridays since Oct. 3, CGI effects are used to create virtual sets and worlds that surround the actors, who work almost entirely in front of green-screen backdrops.

But just because a world isn't real doesn't mean you don't need a guide if you choose to visit it.

"It's a treat for me," says actor Robin Dunne, "because I'm entering into this world like the audience is. The audience is looking at this new world through my eyes.

"I feel like we're experiencing things together. We can be in each other's heads, myself and the audience -- not literally."

Launched as a series of webisodes filmed in January 2007, then later picked up as a TV series, "Sanctuary" stars Amanda Tapping ("Stargate SG-1," "Stargate Atlantis") -- who is also an executive producer and one of the guiding forces behind the project -- as Dr. Helen Magnus, a 157-year-old English expert in xenobiology and cryptozoology that runs a "Sanctuary for All" that helps strange creatures living secretly in our world.

At her side is forensic psychiatrist Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne). In the history of science fiction and fantasy TV shows, there have been all sorts of scientists -- even a few xenobiologists and cryptozoologists -- but not that many forensic psychiatrists. They're usually found on crime dramas, trying to figure out serial killers and terrorists.

"Here's the thing with that approach," Dunne says, "my character is trained to look at these creatures not as freaks, that there's nothing wrong with these beings. There's a reason everybody acts like they do, and that's true in life.

"It's also true that we have all felt out of place or judged or like we didn't belong. We have all felt that way. The theme coming through in the show is something that people will be able to relate to, and at the same time they're going on this amazing roller-coaster ride in this fantastical world that we've made."

But when you're dealing with these fantastical creatures, what baseline can be used to determine what is psychologically normal?

"You don't (have a baseline)," Dunne says. "But you're taking behavior and trying to decipher what causes this behavior. We're taking the approach that no being, no person, no one is intrinsically bad. They act a certain way because of certain circumstances."

(Note: Boy, I hope he never meets a Borg Queen, or a Sith Lord. Don't think the shark from "Jaws" would be too up for a nice confab on the couch, either. But I digress.)

"What Will is trying to do," Dunne continues, "is get to the root of why a certain abnormal is coming through our doors, how we can help them out."

When he's not acting, Dunne is also a writer. In 2005, he co-wrote, with James Kee, two films for Nickelodeon -- "Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost" and "Roxy Hunter and the Secret of the Shaman."

The success of these films led to Dunne co-writing two more with Kee, "Roxy Hunter and the Myth of the Mermaid" and "Roxy Hunter and the Horrific Halloween."

Dunne and Kee also co-authored "The Roxy Hunter Files" novels for Penguin Books.

Will this lead to him writing an episode of "Sanctuary"?

"Possibly," Dunne says, "very possibly. I want to make sure that I complete this acting job. This is a really daunting task, and I want to concentrate on that. And yeah, if the future holds that, I'd definitely be open to that."

As to whether there might be a little spark between Will and Helen, Dunne says, "Yeah, a little. There's definitely a little bit of a ... the ingredients are there."

Today's cuppa: Darjeeling tea

After scoring big TV ratings with her political speeches and appearance on "Saturday Night Live" -- which had previously prospered with "30 Rock" star Tina Fey's impersonation of her -- GOP vice-presidential contender Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has her say, post-election, this Monday night on Fox News' "On the Record," airing at 10 p.m. ET (live in all time zones).

Anchor Greta Van Susteren will tape the interview -- to which the whole hour of the show is devoted -- in Palin's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. Topics expected to be discussed include the campaign, the election results, recent comments about Palin by staffers for GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, and any future national role Palin may play in the Republican Party.

According to the Associated Press, Palin's staff is fielding a number of interview requests, including from Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey (who had specifically avoided talking to Palin during the campaign) and Larry King.

At present, she has only granted an interview to Van Susteren, who previously traveled to Alaska to report on Gov. Palin during the campaign.

Today's cuppa: English afternoon tea

Now that the Election to End All Elections has finally ended -- just in time to start planning for the next election -- the superstars of the mainstream news media face an odd challenge: can they really keep thinking they're cleverer and more discriminating than the electorate when the electorate has elected the media's candidate?

These correspondents, pundits and pundit/correspondents are now in the strange position of not being able to just blame the voters if things don't turn out as well as hoped.

And indeed, in the real world, how many things ever turn out as well as hoped? (My last attempt at making a frittata sure didn't. Don't ask. The eggs and especially the poor, innocent asparagus didn't do anything to deserve that.)

Imagine what would happen to America's TV critics if the Top 20 TV shows suddenly matched their critical Top 20 lists. It would be nothing short of TV-critic Armageddon and spell the end of "The Best TV Shows You Aren't Watching" (you silly, uninformed viewers) cover stories.

TV critics would have a hard time maintaining their cool-kid cred if everyone from Bangor to Bakersfield just loved "Mad Men." Perhaps they'd suddenly see the artistic value in the highly rated "NCIS." I know, crazy talk!

(In the interests of full disclosure, given a choice between a three-episode marathon of "Mad Men" and 24 straight hours of "NCIS," I'd go for the full-on Jethro every time. On the other hand, if it's 24 of "NCIS" or 24 of "24," I just might face a true moral crisis. On the other, other hand, just imagine Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Jack Bauer joining forces to battle terrorism. We'd be so safe, it almost wouldn't matter who's in the White House.)

So for the first time since the Clinton administration, the entertainment industry, the MSM and the Electoral College are in sync.

These folks now form the new Establishment. They are, in every sense of the word, "The Man."

That being said, who comprises the new anti-Establishment forces?

Who are the new rebels against the Empire?

Stay tuned.

Today's cuppa: Barry's Irish breakfast tea

How's the undercarriage of your car coping with the roads in your town, city or rural area?

How safe was that bridge you drove over the other day? Ever take a look under it? You may not want to -- just ask the American Society of Civil Engineers.

While we're at it, you may not want to look too closely at the pipes that bring your water and take away your waste products (or at the place to which the waste products go), And it might be a little disturbing to make a close examination of your local dam or levee (just ask the good folks of Sacramento, Calif. -- and they don't even get hurricanes).

Of course, it could take millions, billions or even trillions of dollars to repair and upgrade America's aging infrastructure, but there is a bright side to this. Many of those dollars would go to pay salaries for people needed to do the actual work...and these are not exactly jobs that can be done in a foreign country.

You kinda have to do the work on site.

"The only silver lining in this three-trillion-dollar problem of a crumbling infrastructure," says Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel's hit series "Dirty Jobs," "is that it has to be fixed here. There may be, who knows, some opportunity to create a program where skilled trades can actually be applied on a project that can't be outsourced. That would be a revelation.

"I'm up to my neck now in that very message. It's good. After 200 (episodes of 'Dirty Jobs'), it's nice to be able to talk about something other than exploding toilets or some misadventure in animal husbandry."

As the host of "Dirty Jobs" -- click here for a story on the Election Night marathon and special episode on "Dirty Presidents" airing tonight -- and the man who suggested the original idea, Rowe plays apprentice for a day or so on just about every nasty, icky, dusty, slimy and grimy occupation out there, from leech trapper to rubbing tar on ship's rigging (and that's just tonight's episodes).

For most of his life, Rowe avoided hard physical work. Now he jokes that he's doing penance for all those years.

"Look," he says, "if I live till I'm 90, I'll never pay that frickin' debt. My God, I ran up a huge bill on the morality chart, so, yeah, I'm on the easy-pay plan."

Perhaps hoping to knock down that debt a bit faster, Rowe has launched a new project and Web site called mikeroweWORKS. Its goal is to help connect those who want a job in the skilled trades (which are on the decline) with ways they can get such jobs, in hopes of not only restoring our infrastructure but also restoring respect and appreciation to traditional blue-collar occupations.

If you visit the site, Rowe has prepared a couple of videos that explain the concept and track the progress so far.

"Right now," Rowe says, "we're focusing on trying to get a state-by-state resource built for existing nonprofit organizations, associations, apprenticeships, scholarships and so forth.

"They're currently on the books, so hopefully, before too long, somebody will be able to get a top-down look at available resources, or at least look at something besides college as the slam-dunk road to quasi-success."

Coincidentally, at roughly the same time that the MBAs on Wall Street were facing the prospect of imminent collapse, a man in Ohio named Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher attained unexpected celebrity as "Joe the Plumber," when he was taped asking a question of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

As happens in every political campaign, the focus was sharpened on the situation and aspirations of America's working class, in particular skilled tradespeople like Wurzelbacher, who worked as an assistant to a plumbing contractor.

On the one hand, these folks aren't standing astride the financial world. On the other hand, there'll always be a need for someone to stand astride your broken toilet.

"Look," Rowe says, "when the MBAs and the venture-capital guys are walking around scratching their heads, wondering what the hell hit them, hyperbole aside, a guy like Joe the Plumber can wake up and say, 'Hey, I can still fix your toilet and make your poo go away. I still have the skill,' as do the welders and the pipe-fitters.

"All of a sudden, those Wall Street guys are not looking so, 'Gee whiz, this is all you get (for a job). Good luck with that.' The workers are starting to look a little smarter, and that's cool."

Rowe is linking the ideas of bringing people back to the skilled trades and repairing our infrastructure with another nagging problem -- the abnormally high unemployment (and even underemployment) rate among returning Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans.

It's something Time wrote about last year, and it's something Rowe heard about this year from some retired generals.

"Talk about a gut check," Rowe says. "It's because there is no on-ramp from military service into the private sector.There is no assimilation process.

"The military's screwing up on their end with the exit, and the private sector's screwing up, because they don't know how to deal with a lot of really talented kids who are coming back, who just don't know how to interview, who just aren't equipped for this kind of immediate, assimilated proposition.

"So it's bad. It's really bad. (The generals said to me), 'Look, you're suggesting there might be an opportunity to connect the dots between a declining trade-school annual enrollment and this colossal infrastructure problem. And you're suggesting that the root cause of this is our dysfunctional relationship with work?'

"And I say, 'Yeah.'... Basically the pitch is, 'Look, your service is up, but the battle's not over. There's a new front, and it's the infrastructure. It's back home, and it's a frickin' mess.'"

Today's cuppa: Newhall Coffee Patriot Blend, of course!

Click here to see my Zap2it interview with WWE impresario Vince McMahon about the 800th episode of "WWE Monday Night RAW," airing tonight on USA Network, and on the 6th annual "Tribute to the Troops" special, which documents the wrestlers'  yearly trip to Iraq, set to air near Christmas on NBC.

In the article, McMahon says the constant traveling show that is WWE is second only to the circus. But, an ad for presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has asked his supporters to take off Election Day -- Tues., Nov. 4 -- from work or school in order to boost his campaign.

Asked if he plans to have WWE stand down on Election Day, McMahon says, "No, we don't stand down for Sen. Obama or anybody else. We go for it, so it really doesn't matter what's going on in the rest of the world. We need to entertain people, and that's what we do.

"Hopefully someone will sit down, watch us, be engrossed in what we do and forget about politics and everything else."

And McMahon isn't bothered if some entertainment industry and media folks in Manhattan or Hollywood don't quite get the WWE and pro wrestling in general.

"Sometimes people in the business live in the Hollywood and New York bubble," he says, "but there's a whole other world out there, and that's where we like to think we are.

"Not that we don't appeal to New York and L.A. as well, but we really are Americana and understand Americans and what they want, which is one reason we've been on the air for so many years and continue to be.

"We have our fingers on the pulse of the marketplace of what America wants. It may not get many awards, and the snobs may not enjoy what we do, but that's OK."

McMahon is also eager to head to Iraq in early December and have some fun with the armed forces.

"We will be going over to as many of the forward operating bases as we possibly can," he says. "Jump on a Blackhawk early in the morning, come back at night, get some chow, get up in the morning and do it all over again."

Today's cuppa: tea with all the trimmings

My love for the brewed beverage does extend beyond this blog. As I am bi-beveragal, enjoying both coffee and tea, I am known to frequent coffeehouses and, on occasion, go out for a full-blown afternoon tea -- pinkies up and all.

Last week, I headed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library in Simi Valley, Calif., for a "First Lady's Tea and Tour," honoring Nancy Reagan and marking a temporary exhibit of her informal and formal outfits from her White House years.

Here's a few shots of lovely table settings and delicacies -- which received the seal of approval from my mentor in all things tea, the estimable Tia Cupps (previously interviewed here). Click on images for a larger version.

The Library also includes the Air Force One that Reagan used during his presidency. Here are some shots of that from an earlier visit.

And just for fun, here's Saturday's sunset in Los Angeles, made spectacular by the very welcome arrival, after weeks of hot Santa Ana winds and fires, of clouds and rain.