July 2009 Archives

Tonight's cuppa: coffee at home, at last

Where've I been? Well, if you followed me on Twitter, you'd know I've been at the biannual Television Critics Association Press Tour, at the beautiful -- and it really is -- Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif. I was in residence for the week, representing my company at the cable-TV portion of tour.

Today's cuppa: Scottish breakfast tea

Tonight's cuppa: decaf Irish breakfast tea

Click here for my latest eGuiders video find, a look back into the pitchman past of "Dirty Jobs" star Mike Rowe, who might have made some cats very happy (no, not THAT way. I can't help it if you guys have potty minds).

Today's cuppa: cappuccino from the Tassimo (while I was on the air!)

Click here for today's appearance on Shaun Daily's TV Talk on blogtalkradio.com. We heap the love on William Sanderson of "True Blood," talk about how Mark Burnett does business, get all Twitter-pated about the Television Critics Association Press Tour and dish about the behind-the-scenes reality of reality TV.

Today's cuppa: Scottish breakfast tea

There may have been no law at all in "Deadwood," but the Louisiana town of Bon Temps has a sheriff on duty, and the man behind him is a very familiar face to HBO viewers.

Below find one of my syndicated feature stories available this week..

William Sanderson lays down the law in 'True Blood'

By Kate O'Hare

©Zap2it

William Sanderson is working on his second critically acclaimed HBO series in a row, having gone from David Milch's "Deadwood" to Alan Ball's "True Blood" -- but the veteran performer hasn't let that go to his head.

"I'm a journeyman actor," he says, "lot more humble than when I talked to you before (about 'Deadwood'). I don't do all the episodes of 'True Blood.'

"I haven't seen all the scripts, so I can't say if I live or die, but I certainly am more humble. I think it's providential, to get this job at my age."

For three seasons on "Deadwood," set in a late 19th-century mining town in South Dakota, the Tennessee native played the endlessly scheming hotel owner E.B. Farnum, a man fond of his lace cuffs but somewhat lax in his overall personal hygiene.

In "True Blood," airing its second season Sundays on HBO, set in the fictional modern-day town of Bon Temps, La., Sanderson plays Sheriff Bud Dearborne.

Unlike Farnum, Dearborne has a more presentable appearance.

"I get to shave," Sanderson says. "And he's a normal person so far."

Dearborne may be normal, but along with the usual civic disturbances of a small town, he must also cope with the added complication of vampires who have recently come out of the coffin after Japanese synthetic blood freed them from having to kill (mostly, anyway).

Based on author Charlaine Harris' "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" novels, "True Blood" also stars Anna Paquin as telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is in love with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) but has also attracted the attention of vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard).

Sookie's best friend is bartender Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), whose cousin is Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), the short-order cook.

"They all have tremendous energy," Sanderson says, "and I'm a graybeard trying to survive, keep up with them. How do I keep up with them? Rabbits' feet, four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, prayer?

"I pray a lot, asking God to help me."

Viewers have yet to see Dearborne's best friend, but they have met one of his subordinates, Detective Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer, seen below, in the center, between Sanderson and Stephen Moyer). HBO viewers already know Bauer, who guest starred in season two of the cablenet's crime drama "The Wire."

"Chris is a great actor," Sanderson says, "Yale Drama School. I can't say enough great things about him. He's going to have a great season.

"He's very bright, and his interpersonal skills, forget it. He's smooth as silk, everything I'm not. It's intimidating, but I used to be a celebrity. That's the way I introduced myself.

"I'm busy trying to claw my way to the middle here."

Sanderson isn't the only "Deadwood" alumnus who's found a new home with the younger generation. Jim Beaver, who played miner Ellsworth, has had a recurring role as a demon hunter alongside Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on The CW's "Supernatural," along with playing the father of young Irish actress Elaine Cassidy on CBS' "Harper's Island."

"Jim doesn't have gargoyles of uncertainty coming off his shoulders," Sanderson says. "But we're happy here. I say the same thing I said on David's show: If there's a happier actor on the show, I want to meet him.

"But they're not going to name any streets after me, and I'm not introducing anybody at the Academy Awards, but we're paying our bills."

Sanderson also did a little broadcast television this year, playing "interrogation expert" Oldham in the 10th episode of "Lost."

"Three years ago," he says, "they talked about a recurring role, continuing, and they had the dates. Didn't work out.

"But at least more people ask me about that than anything, so I have some fun, but there's never enough, never enough.

"I could have said all of this in five minutes; what will I do after 'True Blood' "?

As to what the most fun is in working on the show, Sanderson says, "I would say, when I get to talk to Alan Ball, that's fun. He gives you tips. You try to see yourself as something besides a derelict, which I've played a lot.

"But the most fun -- the paycheck. I hate to be obvious. It makes up for ... you might can tell; I have no confidence in my work, but some other people do, thank God.

"In acting, I beat myself up, because you can always do better, and it just drains you. It drains you. I just try to keep up.

"The most fun's when I have a scene with Anna or Chris Bauer, because they make you better.

"Like Ian McShane on 'Deadwood,' that's where the most fun is, because he's a great actor, and you only had to react to him. The fun is always between 'action' and 'cut,' as Susan Sarandon said.

"Somehow I've been able to survive, always thinking it'll be the last job."

Today's cuppa: iced tea with mint (from my balcony)

Before he became the producer of such successful reality-TV franchises as "Eco-Challenge," "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," Mark Burnett was a young Brit with no college education but combat experience as a member of the British Army Parachute Regiment.

He landed in Los Angeles in 1982 and took the only job he could find -- as a nanny. He also launched a small business selling T-shirts on Venice Beach. After becoming an American citizen in 1990, he went on to create the "Eco-Challenge" adventure race and produce it for television.

Then, in 1996, he bought the U.S. rights to "Expedition Robinson," a Swedish reality show, and developed the concept into what became "Survivor" on CBS.

The rest is history. (And if you'd like to learn more, click here and here for his books on what he's done and how he did it).

While not everything he's done has become a hit -- "The Restaurant" and "The Casino" leap to mind -- Burnett has forged forward, placing shows on a variety of networks and cable channels and racking up Emmy nominations and awards. Now he's finally landed a show on ABC, called "Shark Tank."

It's an American version of a Japanese franchise called "Dragon's Den" -- the U.K. version can be seen here on BBC America -- in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas in front of a panel of potential investors (the U.S. ones are pictured below) asking tough questions before putting up their own money.

"Shark Tank" premieres Sunday, Aug. 9, and I'll have a feature story coming out at that time. In the meantime, here's some comments on Burnett on why he's such a big fan of his adopted country and the American Dream.

"There are 300 million people here," Burnett says. "It is a country built on small businesses, and there'll be so many more deals (on 'Shark Tank'). (Small businesses) are the best lot of America.

"Look at where I started. I was selling T-shirts on the beach. I started with a small business, and I learned who I was and learned the values of America and the American Dream. Those skills, selling on the streets, selling T-shirts on Venice Beach and at swap meets -- which I did for years -- paid off for me.

"So I've got a lot of compassion and understanding for these entrepreneurs."

Asked if he thinks shows like "The Apprentice" and "Shark Tank" will remind folks that, despite the economic downturn and political upheaval, the American Dream is still alive.

"Yes," Burnett says. "I think 'Apprentice' and 'Shark Tank' are both shows that will remind Americans by the millions of what the country stands for. I love this country, and I found out who I am here, because of scrimping and saving and trying to sell T-shirts.

"It is what America stands for: the right to own a business, however small; the right to take risks and not be ridiculed; the right to try to buy your own home.

"These small businesses wind up paying more taxes, supporting the entire place and employing people."

Burnett is a long-time California resident, and when asked what advice he'd give to state legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on how to deal with the state's current budget woes, Burnett says, "You know, I don't know enough detail on the issues to speak to it. I've been so busy this summer making show; I haven't really looked into it.

"It seems to me that you can't have programs that are unaffordable. It's the equivalent of having a house and a family and trying to do things that are just not affordable, that you haven't got the money for.

"So, the more you want to do things, certain things have got to be cut. It's just a fact."

He's also in favor of lowering tax rates.

"I do think that lower taxes stimulate the economy," Burnett says. "On the other hand, it's going to be what it's going to be, and hopefully it won't be taxes higher like other socialist countries, which end up being almost un-American, to the point where they don't stimulate small businesses to get going.

"These people need tax breaks to get business going, to employ people. That's what America's always done."

When he has time, Burnett tries to share what he's learned.

"With limited time on my hands, I do give some speeches," he says. "I literally started with nothing and had lots of small businesses and struggled and have learned. So, I want to pass that on."

Today's cuppa: Scottish breakfast tea

Each week, as part of our syndicated feature package, we do a column devoted to music on television. I suggested talking to someone whose day job is very far removed from music, but whose private life is full of melody and rhythm...

Lauren Green finds freedom on 'Huckabee'

By Kate O'Hare

©Zap2it

Usually when Fox News Channel viewers see Lauren Green, she's either talking about news -- which she used to do daily as news anchor for the morning show "Fox & Friends" -- or she's talking about faith as FNC's religion correspondent.

But there's another side to the former Miss Minnesota -- she's a concert pianist with a degree in piano performance from the University of Minnesota. And she released a CD, "Classic Beauty," in 2004.

While Green says that dealing with the neurological disorder dystonia keeps her from performing up to classical concert standards these days, she still keeps the keyboard fingers warm as part of the Little Rockers, the house band on Fox News' weekend talk show "Huckabee," starring former Arkansas governor, GOP presidential candidate and bass player Mike Huckabee.

"This is a real experience for me," Green says. "When they asked me to do this, I said, 'You do understand that I'm a classical pianist. I don't play country, pop, that kind of stuff.' They're like, 'Oh, yeah, it'll be fine.'

"So the first rehearsal was so interesting. I'd gotten the music, and I was practicing, and I realized the drums and the bass and the guitar take over most of the melody, and the keyboards are really there to fill it out.

"So I don't have to worry about doing all of that, which is what I was doing before, trying to play the whole piece. What I've learned is now I'm basically filling in and adding texture, color -- musicwise."

After spending her musical career in the rarefied air of classical piano, Green has cut loose playing with Huckabee's pop and country guests and with the band, which is chiefly made up of behind-the-scenes FNC staffers.

"What I've learned," Green says, "in playing with the governor is the freedom of the music. I was always so tied to the written music, the notated music.

"Working with pop musicians without very much training, formally, there's a lot of freedom involved in music that is so wonderful to be a part of."

As for singing, Green says, "Not on the show. A couple of times, somebody has asked me to do a couple background things. I think I did OK in rehearsal, then when the show was on the air, I really just forgot everything, and I just didn't sing at all."

Asked when her fellow Minnesota native, pop star Prince, was going to be on "Huckabee" and play with the Little Rockers, Green says, "I know! He should. I haven't really kept in contact with Prince -- not that I was ever really in contact with Prince -- but whenever I'm in contact with him, I'll say, 'Hey, want to be on "Huckabee?" ' That'll be my opening line."

Because of her classical focus, Green isn't familiar with many of the guest musicians who've sat in with the band -- except one.

"Well," she says, "Rick Springfield  -- he was like a heartthrob for me years ago.

"But I didn't play with him. I think he played with Mike himself, a solo thing. But I was there  when they recorded it, so it was nice to be around."

She also became a new fan of one country star.

"Oh, Aaron Tippin," she says, "I love Aaron Tippin. We played with him twice. He was just wonderful. I really like him, and I didn't know who he was before."

As a religion reporter, she also got to have an interesting behind-the-scenes talk with Rick Stanley, the stepbrother of Elvis Presley.

"We had discussions about Elvis," she says, "and his spirituality and what he believed. He was a tormented sinner. I thought that was really powerful."

In addition to her FNC duties, Green is busy writing a book called "A Living Reality," exploring the universal implications of the First Commandment, and being host of the one-hour "God Talk," a segment of the Fox News online show "The Strategy Room," presented Fridays.

But when it's suggested the Little Rockers should release a CD, Green says, "Oh, you'll have to talk to Mike about that. We kid a lot that we should be on tour."

Click here for my usual Thursday appearance on Shaun Daily's TV Talk show on blogtalkradio.com.

Fortunately, the TV Guide writer ahead of me ran through the Emmy nominations, so Shaun and I could talk about my recent set visits, interviews and blog posts.

And, as always, we answer listener questions (finishing off with one about the future of Alaska's soon-to-be ex-governor).

I come in at about the half-hour mark.

Click here for my latest eGuiders video pick, which illustrates what can result from an unholy alliance between "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and the original "Star Trek."

Today's cuppa: espresso

Yesterday, I talked to "Pitchmen" creator Thom Beers of Original Productions, and this Zap2it story was the result.

The upshot is, the Discovery Channel show will go on after the death of Billy Mays (in blue), with Anthony "Sully" Sullivan (in green), Billy Mays III (who's been under Sully's wing, learning the producing and directing side of the infomercial business) and some new faces. But there's one thing that can never be replicated or replaced.

"What's interesting with our Billy Mays, that we just lost," Beers says, "there's something about the absolute pitch of his voice. You sit in a room and literally kids, children, babies, pets, would all perk up and they'd turn to the television.

"Dogs, cats, everybody, didn't matter -- something about the pitch and tone of his voice, literally they turn their heads to that screen. It was the yelling or the frequency. You don't replace that."

As always, Beers -- whose current TV shows include "Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers" and "Ax Men" -- has plenty of other TV ideas simmering on the stove. The latest to come to the table is "The Colony," premiering Tuesday, July 21, on Discovery.

The reality series takes several people from different backgrounds and with different skill sets and sequesters them inside an abandoned light-industrial area to fend for themselves, as if they were among the few survivors of some sort of devastating plague.

(Click on map for a larger version.)

They have to figure out how to get food, water, electricity, etc., while also protecting themselves from roaming bands of vandals (supplied by the show, not the city of Los Angeles). Beers is in the blue shirt in the center of the group shot below (click for larger version).

"The show, it's just got me, man," Beers says. "Every time I'm sitting down, editing, cutting it together downstairs, you're amazed at the ingenuity and the spirit of these people. What's neat about it to me, here are these guys, I put them in this situation, but they're living it.

"It's not like they go home at 8 o'clock and have dinner with the family. They're living in this nasty, gnarly place, just like you would if something happened. They eat plenty of rats, pigeons and fish from the L.A. River."

(FYI, here's an exhibit about the Los Angeles River. You may decide for yourselves whether any fish from that river would be suitable for human consumption.)

"It's cool," Beers continues, "because they manage to stay on target and build and learn to live without electricity, without running water, without any outside communications. It's pretty amazing."

"The Colony" also points up the value of having at least a few folks around who know how stuff  works and can actually build something.

"That was the whole idea of 'Monster Garage,'" Beers says, "same thing. Where is the pride of authorship, in our ability to actually figure out and make things work as opposed to just buying something or sending ideas offshore and having it come back as a fully functioning thing?

"We don't know how to do that anymore, and that's what this show is about, too. It teaches people simple stuff. Their clothes are so filthy that they decide to make a washing machine out of a 55-gallon drum and a bicycle.

"That's what I'm saying. When you get into it, the show evolves. It's the most fascinating show I ever made in my life."

Before I let Beers go, I had to ask him if he's heard of any progress in my mission to get "Deadliest Catch" crab-boat captain Sig Hansen on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

While Beers doesn't know of any forward motion on the idea, he does say, "I'm telling you, I think it would be cool. Can I ask you something, do you think he has any rhythm at all"?

As I'm Irish-American, I didn't feel qualified to speculate on whether a Norwegian-American like Sig would necessarily have an inherent sense of rhythm, but I did confess to not having really seen any direct evidence of it on the show.

"That's what I'm saying," Beers says. "I worry. Look, we'd love it. Personally, and as a producer of 'Deadliest Catch,' I'd love for him to go. He'd have to be taping during the first few weeks of king crab season. But boy, when he comes back...

"We'd love that, are you kidding me? When he comes back, we'd have a pink tutu around the captain's chair. Are you kidding me? These guys, they'd crucify him."

Today's cuppa: Sony Studios coffee

Earlier today, I headed over to Sony Studios in Culver City to see a taping of the new ABC series "Shark Tank," in which entrepreneurs run a gauntlet of potential wealthy investors in hopes of realizing their business dreams.

If the rapt attention paid by the crew to the goings-on is any indication, the spirited interplay among the business moguls and the hopefuls makes for great theater -- and great TV. Also said a quick hello to executive producer Mark Burnett ("The Apprentice," "Survivor"), who knows a few things about putting together a reality show.

The show premieres Aug. 9, and I'm writing a feature story on it this week, including an interview with Burnett, so watch this space for further updates.

But, before I left for Sony, I got on the phone with Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News, who's hosting a special called "J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life," airing Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Originally aired in late December 2007 on ITV in the U.K., this documentary by filmmaker James Runcie digs into the private life of the British author whose seven "Harry Potter" novels have set a new standard in young adult literature, along with spawning several movies -- the sixth and latest, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," just came out -- and a worldwide fan phenomenon.

"As a person, she's fascinating," says Vargas. "It's always interesting to see how someone creatively comes up with stories and characters that are riveting for so many people around the world and in so many cultures. When you really get into her personal story -- and she rarely talks like that -- it's even more fascinating.

"She's very candid in this special about her depression, about how poor she was, how difficult her life was when she first thought of 'Harry Potter,' and how close to the brink of contemplating suicide -- she did contemplate suicide.

"It's a pretty dire experience. I think a lot of people will find her relatable and surprising."

According to Rowling -- in a tale now as much a part of "Harry Potter" lore as the characters themselves -- the story and the characters came to her during a train trip from Manchester to London, England, in 1990.

"Not only did the characters and the idea come to her in a rush," says Vargas, "but the entire arc of the story came to her in a rush, which I find fascinating.

"She maintains when she was writing the first book, she already knew what was going to happen further down the line. I don't think she knew precisely that there'd be seven books, but she knew the arc of each character's story.

"For example, while making the movie from 'Harry Potter' one or the second book, she could pull actors aside and say, 'Play this guy a little more ambiguous, because, I haven't written book five yet, but I know that you'll find he's not a bad guy. He's a good guy.'

"She was able to actually advise actors early on in the process and give them tips on how to play their characters, because she already knew how their story was going to play out."

Not only did Rowling, a single mother struggling to make ends meet, carve out the time to write the first "Harry Potter" novel, but she found inspiration in the difficulties of her own life.

"That's amazing," Vargas says, "how much she takes from her own life and applies to her characters Harry Potter has her birthday. Harry Potter is orphaned; she felt very orphaned by her mother's death. Her mother died of multiple sclerosis when Joanne was quite young.

"Her father was very emotionally remote. She hasn't spoken to her father in years and years and years. He really isn't a presence in her life. So she felt very orphaned.

"The house that she lived in had a cupboard under the stairs, just the way Harry Potter lived in with his nasty aunt and uncle at the beginning of book one.

"She uses a lot of her own life and her own feelings. Even her battles with depression are used in later books with the Dementors, which are real, physical manifestations of depression. I was amazed at how she was able to bring something as ephemeral and as powerful and debilitating as depression and make it a physical presence."

As for the future, Vargas says, "She did leave a door open recently for another 'Harry Potter' book, a book that wouldn't be about Harry per se, but maybe about one of the other characters.

"At this point, Harry's story, through seven books, has really been told. Perhaps there's a child coming or some other smaller character that she might elaborate on.

"I don't know if she's going to do that. At this point, she has no plans to do that."

Tonight's cuppa: decaf Irish breakfast tea

Click here for a bit of wish fulfillment for anyone who's had to deal with people who break my number-one rule of using Twitter -- don't be boring.

Then click here for a good reason to close the lid on those piano keys at night. You just never know what Kitty is doing when you're not looking.

Just released from Discovery Channel (I'll add more as I get it):

SECOND SEASON OF DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S PITCHMEN IS A GO
- Encore Presentation of PITCHMAN: A TRIBUTE TO BILLY MAYS to Air July 24 at 10PM ET/PT -

Discovery Channel's PITCHMEN, the 12-part series that featured the late Billy Mays II and his business partner, Anthony 'Sully' Sullivan, will be back for a second season.  Because of the success of the series first season, and as a tribute to Mays' legacy, the show will continue.  PITCHMEN, which is produced by Original Productions, a division of Freemantle Media, took viewers behind the curtain into the billion dollar infomercial industry, as Mays and Sullivan helped everyday men and women bring their inventions to the masses.  Discovery Channel is developing the format of season two with Mays' son, Billy Mays III, Anthony Sullivan and Thom Beers, CEO of Original Productions.  More information will be announced as it becomes available.  A premiere date for season two of PITCHMEN hasn't yet been set.

PITCHMAN: A TRIBUTE TO BILLY MAYS, which first premiered on Discovery Channel on July 9, will re-air Friday, July 24 at 10PM ET/PT.   The special pays tribute to the larger-than-life infomercial pioneer - the products he launched, the numerous inventors he helped, and how this family man from Pittsburgh became a household name, ultimately redefining television ad sales.

Today's cuppa: Irish breakfast tea

On Syfy's "Warehouse 13," airing its second episode tonight, Eddie McClintock plays Pete Lattimer, a rough-and-ready Secret Service agent assigned to guard a warehouse full of mysterious artifacts, located somewhere in South Dakota.

On hand to help him are fellow Secret Service Agent Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) -- who's a little more tightly wound than her partner -- and longtime agent Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), who oversees the facility.

Overseeing them all is the enigmatic Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder).

Tonight's episode, "Resonance," also features a treat for Syfy (formerly known as Sci Fi Channel) fans, a guest-appearance by "Battlestar Galactica" regular Tricia Helfer.

"Yeah, it's pure hell," McClintock says of being stuck between Helfer and Kelly. "It's tough. The thing is, I had never seen 'Battlestar Galactica.' I had heard the whisperings about Tricia, so I went to the IMDB and looked her up. I think I was more excited about it than, say, my wife was.

"She came to set and sat and got to talk to Tricia, and you realize that Tricia is just so smart and married and just a good person. She really is a great lady, and someone that Lynn, my wife, got along with very well."

Pete and Myka were thrown together against their mutual wills, and their relationship, while cordial and professional, has its prickly side. Turns out it's not that different on the set.

"Joanne and I get along great," McClintock says. "She's a lot like her character. Yeah, she'll probably punch me in the face for saying that, but she's a lot like her character, and our relationship is a lot like it is offscreen.

"I look at myself as the kid brother who's constantly pulling her pigtails, and she's always punching me in the arm and yelling for her mom. I'm constantly at her. It's the same thing that Pete and Myka are going through right now, these growing pains.

Myka doesn't appear to take a lot of guff from Pete, and McClintock says, "No, and Joanne's the same way. She doesn't take much from me either, but I try to give her as much as I can."

Lest you think that McClintock's "kid brother" reference is a sly way of making you think he's younger than Kelly, think again. McClintock is more than happy to label himself a "geezer."

"I work hard," he says, "to make sure my body doesn't reflect my geezer status. Luckily, my wife and I are both gym rats, so we enjoy time at the gym, working out with one another."

Before "Warehouse 13" premiered, some Internet commenters pointed out that the duo of Pete and Myka looks a bit like the crimefighting pair of FBI Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) and scientist "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) on the Fox series "Bones."

McClintock is familiar with the show, having played Brennan's temporary partner, FBI Special Agent Tim Sullivan.

"I did four episodes of 'Bones,'" says McClintock. "I know David, he plays it very loose, too. I think that this show is even a little more relaxed than 'Bones.' But, yeah, I definitely could see the similarities.

"Frankly, if people want to compare the two shows, that's fine by me. I think it's a great show.

"But if they start saying that our show is a lot like 'Moesha,' then I might start worrying. And if they start saying we're like 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,' we should worry."

If he has concerns, McClintock can always turn to TV and film veteran Rubinek, whose credits range from Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" to "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Leverage."

"I look at Saul," McClintock says, "I'm Grasshopper, and he's Master Po. I'm always trying to snatch the pebble out of his hand.

"Saul is such a pro. For me, he's a great example of somebody that I can learn from. I listen to what he has to say. The best advice he's given me -- I question my process, because it's not like everybody else's process. It may not be like some other people's processes here on the show.

"So, I think 'I'm not doing enough...' He's like, 'Dude, no, that IS your process. Trust what you do, because whatever it is that you're doing, it works. Just have faith in it. Don't doubt that.'

"He just told me not to compare the way I work to the way other people work."

Today's cuppa: strawberry iced tea

Here's my syndicated profile this week of one of reality TV's most charming and accomplished stars:

Checking in With Jen Arnold

By Kate O'Hare @Zap2it

Becoming a TV star was probably never a consideration for Jennifer Arnold, who has been quite busy with becoming a pediatrician and neonatologist.

Along the way, she also met and married New York businessman Bill Klein. And she did all of the above while being well under 4 feet tall, as is her husband (who is slightly taller than Arnold).

After being featured in a special on TLC called "Little People: Just Married," Arnold and Klein are the stars of their own TLC reality series, "The Little Couple," which premiered in late May and airs its first-season finale -- as of this writing, no decision had been made on renewal -- on Tuesday, July 21.

Oh, and while the series was going on, Arnold got a new job, which meant that she and Klein had to relocate to Houston.

"Clearly medicine is still my primary focus," Arnold says, "but I do feel like I have a third job now that takes up a lot of my free time that I might have otherwise had, for filming, but thankfully it's fun, so it makes it worthwhile."

Arnold and Klein have always attracted attention when they've gone out together, but now it's changed a bit.

"The response we've gotten from people is overall very positive," Arnold says. "Most time people are very appropriate, but there are definitely people that aren't always so appropriate, so this kind of attention is actually refreshing.

"It's very positive. People already know, 'Oh, there's the little-person doctor.' "

As to what doing a TV show has taught her, Arnold says, "What it means to be a positive role model. In the short amount of time our show has been airing, it's amazing how many people watch the show and really pay attention to the details of it.

"You really want to make sure that it's a positive show."

Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 12, making her a Pisces.

School cred: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (graduated 2000); pediatrics residency at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (completed 2003); neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC Health System (completed 2007)

Current positions: Assistant professor of pediatrics, division of perinatal-neonatal at Baylor (Texas) College of Medicine; neonatologist and medical director of the pediatric simulation center at Texas Children's Newborn Center; faculty, SUNY at Stony Brook (N.Y.) Health Sciences Center

Association cred: Member, American Academy of Pediatrics, Academic Pediatric Association, Society for Simulation in Healthcare

As for a few of her favorite things:

Favorite book: "Coming from Florida, she was a Florida writer: 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' by Zora Neale Hurston. It's just a very real book. It's a great story about a young girl and all the struggles that she went through. It was written in Florida, so it had a lot of personal attributes."

Favorite music: "I love reggae a ton. Who doesn't love Bob Marley, No. 1? I've loved 10,000 Maniacs since I was in the ninth grade. There are kinds of music that Bill and I both enjoy. The Fray is one band that we like together. Bill tends to like the hard, old-school rock, but I don't necessarily care for it. Then he doesn't tend to like 10,000 Maniacs and some of the alternative music that I do."

Favorite movies: "Oh, I love a good chick flick, I'll just be quite honest: I don't go to the movies very often, and when I go, I just want to relax. I want to decompress; I want to forget about reality. Something may be cheesy, but if it makes you feel good, that's a good movie. I like 'You've Got Mail,' I could watch that movie over and over again -- and 'Sleepless in Seattle.' I'm a geek. I admit it."

Click here for my latest eGuiders video recommendation, a little ditty that pays tribute to a book that's never at a loss for words.

Tonight's cuppa: Iced coffee at Coogie's in Malibu

Below find my syndicated feature story for this week. It was a busy week for me, so I've got a couple more stories coming ... watch this space:

Marla Sokoloff's excellent 'Meteor' adventure

By Kate O'Hare

In the new, four-hour NBC miniseries "Meteor," airing on consecutive Sundays, July 12 and 19, Marla Sokoloff ("The Practice") tries to save the world from a giant meteor strike that means a sure and fiery doom for every living thing.

As scientist Imogene O'Neil, she must continue the work of her boss, Dr. Lehman (Christopher Lloyd), and get vital information to a government scientist, Dr. Chetwyn (Jason Alexander), that may prevent the planet from being blasted to smithereens.

And Sokoloff (below, with Billy Campbell) wasn't about to do all this in a pair of flats or running shoes, despite the fact that she was covering a lot of rough ground in the desert just outside of Los Angeles last summer.

"I had high-heeled boots on," Sokoloff says. "It was a huge fight with the producer, because I did have to do a lot of running. I'm five-two, and I have never, ever been on film in my entire career without having height. That's just not fair. No, I need my high heels.'

"So I'm like, 'You're going to have to run. You're going to have to have a gun, do all these things.' I'm like, 'I can do it. I can pull it off.'

"Then, one day, I fell -- major, like, totally scraped up. He was standing off to the side, and I didn't even want to look at him, because he had the biggest, 'I told you so' look on his face, just like, 'Really? You had to wear the high heels? Because I don't know if you would have fallen had you not picked those shoes.'"

While Sokoloff may not be the equal of "Alias" star Jennifer Garner for saving the world in stilettos, she does get to do quite a lot of action-hero stuff in "Meteor," along with being a computer literate scientist.

"I actually thought it was quite hilarious when I got offered this job," she says, "and I was playing a scientist -- not only a scientist, but one who saves the world. I'm like, 'Really? Me? OK.'

"I don't see me doing that anytime soon, but it felt really cool to be the one with all the answers in my laptop.

"But a couple of the crew guys told me, 'You were the last person I thought they were going to cast.' I was like, 'Thanks, I think.' I'm not sure it's a compliment."

"Meteor" also stars Stacy Keach ("Prison Break") as small-town California Sheriff Crowe, and Billy Campbell as his son, Jack, an LAPD officer who's hot on the trail of his corrupt, dangerous partner, Calvin Stark (Michael Rooker).

At one point, Imogene crosses paths with Stark, meaning Sokoloff got to work with Rooker (below), whom she found pretty intense.

"He throws himself in there," Sokoloff says. "I envy his energy. I don't have it. I don't know where it comes from. He is a ball of energy, nonstop, at four in the  morning, four in the afternoon, doesn't matter. He's on fire."

Apparently just having Campbell around was a treat in itself.

"He's very sexy," Sokoloff says, "and really soft-spoken and nice. We had, by the makeup trailer, one of those blow-up pools, because it was so hot. He used to sit in there with no shirt on, and the women literally were taking pictures to e-mail their friends or something.

"I'm like, 'He's not this monkey in a cage. You can't just take his picture.' But he didn't mind."

In the meteor-themed feature film "Deep Impact," Tea Leoni played an MSNBC reporter who covered the impending end of the world while keeping her pearls intact.

"Of course!" says Sokoloff. "I had a joke with the makeup artist on 'Meteor.' He had done my makeup before, and he does his so-called 'beauty makeup,' where he makes you look like a different person, and you look amazing. But he also had to put sweat and dirt and glycerin disgustingness on me.

"He was like,' I swear, I'm going to make you look like Brigitte Bardot in the desert.' That was his mission. 'I am not going to have you walking around with dirt on your face, and blood, and not look good.'"

As a native of northern California, Sokoloff is quite used to earthquakes, but that doesn't mean she likes them.

"I would say, I do worry about the earthquakes, but not meteors. I didn't even really think -- not to sound naïve, but really, a meteor? I don't know if that even crossed my mind in the 28 years I've been on this planet."

Now that she's had a taste of being an action heroine, Sokoloff is considering trying it again.

"I think so," she says, "definitely think so. I had a lot of fun. It was a totally new world for me, and I would love to explore more."

Today's cuppa; Tassimo cappuccino (say that three times fast)

Made my usual Thursday appearance on Shaun Daily's TV Talk show on blogtalkradio.com.

As has become our custom, Shaun and I field lots of queries from listeners, talking about some new shows, the future of some other shows and so forth. I also recall a fair amount of laughter.

Today's cuppa: breakfast-blend coffee

On July 1, Style Network premiered "Messiest Home in the Country 3," the third annual "Clean House" special in which the show's host, Niecy Nash, and her team -- "yard sale diva" Trish Suhr, "go-to-guy" Matt Iseman and designer Mark Brunetz -- tackle the the most mind-bogglingly cluttered home in America.

Today's cuppa: decaf Irish breakfast tea

First up, click here for my latest eGuiders video pick, a pretty sweet music video by the Japanese band Sour.

Next, click here for a shortened version of my syndicated feature story on the new Syfy Channel (formerly known as Sci Fi Channel) series "Warehouse 13," which premieres Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, fitting the story for newspaper space cut out the quotes in it from series star Eddie McClintock, and that's unacceptable -- and not just because he's my Facebook friend and an all-around good guy (you can see him at right, with co-star Joanne Kelly).

So, I'm waiting on a proofed copy of the full text of the story from the home office, and as soon as it arrives, I'll drop it in here. And if you're very good, I just may toss in some bonus McClintock for good measure.

UPDATE: As promised, here is the full text of the "Warehouse 13" feature story. You have been very good indeed, but I'll save the new McClintock for a separate post later on ..

All sorts of new things in Syfy's 'Warehouse 13'

By Kate O'Hare

©Zap2it

On Tuesday, July 7, a popular cablenet gets a new name, along with opening the door to a passel of mysterious artifacts and enigmatic relics.

With the two-hour premiere of "Warehouse 13," Sci Fi Channel becomes Syfy and shakes up its on-screen image, hoping to expand its audience even further beyond science-fiction fans and guys who'd watch Tricia Helfer in anything.

Luckily for those guys, statuesque blonde Helfer is one of the guest stars in the self-proclaimed "thrilleromedy," which focuses on two Secret Service agents -- Peter Lattimer and Myka Bering (Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly) -- who save the life of the president and wind up transferred to a storage facility called Warehouse 13.

Located in South Dakota, the top-secret bunker houses a collection of bizarre objects, all under the care of long-time Secret Service agent Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), who answers to Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder, "The Shield").

"Everybody is a closet conspiracist," says Jack Kenny ("The Book of Daniel," who executive produces with David Simkins ("The Dresden Files"). "We all want to think, 'Oooh, there is all this stuff going on that we don't know about.'

"And, you know, there probably is a bunch of stuff we don't know about and probably don't want to know about. We like the idea that there's a warehouse out there that houses everything the government doesn't know what to do with but needs to safeguard and protect."

According to Kenny, it's not just an American thing.

"We've gone beyond the U.S. government of it all," he says. "In the mythology, this is the 13th iteration of the warehouse. The first one was the library at Alexandria, maybe. All through the centuries, the warehouse has been moved to whatever empire was in power at the time that could protect it.

"It currently happens to be in the United States. Maybe, during the '40s, there was a slight chance that the warehouse was going to move to Germany. Fortunately, it didn't.

"There's a group called the Regents -- Frederic's bosses -- that controls the warehouse and deals with its relationships with various governments."

He also emphasizes that we're not talking about alien bodies from Roswell or anything of that sort.

"We don't want to go into alien stuff," Kenny says, "because it stretches the point of believability. Every one of these artifacts, we want to be absolutely viable."

"We had a very strong mandate," Simkins says, "to make sure the artifacts are not extraterrestrial, are not supernatural, are not mythological.

"The artifacts come from history; they come from science. They come from strong-willed individuals (like) Lucrezia Borgia. All the artifacts are based in reality.

"You could go to Wikipedia or Google and look this stuff up."

Luckily for science-fiction fans, while the artifacts may not be from outer space, a few of the guest stars have worked there.

Along with Helfer, there's her "Battlestar Galactica" co-star Michael Hogan, and "Stargate Atlantis" star Joe Flanigan.

Other guest stars include Ivan Sergei ("Charmed"), James Naughton ("Gossip Girl"), Roger Rees ("The West Wing") and Erica Cerra ("Eureka").

"Warehouse 13" also has some pretty impressive names from the science-fiction genre who worked on it during its development, including Jane Espenson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica"), Ronald D. Moore ("Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Battlestar Galactica") and Rockne O'Bannon ("Alien Nation," "Farscape").

Along with these heavyweight credentials, the show also promises a sense of humor. For example, there's the purple goo.

"Generally," says McClintock, "I would say we work at least 12 to 13 hours a day, and we get to do a lot of running and stunts -- and then there's purple goo. We get purple goo squirted all over us.

"The purple goo is a big story point. It's called neutralizer, and when we put an artifact into the purple neutralizer, it takes all its power away and makes it easier to transport.

"The purple goo is a running theme throughout the episodes. It's made of purple dye and K-Y Jelly. We use it, shoot and then we have a kind of Roman orgy afterwards."

While McClintock is just kidding -- one assumes -- about the orgy, relationships are at the heart of the show.

"This is a dysfunctional family," Kenny says. "There are two opposites, brother and sister, with a kind of crazy, demanding dad that doesn't tell them everything they need to know, but they keep going anyway.

"It's that family dynamic, both dramatically and comedically, that makes this show different from most of the shows that Syfy has done."

Apparently the family dynamic carries through both on- and off-screen.

"I look at myself," McClintock says, "as the kid brother who's always pulling Joanne's pigtails, and she's always punching me in the arm and yelling for her mom.

"I'm constantly at her, and it's the same thing that Pete and Myka are going through now, these growing pains."

Today's cuppa: Newhall Coffee Patriot Blend (of course)

This video doesn't have much to do with patriotism, but it is pretty darn funny. Click here to enjoy.

Now go watch some fireworks!

Tonight's cuppa: peppermint tea.

Did my regular Thursday appearance on Shaun Daily's TV Talk show on blogtalkradio.com, and despite some thunder and lightning on Shaun's end in Las Vegas, got through without a hitch (Shaun did briefly get cut off from on the guest before me, but they reconnected in short order).

Click here for the broadcast -- I come in at about the half-hour mark.

We talked about the latest Michael Jackson news and speculations, the sad death of "Pitchmen" star Billy Mays and what might happen to that show, and in the middle, hashed over the apocalyptic "Clean House: Messiest Home in the Country 3," which also repeats on Friday.

Click here for the interview I did about the episode with the show's designer, Mark Brunetz (just in case you don't see the post, which is right before this one).

That's all for now. Have a safe and fun Fourth of July, celebrating our Independence Day! (oooh, may have to watch that movie at some point ...)

Hang on, while I'm thinking about it, if you want to celebrate the Fourth in the spirit in which it was intended, this list may be the beginnings of a good movie/miniseries marathon:

"1776," in which you learn how little things change in the New York State Legislature over a couple of centuries or so (and that William Daniels can sing, more or less). BTW, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is airing this on Saturday night. Check local listings.

"John Adams," in which Paul Giamatti does one of our Founding Fathers proud.

"The Crossing," in which Michigan homeboy Jeff Daniels more than pulls off a portrait of Virginian George Washington.

"April Morning," in which Tommy Lee Jones plays an ordinary Massachusetts man whose life is changed forever by a shot heard round the world. What's that? Here's "Schoolhouse Rock" to explain.

"Liberty! The American Revolution," in which History Channel rocks the revolution in a documentary miniseries.

And, whatever happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence on that fateful July 4, 1776? Click here to find out.

Let freedom ring ... happy Fireworks!

Today's cuppa: Yorkshire Gold tea

If you've been a fan of Style Network's "Clean House" since its premiere in the fall of 2003, and especially if you've watched the previous two "Messiest Home in the Country" specials, the "Dirty Little Awards Show" and the just-completed "Search for the Messiest Home in the Country," you may think you've seen the worst of what host Niecy Nash calls "mayhem and foolishness."

I beg to differ.

Tonight, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT (with repeats at that same hour on Thursday and Friday), Style premieres the two-hour special "Messiest in the Country 3," which visits the Cincinnati, Ohio, residence of Sharon Baglien, 57, a recently retired police detective, and her 20-year-old daughter, Brigitte, who made the desperate call to "Clean House" to get the junk out and transform their home.

Somehow the women got up every day and navigated around piles of stuff and expired food everywhere -- the result of 30 years of shopping and hoarding -- while also dealing with a non-working kitchen sink, a dripping bathroom shower with a bucket in it (in, by the way, the only bathroom) and a broken stove, dishwasher, and washer and dryer.

Oh, and the washer had overflowed at some point, soaking the giant mounds of stuff in the basement, which were still in place, along with long-expired food. At least the mice were happy.

The only thing greater than the sheer tonnage of junk stuffed into every corner of the house, from groaning attic to packed garage to long-neglected storage unit to the basement  -- where, as designer Mark Brunetz pointed out, eyes wide, "You can't even see the walls" -- is the depth and breadth of Sharon's denial.

"I don't believe," says Brunetz, "at any point, Sharon and especially her daughter Brigitte ever lived in a house that was orderly. It's like speaking to someone in English, but they're hearing it in Greek, and that's what makes it so difficult.

'In many ways, while we were there, we were trying to invent a new language in which to communicate with her."

Sharon Bagliens' response to questions about the state of her home usually involved a smile and the use of the word "overwhelmed" (along with a few words that will be bleeped at airtime).

"She definitely has a way of dealing with perhaps not understanding what's going on," Brunetz says. "Her veneer was just, 'I'll smile and look like everything's great.'

"The thing about Sharon, she told her own story. We really didn't have to do much. We just opened the doors and turned the cameras on and asked her some basically relevant questions, and her story was just told by virtue of how she communicated -- or lack of communication -- and then really what he house looked like.

"Oftentimes, you really want to dig deep into a story, but we tried, and we could only get to far. But I think, a picture speaks a thousand words. In this case, it did."

Nash -- who, with Brunetz, has been with the show since the beginning -- is usually firm and unflappable in the face of the most mind-boggling heaps of junk, but was reduced to tears in the basement.

"That was very real," Brunetz says. "I'll tell you what was interesting about doing that. Niecy never really gets (very far) into the house, especially the basement.

"So when she walked into it, it was her first walk into that basement."

The junk there was even deep enough to entirely hide "go-to guy" Matt Iseman, and he's not exactly small.

In the end, "yard-sale diva" Trish Suhr had to use a 7,000-square-foot empty department store to house the Bagliens' stuff for the yard sale.

(By the way, while yard-sale proceeds usually go to financing the redecorating, in the case of the "Messiest Home," the money goes to the residents' charity, and the show picks up the tab for a total-house makeover.)

But between the beginning of the sale and the final reveal, both women, at different times, stormed off the location.

"We closed the show without (Sharon)," says Brunetz. "It speaks to this idea that, in many ways, 'Clean House' stays fresh because, although the main themes of the show are the same -- that being the clutter and the people -- how the story gets told and the outcome and all that, constantly changes.

"The show will follow up with her, but that will be 'To Be Continued.' For now, this is how this played out."

Nash often says that clutter is an outward manifestation of something going on inside, and that's a consistent theme of the show. Every junk-laden house contains stories of a life or a relationship gone awry.

Brunetz is even working on a book about the psychology of clutter and our consumer culture, which should come out about this time next year.

"Clutter," he says, "keeps people from being present to their lives. It's a principle of the show -- when you have all this stuff, and you create a life around this stuff, it keeps you anchored in the past. It doesn't allow you to be present in the very moment you're living in."

For example, Sharon Baglien refused to let Brigitte discard any of her childhood possessions and spoke of her daughter in nostalgic terms -- even though she was standing a few feet away.

"She was so torn up," says Brunetz, "around missing her daughter that she didn't realize her daughter was standing right there."

In the end, "Clean House" tries to organize lives, not just houses. Asked if the show might, in some small way, be doing work on behalf of the Almighty, Brunetz laughs.

"You know," he says, "I'm going to actually take that compliment in, because normally I would slough it off. I'd like to think that one of the things I do, and we're doing it as a show, is walking in the truth of what it is to be human.

"So I consider that high praise, and thank you very much."

After all, no matter how silly or benign or frivolous TV reality shows may start out to be, they still have, at their core, human beings with real, human feelings.

"The cool thing about reality is," Brunetz says, "sooner or later, you're going to run into real people, and we definitely ran into some real people at 'Messiest Home 3.'"