August 2011 Archives

Today's cuppa: cappuccino from the Tassimo

If you read my syndicated feature story on MTV's new horror/comedy "Death Valley," which premiered on Monday, you know that actor Bryan Callen is really into his part as Capt. Frank Dashell of the LAPD's Undead Task Force (UTF).

The unit -- dedicated to killing a sudden influx of vampires, werewolves and zombies into the San Fernando Valley are of Los Angeles -- is also the subject of reality-TV cameras, a la "Cops."

Understand when you read the following comments that Callen is speaking as Dashell (or at least we're pretty sure he was):

On vampires: "My concern isn't so much the werewolves; my concern is more with the vampires. I happen to think the vampires are hell-bent on world hegemony. It's in their nature. They are a coercive, expansive force, like any virus, and a very destructive one, so my biggest concern is really about the vampires.

"Control the vampires, and the werewolves and zombies go away. What you don't realize is the vampires get the zombies and werewolves to do their dirty work, so really, the big danger here is people thinking all we need to do is contain.

"I think the vampires will use any means at their disposal to wreak havoc and gain control. They're not just about destroying things; it's about control. It's about turning civilians, and it's about gaining as much power as they can.

"So, if they have to use a drug cartel, they will, and they do, by the way. They use the criminal element all the time. So, once again, the only good vampire is not an undead vampire but a dead vampire. They're very hard to kill, you know, but that's how it is.

"The problem is, they're a very sneaky group. They're very seductive. Vamps are very, very seductive.

"I would say that I never feel as alive as I do when I'm taking out a vampire. To watch them sizzle under my stake or to blast them with my ray gun, my UV gun, that's a pretty good feeling."

On killing humans bitten by zombies (which happened to an unfortunate sound man in the first episode): "The most challenging aspect of the job is to break ties very quickly with a human being that's been bitten by a zombie. It could be your mother; it could be your best friend; it could be your child.

"But the fact of the matter is, they gotta go. We don't have a cure for it, and the virus acts very, very quickly, and you turn into raging, dangerous zombie very quickly. So, the only answer there is to blow their head off.

"That can be tough; you gotta break quick."

On silver bullets: "Um, that's a myth. We don't have silver bullets. We don't kill werewolves unless it's absolutely necessary. Werewolves are to be tranquilized and just confined. We have a pretty good and strong program. Werewolves have to turn themselves in when the full moon comes out.

"We have a lockdown program. We have a registrar, and we make sure the werewolves are incarcerated during the full moon, which is usually a two-day period."

On comparing the simulated peril faced by the mockumentary cameramen of "Death Valley" to the real peril faced by the documentary cameramen of Discovery's "Deadliest Catch": That's a fair assessment; that's a good comparison. You're right about that. I will say, you've only seen the pilot, and you're in for a helluva ride, because it just gets better from there."

Today's cuppa: Gevalia Signature Crema coffee from the Tassimo

As Hurricane Irene pounds the East Coast, a lot of people (especially the sensible ones) headed for the high ground. But TV reporters don't have that luxury, if their networks plan to report to viewers exactly what's happening on the ground.

One of those reporters is Fox News Channel's senior national correspondent John Roberts, based in Atlanta, Ga., who is reporting from Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, right in the path of the hurricane.

While cell service is spotty, Roberts was able to answer some email questions from HCTV on the purpose and experience of braving the teeth of the storm (questions in bold):

Q: What is the value of having a correspondent right in the heart of the storm?

A: It's similar to having a correspondent in a war zone. You need someone there to report on the situation on the ground.  What the storm looks like -- how people are coping --  the level of damage, etc. The Outer Banks is a very popular spot.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans travel there every week for vacation. When a storm hits, their vacations are interrupted. They're curious about an area they know and want to see what's happening.

In a story like Katrina, we were on the ground when the storm hit, and were able to report on the breaching of levees within a couple of hours of it happening. If crews had waited until after the storm to come into town, an entire piece of that story would have been lost.

Now, I don't believe you have to go play in the surf to illustrate a storm. I think it tells the story itself. And I'm torn about doing reports that have us blowing around in the wind. I'm not sure viewers get a whole lot from that, though they do like to see their correspondents hard at work. It also, of course, provides for more than a few comical moments.

 

Q: At what point or points have you feared for your own safety or that of your crew?

 

A: I have never feared for my safety during a storm. We take enough precautions that we stay pretty safe. But as Katrina was heading toward Louisiana as a Category 5 storm, I did pause for a moment and say "What the hell am I doing here again?

 

Q: How do you manage to deliver the news while being buffeted and rained on?

 

A: It's like playing golf at the British Open. You learn to love it.

 

Q: Why Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina?

 

A: There's a sense of history here, with the Wright Brothers and all that. It's also a very popular tourist destination. The mayor, Ray Sturza is a very accommodating fellow, and the people at Shutters On the Banks turned their entire hotel over to us

 

Q: Walk us through the preparation for doing a live hit on the run during a storm.

 

A: You basically have all the facts and figures on the storm, all the knowledge you have acquired over years of covering storms and a few colorful moments that you can relate to the audience. Other than having a couple of pieces of sound that I might want to use, I really never go into a shot with much of a plan. I just sort of let it evolve organically.

Q: Are you using social media to get your message out during the storm?

A: I'm tweeting furiously..! (At @johnrobertsFox)

Q: Should the government spend money to rescue people who are aware of evacuation procedures and ignore them?

A: In the same way that hospitals can't turn away the sick because they don't have insurance, local authorities really don't have much of a choice. But they -- and we -- can try to get the word out to the best of our ability that it's a wise idea to evacuate when officials tell you to.

Here's a video clip of Roberts' coverage from early Saturday morning, Aug. 27:

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend tea

Fans of CBS' Tuesday-night hit "NCIS" know Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto, the sweet-natured scientist with the Goth fashion style who runs the crime lab for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service team led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon, on right with Perrette below).

But Twitter users also know her as @PauleyP, an enthusiastic and upbeat presence with almost 140,000 followers. Recently, CBS sponsored a panel discussion on how its stars use Twitter, and Perrette shared some of her tweeting philosophy and experience.

How she got onto Twitter: "I started off, I have a YouTube channel, and I kept getting impersonated. I wasn't on Facebook; I wasn't on Twitter; I wasn't on anything.  It's so funny, because the name of my band is Stop Making Friends. It's like a joke about the social network. I even had a whole entire YouTube video that had been seen thousands of times of me going, 'I am not on Twitter; I am not on Facebook,' because I kept getting impersonated all the time.

"Then, random, this seems like a non sequitur, but this women's and children's shelter that is very close to my heart in Sylmar was closing. We take people off downtown streets of L.A. and put them in this beautiful place. We have got about 100 women and 75 kids and about 90 elderly people there, and it was closing. I was freaking out. I talked to my pastor, I'm like, 'What do we do? What do we do?'

"And then my friend from church is like, 'You should start a Twitter account.' 'No, no, no, Stop Making Friends, that's not me, that's not me.' ... But we started Twitter, and through that, and then a couple other things that happened, we raised $2.5 million in 48 hours, saved the shelter.

"With that much more money, we moved a bunch more people into the shelter. Instead of the shelter closing, we were able to afford that."

On the way she feels about Twitter now: "I became a Tweetaholic, and I hold nothing back. I tweet for 'NCIS,' because I love my show. It's my favorite show in the world. I'm a total fan addict.

"I started this thing, like I do thematic tweeting wherever I go. Because my people are all around the world, I had everybody in every country in the world do the 'I love you' sign, from every country in the world, which was insane. It was crazy how it all came back.

"So, I went from being like, 'I'm never going to do this,' to 'OK, I'll do it for the shelter,' to literally I'm just, like, never not doing this" -- she mimes thumb-typing -- "all the time."

On turning the tables on her fans: "I rescue dogs. So, I'm like, 'Send me a picture of your dog.' Hundreds of thousands. I love any puppy or kitten. I am a softie -- but then I like to look around their houses, too. You look at what they are doing.

"But what has kind of turned the tables on that, is that we were are in their house every night. They are looking at us in their living rooms, so I get to see their living room, which is fun."

On feeling empowered through social media: "When you're in the public eye, and you're a celebrity, it is really, really dehumanizing, and it is also really frightening, because you have no control over anything.

"Social networking has given us the power back; it really has. I will be, like, 'Hey, those naked pictures of me on eBay are totally fake. I have never taken one.' Now I just say it. I just say it to everybody. Now. 'They are fakes. Yeah, they are fakes.' That just happened to me.

"And then whatever anything that you read, or somebody else writes, whatever, I immediately can put the correct information out there by myself. I don't have to call anybody. I don't have to do anything. That, as a celebrity, was really empowering to me, to be able to combat lies about yourself."

On getting co-star Michael Weatherly on Twitter, even though he isn't on Twitter: "I have a hashtag called #MichaelWeatherlyQuotes , so he doesn't have to be on Twitter. He's so funny. Everything that comes out of his mouth is so funny. So I do Michael Weatherly quotes, and then I just repeat everything he says all the time.

"But one of the Michael Weatherly quotes was, 'I think Twitter takes a very specific personality. So, we're just going to let Pauley do it for everybody.'"

(At right, Michael Weatherly)

On why she won't respond to fans on Twitter: "This sounds insane, but it's my life -- I have a stalker problem, like, actually, a big stalker problem, like five restraining orders against one nut.

"So, I'm with the LAPD Stalking Squad. I'm one of their greatest clients. So when I was like that, my detective, Martha, said, 'Absolutely not. You are not getting into that. That is not safe.' I do whatever they tell you. So, we set up rules, there, too, and one of mine is I don't re-tweet, and I don't respond.

"After a while, there are more people, like -- you know the ones, 20 times normal -- 'I love you. I'm going to keep writing. Respond, respond.'

"I'm very honest with my fans all the time. I say, 'Look, I have stalkers. I have a big security problem, and per the orders of the LAPD, I cannot re-tweet you, and I cannot respond directly to anything you're saying.'

"So I don't respond directly. Say a subject is brought up that interests me, or especially some tragedy, like with Norway or something -- which I find out about (on Twitter) before it is on the news, of course, I will start Tweeting about that. But not directly to a certain person.

"I will take what they are talking about and then talk about it myself. Plus, I tell fans all the time -- '10 billion of you guys are awesome, but there is one nut job out there that is going to ruin it for everybody; always is.'"

Tonight's cuppa: coffee on the set of NBC's "The Sing-Off" (a story for another day)

Next week, FBN daytime anchor Stuart Varney, a British-born journalist who graduated from the London School of Economic, takes his show into primetime with "Varney & Co. at Night," airing Monday-Friday.

Each night, Varney will bring on experts to talk about the news of the day and what it means for national, global and personal finances.

But first, he answers a few question (in bold) for HCTV ...

What concerns you most about the wild market swings over the last week?

The wild market swings cause great concern ... the big declines at the end of this week suggest a recession is coming, and that's bad news for everyone.

Should individual investors or those with 401ks be taking action now or should they ride it out?

401K money is long term money so don't panic. Most people will not use their 401K money for many years to come, so riding out the storm is the best policy. Recovery will come, but probably not soon.

GOP presidential hopeful Gov. Rick Perry referred to the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's monetization of our debt to be "almost treasonous." How do you feel about Bernanke's stewardship of the Fed during this latest financial crisis, and what should he be doing that he's not right now?

Governor Perry may choose different language next time he talks publicly about the Federal Reserve. Personally, I think Ben Bernanke has done the best he could with a very difficult situation. He has used all the tools available to him, and invented new ones. As a central banker, and not a politician, he has done all he could.

What should he stop doing?

But perhaps Mr. Bernanke should stop printing money. There is a huge amount of cash sitting with banks and corporations....no need to add to it, especially when inflation is heating up.

What has been the greatest challenge in covering the market turbulence in a way that is meaningful to viewers?

The biggest challenge as a broadcaster is NOT leading the story. Don't talk the market down. Report what is happening in an even tone.

What has been the effect of the S&P downgrade - and should we take it seriously considering their poor performance regarding rating mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis?

The downgrade was a wake-up call ... a welcome wake-up call. It was a clear statement that we can't continue to add $4 billion to our national debt every single day.

As a native Briton, how did you feel about the London riots, and do you think their causes were economic, political, cultural, or any or all of the above?

To put it bluntly, the riots in Britain were a disgrace to the country, and in my opinion, were the result of its entitlement culture.

Can that violence come here?

America has a different tradition of street demonstrations, and, entitlement is not yet so deeply entrenched here. Violence on the European scale is unlikely here.

If you were one of President Obama's advisers right now, what would you like to see in his upcoming jobs plan?

I want to see (but do not expect to see) tax reform ... that means cutting tax rates on individuals and corporations, and at the same time cutting deductions. That puts more money into the hands of individuals rather than government, grows the economy and brings in more to the Treasury. But don't hold your breath: President Obama wants to raise tax rates, not lower them. His first priority is income re-distribution, not growth.

Do markets listen to opposition-party candidates during a campaign against an incumbent, and what effect can their remarks have?

If the Republicans outlined a clear tax reform policy (lower rates, fewer deductions) it would have a positive effect on our markets and our economy. More government will not work. Private enterprise must be unleashed for us to return to prosperity

What do you see that gives you hope for economic recovery?

Hope for a recovery? A radical change in course for economic policy; the repeal of Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and EPA rules; along with an end to the demonization of business.

(Photo credits: Varney, FBN; Perry, Matthew Cavanaugh of Getty Images)

Today's cuppa: PG Tips tea

Back in February, HCTV caught up with "Warehouse 13" executive producer Jack Kenny to learn about Steve Jinks, the new human-truth-detector character played by Aaron Ashmore, and the fate of the cursed-artifact-hunting team of Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock), which appeared to be kaput after Myka quit.

(Click here for that.)

As viewers know, when season three began on Monday, July 11, Myka came back. Since then, Jinks is settling in, Pete sorted things out with his ex-wife (Jeri Ryan), Warehouse tech Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) has a new pal, and boss Artie (Saul Rubinek) is riding herd on them all.

This morning, HCTV got some fresh answers to some new questions from Kenny (including about the show being picked up for a fourth season last Friday), and hot off the email electrons, here they are (questions in bold):

Q: Have the fans forgiven you for letting them think Myka had left?

I didn't know they were mad at me! Seriously, though, I did keep saying to just trust us, that we wouldn't let you down ... so I hope they were never really concerned, and knew that we always have their best interests at heart. I mean, Indiana Jones is NOT going to die, no matter how dire the situation looks, right? But you gotta think he might, or why do it? So we'll always be trying to inject as much conflict and controversy as we can into our show, but the fans should always know we'll take care of them.

Q: Has the reaction to her return been what you expected?

Hard to gauge the reaction, per se, but I think everyone is thrilled to have Myka back, and I would've expected no less. Joanne brings such a wonderful energy to the team, and she and Eddie are having a phenomenal year! Their chemistry is better than ever, and I think it really, really shows on screen!

Q: What have the fans thought of the new guy?

From everything I've heard and read, people seem to LOVE Aaron Ashmore. Like the rest of our cast, he fits beautifully into the family, and brings his own unique energy to the team. It's very gratifying to read how both critics and audience welcomed him into our family. I think they'll all really be pulled into his story line for the season. It'll be quite surprising.

Q: How has Steve Jinks changed the dynamic?

I don't think he's "changed" it, as much as enhanced it. He's given Claudia a real friend. She always had a wonderful father-figure in Artie, and siblings in Pete and Myka, but Jinksy has really given her a compatriot. Someone she can relate to on an equal playing field; and I think it's really brought up her game in a terrific way.

Q: How did you learn about the renewal?

I got a wonderful call from Syfy last week, warning me that it was about to hit the Internet, and that I should try to get to the cast and let them know. It's become completely impossible to keep anything secret for more than a nanosecond anymore. That's particularly hard for a show like ours, when we wanna keep spoilers out of the press for as long as possible.

Q: What do you think most contributed to the success that earned that renewal?

Hard to say one thing. Every successful show is a total team effort. It starts in the writers' room and with Universal Cable Productions and Syfy, as we break out a season of stories as varied and different as we can think of.

Then it's up to our production and design team in Toronto, the never-ending stamina of our crew that shoots a movie every eight days, and the BRILLIANCE of our multi-talented cast, that bring these stories to life.

Then it's back up to Syfy to promote and sell the show as devotedly as they do. And then, of course, the fans. We could do all that anyway, and if people didn't watch, we'd get canceled. So finally, it rests in the hands of the fans -- who have been the most loyal I have ever seen. Thank you to the fans!!!

Q: What hints can you drop for the rest of the season?

Well, as I say, I hate to give spoilers, cuz it's all about the surprise elements. But I can say that we're gonna learn something pretty surprising about several of our characters over the next few episodes. As I've said, this season has been in great part about how your PAST influences your PRESENT. And that's true of what's in store for many of our characters.

AND it's about the Warehouse itself, as you'll see in our jaw-dropping finale! It's even a strong theme in our holiday episode -- which I am REALLY excited about, too! We work hard all year to (hopefully) give the fans a fun ride every summer -- and a nice lift at the holidays! Thanks for watching!!!

Tonight's cuppa: Decaf English breakfast tea at night, because I like to break the rules

In July, I headed off for a day to Las Vegas to meet Wayde King (left) and Brett Raymer (right), the men behind the new Animal Planet show "Tanked" -- click here for my feature story -- and got to visit the Acrylic Tank Manufacturing workshop and see a few of the installations around town.

Of course, I took pictures ... as you may notice, this was the day before I went driving with The Stig. Never let it be said HCTV is not always on the move to take you behind the scenes of TV ...

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea (in honor of the U.K. version of "Top Gear")

Next week, I have a syndicated feature story coming out about my day at the set of History's "Top Gear," airing on Sundays. Print readers will have to wait until Sunday, but you can click here to see it right now at Zap2it.

It chronicles my adventures taking a test drive with the American version of the U.K.'s "tame racing driver," The Stig. No, I did not drive, because if I had, it would have been a very, very slow trip around the show's test track at a former military base in Southern California.

Then I sat down with show hosts Adam Ferrara, Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust to learn why so few cars survive the tender mercies of Ferrara.

(BTW, the identity of the American Stig remains a mystery, but we might know the name of the U.K. Stig. On the other hand, I've heard this one before).

After you read the story, here's a few photos I took that day ...

Today's cuppa: hotel coffee

While the biannual Television Critics Association Press Tour rumbles along this week in the swank surroundings of the Beverly Hilton in breezy Beverly Hills, Calif., things at the corner of Wall and Broad in sweltering lower Manhattan are getting downright scary.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped more than 400 points; and by the end of the day, the Dow registered a 512.76 point decline, erasing all the gains for the year 2011.

It was the market's biggest single-day point loss since Dec. 1, 2008, when the Dow tumbled 679.95 points in the throes of the financial crisis.

Fox Business Network (FBN) anchor Liz Claman took her "Countdown to the Closing Bell" show to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to report on the downturn. Then she took a few minutes to answer some questions from HCTV.

So get yourself a nice warm cuppa to steady your nerves, and here we go ...

Q: When TARP was passed, one of the rationales was that otherwise the stock market would plunge -- and yet it plunged anyway. We heard the same thing for the debt-ceiling deal, and here we go again. What was or wasn't done with the deal that has affected the market -- or would it be going down right now regardless of the outcome of that debate?

A: I'd say today's move was less about the debt-deal passage, which is now two days old, and more about Europe, and the fact that it's still a festering sore. The European Union could barely muster enough will and money to bail out Greece, and now, bigger nations like Spain and Italy are groaning in pain. Global traders woke up today and hated the market direction. You can throw some disappointment about the US economy on top and everyone crumbled.

Q: Do you believe the major ratings agencies will still downgrade the U.S. in the near future?

A: Eventually at least one of them might. If you hold countries to certain standards, and they fall below them, then you have to downgrade them. I've talked to a lot of experts on this, though. No one, no agency wants to be the one to downgrade the U.S. They looked at the debt deal, and while it fell short of the cuts the agencies stated they needed to see to maintain the triple-A rating, they're now saying the cuts are enough to "count" toward a "down payment" of the $4 trillion (in cuts they asked for). They're trying NOT to downgrade the US.

Q: Considering the nation's high debt-to-GDP ratio, why haven't we been downgraded already?

A: Again, there's a huge hesitancy to cut the credit rating of this nation. We've always been AAA rated. The question hangs over everyone's head: would that cause mass selling and panic? Not something we need, especially right now.

Q: What are you hearing is the chief factor -- if there is any one major factor -- affecting the downward trend of the Dow?

A: It's an amalgam of things: as I said, Europe -- parts of it -- is a worry. Our slowing-to-a-trickle economy. Our jobless rate, which is stuck above 9 percent. Negative sentiment. Slowing manufacturing. Lack of confidence. Need more?

Q: Do financial experts foresee any significant improvement in the unemployment numbers by this time next year?

A: No one knows, because a year ago everyone thought, "It can't get worse," and it has. Now people are loathe to make any kind of bet it will improve. I do talk to some people who think things will improve -- Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway; David Cote of Honeywell; Paul Otellini of Intel-- but they all have global businesses that can find growth somewhere. It's other than the US. It's much harder for the small business owner, who we know is the real driver of our economy.

Q: Luxury goods are apparently selling again -- what does that say about the economy?

A: It says the new wealthy in Russia, China and Korea are spending their money on Tiffany jewels and Sotheby's art.

Q: Do experts believe we are in a double-dip recession or that we never left the previous recession?

A: Depends on whom you ask. I keep hearing the term "soft patch." Is that a precursor or fancier way to avoid using the term "double-dip recession?" I hope not, but this will be a tough trend to turn around.

Q: Should investors buy, sell or hold right now?

A: Some very wealthy and smart people I talk to are selectively buying, mostly U.S. large-cap names with a global footprint. Remember, the wealthiest investors are the gutsiest. I'll never forget when billionaire Wilbur Ross bought up Worldcom debt after the company imploded. It looked like trash, but he saw treasure. Who's still a billionaire today? Wilbur Ross. That might tell you something.