Kate O'Hare's Hot Cuppa TV

'Castle': Adam Baldwin and Thaddeus McCotter on a 'RedEye' Crossover

2012-05-07T06:39:15Z

Today's cuppa: Irish afternoon tea
Recently, Adam Baldwin made a guest appearance on "Castle," the hit ABC drama starring his former "Firefly" co-star Nathan Fillion (click here for my Zap2it story about the episode).

Not long before that, HCTV reached out to Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), an acquaintance of Baldwin's and a "Castle" fan, for his thoughts on the show -- click here for that -- which airs its season finale on Monday, May 7.

Since McCotter is a recurring guest on Fox News' latenight political/comedy roundtable "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld," and Baldwin is well acquainted with the "RedEye" crew, all this "Castle" talk got me thinking crossover.

Fillion's character, successful mystery novelist Rick Castle, lives in New York City, and "RedEye" shoots in Manhattan, so, I thought, perhaps Castle would go on the show as a guest panelist, along with his partner, NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), inspiration for his fictional character, Nikki Heat.

On that same panel, of course, would be McCotter and Baldwin (who would look suspiciously like this rogue detective that Castle worked with on a case the year before) and perhaps some other folks, one of whom would naturally have to die in a suspicious manner.

Since "Castle" actually shoots in Los Angeles, the "RedEye" set might have to be recreated on a soundstage -- frankly, it's not that elaborate, so it wouldn't cost a bundle -- and maybe some "RedEye" West Coast regulars would have to substitute for New Yorkers Bill Schulz (Gutfeld's sidekick) and Andy Levy (host of the pre-game, halftime and post-game segments).

But Gutfeld himself is irreplaceable, so he's a must.

Asked about the idea, Baldwin said, "I like it. You're going to have to figure out a way to coordinate between the networks, but that's above my pay grade. I'd love to see it. That'd be terrific. I'd be playing me on 'RedEye.' Thad would be himself.

"Could we talk about music on the show? I know Gutfeld's a big fan of music, rock 'n' roll and stuff. I know McCotter is. Just steer clear of the politics. Who gets killed on the show is the question."

Baldwin volunteered Los Angeles-based comedian, political commentator, recurring "RedEye" guest and mad Twitterer Stephen Kruiser.

"Kruiser dies," said Baldwin. "He would go for that. Kruiser would accept being killed on the show."

As to who would sit on the end, in the show's infamous "leg chair," Baldwin replied without hesitation, "Stana Katic. And Beckett and Andy Levy fall in love."

Emailed for comment, McCotter -- a guitarist who has his own bipartisan Capitol Hill band, the Second Amendments -- spun the idea out even a little further, writing: "Do it like 'Murder on the Orient Express.' Except for Castle, who is a last minute fill-in for another author (who is clearly the first suspect), Kruiser is everybody's agent -- Gutfeld, Levy (character), Schulz (character, who should be a woman cast member who sits in the Leg Chair and is suing Kruiser for sexual harassment), Baldwin and me (an aging rocker in the band Love Nest Monster, who is trying to make a comeback after going bald and outgrowing his spandex).

"In the end, they all killed Kruiser, just like Hollywood would love to do to every agent."

Well, that's our ideas. The ball is now in series creator Andrew W. Marlowe's court. He will either run with the "RedEye" ball or turn out all the lights on set and pretend not to be home. Either way, it's all in good fun.

Tune in next season ...

'Sherlock': Lara Pulver Revs Up 'Masterpiece,' Now Wants to Tackle 'Top Gear'

2012-05-06T05:01:59Z

Tonight's cuppa: Decaf Irish breakfast tea

On Sunday, May 6, the 21st-century reimaging of "Sherlock" returns for a second season on PBS' "Masterpiece Mystery!" with "A Scandal in Belgravia," loosely inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic "Sherlock Holmes" story "A Scandal in Bohemia."

Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) are back, now joined by Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), "The Woman" in Holmes' life -- click here to read my syndicated feature story on the episode, with comments from Cumberbatch, Pulver and writer Steven Moffat.

While it's possible that Irene Adler could resurface in a future Sherlock Holmes adventure, Pulver, who now splits her time between London and West Hollywood, Calif., has some other ideas about how she'd like to spend her time.

One of them involves the BBC's long-running auto-centric hit "Top Gear," which airs here on BBC America.

"I love 'Top Gear,'" says Pulver. "I want them to invite me to be on 'Top Gear,' so I can race around that track."

In each episode, there's a segment called "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car," in which a celebrity -- such as "Doctor Who" star Matt Smith (pictured below with the show's tame racing driver, The Stig) -- takes a lap around the "Top Gear" test track in a small, economical auto (currently a Kia Cee'd -- yeah, I don't know what that is, either).

Asked how she thinks she'd do on the track, Pulver says, "I'm a pretty good driver. I'm not sure if I'd be the fastest, but I'm a good maneuverer in and out of traffic. I know back streets and stuff in London. I'm not sure how I'd fare on an open track."

Of course, if you live in Los Angeles, you have to have a car, but new arrival Pulver had a challenge.

"I drive a BMW, just a 3-Series, coupe," she says. "It's cute. It's black. I didn't have any credit history in this country. You know how difficult it was for me to lease a vehicle. It was literally between BMW, and I can't remember what the other company was that wouldn't even look at me, to let me a car."

'Sherlock': Benedict Cumberbatch Beats Obama in Time 100 Online Poll

2012-04-29T03:20:39Z

Today's cuppa: French roast coffee (sorry, Brits)

Recently, Time Magazine released its list of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World," with the final spot claimed by the winner in an online poll of 150 nominees.

While British actor Benedict Cumberbatch didn't snag the 100th slot -- which went to the hacking group Anonymous -- he did come in 7th in the voting, beating out such other luminaries as U.S. President Barack Obama, singer Lady Gaga, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and singer Adele.

He even came out ahead of his own sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, who finished 75th (Her Majesty also lagged behind "Downton Abbey" star Maggie Smith, who just nipped her at 73rd).

"Apparently I beat the leader of the free world," says Cumberbatch, talking about edging past Obama. "How do you like that? It's ridiculous. I'm slightly flattered. It might be an alphabetical thing. It's crazy. It's really crazy. (A friend joked), 'Are you running for president?'

"Some of the people on that list of nominees have done fantastic things with their lives. Some of the people that aren't on that list, but should be, like teachers in the U.K, like doctors, like soldiers in f---ing wars, in combat situations which we can't possibly imagine, thousands of miles away; yeah, even some of the politicians -- some of them do very good things, all of them do very good things some of the time -- brain surgeons, midwives, parents. I'm not even a parent. Parents go through more than I do.

"There are lots of people I'd put ahead of myself, and that's not me being humble. Come on, you know what it's about. It's flavor-of-the-month stuff, and that scares me as much as it thrills me. I'm 35, and I've been doing this for 10 years. The point is, I thought, maybe I should start to do something with this moment.

"It's kind of inspiring in a way, because you look at it and think, 'I'm not really worthy of my entry in this.' It's bizarre and humbling and silly, rather than something to frame and look at and take very seriously."

In the poll at Time.com, the entry for Cumberbatch opened with, "Britons might be forgiven for thinking human cloning had already proved successful. How else to explain the ubiquity of an actor whose name is only slightly less angular than his face?"

When read that passage, Cumberbatch -- who's currently shooting director J.J. Abrams' second installment in his revival of the big-screen "Star Trek" franchise, and who returns on May 6 in the title role of the 21st-century reimagining of "Sherlock" on PBS' "Masterpiece Mystery!" -- responds with, "Crikey. I think it's much less angular than my face. It's all vowels. If my face was letters, it'd be consonants, I think, apart from my nose, which is a bit blobby. It might be an O or something.

"Enough of me talking about being letters. It's very funny; it's lovely; it's utterly silly; it's extraordinary. But at the same time, it made me think, f--k, I mean, this is a great thing. I need to take responsibility for this, in a way. This is a moment in my life, there's no getting away from it. It's an extraordinary one, and there's things I can do with it."

Well, he could appear in other other massive and legendary franchises.

"I have become involved in another one," he says. "'The Hobbit,' playing the Dragon and the Necromancer, so that should keep me in fine wine, as well as 'Sherlock,' so I suppose I'm part of three franchises. I plan on not getting involved in another one."

But what about "Dracula"?

"'Dracula'?" he says. "Funny you should say that, there's a script in the pipeline. I've been fighting it rather than being in it. There's a lot of Gothic in 'Sherlock.' I don't like to repeat myself too much. I think there are too many vampire franchises."

Poe?

"It's too much of an obvious choice."

Jane Austen?

"We're back to the stereotyped casting. Come on. I want to do something with an American accent, so you won't recognize me."

How about John Steinbeck or Tennessee Williams, like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"?

"Maybe."

F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby"?

"Been done. It's already been done."

So what? "Sherlock" has already been done.

"Yeah. Well, like a lot of things in my life ... it'd be nice if the culture had a bit of time to breathe and not see another revival of the same thing again and again and again."

Shoot, you're in "Star Trek," after all.

"Well, I know, I know. That's fair enough."

'Castle': 'RedEye' regular Rep. Thaddeus McCotter declares his love for that and more

2012-04-05T17:06:02Z

Today's cuppa: Dark roast coffee

On April 2, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) tweeted from @ThadMcCotter: "Poor #Castle & Kate ... sad times. Dylan time ..."

He then added a link to the following mournful Bob Dylan song as a reference to the frustrated not-lovers from ABC's Monday-night mystery hit "Castle": mystery novelist Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) and NYPD Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic).

Ever alert, the staffers here at HCTV (a k a me and my trusty assistant, the battery-operated hamster Badger) noted the congressman's TV reference.

Knowing him to be a regular on FNC's latenight pop-culture/politics roundtable "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld," a musician and a former GOP 2012 presidential contender -- click here and here for coverage of both, the first for the Los Angeles Times' Top of the Ticket blog and the second for HCTV -- we decided to investigate.

After confirming the congressman's "Castle"-fan status on Twitter, we asked him to share a bit via email regarding his love for the show and his thoughts on a few other TV topics.

For those unfamiliar with Rep. McCotter, "RedEye" fans and those who have seen him play with his bipartisan congressional rock band, The Second Amendments, know him for his dry wit, erudition and mad guitar skills.

Apparently he's also got a thing for lovely brunettes (we're not sure if Mrs. McCotter is aware of this, but she will be now).

And here we go ...

Q: I've seen on Twitter that you're a fan of ABC's "Castle." What appeals to you about the show?

Stana Katic.

Oh, the show also has the dude who plays Castle; Kate and Castle's witty verbal jousting that exquisitely enhances the romantic subtext's tension; the exceptional stable of writers and ensemble of talented actors executing their craft; and solving murders and stuff.

Did I mention Stana Katic?

Q: Do you think there will be forward motion in the Castle/Kate romance before the end of the season or will they just tease us along until next year?

Life imitates art: Like the characters themselves, the show is fearful of Kate and Castle precipitately taking "the next step" and losing something - namely, its audience. Further, absent significant forward motion in their (non-) romance leading to a timely new conflict for prospective resolution, it would be harder to fashion a fitting season ending "cliffhanger" should Kate and Castle finally, shall we say, come to grips with each other.

Q: Are there other primetime dramas that catch your fancy?

The House.

Q: How about comedies?

The Senate.

Q: What would you consider to be your guilty pleasures on TV?

I'm ashamed to concede my TV vice is DC NewsChannel 8's "View from the Capitol" with host Katherine Amenta and some snarky cat.

Q: If, one day, you were approached to do a TV reality show, what would be your ideal format?

I'm already in a TV unreality show airing on CSPAN.

Q: As a conservative, do you think there's any way that folks of your mindset can do more to promote their ideals and philosophies through the entertainment industry?

The first step is admitting the entertainment industry exists. The second step is accepting the late Andrew Breitbart's dictum that "politics is downstream from culture." The third step is to NOT pollute art with political proselytizing, because it is contrary to philosophical conservatism's recognition and embrace of the truth that true art provides universal insights into our frail, flawed, finite human condition's enduring misery, mercies and majesty.

Q: Whether or not they're intended to do so, what shows out there do you think most often embody what you consider to be conservative values?

Any show that keeps faith with true art and doesn't try to be political (see above).

Q: If you could program your perfect night of television, what would it be?

Undisturbed.

Q: Name your Top 5 all-time favorite TV shows and what you love best about them.

Soul Train: The Music.

The Scene (local Detroit show): The Music.

The Midnight Special: The Music.

American Bandstand: The Music.

Charlie's Angels: The Music.

'Dancing With the Stars,' Sarah Palin on 'Today': The Case for Global Live

2012-04-04T00:17:09Z

Today's cuppa: Green Mountain breakfast blend from the Keurig (alas Tassimo, farewell)

In this social-media world, I'm wondering if tape-delay might have to go the way of eight-track tape and giant-tube TVs, especially for those of us in the Mountain and Pacific time zones (not to mention the folks in Alaska and Hawaii).

Take, for example, ABC's Monday-night competition show for "Dancing With the Stars." (That's Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Melissa Gilbert above.)

Unless I assiduously avert my eyes from Twitter and Facebook starting at 5 p.m. Pacific time, I will start seeing comments and links to stories about the night's dances and cannot avoid some level of spoilage.

Yes, I could log off social media entirely, but it's part of my job, and my workday is still going on at 5 p.m.. Yet, the ancient rules of TV dictate that I must wait until 8 p.m. rolls around in my time zone to watch the show (of course, there is Slingbox or one of the other ways to get around that, but that requires extra work and expense, and I resent both).

I also get the joy of being reminded throughout the Pacific time airing that the "live" show that I'm watching was live for those privileged folks in the Eastern and Central time zones -- when it was actually taking place just a few miles from where I live -- but is on tape delay for me.

Blessedly, that no longer happens for the Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards, which have finally leaped into the 21st Century and reality and air live both in the Eastern time zone and in the time zone where they're actually happening (imagine asking the denizens of Broadway to wait three hours to watch the Tonys).

As for the Tuesday-night "Dancing" results show, before I finish dinner, I can find out who was eliminated, thereby eliminating any need to actually watch the show. Granted, that saves me time on a Tuesday, but it doesn't do ABC's bottom line much good.

Whether it's "Dancing ..." or "American Idol" or any other reality-competition show featuring live elements, it may be time for the networks to bite the bullet and go live in all time zones.

Barring that, perhaps the shows could stream live over the network's Website -- which makes a kind of sense since it's Web-savvy folks that are most likely to suffer from social-media spoilage anyway. If you're not on the computer during the Eastern-time airing, you're not going to mind waiting until 8 or 9 p.m. Pacific to watch the show.

(By the way, it's great that the sharks go to the trouble to live-tweet ABC's "Shark Tank" on Friday nights. I just wish I knew what the hell they were talking about, but I don't, since they're only doing it for the Eastern/Central time airing. Stream it online, ABC!)

Then there's the question of the network morning shows, which are also tape-delayed. A former "Good Morning America" and "Today" devotee, I haven't watched any of them since I moved to the West Coast. They're three hours old by the time they air here, and if I'm going to watch news, I want fresh news, not stale news (OK, I also miss David Hartman, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel, but stale is still stale). I want to know what's going on right now, not what went on three or more hours ago.

I did give in to the temptation to check out Sarah Palin's appearance on the Tuesday, April 3, edition of NBC's "Today" show. But, I put it on the DVR and fast-forwarded only to her parts and skipped the rest. Oh, well, NBC.

When I get up in the morning, on goes a local morning show or cable news. Back in the '90s, it was all about CNN, but these days, I'm a Fox News viewer. But, I didn't start watching FNC until I moved to Los Angeles, so my experience of the channel is a little different than an East Coaster, and I suspect that's true of any Pacific-time cable-news watcher, no matter which channel you're on.

I never see FNC's morning show, because I'm still sleeping. "The Five," for me, is at 2 p.m. The 8 p.m. primetime lineup actually starts at 5 p.m.. I work at home if I'm not out on a set visit. By that time, if I've had news on as background all day, I'm tired of it after Bret Baier signs off at 4 p.m., so I put in screeners or catch up on the DVR until dinner.

Unless I make a point of putting "The O'Reilly Factor" or "Hannity" on the DVR -- usually because of a particular guest, or it's Wednesday and Dennis Miller is visiting with O'Reilly -- I usually don't tune in again until "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" at 7 p.m. (my favorite FNC news show, along with "Your World With Neil Cavuto"), after which I'm into entertainment programming.

From anecdotal evidence, it seems that FNC's pop-culture/news roundtable "RedEye W/Greg Gutfeld" may be even more of a hit out here than it is back East, since we get it at midnight instead of 3 a.m., and some folks actually stay up for it (not me, it's my favorite breakfast viewing on the DVR).

Populations are shifting, and now with DVRs and lots of folks cutting the cable cord to stream TV over their computers and other devices, time slots are shifting as well. The toughest thing for any TV channel to do these days is to get someone to actually tune in for a show as it broadcasts the first time, whether it's a live event or the initial airing of new drama, comedy or unscripted reality episodes.

Social media -- whether through check-ins or live-tweeting -- can add to that, but the greatest value comes from the experience of bringing people together in one place, at one time. Just ask those advertisers about the eyeballs the Super Bowl delivered. Right now, for a lot of us on the Left Coast, that's often not an option.

On my cable system, some of the HD versions of cable channels are in Eastern time, so I get to see new episodes the same time as everybody back East does.

And I like it. More, please.

'Full Metal Jousting': James Fairclough Jumps Into Jousting, Hits the Ground Hard

2012-03-11T06:45:48Z

Today's cuppa: Barry's Gold Blend tea

The son of a famed four-in-hand driver, show-jumping competitor James H. Fairclough II -- a k a "The Hammer" -- was called to joust in last Sunday's episode of "Full Metal Jousting" on History.

It was something he'd been looking forward to since joining the cast of the reality-competition show.

"I thought it would be awesome," he says, "something fun to do. Show jumping gets boring after a while; you need a change. I'm an extremely competitive person; and I always saw jousting on TV, whether it was 'A Knight's Tale' or other movies or whatever, and thought, 'That would be fun to do.'

"I had a great opportunity to be here, someone's going to pay you to do it. I had a chance to win $100,000, no better reason to do it. I'm young enough and, I guess, dumb enough, to get on a horse and joust somebody."

At five-foot-nine and 145 pounds, red-team member Fairclough is one of the smaller men in the competition. For his joust, his coach chose one of the biggest horses, the 18-hand Superman (18 hands translates into six feet tall at the withers, the point of the shoulder, which doesn't include the extra height of the neck and head).

The coach of the opposing black team chose Crispin, one of the shorter horses in the stable of jousting master and show host Shane Adams, who observed, "There's quite the possibility that James may hit the ground."

But Fairclough didn't make it to the joust, since during practice aboard Superman, he and his practice mate, theatrical jouster John Stikes, were both unhorsed. While Stikes was able to get up on his own, Fairclough was not so fortunate.

"When we had our impact," recalls Fairclough, "it was really hard. When I hit the ground, my head got cut open. That's when I got knocked unconscious. The initial impact of the lance was fine, but as soon as I hit the ground, I was out. I had no idea what happened.

"I didn't know which way was up. The armor and everything -- when you're unconscious, all rubber-legged, you can't get up. I needed some help getting up. I've hit the ground many, many times in show jumping. I have to say, nothing has happened quicker. I've never fallen off a horse that quick in my life.

"I've been bucked off, spun off and dumped off really quickly off jumps, but nothing compares with how quickly I came off there. The best way I can explain it is, somebody tied a rope to a telephone pole and the other end to my waist and said, 'Go gallop down the long side,' and I hit the end of it midway through."

When Fairclough's helmet was removed, his face was covered in blood from a scalp laceration, which later required staples. He was also diagnosed with a concussion, which put him out commission for a week, resulting in Stikes being tapped to do the actual joust (which he lost to fellow theatrical jouster Matt Hiltman).

Fairclough is even using this screen capture of his bloody face as the avatar for his Twitter account, @FaircloughII.

You could interpret that as bravado, but one thing's for sure, Fairclough is not scared off from doing more jousting in the future. If it becomes a big-time professional sport, he's game to don the armor and pick up the lance again.

"Without a doubt," he says. "I need a break from show jumping every now and then. I'm extremely competitive, and I love the sport. You need a break every now and again. The ability to have a little bit of a stress reliever -- putting a suit of armor on, riding down and hitting somebody -- is kind of nice."

Asked which he likes better, the riding part of the hitting part, Fairclough laughs and says, "I love the hitting part, to be honest. I like proving people wrong. When I showed up to the training week, and everybody looked at me, I had my britches on and my polished boots, and they were laughing and snickering to themselves ... we lost guys really fast.

"The guys who were laughing and making fun of me for my britches and polished boots, those were the ones who were dropping out like flies."

As for the future, Fairclough says, "You'll see a lot of drama. As we get better and better in practice, you'll see some big hits. As you see in the preview for this week, there are some big hits coming up."

'Luck': Tom Payne Talks Common Sense About Playing a Tall Jockey

2012-03-09T01:55:46Z

Today's cuppa; English breakfast tea

At five-foot-seven, British actor Tom Payne, who plays Cajun jockey Leon Micheaux in HBO's Sunday-night Thoroughbred-racing drama "Luck," is a couple inches shorter than the average U.K. man, but according to the Jockey Club, the average height for a Thoroughbred jockey is five-foot-four, and the weight is about 112 pounds.

But ultimately, it's the pounds that matter a lot more than the inches, since jockeys are weighed before races, not measured.

"It has nothing to do with height," says Payne, talking over breakfast in a West Hollywood restaurant. "The more height, the harder it is. The criticisms have been that I was too tall. You just have more trouble keeping your weight down. It's all about the weight. But it's terrible.

"I went down to Louisiana and met five-foot-seven jockeys, and they have much more of a struggle. In talking to them, this is exactly what the character is going through."

In meeting jockeys, Payne also learned that they may be smaller than many athletes, but they are not to be taken lightly -- on or off the track.

"Jockeys are very sexual as well," he says. "They're very sexually aggressive. They want to win everything, and sex is a part of it. I would never want to get in a fight with a jockey. They are just compact, all muscle. Also, because of whatever else they're doing in order to keep in shape, they can be a little crazy, depending what time of day it is.

"Also, sweatsuits. There's no other way around it, I had to wear the thing. It's just this plastic suit. I would get to the end of the scene, pull off the plastic, and it would just pour out of my suit. I'd go around doing this running scene, and it would just pour out."

A newcomer to Los Angeles, where the 29-year-old now lives with his girlfriend, Payne makes his first big splash in American television in "Luck," which filmed largely on location at the Santa Anita Racetrack near L.A. That's a tall order for any overseas actor, made taller by being in a series created by David Milch ("NYPD Blue," "Deadwood") and directed by the Michael Mann ("Miami Vice," "Heat").

"I was doing a different accent," he says, "being directed by Michael Mann, on the back of a Thoroughbred, in the biggest job of my life, on a racetrack, and it was very stressful. But I developed this strategy of just being able to, between action and cut, stuff it all down into the deepest pit of my stomach and being able to forget all of it and do it. Then it was 'Cut,' and it was like, 'OK, this is really stressful.'

"But we worked it out, and it worked quite well. Horses are so cinematic and so great. The show really managed to capture the essence of the track.

"You really feel, when you watch it, you learn something. You will come away having learned something and been brought into the world and what it is, rather than just being a bystander, like you would be in you went to the track for a day. You're getting a real look inside what it's like. It's brilliant."

And, you get to see what most people never witness, the world of the backstretch.

"Which is a whole other world that you wouldn't even know existed," says Payne. "Just the people, the backgrounds -- when we first went to the track, when I first started doing the show, you stood there, and you went, 'Of course, you'd do a television show about this. All of human life is here.' It's amazing."

By the way, Payne comes to breakfast wearing one of those knit caps that actors seem to like so much. Late in the meal, he pulls it off and ruffles a hand through his dark hair, which, despite being stuck under a cap for the better part of an hour, flops perfectly over his forehead.

Combining that with his acting ability, HCTV predicts he'll have a great future in American TV, where, as we all know, it's all about the hair. ;)

Missed some "Luck"? Here's the story so far:

The Story So Far: 1-6

'Justified' Star Neal McDonough Has Quarles and Remembers a Fallen 'Brother'

2012-03-02T05:00:46Z

Today's cuppa: Gevalia coffee

According to actor Neal McDonough, if you liked him as Detroit mobster Robert Quarles in the seventh and most recent episode of FX's Tuesday-night Southern crime drama "Justified," you're going to love him in next week's episode, "Watching the Detectives."

Here's a sneak peek:

"Episode seven was just scratching as to where old Mr. Quarles is heading," says McDonough as he's driving to work on Wednesday, March 1, on his last episode of the season. "Jeepers. After that, it's getting hopped up on my own sh** and a deep, quick, horrible descent. it's fun.

"We're flying. They don't waste any time here. The season finishes shooting tomorrow. It's the fastest 13 episodes ever. What, three months? Three and change? It's crazy. It's like doing a movie, same thing, except, in this, we're just doing a phenomenal movie."

McDonough is especially amused by one line in the show, where Timothy Olyphant's character, Kentucky U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens -- the creation of novelist Elmore Leonard -- refers to Quarles as a "big-toothed, albino-looking sonofab***ch."

"Isn't that nice?" says the son of Irish emigrants, with a laugh. "Sticks and stones. A lot of times, people ask me if I'm black. They say, 'Are you a black albino? Because you look so much like James Earl Jones, but very light.' I always say, I'll take that as the utmost compliment.'"

While McDonough is enjoying the "Justified" life, he is also mourning the loss of Lynn D. "Buck" Compton, the World War II veteran he played in the 2001 HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," who passed away on Feb. 25, at the age of 90.

Based on the 1992 book of the same name by Stephen Ambrose, the miniseries followed the men of Easy Company from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airbone Division from training at Fort Toccoa in Georgia through D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge to the capture of Berchtesgaden, Hitler's retreat, at the war's end.

But Compton's story's didn't end there. After winning a Purple Heart and Silver Star in the war, he went on to join the LAPD, study law, become a Los Angeles prosecutor and later a judge. And, he was both a basketball and football star at UCLA, playing in the 1943 Rose Bowl.

"They don't make them like that anymore," says McDonough. "They can try to be like Buck, but there is only one Buck. If you're an All-American baseball and football player -- he was both at UCLA. That's insane. Then you get a Purple Heart and a Silver Star at Normandy. OK, that's crazy. Then you become an amazing police officer, and then you become an assistant D.A. and chief prosecuting attorney in the Sirhan Sirhan case.

"You do any of those things, just one of those things in your life, you've achieved greatness. He achieved greatness on so many levels. And the most amazing father -- his daughters just doted on him his whole life. He was the guy. He's left his mark, an indelible print on me, that's for sure."

And Compton left McDonough with more than just memories, starting with his wife and mother of his four children, South African former model Ruve Robertson.

"Were it not for Buck," McDonough says, "I would never have met Ruve, the first night I got into town, doing 'Band of Brothers.' I would never have had the career I've had, doing all the Spielberg projects, would never have done everything, wouldn't have been able to say in public that I'm a Republican, if he hadn't coerced me, saying, 'Tell them who you are.'

"So, talking to Buck as much as I had during his life, he helped me in so many ways. I'm going to miss that guy so much."

McDonough was among hundreds of guests who attended a 90th birthday party for Compton in January.

"I gave a speech," he says, "just crying like a baby, talking about how much I loved Buck."

And the day before Compton died, McDonough was able to speak to him over the speakerphone.

"At least I got to say goodbye that way," he says. "That was tough. That was really tough."

'House of Lies': Ben Schwartz Is Not Depressed, Loves Saratoga, Jokes on Twitter

2012-02-25T19:46:34Z

Today's cuppa: Irish breakfast tea

As management consultant Clyde Oberholt in Showtime's Sunday-night dark comedy "House of Lies," writer, actor and comedian Ben Schwartz gets to gets to crack jokes, do some drama and chase lots of women.

"I play the arrogant guy who goes after all the ladies," he says. "At the same time, I'm the guy who can talk his way out of anything."

On the surface, he appears loyal to the leader of his team, Marty Kaan (Don Cheadle), but Schwartz has another perspective.

"Initially," he says, "Cheadle's character considers me a good friend, but I don't consider him a friend, and maybe I can use that against him. In essence, maybe I'll look out for him, but the second I can take over his job, I don't give a f**k about him. Excuse me for cursing.

"The whole idea is, we can do anything we can to get the job, and I think my character's not above screwing over anybody else in the pod in order to get the job."

While it's often said that a lot of comics are dark and tortured, Schwartz doesn't give off that vibe.

"Dark and tortured ... I don't know if that describes me," he says. "A lot of times, comedy can come from depression or a dark place. For me, it's probably the opposite. I'm comfortable with comedy, because I've been doing it for 10 years. I've been trying to be funny my whole life. I did it with Upright Citizens Brigade, writing jokes for different shows. writing movies and acting."

A native of the Bronx, Schwartz had doubts about a future in show business.

"Truly, this was all I wanted to do," he says. "I didn't really think it was an option. I was a psych/anthro major, and I didn't think I could make money acting or writing. It seems like one in a million people get to do that, so I was nervous."

And it's not like he went to a college famed for turning out comedy writers, but he did know where to find a good time in northern New York State.

"I went to Union College in Schenectady," he says, "and we went to Chowderfest in Saratoga Springs every year for four years. We would buy the cheesy sweatshirts every year. I love Saratoga. Saratoga, for us, was like going out to fine dining."

He's also embraced social media, but in a way that honors his past as a joke writer for David Letterman, at his Twitter handle -- @rejectedjokes.

"I write one joke a day," he says. "It's just a sentence or a quote that I make up. It's hard to make it fit within that space, but on Letterman, I learned to write jokes. In my head, I always make it 120 or less, because with 'RT' and my long 'rejectedjokes,' it takes a lot of space.

"To me, it'd be more interesting if I see a joke every day. Who cares if I eat a tuna sandwich? 'I ate a tuna sandwich!' Nobody cares about me."

'Full Metal Jousting': Jake Nodar Surprises All (And a Slideshow!)

2012-02-21T05:33:43Z

Tonight's cuppa: Hazelnut coffee

On the Sunday, Feb. 19, episode of History's freshman reality-competition series "Full Metal Jousting," horse trainer Jake Nodar exceeded the expectations of his opponent and even host and jousting expert Shane Adams when he unhorsed and ultimately defeated theatrical jouster Jack Mathis for a chance at the quarterfinals.

"I was pretty excited about it," says Nodar, speaking on the day after the episode aired. "I actually watched it with four of the guys from the show, who came out to show support. It was a great, great episode."

While he has excellent riding skills, Nodar found himself picked last when the jousting coaches assembled their teams at the beginning of the show.

"Right from the get-go," he says, "being picked last, that was a really terrible feeling. I'm not sure what the reasoning was behind it. I know the coaches watched us ride in bootcamp. As we found out in last night's episode, my lance control isn't always 100 percent. I don't know if that factored into that or not. And the old grade-school, dodge-ball, picked-last flashback, it was fantastic.

"But at the same time, it motivated me, and I was completely under the radar because of that. It was great, how it all turned out. The practice was horrific. I was a little nervous going into it, but one thing that I do very well, being involved in the different disciplines of riding that I've done, I'm very comfortable with competition. I can keep my head in the game."

And Nodar did get to assuage the concerns of his mother, who didn't care for some of the comments about her son early in the episode.

He recalls, "I said, 'Just stick with it, Mom, I'm going to show them a thing or two.'"

(Here's a video of the Nodar/Mathis joust. Post continues below it, with a photo slideshow at the bottom.)

Asked about the future of jousting as a major spectator sport, Nodar says, "I really hope that jousting takes off. I had almost more fun sitting on the sidelines, watching my teammates compete.

'It's such a great spectator sport. There are eight passes, take a couple of minutes between each pass. It's suspenseful and crazy and chaotic. I think it's something that people would actually see in person.

"It's a very cool sport."

Whatever the future of jousting -- or his own future in the competition -- Nodar came away from the experience with at least one new pal.

"Dave (Prewitt) is probably the one I bonded the most with," he says. "It's kind of funny, because when I went into the house, being openly gay, I had some reservations. He was probably the one that I was most worried about. He comes from a small town, hasn't really been exposed to anything quite like that.

"Over the process, we became really good friends. He actually just left my place a couple of hours ago. He came down for the week to hang out. It was great. I definitely made some really great friends through that experience."

As a bonus, here's a slideshow from my set visit -- click here for the syndicated feature story that resulted -- to "Full Metal Jousting" back in October. Enjoy!

'Hart of Dixie': Wilson Bethel Made a Nasty Video for a Clean Show

2012-02-06T21:47:03Z

Today's cuppa: Irish breakfast tea

The CW's Monday-night comedy-drama "Hart of Dixie" may be a sweet and charming show, not without an edge but largely devoid of violence, blatant sexuality and profanity, but when star Wilson Bethel set out to do a promotional rap video for it, he pulled no punches in terms of language.

And that was just fine with Rachel Bilson, who spoofed her character -- a Manhattan doctor who winds up practicing medicine in the small town of Bluebell, Ala. -- in "Call Me Doctor" (embedded below).

"I don't mind," she says, during a break in filming on the outdoor set for the Rammer Jammer bar on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif. "I'll do anything for comedy. It's my favorite thing, so I don't have a problem with that. They had this idea to do all these promos, and I thought it was funny.

"It's taking off of '8 Mile,' where he calls himself out, and he wins the rap-off, so to speak. I was like, 'Oh, yeah, I'll do it.' It's funny, and you have to make fun of yourself. I don't take myself too seriously. It was a lot of fun. I grew up on hip-hop, so it was like going back to being a kid in junior high school and high school and stuff like that."

One reason Bethel decided to do the video is because of complaints from TV critics that the petite, young Bilson wasn't believable as a physician and aspiring surgeon. (HCTV: Begging to differ, having personally laid eyes on two surgical residents at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who were close to the age, size and general attractiveness of Bilson, one wearing heels about as high.) Therefore, he decided to toss in a reference to a certain late '80s-'90s sitcom starring Neil Patrick Harris as a teenage doctor.

"The first line I knew had to be in the rap," says Bethel during another break on the same shooting day, "was the 'Doogie Howser' bit. You can buy an 11-year-old surgeon, but you can't buy Rachel as one. So, knowing that it was going to be a punchline to a verse, I built it out from there."

Bilson also offers up a real-world example to refute the critics, saying, "My uncle and cousin are family-practice doctors in Tennessee, so I relate. And my cousin, she's beautiful. She doesn't look like a doctor. What does a doctor look like? They're people. Everyone's different. My cousin's a doctor, and she's really pretty. Put that out there. You do what you do, and you rap about it."

Bethel hopes "Call Me Doctor" is the start of something big.

"The whole project," he says, "was just super fun and a great way to stay creative, do stuff that I love, which is music, which is writing, and also do something positive for the show, for the cast. We had a great time shooting it. We got to do something fun together, producing what I think is a pretty high-quality product that a lot of people are responding to.

"I'm pretty ambitious that we'll be doing more, not necessarily music videos, but more cool alternative online content -- definitely looking for edgy stuff."

(Incidentally, "Hart of Dixie" star Scott Porter has another dream entirely for the show, and this one includes Denver Broncos star Tim Tebow. He told me all about it, so click here for that. Tebow, as it turns out, might have some political, rather an acting, ambitions. See what I saw when I watched his Golf Channel appearance on Saturday night -- repeats tonight -- click here for that.)

(WARNING: VERY strong language):

Call Me Doctor with Rachel Bilson from Rachel Bilson

Tim Tebow: Not All Sports Heroes Have Four Legs

2012-01-14T19:17:50Z

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea

Surprisingly enough, this isn't the first time that former Florida Gators and current Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow has made an HCTV appearance -- click here for proof -- but I have to be truthful in saying that I'm a recent member of Team Tebow and will assuredly be watching him take on the New England Patriots and QB Tom Brady tonight on CBS.

I was vaguely aware of the pro- and anti-Tebow factions out there since he began starting for the Broncos, but it wasn't until my Twitter stream started exploding during his recent six-game win streak that I really started to pay attention.

How could I not love a big, good-looking, hard-working, well-mannered kid who pulled off crazy, upset, nail-biting underdog victories in the fourth quarter or overtime -- a k a "Tebow Time" -- and drove self-important, cynical egomaniacs like Bill Maher and Charles Barkley absolutely bonkers? His unabashed public faith and especially his charitable work -- outlined here and here -- are just the cherries on top. Even the New York Times kinda likes him.

Recently, I was on the set of "Justified" talking Tebow during a break with a couple of the writers, and one of them suggested that he was like Matt Saracen, QB2 of NBC's Texas high-school football drama "Friday Night Lights."

Kicked to the top spot when the Dillon Panthers' hotshot QB1 Jason Street, played by Scott Porter (currently of my beloved "Hart of Dixie," on The CW), was permanently sidelined, Saracen may have lacked Street's natural gifts, but he made up for it with hard work, determination, heart and leadership.

Every "FNL" fan I shared this theory with liked the analogy, along with "FNL" executive producer Jason Katims, whom I saw at the NBC party during the current Television Critics Association Press Tour.

(And by the way, wouldn't it be awesome if Tebow did a cameo on "Hart of Dixie"? Along with Porter, the show also features a former NFL linebacker, played by Cress Williams, as the mayor of Bluebell, Ala., so it seems like a natural to me that Tebow might drop by for a visit.)

But in the real sports world, human heroes are increasingly hard to find.

Back during the Great Depression, when the nation was at a psychological and emotional low, the underdog racehorse Seabiscuit came on the scene and helped lift the spirits of the country. The 2003 movie "Seabiscuit," based on Laura Hillenbrand's book, made that point strongly, weaving in documentary footage of bread lines and WPA projects.

Then, in the 1970s, during another economic downturn, we had a string of Triple Crown winners, beginning with the first in 25 years, the big chestnut Secretariat. In the 2010 movie "Secretariat," director Randall Wallace leaned on the themes of people -- and a horse -- accomplishing things that naysayers claimed they never could.

A Christian, Wallace also layered in a faith element. In an interview, he said of Secretariat, "It's as if God whispered in his ear, 'Go,' and he went." Over footage of Secretariat's stunning Belmont Stakes victory, he played Edwin Hawkins' rousing version of the gospel song "Oh, Happy Day."

It's one thing to allow a horse to become an icon of athletic achievement and hope. Not being a flawed human being, a horse can only do what he or she was built to do -- run. It can't get drunk, end up in a mugshot, have a marriage go on the rocks or say something stupid in the press.

A horse can only be honest and pure and clean in victory or noble and sympathetic in defeat.

It's quite another thing to dare -- especially in these days, when it seems inevitable that everyone, no matter how well they start out, will wind up being spattered with muck -- even for a moment, to allow a human athlete to inspire us.

And for that athlete to be all of 24 years old, hardly more than a rookie, standing in the vortex of a cultural firestorm ... well, who knows how today's game will turn out, let alone next season or the rest of Tim Tebow's career and life?

I just know that he made football fun for me again, that he seems determined to do well and to do good, and that I'm endlessly amused by the people he endlessly irritates.

Good luck, Tim, and God Bless.

Tebowing with pride ...

UPDATE: Alas, the Broncos' playoff dreams ended in a decisive loss to the mighty New England Patriots, with Tebow remaining as even-tempered and classy as ever. Can't wait until next season!

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

'CNN Heroes': J.R. Martinez Says Hello to the Heroes

2011-12-05T09:46:52Z

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea

On Sunday, Dec. 11, "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" honors the extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary people who are making a difference in their communities. Anderson Cooper is host, and making appearances throughout the night are such celebrities as Jerry Seinfeld, George Lopez, Chris Colfer, Ice Cube, will.i.am, Christy Turlington Burns, Kurt Warner, Laura Dern, Mary-Louise Parker, Sofia Vergara, Kid Rock and Miley Cyrus.

Also on hand is "Dancing With the Stars" champion and Tournament of Roses Parade grand marshal J.R. Martinez, a Iraq War veteran who battled back from severe burns suffered in a landmine explosion to become a motivational speaker, a cast member on "All My Children" and the latest to hoist aloft the coveted mirror-ball trophy.

In addition, Martinez will be co-host with A.J. Hammer of CNN's "Showbiz Tonight" of the "CNN Heroes" pre-show and red-carpet arrivals at 7 p.m. ET.

"I had the tremendous honor of attending it last year," says Martinez, "but this year I get to be the co-host and participate with A.J. Hammer at the 'CNN Heroes Awards,' and that's tremendous. That's an amazing evening. It's such an inspirational evening of people saying, 'I'm passionate about this; I'm passionate about that. I want to help; I want to do; I want to be part of the solution, rather than be part of the problem.'

"They stand up, and they find ways to help people. It's amazing. It's an honor to be part of 'CNN Heroes.' They asked me to take part in this event, greeting everyone as they come into the event, and tweet, getting them to make mentions of positive things."

Unfortunately, when someone does something crazy or destructive, their names and pictures get flashed around the world, but many people who do positive or constructive things labor in obscurity. Martinez wishes it was the other way around.

"If someone's feeding kids or stopping trafficking," he says, "or finding ways to take care of women or whatever it may be, we barely know them. They're only highlighted once a year. That's what we need. We need to have more 'CNN Heroes events throughout the year."

Asked who inspires him, Martinez says, "There's a young man, his name is Joel Tavera. He's 23 years old. He was wounded in Iraq. He's burned over 60 percent of his body. He lost a leg; he lost some of his fingers. He's blind, and he has a brain injury.

"I've become close to him over the last two, two-and-a-half years. He's just an amazing young man. He's got such a positive attitude, always upbeat, just happy about life, finding ways to get on. He's been a tremendous inspiration. He reminds me of what I overcame, where I've come from.

"To see him have that smile all the time ... we text and we call and we joke and everything else. He's really a source of inspiration, not only for me but for millions of people that cross his path. just shows, you can actually smile, no matter what hardship you're going through.

"He and his father came out for the last two days of 'Dancing With the Stars.' It was great to see him there. I know he loved being in the audience as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't see me dance, but he could hear everyone cheer me on.

"Kids like him should be on the news, not the kids who are doing nonsense, not the people who are doing crazy things in the world. Let's highlight good people, good things If we want this country's attitude to shift, then we have to control it. we have to say, 'We're going to put good things out there for you people to start to feed off of.'

"If we don't do that, then it's going to be what it's going to be."

'Wipeout': A Not-So-Sweet Nutcracker for Christmas

2011-12-05T08:53:43Z

Tonight's cuppa: decaf Irish breakfast tea

On Thursday, Dec. 8, on ABC, new "Wipeout" host Vanessa Lachey -- wife of Nick Lachey, host of "The Sing-Off," which has a Christmas-music special on Monday, Dec. 5 on NBC -- makes her debut in the show's first-ever Christmas special.

Since this is "Wipeout," there aren't going to be any heartwarming carols sung around a fireplace or jingle-bell sleigh rides through the snow.

But, there will be nutcrackers.

"One of the biggest stunts we've ever built," says executive producer Matt Kunitz, "which you'll see in the Christmas special, is called the Nutcracker. We had these giant Christmas nutcrackers. They are probably 40 feet tall. So, the contestant has to run past them. You can imagine what our nutcrackers would do.

"So, the first nutcracker they run past, the foot jerks past and kicks them right in the nuts, hopefully, and then they think, 'OK, that's what's going to happen on the next one.' Then they run by the next one, and they're kind of protecting their groin. But the arm comes out and knocks them in the head. We misdirect them a little bit."

And despite "Wipeout's" reputation as a family show, the fun just keeps on coming.

"We've never done a Christmas special before," Kunitz says. "We have Santa Claus. We have Christmas elves. We hired a bunch of little people, and they dress up like elves. They're sort of evil elves, as you might imagine 'Wipeout' elves would be. They definitely have an evil side to them.

"What's really funny is John Henson. You see him six times throughout the show. He starts off in sort of a simple Christmas sweater, and they get more and more outrageous, to the point where he's wearing a Christmas sweater -- I don't want to give away what his last Christmas sweater is, but we had a lot of fun with it. Basically, we took every sort of Christmas tradition and turned it upside down on its head and shook it a little bit."

Asked if Henson wanted to keep any of the sweaters, Kunitz explains that there was actual sweat involved.

"What's ironic is," he says, "on this day, when he had to wear these sweaters, the air conditioning was broken. It was 85 degrees, and he had to wear these sweaters that got bigger and bigger and more crazy and bizarre. Some of them had electricity in them. But he was a trouper.

"At the end, I said, 'Because you put up with the broken air conditioner, I'm going to let you take home any one of these sweaters that you want to have.' I don't think he took me up on the offer.'"

At some point during production of "Winter Wipeout," the new host's husband got in on the act.

"Nick came to the set a couple of times," says Kunitz. "He enjoyed it. he got to throw a couple of snowballs at our contestants. We make real snowballs, and we're mean with the snowballs. We're vicious. We're making snowballs all day long. We own to sno-cone machines. We're just making sno-cones and not putting the sweet stuff on it.

"You get a bonus for headshots. So, if anyone can hit contestants in the head with a snowball, they get an extra five bucks. There's some incentive, and it's fun. Whenever we have guests, we're like, 'Have at it.' Nick jumped right in there and started chucking snowballs.

"We actually purchased a snowball launching machine. We were excited about it and then discovered that, really, there is nothing as good as the human arm for really aiming a good snowball at someone's face."

Kunitz says there will be a Valentine's-themed "Wipeout" airing as part of "Winter Wipeout," which starts in January, and then, "We're not doing a Fourth of July 'Wipeout,' but we are doing a 'Military Wipeout,' which will probably air around the Fourth of July. That will be Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, all competing against each other. We are casting that now. We won't be shooting that until the fourth cycle -- that's four months away at least."

'National Dog Show': John O'Hurley Takes a Paws for Thanks

2011-11-23T17:41:01Z

Today's cuppa: Gevalia Crema coffee

John O'Hurley is back on Broadway in "Chicago," but TV viewers can see him again on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, as he once again joins co-host and canine expert David Frei for the 10th annual edition of the "The National Dog Show," airing on NBC right after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Here's the syndicated story I did for this week, looking at the new breeds featured in the show (click on picture for a larger version):

O'Hurley also wrote a little Thanksgiving-themed tribute to his canine pals, to be presented as part of a video bumper during the show. But, via email, he shares a preview for Cuppa readers ...

I give pause to my paws on this day of Thanksgiving,

Whether wide-eyed, or doe-eyed, or with eyes that seem hidden,
They're focused on you,
As I watch for a clue
Just wink or a touch,
Says I'm important to you.
But my words sound like woof
My voice kind of gruff,
So I know that
My thanks may seem never enough,
But this secret I share
With you on a whim
All dogs speak best with what's farthest from them,
Whether fluffy or skinny, full-sized or "a la carte"
Always watch for our tail,
It's attached to our heart.

A Happy Thankgiving and a blessed holiday season to all creatures great and small!