Kate O'Hare's Hot Cuppa TV

'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!

'Rocket City Rednecks': Giving Thanks With Turkey, Cornbread and Beer

2011-11-22T19:14:19Z

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

This week, I have a syndicated feature out -- click here for that -- with excerpts of the interviews I did with National Geographic Channel's Wednesday-night science/reality series "Rocket City Rednecks" at their gala premiere at the U S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. (click here for the photo gallery).

The story also features a recipe by Mary Ann "Mama" Taylor, mother of "Redneck" ringleader Dr. Travis Taylor and wife of team member Charles "Daddy" Taylor (and grandmother of another team member, Travis' nephew Michael Taylor).

That was just a bit of a larger document she sent, chock full of home cookin'. So just in case you haven't firmed up the Thanksgiving menu yet, here's a chance throw in a little Alabama flair (and a story to boot) ...

Thanksgiving with the Rocket City Rednecks
By Mary Ann "Mama" Taylor

The Taylors have always made a big hoopla out of any get-togethers, especially Thanksgiving. All the Taylors old enough to cook or purchase something come with a covered dish in hand. When Charles' daddy Sam was alive, the guys would have a pick-n-grinning session while the women cooked. Now that tradition has changed somewhat -- the men have learned to cook! Well, they cook, but specialize in only a few dishes.

Sam loved my cornbread and old-fashioned cornbread dressing, or stuffing as some call it. I've told people over the years how to make the cornbread, but they say it doesn't taste like mine. You know, I don't know about omens and the like....

I made my first pan of cornbread when I was five. When I was 10, the 4-H Club held a cornbread muffin contest at my school. Back then, you didn't run to the grocery store every day. You went once or twice a month and then only if you needed something. Daddy brought home a half-gallon of good thick buttermilk on Monday. He knew I wanted to enter the contest on Friday. That gave me plenty of practicing time. I baked cornbread muffins every night. Come Friday morning, I had just enough buttermilk to bake one pan of muffins. Well. My older sister Martha decided she would enter the contest, too.

She never cooked. And I told her so. Mama saw right quick that I was not backing down, so she intervened. First, she said there was time for both of us to stir up and bake a pan of muffins before the bus ran. I explained that we had ingredients for ONE pan of muffins. Mama said since we all used the same recipe, my recipe, and Martha being the oldest, that she should cook the muffins.

"Nothing doing," I said and stomped my foot. That didn't go over well, but in the end I agreed to let Martha choose the first muffin if I got to bake the bread. After all, we did use the same recipe.

Wouldn't you know it? She picked the one I wanted. On the way to catch the bus, I decided I was going to trade muffins. But Martha knew she had me over a barrel. After a lot of fast talking, we traded, but at a high cost to me. I promised to wash dishes on her night to wash for a whole month. I walked into the 4-H meeting with a smile on my face, and set my muffin before the judging ladies.

God rest her soul, Martha won first and I won second. And I have the ribbon to prove it.

Nowadays, Travis, the ringleader on the Rednecks, along with his uncles picks out a tune, and Charles, known as 'Daddy' on the Rednecks, huffs and puffs on the harmonica. When it comes time to eat, we gather round and hold hands while Aunt Linda gives thanks.

Mary Ann's Winning Cornbread Muffins

¾ cup self-rising flour

¾ cup cornmeal

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

A pinch of love and a pinch of salt to throw over your shoulder

Dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix. Buttermilk is like buying cars: you have to use it to find out if you like it. Some buttermilk is watery and some is thick. I like to use thick buttermilk. If the batter appears crumbly, add more buttermilk; the batter should be thick like cake batter.

Pour batter into a greased iron skillet. Preheat oven to 500 degrees; bake 15 to 20 minutes or until bread is brown.

Most Thanksgivings, I bake a turkey purchased from the grocery store, but on a few occasions Charles has killed us a wild turkey. I found out the hard way that turkeys grown in the wild contain very little fat. My first wild turkey was too dry to eat. But beer saved the day, or maybe I should say made the next wild turkey pleasing to the palate.

Six-Pack Turkey

One wild turkey breast

Beer

2 cups flour

Salt and pepper

1 cup canola oil for frying

Cut turkey breast in half, cutting across the grain. Cut each half into strips.

In a large bowl, add turkey strips and cover with beer. Seal with plastic wrap and marinate 1 hour or overnight.

In another bowl, add flour, salt and pepper; mix together. Remove turkey from marinating beer and roll in flour mixture.

Heat oil in skillet to medium heat. Brown turkey strips on each side, cover skillet and lower heat. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning meat once.

Remove from heat and drain on paper towel. Serve immediately.

Old-Fashioned Dressing

Bake muffin recipe in large skillet, cool and crumble into a large mixing bowl. Add the following to a mixing bowl:

1 onion and 2 sticks of celery, sautéed

1 large apple, chopped

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

1 quart chicken broth

Mix all of the above and stuff inside a cleaned turkey. Bake turkey at 350 degrees for 20 minutes per pound. This dressing will be very juicy.

BlogWorld Expo: Can Rick Calvert Bring Traditional & New Media Together?

2011-11-03T04:52:10Z

Today's cuppa: Double espresso

On Thursday, Nov. 3, BlogWorld & New Media Expo, the world's largest new media and social media event has its Hollywood premiere. It's the goal of CEO and co-founder Rick Calvert -- click here to follow him on Twitter -- to bring reach across the Los Angeles-San Francisco divide and bring the worlds of traditional and new media together.

Leaving Las Vegas behind for the downtown Los Angeles Convention Center, BlogWorld runs through Saturday, Nov. 5, bringing together bloggers, podcasters, content creators, technical wizards and software developers in businesses ranging from education to healthcare to automobiles to entertainment.

(Click here for BlogWorld postings on Facebook.)

Calvert hopes, in particular, that a more than a few entertainment-industry types will come by to see what all the excitement is about.

"We intentionally moved to L.A.," says Calvert, "because it is the center of entertainment media. Part of our mission is to help traditional media and new media converge. We see that as being inevitable.

"Every year, you see more people, like Kevin Pollak and Adam Carolla cross over into the new-media space. We see people like Felicia Day cross over into the traditional-media space. We think there's an opportunity to help foster that and make it happen a little bit faster.

"We're in L.A. for a reason."

The entertainment industry has been wrestling with the digital revolution for a while now, navigating complex contractual agreements, logistics, emerging revenue streams and copyright laws, trying to figure out how to fit the worlds of stage, screen and sound into bits and bytes.

Too often, though, the high-tech hipsters of San Francisco and Silicon Valley and the high-rise executives of Los Angeles don't see eye to eye on how it should be done.

"There's no one set formula," says Calvert. "It's important to mention, too, somebody told me about another event the other day, which was supposed to be a new-media event, but everybody attending it was from the traditional media industry. Every speaker, every attendee, they were all traditional media people telling each other how to be new-media people.

"So that's exactly my point about out event. All of the new-media people come to our show, and we always get a few traditional media people come to our show. We've seen a few of those people in the past when we were in Vegas, but now that we're in L.A. and so much closer, we expect to get more of those people."

Calvert hopes the two worlds can realize how much they have to offer each other -- with consumers leading the way.

"The standards that they have in traditional media," he says, "those are some of the good things that can translate back to new media. Obviously, consumers want to get their content now in the new-media way. They want it on any device at any time. That's what consumers expect now. Until that happens, they are not going to be happy.

"So, how do you translate that gigantic infrastructure of traditional media, that's built to create great professional content, and be able to monetize it on the Internet or on a mobile phone or a tablet? The person who figures out that question is going to be really, really rich."

There's an inherent anarchic element to the Web, a stubborn insistence on the part of many of its creators and users that, once they've paid for their Internet access, the rest should be free (this had hit the newspaper industry particularly hard).

But producing content is expensive, and professional-quality artists and content creators expect to be -- and indeed, need to be -- paid for their work. This problem is the Gordian Knot at the heart of where the entertainment world and the digital world meet, and cutting through that knot is going to require a little effort from both sides.

Hollywood needs to comprehend a model that isn't run from the top down, but grows instead from the bottom up.

"Traditional media wants to control everything," says Calvert. "But the day is coming when every actor on a show is on Twitter; the director's on Twitter; the producer's on Facebook or Google Plus, and they're all talking to their collective group of fans at the same time.

"Hollywood has a hard time embracing it."

New media and consumers have to learn there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"You have this fundamental ignorance," says Calvert, "on the consumers' part, or sometimes on the new-media/content-creator's part, of understanding what copyright laws are. Obviously, there are some people in the San Francisco crew who are openly hostile to copyright laws and think content should be free -- who are idiots, in my opinion, by the way.

"But those are two fundamentally different philosophies."

Click here to learn about attending this year's BlogWorld Expo.

FBN's Gerri Willis Does a Jig and Answers the Question, 'Should I Stay or Should I Go?'

2011-11-02T21:33:28Z

Today's cuppa: PG Tips tea

At the end of September, Fox Business Network anchor Gerri Willis responded to Bank of America's announcement that it would be adding a $5 for debit-card users by cutting up her own card on air. Click here for a story and video on that.

But the host of the daily "The Willis Report" also said that she would dance a jig if BofA reversed course, and with the banking giant's announcement that -- pressured by angry customers -- it had changed its mind on the fee, Willis did just that yesterday. Click here to have a look.

Willis also took a few minutes to answer some questions from HCTV on what bank customers should be thinking about the eternal question posed by the Clash, "Should I stay or should I go?"

(questions in bold)

Q: Bank of America has pulled back on charging the $5 debit-card fee, apparently under pressure from customers and other banks that decided to pass on such a fee. Do you think BofA can recover from the PR hit?

A: It's a huge PR hit - and now consumer advocates will be watching relentlessly for any other fee hikes from the company. This bank needs to connect with its customers in a personal way, instead of coming off as a faceless monolith more concerned about profits than customer relationships.

Q: Something like the threat of a fee can make people consider changing banks. What should people know - and what homework should they do - before deciding to switch?

A: First off, you need to understand that switching banks takes on average three months to do. So, don't make the decision lightly. Top items to check out: the size of the ATM network - this is especially critical for travelers; checking account fees, online offerings (i.e. can you bank online, pay bills online, etc.)

Q: Are there any banks about which you have concerns?

A: Right now, Citibank has been making a lot of noise about the fact that they never even tested a debit card fee, but they have raised fees on their checking accounts. Starting in December, customers who hold mid-level accounts will be charged $20 a month if they fail to maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 in their combined accounts. Previously, account holders had to carry a minimum balance of $6,000.

Q: What good alternatives exist to traditional banks if people wish to go that way?

A: The good news is that in almost every part of the country there are options. Check out local small and regional banks. Credit unions are another good idea - they can often offer lower rates and better terms than banks.

Q: That wasn't much of a jig. What financial event would make you happy enough to do a full-on dance?

A: What?!? I thought that was FANTASTIC!!

'Gold Rush': Todd Hoffman and Tales From the Last Frontier

2011-10-31T22:23:45Z

Today's cuppa: Gevalia coffee

Last Friday, a new season of "Gold Rush" premiered on Discovery Channel, and as viewers saw, Todd Hoffman, his dad, Jack, and his hard-luck mining crew are still having to overcome obstacles on the way to their dream of a gold strike in Alaska.

Click here for a short syndicated story I did before the premiere, and below find more comments from Hoffman.

How he's reacting to fame: "It's really strange. My dad really loves it, because he takes the time to talk to everybody. My dad's pure in heart. Me, it's a little bit different, because I'm not as outgoing as my dad. So, a lot of people look at me, and they recognize me, but they can't realize where they know me.

"They look at me like they're old friends, and then I look at them, I say, 'Hey, I've been inside your living room.' Then they really give me a funny look. I'm a stalker, or I'm a reality-TV star, one of the two.

"My dad is so friendly and caring. He really does good with the whole thing. You know why we''re doing it. We have a message of hope and faith. So that's why I do it. Neither of us ever really wanted to become television personalities. We didn't really have that high on our lists."

What he hopes to achieve this season: "Because of the emails and the comments and the people that come up to us, yeah, we got our message through, barely. That's the main goal for this year. I was hoping to be able to get the message through a little bit better and then also to show a better example."

On why he chose to go after gold: "If you personally, at home, spent money like the United States spends money, you would be called, what? Bankrupt. So you and I have to balance our checkbooks, why shouldn't everybody else in the world?

"So, you go to work, I go to work, but a lot of people don't go to work. So, we're out here, as a team, trying to do something, set an example, but also do something that we believe in. that is precious metal, the yellow precious metal that we dig out of the ground.

"I believe that is a more solid answer to building wealth than the promise of a paper dollar. That's just how I feel, and there are millions of other people who feel the exact same way. They're going to watch us do some things that straight kick a**.

"That's the way it is."

On what his quest means in context of the nation at large: "I wouldn't be up here spending my last penny, trying to create a new income for my family if I didn't, 100 percent, in my heart, believe that our country is on the train to destruction.

"And if we do not change our fiscal situation, we're going to have a hard time feeding the country -- I'm talking just with food."

'American Horror Story': Connie Britton on Having Zachary Quinto Over for 'Halloween'

2011-10-23T21:50:45Z

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend tea

"I mostly just scream and cry, these days, on 'American Horror Story,'" says a hoarse Connie Britton, talking in early September.

"I'm doing a bunch of stuff with Zachary Quinto that is just great," she says. "He's playing such a fun character on this."

Starting in the episode of the new FX psychosexual drama airing on Wednesday, Oct. 26 -- part of one a two-part episode called "Halloween" -- Quinto plays Chad, one of the deceased former owners of the haunted Los Angeles house that Britton's character, Vivien Harmon, has moved into with her husband, psychiatrist Ben (Dylan McDermott) and teenage daughter, Violet (Tessa Farmiga).

Quinto is set for at least two more episodes beyond the two-parter.

Incidentally, for SF fans, James Wong ("The X-Files," "Millennium," "Space: Above and Beyond") wrote part one; and Tim Minear ("Angel," "Firefly," "Wonderfalls," "Dollhouse," "Terriers," "The Chicago Code") wrote part two. David Semel ("Heroes," "The Cleaner," "No Ordinary Family") directed both.

"We were shooting this stuff yesterday," says Britton, "which, by the way, ended in me having a full-on nervous breakdown, hence my voice. Yet, we were both having such a hard time not dying laughing, cracking up.

"There were certain lines where we were like, 'We're not going to get through this line. We're not going to get through it. We won't be able to.'

"We're just having such a good time. That's the great irony -- we're doing this scene that is so dark, and yet there is really so much fun in shooting it. That's one thing about anything that Ryan (series co-creator Ryan Murphy) does, there is always going to be a little bit of the tongue-in-cheek, no matter what.

"I love that with anything I do."

Asked if it it's true that the previous owners of the house are dead, Britton says, "Yes. You're right about that. But it's a little-known fact that on Halloween, dead people can walk the Earth. By the way, we live in a house where the ghosts are very much alive."

On Halloween itself, Monday, Oct. 31, FX is running a marathon of the first four episodes of "American Horror Story," leading up to the conclusion of the "Halloween" episode, the show's fifth installment, which airs on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

As for what people should choose for their Halloween viewing, Britton says, "Watch 'American Horror Story.' You're going to have a fun time."

'IRT: Deadliest Roads': Lisa Kelly Talks Trucking, Changing Partners, Facing Fear and the Puppy

2011-10-17T21:56:42Z

Today's cuppa: English breakfast tea

HCTV is mighty fond of "Ice Road Truckers" and its spin-off, "IRT: Deadliest Roads," currently airing Sundays on History. Even the blog mascot, Badger the battery-operated hamster, just can't get enough.

Last season, "IRT: Deadliest Roads" sent some of the "IRT" truckers and some newcomers to pit their skills against harrowing highways in the Himalayas. HCTV got the lowdown on the adventure from Wasilla, Alaska, trucker and "IRT" veteran Lisa Kelly, including an update on the black-and-white puppy she adopted along the way.

This season, "IRT" has dispatched Kelly and some other truckers to South America to try out terrifying routes there, including Bolivia's "Road of Death."

Proving once again that you don't need lots of testosterone to be tough, Kelly has already outlasted one partner. After returning from a long-haul drive over the weekend, she answered some questions by email -- including an update the now-grown dog, which lives with a show producer in the Los Angeles area. (Questions in bold.)

The roads in the Himalayas were challenging, but the ones in South America seem even more difficult. How do you compare the two?

I feel that India was great practice for Bolivia and Peru. Culturally, India was harder, the roads themselves were far worse in South America.

Why do you think your first partner, Southern trucker Dave Redmon, decided to leave?

I think we all deal with life's challenges differently,

How did that make you feel about continuing?

I have never depended on other people to make decisions for me. I also am very goal-oriented and a problem solver, so when things were bad with the truck I sought to make things better before continuing on.

What do you draw upon to keep going through the fear?

There are many things I want to accomplish in life and I don't want my fears to stand in my way. Many things are scary in life but that can't stop you from living it. Now I am drawn to the things that scare me. I feel that if you stop living you start dying.

What does it mean to you to have taken on these challenges?

Now that I've done two seasons of "IRT: Deadliest Roads," I have started to notice patterns in the way I learn and the way I face fears. I'm a little disappointed that I'm not as strong as I thought I was, but I'm so thankful that I know my limits and how to push past them. Now I can almost step outside myself and watch the process that I must go through to overcome obstacles.

Does the Dalton Highway in your native Alaska seem easier after driving in these foreign countries?

The Dalton does seem a lot easier after "Deadliest Roads," but in that, I have to be careful not to get careless, because the Dalton is still a dangerous road that gets you when you aren't paying attention.

What would you say to encourage -- or discourage -- other women from entering the trucking profession?

I would encourage anyone to follow their dreams, because dreams do come true if you want them bad enough. I think every person should challenge themselves so that they can grow.

In the last episode we saw, you were coping with a new partner, Texan G.W. Boles. How did that relationship progress?

With any partner, you have to go through an adjustment period. I don't want to give too much of the show away, but I have heard people say what great drivers they are and yet can't drive, so I needed to see proof. Everyone has to earn each other's trust especially when your life is in someone else's hands. It's very hard to just turn your life over to someone that you have never seen drive and is a complete stranger. So I think it's interesting to see how trust is built between two people, especially two complete opposites forced to trust each other.

Do you ever get to see the black-and-white puppy you adopted in the Himalayas that now lives in Southern California?

Every time I get to L.A., I make a point to go see Rampur Jackson. He still remembers me!!

(Kelly even wrote a book about him.)

What's the strangest -- or even the funniest -- fan reaction you've gotten from appearing on "Ice Road Truckers" and "IRT:Deadliest Roads"?

I had one guy who wanted me to shave my autograph in his chest hair. Ha ha ha!. And I had a little kid come up to me and say, "I don't like you!" You gotta respect the honesty of kids!!

We usually see you behind the wheel. What might we be surprised to know about you when you're off the road?

I love trucking, and more and more the audience gets to see that I love so much more than just trucking. I have way too many hobbies to even keep up with. I'm not sure there is much left to be surprised about!

And here's a look at Rampur Jackson, all grown up.

Fox News' Shepard Smith Remembers Being on the Bridge in New Orleans After Katrina

2011-10-09T00:13:13Z

Today's cuppa: Gevalia Signature Crema coffee

On Friday, Oct. 7, Fox News Channel celebrated its 15th anniversary on basic cable, having launched in 1996.

One of the journalists who's been there since the very beginning is Shepard Smith, anchor of two news hours every weekday -- the afternoon "Studio B With Shepard Smith" and the early evening "The Fox Report" (or midday and late afternoon, if you're in Los Angeles, where I am).

The photo above shows Smith in 2005, surveying the damage in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the flooding from the broken levee.

What sticks in my memory about Smith at that time is him standing on a bridge in the shattered city, on "a Friday night, five, six days after the storm hit," as Geraldo Rivera says near the beginning of the lengthy clip below, part of a look back at Katrina coverage from FNC's "Geraldo at Large."

Smith and Rivera spoke on "Hannity & Colmes" that night, reporting what they were seeing and hearing on the bridge.

Their frustration is evident (with, unsurprisingly, a little more passionate emoting from Rivera) that people were not being allowed to cross the bridge out of New Orleans to the town of Gretna. Hannity was getting reports from government sources, which Smith, based on his firsthand observations, challenged.

Pointing toward Gretna, Smith described the situation, saying a checkpoint had been set up on the bridge, preventing people from walking out to get help,

"Over there, there's hope," he said. "Over there, there's electricity. Over there, there's food and water. But you cannot go from there to there. The government will not allow you to do it. It's a fact."

"All right, Shep, I want to get some perspective here, because earlier today..." began Hannity.

Smith interrupted Hannity -- host, at that time with Alan Colmes, of one of the cablenet's top-rated primetime commentary shows -- with the firm statement, "That is perspective! That is all the perspective you need!"

At that very moment, watching my TV in Los Angeles, I thought, "Whoa, Shep just scolded one of the network's cash cows!"

And as you can see in this AP story from 2005, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

I recently talked with Smith for a feature story that will appear later this month, focusing mostly on his philosophy of news reporting and his distinctive style. But I also had to ask him about the event that defined Shepard Smith in my mind.

"I have a great deal of respect for Sean Hannity," says Smith. "He's an amazing businessman; he's the nicest guy. He's a great father. Whatever your preconceived notions about Sean Hannity, he's just a guy from Long Island."

But, he was not on the bridge, and Smith was.

"That is the difference," says Smith. "He didn't have a way to be there. Just as I was being spun by politicians, he was being spun by politicians. Among the first lessons I teach new journalists that come into our unit is, if you didn't see it or smell it or hear it, then you have to attribute it. But if you did see it, smell hit and hear it, then you can report it, because you're a reporter.

"That day, I was seeing it and smelling it and hearing it, and Sean wasn't. So I had a real advantage over him, because my senses were all engaged. I know that Sean thought he was getting straight information from people -- I thought I was, too, until I realized everybody was lying.

"But I was watching what was happening, and he wasn't. I had a level of frustration that comes with seeing people die around you, that's hard always to get past. I'm not one who wants to be an advocacy journalist, far from it. I'm not here to advocate; I'm here to report.

"But there are times in the course of human events that you're around things that, sometimes you have to cross a line. I don't think I've done it many times I don't anticipate I'll ever do it again. I hope I don't.

"But when people are dying around you, and people say they are coming to help them, and they're not. Then, more people are dying, old women and little children, you have a duty as a human being to make all the noise you can try to, to stop the dying from happening."

After all, even though Smith and Rivera were in the middle of what was happening, they didn't really know how it was reverberating in the outside world.

"I wasn't aware," says Smith, "sitting on a bridge in a collapsed city, that this had become an enormous political debate. We didn't have televisions. We didn't have electricity. We had one satellite phone that was our communications source.

"I wasn't able to watch all the political machinations that had turned this into some kind of a political sideshow. I didn't realize it had happened, so I was just stunned to hear him speaking that way.

"At some point after that, I realized, 'Oh, this has become a political fight.' Well, I chose to plant the flag around those who were dead and dying, and politics didn't belong in it. I was embarrassed that politics became involved in it. It was a very sad chapter in our lives."

OK, to be honest, there was one other moment that defines Shep Smith for me -- his brief appearance in one of my favorite disaster movies, 1997's "Volcano."

Smith played himself, reporting on an entirely fictitious calamity this time -- an eruption of deadly lava near the Beverly Center shopping mall in L.A.

I asked him about it by email, and here's what he wrote:

"That was a Fox movie. I was working in Los Angeles at the time, and they asked me to play a reporter. Seemed easy enough. It was the largest 'burn,' they told us, ever at a movie set -- La Brea Tar Pits.

"We shot overnight, 11p-5a. Then I went to work in Santa Monica. 2 days of shooting. No sleep. My 70 words were cut to 6 in edit. They were very annoyed that I couldn't memorize all the words exactly. And they wanted me to 'act more like a reporter.' 'Be more serious.' It was exhausting. Paid well!"

(Yeah, no, this "Volcano" music video doesn't show Smith. I just like it.)

'Rocket City Rednecks' blasts off at U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. (with pictures!)

2011-09-28T17:41:38Z

Today's cuppa: strong coffee

On Monday, I flew from Los Angeles to Huntsville, Ala., to attend the premiere party for National Geographic Channel's new series "Rocket City Rednecks" -- click here for a news story -- premiering tonight with a two-hour block of four of the 20 half-hour episodes. On Tuesday, I came back.

Click here for my syndicated story on the show. Because of our packed network-TV premiere schedule this week, it doesn't come out in print until Sunday, but y'all get it early. And there'll be another story later, based on interviews I did with the Rednecks after the premiere showing.

Now that I've had some sleep and caffeine, I've put together a slideshow of some of the pix I took. I'd love to return to the Center when the lights are up and I have time to read all the displays, but hope you enjoy a quick look.

On a personal note, the fact that I attended this premiere so soon after the demise of the shuttle program (and with it, all our current plans for manned space flight) was a little sad.

Following the crash of a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station, the realization that Russia is our only way to take people and equipment to the ISS hit home.

Although the Russians say they've figured out the problem and will keep missions going to the ISS, the driver who picked me up a the airport in Huntsville -- who ferries a lot of space types -- thinks one of our space shuttles may be pulled back out of mothballs.

You never know ...

'Terra Nova': Stephen Lang commands the past

2011-09-28T00:42:54Z

Today's cuppa: airplane coffee (just got back from the premiere of National Geographic Channel's "Rocket City Rednecks" at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., -- pictures to come -- which makes its small-screen debut on Wednesday).

Stephen Lang may look very familiar, especially If you saw the megahit film "Avatar," and also were one of the 9 million folks who tuned in Monday to see the premiere of Fox's big-budget prehistoric adventure "Terra Nova."

In both projects, the silver-haired actor/playwright is playing tough military leaders, but his outer-space "Avatar" character, Col. Miles, Quaritch, is rather more crazy than his "Terra Nova" role of Commander Nathaniel Taylor.

On the other hand, Quaritch was battling with rebellious aliens in faraway deep space, while Taylor is merely coping with rampaging dinosaurs as leader of an expedition aiming to survive a dying Earth by escaping into its past.

Easy peasy, right?

In my syndicated feature story on "Terra Nova," I was only able to include a bit of my email interview with Lang -- we tried to talk on the phone, but Australia is FAR, and the connection wasn't good -- but my loyal Cuppers deserve the full Lang.

And here it is (questions in bold) ...

How did your experience on Avatar help you deal with the special-effects aspects of this show?

Working on AVATAR very emphatically demonstrated the necessarily collaborative nature of building a character in a digitally created environment. If a character is defined by actions, and it is, when you are acting in an imaginary location, perhaps surmounting imaginary obstacles, fighting imaginary beasts -- well, your dependence on and understanding of what and relationship to the artist/technicians who are responsible for the actualization of location, obstacle, creature, becomes crucial and intimate.

It is crucial that we all are in the same place, seeing the same thing, feeling the same heat, making all the elements gel into a reality. So it is a matter of collaborative imagination, focus, and energy. The experience of working on AVATAR has stood me well on TERRA NOVA.

How much of a physical challenge has the role been?

The role of COMMANDER TAYLOR is physically very challenging. As the leader of the colony he must not only project an image of strength, determination and skill, he must be able to deliver the goods. He's got to walk the walk. While the world of TERRA NOVA is lush and beautiful, it is also raw and unforgiving. Taylor climbs craggy heights, jumps off cliffs, crawls through primordial mud, pummels insurgents, faces off against snarling dinos - gets slashed, pecked, thumped, and generally whacked around. My body is an atlas of bruises, nicks and welts. It's a helluva lot of fun!

How is the relationship developing with Jason O'Mara's character?

Very interesting relationship developing between Taylor and Shanon (The Great O'Mara). Both alpha males. Is there room in the colony for two? Have shifting measures of respect, affection, and wariness for and of each other. Shannon is a family man, surrounded by love. Taylor is a loner, having lost most of the people he loved. Both hard guys, but both have big hearts. Both are totally committed to the vision of Terra Nova, a brave new world.

What is your take on Taylor - good guy, grey guy, bad guy, none of the above?

Fundamentally Taylor is a very good man. He daily tries to live up to his responsibilities as leader of the colony. He has his flaws for sure: he is prideful, stubborn as a mule, not very forgiving, and emotionally locked up. He can also be quite Machiavellian. But he is also loyal to a fault, maybe blindingly so at times. He is a man you want in charge in a time of crisis. Good? Bad? Yes. In the end, he is just a man.

What's been the most fun so far?

It is all fun. The physical challenges. Working with such a sterling set of actors and directors. Receiving the scripts and learning how the saga unfolds. Battling the elements. Breaking for lunch! Wrapping and having a beer in the make-up trailer.

I've seen you more cerebral roles and action roles, do you have a preference?

Well, there is a physical life to every role, no matter how cerebral. Perhaps there is no more cerebral person on earth than Stephen Hawking. Imagine the physical challenge of playing him! But I understand what you're asking.

Basically, when you have a physical challenge in front of you, say, staging a fight -- punch here, kick here, duck, weave, punch again -- the acting takes care of itself, you know? I love working with motorcycles, trucks, stunts. But I love the quiet scenes as well. Just playing chess and talking. I prefer a mix.

How much of Taylor's backstory do you know?

I know a good bit of Taylor's backstory even as it continues to evolve. It will evolve as necessary to the story. I am in a pretty continuous conversation with the writers about it.

'Hawaii Five-0': There's shocking, and then there's shocking

2011-09-20T17:02:16Z

Today's cuppa: Barry's Classic Blend tea

I'm sitting here playing last night's season premiere of CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" on my DVR, and it just hit me again how straight-up bold this little show is.

At the end of last season, the Hawaii governor (Jean Smart) was murdered, and the killing was pinned on her hand-picked crimefighter, former Navy SEAL Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin).

And why was the governor murdered?

Because she was in bed with international criminal Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos) -- oh, and she ordered the murder of her aide (Kelly Wu), and the whole thing is mixed up with the death of McGarrett's father.

Now, when "Hawaii Five-0" was being developed, and when it premiered in the fall of 2010, Hawaii had a female governor, Linda Lingle, the first Republican in the office since the first guy, who took office when Hawaii became a state in 1959.

At first, Jean Smart's character, Gov. Jameson, looked like a hero, recruiting McGarrett and putting Five-0 together -- answerable to her alone -- to combat crime. Now, it turns out she was the criminal.

And a Navy man was intent on taking her down, not only for justice but for some very personal reasons.

It's a pretty interesting stew -- as I noted previously here at HCTV.

You might think I'm accusing the "H50" producers of political bias, but I have no direct evidence of that. They may have given the show a female governor because the state had one -- or they thought casting Jean Smart was a neat idea, which it was -- and Jameson's political affiliation was never mentioned.

Also, it's not a new idea that a governor could have dirty hands -- witness what's happened recently to former Illinois Gov. Rod "Blago" Blagojevich -- but the idea that one would be hand in glove with an international gangster takes "Hawaii Five-0" to another level.

The show could quite easily have simply aspired to be a competent action-thriller/crime-drama and run for years with its original premise, but in blowing that up, it's now passed into "24" territory.

But I did have a couple of twinges.

After McGarrett's arch-nemesis Victor Hesse (James Marsters, reprising his role from the pilot) gives him an intentionally non-fatal shanking in prison, McGarrett is able to escape from an ambulance and go on the run to prove his innocence.

But, along the way, he beat the crap out of some innocent EMTs and a cop who was just doing his job. I know you're not supposed to think about things like that in a thriller, but I do. One hopes McGarrett apologized and sent flowers, but you know that, in the real world, there would be lawsuits.

As for the explosive ending of the premiere, I'll leave that out in case you haven't seen it, but it looks like Wo Fat is all up in McGarrett's business, in a whole bunch of ways.

I wondered at the end of last season how "H50" would put the pieces back together after tearing its premise apart. Adding Terry O'Quinn -- joining fellow "Lost" cast member Daniel Dae Kim, who is one of the show's stars -- in a recurring role as McGarrett's mentor was a step in the right direction.

Now, there's a new boss in town, Lt. Governor Sam Denning (Richard T. Jones, at left).

As you can see, he doesn't much look like Hawaii's current leader, Governor Neil Abercrombie (at right).

Denning has revived the Five-0 team, but with a few new restrictions (yeah, we'll see how long that lasts).

But one team member, Honolulu PD rookie Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park) is still under investigation by Internal Affairs -- in the person of Capt. Vince Fryer, played by "Celebrity Rehab" alumnus Tom Sizemore.

Now, that's some risky casting, and we're wondering how many papers the talented but troubled Sizemore had to sign to assure the producers that there wouldn't be any issues during his tenure.

(UPDATE: Oh, dear, it looks like Sizemore just got arrested.)

(UPDATE ON THE UPDATE: Luckily for Sizemore, it looks like it was a misunderstanding.)

With big action sequences, interesting casting, explosive plot twists and O'Loughlin looking better than ever, this is one remake that's already living up to the legend.

I don't, however, hold out much hope for ABC's new "Charlie's Angels" -- but I'm always willing to be surprised.