TV Addicts

‘Picture it, Sicily, 1922 …’

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:06:25 -0700

Estelle Getty has died—farewell to The Golden Girls’ Sophia.
Although her character was the oldest, I think Estelle was one of the youngest actresses in the cast. She was 84 at the time of her passing, but 20-plus years ago, her character’s age was in the 80s.
I’ll remember her well for The Golden Girls and not for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

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It’s not Rory Bremner

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:10:27 -0700

Famous British comedian (I mean, politician—sorry, I get the two professions confused) Tony Blair, who has guest-voiced on The Simpsons, appeared in this sketch with Catherine Tate playing Lauren Cooper.

catherine tate meets prime minister

The former PM has excellent timing and delivery, but then some might say he’s been doing comedy for years.

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Life on Mars promo, without Gene and Annie

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:24:29 -0700

Life on Mars Promo

Here’s the newest promo for the American version of Life on Mars. Notice that any footage featuring Colm Meaney or Rachelle Lefèvre has been cut, and only Jason O’Mara appears. The year has also been changed to ‘1973’, matching the original’s setting.

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US Life on Mars producers talk to the creators

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:07:47 -0700

It’s good to know the new producers of Life on Mars in the US have actually spoken to the original creators, to change the mythology, so that US Sam does not discover that he is in the same predicament as UK Sam.
   One of the comments from co-creator Matthew Graham was that he only had a single phone conversation with David E. Kelley, who penned the original, rejected pilot.
   Apparently, by the end of the second episode in the US, NYPD Det. Sam Tyler puts down 13 possibilities on a board to explain what has happened to him.
   Do not check out the above link if you do not want a series-ending spoiler on what happened to the original DI Tyler.
   I am excited by the US remake again.

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Flight of the Conchords gets three Emmy nominations

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:56:24 -0700

Great news! Flight of the Conchords has received three Emmy nods for directing, writing, and original music and lyrics. It didn’t get an Emmy nomination for best comedy series, which I think is a sin.
   Not bad for a show conceived by a bunch of Kiwis, even if it did take American money and HBO to get it off the ground.
   And thank goodness it did—how else would it have become so widely received? I can’t see a TV3- or TVNZ-funded Conchords cracking the US market—it would, like Outrageous Fortune, have been remade at best.
   Good luck to Bret, Jemaine and the others associated with the show.

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Candie’s unveils Hayden Panettiere campaign with Giuliano Bekor shots

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:28:33 -0700

I thought this was awesome news in that the photographer, Giuliano Bekor, shot regularly for Lucire. From the Lucire ‘Insider’ section.

Giuliano Bekor, whose credits include numerous Lucire shoots, photographed Hayden Panettiere for her 2008 Candie’s print campaign.

Hayden Panettiere will star in Candie’s back to school 2008 television, print and online advertising campaign, according to the company. Hayden, who is known as an award-winning actress, activist and star of NBC’s hit television series Heroes can now add recording artist to her résumé.
   Following last year’s marketing campaign with Grammy-award winning artist Fergie, the new fall TV commercial will be a direct lift from Panettiere’s ﬁrst music video, ‘Wake Up Call’, which was styled using Candie’s apparel, footwear and accessories.
   This is Panettiere’s second season with the brand.
   To coincide with TV, a print campaign will feature Panettiere in a variety of sexy and sweet vignettes as she playfully poses with a piano, behind a beaded curtain and in a club-like setting among others. The ‘Wake Up Call’ video and the Candie’s commercial were shot in Los Angeles by famed music video director Chris Applebaum and the print campaign was shot by fashion photographer Giuliano Bekor, whose credits include Lucire, and created by the Iconix in-house marketing team.
   Fans can listen to ‘Wake Up Call’ exclusively at www.candies.com and www.kohls.com/inspire (streaming only) beginning today. The single will be available for download on iTunes beginning August 5. The single is being released by Hollywood Records.

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US Life on Mars reveals ﬁrst story, Annie Cartwright character

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:37:05 -0700

Some more news on US Life on Mars has emerged from TCA (the Television Critics’ Association), as reported at After Ellen. Executive producer Josh Appelbaum was there—the last time I recall seeing Josh’s credit regularly was the first season of Martial Law, but I know I have seen his name on the odd programme since.
Appelbaum gave a few more insights into the new series, saying that Annie Cartwright (the third!) has not been cast yet, but that she would be stronger than Liz White’s character. She would be more outspoken and connected to the women’s lib movement, he said.
The storyline seems to have totally changed, too, probably giving the new Gene and Ray a chance to shine with some homophobic comments and how times have changed—which was one of the points of the original that the rejected Kelley pilot lacked:

Appelbaum also said “the first batch” of the series starts off with a gay story line. But wait! It’s about men and “deals with a returning Vietnam vet, with finding a victim that’s gay ... we deal with all of that stuff, specifically how it’s viewed at the time.”

Interestingly, he talks about ‘1973’, so the year will not be changed in the American version after all.
He also promised (at another source) that the show will have a different mythology to the original and that viewers will see ‘a dozen’ possibilities of what has happened to the US Sam Tyler by the end of episode two.

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I can imagine Two Jags calling Brown a ‘Jock’

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:30:17 -0700

Another brilliant Eggtoon from Andy Wyatt: this time about Labour’s politics during the Blair era, in the style of South Park. I think it’s funnier than the Windsors one I posted earlier tonight, though the death of Robin Cook in the cartoon might be considered bad taste given that the man has passed away.

The State We’re in—West Minster

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By appointment

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:30:49 -0700

My colleague Jen Hamilton and I were browsing YouTube after working on a site for a client, and stumbled across a bit of royal humour. What if the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburgs, I mean, the Mountbatten-Windsors, were a Simpsons-style cartoon (featuring Mohammed al-Fayed and the Rt Hon Tony Blair)?
Note to self: do not mention this blog post next time I see the Governor-General and his wife.

The State We're In - The Windsors

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US Life on Mars’ Chris Skelton announced

nobody@vox.com(Jack Yan) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:26:38 -0700

More casting announcements are emerging from Hollywood about the American re-remake of Life on Mars.
   Jonathan Murphy (formerly Ronnie of October Road) has been cast as Det Chris Skelton, which means David E. Kelley’s successors on the programme have brought back both Chris and Ray—two characters missing from the first attempt at remaking the British series.
   The Hollywood Reporter’s description of Chris is familiar: ‘a jittery young detective who is new to the department.’
   It may mean that the redo will try to forge relationships between Sam Tyler and the rest of the department akin to the original’s.

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