Tag: Television

Television: Fall Preview 2010

Posted on September 20, 2010 at 8:00 am

The fall season of television begins this week and there’s a lot to look forward to, from returning favorites to intriguing new shows. Here are some of the shows I’m most excited about.

“Glee” returns with episodes celebrating Britney Spears and “The Rocky Horror Show.” New cast members include Charice Pempengco, who captivated Oprah and Celine Dion with her big voice and sweet personality.

Can’t wait for the new seasons of “Modern Family” and “The Good Wife” as well.

I got an intriguing glimpse of “The Event” at Comic-Con. Blair Underwood plays the President of the United States in a paranoid puzzler of a thriller that could be the new “Lost.” The supporting cast includes top talent Laura Innes, Jason Ritter, and Zeljko Ivanek.

I love glamorous romantic adventure, so I am looking forward to “Undercovers,” with the gorgeous Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a married couple who once were spies and are still gets called by the CIA for special project. I am sure those projects will involve exotic locations and sexy banter. Can’t wait!

I have had a weakness for lawyer shows since the original “Perry Mason” and there are a bunch of news ones this year. I’m looking forward to “The Defenders” with Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell and co-starring one of my favorite young actors, Jurnee Smollet. The Las Vegas setting should give them some interesting cases. And I’m glad to see Tom Selleck returning in “Blue Bloods,” about a family of law enforcement officials, including Bridget Moynahan and former NKTB-er Donnie Walhberg.

But the show I am most excited about is Martin’s Scorsese’s Boardwalk Empire, written by “The Soprano’s” Terence Winter. Set in Prohibition era Atlantic City, it stars Steve Buscemi as a political fixer who is part politician and part gangster. It features a powerhouse cast from the big screen including Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man”) Gretchen Mol (“The Notorious Bettie Page”), Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”), and Michael Pitt (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”).

For historical background, read the book by Nelson Johnson.

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Television

Peter Sarsgaard Visits the Pirates Convention

Posted on September 19, 2010 at 2:39 pm

Celebrate “Talk Like a Pirate Day” with a look at this delightful sketch from “Saturday Night Live” with Peter Sarsgaard visiting a Pirate’s Convention and finally figuring out why they really wanted him to be there.

And don’t forget the delightfully piratical Tim Curry in “Muppet Treasure Island:”

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Television

Don’t Trust the Toy Lady

Posted on September 17, 2010 at 8:00 am

The LA Times reports that back to school reports on a number of national and local newscasts have included commentary from “a young mother and ‘toy expert’ named Elizabeth Werner,” described as “perky and positive-plus” in her demonstration of seven recommended toys for children. She talks about all the things the toys do in her segments on the air, but does not mention one fact parents might like to know — she is paid $11,000 for each toy she presents by the same company that is hoping you will buy them.
James Rainey points out that it is a violation of FCC rules for a news program to present a sponsored segment without disclosing that it is, in effect, an ad. It is also a violation of journalistic ethics which even chirpy morning shows are supposed to uphold.
Rainey, who by example demonstrates exactly what those standards are for, notes that

Werner is a lawyer who worked for a couple of toy companies before she went into the promotion business. She told me that the company that hires her to do the tours — New Jersey-based DWJ Television — scrupulously notifies TV stations that toy makers pay for the pitches. DWJ founder Dan Johnson, an ABC News veteran of decades gone by, said the same.

So I picked three stations and morning programs that Werner visited over the summer — Fox 2 in Detroit, Fox 5’s “Good Day Atlanta” and the independent KTVK’s “Good Morning Arizona” in Phoenix to see how they plugged the Werner segments. A spokesperson for the two Fox stations and the news director at the Phoenix outlet told me they had been told absolutely nothing about Werner being paid to tout products, which ranged from a Play-Doh press to a new Toy Story video game to the Paper Jamz electronic guitar.

He notes that the burden is not on the promoter who is being paid but on the news programs, who should always be suspicious of anyone who claims to be an expert, especially one who is touring the country without any visible means of support.
The burden, unfortunately, is on parents, who must also learn to be skeptical about “experts” who are just live-action versions of Marge the manicurist or Mr. Whipple the store manager.

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Advertising Marketing to Kids Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Amish Grace

Posted on September 13, 2010 at 7:54 am

B+
Lowest Recommended Age: Middle School
MPAA Rating: NR
Profanity: None
Alcohol/ Drugs: None
Violence/ Scariness: Tragic deaths, grief
Diversity Issues: A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters: March 28, 2010
Date Released to DVD: September 14, 2010
Amazon.com ASIN: B003V3FSO6

The highest-rated Lifetime Movie Network film, “Amish Grace,” is out on DVD this week and well worth viewing. It is based on the true story of a devastating tragedy and the example of courage, compassion, and forgiveness that inspired the nation. Even those who separate themselves from the temptations and dangers of the modern world can sometimes find themselves facing unspeakable loss that threatens the most devoted belief in God’s purpose. In this story, a community we often think of as sheltered, even quaint, taught the rest of the world a lesson in putting belief into action.

A disturbed gunman killed five Amish children and injured five more before turning his gun on himself. The Amish community immediately reached out to his wife with gentleness and sympathy. This story focuses on one agonized mother (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), who struggles with anger and grief as she tries to live up to her principles. Her husband says, “It is not easy to forgive, Ida. The Lord does not ask us to walk an easy path… But this I know — faith when everything is as you want it to be is not true faith. It is only when our lives are falling apart that we have the chance to make our faith real.”

Be sure to read my interview with one of its young stars, Karley Scott Collins. I have three copies to give away. Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Amish” in the subject line and tell me why this story is so important. Don’t forget to include your address. The first three to write in will get copies of the DVD.

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