Question: Which fall pilots would you deem worthy of my time?
Answer: I finished watching the last of the pilots over the weekend and I have fantastic news: For the first time in recent memory, the good fall shows easily outnumber the bad ones — at least based on the pilots I saw. As Desperate Housewives taught us, the second and third episodes tell us much more about a show's creative bones than a season premiere. With that said, here are the fall offerings that have the most FauxVo potential.
* Vanished (Fox) and Kidnapped (NBC): Among the things these two thrillers share in common: They both&
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Mae Whitman, Thief
While I really liked the unabashed Ocean's Eleven-ness of NBC's Heist, FX's Thief (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET) serves up grand larceny with gripping grit and no gloss, as Andre Braugher's Nick Atwater plots out that "one last score" that will lead him and his band of merry bandits out of harm's way. Mucking up the mix is the professional pinch's stepdaughter, Tammi, already disposed to view her father figure through less than rose-colored glasses, then forced to question everything about their familial ties when tragedy robs the teen of her mother, Nick's wife. It's heavy stuff, but
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HeistAs is often the case with these shows with glitzy big-budget pilots, the second episode seems to pale a little bit in comparison. Or so I thought for most of the episode because of all the talking and planning. That is until fast-driving Vinny showed up. In mere moments he amped up the entertainment factor with his special-request list, the car-chase music and the amazing under-the-trailer-truck getaway move. Too bad it didn't work and he landed in the slammer. Before he hit the scene, I had been mildly amused by the cashmere face mask, the fact that James was using Sam Jackson as a pseudonym and watching Billy getting stuck in the manhole. "Say diet!" I'm still grooving on this show despite all its Ocean's Eleven rip... rather, similarities, but I'
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Now here's a gamble if ever I heard one: The suits at Warner Bros. are proceeding with plans to make another Ocean's Eleven sequel — Ocean's Thirteen, natch — but without Oscar-winning eye candy Catherine Zeta-Jones or Julia Roberts in the cast. Joining George, Brad and Matt in the women's place will be a new tough gal — or rather, an old familiar one — Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love). Filming is scheduled to begin on July 21.
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Steve Harris and Dougray Scott, Heist
Tonight at 10 pm/ET, NBC lays the foundation for a major Heist with a serialized drama — directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Supremacy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and penned by Mark and Robb Cullen (FX's Lucky) — about the simultaneous robbery of three Beverly Hills jewelry stores. Leading the series' Ocean's Eleven-style rat pack of robbers are Mission: Impossible II baddie Dougray Scott as Mickey O'Neil and The Practice's Steve Harris as James "Never Jimmy" Johnson, while Seymour Cassel (as safecracker Pops), Marika Dominczyk (computer whi
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Vanessa Marcil, Las Vegas
While all those media-maven types theorize about the true meaning of Las Vegas' time-slot change — NBC's Monday mainstay is moving to Fridays at 9, starting tonight, March 3 — Vanessa Marcil won't be bothered. As the Montecito's hostess with the oh-so-mostess, she is relishing her dream job, a role she values a distant second behind that of mother to son Kassius, who turns 4 this month. In this candid Q&A with TVGuide.com, the brunette beauty cheers "Viva Las Vegas" — and reveals at least two celebrity crushes.
TVGuide.com: When I called you to set this up, it sounded a bit festive in the background. Were you at a strip club with your Vegas pals, or wer
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Vanessa Marcil, Las Vegas
While all those media-maven types theorize about the true meaning of Las Vegas' upcoming time-slot change — NBC's Monday-night mainstay is moving to Fridays at 9, starting March 3 — Vanessa Marcil won't be bothered. As the Montecito's hostess with the oh-so-mostess, she is relishing her dream job, a role she values a distant second behind that of mother to son Kassius, who turns 4 in March. In this candid Q&A with TVGuide.com, the brunette beauty cheers "Viva Las Vegas" — and reveals at least two celebrity crushes.
TVGuide.com: When I called you to set this up, it sounded a bit festive in the background. Were you at a strip club with your Vegas pals, or were
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The latest pilot-casting news finds ER's John Leguizamo top-lining CBS' Edison, as an undercover cop; Ally McBeal's Jane Krakowski in Sex, Power, Love & Politics, CBS' comedy about Capitol Hill staffers; 2 Fast 2 Furious' Cole Hauser landing a lead in Fox's legal drama, Damages; Fred Willard as a toy-company owner in the CBS laffer Play Nice; Matthew Lillard in Fox's treasure-hunting thriller 13 Graves; and Ocean's Eleven's Scott Caan playing best bud to Danny Comden in an untitled ABC comedy.
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Dean Martin, The Dean Martin Show
Question: Mr. Televisionary, I'm confused. After seeing the remake, some friends and I rented the original Ocean's Eleven and we got to talking about Dean Martin and his career. Isn't it true that by the time he got his own TV show, he was barely trying? Basically, was he really drunk the whole time? Thanks.
Answer: Well, according to Martin himself, who was backed up by many who knew him at the time, the whole point was to act like he was barely trying — and he managed to fool a lot of people by doing just that. What you reportedly saw on his show much of the time was a glass of apple juice. Of course, the man liked his drink and wasn't shy about social imbibing, but according to those who worked with him closely enough to break through the persona and see the real man, he wasn't nearly the hard-core partier he appeared to be — and he never let it get in the way of
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Bubble's Debbie Doebereiner
The latest film from Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh seeks not to break box-office records, earn countless awards or chronicle what's next for Danny Ocean and his band of merry thieves. No, all it wants to do is change the way Hollywood makes movies. Forever.
Bubble, starring absolutely no one you have heard of — unless, per chance, you are a resident of Parkersburg, W. Va., or Belpre, Ohio — presents the story of two doll-factory drones whose very, very quiet world is turned upside down by a shocking murder. Sounds good and typically art-housey so far, right? But the reason all eyes in Hollywood are on this little film that could — made for a pittance of $1.6 million — is that Bubble will be released in theaters and on cable (via HDNet Movies) today, and will then become available on DVD on Tuesday.
Cal
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