Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll and director Taylor Hackford
While Taylor Hackford is best known for directing dramas like An Officer and a Gentleman, The Devil's Advocate and Ray, his documentaries may be some of his most interesting work. After getting his start as an investigative reporter for public television in Los Angeles, the silver-bearded cineaste went on to helm 1987's
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Daily Show's Jon Stewart is a fan of puzzlemaster Will Shortz (inset).
What's an eight-letter word for a star-studded new documentary? Wordplay, going into wide release this Friday, offers a compelling look at Will Shortz, editor of the New York Times' venerable grid, and the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Along the way, such famous faces as former President Bill Clinton, Daily Show host Jon Stewart, filmmaker
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Amazing Race 9 winners BJ Averell and Tyler MacNiven
Brains beat brawn when BJ Averell and Tyler MacNiven won the $1 million prize in The Amazing Race 9. But it turns out the close friends' fun-loving hippie image almost did them in — off camera. How? Read on.
TVGuide.com: We never really saw you guys having to go through customs, but you obviously had to. Did you ever get delayed?Tyler MacNiven: In Japan we got held up in customs because we fit the hippie stereotype. Often you'll have hippie guys try to smuggle in drugs because they're very hard to get in Japan. In customs there we had to go into this backroom to get strip-searched — and it was all in Japanese, like some movie where these officers were getting us naked and going through our bags.BJ Averell: Dogs were sniffing through our bags. Tyler: That
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Question: Hello Matt. I like your column and hope you will print this question. I have been a huge fan of Amazing Race since about a quarter into its second season (I believe that was the one with Danny and Oswald, still my favorite AR team of all time). I know the family edition was uneven, but I fear the events of the May 3 episode might prove to be the show's undoing. What Eric and Jeremy did, canceling the cabs of both B.J. and Tyler and Ray and Yolanda, was so over the line in terms of sportsmanship and deception that it left me thoroughly disgusted. Furthermore, Joseph and Monica are fast becoming one of the most loathsome teams ever on the show (although I don't think anyone can top Jonathan and Victoria). They were all too happy to look the other way at the Frat Boys' slimy tactics, and then they have the nerve to whine and complain when the Hippies yielded them?!! I have never seen the show get this nasty and unpleasant, even during the Rob and Amber season. I was so angry ...
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Lake and Michelle, The Amazing Race
Lake and Michelle of CBS' The Amazing Race (Wednesdays at 8 pm/ET) have been called this season's Jonathan and Victoria. Argumentative. Snappy. They pecked at each other almost right up to the moment they were eliminated in Greece. Married for almost 15 years, the Mississippi dental team — he's a dentist, she's his office assistant — swear they're a lot nicer to each other in real life. No, really.
TVGuide.com: Your accents are so charming — except for when you're mad!Lake: Well...Michelle: When else do you get to hear us talking? [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Speaking of that, Lake, you were really mean to Michelle. At one point in Greece you even said something like, "Bitch, just shut up!" How did you explain tha
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Amazing Race 9You could argue that Eric and Jeremy and B.J. and Tyler are having fun because they're winning, but I think they're actually winning because they're having fun. Doing silly things like walking onto the mat backwards, flirting with the locals and having wheelchair obstacle-course races makes them relaxed and more capable of making decisions and following directions. Meanwhile, if Lake would just stop ordering Michelle around and cursing about the other teams, they might stop making dumb mistakes. Fran is my new hero for telling Lake to "Please, step back" at the ticket counter. Maybe the agents in Munich also hated the nasty dentist, since they so readily told everyone but them about the faster connection
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The Amazing RaceTonight's episode was brought to you by Acme Climbing Ropes. Why else would they be rappelling down a building and climbing up a waterfall in the same day? Also, what's up with these mornings when everyone is assigned different start times but then the place doesn't open until after everyone gets there? It's a cheap way to squeeze some suspense out of another cab ride. I'm glad they got out of São Paolo early on. Last week's helicopter ride was pretty, but it sure doesn't have much else in the way of telegenic tourist attractions.
I'm guessing that the partnership of Eric and Jeremy and BJ and Tyler will last as long as they stay at the front of the pack, but the minute they're in jeopardy, it's history. Eric and Jeremy
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Todd Bridges, Skating with Celebrities
Perhaps no reality-show elimination is as brutally cold as on Fox's Skating with Celebrities (Mondays at 8 pm/ET), where the booted have likely spent weeks sliding their backsides on the ice. The first to lack muster with the judging panel was Diff'rent Strokes alum Todd Bridges, who in this TVGuide.com Q&A sings the praises of his pro partner, opens up about his sobriety, and promises a true Hollywood tell-all the likes of which you cannot imagine.
TVGuide.com: You treated Skating with Celebrities viewers to a "Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Willis?" early on. Did you just want to get it out of your system?
Todd Bridges: Yeah, I figured if I kill it before anyone
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Larenz Tate, Love Monkey
In CBS' recently premiered Love Monkey (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET), Ed alum Tom Cavanagh is flanked by a trio of buds, including Jason Priestley's dad-to-be, Mike, and Christopher Wiehl's onetime baseball stud, Jake. Rounding out the close-knit quartet is Shooter, played by Larenz Tate, with whom TVGuide.com went one-on-one in this Q&A.
TVGuide.com: Some have likened Love Monkey to Sex and the City, but with guys and music. In that scheme of things, who is Shooter — Samantha?Larenz Tate: Yeah, that's what everyone is saying. Our show clearly stands on its own, but if I had to compare, he'd be the
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Harry J. Lennix, Commander in Chief
As Jim Gardner on ABC's Commander in Chief (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET), Harry J. Lennix plays a White House chief of staff caught in the middle as he protects the legacy of President Mackenzie Allen's (Geena Davis) late predecessor — occasionally even lending his ear to her arch enemy — while still serving the highest office in the land. TVGuide.com spoke to the actor about Jim's dilemma (and jettisoned love life), as well as the thrill of watching Ray Charles come to life.
TVGuide.com: People who have seen The West Wing and/or Th
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