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June 28, 2007
"Burn" baby, burn!
Hey folks,
Know it's been a while. Just wanted to remind you that tonight is the debut of USA's new spy drama "Burn Notice," which you ABSOLUTELY can't miss. It stars the underrated Jeffrey Donovan (think Val Kilmer, but slightly less sleazy) as a blacklisted spy who hides out in Miami, taking crime-solving jobs and trying to figure out just who kicked him out of the spy biz.
I wrote about it in my column on summer shows several weeks ago, but the show is so funny and quick, I wanted to put in another cry for you to watch. In addition to Donovan, it stars Sharon Gless ("Cagney and Lacey") as Donovan's mom, B-movie God Bruce Campbell as his buddy and Gabrielle Anwar ("Scent of a Woman") as his ex-girlfriend.
It's a breath of fresh air in this hot, sticky time, and it's not getting much promotion.
So here I am to promote it -- watch, watch watch!
Posted by amanda on 7:46 AM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2007
The original science guy
Usually, I fill this space with my hip and cool observations on today's hottest TV shows.
But, today, I'd like to take a moment to pay tribute to one of the icons of my childhood.
On Tuesday, Don Herbert, best known as TV's "Mr. Wizard" died at 89 after a battle with cancer.
Herbert was best known to me as the somewhat dry, but still genial, "Mr. Wizard," host of a kiddie science show that ran on Nickelodeon when I was a little girl. His whole purpose was to explain science to kids in a way that made it fun and relatable.
He was the one who taught us how to make volcanoes out of ordinary household items. He taught us that science could be magical and fun. That's ironic, because Herbert himself was a pretty staid guy.
He didn't have the nuttiness of his successor, Bill Nye (as in "Bill Nye, the Science Guy). Herbert wasn't a friend to kids. He was more like a kindly uncle, or a really nice science teacher. He seemed quiet, nice and smart. But he knew his stuff.
I wasn't a huge Mr. Wizard fan, admittedly. I preferred kiddie shows with puppets and cartoons. Yet I did like the idea that science was everywhere, and not just something that you learned in school. Mr. Wizard turned everyday life into a learning experience, which was something even I could appreciate.
Though I remember Herbert from my childhood in the 1980s, his show was actually much older than that. "Watch Mr. Wizard" origianlly aired in the 1950s, even winning a Peabody award. It was revived in the 1970s, and again in the 80s for Nickelodeon.
In today's world of short attention spans, I'm not sure how well how Herbert's show would have fared. But I know those of my generation, and a few before it, remember him fondly.
He will be missed.
Posted by amanda on 8:05 AM | Comments (0)
June 6, 2007
More summer than you can handle
Hey all --
Some of you might have read my column about the new summer shows. Well, believe it or not, I still have more to say on the subject. Click on the "continue reading" link below to view a video blog of me sharing my views on this summer's TV offerings. Enjoy.
By the way -- there's a slight error in the video. "Fast Cars & Superstars" didn't start Wednesday -- it starts tonight, Thursday, at 8.
Posted by amanda on 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
