TV Obits: Ferrer, Sills, Bernsen
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- Mel Ferrer: He was best known for his movie work (including such films as The Sun Also Rises, War & Peace, and Lilli) but he was also a regular on the CBS series Falcon Crest. He also appeared on Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, Christine Cromwell, Hotel, Dallas, Return of the Saint, Hawaii Five-O, Baretta, the miniseries How The West Was Won, and many others. He also directed and produced many films and was married to Audrey Hepburn from 1954 to 1968. He died near Carpinteria, CA at age 90.
- Paul Sills: He was the founder of the famous Second City comedy group in Chicago, which trained some of the best known comedians in the business, including Tina Fey, Chris Farley, John Belushi, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Gilda Radner, and many others. He died in Wisconsin of pneumonia at age 80.
- Henry Bernsen, Jr.: He was the father of actor Corbin Bernsen but also a producer, producing such TV shows as The ABC Afterschool Special and the miniseries The Awakening Land. He died in Woodland Hills, CA at age 82.
Thomas Lennon talks about the fifth season of Reno 911! - VIDEO
“Don’t get high on your own supply.” –Thomas Lennon on how he doesn’t have basic cable.
Thomas Lennon, the star and co-creator of Comedy Central’s Reno 911!, got to together with Mahalo’s Lon Harris to talk about basic cable, the how it’s not gay to love Sting in Dune, Christopher Walken’s answering machine, and Falcon Crest. He also dishes about the finale of Reno 911! (currently in its fifth season), the Upright Citizens Brigade, and Balls of Fury. Oh, and he might mention something about The State reunion.
Fans of Thomas Lennon and all things Reno 911! will enjoy this interview. Lennon is genius! The video is after the jump.
Reno 911! premieres the second half of its fifth season tonight at 10:30/9:30c on Comedy Central. Click here to watch previews or get caught up on what’s been going on at the Reno Sheriff’s Department.
Pick a title for Alec Baldwin’s new show - VIDEO
It seems that Alec Baldwin isn’t content with starring on NBC’s 30 Rock (and possibly running for office). He also wants to get into producing TV shows. Over at the Hollywood offices of The Hollywood Reporter (gah, new logo!), Baldwin pitches his new show, which he describes as both a family drama and a show where the entire cast has sex in a space capsule over and over again. He says it’s a combination of Falcon Crest, Star Trek, and Girls Gone Wild.
In the video after the jump, someone off camera suggests the title Last Tango on Saturn, while Baldwin suggests Interplanetary Pie, though I don’t think the networks would go for that. Maybe this is a plot they should squeeze into 30 Rock. Hey, they already had M.I.L.F. Island, right?
What’s your title suggestion? How about Melrose Planet? Gossip Aliens? Sex and the Galaxy? Let us know in the comments below.
I’m worried about Jane Doe
So what did you do yesterday? I spent the entire Sunday watching detective movies on The Hallmark Channel. Of course, when I say “detective movies” it sounds like I was watching old film noir flicks from the 40s and 50s. Actually, I was watching Murder, She Wrote, Perry Mason movies, and Matlock.
Yes, I have the social life of a 70 year-old woman.
I’ve always been a sucker for these shows, going back to the NBC Mystery Movie and Columbo and McMillan and Wife. Those shows were probably better produced and written than the stuff you see on Hallmark Channel, but I think the new shows are quite entertaining and fun, and it’s good to see favorite familiar faces on TV again: the McBride movies with John Larroquette, the Murder 101 movies with Dick Van Dyke, and the TV movie series I’d like to talk about, Jane Doe.
To put it simply, I’m worried about Jane Doe.
Jane (Lea Thompson) is a fortysomething suburban housewife with two kids and a hubby (played by William R. Moses of Melrose Place and Falcon Crest) who supposedly works for a puzzle/toy company. She also happens to be a secret spy who helps out agent Frank Darnell (Joe Penny of Riptide) on baffling cases. Her puzzle background helps in that regard. One problem: she has to keep the assignments secret from her husband and kids. Plots like this have always bothered me. What if Jane is killed on assignment? Not only will the family have to deal with the fact that their wife and mother is dead, but she’s been living a secret life for years. That would be crushing.
Anyway, Jane is always getting phone calls and text messages from Frank saying he needs her (if her husband found these text messages he’d probably think she was having an affair, but I digress…), so she’ll make up an excuse about there being some type of emergency at the puzzle company (not sure what type of emergencies puzzle companies have, but I’ll go along with it) or spilling milk “accidentally” so she has to rush out to the grocery store to get more. Oh, by the way, the secret HQ for the Central Security Agency is in the back of the store.
So we have the set-up for a fun series of movies, sort of a Long Kiss Goodnight meets Banacek. But something troubles me. I’ve noticed (in the two movies I’ve watched anyway) that whenever Jane goes out to do a little snooping around, she often goes alone, with no gun. She’ll go into abandoned houses and spooky staircases and deserted office buildings, following the bad guy, and then the bad guy will come up behind her and try to shoot her, and all she can do is run or hide in a closet. Now, as far as I know, Jane is not Jason Bourne, able to kill any bad guys with a rolled up newspaper, and she constantly has to duck bullets and call for backup on her cell phone. This is probably really good for Verizon’s bottom line, but if she carried a gun she wouldn’t get in trouble like this all of the time.
So Jane, I like your movies and I like the plots and I think you’re a very smart, capable women. I just wish you’d either carry a gun or just be a little more careful out there, OK? Thanks.