“Bingo” opportunity
Casting directors are seeking contestants for the second season of the GSN game show “Bingo America”
Enthusiastic individuals looking to have a blast and a chance to win some cash are asked to submit their name, location, short biography, contact information and a recent photo to www.gsn.com/bingocasting.
Feel free to nominate someone who would make a great contestant, as well.
However, individuals who have been on a GSN show in the last three years or any other game show in the last year are not eligible.
Good luck!
–Penny TV
Versus does Tour de France right
For the most comprehensive coverage of the Tour de France, turn to Versus (channel 251 on Cox Digital Cable, 603 on Direct TV, 151 on Dish Network).
The cable network has been the U.S. television home for the cycle event since 2001, and Versus announced earlier this month than an extention deal was made to carry the race through 2013.
It’s a good deal for all, as this year Versus is planning on average 14 hours of race action per day. The Tour de France begins its 23-day Alps to Paris trek on July 5, and live coverage begins at 7:30 a.m.
Daily coverage will include a pre-race show followed by live morning race coverage, race action replays four times daily and an expanded primetime show. During the key mountain stages Versus will provide extended coverage beginning, some days, at 5:30 a.m. Start times will vary depending on stages and rest days. A complete schedule is available at www.VERSUS.com.
–Penny TV
“American Idol” audition dates announced
Network News Release …
Auditions for the eighth season of “American Idol” begin Thursday, July 17, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA, and will continue in seven other cities.
Once again, auditioners will have an opportunity to perform before millions of TV viewers and become household names, with one winning the coveted “American Idol” title and a major recording contract.
Auditions will be held as follows:
San Francisco, CA Thursday, July 17 Cow Palace
Louisville, KY Monday, July 21 Freedom Hall
Phoenix, AZ Friday, July 25 Jobing.com Arena
Salt Lake City, UT Tuesday, July 29 EnergySolutions Arena
San Juan, Puerto Rico Saturday, Aug. 2 Coliseo de Puerto Rico
Kansas City, MO Friday, Aug. 8 Sprint Center
Jacksonville, FL Wednesday, Aug. 13 Veterans Memorial Arena
East Rutherford, NJ Tuesday, Aug. 19 IZOD Center at Meadowlands Complex
Audition information, including forms and requirements, is available online at www.americanidol.com.
CBS announced 2008-09 premiere dates
CBS has announced dates for the fall premieres of its new and returning series, which include a pre-season debut for “Survivor: Gabon” and the launch of its Thursday and Friday drama series in early October.
The network will introduce the majority of its schedule beginning Sept. 22, the official start of the 2008-2009 season.
Thursday, Sept. 18
7 p.m.– Survivor: Gabon (17th installment premiere)
Monday, Sept. 22
7 p.m. — The Big Bang Theory (second-season premiere)
7:30 p.m. – How I Met Your Mother (fourth-season premiere)
8 p.m. — Two and a Half Men (sixth-season premiere)
8:30 p.m. — Worst Week (series debut)(CBS Photo at right)
9 p.m. — CSI: Miami (seventh-season premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 23
7 p.m. — NCIS (sixth-season premiere)
8 p.m. — The Mentalist (series debut)
9 p.m. — Without a Trace (seventh-season premiere)
Wednesday, Sept. 24
7 p.m. — The New Adventures of Old Christine (fourth-season premiere)
7:30 p.m. — Project Gary (series debut)
8 p.m. — Criminal Minds (fourth-season premiere)
9 p.m. — CSI: NY (fifth-season premiere)
Saturday, Sept. 27
7 p.m. — Crimetime Saturday
8 p.m. — Crimetime Saturday
9 p.m. — 48 Hours Mystery (season premiere)
Sunday, Sept. 28
6 p.m. — 60 Minutes (41st-season premiere)
7 p.m. — The Amazing Race (13th edition)
8 p.m. — Cold Case (sixth-season premiere)
9 p.m. — The Unit (fourth-season premiere)
Friday, Oct. 3
7 p.m. — Ghost Whisperer (fourth-season premiere)
8 p.m. — The Ex List (series premiere)
9 p.m. — NUMB3RS (fifth-season premiere)
Thursday, Oct. 9
8 p.m. — CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (ninth-season premiere)
9 p.m. — Eleventh Hour (series debut)
Surviving another week on “Nashville Star”
Former Cushing resident Tommy Stanley found out at the beginning of “Nashville Star” last Monday that he was up for elimination.
Was he worried? Yes. Did he let that get him down? No.
“I kept my hopes up by watching the crowd and seeing all my friends (the other Top 10 finalists) perform,” Stanley said Friday during his weekly press interview. “If I would have gone home on Monday, I would have gone out with a bang. I will always do my best like it’s my last night.”
After being singled out at the start of Monday’s country music competition on NBC, Stanley (standing next to Billy Ray Cyrus in NBC Photo above) had to watch almost the entire two-hour telecast from the contestants’ balcony. Every commercial, the TV cameras would zoom in on him and the others who had not yet learned if they would be up for elimination.
More than 3 million viewers were also watching the show, which featured the Top 10 finalists giving popular pop songs a country twist.
When Stanley did take the stage, he performed “Manaic” from the movie “Flashdance.” The judges said it didn’t sound very country.
“It is a very hard song to change into country, and that was the biggest risk of doing that song,” Stanley said. “But it’s such a pretty song if slowed down, and I though it really worked out.”
Things did work out for Stanley, who received enough votes from viewers to survive another week and keep his dreams alive on becoming the next “Nashville Star.” But another elimination looms for the final nine performers on Monday (8 p.m. on NBC), and Stanley is going to do his best to make sure he’s not singled out again.
“From here on out, I’m going to go back to my roots and show everybody that I am country to the bone,” he said. “There will be a huge change in what the judges say about my performances, and I think I will be in a safe position Monday after my performance.
“At least I’m hoping.”
–Penny TV
Program Planner: June 29-July 5
Sunday’s Oklahoman, which includes TV Week, hits the newsstands in the Oklahoma City area on Saturday afternoon. And it arrives at the doorstep (or hopefully nearby) early Sunday morning.
But for those who can’t wait to begin planning the upcoming week around the best TV has to offer, here is a sneak peek at programs worth watching the week of June 29:
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
♦“Cold Case” (8 p.m. on CBS): Diana Scarwid (“Silkwood”) guest stars as the mother of a neo-Nazi whose son is the prime suspect in the 1998 murder of a teenage girl.
♦“Factory” (9 p.m. on SPIKE): New comedy series that follows four guys who find relief from their mundane manufacturing jobs in their friendship.
♦“Family Matters” marathon (8 p.m. on Nickelodeon): To kick off the addition of the comedy series to its lineup, the network will air a seven-hour marathon. “Family Matters” ran for nine seasons (1989-98) on ABC and CBS.
♦“Million Dollar Password” (7 p.m. on CBS): Celebrity guest stars are Steve Schirripa (“The Sopranos”) and country singer Sara Evans.
♦“The Singing Office” (8 p.m. on TLC): Hosts Joey Fatone (N Sync) and Mel B (Spice Girls) search for singers in the workplace in this new series. Each week, they recruit five of the best singers, coach them at boot camp and them compete in a sing-off.
MONDAY, JUNE 30
♦“Ganja Queen” (8 p.m. on HBO): New documentary tells the story of an Australian woman on a trip to Indonesia who finds herself facing the death penalty when authorities find 10 pounds of marijuana in one of her bags.
♦“History Detectives” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): Objects examined in the sixth-season premiere include the diary of a pilot killed in World War II, a coin believed to have been shot by Annie Oakley and pages from what may be the ‘‘tell-all” memoir of an unhappy 19th-century Mormon wife.
♦“The Soup Presents: TV Under the Influence” (9 p.m. on E!): A look at what happens when out-of-control reality stars indulge as the cameras roll.
♦“Two and a Half Men” (8 p.m. on CBS): Richard Kind (“Spin City”) guest stars as Charlie’s record label executive in this rebroadcast from November 2007.
♦“The War of the World” (9 p.m. on OETA-13): First installment of three-part series hosted by historian Niall Ferguson that looks at the 20th century in a new light and challenges our assumptions about World War II.
TUESDAY, JULY 1
♦“Outrageous Wasters” (8 p.m. on Sundance): This four-part hourlong series sets out to transform families known for being wasteful, going beyond implementing recycling efforts and encouraging the use of public transportation.
♦“The Secret Life of the American Teenager” (7 p.m. on ABC Family): New drama starring Shailene Woodley (“The O.C.”) and Molly Ringwald (“The Breakfast Club”) that focuses on the relationships between families and friends and how they deal with an unexpected teen pregnancy.
♦“A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila” (9 p.m. on MTV): In the second-season finale, Tila will reveal what guy or girl has stolen the key to her heart.
♦“VH1 News Presents: Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Addiction Special”) (9 p.m. on VH1): The renowned addiction specialist examines the root causes of celebrity addiction, the reasons behind the rise and why Hollywood is one of the toughest places to get clean.
♦“Wide Angle” (8 p.m. on OETA-13): The seventh season opens with the documentary “Heart of Darfur” that offers a compelling account of the deadly conflict in western Sudan. Refugees, rebels and the commander of the United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force tell their stories.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2
♦“Canvas” (6:15 p.m. on Showtime): Marcia Gay Harden stars as a wife and mother with schizophrenia. Joe Pantoliano (‘‘The Sopranos”) and Devon Gearhart play her husband and son, who find their own ways to cope.
♦“Derailed” (9 a.m. on SPIKE): The newtork’s Jean-Claude Van Damme movie marathon begins with this 2002 action thriller. It will be followed by 2007’s “Until Death” (11 a.m.), 2004’s “Wake of Death” (1 p.m.) and 2003’s “In Hell” (3 p.m.).
♦“Red Hot and Green” (10 p.m. on HGTV): Carter Oosterhouse hosts this new series that transforms a homeowner’s plain space into an environmentally friendly room.
THURSDAY, JULY 3
♦“As the World Turns” (1 p.m. on CBS): Grammy Award-winning singer Cyndi Lauper will perform her new single “Into the Nightlife” and her hit song “True Colors.”
♦“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (8 a.m. on SPIKE): This 9-hour marathon begins with the pilot episode.
♦“Fear Itself” (9 p.m. on NBC): The new installment titled “Eater” stars Elisabeth Moss (“Mad Men”) as a rookie cop who spends her first night in the precinct watching over a series killer.
♦“The Ten” (7:15 p.m. on Showtime): Co-stars Paul Rudd and Ken Marino produced the comedy film that puts surprising spins on the Ten Commandments. Other actors on hand include Winona Ryder, Liev Schreiber, Jessica Alba, Ron Silver, Gretchen Mol, Oliver Platt and Bobby Cannavale.
FRIDAY, JULY 4
♦“The 2008 Hero Awards” (7 p.m. on My Network TV): Dean Cain (“Clubhouse”) hosts the event that honors individuals and organizations working to make our world a better place.
♦“Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular” (9 p.m. on CBS): Country music trio Rascal Flatts (pictured above in CBS Photo), featuring guitarist Joe Don Rooney from picher, will perform some of their greatest hits during the 35th annual event live from the banks of Boston’s Charles River.
♦“A Capitol Fourth” (7 p.m. on OETA-13): Jimmy Smits (”The West Wing”) hosts the event live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Scheduled performers include Jerry Lee Lewis, Huey Lewis and the News, ♦‘‘American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks (season 5), Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell and sopranos Hayley Westenra and Harolyn Blackwell. Fireworks and the “1812 Overture” conclude the show.
♦“John Adams” (noon on HBO): All seven episodes of the miniseries will air back-to-back.
♦“Mabe in America” (9:30 p.m. on CMT): Comedian Tom Mabe stars in this new hidden camera prank series that takes on everyday people in everyday life.
♦“Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular” (8 p.m. on NBC): “Today” show correspondents Natalie Morales and Tiki Barber co-host the live telecast that features performances by country singer Kenny Chesney, British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield and “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks (season six) and runner-up Katharine McPhee (season five). The event will feature more than 35,000 brilliant shells exploding over New York City.
♦“Marked For Death” (8 a.m. on SPIKE): The newtork’s Steven Seagal movie marathon begins with this 1990 crime action movie. It will be followed by 2005’s “Today You Die” (10 a.m.), 2003’s “Out for a Kill” (noon) and 2007’s “Urban Justice” (2 p.m.).
♦“Today” (7 a.m. on NBC): Ashley Simpson performs live from Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
SATURDAY, JULY 5
♦“As the Bell Rings” (6:55 p.m. on Disney): Second season of popular sitcom shorts that follows six friends and their exchanges and antics in the school hallway during classroom breaks.
♦“A Gunfighter’s Pledge” (8 p.m. on Hallmark Channel): Luke Perry (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) stars as an ex-lawman who must put a quest for recenge on hold when he lands in the middle of a struggle between a land-grabbing businessman and a woman fighting to save her home.
♦Tour de France (7:30 a.m. on Versus): Coverage of the grueling cycle endurance event begins. The network will, on average, air 14 hours of race action per day.
–Penny TV
Characters Welcome Emmys
This time of year, every network is touting its series and stars for Emmy consideration. USA Network, however, is doing something different.
In anticipation of “The 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards,” which will air live Sept. 21 on ABC, the network has issued a press release of Emmy acceptance speeches – not from the actors, but from the characters they portray.
According to USA, here is what the characters would say or do if they came face to face with the orb-holding winged statue named Emmy:
Adrian Monk (“Monk”): Center it perfectly on my mantel. Or maybe it should go on the table. After cleaning it, of course. Actually, the mantle is better. But let me get some wipes and clean it first.
Michael Westen (“Burn Notice”): When you work in covert intelligence, there are a lot of uses for an Emmy. First and foremost, the award is basically just a five and a half pound bludgeon attached to two seven-inch knives – an attractive multi-purpose weapon you can leave on your mantelpiece. It’s also useful as a location for a bugging device, since awards are usually in high-traffic locations where people like to talk. Of course, it’s a little tough to stay undercover when you win an Emmy… but every operation has its challenges.
Shawn Spencer and Burton “Gus” Guster (“Psch”):
Shawn: Dude, we won an Emmy. Who should we thank?
Gus: First of all, you should thank me — for putting up with your nonsense. Then you always thank the members of the Academy.
Shawn: Wait, who’re they?
Gus: All the people who casts secret ballots for us.
Shawn: Oooo, a secret society that controls things. What are they like, Skull and Bones?
Gus: No, they control the government.
Shawn: The Mob?
Gus: They control crime. The Academy members work in media.
Shawn: I thought media was controlled by the–
Gus: (interrupting; to camera) We’d like to thank the Academy for this great honor. Please keep watching our show.
Gus: (cuts Shawn a look) I can’t take you anywhere.
Shawn: Dude, are you the Academy?
Gus: (beat) No, Shawn. I am not the Academy.
Detectives Robert Goren and Alex Eames (”Law & Order: Criminal Intent”):
Goren (getting off phone): Eames, that was the Captain. We won an Emmy.
Eames: Did we? That’s interesting.
Goren: The Statuette … it’s of a winged woman, holding an atom. The wings represent the muse of art.
Eames: And the atom?
Goren: The atom … the atom. It’s in my notes somewhere. Here: the atom and the muse speak to the Academies’ goal of uplifting the art and science of television. And the statuettes … they’re manufactured by a private company, at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, in Kansas.
Eames: Good to know.
Detectives Mike Logan and Nola Falacci (”Law & Order: Criminal Intent”):
Falacci: Logan, this fax just came in. We won an Emmy.
Logan: An Emmy. Great, just what we need.
Falacci: You’re not happy about this?
Logan: C’mon Falacci, I’m on the job twenty years, they think they can buy me now?
Falacci: Logan, they’re not trying to buy you. It’s an honor.
Logan: An honor? Now I have to get a tux. A shirt. Cuff links. I have to drive to the airport, get on a plane. Make a speech. Sit next to a bunch of beautiful people and dance til dawn.
Falacci: What’s so bad about that?
Logan: By the time we get back home the corpses will be piled up so high at the ME’s we’ll have to work double shifts.
Falacci: So you want me to tell them we’re not interested?
Logan: We can’t do that. Tell ‘em we’ll take it, just this once.
TCM tribute to Cyd Charisse
TCM will pay tribute to musical star Cyd Charisse with a three-film presentation Friday (June 27). The actress known for her dancing abilities died June 17 at age 86.
The special tribute will include 1952’s “Singin’ in the Rain” (7 p.m.), in which Charisse joins Gene Kelly for the famed “Broadway Melody Ballet” sequence; 1953’s “The Band Wagon” (9 p.m.), director Vincente Minnelli’s colorful backstage musical that pairs Charisse with Fred Astaire; and 1957’s “Silk Stockings” (11 p.m.), a musical remake of “Ninotchka” that features another Charisse-Astaire collaboration.
“Cyd Charisse was one of the few who managed to have it all: a great career, a place in movie history, respect from her peers and a husband who adored her,” TCM host Robert Osborne said. “My last time seeing her just a few months ago in New York said it all, with photographers snapping pictures of the movie star while she smiled brightly on the arm of her husband of 60 years, Tony Martin.”
It’s “Saturday Night Live” with George Carlin
Comedian George Carlin, who died of heart failure Sunday at 71, hosted the first episode of “Saturday Night Live” in 1975.
NBC will pay tribute to Carlin by reairing that premiere episode at 10:30 p.m. Saturday (June 28).
Remembering Carlin, “Saturday Night Live” creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels said: “You never forget the people who were there at the beginning. George Carlin helped give ‘Saturday Night Live’ its start as our first host. He was gracious, fearless, and most important of all, funny.”
Typifying the show’s “of-the-moment” sensibility that would continue throughout its over thirty-year history, Carlin was brought in as the first host of the groundbreaking comedy show. Carlin performed three individual monologues on the program that also introduced audiences to the now legendary “Not Ready For Prime-Time Players” – Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Larraine Newman and Gilda Radner.
HBO remembers George Carlin
Network News Release …
HBO will remember George Carlin this week with encore presentations of many of his HBO specials.
The specials span his association with the network, from his first HBO special (“George Carlin at USC”) to his last (“It’s Bad for Ya”).
“George Carlin: It’s Bad for Ya,” which debuted on the network in March, will be seen on the main HBO channel at 8 p.m. Friday.
In addition, HBO2 will present 11 of his specials over two nights. The HBO2 schedule is:
Wednesday
7 p.m. — George Carlin at USC (1977)
8:30 p.m. — George Carlin Again! (1978)
10 p.m. — Carlin at Carnegie (1983)
11 p.m. — Carlin on Campus (1984)
Midnight — Playin’ with Your Head (1986)
Thursday
7 p.m. — What Am I Doing in New Jersey? (1988)
8 p.m. — Doin’ It Again (1990)
9 p.m. — Jammin’ in New York (1992)
10 p.m. — Back in Town (1996)
11:05 p.m. — You Are All Diseased (1999)
Midnight — It’s Bad for Ya (2008)
