“Storm Chasers” are Discovery calendar men
University of Oklahoma graduate Reed Timmer is Mr. April, and not just because that is a busy storm-chasing month for him.
He is featured in the “Men of Discovery” 2009 calendar for the month of April. He is pictured with his “Storm Chaser” co-stars, Sean Casey, Josh Wurman and the TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle).
Timmer, who is a dissertation away from earning a doctorate in meteorology at OU, is in good company on the calendar, which was sent to press members to promote Discovery’s program line-up.
The other months feature:
December 2008 — “Prototype This” stars Terry Sandin, Zoz Brooks, Joe Grand and Mike North (calendar fun fact: computer mouse developed Dec. 9, 1968)
January 2009 — “Deadliest Catch” stars Keith Colburn, Phil Harris, Andy Hillstrand, Jonathan Hillstrand and Sig Hansen (Penguin Awareness Day is Jan. 17)
February — “One Way Out” star Jonathan Goodwin (Feb. 22 is World Thinking Day)
March — “Amazon” star Bruce Parry (March 1 is National Pig Day)
April — “Storm Chasers” Sean Casey, Josh Wurman and Reed Timmer (On April 11, 1965, 31 tornadoes touched down)
May – “Cash Cab” star Ben Bailey (May 21 is Bike to Work Day)
June — “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe (June 2 is Leave the Office Early Day)
July — “Mythbusters” stars Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage (July 7 is Chocolate Day)
August — “Into the Unknown With Josh Bernstein” star Josh Bernstein (Aug. 2 is Dinosaurs Day)
September — “Man vs. Wild” star Bear Grylls (Sept. 3 is Bathtub Race Day, Bear Grylls sailed one as a kid)
October — “Destroyed in Seconds” star Ron Pitts (Oct. 27 is Cranky Coworkers Day)
November — “Survivorman” star Les Stroud (Daniel Boone was born Nov. 2, 1734)
December — Men of Discovery collage (Dec. 4 is Wear Brown Shoes Day)
– Penny TV
Happy Birthday, Susan Lucci
Dec. 23, 2008 — Susan Victoria Lucci, who plays Erica Kane on “All My Children” (weekdays at noon on ABC), turns 62 today.
She competed in Season 7 of “Dancing With the Stars” (she and dance partner Tony Dovolani finished sixth in the competition).
Her first acting role was a bit part in “As the World Turns” (late 1960s). She was in her early 20s.
Best wishes to Susan and everybody who shares this special day with her.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: Susan Lucci makes an appearance at Planet Hollywood in New York’s Times Square to celebrate her career with a handprint ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer).
Carrie Underwood is No. 1 on CMT Countdown
Checotah native Carrie Underwood got lots of hits, clicks, streams and views on CMT.com this year.
And all those looks by fans helped earn her the No. 1 spot on the “CMT Top 20 Countdown” premiering at noon Friday (Dec. 26) on Country Music Television (CMT).
Underwood’s video “Just a Dream” ranks first on the list of top country music videos for 2008. Her video “All-American Girl” ranks 11th, making her the most-streamed artist of the year at CMT.com.
Other artists with Oklahoma ties that made the top 20 are Rascal Flatts, featuring guitarist Joe Don Rooney from Picher (No. 14 with “Every Day”) and Ada native Blake Shelton (No. 19 with “Home”).
For a streaming playlist of the 20 videos featured in the year-end “Countdown,” go to www.CMT.com/.
–Penny TV
CMT’s Top 20 videos of 2008:
1. “Just A Dream” by Carrie Underwood
2. “All I Want To Do” by Sugarland
3. “Shiftwork” by Kenny Chesney
4. “You’re Gonna Miss This” by Trace Adkins
5. “Picture To Burn” by Taylor Swift
6. “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” by James Otto
7. “Small Town Southern Man” by Alan Jackson
8. “Letter To Me” by Brad Paisley
9. “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock
10. “Troubadour” by George Strait
11. “All-American Girl” by Carrie Underwood
12. “Love Story” by Taylor Swift
13. “Ready, Set, Don’t Go” by Billy Ray Cyrus
14. “Every Day” by Rascal Flatts
15. “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven” by Kenny Chesney
16. “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” by Darius Rucker
17. “International Harvester” by Craig Morgan
18. “Good Time” by Alan Jackson
19. “Home” by Blake Shelton
20. “You Look Good In My Shirt” by Keith Urban
Three Jonas Brothers, two holiday sweepstakes
Radio Disney is giving youngsters the chance to ring in the New Year with the Jonas Brothers.
Between now and Dec. 25, children ages 14-and-under can enter the “All Wrapped Up” Mega Holiday Sweepstakes by calling the Radio Disney request lines (1-888-327-7018) and/or by entering the code word of the day online at www.RadioDisney.com/.
The winner will get tickets to see Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas in New York’s Time Square on New Year’s Eve. Everyone else can watch their performance on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” on ABC.
A second sweepstakes starts Dec. 27, when Radio Disney listeners will have a chance to win tickets to the red-carpet premiere of Walt Disney Pictures’ “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” presented in Disney Digital 3D.
–Penny TV
Pictured above: Disneyland Photo featuring the Jonas Brothers with the “Duck Brothers” – Huey, Dewey and Louie – at Disneyland Park.
Happy Birthday, Ali Lohan
Dec. 22, 2008 — Aliana Lohan, who plays herself on the E! Entertainment reality series “Living Lohan, turns 15 today.
Her most recent acting role is as Traci in the 2008 movie “Mostly Ghostly.”
Her first TV appearance was in the 2002 documentary “Driven” (featuring her sister, Lindsay Lohan). She was 9.
Best wishes to Ali and everybody who shares this special day with her.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: Ali Lohan arrives at a special screening of We TV’s “High School Confidential”, a four year look at the lives of 12 teen girls, from freshmen year to graduation, at The Times Center, Wednesday, March. 5, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer).
Sleep through Christmas Eve with Sprout’s “Snooze-A-Thon”
Have a tough time getting the little ones to sleep on Christmas Eve? Sprout, the first 24-hour preschool destination on TV, is offering parents a solution.
Beginning at 5 p.m. Dec. 24, Sprout (channel 149 on Cox Digital Cable, 295 on Direct TV) will air an 11-hour “Snooze-A-Thon” featuring “The Good Night Show” host Nina and her puppet sidekick, Star. They will be shown sleeping comfortably on the set. Also catching some zzz’s during the marathon will be characters from “Sesame Street,”, “Dragon Tales,” “The Hoobs,” “Pingu” and “Berenstain Bears.”
So no matter what time of night the kids are up checking for the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof, parents can tune into Sprout to show them that even their favorite TV friends are fast asleep waiting for Santa to arrive.
–Penny TV
Happy Birthday, Andy Dick
Dec. 21, 2008 — Andrew R. Dick, who played Owen Kronsky on “Less Than Perfect” (2002-06 on ABC), turns 43 today.
He played Matthew Brock on “NewsRadio” (1995-99 on NBC).
His first acting role was as Allen in the 1989 comedy short “Elvis Stories.” He was 24.
Best wishes to Andy and everybody who shares this special day with him.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: Andy Dick poses for photos on the red carpet before the premiere of “Anchorman-The Legend of Ron Burgundy” Monday, June 28, 2004, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Rene Macura).
TV Talk: Dec. 21-27
The Oklahoman’s TV Talk personalities Penny Soldan and Heather Warlick tape a weekly video for Newsok.tv that highlights upcoming TV programs worth watching.
They’re not fast talkers, but just in case you didn’t catch all the information for a show of interest, here is their script for the week of Dec. 21:
P: Hi, I’m Penny Soldan, this is Heather Warlick and this is TV Talk, The Oklahoman’s weekly countdown of the Top 10 programs worth watching — or at least setting the DVR or VCR for.
H: Our No. 10 pick is worth watching over and over, and you can do just that during 24-hour marathon of “A Christmas Story” which kicks off an 7 p.m. Wednesday on TBS. The 1983 holiday classic is based on the writings of Jean Shepherd, who also narrates the movie.
P: If multiple viewings of the same movie aren’t your thing, check out No. 9 on our list. It is “Yule Log: The Golden Age of Christmas” that begins at 8 p.m. on WGN. Viewers can listen to nine hours of classic radio programs while watching the Yule log burn.
H: Just in case our first two suggestions don’t excite you, No. 8 surely will. It is “The Funniest Commercials of the Year 2008” that will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday on TBS. Kevin Nealon hosts the fourth annual event that will feature 50 commercials that you won’t want to fast-forward through.
P: In keeping with our unconventional picks, No. 7 is “Christmas on Mars.” This holiday film from the Oklahoma-based art-rock group The Flaming Lips makes its world television premiere at 11 p.m. Wednesday on Sundance.
H: Fans of Regis Philbin will be pleased to know that No. 6 is the second season of “Million Dollar Password.” Rege returns to host the modern update of the classic game show at 7 p.m. Sunday on CBS. Celebrity players for the season premiere are William Shatner from “Boston Legal” and Aisha Tyler from “Ghost Whisperer.”
P: No. 5 are five guest stars making appearance on four primetime shows. Two of them, Adrienne Barbeau from ‘Maude” and Lee Majors from “The Six Million Dollar Man,” will be on “Cold Case” at 9 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
H: The others are singer James Taylor on “Spectacle” at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Sundance, “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” host Wayne Brady on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” at 7 p.m. Friday on Fox and Penny Marshall from “Laverne & Shirley” on “The Game” at 8:30 p.m. Friday on CW.
P: Now let us turn to more serious offerings, beginning with No. 4 which is “Jesus in India.” This new documentary premiering at 8 p.m. Monday on Sundance explores questions surrounding Jesus’ whereabouts from the ages of 12 to 30.
H: No. 3 is the “A Home for the Holidays With Faith Hill” airing at 7 p.m. Tuesday on CBS. The country singer will host the 10th annual special that advocates adoption. Presenting stories about foster care adoption will be Patricia Heaton from “Everybody Loves Raymond” and Oklahoma native Kristin Chenoweth from “Pushing Daisies,” who herself is adopted.
P: “A Kiss at Midnight” is No. 2 and premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday on the Hallmark Channel. Faith Ford from “Murphy Brown” stars in this new romantic comedy about a matchmaker who finds herself competing for business against a computer program.
H: And No. 1, if you don’t count the University of Oklahoma men’s basketball game airing live at 7 p.m. Monday on FSOK, is “The Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade.”
P: The 25th anniversary of Disney’s Christmas Day Parade will air from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday on ABC. Hosting the festivities are Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.
H: One of the Parade performers is “American Idol” winner David Cook from Tulsa, who will put his spin on a holiday classic. Other performers include Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
P: That’s a wrap for this week. For even more TV choices, consult TV Week in Sunday’s Oklahoman or go online to newsok.com/tv. For TV Talk, I’m Penny, this is Heather, thanks for your time.
ESPN and Red Bull team up for feats, fun
Thanks the ESPN and Red Bull, everyone can see two daring feats on New Year’s Eve. And everyone can test their daredevil skills online.
At 10 p.m. Dec. 31, ESPN will air “Red Bull: New Year. No Limits.” The live event will feature Rhys Millen attempting the first 360-degree rotation of a truck and Robbie Maddison attempting to land his motorcycle atop the replica Arc De Triomphe at the Paris Hotel.
To see what Robbie Maddison (pictured at right) is up against, go to http://arcade.espn.go.com/ and click on No Limits Moto Jump 2. That’s where sports fans and thrill seekers can test their building leaping skills with a challenging video game created by ESPN and Red Bull.
Luckily, you get several tries to land the motorcyle in the game. Robbie Maddison, however, has to get it right the first time.
–Penny TV
Happy Birthday, David Cook
Dec. 20, 2008 — David Roland Cook, who won Season 7 of “American Idol” (Season 8 begins Jan. 13 on Fox), turns 26 today.
He will perform on the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade airing at 9 a.m. Dec. 25 on ABC.
His Nov. 1, 2008 appearance on “Saturday Night Live” will be rebroadcast Dec. 27 on NBC.
Best wishes to David and everybody who shares this special day with him.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: Musician David Cook poses for a portrait in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles).
