Win bling from Tyra Banks
Supermodel Tyra Banks is giving away $25,000 in jewelry to those who know her best — or to those who watch her show this week (Jan. 26-30).
To get in on the “Bling in the New Year” giveaway, watch “The Tyra Banks Show” (1 p.m. weekdays on KSBI-52 in Oklahoma City) and go to www.Tyrashow.com and answer a question about that’s day’s show. In addition to all the bejweled baubles up for grabs, one lucky person will also win a trip to New York to appear on Tyra’s talk show.
Here’s a sneak peek at the contest’s questions:
•••Monday: What cable network can you now watch Top Model marathons on?
•••Tuesday: What did Paula, one of the women who recently got divorced, do with her wedding dress?
•••Wednesday: When does Tyra go without makeup?
•••Thursday: Why was Tyra all glamed out in today’s show?
•••Friday: What does Cubby, one of the ‘Beyonce’ dancers ultimately want to do?
Here’s a breakdown of the high-end bling being given away:
•••Lia Sophia’s high-end “Red Carpet” Collections, that have an impressive celebrity clientele with their beautiful and innovative designs that always stay on top of the hottest trends in jewelry.
•••Dyanne Belle’s gold and green stunner that is not only the cure for what ails your fashion troubles, its stone (Chrysoprase) is said to have healing powers.
•••Tina Tang’s eye-catching 14k gold ring with black diamond pave, which was designed and handmade in New York.
•••Mayor’s ring that features three rows of 18k gold studded all-over with diamonds.
•••Zales’ Celebration Diamonds that feature remarkable clarity and exceptional color with 102 facets to create eye-catching sparkle.
–Penny TV
Oklahoman on ‘Amazing Race’
Christie Volkmer from Choctaw travels a lot in her job as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines.
But she will go to places that Southwest doesn’t as a contestant on “The Amazing Race,” which begins Season 14 Feb. 15 on CBS.
Volkmer, 37, will team up with friend and fellow flight attendant Jodi Wincheski from Houston for the series, which has won all six Emmys awarded for outstanding reality-competition program.
They are one of 11 teams that will set off on the 22-day, 40,000-mile race in a quest to win $1 million. Among this season’s destinations are Romania, Siberia, Switzerland and India. Among this season’s challenges are the world’s second tallest bungee jump and an Olympic-sized task that leaves teams gasping for air.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: CBS Photo featuring flight attendants and friends Christie Volkmer, left, and Jodi Wincheski.
Poster contest invites fans to celebrate “The Simpsons”
“The Simpsons” will celebrate their 20th anniversary on Jan. 14, 2010. And Fox is giving fans a chance to join in the celebration — and a chance to attend the show’s 21st premiere party.
Everybody is invited to “Unleash Your Yellow” by designing a poster inspired by television’s favorite animated family. Just look around for inspiration, such as a picket fence that resembles Bart’s hair or a cloud that looks like Homer. Then go to www.thesimpsons.com and submit a poster using original artwork or images available on The Simpsons’ online site.
Deadline for poster submissions is March 4. Fox and “The Simpsons” producers will select the top 10 finalists, and the winning entry will be revealed April 5. The winner will receive a trip to Los Angeles to “The Simpsons” 21st season premiere party and tickets to “The Simpsons Ride” at Universal Studios Hollywood.
–Penny TV
Happy Birthday, David Strathairn
Jan. 26, 2009 – David Russell Strathairn, who played FBI Agent Will Preecher on “Big Apple” (short-lived series on CBS on 2001), turns 60 today.
He provides dramatic recreations for the new “American Experience” installment titled “The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer” (premiering at 8 p.m. today on OETA-13).
His first acting role was as Ron Desjardins in the 1980 movie “Return of the Secaucus Seven.” He was 31.
Best wishes to David and everybody who shares this special day with him.
–Penny TV
Pictured at right: David Strathairn takes part in a panel discussion about an upcoming mini-series entitled “The People Speak,” Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008, at Emerson College in Boston. Production of the series, which is an adaptation of a book by Howard Zinn, began in Boston on Jan. 8, and will continue throughout the Spring. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer).
“Superstars” coming in summer
ABC has begun casting for a new alternative series titled “Superstars.”
It is based on the ABC Wide Word of Sports competition series “The Superstars” that pitted athletes from different sports against each other to decide the best athlete in the world. Past winners were Herschel Walker in 1987, Jason Sehorn in 1998, decathlete Dave Johnson in 1993 and Olympic skier Bode Miller in 2002.
The new “Superstars” will be a bit different, though. It will pair eight celebrities with eight professional male and female athletes to compete in a variety of sporting events. The six-episode series is scheduled to premiere in summer.
Hopefully, the casting directors will consider some Oklahoma athletes for the show. Norman residents Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci would be perfect. So would football greats Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson and Jason White.
–Penny TV
SAG Awards spotlighted on The Oklahoman’s Television Blog
This time last year, The Oklahoman’s television blog debuted with a look at how Hollywood was preparing for the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
So let’s celebrate the blog’s second anniversary with a list of what’s being done for the 15th Annual SAG Awards, which will air live at 7 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 25) on TNT and TBS:
◊◊Lay 16,476.145 square feet of red carpet in the arrivals area.
◊◊Float a 20’-wide “silver screen” framed by a platinum screen-surround illuminated by 80 feet of embedded LED lights at center stage.
◊◊Place 3,600 pieces Regency crystal stemware, 2,400 pieces Scalini silver plated flatware and 1,200 Coupe black china chargers on 86 rectangular dinner tables.
◊◊Prepare a menu consisting of 225 pounds of crab, 600 pink grapefruits, 400 Seckle pears, 225 short ribs, 40 pounds of shaved parmesan and 20 pounds of dried black olives.
◊◊Place 204 bottles of Dry Creek Vineyard’s 2004 Endeavor Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and 204 bottles of Dry Creek Vineyard’s 2006 Russian River Valley Chardonnay on the dinner tables (the more than 700 media and 300 fans in the bleachers will be served 6,720 unbreakable half-liters of Voss still water).
The SAG Awards are also thinking green. That’s why the show has teamed up with the Environmental Media Association and put the following plans in place:
◊◊Reuse red carpet for multiple awards shows.
◊◊Compost food and flowers for the Awards and Gala.
◊◊Donate any excess food from awards and Gala.
◊◊Print on recycled paper for production documents.
–Penny TV
Pictured above: Actor Jon Tenney, from the television show “The Closer,” poses with a bottle of champagne in preparation for the SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian).
TV Talk: Jan. 25-31
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 Jan. 25:
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. And these are our picks for the week of Jan. 25.
H: No. 10 is the “AKC/Eukanuba National Championship” at 7 p.m. Saturday on Animal Planet. Thousands of canines from around the country and across the globe compete, but only one will come away with “best in show” honors.
P: Best in show honors will also be handed out at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which is No. 9 on our list. It airs live at 7 p.m. Sunday on TNT and TBS, and the winners in five film and eight primetime television categories will be decided by the entire active membership of the Guild.
H: Chef Gordon Ramsey will serve up a fifth course of “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is our choice for No. 8. The Fox series returns at 8 p.m. Thursday with a new batch of aspiring chefs competing to win a head chef position at one of Ramsey’s restaurants.
P: Ramsey’s “Kitchen” is not family-friendly, but our No. 7 pick is. It’s “Olivia,” a new weekly animated series premiering at 10:30 a.m. Monday on Nickelodeon. The series invites children into the life of Olivia, who sees every day as an opportunity to try new things.
H: No. 6 is “The Note II: Taking a Chance on Love.” The new Hallmark Channel original movie premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday and is a sequel to the network’s highest-rated film of 2007. Genie Francis and Ted McGinley return as a newspaper columnist and a sports writer brought together by the power of words and the power of love.
P: No. 5 are five guest stars making appearance on three primetime shows. And three of them are on “Scrubs” at 8 p.m. Tuesday on ABC. They are the Sesame Workshop stars Elmo, Grover and Oscar the Grouch.
H: The other two guest stars are appearing on football-themed episodes on USA Network. They are former Dallas Cowboys football player Michael Irvin on “Burn Notice” at 9 p.m. Thursday and TV sportscaster Bob Costas on “Monk” at 8 p.m. Friday.
P: Football is also the theme of our No. 4 pick. It’s “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” airing at 7 p.m. Saturday on CBS. Ten of the most famous Super Bowl ads will be showcased. And during the special, viewers can go online to CBS.com and vote for their favorite.
H: No. 3 is “Loving Leah” at 8 p.m. Sunday on CBS. In this new Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, a young Hasidic rabbi dies, and his nondevout brother is asked to honor an ancient custom and marry his widow, Leah, played by Lauren Ambrose.
P: “Trust Me,” a new TNT series premiering at 9 p.m. Monday, comes in at No. 2. Eric McCormack from “Will & Grace” and Tom Cavanagh from “Ed” play best friends who work together in the cutthroat world of advertising.
H: And No. 1, if you don’t count the OU vs. OSU men’s basketball game at 8 p.m. Monday on ESPN, is “The Last Templar.”
P: This new miniseries airing from 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday on NBC, is based on Raymond Khoury’s novel about an ancient mystery with a Vatican connection.
H: “The Last Templar” stars Oscar-winning Mira Sorvino as an archaeologist who teams up with an FBI agent (played by Scott Foley) to investigate when four masked horsemen crash a museum exhibit of Vatican treasures.
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.
Write an essay, win money from ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: American Dream Edition”
ABC wants to help make American dreams come true. That’s why the network is giving away money in its “Extreme Makeover: American Dream Edition” project.
Go to www.ABC.com and tell ABC about someone you know who does a lot for the community but has fallen on hard times in this economy. You can nominate yourself, but all submissions must be received by Feb. 1.
The five deemed most deserving of all the submissions will receive $20,000 each and may be featured in upcoming segments of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
–Penny TV
TV Preview Podcast: ‘Trust Me’
"Trust Me" cast (TNT Photo)
Each week, The Oklahoman TV Editor Penny Soldan hosts an audio podcast discussing an upcoming TV premiere.
This week’s premiere is the new TNT series “Trust Me” starring Erick McCormack and Tom Cavanagh.
To hear her discussion with Don P. Brown, features copy editor for The Oklahoman, click here
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Bonnie Hunt celebrity auction raises money for cancer research
Talk show host Bonnie Hunt used to work as an oncology nurse at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago.
She helped raise more than $30,000 for the center with her “Bonnie’s Basement” celebrity auction in December. And she has once again asked her talk show guests to help her with the second installment of her online auction.
Go to www.bonniehunt.com to bid on one-of-a-kind celebrity items in “Bonnie’s Basement.” All profits from the auctions, which end Sunday (Jan. 25) will benefit her former place of work.
Among the items up for bids are:
◊◊An Ovation guitar signed by Grammy and Academy Award-winner Melissa Etheridge (pictured at right signing it on “The Bonnie Hunt Show”).
◊◊“The Amazing Race” official Season 13 check-in mat signed by host Phil Keoghan.
◊◊NBC anchor Brian Williams’ personal Presidential Election Day press badges.
◊◊Volleyball signed by Chad Michael Murray and other “One Tree Hill” cast members.
◊◊Jensen Ackles’ signed director’s chair fabric back and a “Supernatural” signed hockey jersey.
◊◊Hospital scrubs signed by the cast of “Grey’s Anatomy”.
◊◊Boxed Star Wars’ Princess Leia plastic bust and a copy of “Wishful Drinking” signed by Carrie Fisher.
Great items. Even greater cause. Happy bidding.
–Penny TV
