charlie.mason

Charlie Brown: Our Funny Valentine

This week is going to be hard for us singletons. We'll go through our little black books, calling one ex after another in hopes of scoring a sympathy date. We'll keep up appearances at the office by sending ourselves flowers and candy. We'll rent Fatal Attraction and Romeo &amp; Juliet to convince ourselves that love really does stink. But, through it all, we'll tell ourselves, "Things could be worse. At least, we aren't Charlie Brown." "Valentine's Day is very hard on Charlie Brown," acknowledges Lee Mendelson, the executive producer of A Charlie Brown Valentine, the first new Peanuts special since the February 2000 death of the comic's creator, Charles M. Schulz. "Charlie Brown finally gets the courage to call [the object of his affection], the little red-haired girl, but he misdials and ge

Tue, Feb 12, 2002

Heaven Rev: It's Hip to Be Square

God love him, Stephen Collins doesn't care that, although 7th Heaven is currently the WB's most-watched show, you're about as likely to hear foul language in church as you are to catch co-workers conversing about the hit show around the office watercooler. "What I love about our show is that we're sort of a guilty pleasure," admits the actor, who plays holier-than-thou Rev. Eric Camden. "A lot of teenage girls will say, '... never miss your show,' but they don't want their friends to know that, because it's not cool. "I've always said," he adds, "we're so uncool that we're cool." The small-screen mainstay (A Woman Named Jackie, A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story) concedes that Heaven depicts an idealized vision of post-millennial suburban life. But, so long as the program keeps off-camera clans gathering around th

Mon, Feb 11, 2002

Angel and Cordy: Let's Get It On?

Boy, does it suck to be Angel, the toothsome title hero of the WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff. He's growing hotter every week for she-demon sidekick Cordelia, but if he ever achieves true happiness  ahem, horizontally  an age-old gypsy curse will transform him instantly from a haloed hero back into a soulless villain... or will it? Although, in the undead do-gooder's days on his estranged sister show, his birthday hook-up with then-girlfriend Buffy returned him to his wicked ways, such a metamorphosis won't necessarily occur every time he hits the sheets. Rather, executive producer David Greenwalt reveals that only a perfect union precipitates Angel's about-face. "That's why [after a walk on the dark side last season] he [slept with fanged former flame] Darla and woke up... good again. It brought him back to real

Mon, Feb 11, 2002

Why SVU Makes Mariska Sick

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the sordid cases assigned to the crime fighters of NBC's Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit  airing tonight at 10 pm/ET  can be difficult for viewers to stomach. But, believe it or not, they are even harder to digest for the detectives' off-screen counterparts. Just ask Mariska Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson. "How can people tune in to these shows every week?" she muses. "Sometimes acting [the material], I feel quite sick. And, for me, the stories with the kids are the hardest, hands down." Regardless of the toll that her work exacts, the daughter of 1950s bombshell Jayne Mansfield remains committed to carrying a badge. If her efforts can lighten someone else's load, she declares, then she's happy to bear the burden that

Fri, Feb 8, 2002

Temptation Joker's Last Laugh?

Oh, that's gotta hurt! The minute that Temptation Island 2 reintroduced blue-eyed babe magnet Brian to Catherine, the bootylicious drama queen not only forgot all about dim-bulb beau Edmundo, she also totally dismissed 24-year-old Rossi Morreale, the daffy sweetheart with whom she'd been bonding. Sure, she later granted the jilted joker a pity date. But afterward, she went right back to canoodling with Brian. Even more humiliating, it's a safe bet that, in tonight's installment (airing at 9 pm/ET on Fox), the playgirl will send Morreale back to Arkansas and instead invite her boy-toy to join her on the season's final excursion. What's up with that? Is she mental? Masochistic? Blind?! For some insight, TV Guide Online turns to the odd man out.

Thu, Feb 7, 2002

Jealous Power Trip on Charmed Set!

After Shannen Doherty packed up her pointy hat and rode her broomstick away from Charmed, the remaining members of the WB series's coven of witches, Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs, hoped that the only scary creatures they'd encounter in the makeup trailer would be reporters. Alas, it turns out Doherty's replacement, Scream queen Rose McGowan, is a green-eyed monster. "I get jealous that Alyssa gets to fly around in the air," admits the freshman sorceress, who took her place around the cauldron this season as Paige Matthews, the Halliwell siblings' newly discovered half sister. "I don't get to

Thu, Feb 7, 2002

Jerry Orbach Restores Order to N.Y.

After a decade on the mean streets of Manhattan, many a police officer are ready to pack it in. However, Jerry Orbach, who has played dry-witted Det. Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order since 1992, has no intention of turning in his badge and retiring. "It may sound a little off the wall to say this, but having the opportunity to do this in this long an arc has given me  and is continuing to give me  a feeling that I'm doing something for the city and for the people of it and for the cops," the 66-year-old Bronx native says. "I see it every day on the street  the profile of Law & Order has gotten bigger and bigger. And the way the city feels about us [cast members]... it's like we're part of the good things that happen in the city." In the wake of the Twin Towers tragedy, Orbach believes that his small-screen crime-fig

Wed, Feb 6, 2002

That '80s Comic Plays Herself

Caustic comedienne Margaret Smith's memories of the Reagan era are a little foggy  or perhaps smoky would be a better word to describe them. "I had a Volkswagen, and I drove it until the back seat caught on fire," she says, adding with a chuckle: "This was before bottled water." However badly burned the standout stand-up was by the greed decade, she fits right into the cast of That '80s Show, Fox's retro Wednesday-night sitcom (airing at 8 pm/ET). In fact, from the time that the series was conceived, it was almost a foregone conclusion that she would play the most tubular record-store proprietress since Annie Potts in Pretty in Pink. Heck, the character was even named after Smith. "I had some compromising pictures of a coup

Wed, Feb 6, 2002

Gilmore Girl to Get Her Guy?

Oh, the irony! Most people spend their lives trying to get together with their better halves; Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino struggles to keep apart a matched set, the dramedy's adorably acerbic heroine Lorelai and her platonic pal, rugged softie Luke. "There are only so many times," she observes, "that people can stare across a table and go, 'She's pretty, but she's dating someone else,' 'He's swell, but his girlfriend is back' [before] you stick your head in the punch bowl." So, in the warm and witty series's second season, Sherman-Palladino has had to become extra imaginative in order to contrive for the infatuated duo an insurmountable obstacle. But she thinks that she has hit pay dirt with the introduction of Luke's teenage nephew, Jess, a troublemaker with eye

Tue, Feb 5, 2002

Michael Pitt: Bully for You!

After being cast in Larry Clark's Bully, the true story of a group of high-school burnouts who conspire to murder the title jerk, Michael Pitt eagerly set about doing his homework. The actor was determined to make the grade by getting inside his character's head, no matter how frightening a place that would be to visit. "The guy I play didn't even know the bully," he tells TV Guide Online. "He had no motive whatsoever [to participate in the homicide], yet he was the first person to stab [the victim]." Complicating matters for the former Dawson's Creek heartthrob was the fact that the youth in question was not available to provide any answers. So instead Pitt was forced to rely on other people's notes. "We talked to a lot of the de

Wed, Jan 23, 2002

Low-Key Globes Still a High Time

If you think of Hollywood as high school, only with fewer zits and bigger allowances, then the Academy Awards ceremony is, in essence, graduation day. It's a stuffy affair where mooning is discouraged and a year's worth of hard work pays off for a select few in commencement to the next level  which, in this case, means getting added to Steven Spielberg's speed-dial rather than being admitted to Harvard. By contrast, the Golden Globes get-together is, for all practical purposes, prom night, an anything-goes keg party at which it truly doesn't matter whether you win or lose  it's all about how you play, period. In fact, until we couch potatoes start handicapping the Oscar nominees for our office pools, we're likelier to laugh together about which Golden Globe victor gave the best reaction shot than we are which one most deserved his or her statuette. And, of course, we

Mon, Jan 21, 2002

Angel, Lord of the Dance?

So Buffy the Vampire Slayer did an all-musical episode. Big whoop. In an upcoming episode of estranged sister show Angel (airing Feb. 4 at 9 pm/ET on the WB), both series' creator, Joss Whedon, takes the white-hatted vampire and his gal Friday, Cordelia, to the ballet. Top that, Slayer! "I guess Joss felt the show wasn't quite gay enough yet," executive producer David Greenwalt said with a chuckle at the recent Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif. In actuality, the hour brings to a boil the unspoken, decidedly heterosexual passion that has been simmering for weeks between the unlikely partners in crimefighting  a plot twist that is sure to strike terror into the hearts of viewers holding out hope

Mon, Jan 21, 2002

Rising Star Needs No Alias... Yet!

Right now, chances are the name Jennifer Tung doesn't mean squat to you. But trust your friends at TV Guide Online  by the time the weekend is through, you will at least recognize her face. You see, Sunday night at 9 pm ET, she not only returns as Chuck Norris's daughter in A Line in the Sand, a sequel to the 2000 CBS movie The President's Man, she also begins a two-part guest gig as Quentin Tarantino's sidekick on ABC's spy yarn, Alias. "I don't know how I got that role," she says, bowled over by her good fortune. "It was originally written for a man. Then, at the last minute, the wardrobe department asked, 'Who's Tony? Is it a boy or a girl?' And they decided it would be more inter

Fri, Jan 18, 2002

"J. Peterman" Returns!

With two shows already on the air and more on the way, John O'Hurley would be the last person to acknowledge a curse on the alumni of Seinfeld. However, the actor — who forever will be remembered for his sitcom parody of kooky real-life catalog mogul J. Peterman — does believe that, where his former cohorts are concerned, some funny business is going on. "Studios tend to grab players that have a lot of visibility and write a series about them," the host of To Tell the Truth and Get Golf with the PGA Tour! tells TV Guide Online. "That's never been a formula for success, yet [execs] consider themselves experts and continue to do this. I find it absolutely mind-numbing." Nonetheless, O'Hurley holds out hope that ex-Peterman prot&#233g&#233

Tue, Jan 1, 2002

"J. Peterman" Returns!

With two shows already on the air and more on the way, John O'Hurley would be the last person to acknowledge a curse on the alumni of Seinfeld. However, the actor  who forever will be remembered for his sitcom parody of kooky real-life catalog mogul J. Peterman  does believe that, where his former cohorts are concerned, some funny business is going on. "Studios tend to grab players that have a lot of visibility and write a series about them," the host of To Tell the Truth and Get Golf with the PGA Tour! tells TV Guide Online. "That's never been a formula for success, yet [execs] consider themselves experts and continue to do this. I find it absolutely mind-numbing." Nonetheless, O'Hurley holds out hope that ex-Peterman prot&#233g&#233

Mon, Dec 31, 2001

Beware the Anti-Ed

C'mon, folks. Cut John Slattery some slack. It's not his fault that his new Ed character, testy high school principal Dennis Martino, has stolen away teacher Carol Vessey from the romantic comedy's title sweetheart. He is simply an actor performing the material that he is given. Of course, he doesn't have to enjoy it quite so much. "People always say, 'Oh, we saw you on Ed  you're kind of a [expletive],'" he tells TV Guide Online, clearly tickled. "But I'd much rather play an a--hole than somebody that you're worrying about whether or not [viewers] are going to like you. That's the kiss of death." That being the case, Slattery must always love his work  trouble seems to follow wherever he gets hired. On the short-lived post-WWII drama Homefront, he played Al Kahn, a smooth-talking labor leader who knocked up the series

Wed, Dec 19, 2001

The Learning Channel's First Sex Symbol

If there is one thing that folks probably expect less from The Learning Channel than a series that creates buzz, it could only be a personality who generates heat. But both have been delivered in a big way by Trading Spaces, the undeniably addictive little reality program that showcases resident carpenter Ty Pennington's handsome mug and hacksaw-sharp wit. Is the Atlanta, Ga., businessman ready to become the thinking couch potato's sex symbol? And how. "I'm going to be [TLC's] Schneider [the womanizing handyman of One Day at a Time]," he tells TV Guide Online with a laugh. "It's funny  I'm just being the same sarcastic idiot that I've always been, only now I get to share it with a lot more people. "I've always been a ham and I've always made things with my hands," he adds, "so this is really a perfect gig for me." TLC will say. Largely due to Pennington's popularity, Trading Spaces  in which neighbors team up with

Fri, Dec 14, 2001

Escape from Temptation Island

Imagine that! After dragging her significant other to a tropical paradise populated with nubile babes who believe that a woman is never fully dressed without a thong, Genevieve Deittrick began having second thoughts. So, in last week's episode of Temptation Island 2  the guiltiest of the tube's guilty pleasures  she sent beau Tony Schmitt a videotaped message asking him to call the whole thing off and marry her ASAP. Now the reunited couple are happily back home in Michigan, and closer than ever. What was the prickly talent manager thinking, giving a sweetheart like Tony a chance to break free? In a recent telephone interview, TV Guide Online endeavored to find out.

Thu, Dec 13, 2001

John Woo Lands Next Brad Pitt

Los Angeles has gone crazy for Shawn Christian. The Michigan native has been out West less than five years, and already he has racked up a longer list of credits than many an actor will in a lifetime. Besides scoring a recurring role on Crossing Jordan, the former model has guest-starred on Ellen, CSI and more Aaron Spelling series than even the producer's daughter, Tori. This month alone, he adds appearances on Spin City and Friends to his resume. Plus, he's just won the male lead in Face/Off director

Thu, Dec 13, 2001

City Slickers Make Room for Daddy

Next month, when David Eigenberg reappears on Sex and the City as Steve, the father of Miranda's unborn baby, don't be surprised  he'll be surprised enough for all of us. "I've been constantly amazed," he tells TV Guide Online, "that I've been brought in and out and back in again." In fact, after Miranda first told Steve 'sayonara,' Eigenberg was so certain that he was history that he said his own farewells. "When I got down to my last episode, I went up to say goodbye to [boss] Darren Star, and he said, 'Well, you never know,' and I said, 'If I can be of service, great. If not, there's no sour grapes.'" Now, Eigenberg finds himself all but umbilically tied to the series  and, specifically, to Cynthia

Tue, Dec 11, 2001

Angry Inch Shrinks to Fit Small Screen

These days, John Cameron Mitchell thinks a lot about acceptance. It's at the heart of the actor-writer's directorial debut, the cathartic musical travelogue Hedwig and the Angry Inch. And, as the movie hits video-store shelves tomorrow, it also will decide the ultimate profitability of his creation. Are Middle American audiences planning a Blockbuster night going to embrace the main character, an East German transsexual rock singer, when even she has trouble doing so? The Sundance Film Festival prize winner certainly hopes so. "When you see something like The Rocky Horror Picture Show on cable all the time or on Broadway, it makes me think that people will remember that the details of the story are really just that  details," the 37-year-old native of El Paso, Tex., tells TV Guide Online. "The more specific

Mon, Dec 10, 2001

SU2 Star Isn't Your Garden-Variety Gnome

Standing just 4'0" tall, Danny Woodburn can state with great certainty that there are, in fact, small roles. Since the actor broke into showbiz a decade ago, his career has been full of 'em, from Tony the Elf in 1996's Jingle All the Way to Kramer's diminutive rival, Mickey Abbott, on Seinfeld. However, when Special Unit 2 offered him a part that was a little supernatural  that of Carl the Gnome  he expressed a few big concerns. "I had some trepidation originally," he confirms for TV Guide Online. "But I justified [coming onboard by reminding myself] that I was not going to be the only one in makeup. There are creatures-of-the-week from all different walks of life, in all shapes and sizes. "Plus, I realized that this character is sort o

Wed, Dec 5, 2001