Posted by Barb
More news and notes from the TCA tour:
Tommy Lee Claims Ludacris Is “A Sweetheart”
Hip hop superstar Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Mötley Crüe rocker Tommy Lee battle it out to become eco-friendly on Planet Green’s Battleground Earth (premiering Aug. 3 at 10pm ET). After weeks of sparing, trying to outwit and conserve more energy than the other, the two have forged a genuine friendship. “Man, we really became good friends. I absolutely adore him,” Lee says. “He’s a sweetheart. He’s got a big heart, man. He is just a real passionate, cool, cool guy, you know, who I’m glad to be friends with.” Aw, shucks, we love you too, Tommy.
TV Series Follows Whale Saving Efforts
Last December, Animal Planet sent their camera crews along with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to document their efforts on saving whales from commercial whaling. The series, Whale Wars, is an insightful look at animal activists at work on the sea. “I’m a cofounder of Greenpeace. I left the organization a long time ago because I got tired of seeing whales die,” said Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Shepherd. “Since the day I left Greenpeace, I have not seen a whale die. When we show up, they stop killing whales.” Whale Wars will debut on Animal Planet in November.
TLC Rocks Receptions With New Non-Scripted Series
Consider TLC’s newest venture a cross between Punk’d and So You Think You Can Dance. Rock the Reception (premiering Tuesday, July 15 at 8:30pm ET) follows two engaged couples who
plan and stage an energetic, challenging and completely choreographed “first dance.” Unsuspecting wedding guests are blown away by their friends’ professionally choreographed dance number. Working with the couples are So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Napoleon and Tabitha D’umo. While the dancing is great, it’s the guests’ expressions that make it worth watching.
Bob Woodruff To Focus On Earth
This Saturday, Discovery Communications newest network Planet Green launches a new weekly news series Focus Earth. The series is anchored by famed ABC journalist Bob Woodruff, who was seriously injured in 2006 by a roadside bomb that struck his vehicle in Iraq. Woodruff returned to work 13 months after his traumatic brain injury. Now he reteams with Vinnie Malhotra to produce Focus Earth. “I have to say that it’s unbelievable right now we’re sitting here working together after all we went through. It was Vinnie that was in that tank with me when I was shot, and the blood was coming out of my neck. He held his fingers over that to stop it from bleeding, and really, in that sense, helped save my life,” Woodruff explains. “We’ve covered wars together, been overseas, and now we’re back together. He’s now the executive producer of this program, which is one of the main reasons why this is going to be not only interesting and important, but also a hell of a lot of fun.”
What Happened With “Mad Men’s” Peggy And The Baby?
When asked about the second season premiere of AMC’s Mad Men (July 27) and viewers’ anticipated questions on what happened with Peggy and her baby, series creator Matt Weiner shared: “I’d say trust me, I will give you the information as you need it in the most entertaining fashion.” As for Peggy, star Jon Hamm adds, “I think that Don’s [his character Don Draper] relationship with women is complicated because … I think the women that Don is attracted to are women who are, in some ways, independent and have their own sort of thing going on. And Peggy, for such a young person, has a lot of that sort of essence that is appealing to Don. He’s not sexually attracted to her, but it’s a respect.”
______________________________________________________
Battleground Earth: Credit: David Johnson/Planet Green
Rock the Reception: Credit: TLC
Mad Men: Credit: AMC
