Barb Oates, Author at Channel Guide Magazine

As real as it gets – Sundance Channel’s “Push Girls” – Angela Rockwood, Auti Angel, Tiphany Adams, Mia Schaikewitz

June 1, 2012 Barb Oates 1

Beautiful, smart, opinionated and … paralyzed? It’s certainly not your typical docuseries cast, but that’s what caught the attention of Sundance Channel as it looks to shatter stereotypes by documenting the lives of four dynamic women — Angela Rockwood, Auti Angel, Tiphany Adams and Mia Schaikewitz — in its new series Push Girls, which debuts Monday, June 4 at 10pmET/PT. Unfiltered and very, very personal, the series follows four confident and inspiring Los Angeles women who are paralyzed from either the waist or neck down. The series is the brainchild of one of its stars — Angela Rockwood — a model […]

Who wins “Dancing with the Stars”? Athletes! Donald Driver wins Season 14

May 23, 2012 Barb Oates Comments Off

In what was one of the most competitive seasons yet of the show’s 14 seasons, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver was the surprise winner of Dancing With the Stars. Driver and his pro partner Peta Murgatroyd lit it up in the finale, which was a tight battle against Wales opera singer Katherine Jenkins and her pro partner Mark Ballas, and actor William Levy “The Latino Hottie” and his pro partner Cheryl Burke. Driver finally won over his harshest critic, judge Len Goodman, in one of his most spirited and content-rich dance numbers of the season — a country […]

Getting Fatter: “The Weight of the Nation” addresses obesity epidemic

May 14, 2012 Barb Oates Comments Off

Americans are truly getting fatter. Obesity is now one of our country’s most pressing health issues with more than two-thirds of U.S. adults age 20 and over being either overweight or obese. Equally staggering is the fact that nearly one-third of our nation’s children and adolescents age 2 to 19 are also overweight or obese. Obesity-related health costs are around $147 billion annually. The only good news in all of this is that the award-winning HBO is making its multipart documentary series on this topic, The Weight of the Nation, available for free to everyone at their website hbo.com/theweightofthenation. The […]

Disney Channel casting call scheduled for Kansas City

May 14, 2012 Barb Oates 4

Disney Channel is heading to the Midwest in search of new talent. The network will be holding an open casting call in Kansas City, Missouri, over Memorial Day weekend. If you think your kid’s got what it takes — comedy skills, singing, dancing and/or acting — this is your opportunity for some face time with authorized casting directors. “We are constantly searching for new talent and this official open casting call gives participants the chance to showcase their abilities directly to our casting representatives,” said Judy Taylor, senior vice president, Casting And Talent Relations, Disney Channels Worldwide. “We are excited […]

Joan and Melissa Rivers subject of “E! True Hollywood Story” on Mother’s Day

May 13, 2012 Barb Oates Comments Off

Joan and Melissa Rivers get candid and very personal in this moving interview about their life and relationship. The Mother’s Day edition of E!’s True Hollywood Story — airing tonight (May 13th) at 10:30pm on E! — has the duo taking a break from the wisecracks, and instead sharing honest and revealing stories about their lives. The two talk about Joan’s early beginnings, when she defied her family to pursue her dreams of entertainment: “We [Joan and her parents] had terrible fights about me wanting to be in the business. And I ran out, I drove to NY. And I parked […]

“Long Island Medium” recap of “Uneasy” and “Spirit and the City”

May 8, 2012 Barb Oates 3

Bring in the skeptics. TLC’s Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo was doing a live, in-person interview for a local radio show, when she was greeted with an awkward surprise in Sunday’s episode “Uneasy.” Steve and Leeana from Long Island’s KJOY 98.3 Morning Show welcomed in to the studio a group of eight skeptics who lined up like a firing squad eager to call out Caputo as a fake. “No matter what, there’s always going to be someone who tries to prove it’s not real,” Caputo says. But Caputo was armed and dangerous as spirits were in the KJOY house. “Did […]

“Long Island Medium” recap of “Bellies and Babies” episode

April 30, 2012 Barb Oates 2

Only two episodes left until the end of Season 2 for TLC’s hugely popular Long Island Medium. Last night’s episode, Bellies & Babies, Episode 11, was most unusual, as cameras followed Theresa Caputo to a baby shower where an unexpected mom-to-be and her closest friends and family were gathered, but instead of playing traditional shower games they were greeted with a surprise visit from Theresa. Prior to going to the shower, Theresa was a bit apprehensive, not knowing if her appearance and/or any connections she might make would be welcomed, but the guests appeared to be entertained by Theresa’s bold […]

“Long Island Medium” recap of “Long Island Romance” episode

April 23, 2012 Barb Oates 9

You would think after being together for over 15 years, Larry Caputo would have picked up on a few signs on how to read his wife, but that clearly wasn’t the case in last night’s episode, “Long Island Romance.” While Theresa might have been looking for some new bling for Valentine’s Day, she never saw this one coming. After failed attempts at making a last-minute dinner reservation at just about any restaurant within like 100 miles of their home, Larry turns to the kids for Valentine’s Day ideas. Shockingly, he actually takes his son’s suggestion — that a night out […]

“Push Girls” sneak preview part of SADD, Sundance, Seventeen campaign

April 17, 2012 Barb Oates Comments Off

TV doesn’t frequently inspire. Tonight it does with the sneak preview of Sundance Channel’s docu-series Push Girls (airing at 10pm ET/PT). Unfiltered and very, very personal, Push Girls follows four confident and inspiring Los Angeles women who are paralyzed from either the waist or neck down. The sneak preview is part of a pro-social campaign geared at raising awareness about the dual dangers of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or riding with someone who is. Sundance Channel, Seventeen magazine and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) have partnered together for this. The campaign includes an online pledge, live […]

Steven Strait heats up “Magic City” on Starz tonight

April 13, 2012 Barb Oates Comments Off

“My son’s not helping the cause AT ALL! He’s a @#$%ing idiot,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan says, when referring to the affair his onscreen son Stevie (played by Steven Straight) is having with Lily Diamond (Jessica Marias), the wife of Miami’s ruling king of the underwold, Ben Diamond (played by Danny Huston). More on “Magic City”: Exclusive interview with Jeffrey Dean Morgan In tonight’s episode “Feeding Frenzy,” Ike (Morgan) not only faces the disappearance of Mike Strauss and the pressure from DA Klein who is attacking organized crime through his other son Danny (Christian Cooke), but it’s Stevie’s affair with the […]