December 2008

The show has been off the air for nearly 25 years, and the world at large still identifies Henry Winkler with the leather-jacket-clad Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli he played on Happy Days, even though Winkler himself long ago moved on. This month, he updates his resume once more with Hallmark Channel’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. In it, he plays Ralph, the rough-around-the-edges uncle of a single mother, Jennifer (Brooke Burns, Miss Guided), whose worries and grouchiness dwarf her holiday spirit. When Ralph brings a stranded stranger home from the airport, she’s anything but thrilled. But as the stranger’s […]

Having wrapped his 13-episode chat and sing show Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…, Elvis Costello is enjoying some well-earned time off at his Canadian home. Occasionally a dog barks, or one of Costello’s twin sons with his wife, the Canadian jazz chanteuse Diana Krall, tests the power of his two-year-old lungs. Nervous about having interrupted his family sabbatical, I’m instead rewarded with — and awed by — a relaxed, contemplative Costello who is genuinely happy to discuss the joys and occasional pains of creating the one-of-kind Spectacle, coming to your TV beginning Dec. 3. There are legions of music fans who’ve […]

Let’s get real. No matter how beautifully they seem to move, those bat toys in The Dark Knight — or in any of the Batman films, for that matter — were designed for looks, not maneuverability. How else to explain the dune buggy tires and low-slung seat of the Bat-Pod? Still, where there are vehicles, there are people with the guts and skill to drive them. In the case of the Bat-Pod, that honor went to French stunt rider Jean-Pierre Goy. Goy — whose daredevil jump from one building to another over a hovering helicopter in the 1997 James Bond […]

Ready for some good news from the feds for a change? A&E has it. On Dec. 9, the network that redefined unscripted television debuts its newest effort, Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force. The series is the result of exclusive access granted to A&E by the United States Department of Justice, allowing the network to film real-life manhunts led by the New York/New Jersey unit of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. The force, mandated by Congress in the wake of 9/11, combines 92 federal, state and local agencies into a single crime-fighting unit with nationwide jurisdiction. Since its inception in May […]

Those who have traveled to Washington, D.C., and taken the tour may think they know a lot about the White House. But a new documentary opens doors usually reserved for those who call 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home. The White House: Inside America’s Most Famous Home kicks off White House Week on C-SPAN beginning Dec. 14. The 90-minute special gives viewers unprecedented access to the house’s private rooms — including the Solarium, where Ronald Reagan recovered from a 1981 assassination attempt, and the newly refurbished Lincoln Bedroom. First lady Laura Bush participated extensively in the production, and will share with viewers […]

People often refer to the perceived tendency of celebrities to die in threes, in quick succession. But for some reason, we’re more inclined to remember those who died in pairs on the same day (or close enough to the same day that they establish that same sort of bond). Maybe it’s because we’re tempted to find some sort of divine logic to their coupling in death, or because sometimes it seems like someone up there has a sense of humor about the timing. Let’s remember and speculate … Bernie Mac & Isaac Hayes (Aug. 9/10, 2008) They’d just been working […]

William Shatner has been friends with Leonard Nimoy for 40 years. After all that time, what could he possibly not know about his Star Trek costar? Well, his old buddy told him a story about the grandfather who validated his decision to go into acting. And how when Nimoy returned home for visits, the grandfather — a leather maker — said he could tell how successful Nimoy had been, or not been, by the condition of his leather shoes. It’s that kind of revealing story the host delights in hearing on the set of Shatner’s Raw Nerve, a talk show […]