Yet Another Connection

I just realized that in my post way back in April when I mentioned the commonalities between 'Body of Proof' and 'Rizzoli and Isles' I missed one important thing.

Dana Delaney (the star 'Body of Proof) and Sasha Alexander (the star of 'Rizzoli and Isles') were actually co-stars on a show about ten years ago! From 2000-2001 Delaney and Alexander played physicians in the short-lived series 'Presidio Med'. Funny that they're both now playing doctors again!

Unrelated, the show also starred Julianne Nicholson (of 'Ally McBeal') and was Blythe Danner's first return to episodic television since her role in 'Tattingers' in the 1980s.

Growing Up

When people ask me where my t.v. obsession came from I have an immediate response. My parents.

No, they didn't watch a lot of it. They did the exact opposite. We didn't have cable. What we did have were three stations, and we only got the third one (Fox) when we crouched at the side of the television while waving one hand. In other words, we had two stations (NBC and PBS). Oh, and did I mention that I lived between two mountains? So those two channels had perpetual snow.

Consequently, I'm missing huge childhood t.v. milestones (Who the hell is Screech and why should I care?). But I do remember a few favorites:

1. "Arthur"--I recently sat through an episode of this because it's available on Netflix Instant and I was curious if my admiration as a child was well founded. I think it actually might have been! At least, I managed to sit through the episode without being completely bored.

2. "Zoom"--I can tell you without even trying to watch this that it would now make me cringe. But one thing hasn't changed, I still wish I'd had a chance to be a kid on 'Zoom'!

3. "Wishbone"--Classic stories told by a dog? Classic.

4. "Ally McBeal"--I was recently watching the first season when it all seemed a little too familiar. I asked my parents and my father watched this in the '90s. Apparently with me in the room. Not really a kids' show, but still a definite part of my childhood memories...

Do you have any t.v. shows from your childhood that are still memorable? If they aired on PBS I might actually know what they are!

Franklin & Bash: New TNT Lawyer Show

'Franklin & Bash':

The New 'Ally McBeal'?

For men?

With Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar!

Apparently TNT likes the concept of using the last names of main characters in their show titles. 'Rizzoli & Isles', a pretty great solid show that I enjoy watching, premiered on TNT last summer to strong ratings (and don't worry, it's back again soon for a 2nd season). This summer TNT is premiering the similarly named 'Franklin & Bash'. And no, the shows have nothing to do with each other. Although I suppose if TNT really wanted to they could orchestrate a cross-over episode. Now that I think about it, that would be pretty sweet.

But concentrating on the actual purpose of this post...'Franklin & Bash' is premiering tonight at 9 pm on TNT. It's being called "a David E. Kelley legal drama aimed at...men...rather than....women" by the NY Times. Except, you know, for the fact that it's not by David Kelley (aka the man behind 'Ally McBeal' and 'The Practice') nor do I really think that 'Ally McBeal' was for women. 'Ally McBeal' was sexualized (the show, not and Calista Flockhart) in such a way that the show was supposed to appeal to men too. Plus, just because a show has a female main character does not mean it's aimed towards women. I think what they meant to say was that the show's larger demographic was female.

But I'm getting slightly whiny/digressing.

'Franklin & Bash' has nothing to do with 'Ally McBeal' except for the fact that it is set in a law firm. And yes, the two main characters are men. They've recently graduated from law school and apparently have a frat-like quality which makes their introduction into a stuffy firm a bit of an imposition on the other lawyers. I'm assuming they'll also prove to be brilliant, because otherwise this show has nowhere to go. They'd get fired.

Are you planning on watching 'Franklin & Bash' tonight? Do you think (or did you think) it was worth watching? Also, do you think TNT believes in some kind of "main characters' last names in title" magic? seriously, why else would they think it makes sense to have two shows with almost identical looking titles (see below)...

Sarah Drew, "Grey's Anatomy", "Glee", and Typecasting

Sarah Drew probably isn't someone you've heard of before. She's certainly not a household name. But she is someone who you'll be seeing a lot of this year. She's Dr. April Kepner on "Grey's Anatomy". Dr. Kepner is slightly nerdy, slightly childish, slightly whiny, and apparently a virgin. All of this is probably why I immediately recognized her when I was re-watching "Glee" last night. Sarah Drew (the actress who plays Kepner) was playing a nerdy, childish, whiny, definitely-a-virgin character named Suzy Pepper. Suzy was a student who had a massive crush on the teacher Will Schuster, and was competing with Rachel for his attention ("Glee" S1E10).

Drew is interesting because she graduated from a university (in my hometown!), and then almost immediately started doing voice-work and acting. In 2004, just two years after she graduated, she was in a 38 episode arc of "Everwood". She was also in 4 episodes of "Mad Men" and 2 episodes of "Private Practice". Her role on "Private Practice" is the most confusing, considering that the show often does crossover episodes with "Grey's", yet Drew plays different characters on the two shows.

All I can say is that Shonda Rhimes must really like Drew a lot. After her role on "Private Practice" Rhimes cast her in a new pilot ("Inside the Box") which never got the green light.

Another interesting tidbit is that Kepner's love interest on "Grey's" is played by Peter MacNicol. MacNicol appeared on the incredibly successful "Ally McBeal" as a character much like the one he plays on "Grey's": socially awkward and apparently appealing to attractive women (de Rossi played his love interest on "Ally").

So, are Kepner and MacNicol typecast at all? Possibly. But they're both appealing to watch, and so I don't think anyone will really care.

They have accents?

Wait, What Accents?

There are a shocking number of foreign actors and actresses who appear on American television using American accents.


Often we know who these people are, but occasionally it's shocking.


For instance, did you know that Kevin McKidd (who plays Owen on "Grey's Anatomy") is Scottish? Well, I had no idea...until I saw him being interviewed for the "Greys" musical episode.



Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who played Vivian Johnson on "Without a Trace" for 8 seasons, is also British. I discovered that (with a great deal of shock) when I watched the special features on the series DVD.







Oh, and lets not forget "House". Hugh Laurie is also a Brit. But they're not the only ones invading.

"Without a Trace" barely qualifies as an American television show. Poppy Montgomery and Anthony LaPaglia, the shows other two leads, are both Australian. But you wouldn't know it.






"Fringe", currently airing on Fox, has an Australian lead (Anna Torv), and so does "The Mentalist" (Simon Baker).





And, Portia de Rossi, who I've previously mentioned for her roles on "Ally McBeal", "Arrested Development", and "Nip/Tuck", is yet another Australian.







Here are the following shows that have foreign actors playing American leads different television stations:
1) "Fringe" and "House" on Fox
2) "The Mentalist" on CBS
3) "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC
So, that's the two out of the Big Three plus the 'newcomer' network!

I guess I really can't complain about an Australian/British invasion on "our" television. After all, I have British citizenship too, and I'm not planning on moving out of the U.S. anytime soon.

Check out this fun story about foreigners playing Americans that was first heard on NPR in 2008.

The Musical Episode (Grey's Anatomy)

THE Musical Episode

So, I'm super excited about the "Grey's Anatomy" musical episode that's going to start in (about) 10 minutes. I even made pancakes to prepare. BUT what I'm not as excited about is all of the comments that have been posted on the web about how the episode will be "revolutionary".

Haven't any of you heard of the "Ally McBeal" musical episode (S3, ep21)? And what about the "Buffy" musical episode (S6, ep7)?

The "Ally" episode first aired in 2000. Entitled 'The Musical, Almost' it was true to its word. It wasn't really a musical, but it did include enough songs/singing that it reminded you of a musical.

The "Buffy" episode ('Once More with Feeling') was really, truly a musical. The entire main cast sang solos, and there were completely original full-length musical numbers interspersed throughout the dialogue. It aired in 2001, and was even nominated for an Emmy. Unfortunately it didn't win (many speculate this happened because it was accidentally left off of the ballots, see Wikipedia for more details).

Anyway, will the "Greys" musical episode be just as good? Maybe. But will it be revolutionary? No. Not when its been done twice before.


p.s. I just googled it and there are a bunch of other musical episodes too. Check out this blog.

ER Family Tree

Well, this ties in nicely with yesterday's post about "Ally McBeal". After all, Lisa Nicole Carson played a main supporting character on "Ally McBeal" (1997-2002) and a regular guest star on "ER" (1996-2001). Did you notice the fact that her roles even overlapped? Pretty impressive.

Interestingly enough, Lucy Liu, who played Ling Woo on "Ally McBeal" (1998-2002), also acted in three episodes of "ER" (as Mei-Sun Leow, 1995).

Considering how wildly successful "ER" was, and how many years it ran for (FIFTEEN season!), is it really surprising that many actors came through its doors who later claimed success in other shows?

Lets look at some of the smallest supporting characters who later "made it big":

Dakota Fanning~
Opps, I forgot that she was ALSO in "Ally McBeal". Seriously, was everyone in that show? One of Fanning's earliest roles was playing the five year old version of Ally. But, we can't forget that before that her first ever role was as Delia Chadsey in an episode of "ER" (2000). And did Dakota Fanning make it big? Do you even need to ask? IMDB it.







Lake Bell~

Her role as Judy Holmes on "ER" was only her second role ever (and her first on television). She played the character in two episodes (2002). She later went on to appear multiple times in..."The Practice" (2004)...seriously, David E. Kelley? Anyway, she's had great success since "ER", especially in her role as a series regular on "Boston Legal". Seriously?*
*For those of you who don't know, David E. Kelley is the creator of "Ally McBeal", "The Practice", and its spin-off, "Boston Legal"



Ntare Mwine~

"ER" wasn't his first role, but it certainly didn't hurt. He appeared in two episodes (2002, 2008). And it wasn't until after his 2002 part that he was cast as Usutu, a recurring character on "Heroes" (2006-2009). How's that for some "ER" magic?








Oh, and before I forget...Maffia, who I mentioned last week (she was a guest actor on "Ally McBeal" who later starred in "Nip/Tuck"), was also on "ER".

Obviously after the last post I was feeling badly about the lack of women in the family tree...do you know any men (or women) who really should have been included?

All images are courtesy of imdb.com

The Ally McBeal Family Tree

I never watched "Ally McBeal" when it was on air, and instead stumbled across it in a semi-depressed state after the cancellation of "Better Off Ted".

After getting through the first couple of seasons, I realized that it was a melting pot of guest actors who later went on to success as supporting characters and leads on hit shows.

The Ally McBeal Family Tree:

Michael Weatherly~

Okay, to be honest, he was a series regular on "Significant Others" (1998), but considering that the show was canceled after the first season, I've decided that it doesn't count as a true success. Weatherly guest starred on "Ally McBeal" for one episode ('Sex, Lies, and Second Thoughts', 2000). What's he doing now? He's a lead on the hit series "NCIS".








Tate Donovan~

Again, he did have a role as a series regular before guest starring on "Ally McBeal"...he was on "Partners", also canceled after one season (1996). After his role on "Ally McBeal" (3 episodes as Ronald Cheanie, 1997), he went on to be a guest star on "Friends", and main characters in both "The O.C." and "Damages".







Michael Vartan~


He really wasn't a series regular until after he played Jonathan Bassett on "Ally McBeal". He then went on to star in "Alias" (with Donovan's "Partners" cast member Jennifer Garner) and "Hawthorne".








John Ritter~

This was almost a freebie for me because, lets be honest, John Ritter was a guest actor in almost every successful show from 1972 until his death in 2003. And he was a series regular/leading man long before his guest role as George Madison in "Ally McBeal". Still the show certainly did nothing to hurt his reputation, so I think his inclusion in the family tree is warranted.





Roma Maffia~
Finally, a woman! Roma Maffia was a guest actor on "Ally McBeal" ('Fear of Flirting', 2001). She later became one of the lead characters on the successful "Nip/Tuck". I really left the best for last, because Maffia makes the circle complete. She guest starred on "Ally McBeal" during the show's fifth season when one of its leads was Portia de Rossi. De Rossi then guest starred during the fifth season of "Nip/Tuck". How's that for symmetry?




Can you think of any other guest actors on "Ally McBeal" who later made it big?


Images courtesy of: movieeyes.com, TopNews.in, trailershut.com, Hollywood Reporter, & BuddyTV.