THE STORY!
Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit and Vanessa Hudgens (from left) star in "Grease: Live," premiering Sunday on Fox.
FEATURED STORIES “THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY” “MADOFF” “SUPER BOWL’S GREATEST COMMERCIALS 2016”
MOVIES TO WATCH FOLIO
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CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHTS GILLIAN ANDERSON CAITY LOTZ MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD TJ OTT TY PENNINGTON
WHAT'S FOR DINNER Featuring: SUPER BOWL PARTY IDEAS!
EXCLUSIVE!
PROFILED ATHLETE JULIO JONES Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
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“THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORY” Courtney B. Vance tackles the defense as Johnnie Cochran.
CELEBRITY 4 GILLIAN ANDERSON The “X-Files” co-star embraces variety beyond Scully
5 CAITY LOTZ Lotz feels empowered as The White Canary
6 MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD Talks about her role on “Mercy Street”
8 TJ OTT Ott gets a four-legged mate
“MADOFF” Richard Dreyfuss knows victims of the financial scammer he plays.
9 TY PENNINGTON “SUPER BOWL’S GREATEST COMMERCIALS 2016” Katharine McPhee plays ball as co-host.
Getting to know the busy TV host
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FOOD 7 GUY FIERI Guy Fieri offers up Super Bowl party ideas
SPORTS
THE STORY!
18-19 JULIO JONES Atlanta’s Julio Jones heads to Hawaii for the NFL Pro Bowl
“GREASE: LIVE” Happy days and ‘Summer Nights’ at Rydell High
REALITY MOVIES
IN EVERY ISSUE
16 “WILD THINGS WITH
20-21 Featuring: Theatrical
22-23 Featuring: Our top
DOMINIC MONAGHAN” Monaghan confronts animals, and insects, and snakes, oh my!
Review, Our top DVD pick, and Coming Soon on DVD.
suggested programs to watch this week!
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Editor's choice Fox is hoping to fend off winter ratings chill with some sexy “Summer Nights” as the network turns over its entire Sunday prime time block to “Grease: Live,” a new production of the fiftiesstyle hit Broadway musical premiering Sunday, Jan. 31.
STORY
December’s “The Wiz Live!,” this Fox special will be performed in front of an audience, a decision that was a no-brainer, director Thomas Kail says. BY JOHN CROOK
In roles made famous by John Travolta and Olivia NewtonJohn in a blockbuster 1978 film adaptation of the show, Aaron Tveit (“Graceland”) and Julianne Hough (“Dancing With the Stars”) lead the cast as Rydell High School lovers Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. Vanessa Hudgens, who knows a thing or two about high school musicals, is bad girl Betty Rizzo, and the cast also includes Carly Ray Jepsen, Keke Palmer, Carlos PenaVega, Mario Lopez, Ana Gasteyer and Eve Plumb.
“It just always felt like the nature of this show’s rhythms, and musical comedy in general, necessitated having an audience,” explains Kail, who earned a Tony Award nomination for directing the Broadway hit “In the Heights.” “We wanted to feel the energy boost from the ‘conversation’ that happens between an audience member and a performer, and to let the audience at home participate in that.” “Grease: Live” borrows from both the movie and the original stage musical, he adds. “Our script takes a lot of inspiration from the spine of the movie, from the love story of Danny and Sandy, which was more central in the film than it is on stage,” he says. “We also took some moments and songs from the stage play that weren’t in the film. We really wanted to ... make our own ‘Grease’ that will honor and stand up to both of those and also be the first ‘Grease’ that many people will see.”
Tveit, 32, says playing his iconic role feels a bit unreal. “I think ‘Grease’ is really the first musical that I was aware of in my life, even before I knew what a musical was,” he says. “I remember watching it as a little kid, 6 or 7 years old. It’s so woven into our cultural Zeitgeist that I knew of it even before I understood what it was to be in a play. “When we started rehearsing and moving around for ‘Summer Nights’ and ‘You’re the One That I Want,’ those are the kind of moments where part of you stops and thinks, ‘Wow, I’m really doing this now!’ Stepping back and watching yourself perform them is kind of surreal.”
Tveit, whose Broadway credits include “Hairspray” and “Wicked,” says he feels lucky to be working at a time when TV musicals are back in favor.
Click or tap on icon for more! Unlike NBC’s live musical productions, most recently
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“It’s something an entire family can sit down and watch together,” he says. “I’m so grateful ... the musical form isn’t looked down on like it was for a time.”
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CELEBRITY JAY BOBBIN’S Q&A
GILLIAN
ANDERSON of ‘The X-Files’ Monday on Fox Do you think, in its current revival, that the concept of “The X-Files” is as viable as it was during the show’s original run? Oh, it’s more viable than ever, I think ... just in terms of governments, information, access to information, conspiracy theories. All of that is more relevant today than it might have been if we had done this even five years ago. What has it meant to, and for, you to do other projects while also reviving Dana Scully on “The X-Files”? A series called “The Fall” is my favorite thing to do in the world, and there’s also Blanche (DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which Anderson performed on the London stage and will bring to New York this spring). What was amazing was to get to do both of those characters with the knowledge that in the future, I was also going to get to play with Scully again. It’s been a pretty awesome two years. Have you been able to shape your career the way you wanted to? Yes. I’ve worked very hard at that. There was skepticism from various people along the way about the choices that I was making, but I feel quite pleased with how it’s ended up, and with the kind of work that I’ve had the opportunity to do by living over here in my favorite city (London). I’ve been very lucky. Do you envision more “X-Files” adventures of Mulder and Scully to come? Um ... I don’t know. I’ve got three kids and I live in London, and if they want to shoot in Vancouver, British Columbia, or Los Angeles, I‘m not really interested in moving. It all depends on what they’re talking about, how many they’re talking about and what they’re offering. All that stuff plays into it, because it’s not a small deal in my life.
FOLIO Page 4 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
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GEORGE DICKIE‘S Q&A
CAITY LOTZ OF ‘DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW’ THURSDAYS ON THE CW What initially drew you to your character of Sara Lance/The White Canary on The CW’s “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”? ... From the beginning, I loved how strong and powerful she was. ... She wasn’t a victim, she wasn’t catering to anybody. She was like a woman on a mission and I really liked that. ... I’m still really lucky to be playing such a cool character.
What did you draw on to create Sara?
So you’re shooting in Vancouver, British Columbia, making an hour drama. That must make for long days, no?
I guess I don’t really see her as a superhero. You think about her training and everything she’s gone through, I mean, this girl has gone through a lot since she was like 18 and a young, happy-go-lucky, free spirit and then a big change-of-life event. So I guess for me, it’s just putting the reality of if that was my history, if I had grown up that way.
Some days it’s a lot of fun, some days it’s a lot of work. I mean, we have days that are like 16 hours and then sometimes even longer than that. And shooting outside, it’s freezing cold or shooting until the sun comes up and you’re not sleeping all night. But when you see it, you realize how worth it it is. Because the show, when we first saw the trailer, I was like “Holy s...! This show’s actually really good. Thank God!” And we have a lot of fun, too. Like our main cast is fantastic. It’s such fun people. It’s crazy how close we are already but I guess you go through a lot together with the difficulties of filming and just being kind of everyone’s away from home, so we’re all kind of (newcomers) out there together in Vancouver. And working with them and seeing them everyday, it’s kind of like school where you get to see and hang out with your friends is what makes it all really fun.
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CELEBRITY JOHN CROOK’S Q&A
MARY ELIZABETHWINSTEAD of ‘Mercy Street’ Sundays on PBS
What did you like most about the amazing detail in the physical production of “Mercy Street”? I think one of my favorite things was just the location we shot in and the way they dressed it. As soon as I stepped in and looked around, I thought, “This is real. This is happening.” And the extras were so wonderful. That was one of the things that was most important to get right, that the extras in the background playing the suffering soldiers looked real and were moving in the right way.
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You played Mary Todd Lincoln in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Was that experience at all useful on “Mercy Street”? I did try to do my research for that movie, even though it was not based in reality. Having already been in the corsets and having to learn the etiquette of the time, how to carry myself, was useful. At least that gave me a little sense of that world, which helped, because I literally had about two days to prepare to play Mary Phinney. Page 6 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
So you find filming on location very helpful? That makes all the difference to me, when you’re filming in a real place that feels like it has character and history and bones. This place did. Even though it wasn’t the real Mansion House, it felt like it could have been. That goes a long way for an actor, when you can just step onto a set and be in the environment.
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GEORGE DICKIE‘S WHAT'S FOR DINNER
NEED SUPER BOWL PARTY IDEAS? Food Network is there to help
There is a major sporting event happening next weekend. You may have heard something about it. And if you happen to be lucky – or unlucky – enough to be hosting a Super Bowl get-together next Sunday, you may be finding yourself at a loss as to what to serve. And for that, the good folks at Food Network have some ideas in big game-themed programs airing this week. After all, Super Bowl parties aren’t just dogs, burgers, pizza and beer anymore – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Sunday, Jan. 31, the Network presents the second half of its “Big Click or tap on Game Party Weekend Cooking Block,” featuring tips from some of its icon for more! top personalities. On “Guy’s Big Bite,” Guy Fieri offers up an all-meat, Pictured: Guy Fieri no beans Texas-style chili that comes with beer cheddar cheese sauce and a side of potato skins with leeks, mushrooms, brie and prosciutto. On “Brunch at Bobby’s,” Bobby Flay puts out a Southwestern-themed Super Bowl spread featuring a burrito stuffed with salsa verde chicken, scrambled eggs and cheese with a side of crispy green onion-spiced mustard hash browns and a citrus-flavored beer-gin cocktail. Fans of Tex-Mex, this one’s for you. That same day on “Giada Entertains,” Giada De Laurentiis hosts what she calls “the ultimate football viewing party,” with ideas on everything from food and seating to drinks and even friendly wagers. And on “Southern at Heart,” comfort food is on the menu as Damaris Phillips whips up a fresh baked ham sliced thin, served on a sweet roll and topped with fried pickles with cajun aioli. Dieters tune in at your own risk. Monday, Feb. 1, bar foods take center stage on “Top 5 Restaurants,” as Sunny Anderson, Geoffrey Zakarian present their picks for best pub comestibles. Among their selections are beer-soaked sausage, crispy-chewy wings, ribs and fully-loaded potatoes. Get your game face on. Competition series get into the act later in the week, starting Tuesday, Feb. 2, on “Chopped,” as judges Eddie Jackson, Aarón Sánchez and Chris Santos sample the creations of four tailgating fanatics who are none-too-pleased to find a vegetarian pattie in their ingredient basket in the opening round. That’s right, vegetarian. It gets better in the second round as the mandatory ingredients are sausage and cheese. And Thursday, Feb. 4, on “Beat Bobby Flay,” chef and former Canadian football player Deji Oduwole and competition fanatic Zane Holmquist leaves it all on the field as they go one on one with Flay. If these suggestions don’t spark your interest, don’t forget to check your local listings this week for Super Bowl fare ideas on programs such as “CBS This Morning,” NBC’s “Today,” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “The Chew.” January 31 - February 6, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 7
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CELEBRITY GEORGE DICKIE’S CELEBRITY SCOOP
TJ
Full name: Timothy James Ott Date of birth: Dec. 3, 1979 Birthplace: Broad Channel, N.Y. Residence: Gloucester, Mass. in summer, and Key West, Fla., in winter Largest fish: a 1,250pound bluefin, 22 miles off Chatham, Mass., in 2009 Favorite fishery: “I love what we do in Gloucester. I love going to Georges (Bank, an elevated area of sea floor between Cape Cod and Sable Island, Nova Scotia) if Georges is good because it gives you steady action. I love tuna fishing. ... But when the tuna fishing is done, I love coming to Key West and catching snapper and grouper.”
OTT
TJ Ott, captain of the fishing vessel Hot Tuna on National Geographic Channel’s “Wicked Tuna,” loves his Rottweilers.
“Wicked Tuna” returns for its fifth season on a new night, Mondays, beginning Feb. 1, for more drama on the open ocean as Ott, Dave Carraro, Dave Marciano, Tyler McLaughlin and others ply the waters off Gloucester, Mass., hoping to latch onto giant bluefin tuna and, ultimately, a big payday.
He’s had three: a since-deceased male rescue named Diesel, 6-year-old Reba – whom viewers know from the show – and his most recent addition, a female pup named Ripple. And Ott is happy to report the newcomer is Anyone who has ever fished with Ott knows about Reba. adapting well to life at sea. The friendly and sweet-natured dog would greet visitors to the Hot Tuna with lots of tail wags. But when a whale would surface or spout nearby, a snarling, growling and “It worked pretty well, really,” the 36-year-old native of barking canine would emerge. Queens, N.Y., says. “(Reba) loves the puppy. ... They’re best friends. The puppy was (initially) a little cautious and not used to being out on the open ocean. But other than But that trait, so far, isn’t shared by Ripple. that, she took to it well. She did great. ... She’s definitely a salty dog and she loves it. I don’t know if it was having “She’s not really on the whale-hate train yet like Reba,” Reba there that really made her love it and kind of kept Ott says, “but that started with Reba when she turned her mind occupied or if she’s just naturally into it.” about 2 or 2 and a half, so there’s definitely potential for that.”
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CELEBRITY CELEBRITY PROFILE
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TYPENNI NG T O N - Born Oct. 19, 1964, in Atlanta, Ga. - His full name is Gary Tygert Burton Pennington. - He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta and then studied art and sculpture at the Atlanta College of Art for a time. - He is, in his own words, “about as ADHD as you can get.” He was formally diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder as an undergrad. - To support himself, he often worked as a carpenter and also found work as a model. He appeared in advertisements and catalogs for such companies as J. Crew, Diet Coke and Levi’s. - In 1995, he helped make the sets for the feature film “Leaving Las Vegas,” starring Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue.
Ty Pennington is a carpenter, designer and TV personality. - Debuting in 2000, the reality show “Trading Spaces” helped make him a nationally known figure. He served as one of the show’s carpenters. - People magazine named him one of its top 50 bachelors in 2002. - While on “Trading Spaces,” he released his first book, “Ty’s Tricks: Home Repair Secrets Plus Cheap and Easy Projects to Transform Any Room,” in 2003. - In 2004, he left “Trading Spaces” to head up his own show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” on ABC. - In 2007, the premier issue of his magazine, Ty Pennington at Home, hit the newsstands.
- He has been recognized as a leader in the field of volunteerism for his work on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Ty’s Great British Adventure.” He also serves as ambassador for the Sears American Dream campaign. - His latest book, “How Good Design Can Change Your Life” is an intimate look at his design inspirations with décor advice and tips. - He is currently the host, alongside Chef Amanda Freitag, of Food Network’s new series “American Diner Revival.” He also hosts TNT’s new series “On the Menu” alongside legendary Chef Emeril Lagasse and on the HLN series “Growing America: A Journey to Success.”
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CELEBRITY
“It all feels a bit like a dream. I have a poster of it in my flat, and I sometimes look at it and think, ‘Was that me?’ I feel like it’s this young, innocent version of myself with long, flowing hair. I feel really lucky that I got to work with Ken Branagh, and that it happened to me.” – Lily James of “War & Peace” on A&E Network, History and Lifetime, about playing the title role in last year’s liveaction Disneymovie version of “Cinderella”
“To show you the brutality of a human being, remember the Stanford experiment? Take bright students from a college, put them in a prison situation. Half are prison guards. Half are prisoners. And they had to stop the experiment after two weeks, because it was so brutal and so despairing to the other side. So, are we capable of this? Absolutely, we’re capable of this.” – Josh Holloway of “Colony” on USA Network, about the theme of the series
“Always, always. And any actor that says they watch themselves and don’t critique themselves, they’re lying.” – Jonathan Bennett of “Cake Wars” on Food Network, on whether he critiques his own performances
Page 10 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
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ON DVRs
John Rhys-Davies of “The Shannara Chronicles” on MTV “I try and watch as much history and archaeology as I can.”
Ravi Patel of “Grandfathered” on Fox “I watch ‘Fargo.’ I watch ‘American Crime.’ ‘Bloodline,’ ‘Peeky Blinders,’ the Netflix shows. Right now I’m watching ‘Master of None,’ which I’m in. Which is a really interesting show, by the way. I think they did such a good job with that. I’m like three episodes into that.”
Lily James of “War & Peace” on A&E Network, History and Lifetime “I am just getting into ‘Jessica Jones’ on Netflix. I’ve watched the first episode, and I can tell I’m really going to enjoy it.”
Vinnie Jones of “Galavant” on ABC “I watch a lot of the ID (Investigation Discovery) programs. ‘20/20,’ ‘Dateline,’ all that kind of stuff. I used to like watching ‘Pawn Stars.’ I used to like watching ‘Storage Wars.’ And I like NatGeo. I love all the animal programs, especially David Attenborough. He’s sort of my hero.” January 31 - February 6, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
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STORY
O.J. SIMPSON
TRIAL becomes drama ... again Cuba Gooding Jr. stars in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” premiering Tuesday on FX. Story on next page Page 12 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
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FX’s ‘American Crime Story’
dramatizes
the O.J. SIMPSON trial BY JAY BOBBIN When it comes to playing Johnnie Cochran in a drama about the O.J. Simpson trial, Courtney B. Vance knows the man who wrote the book. Literally. The former “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” regular was a Harvard University schoolmate of lawyer and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, whose “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson” is the principal source of FX’s limited series “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” premiering Tuesday, Feb. 2. Executive-produced by Ryan Murphy, the show also stars Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson, but much of its focus is on the attorneys on both sides of the criminal case that saw the pro football icon tried for (and ultimately acquitted of) the murders of his ex-wife and an acquaintance of hers. The impressive cast also includes – on the defense side, along with Vance’s Cochran – John Travolta (also a producer of the drama) as Robert Shapiro and David Schwimmer (“Friends”) as Robert Kardashian, and as the chief prosecutors, Sarah Paulson (who also has worked with Murphy on every season of FX’s “American Horror Story”) as Marcia Clark, Sterling K. Brown (“Army Wives”) as Christopher Darden and Bruce Greenwood as thenDistrict Attorney Gil Garcetti. Those “characters” became household names while the Simpson proceedings were run by Judge Lance Ito (played by Kenneth Choi), and Vance knew his work was cut out for him in portraying someone whose image is as strongly remembered as the late Cochran’s ... whose argument about an evidential glove, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” transcended the courtroom to become part of the general lexicon. “When you’re blessed enough to play someone who’s larger than life, a Nelson Mandela or a Ray Charles or a Johnnie Cochran, everything is just overwhelming initially,” Vance allows. “Eventually, you begin to cut the person down to size, as it were. You have to walk yourself through how you’re going to approach it, so that you don’t
Pictured: Courtney B. Vance
feel intimidated by the journey. I didn’t want to feel so influenced by him that I started imitating him, as opposed to living his life. I wanted to give enough of a sense of him so that the story could be entered and told.” Vance came well-prepared to do that, having read Toobin’s book “a couple of times,” and also having “immediately contacted him” upon getting the role. “We talked, and he gave me some insights. I used other books to supplement it, but I know Jeffrey’s book well. One of my work-study jobs in school was typesetting the Harvard Crimson newspaper, and he was the editor-in-chief. We looked back on where we’d come from, and it was fun. It really, really was.” Attesting to the scope of “The People v. O.J. Simpson” over its 10 episodes, additional cast members include Nathan Lane, “Nashville’s” Connie Britton (also an “American Horror Story” alum), Selma Blair, Cheryl Ladd, Christian Clemenson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Jordana Brewster, Steven Pasquale (“The Good Wife”), Evan Handler, Robert Morse (“Mad Men”) and Rob Morrow. (ESPN also plans to run a documentary miniseries on Simpson, as part of its “30 for 30” franchise, in June.) The husband of actress-director Angela Bassett, another member of Murphy’s “American Horror Story” repertory company, Vance remembers the moment the Simpson verdict came down: “I was in Toronto, shooting ‘The Boys Next Door’ with Tony Goldwyn (on whose ABC series ‘Scandal’ Vance appeared last season) and Nathan Lane and Robert Sean Leonard, and Tony reminded me that we were in his trailer. And when it came down ‘not guilty,’ I screamed, ‘Yes!’ ... and he screamed, ‘No!’ Then we looked at each other and started talking about why we reacted the way we did, so it was a perfect microcosm of the world.”
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STORY
Paying a high PRICE Story on next page
Richard Dreyfuss plays the title role in the new miniseries “Madoff” Wednesday and Thursday on ABC. Page 14 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
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RICHARD DREYFUSS
is ‘Madoff’ in true ABC drama about huge investment scam BY JAY BOBBIN Richard Dreyfuss went into the role of Bernard “Bernie” Madoff with quite a bit of personal knowledge of him. The Oscar-winning actor says he “lived 10 blocks from” the Wall Street investment adviser and former NASDAQ chairman who became a household name with his arrest and conviction for bilking clients through a fraudulent Ponzi scheme. A co-production of ABC’s entertainment and news divisions, the new miniseries “Madoff” airs on the network Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 3 and 4. ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross’ book “The Madoff Chronicles” was a prime source for the docu-drama, which also features Blythe Danner (as Madoff’s wife Ruth), Peter Scolari, Charles Grodin and comedian Lewis Black. Not only did Madoff’s scam literally cost many people, he paid a mighty price himself from its impact on his relationships, both personal and professional. “I was very much aware,” Dreyfuss says, “that we were going to do with Madoff what we have a habit of doing, which is to create one villain so that we can get our outrage out and successfully distract ourselves from who the real villains are. Not that he wasn’t a villain; boy, was he. But in a sense, the culture took it out on him. Whatever his guilt was, he certainly wasn’t responsible for everything that happened in 2008.” Still, Dreyfuss cites Marie Brenner’s related articles for Vanity Fair as reasons “you lose all impulse to empathize” with Madoff, who’s also the subject of a forthcoming HBO project starring Robert De Niro. “You cannot in any way say, ‘Oh, I forgive him’,” Dreyfuss reflects of Madoff. “He was a people eater.”
As it happens, Dreyfuss knows several of those people: “One of them, Madoff did to his family what Hitler did to Poland. When I told this friend that I was going to play the part, I had to call him in Denmark, where he was teaching screenwriting as opposed to being able to afford to live in America. His father had lost every dime of some enormous fortune. The friend wished me well, and he actually was thrilled that I was playing this role. He told me that when he found out they were making (the miniseries), he wanted to call them and say, ‘You should hire Richard Dreyfuss.’ ” For all the modern-screen-classic work he has done, from “American Graffiti” and “Jaws” to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and his Academy Award-earning “The Goodbye Girl,” Dreyfuss clearly doesn’t take his professional status overly seriously. He recalls that during his resumed education roughly a decade ago at Oxford University, “I was on a debate (panel), and my son was with me ... and they introduced me as ‘an icon of the culture.’ “I remember looking over at my son, and he looked at me, and both our eyebrows were twitching. And I said, ‘Icon? Whoo!’ I had a great rep and I was very proud of it, but at Oxford, it turned out that I had become an icon – a pillar, something important. When you’re an icon, you’ve gotta be really careful with how you talk.”
Click or tap on icon for more! January 31 - February 6, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 15
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Monaghan confronts
‘Wild Things’ and has the scars to prove it
BY GEORGE DICKIE In two seasons of filming “Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan,” the host has had his fair share of close calls, be it animals trying to grab him, insects trying to sting him or snakes trying to bite him.
The series moves over to Travel Channel on Wednesdays this season after two years on BBC America but the premise remains the same: The 39-year-old Berlin native and former star of “Lost” visits far-flung locations in search of adventure and exotic wildlife. This season takes him to But his luck ran out last season in Thailand, when a 4-foot- locations including Venezuela, to find carnivorous insects; long water monitor lizard took a chunk out of Monaghan’s Japan, to seek out the creature that inspired Godzilla; and forearm when he approached the beast. Though viewers in this week’s episode, Bolivia, where Monaghan looks for of the version shown in the United States didn’t get to see South America’s largest animal, the Andean spectacled it, Monaghan bled profusely but managed to keep his cool bear. throughout. “It’s called the spectacled bear because some of the mutations in the bear’s fur can make it look like it’s “To be totally honest, you don’t have that much time to think,” he says. “The incident happens and you just think, wearing kind of black spectacles,” Monaghan explains. ‘OK, now it’s hospital and now it’s stitches and now it’s rest “They’re very big, charismatic but shy apex predator, carnivore, and unfortunately very rare. It’s a creature that and now it’s back in the field.’ ” it’s habitat has been destroyed.” “We’re making TV,” he continues, “so there’s a camera “Bolivia itself was a fascinating country,” he continues. pointing in my face and people are saying, ‘How do you “We went to the highest capital city in the world, La Paz, feel? What are we doing now? Where are we going which I think sits at about 14,000 feet and obviously takes now?’ I think my medic was very smart in trying to keep your breath away. It’s very cultured there, nice view, nice me conscious, so he kept me focused on making the show. And honestly, we’re not cavalier about it and I don’t people, and for a capital city it’s incredibly isolated. It’s just completely surrounded by mountains so you feel like necessarily want to walk around with scars all over my body. But I think the odd scar here and there tells a great you’re nestled in this little community.” story, and the scar I have tells a great story about a very powerful, fast, dynamic creature.”
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Katharine McPhee
touches down with classic Super Bowl ads BY JAY BOBBIN
Pictured Boomer Esiason and Katharine McPhee
Whether or not you know Super Bowl 50 is just around the corner, CBS is determined not to let you forget in the days preceding it.
different than my everyday shooting schedule. And I get to make my (‘Scorpion’) castmates jealous by getting a day off.”
Especially since that network – which televised the very first Super Bowl – has the NFL championship game again this year, it’s programming multiple specials leading up to that Feb. 7 broadcast. Boomer Esiason and “Scorpion” co-star Katharine McPhee reteam as hosts of the 2016 edition of “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” Tuesday, Feb, 2; the self-explanatory “Super Bowl’s Greatest Halftime Shows” Friday, Feb. 5; and both the Kevin Frazier-hosted “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials All-Star Countdown” and the fifth annual NFL Honors award ceremony Saturday, Feb. 6.
Actually, McPhee has had a few of those lately, since she also performed in the “Sinatra 100” tribute concert that CBS aired from Las Vegas in December. “They definitely reach out to me in that way and I’ve been completely open to it, so I hope they’ll continue. It’s fun, and it should be fun.”
“I love sporting events and I love the Super Bowl,” says actress, singer and “American Idol” alum McPhee, “and I really love that CBS kind of has me involved doing ‘extracurricular activities,’ as I call them. I had a great time doing (‘Greatest Commercials’) last year. I love to travel, and last year, I got to go to Arizona ... and this year, I get to go to the San Francisco-San Jose area. “It gives me an excuse to get out of town and hang out with Boomer,” the pleasant McPhee adds, “and to do something
Though her character Paige Dineen typically figures strongly into each episode of the Monday adventure series “Scorpion,” McPhee – who recently released her fourth studio album, “Hysteria,” and actually will attend Super Bowl 50 – reports that getting away to do one of her “extracurricular activities” generally is a smooth process. “Our line producer on the show does an amazing job of getting me out,” she says. “I can’t really complain, because they’ve been amazing with requests and really gracious with time off for things that CBS has requested of me, or for my own things. It could be much more difficult, and it’s not been.”
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SPORTS
ALOHA!
JULIO JONES
HEADED FOR NFL’S PRO BOWL
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FULL NAME: Quintorris Lopez Jones BORN: Feb. 3, 1989 BIRTHPLACE: Foley, Ala. HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6 foot, 3 inches/220-pounds TEAM: Atlanta Falcons POSITION: Wide receiver NO.: 11
COLLEGE: Alabama DRAFTED: 2011, 6th overall pick by Atlanta RECEIVING YARDS: : 6,201 TOUCHDOWNS: 34 HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: NFL Pro Bowl, 2012, 2014; NFL Receiving Leader (yards), 2015; BCS National Champion, 2010
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SPORTS
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BY DAN LADD When the 2015-16 NFL season began many had picked the Atlanta Falcons to be a playoff contender. Things didn’t work out that way, but don’t blame Falcons wideout Julio Jones, who will participate in the Pro Bowl, the NFL’s version of an all-star game, which airs Sunday, Jan. 31, on ESPN. Jones played in all 16 games this season and led the league in receiving with 1,871 yards. With 136, he led the NFL in most receptions. Other than an injury-plagued 2013 season, Jones has been a force to be reckoned with for opposing defenses since he entered the league in 2011. As popular as the NFL is, the Pro Bowl has suffered in popularity, especially as a television product. The game does have a storied history – from 1938 to 1942 the NFL’s league champion would square off against all-stars from the other teams. Beginning in 1950, until after the AFL/NFL merger in 1969, the game featured conference all-stars against each other before establishing an East/West format. With the merger came the establishment of the AFC and NFC conferences and Pro Bowl, which was originally played a week after the Super Bowl and pitted the best of each conference against each other. Since 2010, the game has been played prior to the Super Bowl with alternates selected to replace players from the Super Bowl teams.
JULIOJONES
Two years ago, in 2014, the AFC/NFC format was dropped. Players who are elected to the Pro Bowl are selected in a draft by honorary alumni captains Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin. January 31 - February 6, 2016 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 19
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN'S THEATRICAL MOVIE REVIEW
REVIEW
JENNIFER LAWRENCE FINDS ‘JOY’ IN PLAYING MIRACLE MOP MAVEN If you’re familiar with the woman who invented the Miracle Mop, chances are you have a good fix on the life of Joy Mangano, who rode her invention into becoming a queen of marketing on TV. Her story fuels another teaming of star Jennifer Lawrence and director David O. Russell, which is titled “Joy” for multiple meanings – some of them ironic, since Mangano’s business progress is offset by her colorful and complicated family. Among those relatives is her father, played by Robert De Niro, also returning to Russell’s team after “Silver Linings Playbook.” And it seems Russell doesn’t make a move without Bradley Cooper, either. He’s on hand as an executive of the home shopping network QVC, which becomes Mangano’s avenue to the big time professionally.
De Niro, but also her soap-opera-addict mom (Virginia Madsen), an unsupportive-to-put-it-mildly sister (Elisabeth Rohm, also back from Russell’s “American Hustle”), and Mangano’s ex-spouse (Edgar Ramirez) who still hangs around as part of the clan. The combination of characters makes “Joy” ideal territory for Russell, since the filmmaker specializes in stories of dysfunctional groups striving to make something better of their circumstances. Ultimately, that doesn’t hit a home run in the ballpark of “Silver Linings Playbook” or “American Hustle,” but it holds true to what he and what has become his repertory company of players clearly like to do together.
Appreciation must be added for the director’s inclusion of two faces very familiar from the home screen, Susan Lucci and Donna Mills. They don’t get a bounty of time, but the fact that they’re present speaks well for Russell’s respect Though “Joy” tales a bemused look at Mangano’s for seeing past presumed boundaries and recognizing success, it’s careful not to scoff at (not a surprise, since she’s among the movie’s executive producers). The picture what a performer is capable of. Isabella Rossellini and Diane Ladd also are pleasant to have on hand here, and is another testament to what Russell can draw from Melissa Rivers playing her mother Joan is a nice touch. actors ... certainly Lawrence, who’s quite good in infusing Mangano’s known image with her own energy. The film’s overall result may fall a bit short of what we’ve come to expect from David O. Russell, but it still has A lot more of “Joy” than you might expect is about the enough joy to go around. family relationships, though – not just the dad played by Page 20 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote January 31 - February 6, 2016
MOVIES JAY BOBBIN'S MOVIE REVIEW MOVIES TO WATCH
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“BRIDGE OF SPIES” Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg reunited for this compelling, true Cold War-era drama of an attorney who faces mixed-at-best reactions – even from his own family – to his defense of a Soviet spy (Mark Rylance, whose performance here has been giving him a good run on the film-award circuit). The situation ultimately works to the lawyer’s advantage, though, as he uses it to bargain for the release of captured U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell). Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Jesse Plemons (“Fargo”), Eve Hewson (daughter of Bono ... of, as it happens, U2), Michael Gaston and excellent character actor Dakin Matthews also are in the fine cast. The screenplay was co-written by Joel and Ethan Coen. ››› (PG13: AS, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
Top Pick
DVD
Pictured: Tom Hanks
UPCOMING DVD RELEASES
Coming Soon on DVD... “CRIMSON PEAK” (Feb. 9): A relationship on an isolated English estate has its perils in Guillermo Del Toro’s melodrama; stars include Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain. (R: AS, P, V)
“STEVE JOBS” (Feb. 16): Michael Fassbender portrays the Apple cofounder and CEO in director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin’s drama. (R: AS, P)
“GRANDMA” (Feb. 9): Lily Tomlin has the title role as a woman who tries to help her granddaughter (Julia Garner) get needed money before the day ends. (R: AS, P)
“FARGO: YEAR TWO” (Feb. 23): A young couple (Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons) is caught up in larceny in the FX series’ sophomore round; Patrick Wilson and Ted Danson also star. (Not rated: AS, P, V)
“BLACK MASS” (Feb. 16): Johnny Depp stars as Boston-mob figure James “Whitey” Bulger, an informant for an FBI agent and childhood friend (Joel Edgerton). (R: AS, P, GV)
“THE NIGHT BEFORE” (March 1): Three pals (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie) seek the biggest party they can find on Christmas Eve. (R: AS, N, P)
Pictured: Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain Family Viewing Ratings AS Adult situations
P Profanity
V Violence
N Nudity
GV Graphic Violence
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FAVORITE SHOWS
David Lambert stars in “The Fosters”
SUNDAY 8 p.m. on NBC American Ninja Warrior A huge annual draw for fans, this hit series presents its eagerly awaited high-stakes international competition “USA vs. the World,” which sees teams from America, Europe and Japan traveling to Las Vegas to tackle the punishing finals course. Team USA includes “American Ninja Warrior” champion Isaac Caldiero and his runner-up, Geoff Britten, plus veteran competitors Drew Drechsel, Ian Dory, Kevin Bull and Joe Moravsky. Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Matt Iseman host this new episode. New
Emily Osment stars in “Young & Hungry”
Matt Iseman co-hosts “American Ninja Warrior”
MONDAY 10 p.m. on ABC FAMILY The Fosters Brandon (David Lambert) feels on edge when he discovers that his secret with Callie (Maia Mitchell) apparently has leaked in the new episode “Mixed Messages.” Elsewhere, Stef (Teri Polo) clashes with her mother, Sharon (guest star Annie Potts), over how best to handle her diagnosis. At school, the simmering resentment between Mariana and Lexi (Cierra Ramirez, Bianca S. Santos) reaches a full boil over Mariana’s bid for junior class president.
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TUESDAY 9 p.m. on NBC Chicago Med A Saudi prince (guest star Lymen Chehade) checks into the hospital for a medical procedure performed by a hot-shot surgeon (guest star Gregg Henry) in the new episode “Reunion,” but many on the Chicago Med team are more focused on Dr. Manning’s (Torrey DeVitto) return from maternity leave. Among her first patients is a teenager with long history of medical issues. Elsewhere, romance blossoms between Sarah (Rachel DiPillo) and lab tech Joey (guest star Peter Mark Kendall). New
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FAVORITE SHOWS WEDNESDAY 8 p.m. on ABC FAMILY Young & Hungry In the Season 3 premiere, “Young & The Next Day,” Gabi (Emily Osment) heads out to the desert for what she hopes will be a fun road trip, but her scattered thoughts soon send the outing totally off the rails. Back in the city, tensions between Elliot and Alan (Rex Lee, Bryan Safi) prompt them to cut their honeymoon short, leading Yolanda (Kym Whitley) to play marriage counselor. Meanwhile, Josh (Jonathan Sadowski) frets that his chance for happiness may literally have just passed him by. Season Premiere New
FRIDAY 8 p.m. on FOX Sleepy Hollow Jenny and Crane (Lyndie Greenwood, Tom Mison) find themselves at a near-total loss after Abbie’s (Nicole Beharie) huge sacrifice as the series returns with its winter premiere, a new episode called “One Life.” As the story unfolds, Crane forms an unexpected partnership, while Jenny faces off with a former enemy. Zach Appelman, Nikki Reed, Shannyn Sossamon, Lance Gross and Jessica Camacho also star. New
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SATURDAY 8 p.m. on ABC Republican Debate Scant days before the high-profile Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary, ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz serve as moderators for this live debate from St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. As in the previous GOP debates, front runners for the Republican presidential nomination will have another opportunity to argue why each has the best plan for the near- and long-range future in the United States. New
THURSDAY 8 p.m. on FOX American Idol Shellshocked, perhaps, yet still standing, the contestants have made it through Hollywood Week, so it’s time to find out which are the best of the best, the lucky 24 contenders who will continue in the competition, in the all-new two-hour episode “Hollywood Round No. 4.” Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. are the judges; Ryan Seacrest hosts. New 10 p.m. on ABC Beyond the Tank The season finale features the team who is pitching a new boxed wine to be marketed to a target audience of millennials, but the Sharks want them to prove their product also can attract new customers. The team behind a subscription gift service gets some advice from the panel, who also entertains a pitch for an indoor-outdoor play and party space for kids. Season Finale New
David Muir is a moderator in the Republican Debate
Tom Mison stars in “Sleepy Hollow”
Ryan Seacrest hosts “American Idol”
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