Friday, June 29, 2012
New "Dallas" renewed for a second season
It's performing great, and the frenzy around it is pulsing -- TNT's reboot of "Dallas" has already been given a second season. News outlets like Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post and CBS are reporting that the cable network has just ordered another 15 episodes of the next-generation Ewing saga for 2013. So far, the show is averaging 6.9 million viewers for its first season.
Spotted: Monte Markham and Marj Dusay
BRBTV has been loving a rewatching of the first season of the '70s "Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries," courtesy of our friend Tracy. The DVD set has been a delightful trip back in time to these episodes we haven't seen since they originally aired. And seriously -- is that not one of the best TV theme songs ever?
Some great stars of classic television pop up in these episodes. We were intrigued to see Marj Dusay, the second Pamela Capwell of "Santa Barbara," in a smallish role in the Hardy Boys ep "The Disappearing Floor." Dusay is Dr. Janice Craddock, a polite, rather prim scientist seen by Frank and Joe Hardy in their investigation of the disappearance of another scientist. In March 1977, 11 years before she showed up on "SB," she's fresher of face and lovely in her clinician's stance, complete with lab coat.
We were also thoroughly entertained to see Monte Markham in "The Mystery of Pirate's Cove," the second episode of the series and the first one for Nancy Drew. Our former Clint Ogden of "Dallas" is gentlemanly and self-assured (and even called an "Adonis" by Nancy's friend George!) as a professor who travels from the West Coast to River Heights to purchase a spooky old lighthouse that seems to be inhabited by a ghost. He purports to be studying the paranormal phenomenon, but is there more to his story? Our former original Fallon Carrington of "Dynasty," Pamela Sue Martin, does some digging as the famous titian-haired amateur sleuth.
Some great stars of classic television pop up in these episodes. We were intrigued to see Marj Dusay, the second Pamela Capwell of "Santa Barbara," in a smallish role in the Hardy Boys ep "The Disappearing Floor." Dusay is Dr. Janice Craddock, a polite, rather prim scientist seen by Frank and Joe Hardy in their investigation of the disappearance of another scientist. In March 1977, 11 years before she showed up on "SB," she's fresher of face and lovely in her clinician's stance, complete with lab coat.
We were also thoroughly entertained to see Monte Markham in "The Mystery of Pirate's Cove," the second episode of the series and the first one for Nancy Drew. Our former Clint Ogden of "Dallas" is gentlemanly and self-assured (and even called an "Adonis" by Nancy's friend George!) as a professor who travels from the West Coast to River Heights to purchase a spooky old lighthouse that seems to be inhabited by a ghost. He purports to be studying the paranormal phenomenon, but is there more to his story? Our former original Fallon Carrington of "Dynasty," Pamela Sue Martin, does some digging as the famous titian-haired amateur sleuth.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Reboot "Dallas," reboot some delicious "Dallas" merchandise
Ahhh ... we remember the days of researching "Dallas" for our BRBTV reference guide "Destination: Dallas." For the merchandise chapter, we combed eBay and other sites across the Internet to dredge up these precious pieces of the past ... "I Shot J.R." T-shirts, card games, jigsaw puzzles and glassware ... We remember thinking, "Oh, if we could only travel back in time and snatch up a bunch of that stuff when it first hit the shelves ..."
Well, the shelves are now measured in MB, and the time is now. TNT is celebrating its reboot of our classic beloved series with a yummy new array of goodies, and some even resemble playful throwbacks. T-shirts are the heavy, of course, because ya know, we can all keep like 350 of those around the house, but there's also some drinkware and the obligatory tote bag.
As the tagline says at the bottom of their online store, "Who says a reboot can't pack a punch?"
Well, the shelves are now measured in MB, and the time is now. TNT is celebrating its reboot of our classic beloved series with a yummy new array of goodies, and some even resemble playful throwbacks. T-shirts are the heavy, of course, because ya know, we can all keep like 350 of those around the house, but there's also some drinkware and the obligatory tote bag.
As the tagline says at the bottom of their online store, "Who says a reboot can't pack a punch?"
Friday, June 22, 2012
Shirley Jones headlines the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention
Shirley Jones of "The Partridge Family" and Sherry Jackson, one of the babes of the original "Star Trek" series, are two of the scheduled guests for this year's Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, set for August 9-11 at the Marriott Hotel in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
TV's "Dennis the Menace" Jay North and singer James Darren are two other classic stars included in the event, which will also feature a charity auction of signed memorabilia from stars such as Jane Fonda, Ann Blyth, Rhonda Fleming and Burt Reynolds. Proceeds benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
TV's "Dennis the Menace" Jay North and singer James Darren are two other classic stars included in the event, which will also feature a charity auction of signed memorabilia from stars such as Jane Fonda, Ann Blyth, Rhonda Fleming and Burt Reynolds. Proceeds benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Exploring TV's "deadbeat dads" -- who made the list?
Thanks to Corinne of OnlinePsychologyDegree.net for letting us know about a fun new list of "8 Deadbeat TV Dads We Love to Hate." Click on over and find out why Tony Soprano gets zero “Cool Dad” points and how the father of the "Gossip Girl" made the list.
The list extends as far back as "Married ... With Children," so it makes us wonder ... are there any deadbeat dads on the shows that BRBTV covers? Hmmm ...
The list extends as far back as "Married ... With Children," so it makes us wonder ... are there any deadbeat dads on the shows that BRBTV covers? Hmmm ...
Monday, June 18, 2012
Bits 'n' pieces: New movie projects, appearances and more
Richard Hatch, whom we know as Dean Caldwell on "Dynasty," will be hosting a panel discussion at Comic-Con in San Diego this year. The "Battlestar Galactica" star's panel, "So Say We All," is on Thursday, July 12 at 10:30 a.m.
Linda Evans of "Dynasty" notes on her official Facebook page, "I will miss my beautiful friend, Nolan Miller. He has been in my life since 'The Big Valley'.... 1965… and he’ll always be in my heart."
Lane Davies, our original Mason Capwell of "Santa Barbara," continues to shine in the online web soap "The Bay," getting some good screen time in the most recent webisode as Mackenzie Johnson.
Anthony De Longis, who was the evil Leo Mitchell on "SB," is working on a new movie project: "Cowboy Creed."
Richard Eden of "SB" (Brick Wallace) also has a new movie in the works. He wrote the script for "Retribution" and was shooting it earlier this year, collaborating with his wife, Shannon Hile. The film also features Brian Krause of "Charmed."
The Soap Series on BlogTalkRadio has caught up with a couple of our BRBTV stars lately: Lesley Anne Down of "Dallas" and Tricia Cast of "SB."
Byron Cherry, Coy Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard," has announced a tribute to "Dukes" castmate Christopher ("Vance Duke") Mayer at the Automania show in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the end of this month. Cherry also notes he will be retiring his own General Lee to a museum.
Linda Evans of "Dynasty" notes on her official Facebook page, "I will miss my beautiful friend, Nolan Miller. He has been in my life since 'The Big Valley'.... 1965… and he’ll always be in my heart."
Lane Davies, our original Mason Capwell of "Santa Barbara," continues to shine in the online web soap "The Bay," getting some good screen time in the most recent webisode as Mackenzie Johnson.
Anthony De Longis, who was the evil Leo Mitchell on "SB," is working on a new movie project: "Cowboy Creed."
Richard Eden of "SB" (Brick Wallace) also has a new movie in the works. He wrote the script for "Retribution" and was shooting it earlier this year, collaborating with his wife, Shannon Hile. The film also features Brian Krause of "Charmed."
The Soap Series on BlogTalkRadio has caught up with a couple of our BRBTV stars lately: Lesley Anne Down of "Dallas" and Tricia Cast of "SB."
Byron Cherry, Coy Duke of "The Dukes of Hazzard," has announced a tribute to "Dukes" castmate Christopher ("Vance Duke") Mayer at the Automania show in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the end of this month. Cherry also notes he will be retiring his own General Lee to a museum.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Premiere of new "Dallas" deals up some great ratings
TNT's next-generation "Dallas" had no problem with luring in an audience, "striking it rich" as a couple online news agencies have said. Nearly 7 million of us tuned in on Wednesday night, as the Hollywood Reporter notes. And temper that number with the fact that nowadays people know they can go online and watch it later, and you've got a pretty good figure.
Check out CNN's coverage, which features video of the cast members lookin' good as they're talking to Piers Morgan.
Didya miss it? Run right over to TNT's "Dallas" video site. See a guide to the core characters and lots of lush video interviews and clips and photos and such there, too. Dallas Fanzine also has a nice gallery of photos, as well as its own original interviews with cast members.
BRBTV absolutely loved the premiere of the new show, believing it showed the utmost respect for the original product, with, of course, some shinier production values and a captivating new cast. While we're purists and would've loved to have seen the originals in the roles of John Ross and Christopher, we're quite enamored with Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe after watching their debut. And we'll be updating the "Destination: Dallas" Kindle version soon to reflect the new show and its continuity!
Check out CNN's coverage, which features video of the cast members lookin' good as they're talking to Piers Morgan.
Didya miss it? Run right over to TNT's "Dallas" video site. See a guide to the core characters and lots of lush video interviews and clips and photos and such there, too. Dallas Fanzine also has a nice gallery of photos, as well as its own original interviews with cast members.
BRBTV absolutely loved the premiere of the new show, believing it showed the utmost respect for the original product, with, of course, some shinier production values and a captivating new cast. While we're purists and would've loved to have seen the originals in the roles of John Ross and Christopher, we're quite enamored with Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe after watching their debut. And we'll be updating the "Destination: Dallas" Kindle version soon to reflect the new show and its continuity!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Spotted: Christopher Cazenove and Stephanie Beacham
What happens when Ben Carrington and Sable Colby get together? Well, sparks do fly, but we're not talking about an episode of "Dynasty" or "The Colbys." This is the 1992 miniseries "To Be the Best," the third installment in the "Woman of Substance" series by Barbara Taylor Bradford.
Lindsay Wagner takes the lead role of Paula O'Neill, but Christopher Cazenove and Stephanie Beacham get the juicy parts of plotting against her as Jonathan Ainsley and Arabella. What Jonathan doesn't know in the story, though, is that Arabella is plotting against him, too! Isn't that just like our Sable Colby?
The miniseries was made a few years after they each did their time on "Dynasty," but Cazenove is every bit as dashing as he was playing Ben Carrington. And just as nasty, too. Beacham plays it sweet and compliant as Arabella, who becomes Jonathan's wife, but she has an edge. Cazenove, who was 49 for the role, does some chest-baring and I'm-still-a-virile-man theatrics like a workout scene with a rowing machine. And for our lovely former Sable, the producers certainly make use of her natural feminine appeal and stately poise.
A recommended view, and we thank James for passing it along to us!
Lindsay Wagner takes the lead role of Paula O'Neill, but Christopher Cazenove and Stephanie Beacham get the juicy parts of plotting against her as Jonathan Ainsley and Arabella. What Jonathan doesn't know in the story, though, is that Arabella is plotting against him, too! Isn't that just like our Sable Colby?
The miniseries was made a few years after they each did their time on "Dynasty," but Cazenove is every bit as dashing as he was playing Ben Carrington. And just as nasty, too. Beacham plays it sweet and compliant as Arabella, who becomes Jonathan's wife, but she has an edge. Cazenove, who was 49 for the role, does some chest-baring and I'm-still-a-virile-man theatrics like a workout scene with a rowing machine. And for our lovely former Sable, the producers certainly make use of her natural feminine appeal and stately poise.
A recommended view, and we thank James for passing it along to us!
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Nolan Miller dies at age 79
Nolan Miller, the mastermind behind the exquisite, glamorous fashions enjoyed by millions of viewers of "Dynasty" and "The Colbys," has passed away. The news arrived on his Facebook page earlier today from fellow designer Mark Zunino:
"It is with great sadness that I need to inform you of Nolan's passing last night. He fought a brave five-year battle against non-smokers lung cancer. Nolan truly loved and appreciated all of his fans. In lieu of flowers or cards, a donation can be made in his name to the American Cancer Society. Thank you all for your kind words and support over all the years."
The esteemed, Texas-born costume designer worked on the wardrobes of his "Dynasty" stars for other shows, too: Joan Collins for "Pacific Palisades" and Emma Samms for "Models Inc." He got his start clothing the stars in the '60s and worked on myriad shows over the years, such as "The Love Boat," "Hart to Hart," "Charlie's Angels" and many more. Our condolences to his family.
"It is with great sadness that I need to inform you of Nolan's passing last night. He fought a brave five-year battle against non-smokers lung cancer. Nolan truly loved and appreciated all of his fans. In lieu of flowers or cards, a donation can be made in his name to the American Cancer Society. Thank you all for your kind words and support over all the years."
The esteemed, Texas-born costume designer worked on the wardrobes of his "Dynasty" stars for other shows, too: Joan Collins for "Pacific Palisades" and Emma Samms for "Models Inc." He got his start clothing the stars in the '60s and worked on myriad shows over the years, such as "The Love Boat," "Hart to Hart," "Charlie's Angels" and many more. Our condolences to his family.