Television: May 2008 Archives

Comedy Central's Drawn Together was originally conceived as a cartoon spoof of reality television series such as Big Brother and The Real World--eight distinctly different characters are flu8ng together and forced to put up with each other . Throughout many strange and outright bizarre adventures, the eight roommates push each other's buttons and tear each other apart.

Bill Engvall is a stand-up comedian probably best known for his participation in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (BCC).Engvall's stand up routines mostly concerns his observations about comments he finds stupid and shtick about everyday life. Given the success of BCC, it is no surprise that TBS gave Engvall a shot at his own series.

The premise is simple: Bill Pearson (Engvall) is a family counselor struggling to understand his own family. His wife Susan (Nancy Travis), is a stay- at- home mom determined to keep her family on the straight and narrow. The couple has three children, a teenage daughter named Lauren (Jennifer Lawrence), Trent (Graham Patrick Martin) and their youngest child is a second son named Bryan (Skyler Gisondo). Lauren and Trent are typical teenagers pushing the boundaries and trying to get away with everything they possibly can, while Bryan is younger, precocious and very intelligent, which seems to get him in trouble at every turn.

Gunsmoke is one of the most beloved shows in television history. The series ran on CBS from September 10, 1955 to March 31, 1975 for 635 episodes. Gunsmoke actually began as a radio show in 1952 and remained on the air until 1961. On radio, actor William Conrad (Cannon), played marshal Matt Dillon and was initially the first choice to play the role when the series made the transition to television. However, concerns over Conrad's ballooning weight caused producers to consider other actors. Denver Pyle was considered for the role and Raymond Burr was looked at, but he was ultimately considered to heavyset for the role.

Tina Sinatra recently said of her father, "Dad had no interest in writing a memoir: "What good would that do?" he'd say. "My life and music are the whole of me." Of course, he was right. Film was the only way to go. His music transcends time and intensifies what the screenplay reveals in words."Tina was referring to the 1992 mini-series, "Sinatra," in which she served as executive producer and had the blessing of 'Ol Blue Eyes himself.

As a series of Sinatra films and CDs are reissued to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his death, Warner Brothers has released Sinatra - The 2-Disc Collector's Edition. With no autobiography or truly authorized biography available, Sinatra stands as the most definitive portrait of Frank Sinatra from the Sinatra family that the public is likely to get.

Genealogy is a fascinating thing. The more you learn, the more you realize we are all interconnected in ways that most of us never would have imagined. In 2006, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. a Harvard professor and writer served as co-producer and host for the PBS series, African American Lives. The series used genealogical resources and DNA testing to trace the lineage of notable African Americans.

While the first series focused on the following prominent African Americans, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Ben Carson, Oprah Winfrey, Mae Jemison, Chris Tucker and T. D. Jakes and Gates himself, the prominent individuals in the second series are no less impressive: Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, Tom Joyner, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, Peter Gomes, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Maya Angelou, Bliss Broyard, Linda Johnson Rice, and Kathleen Henderson, a college administrator who was selected from more than 2,000 applicants of ordinary people to have her family history researched and DNA tested along with the well-known guests. Gates also continues the genealogical research into his own family history.

Rawhide premiered on January 9, 1959 on CBS and ran until January 4, 1966. The series was produced by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced several early episodes of Gunsmoke. Warren used his 1958 film Cattle Empire as the basis for the series. Charles had directed the movie, and screenwriter Endre Bohem would become a story editor and consultant on the series. Further, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines and Rocky Shahan who had all appeared in Cattle Empire, would later join the cast of Rawhide when the series premiered in 1959.

Though Rawhide had completed its original run a few years before I was born, I have vivid memories of the show. When I was a little girl, Clint Eastwood had become a huge star with "The Dollars"series of films he made while on his summer hiatus' from the series and subsequent mega-hits such as Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, Every Which Way But Loose and many others. As a result, episodes of Rawhide were aired frequently on TBS, which my brother and I watched whenever we could.

I never watched The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles when it began airing on television back in 1992. Now, having watched the series, repackaged as a series of films for the DVD release, I regret I didn't watch the show much earlier. Based on the early life of Indiana Jones as he was growing up and experiencing his earliest adventures, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones represents one of the most ambitious television series I have ever seen produced. With George Lucas overseeing the project as the series executive producer, I suppose nothing but the best would do.

The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones was filmed on location all over the world. Locations included England, Russia, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, France, India, China, Austria, Egypt, the United States, Morocco, Ireland, Italy, Africa, Turkey, Greece and Thailand. The scenery alone makes the Young Indy series a worthwhile viewing experience for Indiana Jones fans.