Today's News: Our Take

Question: I seem to remember ...

Question: I seem to remember that Drew Carey had a small, recurring role as a mechanic in a short-lived sitcom in the early 1990s. Was this really Drew? What was the name of the show? — Mark W.

Televisionary: That would be NBC's The Good Life, which launched in January 1994 and starred John Caponera as John Bowman, a family man and working man whose job at a security products business helped put food on the table for his wife (Eve Gordon) and three kids. (Of course, a better title might've been Short and Sweet, since the show was off the air by May.)

Carey played a guy named Drew Clark (the writers really sweated the character names on this series), who ran the company loading dock with John and was his best friend. Of the cast members, Carey bounced the highest by far on the reb read more

Question: What happened to ...

Question: What happened to the show The Street? It came on for a while in 2000 and then it just went off. What happened to it?

Televisionary: Fox delisted it after critics and viewers decided it was of little or no value.

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Question: I thought I read ...

Question: I thought I read that Telly Savalas had never done any acting before Kojak, but my brother says he remembers him from The King and I. Who's right? — Eric S., Cork, Ky.

Televisionary: Uh... neither, but I can come up with a silver lining and declare you both a little right, if you like. Let's get your brother out of the way first: Wrong bald guy. That was Yul Brynner in The King and I, and he won an Academy Award for his effort.

The late Aristoteles "Telly" Savalas, for his part, won an Emmy after just one season of starring as Lt. Theo Kojak in the CBS series, which ran from October 1973 to April 1978. And you're not that far off in your recollection — fans (and the actor read more

Question: Now that Spider-Man ...

Question: Now that Spider-Man is getting huge box office, I have a bet with my dad. He says that there was a live Spider-Man TV show in the late '70s or early '80s. I say there wasn't. Can you tell me if there was or was not? Thank you for your time. — Anna N.

Televisionary: Father knows best, Anna (at least in this case, but he's probably right about that music of yours being too loud, too). Nicholas Hammond was your friendly neighborhood webslinger on CBS from April to May 1978 and Robert F. Simon was his cantankerous boss, J. Jonah Jameson. After the regular series ended, Spider-Man returned as several specials that aired periodically into the following year. 'Nuff said.

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Thoroughly Modern Millie was the big winner at Sunday's Tony Awards, winning a field-best six trophies including best musical and best actress for 27-year-old newcomer Sutton Foster. Edward Albee's dark comic drama The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? was named best play. Other winners: John Lithgow (best actor in a musical for Sweet Smell of Success), Private Lives (best play revival) and Into the Woods (best musical revival). Finally, sleeper hit Urinetown the Musical won for best book, original score and direction. read more


Former Dark Angel badass Jessica Alba has found work! According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress is in final negotiations to play the lead role in Universal's music-driven coming-of-age drama Honey. She'll play a sexy, tough inner-city woman who gets discovered by a music bigwig. read more

The 2002 Emmys: And the Nominees Should Be...

It isn't a perfect world. We all know that. Our country is at war. Our stocks are tanking. And, after the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences mails out its 2001-2002 nomination ballots this week, Will &amp; Grace is probably going to muster up enough support to vie once again for the Best Comedy Emmy. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In fact, with The Sopranos out of the running in the drama categories (a side effect of its postponed premiere), so many slots are left vacant that new blood virtually must be infused into the race. So, members of the Academy, we would thank you from the bottom of our hearts if, while you were checking off familiar favorites like Sex and the City and David Hyde Pierc read more

Ashley Judd Sheds Good Girl Image

Often a portrayer of heroines and victims, Ashley Judd welcomed the chance to be evil in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (opening June 7). As Vivi, she's a mom with a mean streak — viewers will surely cringe at scenes of the hellion beating her children. But just so we know it's fiction, Judd reveals a few tricks of the trade.

"The kids were incredibly well-rehearsed," she reassures. "We came to the set about a week in advance of shooting and had a huge safety meeting with all the kids, their parents, the tutor, the acting coach and the director."

One way of keeping scary scenes realistic, yet safe for her child co-stars, was talking in code. "If you say 'ouch' or 'stop it,' that's part of the dialogue," Judd says. "So, 'orange' was their safety word for when they felt uncomfortable. T read more


When it came to finding an actress to play Sydney's mom on Alias, producers apparently didn't like any of the suggestions given by TV Guide Online's Armchair Casting Director. Veteran Swedish actress Lena Olin has landed the coveted role, and will appear in at least 16 episodes next season. read more


More than 30 years after dropping out, Steven Spielberg finally received his bachelor of arts degree in film and electronic arts Friday from California State University at Long Beach. The theme from Indiana Jones played as Spielberg walked across the stage to accept his diploma. The 55-year-old filmmaker completed his degree requirements through independent and directed studies. read more

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