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Ozzy Needs a New Lamp

July 07, 2006

The cameras were not rolling—it’s been four years since the end of “The Osbournes”—when flames scorched Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's English country mansion yesterday.

The cause of the conflagration? A busted lamp, the fire service said.

Neither the couple nor their children, Amy, Jack and Kelly, were at the house in Jordans, 26 miles west of London, when the fire broke out Thursday morning, according to a family spokesman. Paramedics treated a member of the household staff for smoke inhalation. Kelly had left shortly before the blaze started.

''We were able to prevent the fire from spreading,'' said Fraser Pearson, a spokesman for the Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue service. ''It was relatively small.''

The blaze, which caused minor fire and smoke damage to the entrance hallway of the mansion, was the latest in several domestic mishaps to befall Ozzy Osbourne -- who earned fame as a heavy metal rocker in the 1970s -- and his wife in recent years.

The couple had to flee their home last year when a fire broke out in the living room. In 2004, Ozzy Osbourne unsuccessfully tackled a thief as he raided the house and stole a large amount of jewelry, and in 2003, he broke his collarbone, several ribs and a neck vertebra in an all-terrain vehicle accident on the grounds of the estate.

Who Wants to be a “Star?”

Will it be Brandi, of newfound “America’s Got Talent” fame? Or Susan Lucci, of five billion Emmy nominations and 47 decades of “All My Children?”

Inquiring minds want to know!

Brandi was scheduled to make her second fill-in appearance Friday on the daytime talk show's panel of women. Also lined up: ''All My Children'' star Susan Lucci and two personalities from ''Dancing With the Stars'' former contestant Kelly Monaco and judge Carrie Ann Inaba.

Others will be booked between now and Aug. 4, when the show goes on a month's hiatus with repeats or previously recorded shows.

''The View'' isn't trying out replacements for Reynolds this summer; that will be done after Rosie O'Donnell makes her debut on the show Sept. 5, spokesman Karl Nilsson said.

That doesn't mean some of the women who appear this month won't be considered for the permanent gig, he said.

Question: Why do they let some PR people speak? Of course (!) these are try-outs. What else are they? You think Susan Lucci like working a few extra hours a day on top of her AMC gig? And like Brandi needs the work after AGT?

TV vs. Internet, Round VXIII

Hold your pants on Granny, kids are shaking up the world.

A new study out of the UK says that young people between 16 and 25 spend more time online than watching television.

The TV industry had no comment on whether or not the problem was because “there’s nothing good on.”

The survey showed that youngsters spend 23 hours a week online. (Is that so much? Here at BBCancelled News we spend about 5,000 hours a week online.)

And 67% of respondents said they’d be “lost” without their computers. (Duh.) Although a not-too-shabby 46% said they would be “lost” without their television.

Action and Romance Sweep Emmy Nods

July 06, 2006

Suspense drama ''24'' and doctors-in-lust ''Grey's Anatomy'' were among the top nominees announced Thursday for the Emmy Awards.

The leading nominee, with 16 nods, was the miniseries ''Into the West.''

In a major reversal from last year's awards, neither ‘‘Lost’’ nor ''Desperate Housewives'' received enough votes for a best-series bid.

''24'' led all series with 12 nominations, followed by ''Grey's Anatomy'' with 11. Both received best drama series bids and were joined in the category by ''House,'' ''The Sopranos'' and ''The West Wing.''

The comedy series nominees were ''Arrested Development,'' ''Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' ''The Office,'' ''Scrubs'' and ''Two and a Half Men.''

''Desperate Housewives,'' which lost status as a critical darling in it's sophomore season although it held onto ratings, wasn't nominated in the comedy category it won last year. ''Lost'' met the same fate, missing out on a best-drama bid although it won the honor in 2005.

For ''24,'' Kiefer Sutherland received a best-actor bid. Among the ''Grey's Anatomy'' stars recognized were Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson. The show was shut out of the best-actress and actor categories.

Other best-actor nominations went to Peter Krause of ''Six Feet Under,'' Denis Leary of ''Rescue Me,'' Christopher Meloni of ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and Martin Sheen of ''The West Wing.''

Three best-actress bids went to stars of shows that have left the air: Frances Conroy of ''Six Feet Under,'' Geena Davis of ''Commander in Chief'' and Allison Janney of ''The West Wing.'' Other nominees were Mariska Hargitay of ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and Kyra Sedgwick of ''The Closer.''

The nominations were announced in an early morning ceremony at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre.

Today's Emmy Snubs

Last year Desperate Housewives won Golden Globes and much more. Now: Nada. Who's missing from this picture? Alfre Woodard -- the only cast member nominated for an Emmy this morning!

One line of thinking: Who cares who was nominated? We have who was snubbed!

SNUBBED SHOWS

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Entourage (HBO)
Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)
Gilmore Girls (WB)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX)
Malcolm in the Middle (Fox)
Reba (WB)
Reno 911! (COM)
So NoTORIous (VH1)
Sons & Daughters (ABC)
The Comeback (HBO)
The King of Queens (CBS)
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
Weeds (Showtime)

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Alias (ABC)
Big Love (HBO)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Cold Case (CBS)
Commander-In-Chief (ABC)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)
Everwood (WB)
Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
Gilmore Girls (WB)
Huff (Sho)
Lost (ABC)
Nip/Tuck (FX)
Numb3rs (CBS)
One Tree Hill (WB)
Prison Break (Fox)
Rescue Me (FX)
Rome (HBO)
Six Feet Under (HBO)
Smallville (WB)
The Closer (TNT)
The L-Word (Showtime)
The O.C. (Fox)
The Shield (FX)
The Unit (CBS)
Veronica Mars (UPN)
Without A Trace (CBS)

READ MORE > >

Nobody’s Watching but "America"

It’s déjà vu for Regis Philbin. His talent show, “America’s Got Talent,” was the most-watched program on television last week.

Philbin had the same experience with “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” seven years ago. That show caught the public's fancy as a summertime series and then grew to dominate ABC only to implode.

It's doubtful that the ''American Idol''-influenced talent show on NBC will have the same impact. ''America's Got Talent'' took advantage of one of the least-watched weeks of the year in TV; only four programs were seen by more than 10 million viewers, Nielsen said.

And 11 million watched “America’s Got Talent.”

For the week of June 26-July 2, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: ''America's Got Talent,'' NBC, 11.02 million; ''Without a Trace,'' CBS, 10.87 million; ''CSI: Miami,'' CBS, 10.78 million; ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' CBS, 10.57 million; ''House,'' Fox, 9.87 million; ''CSI: NY,'' CBS, 9.19 million; ''Two and a Half Men,'' CBS, 8.86 million; ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (Wednesday), Fox, 8.80 million; ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (Thursday), Fox, 8.52 million; ''CBS Sunday Movie: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,'' CBS, 8.39 million.

Survivor Shoots "Animal" in Georgia

A winner of the ''Survivor: Thailand'' was arrested Wednesday—not, like Richard Hatch, for tax evasion—but for after allegedly shooting a puppy with an arrow.

Brian Heidik, 38, was released on bond after being charged with battery and cruelty to animals. During an appearance in a Georgia courtroom, Heidik told a judge he thought the dog was a coyote that had been harassing his pets.

Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland said it was a puppy.

''At about 3 a.m., his wife called to report that he was outside and that he had shot a puppy that was on his property with an arrow and planned to shoot another one,'' Copeland said.

When sheriff's deputies arrived, Heidik fled in his car (never a good move, but that's just us at BBCancelled talking) but was quickly caught and taken back to the scene of the crime.

Heidik's wife, Charmaine, and five-year-old son were present at the home at the time of the incident, Copeland said.
Copeland said there was evidence in the home to support a charge of battery for family violence. Because the case is pending, he could not elaborate on the nature of the evidence.

Both the wounded puppy and a second puppy were turned over to animal control officials to determine whom they belonged to.

Heidik is a former North Carolina State football player, used-car salesman and part-time actor.

Can Theater Cure Seinfeld Curse?

July 05, 2006

Jason Alexander is taking a break from television to make his directorial debut in a traditional theater. You know, the kind with seats and live actors.

The play is Sam Shepard’s “The God of Hell,” which ''has a lot to say that is not positive about the current policies that seem to be going down,'' said Alexander.

In the play, a totalitarian government puts patriotism and loyalty above everything else, intruding into the lives and freedoms of ordinary folks. There are torture scenes, one of which recalls the hooded prisoners in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

While Shepard’s words and Alexander’s direction are receiving mixed reviews, tickets are on sale through October — a sign that the public is more interested in the production than the critics.

Monk Visits Sweaty Moshpit

Germs, germs, and more germs. That could be the theme for the fifth season of “Monk” premiering July 7.

Tony Shalhoub (AKA Monk) has to visit a moshpit to look for clues among sweaty dancing kids at a rock concert. And worse, he’ll be forced to investigate a crime scene in a porta-potty (or portajohn, modern day outhouse -- take your pick).

''What we love doing is throwing Shalhoub curveballs and seeing if he can hit them,” said executive producer Andy Breckman. “And he can. The portajohn is a crime scene that Monk could never get close to."

“Monk actually mistakes it for a phone booth and kind of backs into it,'' Shalhoub said.

Returning this season alongside Monk’s phobias are Captain Leland Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lt. Randall Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford), the San Francisco cops who need Monk's brain to help them solve crimes. As is Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard), Monk's personal assistant and minder.

Fairchild Joins Bo Derek on Telenovela

The queen of television guest appearances, Morgan Fairchild -- she's appeared on dozens and dozens of diverse shows such as “Mork & Mindy,” “Friends,” and “Roswell” -- is going to be making history for My Network.

Fairchild is joining another timeless beauty, Bo Derek, on “Fashion House”-- the channel's new English-language telenovela debuting in September. Fairchild plays Sophia Blakely, the arch-nemesis of Derek's character, Maria Gianni, in the fashion business.

''This has been fun,'' said Fairchild, who's already shot some scenes with Derek, said. Derek is very game. We're having a very good time doing our knockdown, drag-out ... fights. It's always fun to do it with someone who gets into it.''

Fairchild said she likes to stay on the industry's cutting edge and was intrigued by My Network, which is launching in September on channels displaced by UPN's closing. My Network TV is showing a prime-time lineup of soap operas that air five nights a week, modeled after the telenovela format that is popular worldwide.

''I'm always trying to find new ways to catch my audience off-guard,'' she said.