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300,000 Webizens Watch Nobody

July 21, 2006

Americans love a Cinderella story. Variety reports today that NBC is picking up the rejected sitcom “Nobody’s Watching” after it found new life on YouTube.com.

The quasi-comedy/reality show was created for the WB Network, which no longer exists -- although it wasn’t tapped as a promising prospect regardless.

So the producers put the show on YouTube in three 9-minute segments and -- ta-da! -- it's been downloaded over 300,000 times in less than a month. The chattering classes were discussing if it would be rescued, and now it has.

(Yes, NBC does own BBCancelled.com, but they did not ask us to write about this story. We don’t know if that means they don’t care about us, or whether or not they just forgot about us, but we’re not taking it personally.)

One interesting note about the new life of “Nobody’s Watching” is that a new website devoted to the show is in the works, one where viewers can offer feedback on what did and didn’t work.

Well, we already have a website, so go HERE and watch the show. And then leave a comment here. Tell us if you think NW is a hit or a miss? A television navel-gazing breakthrough or a bust in the making?

Sex & The Nissan

If you hire Samantha, what do you expect -- Kim Cattrall playing a buttoned-up librarian or a nun?

No, the “Sex & The City” star is gonna be sexy. And that’s exactly what Ms. Cattrall is in the new Nissan advertisements airing in New Zealand.

Well, they were airing until a few days ago, when the previously approved spots inspired complaints from prudes, er, viewers.

Cattrall appears in the ad purring with excitement about Nissan's new sedan.

''Why didn't you tell me it was so big? I just wasn't prepared for it,'' she gushes. ''The all-new Nissan Tilda makes you feel really, really, really good inside.''

She tells a salesman: ''Ah! That was amazing. Absolutely fabulous! I mean the great body and the way you moved it.''

Nissan said it was taking the commercial off the air before the board could consider the objections.
''We made this decision in the interest of self-regulation and in response to public feedback,'' Nissan said in a statement.

Watch for excerpts online any second now.

Kelsey Grammer Wins Early Emmy

If it’s drawn, then it’s not in prime time. But that's cool, 'cause we love us some good cartoons.

A few Emmy award winners were announced yesterday -- mostly in animated categories. The biggest name was Kelsey Grammer, who won a statuette for his voiceover performance as Sideshow Bob on Fox's ''The Simpsons.''

Other juried award winners announced Wednesday -- Costumes for a variety or music program: Wendy Benbrook, Wanda Leavey, ''MADtv,'' Fox; Erin Lareau, ''Benise: Nights of Fire!'' PBS; Dana Campbell, Randall Christensen, ''Dancing with the Stars,'' ABC. (They actually dress those fools on “Dancing with the Stars?” We thought folks just showed up in whatever they wanted.)

Individual achievement in animation: Jarek Szyszko, ''Classical Baby 2,'' Hippo Dance segment, HBO; Sarah E. Meyer, ''Robot Chicken,'' Easter Basket episode, Cartoon Network; Frederick Gardner, ''The Life and Times of Juniper Lee,'' Adventures in Babysitting episode, Cartoon Network; Bryan Arnett, ''Escape From Cluster Prime,'' Nickelodeon; Shannon Tindle, ''Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends,'' Go Goo Go episode, Cartoon Network; Mike Diederich, ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,'' Cartoon Network.

Jay Leno Doesn’t Watch “The Tonight Show”

How else to explain his comment last night from Leno to Colin Farrell? A stalker approached Farrell on the set, and Leno said: “Welcome to celebrity.”

Hunh? Does Leno think Farrell is new to the Hollywood game? Didn’t he watch the sex tape? The Alexander debacle?

He has to know about Miami Vice because that’s the reason Farrell showed up to tape a segment, and that’s when things went “unscripted,” as they say in the biz.

A woman from the audience walked up to Colin Farrell as he was talking to Leno. The 30-year-old actor quickly escorted her off stage and asked for security.

''She said something to Colin Farrell that no one heard, then he took her by the elbow, led her off stage, asked the cameramen to turn off their cameras and asked for security,'' said Molly Mattaini, who was in the audience and visiting from St. Paul, Minn.

Mattaini, 16, said Farrell returned to the stage and apologized to the audience.

Classy, eh? Farrell remained on stage the rest of the show, appearing ''very calm, very collected,'' Mattaini said. Later in the evening, he appeared at the premiere of his new movie, Miami Vice.

After the woman, Farrell sat back down and said, "My first stalker," and that’s when Jay Leno said, "Welcome to celebrity.”

And that’s when our eyes rolled back inside our head.

Generous Biel "Not a Cheap Date"

July 20, 2006

Colorado girls stick together.

Former “7th Heaven” star Jessica Biel let herself be auctioned off to raise money for a Boulder, Colorado, high school girl hurt in a car accident.

Although Biel told attendees that she is a “cheap date,” an evening with the young woman Esquire magazine once called the “sexiest woman alive” went for $30,000.

Molly Bloom was hurt in May on her prom night when she was run over and dragged 30+ feet by a Hummer Stretch limo. The event, dubbed “Mollypalooza,” raked in $44,000 to help Bloom’s family with medical expenses.

See, Hummer’s aren’t just gas-guzzlers, but they’re dangerous. And stars from Colorado are nice. Maybe Hollywood should relocate.

Previously … on Netflix

NBC will let Netflix subscribers sneak a peek at their two most buzzed-about new series -- ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,'' as well as ''Kidnapped'' -- before the shows premiere in September.

Starting August 5th, Netflix subscribers can rent DVDs ofthe debut episodes, along with previews of other shows from the fall line-up. That’s six weeks before the shows can be seen anywhere else -- for anyone counting.

The project is risky. Yet probably a worthy experiment. On the one hand, if the shows are good, they will find an eager audience from the get-go. But what if they’re slow-starters, like “Lost,” which benefited from being able to watch the entire first season on DVD. Or heck, Bravo’s “Project Runway,” which didn’t become a mega-hit until the second season ran marathon like all weekend long?

Bottom line: It's innovative, and we love innovative.

Anne Gives Advice to "Men In Trees"

Ex-lesbian, ex-ecstasy-using wanderer, Anne Heche has a new job. Relationship coach.

Really. Heche will play a couple’s advisor on a new one-hour drama, “Men in Trees,” for ABC this fall.

Heche, who has guest-starred on ''Nip/Tuck,'' ''Everwood'' and ''Ally McBeal,'' says she’s thinks her life is okay at the moment. I’ve “stumbled through and made so many mistakes, but I'm pretty good with where I am.”

Does that mean she’s qualified to give relationship advice. The girl married her girlfriend’s cameraman … remember?

The new show is set in Alaska where, perhaps, relationship advice is needed most. The male-female ratio is something like 2-1 with males on top.

Cheers to Danson

July 19, 2006

The ultimate 80s bartender, Ted Danson, is returning to TV. He'll be playing a therapist who’s got some problems of his own.

Hmm, bartender or therapist: Is there a difference?

The show, “Help Me Help You” will debut in September on ABC.

Unlike ''Cheers'' and ''Becker,'' Danson's new gig won't have a live studio audience. Which is kind of a shame, because Ted can really work a laugh track, er, room.

So, why the return? Because Danson loves acting? No. ''I have, like the rest of the world, mortgages to pay. There's a reason to work,”

And a Jiggly Mazel-Tov to You!

Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock are getting hitched next week.

The ex-"Baywatch" star confirmed in her rambling online diary: ''It's been a whirlwind ... spontaneous but well thought through.'' It is her relationship.

But then Pammy goes on. And it’s her (kinda heartbreaking) elaboration on the story that makes us wonder: “How well thought through?”

''It feels like I've been stuck in a time warp…Not able to let go of MY family picture ... it's been sad and lonely and frustrating ... I've raised my kids alone in hope of a miracle. Well my miracle came and went. And came back and back because he knew that I'd wake up one day and realize that I was waiting for nothing.''

Well, Pam, honey. Congratulations. We…think?

BTW: Is there a group for celebrities who ramble online? We vote for Rosie and Pammy to be the charter members.

Muchas Love for Las Desperadas

“Desperate Housewives,” in Spanish. Take that conservative, English-only senators!
ABC is expanding its number of programs dubbed into Spanish, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Lost," "Desperate Housewives," and ''Dancing With the Stars.'' (Can you dance in Spanish?)

''No other English language network serves the Spanish-speaking audience the way we do,'' ABC said, citing examples such as ''George Lopez'' and the newly announced, Selma Hayek-produced, America Ferrara-starring, comedy ''Ugly Betty.''

Viewers will be able to access the Spanish-dubbed programs via the SAP (secondary audio program) option on their televisions. That is, if they can figure out that part of the remote control.
But we know BBCancelled readers can do ANYTHING with their remote controls. Right?

Will, Grace, Jack, Karen and ...

July 18, 2006

It happened to the gang from "Seinfeld." And those “Friends” are all doing good work that keeps getting cancelled. So what about “Will and Grace?”

The answer comes from an unlikely source. Fonzie.

Henry Winkler, who became a cultural icon over 30 years ago as ''The Fonz,'' in ABC's ''Happy Days,'' knows all too well what the ''Will & Grace'' actors are facing: the notion that television audiences respond to characters, not the actors who portray them.

"You have to think if I'm good at what I do and they like me in this, then, hopefully, they will come along with me as I try out new stuff," Winkler said. However, being “The Fonz” was not always helpful in being … well, anything else. It was mainly luck and courage that during ''Happy Days'' long run, Winkler took his lawyer's advice and created a production company. It's first success was ABC's hit spy adventure series ''MacGyver.''

And so, instead of immediately aiming for a spin-off or rolling the dice with another sitcom: Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally are diversifying their roles by starting production companies.

Sean Hayes has started “Hazy Mills” with Todd Milliner. Eric McCormack went with “Big Cattle Productions” and Megan Mullaly named hers “Ton of Bricks.”

First up, Mullally will host a syndicated talk show “The Megan Mullaly Show.”

Fall In To The Gap Again

Will the first television advertisements from retail chain, The Gap, in over a year stop our fingers from fast forwarding?

Or will they be exciting enough--like some of the earliest dance-only ads years ago--to make us watch?

Beginning July 20, the brand is introducing the first of three campaigns this year. First up is a denim ad with wriggling bodies getting into jeans.

The focus: denim.

Good luck, Gap. You'll need it. The "denim" market is crazy. And that's just us here at BBCancelled News talking. We wear whatever new cool brand we find on sale. If we can't imagine going back to The Gap for jeans, who will?

Nonetheless, we like the ads you've made in the past. We're glad you're ditching the celebrity spokesmodel plan.

We love Sarah Jessica Parker. But did you really think anyone believed she shopped at The Gap?

And Joss Stone: Who was that?

Forced to Watch Springer

The battle over a Jerry Springer contract may force a judge to watch 400 episodes of Mr. Springer’s show.

Lord Justice David Neuberger ruled that In order to determine whether or not the ''vast majority'' of episodes contain content "unsuitable for daytime viewing," a trial judge will have to watch multiple episodes in order to decide.

The Justice urged everyone to agree on ''a sensible basis'' how many episodes the judge will have to watch: Somewhere less than 400, to be sure.

But we’ll have to wait to find out. So stay tuned.

Commercials or Bathroom Breaks

The newly created CW network is introducing a novel way of showing commercials. The goal: Make them more interesting than the television show.

So this fall, look for mini-shows that are really adverts. For example, on CW a boy and girl are set up on a blind date. They buy ''fabulous'' cosmetics and ''brand new'' contact lenses, fall in love to the latest soon-to-be-released song, and the result is long commercial in disguise; replacing the usual 30 second spots.

Paul Morningstar, executive vice president of media sales for the CW says, “Why should consumers say at the commercial break, “I can go to the bathroom? Why shouldn't they say, 'I see something entertaining worth watching'?''

KISS Clan to Become New Osbournes

July 17, 2006

By night, Gene Simmons wears (a lot) of makeup and spitts up blood as a member of the heavy metal band Kiss. By day, he's downright normal. Well, at least when it comes to parenting.

Simmons, his partner, actress Shannon Tweed, and their children -- 17-year-old Nick Tweed-Simmons and 14-year-old Sophie Tweed-Simmons -- let cameras into their home for the new A&E series ''Gene Simmons Family Jewels.''

''Our responsibility is to protect our kids, supply the money and the structure and the love,'' Simmons, 56, said.

''Their job is to do well in school and behave, period. This notion of parents having to go negotiate with their children who just learned to wipe their butts is out of the question.''

Tweed, no matter how bodacious, isn't one of those mothers who nag about picking up clothes off the floor, either.

''We focused more on the important things in life, like your schoolwork,'' said Tweed, 49, Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1982. ''The kids have their priorities straight -- staying sober and paying attention.''

Simmons said he lives by the same rules he applies to his children.

''I've never been high, drunk, never smoked in my life,'' he said.

''Can't say the same for me,'' said Tweed.

90210 Star Dishes Love Advice

Breaking up is hard to do, even for Shannen Doherty.

The 35-year-old actress, who has two ex-husbands and a reputation for being difficult, needed her dad's help to dump a former boyfriend.

''Everybody thinks that I'm this really, really strong woman who would have absolutely no problem breaking up with somebody,'' Doherty said.

Doherty will help others through their break-ups in her new Oxygen show -- awesomely titled -- ''Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty,'' in which she helps lovers, best friends and roommates find the courage to end things.

Doherty said she ''felt a lot of guilt'' because it was a lengthy relationship in which the man -- she didn't name him -- was like a mentor to her.

''Every time I tried to break up with him, it sort of got a little bit emotional and we would stay together,'' she said. ''My dad went and got my stuff out of the house, and said, 'That's enough. You guys don't belong together anymore,' and it really helped.''

''A lot of it is a matter of guilt or feeling that attachment or the fear of being alone or all these sort of different emotional things that go into a breakup that sometimes it's hard for somebody,'' she said.

Doherty, who played bratty Brenda on ''Beverly Hills, 90210,'' has been married twice -- to Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton, and to Richard Salomon, who appeared in the infamous sex tape with his then-girlfriend Paris Hilton.

Top Side-Kicks of All Time

Greatest sidekick of all time?

According to Entertainment Weekly, it's Johnny Carson's longtime couch-warmer, Ed McMahon.

The magazine picked what it deemed an all-time top-50 of second bananas.

Want to guess?

Rounding out the top five, in order: Robin (Batman's boy wonder), Jerry Seinfeld's pal George Costanza, Han Solo's buddy Chewbacca and Lucy Ricardo's partner-in-crime and sometimes slime, Ethel Mertz.

We'll give you one more guess. No. 6?

Elementary, dear reader: Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes' faithful companion. Speaking of which, Tonto, Lone Ranger's riding buddy, is, somehow, not on the list.

A few others who did make the list: The diminutive Tattoo, of ''Fantasy Island'' fame (No. 9); Howard Stern's second-in-command, Robin Quivers (13); Napoleon Dynamite's best bud, Pedro Sanchez (22) and Art Garfunkel, of Simon &... (25).