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Local people on TV
June 23, 2008
Austinites battle on 'Gladiator,' Brokaw to temp for Russert
Geez, you take off one lousy week, and it takes forever to catch up. Piles of mail, hundreds of e-mails … but very few phone calls. Apparently people don’t reach out and touch any more. OK by me.
Leaping right in (enough whining), “American Gladiators” tonight features an Austin couple who spent their honeymoon on that rough-and-tumble reality show.
My colleague and editor Michael Barnes wrote about Ally and Jeff Davidson in his blog last week.
Who would actually choose to spend quality romantic time with Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali? Well, apparently these two. Ally even auditioned on her wedding day, which seems pretty extreme.
Ally, 25, was a teen jock at Westwood High before playing college basketball for Ole Miss and Texas State. Jeff, 29, also is a jock-type who attended the University of Texas.
NBC describes tonight’s episode (at 7 p.m. on KXAN) thusly: “Tension builds as two sets of married couples compete in the arena, but only one man and one woman can move on to the semifinals.”
Jeff and Ally together? One of the Davidsons with one of the other folks? Jeff and Ally out altogether? A viewing party is being held at Pluckers at Lakeline. Cluck and cheer.
HBO signs up more appointments for “In Treatment”
It wasn’t readily apparent whether HBO’s drama “In Treatment” would survive to fight another season, but Hollywood trade papers indicate Dr. Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) will return — but not until 2009.
And, of course, Paul couldn’t possibly return without help from his own shrink, played by Dianne Wiest.
The roster of patients will be different, with occasional visits from previous troubled souls played by Melissa George, Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Charles and Embeth Davidtz. And the production will move from Los Angeles to New York.
No word on whether the show will be stripped (airing five nights a week) or run once a week.
Irreplaceable Tim Russert
No surprise that Tim Russert’s best pal Tom Brokaw will be filling in for the late newsman on the NBC analysis program “Meet the Press.”
But Brokaw has made it clear that he will not stay past the November general election. When he retired as anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” he gave up the weekly grind for good.
Brokaw will do fine, but NBC will have a tough time finding a permanent replacement. Russert’s sudden death June 13 left the network and the long-running program with a big hole during this historic election season.
The of role of “Meet the Press” moderator calls for someone with gravitas, lots of experience and a deep knowledge of American politics.
Who’s in the running? NBC has some fine political reporters — David Gregory, Andrea Mitchell and Kelly O’Donnell. But none of them fits the role.
I can’t come up with a likely name from the NBC roster, but I can tell you who should NOT get the job:
Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann or anyone else from MSNBC. They’re all too loud and too opinionated. “Meet the Press” needs a host capable of balance and insight. And manners.
Brian Williams. No, he’s too calm, doesn’t push hard enough for answers and hasn’t yet acquired the gravitas needed.
So who’s left? Maybe someone from another networks should be brought in — maybe Gwen Ifill from PBS ot Ted Koppel from wherever the heck he is these days (Discovery Channel?).
NBC has time to consider, so let’s hope the network considers carefully.
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February 20, 2008
Note to Sen. Watson: Next time prepare!
State Sen. Kirk Watson fizzled and swooned on MSNBC last night when Chris Matthews asked him to name “just one” of Barack Obama’s legislative accomplishments.
After a bit of dead air and some stammering, it became abundantly clear that Watson was not going to be able to answer the question. Ouch! It was mortifying, and if you think I’m exaggerating, see for yourself.
Austin politicians and pundits are bound to be lured into the national media’s red glare as we close in on the all-important Texas primary on March 4. And cable newsies will be all over Austin tomorrow (Thursday) for the Democratic debate on CNN and Univision.
It’s too late to offer my services to Sen. Watson, but here’s my professional advice, based on a couple of decades of watching similar meltdowns, to anyone else who agrees to go on national television and tout a candidate.
Know the topic to be discussed. Watson is an Obama supporter, so he knew that Matthews would be asking him about Obama. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that you ought to know a few positive facts and accomplishments about the candidate you’re touting. Obama 101.
Also, know that satellite interviews, in which the person being questioned is talking to a camera instead of a face, are the hardest to pull off gracefully. The unseen questioner is babbling into your earpiece, and unless you’re sitting in a studio, background noise makes hearing difficult to impossible. Result: you just might look ridiculous.
If you have any doubt about your ability to handle the situation, don’t do it. You can wind up doing more harm than good. Nobody wants to watch a human being imitating a deer in the headlights. Hillary Clinton’s folks have been burning up the Internet with last night’s clip of Watson unable to cough up a single Obama accomplishment.
I’m sure Watson had a hard time hearing Matthews, who did his trademark badgering a bit longer than usual, and we know that Watson’s appearance had been delayed several times before it actually happened.
Nevertheless, politicians in this day and age must know how to present themselves on television — national or local. Sen. Watson told the American-Statesman today his MSNBC stint felt like a “bad dream.” If only it were …
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February 6, 2008
Austinite on 'Wheel of Fortune'
Roy Bright, the pastor of Next Dimension Christian Fellowship in Austin, will be a contestant on Thursday’s edition of “Wheel of Fortune.”
The episode, which airs at 6:30 p.m. on KXAN Channel 36, was taped in advance, but we don’t know how this married father of three fared in the competition. We’ll have to tune in to find out.
“Wheel of Fortune,” television’s longest-running syndicated series, is in its 25th season and routinely nabs more than 47 million viewers a week.
Carol Kaelson photo
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January 31, 2008
Jennah on 'Jeopardy' ... 'Eli Stone' arrives
Cross your fingers and cheer for Austin’s own Jennah Durant, who is scheduled to compete on three episodes of “Jeopardy” on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.
Durant, 29, completed her master’s degree last year from the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs and recently accepted a job with the Environmental Protection Agency in Dallas. We were alerted to Jennah’s “Jeopardy” outting, by the way, by her proud mother, Austinite Jane Durant.
Jennah joins the ever-growing list of locals who have appeared on reality shows and game shows such as “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.” Guess we’re just preternaturally smart and pretty.
“Jeopardy” airs weekdays at 4 and 4:30 on KXAN Channel 36.
‘Eli Stone’ — Not your typical law drama
Like “Boston Legal” and “Ally McBeal” before it, “Eli Stone” is a legal show that’s more fun and fantasy than lawyering. “Eli” isn’t nearly as good as either of those two shows, but the ABC comedy-drama, which debuts tonight at 9, is at least a fresh scripted show (as opposed to a strike-inspired reality show or rerun) and has an endearing cast.
Eli, played by Johnny Miller, is a successful corporate lawyer who begins experiencing visions that compel him to redefine his life. Family, friends and colleagues fear he’s having a mental breakdown, but it turns out Eli s in an altered world (George Michael belts out songs at every turn) because of a brain aneurysm.
This cause-and-effect is just one of two medical leaps made in the pilot. Eli’s brain aneurysm, though life-threatening, turns him into a happy, fantasy-filled fellow. Probably most folks with this dire condition aren’t quite as thrilled.
The other medical stretch in the show, which has stirred up the ire of the medical community, is a legal case Eli takes on of a mother suing a pharmaceutical company. She claims that her son’s vaccinations caused him to develop autism. Medical researchers and doctors see no link between vaccinations and autism, although TV shows have been ruminating on the connection.
But, again, “Eli Stone” is mostly a fantasy, so I doubt anyone will take the story line too seriously.
The supporting cast includes Loretta Devine, who is truly divine in everything she does (“Boston Public,” “Boston Legal,” “Dreamgirls”). The Houston native brings a real sparkle to the show. … Now if they’d just let her sing.
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January 14, 2008
UT student on Monday's 'Wheel of Fortune'
Keep your fingers crossed for Jill Wicks, a 21-year-old University of Texas student who takes her chances on “Wheel of Fortune” on Monday (6:30 p.m. on KXAN Channel 36).
The show was taped in Los Angeles, but we don’t know how well Wicks does because the results are a big secret until air date. Wicks probably does just fine, though. She’s studying civil engineering at UT, so how hard could “Wheel” be?
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January 3, 2008
KXAN's Jim Spencer: Tornado warning on "Friday Night Lights"
A tornado is bearing down on Dillon, and the intense, worried-looking weatherman on TV in the background looks and sounds mighty familiar.
Yep, that’s KXAN’s Jim Spencer, forecaster of Central Texas weather for nearly two decades, on tonight’s episode of “Friday Night Lights.” In the opening scene (at 8 p.m.), Spencer, who referees high-school football in real life and is a devoted fan of the show, warns the residents of fictional Dillon and the nearby (also fictional) Laribee to take cover from the twister.
“I’m trying to downplay expectations, because I’m on for a very, very small amount of time,” said Spencer, 44, whose acting experience comes from drama class at Oklahoma’s East Central University.
Producers of the NBC show called KXAN and said they wanted to do a tornado scene with realistic-looking warnings on TV. The crew came to the station’s studio with a script and told Spencer how the storm was going to move, so he could conjure up radar on a fake map pinpointing Dillon and Laribee. The whole shoot took about 45 minutes.
“Really, we’ve never fabricated a tornado until now,” Spencer insisted with a chuckle.
Look for KXAN sports anchor Roger Wallace to pop up on “Lights,” too, in a few weeks as a reporter investigating improprieties by the Dillon Panthers.
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December 10, 2007
'Friday Night Lights' in good shape
Variety reports that, against all odds, “Friday Night Lights” might be in better shape than other shows threatened by the Writers Guild strike. That’s because it has six shows in the can rather than the average two or three, so the series can return after the winter break. Also, FNL is winning its 9 p.m. Friday slot with the crucial 18 to 34-year-old demographic. DVRs also help, since it is among the most recorded on TV, boosting its ratings 18 percent when time-shifters are considered.
“The national press has put ‘Friday Night Lights’ in this box of ‘We love it, but it’s too good for television, and it’s never going to work,’ ” NBC president of program scheduling Vince Nevins told Variety. “But I think they’re missing the story. Between the upscale demos, the young demos and the enormous amount of DVR viewing this show attracts, this show is actually starting to work on Friday nights.”
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December 5, 2007
'Friday Night Lights' actors head to car show
At the StatesmanCars Auto Show this weekend, browse among hundreds of 2008 vehicles at the Austin Convention Center, listen to the sounds of Andy Mitchell and the Hill from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, and meet stars of the “Friday Night Lights” TV drama.
Brad Leland, who plays Buddy Garrity, will appear from 10 a.m. to noon Friday. Gaius Charles, who is Brian “Smash” Williams on the show, and Jesse Plemons, who portrays Landry Clarke, will be on hand for a meet and greet, and to award this year’s winners of the American-Statesman’s Smash Your Rival contest from 6 to 8 p.m.
Scene-stealing Plemons is from Mart near Waco. We don’t know what he drives, but his character definitely needs some new wheels: His policeman father set fire to his station wagon to get rid of evidence that could have implicated him in a killing. Before that, Landry used his station wagon to drive his sweetheart, Tyra, (and some unexpected guests) to Dallas for the high school state football championship.
On “Friday Night Lights,” Charles plays a star running back who has his future planned, all the way to the NFL. Despite his mother’s protests, Smash is tempted by the lifestyle of star college athletes, including hot cars and even hotter girls.
Leland as Buddy is everyone’s favorite car dealer. Though he’s been through some tough times on the show (a divorce and estrangement from his daughter Lyla), he always manages to fire up Coach Taylor and his players and to bring a needy employee onto the payroll.
Buddy has two passions in life: football and cars.
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October 3, 2007
Lance for Cancer Czar? Nah. Governor? Maybe.
Lance Armstrong is happy to be a crusader for cancer research and prevention, but he’s not interested in becoming a federally appointed “cancer czar,” should that job ever be created.
“I’d rather be the main cheerleader and really the guy who really talks about this disease and keeps it out there,” Armstrong tells Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith on Thursday night’s sixth-season opener of “Texas Monthly Talks.” “There are a lot of people who are a heck of a lot smarter than me.”
The seven-time Tour de France champ, long-time Austinite and cancer survivor is touting Proposition 15, a $3 billion cancer research and prevention initiative that will be on the Texas ballot in November. On the program, he also addresses speculation that all this political action on behalf of cancer just might position him for a run for office someday.
“I think that I’m more effective out of office right now, as an a-political person representing an issue that does not know a side, does not know a party,” Armstrong tells Evans on “Texas Monthly Talks,” Thursday night at 7 on KLRU.
So, absolutely no political campaigns in the future?
“Of course at the end of that answer every time is never say never,” Armstrong said. “I would never rule it out.”
Armstrong does absolutely-positively rule out a cycling comeback, however.
“My kids are here in Austin, and it’s a European sport,” he said. “If I were to have gone for an eighth tour I would have been the most selfish father on the planet.”
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September 25, 2007
Austin Nichols to guest star in 'Friday Night Lights'
Unemployment didn’t last long for Austin Nichols, the Austin actor who starred as the mysterious surfing savant in HBO’s short-lived summer series “John From Cincinnati.”
Nichols, who also appeared in HBO’s “Deadwood,” has come home for a guest-starring role in the Austin-based NBC series “Friday Night Lights.” He’s not in the Oct. 5 season opener, but his multiple-episode story arc will begin soon after. Executive producer Sarah Aubrey will reveal few details but confirms that Nichols will play a teacher at Dillon High.
Best known in Central Texas as a water-skiing champ, like his mother Kay Nichols, Nichols grew up on Lake Austin, attended Casis Elementary and McCallum High School before heading to the University of Southern California where he earned a degree in creative writing in 2002. His father is radiologist David Nichols.
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July 5, 2007
Austin cop a finalist on Sci Fi's 'Superhero'
When the second season of the Sci Fi Channel’s “Who Wants To Be a Superhero?” debuts on July 26, look for Austin police detective Jarrett Crippen to be featured in the reality show’s competition.
Crippen, 38, will present himself as The Defuser in the latest installment of the Stan Lee-produced series.
Contestants aren’t allowed to discuss their time on the show until the competition is over, but we do know that Crippen-The-Defuser taped the show in Hollywood earlier this year. Besides his APD duties, Crippen is a father and a comic book collector.
The Defuser is described as an elite combat-trained athlete who is an expert at gadgetry and creating “non-lethal weaponry.” (This superhero refuses to use firearms!) His powers include super speed, strength, agility, hearing and eyesight — including night vision.
“Superhero” challenges 10 finalists to create their own super-powered characters, from concept to costume. Among The Defuser’s competitors are Hyper Strike, a martial arts virtuoso; Whip Snap, whose powers spring from (you guessed it) her whip; and Mr. Mitzvah, a hero with special powers whose main weapon is a Star of David paddle.
Lee personally picked the finalists, who lived together during the competition and had to perform certain super-hero tasks to test their courage, integrity and resourcefulness. The winner gets to have his or her original super-hero immortalized in a Stan Lee comic book.
We’ll keep you posted on Detective Crippen’s progress.
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January 25, 2007
Stalking Gladys, 'Idol'-ing nicer
For the past couple of days, I’ve transformed myself from TV critic/writer to investigative journalist. My beat? Gladys. Just call me the Bob Woodward of Weird Austin.
This has been one bizarre story, but apparently the mysterious 88-year-old “Gladys Hardy” is a talker in our fair city. She’s the woman who talked with Ellen De Generes not once but twice and sparked national interest with her homespun humor.
Turns out Gladys has been a regular caller at KLBJ for nearly a year and “contributes” to other radio stations around Texas, too. She is, as far as we can tell, actually a funny guy impersonating a funny old woman. Which is why we hear but never see her.
For the time being, I’m finished stalking this poor fictitious character. It’s a whole different job crawling through neighborhoods and banging on the doors of unsuspecting (and more than a little grumpy) people. I’m gonna watch a little TV now.
Is ‘Idol’ toning down the mean?
Back to the real news in TV Land …
Is it my imagination, or has Simon Cowell toned down his personal criticisms since his season debut “American Idol” episodes last week were blasted by TV writers and viewers alike?
He’s not exactly nice these days, but his remarks in the Memphis and New York auditions were relatively tame. He certainly didn’t tell anyone they looked like a “bush baby.”
And whatever was causing Paula Abdul to slump over, giggle and continuously sip from that enormous glass seems to be subsiding, too. She actually tried to make sense last night in defending her sympathetic view of one contestant. She’s never going to be articulate, so we shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations.
But what’s the deal with last night’s guest judge Carol Bayer Sager? Has she had a Joan Collins makeover or what? Her face didn’t budge, her lips were puffed up and, really, that hairdo went out of style while “Dynasty” was still on.
This show gets stranger and stranger, doesn’t it?
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November 29, 2006
On TV, Austin's way cool ... and for sale!
Yes, we’re cool, Austin. In case you need validation, two prime-time TV shows made mention of us Monday night.
Did you catch them?
If not, the first reference came on NBC’s “Heroes.” Cuddly-cute Hiro was busily wooing the waitress in Midland — the girl with the about-to-explode brain — and invited to her to go to a Japanese film festival at the Alamo Drafthouse. When the lovely young woman said something about how far Austin is from Midland, Hiro said, “It’s 300 miles away, but it’s worth it.”
Moments after we recovered from that fabulous Valentine, NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” popped in another one.
Machine-gun mouth Matthew, the “Saturday Night Live”-style writer played by real-life Matthew Perry, hurled out something to his small, woefully inexperienced writing staff about a story he saw on Austin’s very own, ultimate movie fan Harry Knowles’ Web site, Ain’t It Cool News.
You will not be surprised to know that Knowles quickly made mention of his prime-time notice on the site.
See? Ain’t we cool?
Yes, you can buy ‘Austin Time Tours!’
Last Friday I wrote about a new documentary coming to Austin’s PBS station KLRU this week.
The two-hour documentary, “Austin Time Tours” (Thursday at 7 p.m., Channel 18), is the work of University of Texas lecturer Karen Kocher, and it is simply magnificent. The scope — from dinosaurs to today — is ambitious, but the result is worth the sometimes rapid gallop.
After the article appeared in the newspaper, several people called and e-mailed asking if a DVD of the film could be purchased. The answer is yes. Copies will be available in the next week or so at the Austin History Center for $24.95. Exact date is unknown, so check (phone: 974-7383; e-mail: info@ahca.net) before you go.
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August 8, 2006
A Hadlock on NBC
If the face that keeps popping up on NBC and MSNBC from the Middle East lately looks vaguely familiar, there’s good reason: Reporter-producer Charles Hadlock is KXAN anchor Robert Hadlock’s younger brother.
Hadlock the Younger has had several stories on “NBC Nightly News,” including one last Saturday night from Gaza. And on Sunday he was moved to Metula, Israel, on the border with Lebanon.
KXAN’s Robert says several people have asked him if he’s related to the NBC Hadlock. The reply: “Yes, he’s my little brother. He’s in the danger zone — and I’m jealous. I’d love to have a chance to go cover something like that.”
It’s not as if Robert hasn’t ventured away from his Austin anchor desk. He has covered political conventions, inaugurations, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, tornadoes, space flights, the Branch Davidian standoff and three pilgrimages by the pope, including one to Cuba.
But so far, Robert has covered no wars, although political campaigns in Texas come close. He came to Austin in 1987 as weekend anchor for KVUE and has been the primary anchor at KXAN since 1990.
Both Hadlock brothers are native Texans and graduates of the University of Texas. Charles is based at the NBC News bureau in Dallas but has been in the Middle East for a couple of weeks. He has worked for WFAA and KPRC, and led KHOU’s Austin bureau for about a year before it closed down.
Some pre-fall finales
If you’ve become enthralled by some of the summer reality shows, get ready for some finales next week.
Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” closes Monday at 7 p.m.
Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” shuffles off Wednesday at 7 p.m.
NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” presumably finds some talent Thursday at 8 p.m.
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August 19, 2005
Austinite on Disney Sunday movie
Austinites are all over TV these days, and next up is 23-year-old Christina Murphy, who has a co-starring role in Sunday night’s ABC Family Channel film “Campus Confidential.”
Murphy plays the mean head cheerleader and chief rival of the movie’s lead character, played by Christie Carlson Romano.
“We exchange many food and drink dumpings on each other,” said Murphy, who lives in Austin when she’s between jobs. “This is my first major movie role, and I was so nervous.”
The Disney-produced film, directed by Melanie Mayron (“thirtysomething”), was shot in New Orleans and airs Sunday at 6 p.m. Murphy also appeared in Blake Shelton’s music video “Goodbye Time.”
Murphy, whose father Mike manages a landscaping and maintenance firm here, was born and raised in Austin, played golf and volleyball at Anderson High and graduated from the University of Texas last year with a degree in theater and dance.
“I learned so much about acting from Stephen Gerald, my favorite acting teacher at UT, and I will be forever grateful,” Murphy said.
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April 7, 2005
KLRU's 'Downtown' throws kisses to Austin
“Downtown,” a new 13-episode series on Austin PBS station KLRU, is a gorgeously filmed love letter to our city. It is likely to intrigue hotel guests and newcomers, but it isn’t likely to enlighten many true Austinites.
A joint venture between KLRU and the Downtown Austin Alliance, “Downtown” debuts tonight at 8 and will repeat Fridays at 9 p.m.
There are lovely aerial shots that zoom in on certain commercial zones and brief “profiles” of people and places that make up Austin’s urban center. It’s a sparkling video postcard — lots of eye candy but not much content.
In tonight’s debut, for instance, the first of three segments is about downtown living, with the super-ritzy Nokonah condos getting showcased. Former Gov. Ann Richards extols the virtues of her fabulous penthouse lifestyle. Price per square foot is not mentioned.
The opener also includes a quick profile of the Driskill Grill’s award-winning chef, David Bull, and a tour of the Red River music scene, hosted by “Metal Dave” Glessner, a rocker by night and American-Statesman marketing employee by day.
Not that we’re prejudiced, but Glessner’s segment is by far the best, with actual interviews and historical perspective of this non-Sixth Street music area.
Future episodes will include features on the downtown Alamo Drafthouse, the Austin Farmer’s Market, architect Larry Speck and downtown comedy clubs.
“Downtown” is slickly produced and chock full of pretty pictures.
No, No! Not Nikko!
I’m beginning to think some people are out to sabotage “American Idol.”
How else to explain Nikko, the only true R&B singer on the show, getting voted off not once but twice? In case you missed it, he got the boot last night. The first time he was ejected, he was brought back after Mario Vazquez mysteriously quit.
We’re getting down to the wire here … it’s time to get rid of contestants who really don’t have a snowball’s chance of winning the competition.
People like Scott Savol, who hasn’t been on key for two weeks, and Anthony Federov, who screeched his way through Tuesday’s performance. Who’s going to buy these guys’ CDs? Nobody.
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July 2, 2004
Austinite fakes the video
First there were six, now there are two — one of whom is Austin resident Doug Long.
MTV’s “Faking the Video”, sort of a “Candid Camera” for the new generation, rocks to a conclusion at 9:30 p.m. on Monday with 21-year-old Long in contention for a prize he didn’t know he was competing for during filming.
Huh?
Here’s what happened: In the spring, six hopefuls thought they were hired to work as production assistants on a huge, career-break-of-a-lifetime music video to be shot in Los Angeles. They were told they would be working on a video featuring JC Chasez, Michelle Branch and Omarion on a new Diane Warren song.
But the whole thing was a hoax. The song, the crew and the artists were (you guessed it) faking the video. Improvisational actors were used as crew to test the production hopefuls to see which ones could endure the carefully choreographed shoot-from-hell.
With hidden cameras whirring, the half-dozen hopefuls were whittled down to the current two, including Long. He had no idea he was competing for a cash prize (of undetermined amount) and the chance to work with famed music video director Wayne Isham, who is not fake but real.
“I haven’t seen any episodes before their airdates, so I’m very excited to see how the last one turns out,” said Long, a theater major who recently graduated from the University of Texas.
Win or lose, Long says he wants to pursue a career in show biz.
“I’m trying my hardest to keep this ball rolling now that I have my foot in the door,” he said.
She’s back … but not for long!
NBC made a big deal of announcing that “Law & Order” co-star Elisabeth Rohm, who plays dull-as-dirt assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn, will be returning next year.
The network made less of a big deal that she will not be back for the whole season. Perhaps that’s because the honchos knew there would not be a public outpouring of sorrow.
Of all the myriad cast members that have come and gone on “Law & Order” during its 15-year run, Rohm is by far the weakest. She’s stiff and lifeless on her good days, painfully distracting on her bad. During three seasons, she has marched along sounding as if she were reading cue cards.
Cast changes usually don’t make a bit of difference on “Law & Order” because plot is more important than character. But Rohm was a dud, and whoever replaces her is bound to be better. A stuffed doll would be better.
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July 1, 2004
Austin knitster goes Hollywood
We all have our causes — literacy, animal rights, global warming.
Vickie Howell of Austin is out to “shatter the stigma that knitting is something only elderly women do.” To that end, she is hosting a new cable show, “Knitty Gritty,” that debuts Friday on the DIY Network.
The crafty new series will air Fridays at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. It promises to take viewers through various creative knitting projects, such as baby Ugg boots, guitar straps and even handbags made of recycled plastic grocery sacks.
This is not Howell’s first shot at uplifting the image of “knitsters.” She also co-founded a hip knitting group called Stitch n’ Bitch, which has chapters in Los Angeles and Austin.
Howell, 30, is the personification of a hip knitster. Pretty and perky, she is also a fashionista, whose online company, Ruby Goes Retro, sells vintage and vintage-inspired clothes and accessories.
Before becoming a crafts crusader, Howell worked in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. After marrying Austinite-in-L.A. Clint Howell, she launched a company there called Mamarama, selling stylish handmade clothes for moms and kids.
Last year the couple and their two sons, ages 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, moved to Austin. Besides Ruby Goes Retro, Vickie helped found the Austin Craft Mafia, a collaboration of nine female-run craft businesses.
So how does a young knitting mom go from online and home business to television? Oddly enough, the show, which sounds custom-made for Howell, was not created for her.
Some brainiac at DIY came up with the concept and then Googled in search of a host. Up popped Howell in connection with Stitch n’ Bitch and Ruby. An e-mail query followed and a correspondence emerge.
“I’ve always wanted to host my own craft show, so I sent her links for her to see me,” Howell said.
After an audition trip to Hollywood last October, Howell, who says she started knitting when she was 8 and instantly became “obsessed with the fiber arts,” was told a couple of women were contenders; a few weeks later she got the job.
Thirteen episodes of “Knitty Gritty” have been shot and 26 more have been ordered. Howell flies to L.A. to film them back-to-back during a period of a few weeks.
“I think there’ll be an audience of knitters and maybe people who aren’t necessarily interested in that kind of thing,” Howell said. “The thing about knitters is they’re very loyal. It’s amazing to me how the word has already spread and that has everything to do with the Internet.”
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