The passing of film legend Mickey Rooney, dead at 93, brings to mind one of the most entertaining TCA press tour sessions ever. Rooney was part of a gathering of greats brought together by PBS to launch their series Pioneers of Television. The 2005 panel also included Sid Caesar, Red Buttons, Rose Marie, Carl Reiner
PASADENA, CA–That Ken Burns. He pays attention to detail.Monday afternoon, he was back at press tour for the umpteenth time, this season promoting The Address. At 90 minutes, The Address is about four score and seven years shorter than many of Burns’ epic docu-films of the past. That’s because it is based on Abraham Lincoln’s
Benedict Cumberbatch (left) with Sherlock co-star Amanda Abbington UPDATEDPASADENA, CA–Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Jimmy Fallon…stand aside. The biggest draw at this Winter’s Television Critics Association press tour was from PBS.No, not Grover or Cookie Monster, or even Ken Burns. The star who caused the biggest stir this January was Benedict Cumberbatch.Fans with autograph books, some
Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery, left) looks for the baby off switch Take a close look at Downton Abbey as it returns for a fourth season Sunday night (9/8c, PBS).It’s a sneaky show. On the surface, it looks like an old-fashioned miniseries, a throwback to Upstairs, Downstairs, Brideshead Revisited and other period dramas from the ’70s and
Our Lady of Peace had JFK’s official portrait Are you old enough to remember the Kennedy assassination?I was in Grade One at Our Lady of Peace school in Etobicoke. Because it was a Catholic school, there was a portrait of U.S. president John F. Kennedy in the hallway–near a portrait of The Queen. I think
The ladies of Downton Abbey. Whot? Us scrum? Cheeky. BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–PBS days on TCA press tours are always a step up. After two weeks of new network comedies and cop shows, of high concepts and low brow time wasters, PBS really does challenge critics to think beyond the box, to be more.Not that it’s
On the Bat-phone: “Hi, I’m Adam West. You now owe me ten dollars” BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–Holy photo-op Batman! PBS delivered blog gold on wheels Monday, parking the Batmobile out front of the Beverly Hilton.This wasn’t the original Batmobile from the 1966-68 ABC series–that car sold at auction in Phoenix in January for US$4.62M–but the No.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–PBS is here for the home stretch of the summer 2013 TCA press tour. Monday they got things off to a crummy start.As in good crummy. Cookie Monster was in the house, posing for pictures at the back of the ballroom. The furry Sesame Street icon was happy to pose with me because I