Hamlet-related stories
Posted Aug 3rd 2009 3:12PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Music and Variety, Reality-Free

I've been counting down the days with sadness this year, as we get closer and closer to David Tennant's final foray into space and beyond as The Doctor. And with only a few movies to tide me over, it's even more bittersweet. By the end of the year, he will be gone and replaced by Matt Smith.
But while
Doctor Who has to move on without Tennant, another classic will be coming stateside with Tennant in the lead. PBS will be airing the television adaptation of the
Royal Shakespeare Company's Hamlet with David Tennant as part of its
Great Performances series in 2010. Tennant performed as Hamlet live with the Company to great success in 2008.
If that's not enough to get you excited, how about the fact that the cast includes yet another pop culture icon. None other than one of the greatest Starfleet captains in the history of
Star Trek: Captain Jean-Luc Picard himself, Patrick Stewart, as King Claudius.
Continue reading David Tennant's Hamlet coming to Great Performances
Posted Jun 1st 2009 5:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV Royalty, Programming, Doctor Who, Celebrities, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reality-Free

I may be getting a little obsessed. Most of the
posts I've written recently have been about the soon-to-be-departing
Doctor Who lead David Tennant. I'm also quite disappointed that a lack of time and funds did not permit me to take a trip to England to see Tennant in the RSC production of
Hamlet. Thankfully, the BBC has come to the rescue.
For those like me, the BBC is
reassembling the cast and filming that production of
Hamlet for broadcast in late 2009, with American and Japanese broadcasts to occur in 2010 (I wonder which channel would show it in the States? BBC America? PBS?). To sweeten the deal for us nerds, former
Star Trek: The Next Generation captain Patrick Stewart plays Claudius.
Perhaps they'll even let Tennant improvise the role a bit. I would love it if he could throw a little script that
Neil Gaiman wrote for him upon hearing of his participation in the role.
Posted Aug 1st 2008 2:26PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free

If there's one thing we can count on with
General Hospital, it's the mob. Other soaps lean on corporate shenanigans, the fashion business, medical drama.
GH used to be about the latter, but that was a long time ago. Now, the hospital storylines are thriving more on
Night Shift, General Hospital's SoapNet spin-off. But on
GH proper, the mother ship if you will, the main thrust remains Sonny, Jason, the Zaccharas and mob wars.
They're bringing in a new actor to the scene, and he carries major TV mob credentials.
Vincent Pastore is joining General Hospital as Maximus Giambetti, father of Sonny's two main bodyguards, Max and Milo. Vinny is best known as Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpenserio on HBO's
The Sopranos. On
GH, Maximus comes to Port Charles to see his boys, under the false assumption that Max and Milo are running the syndicate in town.
Continue reading General Hospital snags a big cat
Posted May 24th 2008 8:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Lost, Reality-Free

Sometimes you can tell the importance of a pilot by who the network chooses to direct it. In the case of the Hamish Linklater script,
The Prince of Motor City, ABC Studios has inked Jack Bender, a Lost helmer, to direct the pilot. To me, that means action and drama, not to mention enthusiasm from the parent company.
Continue reading Lost director Bender assigned to Prince of Motor City
Posted Mar 27th 2008 3:07PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals

With the thought of another year of
According to Jim on the air, it's with excitement that I report that new shows may be coming to take its place.
ABC has ordered two pilots:
Prince of Motor City and an untitled David Hemingson dramedy. The former, which purports to have Shakespearean roots, comes from writer Jessica Goldberg and writer/actor Hamish Linklater, better known around here as Matthew on
The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Continue reading ABC orders two more pilots
Posted Jul 12th 2006 11:14AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Talent, Celebrities, Obituaries
This obituary doesn't go into Barnard Hughes' many years of television work, so I will.
Hughes starred in many TV shows over the years, including Blossom, The Cavanaughs, Mr. Merlin, Doc, As The World Turns, The Guiding Light, and had recurring roles on both All in the Family and The Bob Newhart Show. He guest starred in many shows since the 50s, including Hawaii Five-O, Lou Grant, The Love Boat, Cannon, Kraft Television Theater, Hotel, Tales From The Darkside, and Hotel. His most recent role, in 2000, was on Deadline. He also starred in the classic TV movie The UFO Incident.
Barnard's film roles included Tron, Oh, God!, Hamlet, Midnight Cowboy, First Monday in October, and The Lost Boys, and he was a critically-acclaimed theater actor as well, winning a Tony for Da and starring in Advise and Consent, A Majority of One, Hamlet, The Good Doctor, and many others. He died yesterday of natural causes.