CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHTS
the story!
Dolly Parton ‘Colors’ the holidays Alyvia Alyn Lind stars in Thursday’s new NBC movie “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors.”
Eden Sher TAREK EL MOUSSA HILARIE BURTON TAYLOR HILL Duff Goldman
WHAT'S FOR DINNER
Featuring: Lidia Bastianich
Featured Stories “Sinatra 100 — An All-Star Grammy Concert” “Becoming Santa” “Michael Bublé’s Christmas in Hollywood”
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Profiled TEAM Army-Navy
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CELEBRITY
“Sinatra 100 — An All-Star Grammy Concert”
4 Eden Sher
Eden comfortable in Sue’s skin.
Time is a friend to Frank Sinatra.
5 TAREK EL MOUSSA
Still watching the bottom line on “Flip or Flop.”
6 HILARIE BURTON
Reindeer make “neat” co-stars in actress’ holiday movie.
8 TAYLOR HILL
New Victoria’s Secret “Angel” gets her Fashion Show wings.
“Michael Bublé’s Christmas in Hollywood” Jammin’ with Bublé.
9 Duff Goldman “BECOMING SANTA” Michael Gross would love to keep his ‘Santa’ role a secret.
Featured from “Holiday Baking Championship.”
17
FOOD
7 Lidia Bastianich Christmas dinner with celebs.
SPORTS
the story!
18-19 The 116th annual
“Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” Country icon turns song into a TV movie.
Army-Navy game airs Saturday on CBS.
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20-21 Featuring: Theatrical
22-23 Featuring: Our top
Page 2 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote December 6 - 12, 2015
REALITY 16 “The Great
Christmas Light Fight” Lighting up the neighborhood.
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STORY
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Dolly Parton brings her ‘Coat of Many Colors’ to NBC Pictured: Jennifer Nettles (left), Alyvia Alyn Lind and Ricky Schroder
By Jay Bobbin Dolly Parton hopes a story – and a song – with great meaning for her will have that for many viewers this holiday season, too. The country-music icon’s “Coat of Many Colors” becomes a TV movie Thursday, Dec. 10, as her new deal to supply programming to NBC begins. The true tale actually is about the young Dolly – played by Alyvia Alyn Lind – and her relationships with her parents (fellow country star Jennifer Nettles and Ricky Schroder) and grandfather (Gerald McRaney) in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains in the 1950s. A very special garment and voiceovers by the present-day Parton, an executive producer of the film, provide the framework. “It is a great anti-bullying song,” Parton says of the “Coat of Many Colors” tune, “and that’s one of the reasons I thought it would also be great to play it on television for families. I had the ‘Coat of Many Colors’ song illustrated into a children’s book a few years ago, and they actually teach out of it in some of the schools around the country ... and it’s to say that we should celebrate the difference in one another.” Parton adds that hers was “not the poorest family” in her area as she grew up, “and certainly, there were many people around us that were poor. But in this particular case, it just shows a certain type of children that make fun of the others. I’ve had so many people tell me through the years that the song itself has had a healing effect on them, whether it was about their race, their nationality, whether they’re overweight or whether they were (disabled), whatever. It’s just that people identify with it. When people make you feel less about yourself than you should, it’s a hard thing.”
Young actress Lind clearly is thrilled to be playing Parton, especially since she cites “9 to 5” as her “favorite movie. I knew a lot about her before this, and I know even more about her now. I just knew for sure when we met. I felt so warm with her, and when our eyes met, I felt I definitely saw myself in her. I feel like she doesn’t really have to speak to give a really great lesson, because she’s so wonderful, she’s so caring and she’s so nice.” Parton also is developing her entire life story as a Broadway musical, and Nettles – the Sugarland veteran who’s beginning an acting career, having made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” earlier this year – forecasts that viewers “will get why it is this concentrated amount of time” that “Coat of Many Colors” deals with. “As we all know, within a family’s story and a family’s trajectory, points within those families are milestones,” Nettles reflects. “There are a couple of turning points in this story that are so rich and so deep and partially so tragic, you don’t need more than that amount of time because it’s such a rich story in and of itself. When you see it, the nine months (covered) is a very full and rich nine months.” Parton notes that “Coat of Many Colors” remains “a very emotional song for me. During the time my mom was sick and especially after my mama passed, it was really, really hard for me to sing this song without just kind of breaking down or just really having to contain it ... but that little coat is just a symbol. Now that I’m older, I see all those colors and it’s kind of like the girl of many colors, like a life of many colors. It kind of symbolizes all that.”
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CELEBRITY George Dickie’s Q&A
Eden
Sher ‘The Middle’ Wednesday on ABC How are things going with your character Sue Heck on ABC’s “The Middle” this year? Things are going. Actually, things are going pretty well. Things are happening. Things are moving and shaking. I think there are new prospects on the horizon, boywise and friendwise. Yeah, college has been treating Sue OK, which is natural, which is kind of like how it would go in real life. ... How has the character changed from your standpoint over the years? I guess in the way that I felt I’ve grown more comfortable playing Sue, I feel like it’s sort of translated into Sue being more comfortable being Sue. It’s kind of like you can be a certain way and still be confident without being necessarily super comfortable with yourself. I feel like ... people who were just comfortable with themselves forever or were not awkward when they were anywhere from like 13 to 18, no, I cannot relate to you as a human. I, like a lot of people, have like a general discomfort with (myself). And it sounds so cliché but ... with Sue, she doesn’t really change but in just kind of understanding and being more OK with (her) ... reactions to things and knowing more how (she is) going to react ... (she) can make more decisions based on that. So it’s as if (she has) made more life decisions based on understanding (herself) a little more.
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You recently did an episode of co-star Patricia Heaton’s Food Channel series “Patricia Heaton Parties.” How did that go? It was great. It was super super fun. ... It’s so different when you’re doing something (other than our show and) what a groove we’ve all gotten in and our set and our dynamic, it’s just like a well-oiled machine. And so when you are working on something that’s sort of finding its groove ... it’s work to do that. And so doing that was like ... having a best friend at summer camp and then having them go to your hometown or something and it’s a totally different experience. Really good but totally different.
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
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Tarek El Moussa of ‘Flip or Flop’ Thursday on HGTV
Since you’re now in your fourth season of “Flip or Flop,” are you still conscious of the cameras being around you while you film? We don’t even notice they’re there anymore. We just kind of do our thing and that’s it.
As you currently film Season 6 of the show, do you and your wife Christina foresee it continuing for a long while beyond that? How do you manage to stay focused on your real-estate business while also filming “Flip or Flop”? It’s still business as usual. We have 40 employees, we’re managing our properties and our rentals and our commercial ventures. We’re doing a lot of stuff. One thing for people to understand is that this isn’t a design show; it’s a flip show that’s kind of morphed into a design show, too. We could step up and put more into the houses, but because we’re on it as a business, it prevents us from spending too much money. It’s always a cat-andmouse game where you want to spend the perfect amount to get your return. You don’t want to spend too little and you don’t want to spend too much.
Absolutely. Going into this thing, we never knew what to expect. We never looked at ourselves as TV personalities, we looked at ourselves as realty investors who were on TV. And now, it’s kind of morphed into the fact that we’re both realty investors and TV personalities. We’ve been doing this for a few years now, and I think we’re going to be doing it for the next few years as well.
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
Hilarie Burton of ‘Last Chance for Christmas’ Sunday on Lifetime Click or tap here for more!
“Last Chance for Christmas” maintains your tradition of doing holiday movies that have realism while also being somewhat fantastical. Do you look for that combination when you read seasonal scripts? I’ve been very lucky in that the ones I’ve gotten to do have all had a spark of something that really interests me. The very first one I did, “Naughty or Nice,” I did on a dare from the Rudds (actor friend Paul Rudd and his wife). We were all out at dinner and I got the offer, and they were like, “Dude, you have to do it!” and I was like, “Yeah, all right, whatever.” And then, I loved it! I’d always done jobs where I played such sad people with so much gloom and doom and drama, and here was this Christmas movie, and my kid got to see Santa and I got to wear an elf costume ... and it was funny, and the people I worked with were awesome. Then, the next one took place in Louisiana, which is a place I love – and I got to work with Tyler Hilton, who’s one of my best friends. And with this one, Jeff (actor husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and I are obsessed with Alaska, and I asked him, “Should I go play an Alaskan reindeer farmer?” He said, “One-hundred percent.” Page 6 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote December 6 - 12, 2015
Had you ever dealt with live reindeer before making this new movie? No, and they’re so neat! Here’s my favorite thing about reindeer: They’re constantly clicking. Apparently, the tendons in their joints click, so in a whiteout, they can hear each other and find one another. The whole time I was working with them, there was this snapping sound, and it was just the strangest thing.
How has it been around your household since the news broke that your husband will be joining “The Walking Dead” as villain Negan? Our son knows that his dad is a bad man (on screen)! We all think it’s real cool.
FOOD George Dickie’s What's for Dinner
F
Diverse
guests
Lidia’s holiday table on PBS
In a unique special this week, renowned chef Lidia Bastianich cooks up an international Christmas feast for a diverse group of celebrity guests. In “Lidia Celebrates America: Home for the Holidays,” airing Friday, Dec. 11, on PBS (check local listings), the Emmy-winning host of “Lidia’s Italy” invites Oscar-winning actors Christopher Walken and Rita Moreno, former “Today” co-host Ann Curry, “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and composer Carlo Ponti Jr. to her Queens, N.Y., home to dine on dishes inspired by each of their homelands. “It was interesting to bring friends of different ethnicities because that was the point (of the special),” she says. “I know that I always revert at my house to (my) roots, to the flavors that you remember from your grandma. So I was wondering what all my friends were doing. Were they doing the same – all of these prominent American figures by now?” The hourlong show tells the deeply personal stories of each guest, be it Walken’s upbringing in the Astoria section of Queens (where he knew Bastianich), Lakshmi’s culinary traditions of her homeland of India or Moreno’s experiences as a young Latina in mid-20th century New York City.
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Moreno, the only one of the six guests Bastianich did not previously know, provided Bastianich will particular inspiration growing up. “When I was a young immigrant,” says Bastianich, who was born in a northeastern Italy town that eventually became part of Croatia. “ ‘West Side Story’ was kind of all over the place and I related so much. You know, I used to admire her and her dancing. As a young girl you look at her and say ’ Gee, could that be me?’ And so I related to her very much from that period of my life.... so there were a lot of similarities.”
What book are you currently reading? “I just finished reading (New York City Police) Commissioner (Raymond) Kelly’s book (‘Vigilance: My Life Serving America and Protecting Its Empire City’) because I know him as a person. I’ve known him for quite a few years. ...”
What did you have for dinner last night?
What is your next project?
“I had dinner with two friends and I had dinner at (Bastianich’s New York restaurant) Felidia. And we were kind of in almost a celebratory for mood. But I had skate for dinner. Yeah, I did. I had a fish soup with a little pasta as an opener, And then I had skate.... it was different. The chef made it with chestnuts... and then chicory. ...”
“My latest book (“Lidia’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine”) was released ... So I am in the process of actually going around the country. ... In theaters, we have this intimate conversation with Lydia, and I tell them about what they usually want to know, about my life, how I came, how I got into cooking, how I got into television and so on. And then we open it up for questions and then I do a book signing.”
When was the last vacation you took, where and why? “The last vacation was this summer and we had all of the kids at the Bastianich winery (in Italy). ...”
December 6 - 12, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 7
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Celebrity ScooP
Taylor Hill
Some new Angels show their wings on “The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” runway this holiday season, and Taylor Hill is one of them. Formerly a model for the company’s junior line PINK, she also was in last year’s edition from London ... but she allows it’s different to join the official Angel ranks alongside Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge (who wears the jewel-encrusted $2 million Fantasy Bra) and others as the event returns to New York’s Lexington Avenue Armory for its annual CBS telecast Tuesday, Dec. 8. Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid also participate – and since the special always combines modeling with music, Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding and The Weeknd take the stage, too. “It’s a very, very big deal,” the friendly Hill says of the 20th “Fashion Show,” “and it’s very exciting. I had the jitters coming into it, because I get wings and I get officially crowned as an Angel. But you forget (about that on the runway); you try to focus on taking one step at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, and it all comes together. If you embrace it, it’s not as hard. Don’t think too much about it.” Now in her late teens, Hill is glad others including Elsa Hosk, Martha Hunt and Stella Maxwell also are among the 2015 inductees as Victoria’s Secret Angels. “It’s so great to be with them,” Hill notes. “We’re all really good friends, we all hang out and we have dinners together, and we talk about everything. It’s an incredible experience to be able to go through this with somebody else ... and not even one other person but nine, who know exactly what you’re going through. There’s always somebody to talk to.” That also includes the veteran Angels, whom Hill deems “amazing. They’re so supportive. If you have a question or are nervous about something, you can just check with them and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, girl, don’t worry. This is what happened to me ... .’ To have people who you can look up to, and who are there to watch your back, it’s incredible.”
On how her family is with her modeling fame: “My parents are my number-one fans, and I have two sisters and a brother and they’re all extremely supportive. They love that I get to do this, and they know it’s my dream. They’re proud of me, and it feels really good to know that I have people like that in my life.”
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CELEBRITY CelebritY profile
Duff Gol dman
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- Born Jeffrey Adam Goldman on December 17, 1974 in Detroit, MI. - He has been cooking since the age of 4, when his mom caught him in the kitchen swinging a meat cleaver while watching Chef Tell on TV. - His great-grandmother came to the U.S. from the Ukraine and became a baker and cook. Her daughter, his grandmother, was a professional artist whose work includes painting, printmaking and silversmithing. His mother, Jackie, is also an artist. - He started working professionally when he was 14 at a bagel shop. - After graduating from the University of Maryland with degrees in history and philosophy, he went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, Calif.
Duff Goldman is a TV personality, celebrity pastry chef and superstar baker, among other talents, who can currently be seen on “Holiday Baking Championship” on Food Network. - In 2002, he opened Charm City Cakes...in his apartment. A growing client list helped propel him into an even bigger location: an old church he retrofitted into his current modern bakery.
- He was also named Culinary Ambassador by the White House, and created the cake for President Obama’s Commander-in-Chief Ball. - He is the best selling author of “Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes,” and his newest book “Duff Bakes: Think and Bake Like a Pro at Home” was released in November.
- Following several appearances on its cake competition Challenge series, Food Network tapped him and his fellow cake baking artists at Charm City Cakes to star in “Ace of Cakes.” After 10 seasons on the Food Network, the show wrapped as one of the longest running reality shows in history to feature the same cast.
- Among his charitable causes are police officers, firefighters, teachers, the Make a Wish Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity.
- He has appeared on numerous shows including “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “Iron Chef America,” “Chopped,” “Cupcake Wars,” and “Best Thing I Ever Ate.”
- He is in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for baking the world’s largest cupcake.
- In 2009, he paired up with the team at Gartner Studios in Stillwater, Minnesota to design and launch the Duff Goldman by Gartner Studios line of cake baking and decorating products.
- He is also a graffiti artist, metal sculptor and a musician who plays bass in the Elvis tribute band, Danger Ace, and the indie band, Sand Ox.
- A regular Food Network presence, he is currently acting as - In 2012, his horizons continued to expand as he opened a judge on “Holiday Baking Championship.” Charm City Cakes West in Los Angeles and Duff’s Cake mix, a do-it-yourself cake decorating shop.
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CELEBRITY
“This felt like an opportunity for people to … if they accept me as someone who functions in this world, then maybe they’ll let me wear the markings of a different person and be accepting of that, too. I guess it felt like a perfect opportunity to reintroduce myself as an actress.” – Jennifer Carpenter of “Limitless” on CBS, about doing her first series role since “Dexter”
“Some people think it’s a bit intense, but of course it is, with that part of the world and the state of the politics there now. I’m constantly impressed with how (the writers and producers) bravely ride the line between telling those stories and giving those people a voice as well” – Jennifer Finnigan, seen recently in “Angel of Christmas” on Hallmark Channel, about her FX series “Tyrant” (returning for Season 3 next year) Page 10 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote December 6 - 12, 2015
“I have to admit, the first day in the makeup chair, I was shaking next to her. All my scenes are with her and Max Greenfield, and it was everything I could have wanted it to be. I feel like my game rose a thousand percent acting opposite her.” – Beth Behrs of “2 Broke Girls” on CBS, about working recently with Sally Field on the forthcoming movie “Hello, My Name Is Doris”
CELEBRITY
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ON DVRs
Poppy Montgomery of “Unforgettable” on A&E Network “ ‘The Affair’ is absolutely No. 1 – and, shockingly and embarrassingly, I have not seen ‘The Sopranos.’ Not even the pilot. I have progressed to the point where I am going to watch all of it while I’m on hiatus. That’s one of my goals.”
Vincent Kartheiser of “Saints & Strangers” on National Geographic Channel “I guess sports, mostly. Comedy stuff.”
Savannah Guthrie of “Today” on NBC “I record ‘Homeland’ and ‘Project Runway.’ ”
Eddie Jackson of “BBQ Blitz” on Food Network “You could find everything on my DVR from ‘Housewives of Orange County’ to ‘Empire’ and also ‘Food Network Star’ is on there, too.” December 6 - 12, 2015 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote Page 11
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STORY
Tony Bennett performs on “Sinatra 100 — An All-Star Grammy Concert” Sunday on CBS. Story on next page
Page 12 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote December 6 - 12, 2015
STORY
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Grammy
winners salute ‘The Voice’ on CBS’ ‘Sinatra 100’ By George Dickie Two singers, one a native New Yorker and member of the Greatest Generation; the other a Baby Boomer from Oklahoma. Though they have dissimilar backgrounds and upbringings, Tony Bennett and Garth Brooks have at least one thing in common: a deep and abiding admiration for Frank Sinatra. And they’ll both be performing on the occasion of the centennial of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ birth on “Sinatra 100 – An AllStar Grammy Concert,” airing Sunday, Dec. 6. The two-hour special, made in partnership with the Sinatra family and taped Dec. 2 at Wynn Las Vegas’ Encore Theatre, features a bevy of Grammy winners performing songs made famous by “The Voice,” among them Brooks, Bennett, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Adam Levine, Carrie Underwood and Usher. Bennett, who will be performing “I’ve Got the World on a String” on the special, calls Sinatra “my best friend” and recalls some career-changing advice the Chairman of the Board once gave him as a young, nervous performer headlining his first TV show, “The Tony Bennett Show,” in 1956. “He said, ‘Just know that the public loves you, and if you’re nervous ... they’ll come even closer to you,’ ” the 89-yearold, 17-time Grammy winner says. “And he taught me that the audience is a friend, don’t look at them like they’re enemies. They came in to see you, they did all kinds of things just to come in to see you and they’re your fans. And he changed my whole career by just entertaining the people. All I want to do now in my life is to try and make people happy when they come to see me.” When people talk about what set Sinatra apart from other singers, they often cite his breathing. But Bennett thinks it’s something else.
Pictured: Garth Brooks
“It’s phrasing,” he says. “He had a way of just phrasing. He made this statement, he said, ‘I must tell you that no matter what I do in my life, that when I sing, I believe it’s completely honest.’ And that was a very profound attitude to have as a performer and as a singer. But I also knew, when you knew him up close and on an intimate basis, he just knew how to perform on the stage. He had a wonderful attitude about how to perform onstage.” Brooks, a 53-year-old two-time Grammy winner who never met Sinatra, marvels at the range of his voice, his ability to “make you hurt for him” in his performances and his sheer longevity. He’ll be performing “The Lady Is a Tramp” on the show. “You look behind him,” he says, “there’s a swath a mile wide, like a tornado, in the business. Well hell, that’s a hell of a mark. Because in this business, you’re not just competing with your peers, the people around you; you’re competing with a past and you’re competing with a future. And this cat held his own against the past, his present and, come on – we’re having a birthday celebration to him now? And we’ll have one when he’s 200, so that’s a hell of a mark. ... They say that time is a friend to all things good and that was definitely him.”
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STORY
Bublé
embraces improv on NBC Christmas special “Michael Bublé’s Christmas in Hollywood” airs Thursday on NBC. Story on next page
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Bublé embraces improv on NBC Christmas special By George Dickie Like many of today’s performers, Michael Bublé has a strong presence on social media, counting pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram among his accounts. But when he took to Instagram recently to solicit fan requests for songs for him to perform on his upcoming NBC special “Michael Bublé’s Christmas in Hollywood,” airing Thursday, Dec. 10, he was a little perplexed by the first response. “I did a video and I said, ‘Alright you guys, challenge me. Ask me for songs that are a little off the Christmas radar here,’ ” the Vancouver, British Columbia, native recalls with a laugh. “And the very first thing that I read, the very first person wrote in and said, ‘Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” ’ And my mom and dad were sitting with me and I looked and I went, ‘This is not a Christmas song. I just explained it to people. It’s a Christmas song. You know, request a Christmas song.’ And the first request was Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” So I didn’t do that, obviously. Yes, they were really listening to me on social media.” Bublé’s fifth Christmas special takes him to the land of palm trees, sunshine and show business to celebrate the holiday and perform Christmas selections with fellow Canadian singer Celine Dion, funk band Sharon Jones & the DapKings and pop singer Tori Kelly. Additionally, there will be cameo appearances by celebrities in comedy bits, and Bublé’s trademark “unplugged” session, in which he and his band perform audience requests – often unrehearsed. “That’s probably my favorite part of the show and my musicians’ least favorite part of the show,” he says. “And
Pictured: Michael Bublé
you know what the thing is? I’ll say to them all the time, ‘Boys, it’s not live. It’s not live. Hey, if you mess it up and it’s that terrible, let’s do it again.’ “But I think for me, personally, when I go and see a show, what makes it special to me are the imperfections,” he continues. “It’s the fact that I’m actually seeing something that’s real and not completely canned and rehearsed. To me, it’s the imperfections that make it so much fun and so beautiful. And we kicked ass. My guys kicked ass. They were perfect.” And as promised, at least one selection was off the beaten Christmas music path. “We did the Chipmunks song, ‘Christmas Don’t Be Late,’ ” Bublé says. “And I looked at my boys, who are great musicians, probably not – they wouldn’t think of themselves as singers – and I said, ‘You know what we’re going to do? We’re going to sing this, the five of us and we’re just going to sing it a cappella. Let’s go.’ So it was good. It turned out good, I think.”
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STORY
Neighbors bring their love of Christmas to light on ‘Great Christmas Light Fight’ By George Dickie
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Pictured: Taniya Nayak and Carter Oosterhouse
Every neighborhood has one – that neighbor whose love of Christmas, lights and electronic gadgetry coalesce to produce a holiday display that can be seen from space.
Still, a lot of work – and more importantly – money go into these arrangements, leaving one to wonder how they pull if off.
And for the next six weeks, those folks are front and center of the limited holiday competition series “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” which opens its third season Monday, Dec. 7, on ABC.
“I always thought going into it, ‘Man, these people spend a fortune.’ And they do,” Nayak says. “I think it’s an accumulation of hundreds of thousands of dollars when everything is all said and done – but it’s an accumulation. A lot of them have been doing it for 25, 30 years and so you can just tell that they just build and build. And a lot of them will tell you they started with one strand of lights and then over the years it turned into this, like, this craziness.”
“It’s just a whole world of happiness,” says Taniya Nayak (“Restaurant: Impossible”), who joins the series this season as a judge alongside Carter Oosterhouse (“Million Dollar Rooms”). “Everybody’s smiling, it’s Christmas, it’s Living next to one of these home-fashioned light the holidays ... . Every time I watch it, I would either be laughing or crying. For some reason, they manage to get extravaganzas has to come with its own challenges. Which Christmas lights to become a very emotional thing, and it is raises the question: How do the neighbors feel about all this? for some reason.” “I feel like a lot of the neighbors are very accepting,” Nayak In the six hourlong episodes, families and neighborhoods says. “And you have to remember, these people have on a chosen through a nationwide search pull out all the stops yearly basis hundreds to thousands of cars that will drive to create over-the-top outdoor holiday displays on and through in their neighborhood to come and watch the light around their homes. The one judged the best receives a display. So luckily, I think they have great relationships with $50,000 per-episode grand prize. their neighbors. Some of these displays can be quite extravagant – featuring audio, computer-controlled lights and even choreography – and many have switched over to LED lights, which has significantly slashed their electric bills.
“I have seen a few people where they’d have a couple of lights that might have said ‘Ditto’ with an arrow in lights pointing to the house next door,” she says, laughing. “I think people have fun with it.”
Page 16 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote December 6 - 12, 2015
STORY
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Michael Gross
is ‘Becoming Santa’ in new Lifetime movie Would you think of the tall, slender dad from “Family Ties” as Santa Claus? He couldn’t, at least initially. Michael Gross admits it took a leap of faith and a lot of makeup for him to believe he could make a convincing Kris Kringle in “Becoming Santa,” Lifetime’s new Saturday, Dec. 12, movie that reunites him with his “wife” from the 1980s sitcom, Meredith Baxter. She plays Mrs. Claus to his Father Christmas, with Laura Bell Bundy (“Hart of Dixie”) as their daughter, who brings her unsuspecting beau (Jesse Hutch) to the North Pole to meet the parents.
“We had not spent this much time together since ‘Family Ties’ (which also starred Michael J. Fox) ended in 1989. We had worked together since, but it was in Los Angeles, so we’d both go to our own cars and homes every night. Here, we were on location (in Vancouver, British Columbia) and in the same hotel for three weeks, right across the hall from each other. We drove to the set together and really caught up in a way we had not in over 25 years, so we had so many laughs and so many heart-to-hearts. It was just great.”
Overall, Gross has been staying quite active professionally ... continuing the “Tremors” horror-movie franchise as survivalist Burt Gummer in direct-to-video sequels, guest“ “I’m 6 feet, 3 inches and 180 pounds, so I thought, ‘This starring with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on Netflix’s “Grace does not make sense,’ ” the amiable Gross allows of his and Frankie,” playing a recurring part on the Canadian casting in the film. “Obviously, I knew it was ‘gimmick’ casting – so to speak – with Meredith and myself, and that show “The Stanley Dynamic,” and co-producing and appearing in the Internet series “Carbon Dating” (all of was a good place to begin. I could see her as Mrs. Claus, but not so much me as Mr. Claus. I didn’t get it, but I read it which he reports on regularly on his Facebook page). and saw it was sort of a straightforward Santa Claus, then I talked with the producers and realized they were going to As familiar as he is to viewers, Gross had hoped to surprise them in his new turn as Santa: “At one point, go with the full-on body padding and so forth.” I said, ‘I kind of wish you wouldn’t put my name at the beginning.’ I would love for people to say, ‘Who is that?’ But Gross particularly appreciated having “a beautiful deals are made, and now it’s done. I thought it would be mustache and beard, and they spared no expense on that. It really helps to make this work, I think.” So does the far more fun if you didn’t see it in the opening titles. I love teasing people.” existing spirit between Gross and Baxter, who have made other holiday movies together (and also share the same birthdate, June 21), and he says the time they spent on “Becoming Santa” was “an absolute delight for me.
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SPORTS
Army-Navy
Army-Navy game decides winner of Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy
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Full Name: Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy
Height/Weight: 2 feet, 5 inches/170-pounds
Presented by: President Barack Obama
Born: 1972
Rivalry Teams: Air Force Falcons, Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen
2014 Winner: Air Force
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
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Number of Wins: Air Force, 20; Navy, 17; Army, 6
SPORTS
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By Dan Ladd When it comes to the annual Army-Navy game, it’s not always about the players as much as it is about nostalgia, patriotism and quite often, the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. The Navy Midshipmen have a shot to reclaim the coveted trophy when they and the Army Black Knights meet for the 116th time in Philadelphia on Saturday, Dec. 12, on CBS. Certainly, there will be some attention paid to Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds, and the likely bowl-game bound Midshipmen who are enjoying a 13-year winning streak in the annual contest. Navy has the upper hand in this season’s three-way military academy competition, having handily beaten Air Force. A victory over Army will land the trophy back in their possession. The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy was first presented by President Richard Nixon in 1972 when the three-team rivalry was established between Army, Navy and the Air Force Falcons. Historically, however, it has been the Army-Navy game that captures America’s attention and remains one of the biggest rivalries in sports. One of the most memorable games was prior to the creation of the trophy and helped America begin the healing process after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. That year it was rescheduled and was eventually played on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day. In that historic game, quarterback Roger Staubach and Navy held on for a 21-15 victory. The Midshipmen finished that season No. 2 overall. Staubach won the Heisman Trophy that season, and eventually served with the Navy in Vietnam, and of course, went on to a storied NFL career.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review
review
Daniel Craig’s James Bond meets
‘SPECTRE’
The best thing about “SPECTRE”? Daniel Craig is still James Bond. The worst thing about “SPECTRE”? It spends a little too much time looking backward than forward, as “Skyfall” did. Longtime Bond fans (such as yours truly) may be a little too critical of these movies, but too often, “SPECTRE” goes by the numbers: a vicious train fight here, an Aston-Martin car there. Still, great pleasure remains in seeing Craig embody Bond, now pursuing the enemy organization that the star’s rebooted Agent 007 encounters for the first time. It’s run by Christoph Waltz’s character, who shares a past with Bond that has made them brothers of sorts. Ultimately, though, the central bad guy turns out to be someone the 007 faithful have known very well for a long time. The main women Bond gets involved with in “SPECTRE” have ties to his enemies: Lea Seydoux plays the daughter of his reappearing foe Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) and is the main love interest, and Monica Bellucci – notably a more mature fling for our hero – plays, albeit briefly, a criminal’s widow.
And it’s a delight that such new series regulars as Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw (alias M and Q, respectively) have sufficient screen time. Sadly, however, Naomie Harris gets less to do than in “Skyfall” as the resourceful Moneypenny. Director Sam Mendes also is back from “Skyfall,” and he again furnishes solid action sequences starting with a whopper in and above Mexico City. A frantic car chase through the (surprisingly) empty streets of Rome, pitting Bond against a vicious and silent killer (Dave Bautista), also is a highlight. Kudos, too, to Thomas Newman for another excellent music score that partially draws upon past Bond themes, some of them his own from the preceding film. In fact, there are quite a few references overall to earlier 007 capers. At nearly 2-1/2 hours, “SPECTRE” certainly pours on a lot ... maybe more than necessary, which is a feeling generated only when the result doesn’t jell completely. All the expected pieces are here, it’s just a matter of how smoothly they are (or aren’t) assembled. Just about any James Bond movie is reason for devotees to celebrate, but after the heights of “Skyfall,” “SPECTRE” may well leave them only moderately shaken and stirred.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's movie review movies to watch
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“ANT-MAN”
Top Pick
DVD
One of the more entertaining adventures to come out of the Marvel universe lately, this tale has the bounty of special effects one would expect, but also an extremely likable performance by Paul Rudd) as a ne’erdo-well thief who unwittingly steals a suit designed by a scientist (Michael Douglas) ... which shrinks the crook down to the size of a you-know-what. He then uses it to oppose an enemy (Corey Stoll, “House of Cards”) who’s applying the technology for his own sinister purposes. Evangeline Lilly (“Lost”), Bobby Cannavale and Michael Pena also star for director Peyton Reed (“Bring It On”) and make their own marks amid the impressively fantastical visuals. DVD extra: deleted scene. ››› (PG-13: AS, P, V) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
Pictured: Paul Rudd
upcoming DVD releases
Coming Soon on DVD... “MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS” (Dec. 15): In the sequel, the Gladers find new hurdles in opposing the organization WCKD; star Dylan O’Brien returns. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“TED 2” (Dec. 15): The talking teddy bear (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) runs into trouble in becoming an adoptive parent; Mark Wahlberg also returns. (R and unrated versions: AS, P)
“FANTASTIC FOUR” (Dec. 15): Miles Teller and Kate Mara are among those playing the latest screen incarnations of the Marvel Comics characters. (PG-13: P, V)
“THE PERFECT GUY” (Dec. 29): A woman (Sanaa Lathan) comes to regret getting involved with a stranger (Michael Ealy) who begins stalking her; Morris Chestnut also stars. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION” (Dec. 15): Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is an agent without an agency after the CIA shuts down his team. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“A WALK IN THE WOODS” (Dec. 29): A travel writer (Robert Redford) tackles the Appalachian Trail with a very dissimilar friend (Nick Nolte). (R: AS, P)
Pictured: Dylan O’Brien
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FAVORITE SHOWS
Lily Aldridge in “The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show”
Eva Longoria stars in “Telenovela”
SUNDAY 9 p.m. on HISTORY Ax Men In a new episode called “Life & Limb,” Gabe Rygaard takes on the toughest challenge of his career as he struggles to keep his family operation afloat without Craig, his dad. Papac Alaska goes to a remote, mountainous island to tackle the biggest job in the company’s history, while Greg Chapman seeks funding to start on a quest to find a lost logging train. The Swampman finds himself in over his head as a tackles a daunting job for a client with very deep pockets. New
Neil Patrick Harris in “Mat Franco’s Got Magic”
Gabe Rygaard in “Ax Men”
MONDAY 10 p.m. on NBC Telenovela Eva Longoria spoofs a whole genre of television — and, in some ways, her own former show “Desperate Housewives” — by returning to series work with this new sitcom, getting a two-episode preview here before its official premiere in January. The actress plays ... well, an actress on a Spanish-language soap opera, and the complications she faces include her ex-husband (Jencarlos Canela), newly hired as her on-camera love interest. Amaury Nolasco also stars. New
TUESDAY 10 p.m. on CBS The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Sure, Santa is a sign of the season ... but so is this yearly event that combines models and music. After traveling to London last year, the special returns stateside to New York, where veterans Lily Aldridge and Adriana Lima are among those joining new “Angels” such as Taylor Hill and Martha Hunt in styling on the runway and offering comments on the “pink carpet.” As for the tunes this time, Ellie Goulding, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd are the performers. New continued on next page
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FAVORITE SHOWS WEDNESDAY 8 p.m. on NBC Mat Franco’s Got Magic The Season 9 winner of “America’s Got Talent” is seen readying his Las Vegas act, with encouragement from a bounty of celebrities, in this two-hour special. Neil Patrick Harris, Heidi Klum, music’s Jason Mraz, the New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski and fellow magicians Penn & Teller make appearances as Franco stops in various locales while trekking from his Rhode Island home to Vegas.
FRIDAY 8:31 p.m. on ABC Dr. Ken Allison (Suzy Nakamura) is thrilled to be going to Hawaii for the holidays, but there’s one problem: Ken (Ken Jeong) neglected to request those vacation days. Without letting on to that, he decides to turn to “The Master Scheduler” — also the title of this new episode — at the office to help him out. No one ever has seen that individual, so Ken only can hope he’s appealing to the right person. Tisha Campbell-Martin and Dave Foley also star. New
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SATURDAY 9 p.m. on CBS Movie: The Flight Before Christmas A flying squirrel shows a young reindeer — who believes his long-lost father was part of Santa’s airborne sleigh team — how to soar into the sky in this surprisingly dark, emotionally complex animated special from Finland. The voice cast includes Emma Roberts (“Scream Queens”) and “Saturday Night Live” alum Norm Macdonald.
10 p.m. on FOOD Celebrity Food Fight Celebrity foodies and chefs pair up and face off in a series of fastpaced food games in this funny and spirited holiday special hosted by Andy Richter. Each dinner course involves a new round of competition, with challenges ranging from blind taste-testing to recipes from both real and fictional celebrity cookbooks. They’re all designed to test the skills and knowledge of all the participants. Series Premiere New THURSDAY 8 p.m. on FOX Bones The mystery series’ fall finale combines two new episodes, starting with “The Cowboy in the Contest,” which takes Brennan and Booth (Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz) to a Westernthemed shooting contest to solve a murder. Then, the slaying of a police officer teams Booth with a behavioral analyst (guest star Sara Rue) for the consequent probe in “The Doom in the Boom.” Guest stars also include Eddie Shin and Pej Vahdat. TJ Thyne and Michaela Conlin also star. New
Suzy Nakamura stars in “Dr. Ken”
“The Flight Before Christmas”
“Bones”
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