alice

(S03E023) Hot damn, Tim Kring, you did it! The show's creator stepped up to the pen flying solo on the writing for this episode, and by golly, he made a Petrelli family episode interesting. Angela finally stopped abusing her kin by having them dig up skeletal remains, all the while refusing to tell them why they were doing it. She finally opened up a little bit and we got some flashbacks as to just what happened at Coyote Sands and what it has to do with the Petrellis and Mohinder's father.

And while it was interesting from beginning to end, primarily because it did answer some questions as to what happened in the past with Angela and, ultimately, with the genesis of what would become "The Company," it wasn't great. I did find the story of Angela and her sister Alice intriguing, but there were just as many questions left unanswered as there were answered, which I guess is a goal of a long-term series like this. What I do want to know is if Angela went back to Coyote Flats after she left that night to dance with a colored boy, not that anyone remembers that.

As Brad mentioned last night, a few new projects were mentioned during the Sci Fi Channel's upfront presentation. The one I'm most excited about (though at the same time frightened by) is the Battlestar Galactica spin-off, Caprica, which will have a two-hour "back-door pilot" shown probably later this year.

Another project mentioned which surprised me was Alice, described as a "modern day telling of Alice in Wonderland," much like Tin Man was for The Wizard of Oz. What surprised me about this is how Mark Stern, executive vice president of original programming for Sci Fi, reacted when I actually asked him about this idea last year during my visit to the sets in Vancouver.

I'm sorry, but the line that keeps going through my head is "Oh my nose! Oh my nose!"

Former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) has admitted that not only was she bulimic after the show ended in 1974 and she went back to high school, but that the guy she was dating at the time introduced her to cocaine. She says that she became an addict because of her addictive personality, and actually went through several relapses before getting clean through "therapy and faith." I sense a book coming from this.

Good for her for getting through it, but she should have listened to mom, because mom always said, don't do coke in the house.

[via TV Tattle]

Carey played Officer Carl Levitt on the classic sitcom Barney Miller (remember, James Gregory would always call him "Levine?"). He died Tuesday in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke.

Besides that role, Carey appeared in several other TV shows, including Benson, Alice, Lucky Luke, and the New Love American Style. He was in a bunch of movies too, including High Anxiety, Johnny Dangerously, History of the World, Part 1, Fatso, and The Out of Towners (the original). His last role was in the 1999 movie Food For Thought.

His real name was Ron Cicenia and he stood 5 feet 4 (hey, I'm only 5 feet 5, so it's always good to see other short guys become a success!).

Ready for Christmas? If not, well that's too damn bad, because it's about to get jammed right down your throats! Ahem, sorry about that. However, if you've already decorated the house, baked the first batch of Christmas cookies, and braved the throngs of mall shoppers during the first few hours of Black Friday (which, here in Delaware, began at the ungodly hour of 3 am), then AOL's In2TV will be the next stop on your holiday express.

That's because In2TV has launched its very own Christmas Channel. The free online channel features classic Christmas-themed television cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, the Smurfs, and Fred Flinstone and movies such as A Christmas Without Snow and You're Invited to Mary-Kate & Ashley's Christmas Party. Also featured on the site are holiday-themed episodes of classic television series like Alice, Eight is Enough and, well, Joey. Hey, they can't all be classics, can they?

You can reach AOL's In2TV Christmas channel by clicking on this link. By the by, AOL is the parent company of TV Squad, if you didn't know that already

Sarah Michelle Gellar says that she doesn't think she could ever do a one hour series again because it is too exhausting. The former Buffy star goes on to say, "A movie is an hour and twenty minutes, and we were filming almost that every week." By almost that she means 45 minutes. It's possible that she may have vowed to never take another math class at some point too.

I don't put a lot of weight behind her proclamation though. Sarah Michelle is having a good run of it with the movies right now. With The Grudge 2 in theaters, three other movies in post-production, and two more in pre-production, her plate is awfully full. And I am really looking forward to Alice. Still, those runs have a way of drying up, and we have seen all manner of movie stars come back to the small screen. A few years from now maybe, if the choice is random drama on random network or Scooby Doo 5, TV might look pretty good.

Related:
Unaired Buffy pilot on YouTube
Mercedes McNab's Playboy shoot - NSFW
Retro Squad reviews Buffy season one

The Brady Bunch (and The Partridge Family) were weekly rituals in my house when I was a kid. My sister and I would get a huge bag of candy down at the corner store and come home and watch both shows on Friday night.

So it was interesting to see what Cousin Oliver, aka Robbie Rist, is up to these days. As fans of The Brady Bunch know, he was brought on to the show later in its run to add something to the show. I don't know, maybe a cute factor or just shake things up a bit. But all he did was annoy fans, and many people see this as a big "Jump the Shark" moment. Even Rist himself says he has that web site to thank for renewed interest in his career.

Check out what Rist looks like now. Quite a change.

[via TV Tattle]

Every Tuesday here on TV Squad , we will highlight the week's TV-on-DVD releases. Some noteworthy releases today, June 27, 2006:

• Acapulco H.E.A.T. - The Complete 1st Season
• Alice - TV Favorites
• Civilisation (mini-series) - The Complete Series
• Columbo - The Complete 5th Season
• Commander-in-Chief -Season 1, Volume 1
• Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - Movies
• Family Affair - Season 1
• Fear Factor - The 1st Season
• Galaxy High School - Volume 1
• The Jackie Gleason Show - The Color Honeymooners: Collection 1
• Masters of Horror - Deer Woman (John Landis); Deer Woman / Sick Girl; Sick Girl (Lucky Mckee)
• Monk - Season 4
• Project Runway - Complete 2nd Season
• Roseanne - The Complete 4th Season
• Slings and Arrows - Season 1
• Step by Step - Television Favorites
• Strangers with Candy - The Complete Series
• Tracey Takes On... - The Complete 2nd Season
• Your Show of Shows - Best of Sid Caesar