Archive for the Zachary Levi Category

I’ve been excited about Nicole Richie appearing on CHUCK from the minute it was announced (read my thoughts at the time). My girl GMMR has seen the episode which airs Monday, October 20th and assures me that I won’t be disappointed.

Here are some clips from E!’s Kristin Dos Santos of Nicole Richie in action on CHUCK.

The Throwdown between Richie’s character Heather Chandler (a genius ode to HEATHERS) and Sarah:


Heather and Sarah meet for the first time… again!

To see more clips, head on over to E!

TV Talk with GMMR and Ducky is finally back! We discuss the new fall schedule day by day and break down our returning faves and possible new must-sees.

From Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, Chuck to Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy on Monday. Tuesday’s are Biggest Loser, House, 90210, Privileged to Fringe and The Mentalist. Wednesday’s are all about Pushing Daisies, Bones, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money and Lipstick Jungle. Over on Thursday’s we’ve got Ugly Betty, Survivor, Kath & Kim, Grey’s Anatomy, The Office, 30 Rock, Supernatural, Life on Mars and Eleventh Hour. Friday night is all about The Ghost Whisperer (I kid) and The Ex-List and Life. Sunday’s we’re freaking out that The Amazing Race is back, Desperate Housewives, Cold Case, Dexter and Brothers & Sisters.

It’s a busy season folks, sit back and relax because we talk forever.

You know you missed us… xoxo GMMR and Ducky

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Chuck Comic-Con 2008: Zac Levi

While I wasn’t able to sit in on the actual CHUCK panel today because of my Pushing Daisies duties, I was able to work the press room instead. First we sat down with creators and Exec. Producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak then Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin before finally getting the man Zac Levi.

Here’s what we learned through our interviews…

  • When season 2 kicks off, an indistinguishable amount of time will have passed.
  • Season 2 will deal more with the mythology of the show, ie. why Chuck was chosen. That does not mean that there will be less mystery of the week-ness to the show.
  • They will be delving into character backstories more.
  • According to Schwartz, “There will be swooningly romantic” moments this season, especially in Ep. 2.03 where there’s a moment that makes him misty every time he watches it.
  • There will be a King of Kong type moment where Chuck tries to find the guy that holds the worlds record on Missile Command and it turns out to be fellow Nerd Herder Jeff.
  • According to Strahovski, the introduction of Jill (Chuck’s mythical ex played by Jordana Brewster) causing a new range of emotions for Sarah. She’ll be jealous and somewhat insecure.
  • Sarah will no longer work at Weinerlicious, this season she will work at a Pinkberry type shop called Orange Orange (that is actually completely blue on the inside which makes Levi chuckle).
  • Here’s a list of the confirmed guest stars for Season 2 so far: Tony Hale, Jordana Brewster, Nicole Richie, Michael Clarke Duncan, John Larroquette, Melinda Clark, Ben Savage, NY Giants Michael Strahan. Schwartz reiterates that this is will not be a Love Boat like scenario but admits that some of it is to help remind people of the show by these castings.

    I’m bummed that I didn’t get to see the actual panel or the 6 minute Chuck Season 2 reel but I’ll survive. I cannot wait for Season 2 to begin this fall on NBC.

    Pictures:
    Chuck Comic-Con 2008: Yvonne Strahovski and Zac Levi Chuck Comic-Con 2008: Zac Levi and Josh Gomez Chuck Comic-Con 2008: Zac Levi Chuck Comic-Con 2008: Josh Gomez

    Ducky’s Ever Changing Comic-Con Schedule

    For those of you not going to COMIC-CON this year, consider yourselves lucky because if you knew the anxiety and rage the scheduling has caused me and my fellow TV Bloggers, you’d be fine just staying home. There are so many TV panels this year and so many things I want to do that either overlap each other or run too close to ever hope of getting in, so trying to decide what to see is like Sophie’s Choice up in this place.

    Here are the panels I’m interested in attending and as you’ll see, it’s nearly impossible to attend half of the things I’m excited about.

    *Item’s in BOLD are panels I’m currently planning on seeing but I promise you, it will change before leaving next week.

    THURSDAY
    10-11am Kings
    12-2pm Doctor Who/Torchwood

    2-3pm The Middleman
    4:30-5:30pm True Blood
    5:45-6:45pm Dexter

    FRIDAY
    10:15-11:15am Big Bang Theory
    12:30-1:15pm Spaced
    1:30-2:30pm Joss Whedon
    1:45-2:45pm EW Showrunners
    3:30-4:45pm Family Guy
    4:30-5:30pm Bones

    5:30-6:30pm 24
    6:30-8:00pm Kevin Smith Makes Porno

    6:30-7:15pm Prison Break
    7:15-8:15pm MST3K
    10:15-11:45pm Spaced Screening
    10:45-Midnight Dr. Horrible Screening

    SATURDAY
    10:45-11:45pm Heroes
    11:30-12:30pm Sarah Connor Chronicles
    12:00-1:00pm Lost
    12:30-1:30pm Kyle XY
    12:45-1:45pm The Office
    1:00-2:00pm Dollhouse
    2:15-3:15pm Battlestar Galactica
    3:15-4:15pm Pushing Daisies

    3:30-4:30pm Chuck
    4:45-5:45pm Fringe
    6:00-7:00pm TV Guide Panel
    7:15-8:15pm Sarah Silverman

    SUNDAY
    10:00-11:00am Smallville
    10:30-11:30am It’s Always Sunny
    11:15-12:15pm Supernatural
    11:30-12:00pm Hamlet 2
    1:00-1:30pm Friday the 13th
    4:00-5:00pm Buffy the Musical

    Do you see how agonizing it is to try and plan your days? Saturday is seriously OOC and I’m sure many decision will change in the spur of the moment. What you don’t see on here are the parties we’re RSVP’d for and the Press Rooms we’re hoping to do as well. Add press rooms for most shows on Saturday and you’d have to have 3 Buffy Bots to help you cover it all.

    Regardless, I’ll be there with many blogger friends and we’ll be podcasting every day and recording as many panels as possible to post here on Ducky Does TV so stay tuned!

    Nicole Richie guests on CHUCK

    I might be the only person that’s kind of excited about this news… The Simple Life star and recent baby mama, Nicole Richie, is going to be guest starring on an episode of NBC’s CHUCK!

    According to the press release I just got:

    On a new episode of NBC’s returning drama “Chuck” (Mondays, 8-9 p.m. ET), Special Agent Sarah Walker (series star Yvonne Strahovski, “Gone”) gets a bad blast from the past when she comes face to face with her high school nemesis — played by guest star Nicole Richie (”The Simple Life”) — for broadcast this fall.

    Richie will guest-star in the episode as the snarky and spiteful girl who tortured Sarah in school — and now Sarah must face her fears when she is forced to attend her 10-year high school reunion for a mission with Chuck (series star Zachary Levi, “Less Than Perfect”) as her date.

    “Nicole auditioned for the part and was very funny,” said executive producer Josh Schwartz. “This role is a great opportunity for her to show off her comedic skills and be diabolically evil and kick some butt. It’s going to be really fun.”

    I’ve always found Nicole to be incredibly funny and diabolical so this sounds like perfection to me. Sure its stunt casting but if you can get past the fact that she a tabloid darling and see that she’s frakkin’ hilarious, then this will work for everyone!

    I’m psyched!

    We said we’d be back with another TV Talk Podcast in a week but it took almost a week and a half, I think you survived just fine. GMMR was at the Upfront presentations so there’s plenty to talk about including her celebrity sightings, stalkings, and dancing partners. We’ll even talk about Joss Whedon’s DOLLHOUSE and J.J. Abrams FRINGE starring GMMR’s mega crush Josh Jackson. So You Think You Can Dance might get a couple minutes or five along with her time with The Office and Tina Fey!

    Back to your regularly scheduled podcast, we head right into GOSSIP GIRL, AMERICAN IDOL, THE OFFICE, GREY’S, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and more. Plus, it’s the return of TWO IDIOTS TALK LOST (*we talk about the finale being this week but listener Michael pointed out that it’s not until May 29th - phew!) where we rehash the first hour of the three hour Season 4 finale, once again proving that even idiots can enjoy Lost. And as a bonus feature, we have a special guest to help us talk about the Season 3 finale of The CW’s SUPERNATURAL.

    Sit back and relax because this Podcast almost hits 90 minutes. You read that right, 90 minutes of babbling, giggling, bitching, and TV Talk!

    Ducky Does TV and Give Me My Remote TV Podcast Logo
    It’s TV Talk with GMMR & Ducky #22!

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    Interested in catching up on our past podcasts? Head on over to the podcast page where you can listen to all of our previous episodes.

    Have a question for Ducky and GMMR? There are a couple ways to contact us:

    Free Voice Mail (Comments/Questions):
    This is Dan and Kathie’s favorite method of contact because it allows us to hear from you and we use these messages live on our podcast to answer your burning television questions. It’s FREE and you don’t have to do anything but click RECORD BY PHONE on the box below and it will walk you through how to contact us!

    It’s super easy and free to leave us a message:

  • Step 1: Click on “Record by Phone”
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    Chuck at Paley 2008

    Last night The Paley Center presented the creative team and cast of NBC’s CHUCK as part of their Paley Fest 2008. Kath and I were front and center for the action and it was one hell of a panel. Yesterday was the first day back for the Chuck writing team so they didn’t have a ton of information to spill for the fans but really who cares because it’s all about watching these guys in action (both on the show and in person).

    The WGA Strike imposed hiatus has left these kids nutty! Zac Levi (Chuck) and Josh Gomez (Morgan) are seriously in the biggest bromance this side of Make Me a Supermodel’s Ronnie and Prison Ben. They’re frik-n-frak and I’m happy they’ve found each other. God bless the women that dare come between these two. It could get ugly.

    Production must be a bear to keep on schedule because its non-stop one-upping between not only Zac and Josh but the majority of the cast. They seem to have created an incredible family and it was fun getting to watch their reunion of sorts.

    Production on Chuck Season 2 will begin toward the end of May and they are confirmed for Comic-Con this July where they hope to show a bunch of new clips instead of an entire episode.

    Some Quick Highlights:

    *UPDATED: Thanks to reader/pal Vlada for finding the Futon Critics transcipt of the Alan Sepinwall dare question to Josh Schwartz about the Weinerlicious outfit.

    “To me it’s obvious, Chuck like Seth Cohen before him is the central character in a Jewish assimilation fable, grappling with his place in the secular Gentile post-Holocaust world. The CIA or NSA, I can never remember who works for whom, has obviously done deep psychological profiling on him, having read the works of Saul Bellow and Phillip Roth…” Head on over to the Futon Critic for the full question.

    You know how on the show Capt. Awesome and Morgan are essentially each other’s nemesis? In real life I’m pretty sure smokin hot Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome) is the nemesis of Josh Gomez, in a very brotherly way though. They were slaying the crowd last night with their Odd Couplesque relationship. Ryan is very much the deadpan straight man and Josh is every bit the ham you see on television. Good times.

    The Great Beard Debate was entertaining. Currently Levi looks like he’s about to take on the remake of Serpico and he’s determined to convince not only a protesting Josh Schwartz but the network to let him keep the beard for the first episode and then go all Jack Bauer on us and shave it off as he gets back into duty.

    The show will jump in time to address the time its been off air. Hence, the Levi/24 Beard issue. I have to say, the audience was with the network, Schwartz and Awesome on this one… Lose the chin pubes.

    Kayla Hart. What? Who’s Kayla you ask? Well she was Chuck’s next door neighbor who he was kinda-sorta into but not totally because he was still hung up on Jill from college and now he was into his handler Sarah. It all was too much and they made the decision way late in the pilot shooting/editing process to remove her from the equation. Smart move.

    Lindelof asking Levi how he would approach a script called “Chuck Versus Chuck”. A Season 4 episode that is destined to be produced. Well, only if Schwartz dies before Season 3

    Lindelof’s Inside The Actors Studio
    - What is your favorite word? “Douche Bag” (Chris Fedak, Co-Creator)
    - What is your least favorite word? “Intolerance (Adam Baldwin, ‘Casey’)
    - What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? “Football” (Ryan McPartlin, ‘Devon aka Captain Awesome’)
    - What sound or noise do you love? “The waves of the ocean” (Vic Sahay, ‘Lester’)
    - What sounds do you hate? “Squishy, wet boots” (Julia Ling, ‘Anna’)
    - What is your favorite curse word? “Fuck” (McG, Executive Producer)
    *Click here to read them all over at GMMR

    Chris Fedak’s story about how during the NBC pitch for Chuck he thought they for sure blew it because he pulled a classic Airplane moment… think drinking problem.

    Josh Schwartz: “There is no love more pure than the love between one man and another.” Amen brother!

    McG and Gomez comparing Adam Baldwin to Ted Nugent. Saying he basically a homo-hating, gun-toting, meat eating intolerant in real life. Fingers crossed they were just “teasing.” I mean, how many gays didn’t want Adam Baldwin’s Linderman as their Bodyguard growing up?

    The Nerd Herd in general. Vic Sahay (Lester), Scott Krinsky (Jeff), Julia Ling (Anna) and Mark Christopher Lawrence (Big Mike) were “fantastick” and I love that they all want in on the spy action.

    I wanted more Yvonne Strahovski but then again, probably not as much as the straight men in the audience did. She’s fierce (but not a hot tranny mess… that I know of).

    Oh and don’t forget Captain Awesome who was… well, Awesome.

    PODCAST:
    Kath and I did a quick 20 minute recap of the night. It was super late here in LA when we did it so forgive any crazy talk. Listen to our Chuck Paley Festival Podcast!

    *Podcast will be up on iTunes this afternoon.

    MY CRAP PICTURES:
    CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (11) Cast Signing CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (9) Cast/Adam Baldwin CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (3) CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (2) CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (1) CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (7) Yvonne Strahovski CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (8) Nerd Herd
    CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (6) Yvonne Strahovski CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (10) Schwarz/Adam Baldwin/Julia CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (5) Yvonne Strahovski CHUCK Paley Festival Panel Pictures (4) Zac Levi

    Ducky and GMMR Attend Paley 2008

    gang, as you know I’m in LA for the week and I’ll be attending the Paley Festival with my girl GMMR and I’ll also be having a couple other things in the works (fingers crossed) that you’ll want to know about. Aside from Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Friday Night Lights and Buffy, I’ll be visiting my favorite people in Los Angeles whom I haven’t seen since I left here in 2000 and roaming around town. Visiting with my favorite Casting Agent Jenny and meeting up with someone that will hopefully be giving me (& you) some inside scoop on the return of Supernatural. Not to mention we’ll be podcasting our asses off.

    If you want to stay on top of all my nonsense, follow me on Twitter:

    Ducky Does TV on Twitter


      Daniel Radcliffe to return in Harry Potter 6

      Holy Horcrux Dumbledore! Finally, Warner Bros. is doing something that they needed to do for quite a few films… Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be split into 2 films! Sure it’s a little late *cough* Book 4 *cough* but I’ll take it. This is the best possible news for the Potter franchise.

      According to The Hollywood Reporter:

      Titled “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1″ and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” the movies are set to be released in November 2010 and May 2011.

      David Yates — who is directing the adaptation of the sixth novel, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and is slated to helm the seventh film — will direct both movies, which will be shot back-to-back. Steve Kloves, who has written all but one of the “Potter” movies, also is returning to write the two-parter.

      90210 Spin Off Is Sheer Hell
      Back in TV news, the announcement was recently made that a Class of Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off is in the works. Seriously, this is the end times y’all. I don’t care how you spin this, it’s hideous news.

      People are all excited that Veronica Mars‘ helmer Rob Thomas is in talks to write the Pilot but I’m not getting behind this one no matter who they cast. If Kristen Bell herself was headlining, I don’t think I could watch. Well, it would pain me but damnit I would try not to watch!

      The only way I see this thing taking off is if Emily Valentine is the star and the show is about a psycho girl that kills rich kids after befriending them… a black comedy/satirical take on the youths obsession with folks like Paris Hilton and their secret desire to watch bad things happen to them. Bad CW, bad…

      Ducky and GMMR Attend Paley 2008

      Finally, in a couple hours I’m on a flight to Los Angeles to attend the Paley fest with GMMR for the week. It should be a blast, I just can’t wait to get there and be done with the tension/anticipation of getting out there. It’s been such a crazy week so it will be nice to have all of that behind me.

      I’m hoping to watch LOST on the flight and fingers crossed there are no scenes from the Pilot episode recreated! Plus, I took advantage of my friend Amy’s BDay iTunes Gift Card and bought Season 1 of UGLY BETTY to watch while I’m away. I can’t wait! So excited to finally get into this show. I’ll keep you updated on Project Ugly Betty as Kath has Project Buffy!

      We’ll be doing regular (almost nightly) podcasts from Paley so there will be plenty of reasons to check back while I’m gone. It’s a working vacation of sorts, as I’ll be online most days doing my day job as well. Pictures of me all over Kyle Chandler, Lee Pace and Zac Levi - don’t you worry I’ll post them!

      Follow me on Twitter while I’m away for fun updates as well.

      Until I’m a little more slightly Left of center….

      Starbuck (BSG) Is The Top TV Character 2007-2008

      Hey gang, as a bunch of our favorite TV Shows are only a week or two (or 5 months) away from returning after their WGA Strike imposed hiatus, a handful of TV Bloggers got together to share their favorite characters currently on television.

      Below is a list of the Top 25 Characters of Television! Did your favorite make the cut? Share your Top 10 in the comments section below if you like!

      1. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)
      2. Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
      3. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
      4. Benjamin Linus (Lost)
      5. Dexter Morgan (Dexter)
      6. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
      7. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
      8. Dwight Schrute (The Office)
      9. Lily Rush (Cold Case)
      10. Omar Little (The Wire)

      11. Gaius Baltar (Battlestar Galactica)
      12. Olive Snook (Pushing Daisies)
      13. Shawn Spencer (Psych)
      14. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
      15. Dr. Juliet Burke (Lost)
      16. Michael Weston (Burn Notice)
      17. Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood)
      18. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
      19. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)
      20. Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer)
      21. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
      22. Ned “The Piemaker” (Pushing Daisies)
      23. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
      24. Stephanie Lane (My Boys)
      25. Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)

      Also receiving multiple votes: Desmond Hume (Lost), Major John Casey (Chuck), Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
      Voters: Dan, Ducky, Jo, Kate, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, TVFan, Vance