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Jonathan Storm: 'Daisies' outdoes the other shows
By Jonathan Storm
Inquirer Television Critic
Jul 23, 2008
The Inquirer's Jonathan Storm is reporting this week from the television critics press tour in Beverly Hills. These items originally appeared in his blog, "From the Source," at www.philly.com/philly/blogs/from_the_source . Pushing Daisies: A Delightful Trip. ABC snagged 76 Emmy nominations last week, the most of any broadcast network by far.
Pushing Daisies , ABC's freshman dramacom, snagged 12, five more than any other one-hour broadcast series, yet the network wasn't doing a whole lot of promotion for it.
I talked to director Barry Sonnenfeld, who's done features like Men in Black and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events , in addition to a bunch of fantastical, if not always ratings-successful, TV shows, including The Tick and Maximum Bob .
Sonnenfeld is a funny, unassuming man, not what you'd expect from a big-shot director. He seemed not to know that he had been nominated for a directing Emmy for Daisies . And he had no idea how much further ahead of other ABC shows it was in the Emmy nom race.
But he does know how to direct his actors, two of whom are going for Emmys, Lee Pace as lead actor in a comedy, and tiny, yet voluptuous Kristin Chenoweth as supporting comedy actress.
Pace plays a baker with the power to bring people back to life. Chenoweth plays a waitress at his restaurant, jealous of his abiding love for a woman named Chuck whom he has resurrected, played by Anna Friel. Chi McBride ( Boston Public , House ) is the venal private eye trying to make money off the baker's gift.
"Oh, it's not very hard really," said Sonnenfeld, who has explained that he gets the show's amazing visual palette just by "turning the color dial up to 11."
"I just tell Lee to smile less. I tell Anna to embrace the karma that is Chuck, Chi to be less funny and Kristin to bump up her cleavage."
Soar, Eagles, Soar. So, John Madden, with your 14 Emmys and chance Feb. 1 to complete the Super Bowl sweep as analyst for ABC, CBS, Fox and now NBC: Do you like the Eagles this year?
"I always like the Eagles, every year," Madden said. "Unfortunately, they're playing in the best division in football."
The Giants are Madden's official pick to win the Super Bowl, at least at the moment, a brave prognostication for a team that some people (most of them from Philadelphia and Dallas) figure could finish third or even fourth in the NFC East.
None of Madden's NBC buddies, including Al Michaels in the Sunday Night Football booth, and new hire Dan Patrick, teamed once again with Keith Olbermann in a reuniting of the legendary ESPN duo, made a public prediction when they faced the TV critics. But who cares about them. What about the Eagles?
"Donovan McNabb needs to play and stay healthy," said Madden. (I could have come up that, and I don't get $10 million a year, or whatever.) "He's such an outstanding quarterback, and he's really never had a premier wide receiver, except Terrell Owens."
Now I'm really suspicious of Madden's expertise.
Can the Eagles go all the way? "Hell, yes. They're tough. No one really likes to play the Eagles."
But what about the knocks in Philly against head coach Andy Reid?
"If there are any knocks, it's bull. He's one of the best coaches in the NFL."
To comment on this article, go to: http://go.philly.com/askstorm . Contact television critic Jonathan Storm at 215-854-5618 or jstorm@phillynews.com .
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