Access Atlanta > Entertainment > Radio Talk > Archives > 2008 > September > 25
Thursday, September 25, 2008
9/26: “Survivor: Gabon” recap with Marcus Lehman, “Office” recap
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gabon is in a real jungle. Monkeys, elephants, alliances, oh my!
Emory med school grad and physician Marcus Lehman (right) is part of Kota. This clearly looks like a stronger team, led by physics teacher Bob (58) vs. Fang, led by the oldest contestant Gillian, the 61-year-old nurse. While Jeff Probst teased that Lehman likes to remind folks he’s a doctor, when given a chance to say his job, he merely said he’s “in the medical field.” His triathlon background clearly comes into play since he’s the first one up the mountain and wins individual immunity.
Fashion photographer Ace is shaping up to be the arrogant one in the early going, not Marcus, who is linking up with Charlie, the attorney. Charlie has a serious crush on Marcus. The producers focus on their relationship. Marcus, who is not gay, doesn’t mind the attention but Charlie seems to understand that nothing will happen. Nonetheless, he’s still smitten and wants to be part of the “inner circle.” Marcus is clearly starting to create an alliance: Jackie, Corinne, Charlie and Marcus. Bob might be the loose fifth.
The Fang crew has no fangs. In fact, it has no leader. They tried to get JC to lead but he later decided he couldn’t do it. Nobody wanted to be the outright leader because they know from previous shows that early Type A leaders tended to get snuffed out. From that perspective, Marcus, while being a leader in Kota, is playing it smart by doing it with a level of subtlety.
UPDATE: “Survivor: Gabon” opened to the weakest ratings in the show’s history at 13 million. “Survivor: China” was at 14 million last spring. It’s hard to draw new fans to an aging show.
-And how did you like “The Office,” season four debut? I enjoyed it. These hour-long episodes always feel a wee bit too long in general and the “Biggest Loser” conceit (yes, Michael even calls them the “biggest losers.”) felt a bit tired by the end. But all in all, a solid B-plus episode.
Pam has a three-month internship with the Pratt Institute in New York City, leaving Jim to have to be “acquaintances” with his colleagues. I’m glad Jim finally proposed to Pam. It’s about time! Sure, it was at a Jersey rest stop in the rain but whatever works. My favorite moment was Pam doing a ridiculous “What up, 2-1-2?” using her fingers to pop out “two” and “one.”
Most of the regular players got a moment to shine. Holly calls Kevin “mentally challenged,” the running joke from last season’s finale and thinks she merely was being un-PC as opposed to being wrong. Creed gives what Kelly thinks is a tapeworm to help her lose weight. (It’s not, he notes). Stanley does the “black power” arm move at the end when he realizes he had lost 7 pounds. Ryan comes back after prison and Michael hires him to temp as Pam’s replacement. I loved his “hate” list for people who annoy him on his way back up to the top.
And then there was Angela and Dwight doing the nasty whenever Andy annoyed Angela, which was virtually every time he talked to her. They played that joke a wee bit too many times but it was amusing.
Random quote on the radio Friday morning:
“She puts some power in my pants.” — Larry Wachs on Rock 100.5, referencing WGCL’s Dagmar Midcap, who visited the studio. (Yes, this is yet another excuse to mention Dagmar Midcap.)
Condolences to “Southside” Steve Rickman, who’s father passed away this week, Wachs reported. And Eric Von Haessler was also dealing with an ailing relative.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment |
9/26: Former 99Xer Steve Barnes working on a local TV series
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Steve Barnes, former morning host at 99X and Dave FM, is working on a locally produced and shot TV series called “High Rise.”
Here are the details on the site:
Michael Damian (CBS-The Young & The Restless) and Steve Barnes to produce 20 episodes of a new series called “High Rise” to be shot in Atlanta. High Rise will have the feel of ABC’s Desperate Housewives and HBO’s Entourage featuring a story about characters living in one of Atlanta’s most elite properties. Casting will begin early October in Atlanta and shooting is slated to begin soon.
A demo video is available here.
There are no details of a network commitment or who’s funding this.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment |
9/25: Rashan Ali, Emperor Searcy moved out of mornings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In late August, Hot 107.9 got rid of Griff, Maria More and E4Real for budgetary reasons. Rumors at the time was that Rickey Smiley would become the syndicated morning show while Rashan Ali and Emperor Searcy would take over mid-days and afternoons, respectively.
But for the past three weeks, Rashan and Searcy have held the fort in the mornings as a shrunken A Team. Today, the Hot 107.9 Web site now has Rashan indeed doing middays and Emperor Searchy doing afternoons, where he used to work. The changes happen on Sept. 29.
This morning, Hot is merely running taped bits from Rashan and Searcy announcing their new gigs next week. But no word on the morning show! For Rashan, this would be a bit of a come down after working mornings for years, but at least she’s still got a job in tough economic times.
I checked last week with Smiley’s manager and he said a deal had not yet been signed, although Smiley’s syndicator is Radio One, the same owner as Hot 107.9. Smiley’s name is not on the Web site. There is no morning show listed at all. I’ll check in later this morning to see what is going on there and update this entry if I find out anything specific but I anticipate this is the big announcement the station is teasing this morning that will be made Friday at 8:30 a.m. Steve Hegwood, the operations manager at Radio One, declined to comment.
-Shaffee Abraham of Project 9-6-1’s morning show is one of three finalists to the the public announcer for Atlanta Thrashers’ games. He would replace Steve Craig, formerly of 99X and now in New York as mid-day DJ at WRXP-FM.
-I’m going to be following Marcus Lehman, an Emory Med School grad, on “Survivor.” Jeff Probst has already targeted him as a player in more ways than one. The latest season starts tonight at 8.
Here’s a story I wrote about him.
-“Dancing With the Stars” voters decided Ted McGinley was not worthy so he was the second to be booted Wednesday night despite a decent performance and higher judge scores than Cloris Leachman or Kim Kardashian. But given some thought, it’s not a surprise. Kardashian has an inexplicable following thanks to her reality show, getting the young un’s to text and vote. Leachman? Come on! She’s 82 years old and she’s still elegant and funny and ambulatory. How can you not vote for her at this stage?
