Coming up Wednesday
Exploring the waters and life near Chernobyl – 'River Monsters' host Jeremy Wade on his latest show
The author of "River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't Get Away" is back with some new scary fish tales for the fifth season of his popular Animal Planet series "River Monsters."
This season, Jeremy Wade is upping the ante in his mission to find the world's most mysterious and dangerous fish. His exploration includes the search for a mutant fish in Chernobyl’s nuclear wastelands. This morning Wade joins “Starting Point” to discuss the treacherous new heights of adventure.
As he explored Chernobyl’s nuclear wastelands, Wade says he was “very concerned” about the radiation levels and therefore consulted several experts beforehand. He says he and his team were told there was a total limit that they could not exceed and were limited to five consecutive days in the region.
"I had an alarm that told me if [the radiation] was particularly high," Wade says. "Some places if I stood there for say an hour, I would have exceeded my dose. I would have had to go out.” Wade says the region is still an excluded zone for which you need permission to get in and unlike anywhere that he had ever visited.
“The scientists actually wanted a fish that he could study because it hasn't been done,” says Wade. Wade says viewers should expect a dramatic ending to the program during the season finale.
Viewers can catch next week's episode of "River Monsters" in the waters near Chernobyl on Sunday at 9PM ET on Animal Planet.
ABC's 'Castle' celebrates 100th episode – Actress Stana Katic reveals secrets to the show's success
On ABC's hit show “Castle,” actress Stana Katic plays detective Kate Beckett who investigates crimes in New York with novelist Richard Castle, portrayed by Nathan Fillion. The show focuses on the romantic tension between the two and their passion for solving crimes.
Actress Stana Katic joins “Starting Point” to discuss the hit series and the recent celebration of its 100th episode.
When the show first began “we were starting off and just trying to make it through our days,” says Katic. “We work many long hours… but that was it you just kind of make it one step at a time and then all of sudden we turn to a few weeks ago and it’s oh wow we’re filming the 100th episode.”
Katic says when the network first saw the pilot for the show, executives asked that the romantic relations between Katic and Fillion’s characters be pulled back some because “they look like they’re about to get together in episode two.”
"I think that bounce and that chemistry was there from the start. Otherwise I don’t know that we would have had a show,” she says.
“It’s been really fun kind of navigating what does it mean to work together and be in a relationship… it also plays into kind of the comedy and drama of this story because it’s not easy and the two characters have a point of view and most times the point of view is on opposite ends,” Katic adds.
ABC aired the 100th episode of "Castle" Monday, April 1 on ABC. You can also catch the latest episode on abc.go.com.
The 'Real Housewives' of medicine? 'Married to Medicine' star Quad Webb-Lunceford on the fascination with doctors
What do you get when you take the "Real Housewives" and mix it with a spoonful of medicine? Try the new Bravo reality TV show "Married to Medicine."
The show follows six Atlanta women: two women are doctors, and four of them are doctor's wives. One of the cast members, Quad Webb-Lunceford, is a psychiatrist's wife who feels like she is being bullied by the other women. This morning, she joins John and Brooke on “Starting Point” to discuss her new reality show about the battles of women in and around medicine.
Webb-Lunceford, who works as a medical sales representative, says the series premiere garnered almost 2 million viewers because “people are infatuated with medicine.” She adds that scripted shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “General Hospital” had viewers glued to the television but her unscripted show offers a new fiery element in the world of reality TV.
Regarding public criticism, Webb-Lunceford says her husband was nervous at first but after thoroughly discussing the reality show they were able to move forward.
Viewers can watch “Married to Medicine” every Sunday night on Bravo at 9/8c.
Celebrity stylist Brad Goreski dishes on the second season of his reality show
Rachel Zoe's former assistant Brad Goreski now has his own show documenting his life as a stylist to the stars. Season two of "It's A Brad Brad World" debuts Wednesday night on Bravo.
Goreski says the stress of being an assistant is different from the stress of being a boss because “when you’re an assistant you’re executing the wishes of your boss.” He adds, “I try now with my assistants to be aware of the amount of work I’m giving them.”
This season Goreski says focuses on him working with his clients and “the nitty gritty of the styling world” as well as his life with his boyfriend Gary Janetti.
Regarding the Oscars Goreski says “the fact that [Anne Hathaway’s] dress is overshadowing her great performance is a little upsetting.” Goreski say he wishes “everybody just release Anne Hathaway and just let her enjoy all of her accolades.”
The second season of "It's A Brad Brad World" premieres Wednesday at 10pm eastern on Bravo.
'The Walking Dead' actor David Morrissey on premiere of upcoming season 3 second half
More than 10 million viewers watched the season three premiere of AMC's "The Walking Dead." The show was also one of the biggest of the fall season with younger audiences; beating all broadcast and cable entertainment series, including “The Voice”, “Modern Family”, “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
The hit series chronicles groups of survivors in a world overrun by zombies. Actor David Morrissey plays "The Governor”, a Jim Jones cult-like figure leading some of the survivors to what he claims is a safe and secure location away from the walkers. This morning Morrissey joins “Starting Point” to discuss the show’s success and the second half of season 3 set to premiere in February.
Morrissey says he believes the show popularity is based on its ability to encourage people "to imagine what its like to be in a place of that type of danger...we like to be scared.” He adds that the show is bigger than the zombies because it also shows what humans will go through to survive in times of crisis.
"The Governor” is “somebody who’s trying to protect his people,” says Morrissey. He adds that his character realizes that all safety comes at a cost and therefore “manipulates his people by always telling them how dangerous it is out there.”
Morrissey says the heat and the humidity are the hardest to deal with on set. He adds, “You’re working sometimes 14 and 16 hour days and its very hot down there. Even at night time it can be very very hot.”
“The Walking Dead” returns on AMC Sunday February 10th at 9pm EST.
Angela ‘Big Ang’ Raiola and Ramona Rizzo dish on the upcoming “Mob Wives” season and fights
Gangsters, snitches, blood feuds and offers that can not be refused are all part of a normal day for VH1's "Mob Wives." The show, which will begin its third season this month, follows six Staten Island women after their husbands or fathers are arrested and imprisoned for crimes connected to the mob. This morning Angela "Big Ang" Raiola, known as “the Godmother” of the group, and Ramona Rizzo, granddaughter of former mobster Benjamin “Lefty Guns,” join “Starting Point” to talk about the upcoming season and battles with cast mates.
Rizzo says “Mob Wives,” a docu-soap series, is “about the struggle that women go through for either relatives, men, people that they know that are incarcerated and...the other side...the family side of how we have to handle it on a day-by-day situation.”
Rizzo, who shares a similar mafia upbringing with two of her cast mates, says the show is very real. “Its on Twitter, it’s in the neighborhood. It’s awful right now. Things are bad,” she says.
Rizzo says the fights sometime depend on the subject and how passionate you are about it. "If it doesn’t happen to that the ratings go down,” she says. On the other hand, Rizzo says “when we really want to kill each other – which is real, the ratings go high.”
Raiola and Rizzo say the show is not about spilling mob secrets. Rizzo says it’s a focus on them because “we’re talking about our business [and] how it affects us.” She adds, “I’m not telling anybody’s deep dark secrets. You’re not going to call me up ‘Hey Ramona do you know where a body is?” I don’t know that. I’m a girl in this family so that’s not none of my business.”
While Rizzo says her family hates her participation in the show, Raiola, niece of Salvatore "Sally Dogs" Lombardi, a deceased captain of the Genovese crime family says her family is “all for it.” She explains her aunt, Lombardi’s wife “said it was ok and I went with it.”
Raiola says the show’s popularity has changed her life and her bar is now a tourist trap. “Everywhere I go its out of control,” says Raiola. Rizzo says, “people are always looking for you.” Ultimately Raiola says the new fame is “cool.”
Will Lance Armstrong admit to doping during his 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey?
Many people are sitting on pins and needles as they wait to see if Lance Armstrong will admit to doping when he sits down to talk to Oprah next week. The former cycling superstar is doing his first interview since he was stripped of seven Tour De France titles and banned from cycling for life. This morning host of CNN's Reliable Sources and Washington Bureau Chief at Newsweek- Daily Beast Howard Kurtz and Daily Beast contributor and Editor in Chief of the Daily Download Lauren Ashburn join “Starting Point” to discuss whether they think Armstrong will use that interview to admit he took performance-enhancing drugs for years.
Ashburn says that while she believes Armstrong will confess to doping during his interview with Oprah, the talk show queen no longer has the cultural clout she used to have. Kurtz agrees but says, “she is still Oprah Winfrey and … [Armstrong] sees that he has to go to the “church of Oprah” and seek absolution.” Ashburn says she is looking forward to seeing Armstrong “sit there for and hour and a half and seeing his body language [and] what his eyes look like.” “This interview could be as important for Oprah Winfrey in trying to get back on the cultural map as it will be for Lance Armstrong,” says Kurtz.
Big game hunting adventure show returns Sunday; "MeatEater" host, author Steve Rinella & "The 4-Hour Chef" author Tim Ferriss on season 3 premiere
If you consider yourself a hardcore "MeatEater", “Starting Point” guests Timothy Ferriss and Steve Rinella might just put you to shame. Steve Rinella is author of "MeatEater" and host of the Sportsman Channel show by the same name. Rinella is an experienced outdoorsman and hunter who loves to take a walk on the wild side. His show is all about big adventure, big game hunting and big meals. The third season of “MeatEater” premieres this Sunday on the Sportsman Channel.
Timothy Ferriss is the author of the best-selling book, “The 4-Hour Chef”. Ferriss appears on the show to travel with Rinella to the remotest corner of Alaska to catch caribou in Sunday's episode. Both of them come to the studio with a taste of their adventure. They even bring caribou jerky and squirrel ragout on Rinella’s wedding China for the anchors to eat.
Author and TV critic Alan Sepinwall on how the past 15 years of TV have transformed TV viewing
On Thursday, the nominees for the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced and like any year there are some surprises and snubs. This morning TV critic and blogger Alan Sepinwall, of "What's Alan Watching" joins “Starting Point” to weigh in on some of the best Television shows and how the past 15 years of TV have transformed TV viewing. Sepinwall is also the author of a new book titled "The Revolution Was Televised."
Sepinwall says, “The TV dramas on cable in particular over the last 15 years have replaced the kinds of movies that adults used expect to see.” He adds, “Now the movies are just blockbusters and really really low budget art films and not a whole lot in between.” As a result Sepinwall says viewers who are looking to indulge themselves in serious dramas will most likely look to HBO, FX, AMC and SHOWTIME.
When it comes to broadcast shows like “Lost”, “Friday Night Lights” and “24”, Sepinwall says “the threshold is higher and you have to attract a certain audience.” He adds that “Lone Star” was “FOX’s attempt to do an AMC style show’ but was cancelled after two episodes because it lacked the appropriate amount of viewers.
When asked what show he would chose for the best television series of all time, Sepinwall says, “it was either ‘The Sopranos or The Wire.’” Sepinwall says “The Sopranos” ending was “certainly talked about the most of any television series ever.”
With more and more viewers navigating towards watching their favorite TV shows online, Sepinwall says one drawback is that networks and other TV facets might not have the money to produce these kinds of shows. On the other hand, he says newer businesses like Netflix are starting to produce their own shows which is “their attempt to be the next HBO.”
Latest Videos
