The Dixie Chicks Find Their Way Home
The country music industry has been in a quandary over what direction to head next -- well, they can find their answer in Home, the Dixie Chicks' new album.
The genre has been torn between traditional country (ie. O Brother Where Art Thou?) or new, pop-influenced, country (Faith Hill), which have both proved top sellers.
Now, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire have cut the perfect path.
They have not compromised and found a route down the middle, combining the best of both.
Recorded in a small Texas studio away from Nashville's influences and produced by the Chicks and Maines' father Lloyd Maines, Home is foremost a honest, from-the-heart record.
The Dixie Chicks have returned to their roots, which they so obviously love and admire, giving Home a more distinctive bluegrass mood than their previous two offerings. Robison and Maguire get to shine more than in the past and Maines stretches her vocals in new directions.
But this trio doesn't just respectfully revisit the old; they manage to give it a hip edge, making it "new country" without the baggage.
This is a musician's album, that still manages to welcome the average listener. Since the Chicks have earned superstar status, it's more likely radio will find a way to embrace Home.
* Long Time Gone (Darrell Scott): The first single is a perfect bridge between albums. It's as catchy as their previous hits, but introduces bluegrass and homey elements.
* Landslide (Stevie Nicks): Maines' voice was made for this remake and Robison's banjo makes the tune all Dixie Chick.
* Travelin' Soldier (Bruce Robison): Written by Emily's brother-in-law, this more acoustic song is particularly poignant in the post-Sept. 11 world.
* Truth #2 (Patty Griffin): Written by Griffin, an opening act on the Fly tour, this gutsy song grows on you with each listen.
* White Trash Wedding (Robison, Maguire, Maines): This silly little tune allows the Chicks and listeners to have fun.
* A Home (Maia Sharp, Randy Sharp): A stunner which explores the regret of a failed relationship and the empty home it has created.
* More Love (Tim O'Brien, Gary Nicholson): A more radio-friendly song from a bluegrass buddy.
* I Believe in Love (Maguire, Maines, Marty Stuart): This fantastic song has uplifting lyrics combined with haunting music.
* Tortured, Tangled Hearts (Maines, Maguire, Stuart): Bluegrass rules in this definite hit.
* Lil' Jack Slade (Robison, Maguire, Lloyd Maines, Teri Hendrix): An instrumental allowing Maguire and Robison to really strut their stuff. Named for Maines' son Jackson Slade.
* Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) (Radney Foster): This beautiful remake gets a power boost from Maines and Robison who are both in "mommy mode." And when you listen to it knowing Foster wrote it for his three-year-old son who was moving away, it will truly bring tears to your eyes.
* Top of the World (Griffin): Perhaps the Chicks' biggest departure -- it is emotional, but not as accessible as the rest of the CD.
Tom Cavanagh to Guest Star on 'Scrubs'
"Ed" star Tom Cavanagh and "Scrubs" lead Zach Braff bear a strong resemblance to one another. You could say they look enough alike to be brothers.
The producers of "Scrubs" must have thought so too, because Cavanagh will play Braff's older brother in an episode of the show this fall.
The Halloween-themed episode will air Thursday, Oct. 31. Cavanagh's character will pay a visit to J.D. (Braff) at the hospital where J.D. works as a second-year resident. Braff's TV family also includes John Ritter (ABC's "8 Simple Rules" ), who played J.D.'s dad in an episode last season.
Cavanagh returns for "Ed's" third season on Oct. 2, where Ed is presumably still pining for Carol Vessey (Julie Bowen) while insisting he's not.
Miller's 'Live' Is Over
After Friday, Aug. 30, "Dennis Miller Live" will live no more.
The nine-year-old HBO series ends its 215-episode run with a visit from actor Vince Vaughn. The "Swingers" star will discuss "Confidence" with Miller.
Each episode of the series opened with a monologue by Miller, a rant about the week's topic, a live chat with a guest, viewer call-ins and a wrap-up of the week's events. Past guests included celebrities like Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Jerry Seinfeld. The show also featured political figures like Bill Bradley, Joycelyn Elders and Ann Richards.
"Dennis Miller Live" was the first of what would be several HBO series to win an Emmy. The show has won five awards since its April 1994 debut.
Miller is looking toward the future now that "Live" is ending. "It's been a great run, and now I’m ready to try something new," he says.
The final episode airs on Friday, Aug. 30 on HBO at 11:30 p.m. ET, and in Canada at 9:30 EST on Tuesday, September 2nd.
ABC Greenlights A 'Romy and Michele's High School Reunion' Prequel
ABC has greenlit a two-hour TV movie prequel to the 1997 feature film "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."
The project, tentatively "Romy and Michele: Behind the Velvet Rope," takes place in the early 1990s, before the events depicted in the feature, which starred Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow. The TV movie follows the best friends as they head to Hollywood after graduating from high school.
The picture could also serve as a backdoor pilot leading to a series.
Cast and shooting location are to be determined, though a premiere on ABC is likely sometime this coming TV season.
Senator to Seek Justice on 'Law & Order'
It's official. Retiring Republican Senator Fred Thompson is returning to acting this fall, playing a conservative district attorney on NBC's long-running series "Law & Order," producers said on Tuesday.
Thompson, 60, who announced earlier this year that he will leave the Senate when his term expires in January, will become the first member of Congress to appear as a TV show regular while still in office.
The 13th season of "Law & Order," currently the longest- running show on TV, premieres Oct. 2, with Thompson joining the cast as the newly elected New York City district attorney.
Thompson's character replaces interim D.A. Nora Lewin, played for two seasons by Dianne Wiest, who will not return to the show. She took over for Steven Hill, who had portrayed D.A. Adam Schiff since the series debut in 1990 and was the last original cast member to leave the series.
The election of Thompson's character is "definitely a reaction to 9/11," said Michael Chernuchin, an executive producer of the series. "His political leanings are a little more to the right than former D.A.s on the show. He is a 'strict constructionist.' That is, for him, the Constitution is what it says and it is nothing more."
Thompson also will appear occasionally on two spin-off series, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," according to Universal Television, a unit of Vivendi Universal .
The ripped-from-the-headlines drama about New York City police detectives and prosecutors ranked last season as the fifth-highest rated series on U.S. television. The show, from veteran producer Dick Wolf, has garnered a record 11 straight Emmy nominations as best drama series, winning the coveted award in 1997.
Thompson, who once said life in Washington made him "long for the sincerity and realism of Hollywood," announced in March he would not seek re-election this year because he "simply did not have the heart for another six-year term."
The Tennessee Republican, who previously served as a federal prosecutor and Senate Watergate counsel, won a special election to a two-year Senate term in 1994. He won a full six-year term in 1996.
Before his Senate career, Thompson appeared in more than a dozen Hollywood films, including "In the Line of Fire," "Die Hard 2" and "The Hunt for Red October."
Several lawmakers on Capitol Hill found fame on television before serving in Congress, including the late Sonny Bono, Fred Grandy, who played Gopher on "The Love Boat," and Ben Jones, who was Cooter on "The Dukes of Hazzard." And many incumbent politicians have made guest appearances on TV shows over the years.