LOCAL TV: SM mother competes with top moms
By ANN ZIVOTKSY - For the North County Times | ∞
OK, so Carly Smithson was booted from "American Idol" a few weeks ago, but there's that whole thing about nature abhorring a vacuum, so there are more San Diegans to take her place on television.
San Marcos mom Lisa Druxman has two children and a thriving enterprise ---- Stroller Strides, which offers fitness classes for moms in almost 700 locations in the United States and Canada. She's also one of the semifinalists for "Teleflora Presents America's Favorite Mom," airing Sunday night on NBC.
Druxman, who was featured on the "Today Show" this past Tuesday, is nominated in the "working moms" category. Since she was notified of her selection as a semifinalist, the pace to prepare for the show has been fast.
"It's been such a whirlwind, I can't tell you if it's been two weeks or two months," Druxman said during a telephone interview earlier this week from New York, where she was preparing for her appearance on "Today." She'll find out Friday whether she's heading to Los Angeles this weekend to tape the Sunday night show.
The other categories are military moms, single moms, non-mom moms and chairman-of-everything moms. Voting takes place this week at nbc.com. The mothers with the most votes will appear on the show.
"Teleflora Presents America's Favorite Mom," hosted by Donnie and Marie Osmond, airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on KNSD/Channel 39.
San Diego residents who want their own time on television, and are willing to
admit they need some help with their own parenting skills, can audition for
"Super Nanny" on Saturday in San Diego. Applications are available at
supernanny.us.com. The casting call is from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Mor Furniture for Less, 6965 Consolidated Way in San Diego. Call
(877) 626-6984 or e-mail supernanny@ricochettelevision.com.
Finally, Escondido resident and Solana Beach dog groomer Kathleen Sepulveda continues to stay in the mix on Animal Planet's "Groomer Has It," which airs at 9 p.m. Saturdays.
It may be "Tougher in Alaska," but that doesn't make it more interesting.
The new History Channel program glances at the history of the state, but spends more
time looking at modern-day aspects of life in Alaska, from gold mining to
salmon fishing to logging. Hosted by Geo Beach, "Tougher in Alaska" is
predictable in what it shows ---- except it's interesting to see whether the
6-foot-3, 225-pound Beach can climb into the little planes and trucks that he
has to use to travel around Alaska.
The series launches at 10 p.m. Thursday and may make you yearn for the days when History actually showed programs about history, and not tough guys in Alaska, ax men in the Pacific Northwest or modern machines.
If you're more than 40, there's not much new in "Sex: The Revolution," but it's still interesting to see the broad spectrum of people they interview for this
four-part look at the social changes that took place from the 1950s through
today.
Beginning in that early decade, when sex was rarely discussed, Alfred Kinsey
released the study "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male," and suddenly people
were looking at statistical evidence suggesting that the myths about American sexuality ---- good girls waited, and it only happened between married couples --- didn't match the facts. "Sex: The Revolution" traces that report to Hugh Hefner's Playboy and Helen Gurley Brown's "Sex and the Single Girl," through Erica Jong's "Fear of Flying."
"Sex: The Revolution" does a commendable job of showing the conflicting aspects of the changes in America during the last half century. While Hefner believed he was freeing people from sexual repression, feminists argued that he was subjecting women to oppression. When the birth control pill was released in 1960, it enabled women to take more control of their bodies and lives. Bette Midler honed her craft by bravely agreeing to perform at the Continental Baths, a gay club in New York, but when her show became popular with a heterosexual audience, it drove gay men out of the club.
From research to pornography, from magazines to social movements, "Sex: The Revolution" manages to cover it all in a thorough way, and with interviews with some of the most influential people of the revolution. The four parts air at 10 p.m. Monday through May 15 on VH-1. An uncensored version of the series will air at midnight May 19 to 20 on the Sundance Channel.
-- His death didn't receive much notice, so fans of "Monk" may not realize that Stanley Kamel, who played therapist Dr. Charles Kroger, died last month of a heart attack. USA Network recently announced that Hector Elizondo ("Chicago Hope," "Pretty Woman") will join the cast as a new therapist for Monk when the show begins a new season July 18 on USA.
-- Showtime has renewed "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union" for a second season, and Lifetime has announced that Harry Connick Jr. will star as Dr. Denny Slamon, who invented the breast cancer drug Herceptin 2, in the movie "Living Proof." The film is scheduled to air in October.
-- Tired of watching young men choose between young women ("kittens") and older women ("cougars")? TV Land is going to help out by airing a new program in which a cougar picks among several young men. The untitled show is scheduled to air in 2009.
-- "Road Trip With Huell Howser" (8 p.m. Thursday, KPBS/Channel 15) ---- A trip along Coast Highway begins in Oceanside and travels to the Del Mar racetrack, Torrey Pines State Reserve and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla.
-- "Scrubs" and "30 Rock" (8:30 and 9 p.m. Thursday, KNSD) ---- It's the end of the line for the hospital comedy on NBC, which ends its run with a fairy tale-themed show. It's not code blue, though, for "Scrubs"; ABC's picked it up for the 2008-09 season. And Liz Lemon ponders whether she's pregnant in the season finale of "30 Rock." What a coincidence that Tina Fey (Lemon) is starring in the new movie, "Baby Mama."
-- "American Gladiators" (8 p.m. Monday, KNSD) ---- This is the show that won't go away. Once a syndicated show from 1989 to 1996, the competition returns for its second season this year.
-- Several shows end their seasons this week: "Survivor" (8 p.m. Sunday, KFMB/Channel 8), "Brothers and Sisters" (10 p.m. Sunday, KGTV/Channel 10), "Medium" (10 p.m. Monday, KNSD) and "Law & Order: SVU" (10 p.m. Tuesday, KNSD).
Ann Zivotsky writes about television for the North County Times. Contact her at nctimestv@cox.net.
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