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Archive 2003
 On
Friday the last business day of our fun filled trip to California was a busy
one. We started out at 11:00 a.m. going into Los Angeles to the offices of Aaron
Spelling to present the Viewers Voice Founders Award to Brenda Hampton,
executive producer and creator of “7th Heaven.” I was especially
looking forward to meeting Ms. Hampton again; she is one of the nicest ladies
I’ve met in television.
When we arrived at the
Spelling office building we took the elevator up to Ms. Hampton’s office where
we were going to meet up with Theodore Sonfianrdes, the publicist for “7th
Heaven.” Theo is another old friend of ours, I’ve talked to him many times on
the phone and it seems like I’ve known him forever. He’s the type of young man
you can’t help but like and I will always be grateful for the way he’s treated
Viewers Voice. When we got off the elevator the receptionist was no where to be
seen, which was unusual since security is so tight in the building. We took a
seat and waited. I didn’t want Theo to think we were late for our meeting so I
called him and informed him where we were. He came directly over to where we
were and apologized for the inconvenience. I guess the receptionist was on a
break.
(Click here for the full story)
December 7, 2003
 The
fourth day of our trip to Studio City, California was an interesting one. In the
morning some of our members went over to try and get on the set of “The Price
is Right,” three members went over to the set of Fox’s, “That 70’s Show” and
five members and I went to do an interview with the creator of the new ABC
series “10-8.”
“The Price is Right” was
already booked solid, so unfortunately after getting up at the “crack of dawn”
and waiting in line for hours, two of our board members, Joe Strzyzewski and
Laurie Muffler and member Jody Lane came back to our hotel disappointed. I guess
they were only like three people away from getting in. We have never had a
reason to work with the game shows so they had to just go and take their chances
like everyone else. The sitcoms work the same way, even with tickets you wait in
line for hours and then you’re never promised you’ll get in. That’s why it’s so
nice being a member of Viewers Voice, we always get VIP treatment, never have to
wait in line and the seats are always excellent.
(Click here for the full story)
November 23, 2003
 In
my last column I wrote about our trip over to the NBC family drama “American
Dreams” (Sunday, 7:00-8-00 p.m., CST), but what I didn’t mention was while most
of our members were over at the Gower Studio in Hollywood, I sent two of our
board members over to the Paramount Studios. Joe Strtzewski from Milwaukee and
Jon Krieger from Colorado received a great tour of the sets of “The Enterprise.”
This is the second year that we had Viewers Voice members given that privilege
to a set that is usually closed to visitors. One of the gentlemen will be
writing their story on their adventure and it will be posted on our Viewers
Voice web site in the near future. So if you’re a fan of “The Enterprise” go
over to viewersvoice.org and read all about the fun their experience behind the
scenes of this popular sci-fi series.
(Click here for the full story)
November 16, 2003
 One
thing about waking up in the morning in Studio City, California, in October,
you’re never sure what the day is going to be like until the smog lifts. I’ve
been here in October when the San Ana’s came in and the temperatures were 103
degrees. On the third day of our trip, a Wednesday morning, I opened the patio
doors of our hotel room to see what the weather was like and was surprised to
feel cool air greet me. We were going over to the sets of “American Dreams” at
Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood and would be outside most of the time, so I
wanted to make sure I dressed appropriately. A short sleeve shirt with a
pullover sweater seemed to be a good choice for the day.
(Click here for the full story)
November 9, 2003
 When
I go out to California I always like to go to a TV show that I watch and really
enjoy and this year it was “Strong Medicine” which is on the Lifetime Network on
Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m., CST. The show is a one-hour medical drama that deals
with intense emotional stories and tackles realistic medical cases with both
sensitivity and raw originality. The series stars Patricia Richardson (“Home
Improvement”) as Dr. Andy Campbell and Rosa Biasi (“The Bold and the Beautiful”)
as Dr. Luisa Delgado.
(Click here for the full story)
November 2, 2003
 Viewers
Voice member, Rollie Krieger, my husband Jim and I left very early for
California on a cool Monday morning, although the forecast for Milwaukee for the
week was for Indian summer type weather; in the high seventies. The flight to
L.A. on Midway Express was very smooth, but the hospitality of the airline has
changed considerably. Now you have to pay extra for your meal which wasn’t that
great and the chocolate chip cookies are no longer offered for breakfast. My
husband and I used to fly Midwest just for their great meals and because they
had a direct flight into L.A.X. Next trip we’ll probably try a different
airline and go for the cheaper rate.
(Click here for the full story)
October 19, 2003
 Our
Viewers Voice Awards were announced last week and ABC’s “8 Simples Rules… For
Dating My Teenage Daughter” won for Favorite Half-Hour Primetime Show and John
Ritter won for Favorite Actor in a Comedy Series. The night I talked to a lady
in production at Touchstone Television, where the show is taped, about going
over to the set of “8 Simple Rules” to present the awards, John Ritter died. I
can’t express enough how bad I felt the next morning when I turned on my TV set
and heard the news. I was shocked; he must have taken ill on the set shortly
after I hung up the phone. We talked around 7:00 p.m. and John died shortly
after 10:00 p.m. He underwent surgery for a tear in his aorta, a rare medical
condition that can hit without warning.
(Click here for the full story)
September 20, 2003
 By
now everyone in the Milwaukee area has heard about the movie “Mr. 3,000” being
filmed at Miller Park, starring Bernie Mac. The really fun part is that they are
using Milwaukee residents as extras. On the 18th and 19th
of July they asked for volunteers to come to Miller Park and participate to fill
the background as fans for their baseball scenes. Both nights they had over
25,000 enthusiastic fans turn out; more that actually turn out for the majority
of Brewer games. To me that’s a little sad.
(Click here for the full story)
August 2, 2003
 I
said this numerous of times in my column, some of the best TV is on the cable
networks. I know many of my elder readers don’t have cable and they claim
they’re not interested because of all the violence and sex that appears on
cable. My answer to that is: you have a choice and a remote; you watch only what
you want to watch. For many the reason also is a matter of money and that I can
understand, it’s not cheap and that pretty much leaves them at the mercy of free
TV.
My favorite cable network is
the Lifetime network which is considered the leader in women’s television and
has been the number one cable television network in primetime for the last two
years. On Sundays “The Division” (8:00-9:00 p.m., CST) starring Nancy McKean and
“Strong Medicine” starring Patricia Richardson (9:00-10:00 p.m., CST) are two of
my favorite drama series. Starting Saturday, August 2, 2003, Lifetime will add
two more original drama series; “Wild Card” (8:00-9:00 p.m., CST) and
“1-800-MISSING” (9:00-10:00 p.m., CST). Lifetime sent me the two press tapes to
view and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.
(Click here for the full story)
July 26, 2003
 NBC
has announced their new primetime schedule for 2003-04, adding three new
comedies and three new dramas in their line-up, along with some big name stars;
Alicia
Silverstone, Rob Lowe,
Whoopi Goldberg, Ryan O’Neal, John Laroquette, Christine Baranski, and James
Cann. Not bad for a network that already has some of the most popular television
shows on the air and has been the number one network among 18-29-year olds three
consecutive years and seven of the last eight.
(Click here for the full story)
June 7, 2003
The
CBS Network has always been a favorite of mine because they don’t put as much
emphasis on the younger demographics as the other networks. CBS also has some of
the best dramas on television and I’ve always favored dramas over comedies. This
season their fall lineup is heavy on drama series. This is my personal opinion
and I’m sure many of my younger members wouldn’t agree with me.
Stars coming to CBS this fall season include Mark Harmon, Charlie Sheen, Randy
Quaid, Joe Mantegna, Mary Steenburgen, Joe Pantoliano, Jon Cryer, Blythe Danner,
Judith Light, Robert Klein, Elizabeth McGovern and Mare Winningham.
(Click here for the full story) July 5, 2003
 The
ABC Network will be introducing four new comedies and three new dramas in the
new TV season that will premiere in September. They are working hard to make a
come back and trying hard to work on the momentum of their returning series. ABC
is bringing back their entire lineup of comedies, including “8 Simple Rules for
Dating My Teenage Daughter” and “According to Jim,” making them the home to 10
comedies next season; more than any of the other networks.
June 14, 2003
(Click here for the Full Story)
 The
best part about going to California for Viewers Voice is going on the sets of
television shows. Our last trip in March we went over to the sets of three
quality TV drama series. I’ve already wrote about going over to “The Guardian”
in a previous column and now I’d like to tell you about another series we went
too; “American Dreams” which airs on Sundays at 7:00-8:00 p.m., CST on NBC.
April 13, 2003
(Click here for the Full Story)
 Are
you ready for the April/May sweeps, because there’s some excellent television
programming coming your way. I’m especially excited because a show that Viewers
Voice once named their Favorite New Show of the 1996-97 seasons is going to be
celebrating their 150 episode on Monday, April 21st at 7:00 – 8:00
p.m., CST. “7th Heaven” has been The WB and Spelling Television’s highest rated
series and even in its seventh season, is showing no signs of slowing down. The
really good news is it has been renewed for another two seasons.
April 20, 2003
(Click here for the Full Story)
 At
our Viewers Voice Conference last October we went over to a taping of “According
to Jim” (Tuesday, 7:30-8:00 P.M., EST) an ABC primetime half-hour comedy. We
usually go to a taping on the Friday night of our conference, but this year we
were going over to present awards to Jim Belushi and Courtney Thorne Smith for
Favorite actor and actress in a primetime half hour comedy.
(Click here for the Full Story)
 Leaving
Milwaukee and going to Los Angeles becomes more of an adventure every time we
go. The security at Mitchell Airport has definitely been beefed up. Right before
going through the security check point there were long lines of people just to
get their boarding passes. My husband Jim and I had electronic tickets so we got
to avoid the long wait in line. Then going through security was a nightmare and
naturally I was one of the people the alarm singled out. Turned out I forgot I
had my metal pill box in my jacket and that set the alarm off. I’m really not
complaining it was a comfort to know they were being so thorough.
March 22, 2003
(Click here for the Full Story)
 Our Viewers Voice Awards Banquet
last October had a very unusual guest attend; Breezy more popularly known as
Porthos the dog on UPN’s “The Enterprise.” She was a big hit not only among our
members but also among our guests. Breezy was one of the first to arrive at the
awards event and was given a royal welcome. I don’t think there was one person
attending that didn’t go over and greet her. She was accompanied by her trainers
Scott and Linda Rowe who reside in the Los Angeles
(Click here for the Full Story)
January 25, 2003
 At our Viewers Voice Conference
last October we had a luncheon for the kids in the entertainment business. At
that event we had a special awards ceremony emphasizing excellence for work done
by outstanding young actors.
(Click here for the Full Story)
NEW ADDITION TO RHODE FAMILY
A new Viewers
Voice member made his debut into the world on December 8, 2002, at 6lbs 12 oz.;
Christopher James Rhode, son of Viewers Voice board member and web master, Dan
Rhode and his wife Stacy. Grandma Sharon Rhode says he’s the cutest baby you’ll
ever see and of course she’s not the least bit prejudice. Chris joins six other
Rhode grandchildren, three girls: Kristi, Alli and Kelly and three boys: Andy,
Doug and Skye. Since Chris has is the tie breaker, I guess Dan and Stacy will
have to have another baby to make the odds even again.
 The Viewers Voice Conference that
took place in October has a luncheon that is dedicated to the young performers
of the entertainment business. Every year it gets bigger and bigger and this
year we had to move to another area of the Sportsmen’s Lodge, the Evergreen
Gardens to accommodate all the young performers that attended. The event took
place in back of The Sportsmen’s Lodge where the ducks and swans reside. It was
an excellent area for the kids to let loose and have some fun.
(Click here for the Full Story)
 Our
Viewers Voice Awards Banquet this year was supposed to be a celebration of a
fantastic family show: “State of Grace.” Instead it turned out to be a very sad
occasion, thanks to ABC Family canceling this well done series. “State of Grace”
won the Viewers Voice Award for Favorite Half Hour Show, Favorite Supporting
Actress and Actor and Favorite Child Performer.
(Click here for the Full Story)
 The
Viewers Voice Awards Banquet was one our members will always remember. We had in
attendance the majority of the cast from the ABC Family series “State of Grace”
along with the creators of the show Hollis Rich and Brenda Lilly. The evening
was fun but it was also very disturbing.
(Click here for the full story)
Halloween is over, but do I have a supernatural series for
all you sci-fi fans, “Haunted” on UPN starring Matthew Fox (“Party of Five).
It’s having a struggle in the ratings, but I think it’s because viewers haven’t
found it yet and the reason for that is it has some really stiff competition.
(Click here for the
full story)
Visit to Enterprise, Oct 11, 2002
-Jonathan Krieger
I recently visited the set of the UPN program
Enterprise. This was a huge treat for me, as a long-time fan of the series.
I was escorted by the show’s publicist, Caroline Nutall. She made the visit very
enjoyable. Caroline went straight from college at Virginia Tech to her current
job. She told me she’d moved out to L.A., got three job offers, and took this
one. They seem to like her here; as we walked onto Paramount stage 18, Lt. Trip
(Connor Trinneer) walked up and gave her a big hug.
(Click here for the Full Story)
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