State of family sitcoms is not so funny

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Bill Engvall has not yet seen the overnight ratings for "The Bill Engvall Show." It's the morning after the premiere of the sitcom's second season, and he's concerned.

Bill Engvall (right) and "The Bill Engvall Show" are exceptions in a day with few family sitcoms.

"Last night it was hard to get excited when you're going up against the NBA finals," says Engvall, one-fourth of the popular "Blue Collar Comedy" troupe. "Not that the entire country watches (the finals), but it does take a huge audience away from you."

Basketball, however, is the least of his worries.

On television, "Engvall" has become something of an anomaly: a multicamera family sitcom played before a live audience in which the lead guy is actually married with children.

Once the staple of broadcast television, the traditional family sitcom has been relegated of late to niche cable channels like TBS, which airs "Engvall" and "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," and The Disney Channel, which has had phenomenal success with its Miley Cyrus-led comedy, "Hannah Montana."

"Engvall" -- with its current season average of 2.4 million viewers, up 8 percent over last year -- is considered a ratings success for TBS. But those numbers don't come close to past broadcast network family hits such as "Roseanne," "Grace Under Fire," "Home Improvement" or "The Cosby Show," which at its peak in the late '80s averaged 63 million viewers.

"The family comedy is like that kid in the corner of the quad who's not the coolest kid, but he's a good solid kid," says Michael Wright, senior vice president of content creation for TNT, TBS and TCM. "In this business of what we do, everybody wants to be associated with the thing that's the hippest and coolest and newest and that's not a bad thing, but it doesn't mean that this form is no longer relevant."

In recent years, the proliferation of Internet and video game usage and the overall fragmentation of the American family has undermined the traditional family comedy "in a big way," says Brian Lowry, television critic for the entertainment trade paper Daily Variety. "It's not as much about let's gather around the hearth and watch together as it is, I'm going in my room and watch what I want; you go in your room and watch what you want."

Lowry adds: "You could also blame, quite frankly, that there have been lot of really bad (family sitcoms) lately. But I don't know if even a good family sitcom could have the kind of success that we were accustomed to when they were dominant."

"I won't lie to you, it's been an uphill battle," says Engvall, commenting on the struggle to bring new audiences to his show, despite less than glowing reviews, including TV.com's appraisal: "a complete waste of time."

But Engvall is not giving up.

"At our tapings, I can't tell you the number of people who come up to me personally and go, 'Thanks for bringing family back to TV,' (or) the e-mails I get all the time from people saying, 'Thanks for doing it the way you do it,' " he says. "So we're going to ride this horse ... for better or worse we're going to ride it."

Though the half-hour family comedy hasn't been put out to pasture entirely, "there seems to be this idea that everything needs to be reinvented, that everything needs to have some clever high-concept sort of idea that draws people in," says Ali LeRoi, co-creator and executive producer of The CW family comedy "Everybody Hates Chris."

"People are fairly simple. They like good actors, they like good stories, they like good writing, they like good jokes," LeRoi continues, "and I am really under the impression, in terms of the development process, that these people have out-clevered themselves."

When you look at what qualifies as family comedy on the broadcast networks these days, it's family with an adult edge.

On CBS, for example, "Two and a Half Men" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine" are considered by the network to be family comedies, yet they seldom deal with kids' issues, even though children are part of the shows.

In the fall, the network premieres another such comedy, "Gary Unmarried," about a divorced dad with two kids who is re-entering the dating pool, and you just know it will be all about Gary.

As broadcasters become increasingly, and now almost exclusively, focused on adults 18 to 49, "they don't care if kids watch their shows," Lowry says. "They're not really trying to do 'Full House' where they have a show that plays across as many levels because they can't really monetize -- which has become the favorite word -- the kids as well as they can the adults."

"If we do a traditional family comedy," says Wendi Trilling, executive vice president of comedy development at CBS, "we have to find a show that really appeals to adults. If we can't get adults, the show isn't going to succeed. If we get kids, too, that's great, but I don't think that can be our primary focus."

At ABC, home to the once popular "TGIF" family comedy block, finding the next hit family comedy is a "huge priority" for Samie Kim Falvey, senior vice president of Comedy Development for ABC Entertainment. She recently greenlighted the animated midseason series "The Good Family," about a family of overly committed do-gooders.

"If you're a broadcaster and you're trying to bring in the largest number of viewers, doing a show that involves family will be relatable to everyone and also has a lot of value," Falvey says.

In the meantime, cable is taking full advantage of the broadcast shortfall.

"We've been lucky to work with some talented writers and producers that might not have opportunities at the (broadcast) networks who are running to Disney Channel wanting to work with us," says Disney's Adam Bonnett, senior vice president of original programming.

The network is currently in business with Peter Murrieta ("Greetings From Tucson"), executive producer of the channel's family fantasy comedy "Wizards of Waverly Place," and has worked with writers and producers from shows such as "Full House," "Friends" and "Murphy Brown."

Lifetime will premiere a new half-hour family sitcom in December called "Rita Rocks," starring Nicole Sullivan as a wife and mother of two who tries to invigorate her overworked life by starting up a garage band.

But for his part, at least, Engvall is not trying to "reinvent the wheel," he says. "It's just good family entertainment and I hope to God that TV doesn't just bail on it."

Miley Cyrus looks to 'Breakout' of Disney character

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hannah Montana may be the most potent phenomenon in Hollywood right now -- bigger than Batman, bigger than Brangelina. Yet these days, the girl who truly fascinates is not Hannah, but Miley Cyrus.

Miley Cyrus, already been a star with fans of "Hannah Montana," is hoping to take her sound mainstream.

The 15-year-old face of the billion-dollar Disney franchise is no longer a star for just the tween set: She's intriguing people who turn the pages of Seventeen magazine, as well as Us Weekly and Vanity Fair (more on THAT later). While "Hannah" is still very much a part of Miley, it does not solely define the singer/actress.

Nowhere is that clearer than with the release of Miley's latest album, "Breakout," which comes out Tuesday. While Miley has already sold millions of albums, it's always been with the "Hannah Montana" moniker attached (2006's "Hannah Montana" and 2007's "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus").

But there's no blonde wig to be found on the cover of this CD. Instead, there's a more mature sound that's already finding an older audience. The CD's first single, the rocker "7 Things," is now No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart) and marks her biggest success in translating her music beyond the Radio Disney audience.

"To be played on these radio stations is awesome, to be able to rock out to it in your car without planning it, without it being just a kids channel," says Miley, who with her deep voice and self-assured manner seems a decade older that 15.

"(I'm) making it a little more fun and edgy, and I think being able to step out of the 'Hannah Montana' thing -- not in a way where I'm forgetting her completely, but as my fans grow up, me growing up too and kind of having my own person."

The "Hannah Montana thing" is familiar to millions of kids and adults alike. A movie is due out next year, the third season of the kitschy TV show starts filming in weeks, and the DVD of the blockbuster "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds" tour, which wrapped up earlier this year, is a lock to top the charts when it debuts later this summer.

But navigating her own celebrity path outside the confines of famous character has proven to be difficult. With former teen phenoms like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears providing epic examples of bad behavior, and the nude photo scandal involving Disney "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens, tabloids have been eager to document a Miley implosion.

The first signs of potential concern came in the form of personal pictures that made their way onto the Internet, showing Miley dressed provocatively (though not obscenely) and setting the blogosphere abuzz.

A more serious firestorm erupted in April when Vanity Fair published a photo of Miley wrapped in a sheet, showing her bare back and shoulders. The photo caused such outrage that no less than The New York Times chronicled the controversy, and Miley and her father, country star Billy Ray Cyrus, said they regretted the result of the photo shoot. They also said she was never topless, as the photo by the esteemed Annie Leibovitz suggested.

But Miley has learned she doesn't even have to bare a shoulder to cause a fuss -- as when she revealed in an interview earlier this month that "Sex and the City" was one of her favorite shows.

"It just scared people because there was the word 'sex' in the title, you know what I mean?" says Miley, brushing off her critics.

"Just because that's what the show is about that doesn't mean I'm doing that ... you don't all the sudden become the character that you watch," she adds (though looking very Carrie Bradshaw-ish in a long flowing blue bohemian dress, her hair cascading down her shoulders, with a Chanel bag close to her side).

While allowing that she's made "mistakes," she also feels that the media has been unforgiving in their scrutiny at times -- and a bit unwilling to see that she's not a little kid anymore.

"It's kind of hard to let someone that was so young when they started kind of grow up," reasons Miley, who was 13 when she debuted in the role. "You just have to realize that people make mistakes and that makes you almost a little more relatable."

Hollywood Records A&R executive Jon Lind, who worked with Miley on the "Hannah Montana/Meet Miley Cyrus" album and her latest record, says such scrutiny is just a part of today's tabloid world.

"I don't think she's really done anything scathingly wrong, but I think there's a lot of people selling a lot of magazines following her around, making her into the next somebody, and I don't think that's fair -- she's not the next anybody as far as I can see," he says.

He adds that he's seen a significant growth in Miley in just the past year: "The difference between being a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old in any tween or teenager's life is an extraordinary amount -- it's like dog years."

Much of that growth is reflected on her new CD. While she co-wrote a majority of the songs on the "Meet Miley Cyrus" half of the last record, on "Breakout," her songs have a weightier tone, discussing the environment, breakups and relationships.

"She always reached the adult audience, because she always reached moms. It's just in a way that radio finally started to acknowledge," says Sean Ross of Edison Media Research, which tracks the radio industry. "'7 Things,' ... has a little bit of an Avril Lavigne-thing going; it sounds like an adult record."

"There are lots of people who wouldn't necessarily wanna buy or listen to a 'Hannah Montana' record because of their predisposition to the Disney television character," says Lind. "But if you listen to this record as an artist, the quality of her voice, the quality of her writing, and the quality of the production, I hope, as she does, that it will be taken seriously by (an) older music audience."

"I hope I get respected a little bit more as a writer," says Miley. "I want them to respect me and know that I have a lot to say, I have a lot for the world to know and take away from what my life experiences have been."

She'd also hoping to show more of those life experiences in her acting. She's like to do some independent films and play gritty characters: "I do wanna, like, showcase a little more of what I can do, and also some different situations ... I would like to do something that was a little more deep."

She's even hoping to add a little bit more of an edge to "Hannah" next season.

"There's some things that I want to reinvent with her look, and not make it all sparkles and butterflies, you know? Some stars, and some black rock 'n' roll stuff," she says. "I did want it to grow up a little bit."

But lest anyone fear that she's growing up a bit too much, she's quick to point out that's she hasn't grown out of "Hannah."

"I probably won't tour again as a 'Hannah Montana' tour ... I'm kind of past that stuff. But I definitely wanna keep doing my show. I love doing (it) and I wouldn't wanna give it up quite yet."

Omarosa: Wendy Williams is 'a fake and a phony'

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Omarosa is not sorry for sparring with Wendy Williams.

Omarosa and Wendy Williams had a contentious conversation on Monday's "Wendy Williams Show."

"I stand by everything I said," Omarosa told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The reality star -- whose full name is Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth -- appeared Monday on "The Wendy Williams Show" to promote her upcoming book but instead spent more time trading insults with radio personality-turned-talk show host Wendy Williams, who infamously engaged Whitney Houston during an interview on her radio show in 2003.

"When you're not honest with the American people, they do not respond well to you," said Omarosa, who became famous after appearing on the first season of NBC's "The Apprentice." "She should just go ask Star Jones about that. Honesty needs to be there. She's a phony. As long as she continues to be a fake and a phony, she won't be successful."

Omarosa told the AP that the show's promos and introductions for her appearance are what originally ruffled her feathers and prompted her to tell Williams that she would not be disrespected. Things got uglier when Williams grabbed Omarosa's book cover to hold it up to the camera, and Omarosa yanked it back out of Williams' hand.

"She snatched it out of my hand," Omarosa told the AP. "She didn't say, 'Can I see it?' "

The tussle gave way to Omarosa attacking Williams' appearance, asking her whether she had had a nose job and suggesting she shouldn't wear wigs. During the heated exchange, Williams called Omarosa a "typical angry black woman" and advised Omarosa that cosmetic injections could fix her wrinkles.

Following Omarosa's appearance, Williams told the AP she thought the unprovoked aggression was a publicity stunt and called Omarosa "a delusional, D-list, pathetic woman." Williams also said that Omarosa would not be invited back on "The Wendy Williams Show," which airs on Fox-owned stations in Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas and New York.

Omarosa was a contestant on the first season of "The Apprentice" starring Donald Trump in 2004. Her domineering personality quickly earned her enemies among fellow contestants and TV viewers. She later appeared on VH1's "The Surreal Life" and "The Celebrity Apprentice."

Golden Girls pay tribute to Getty

The stars of US sitcom The Golden Girls have paid tribute to actress Estelle Getty, who has died at the age of 84.

Bea Arthur, who played her on-screen daughter Dorothy Zbornak, called their partnership "one of the greatest comic duos", adding: "I will miss her."

Rue McClanahan, Blanche in the series, said: "She'll always be with us in her crowning achievement, Sophia Petrillo."

Getty, whose role as the sarcastic pensioner won her an Emmy award, had been suffering from advanced dementia.

Her son, Carl Gettleman, said she was "one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived".

Apart from the Golden Girls, Getty's credits included films like Mannequin and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

According to her official website, the actress was born Estelle Scher in the Lower East Side of New York City after her parents emigrated to the US from Poland.

Getty (middle front) played the oldest Golden Girl, but was younger than two of her co-stars

But the actress faced a long struggle for success, working in poorly-paid office jobs to help support her family while she tried to make her big break.

"I knew I could be seduced by success in another field, so I'd say, 'don't promote me, please,"' she later recalled.

After trying her hand at stand-up comedy - later calling it "her biggest mistake" - she began to land a smattering of films and TV roles, including parts in Tootsie and Deadly Force.

But it was The Golden Girls which made her a household name and saw her nominated for an Emmy seven times.

Indomitable

The sitcom, which focused on the lives of four older women living in a shared home in Miami, Florida, was developed by US TV network NBC after its programming chief Brandon Tartikoff decided that older viewers were being ignored.

Getty was the last actress to be cast for the series - having failed two auditions because producers thought she did not look old enough to play an 80-year-old.

The actress was just three days short of her 85th birthday

But the wisecracking Sophia Petrillo proved so popular that she was brought back for two spin-off shows - Empty Nest and The Golden Palace - in the 1990s.

Audiences particularly loved the verbal zingers Getty would hurl at her co-stars.

When Rue McClanahan's libidinous character Blanche once complained that her life was an open book, Sophia shot back: "Your life's an open blouse."

Nonetheless, Getty said she was only "a teensy-weensy bit" like her most famous creation.

"I think people have me mixed up with my character," she said, while admitting: "I would like to be as sure and magnanimous and feisty and strong and indomitable as she is."

She married Arthur Gettleman at the age of 23, from whom she adapted her stage name.

People have me mixed up with my character Estelle Getty

After The Golden Girls, Getty secured several memorable film roles - in particular her grotesque comic turn as Sylvester Stallone's mother in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot - and launched a successful exercise video for older women.

But she was unable to join a Golden Girls reunion in 2004 due to her failing health.

The star's husband passed away that same year.

Getty died at her home three days short of her 85th birthday and is survived by her two sons, Carl and Barry.

"She was loved throughout the world in six continents," said Carl in a statement, "and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents."

BY-BBC NEWS

Winehouse parents reveal waxwork

A waxwork model of Amy Winehouse has been unveiled at Madame Tussauds.

The singer's parents, Mitch and Janis, revealed the model, “complete with trademark beehive and sailor tattoos", at the London attraction.

Mr Winehouse said the waxwork of his 24-year-old daughter was an "absolutely incredible" likeness.

He added that the Rehab singer was getting over her drug addiction. He said: "She's on a drug replacement programme and she's doing really well."

New album

The model of the Grammy Award-winning singer is dressed in the same outfit that her real-life inspiration wore to the Brit awards - a thigh-skimming mini dress teamed with black high heels and huge red hooped earrings.

Mr Winehouse said he was 'stunned' at the likeness

When he saw the waxwork for the first time, Mr Winehouse said: "It captures her totally... but she's not that skinny anymore.

"I can't get over the tattoos. They are perfect."

Mr Winehouse also confirmed his daughter was about to start work on a new album.

"She has two or three more live gigs then she will be working on her new album. She's got quite a few songs already."

The Back To Black singer has rarely been out of the headlines in recent months. In June she was told she had "traces" of the lung disease emphysema, but went on to perform at the Nelson Mandela concert in London, and the Glastonbury Festival.

If Blake comes out of prison and proves to be a positive influence on Amy, then they will have a fantastic life Mitch Winehouse

Earlier this week, her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was jailed for 27 months for attacking a pub landlord and perverting the course of justice.

The 26-year-old admitted assaulting James King, 36, at the Macbeths pub in Hoxton, east London, in June 2006. He has already spent nine months on remand.

Mr Winehouse said he hoped Fielder-Civil could turn his life around.

"If Blake comes out of prison and proves to be a positive influence on Amy, then they will have a fantastic life, and he will make his parents very proud.

"The other option is just not tenable.

"I don't know if the extra five or six months he has to spend in prison will make a difference, I just don't know."

He added: "Amy wants to have children, probably with Blake, and they will become her drug of choice because she is mad about kids."

BY-BBC NEWS

Rapper Rock sentenced for brawl

Rapper Kid Rock has been sentenced to a year on probation and fined $1,000 (£501) for his part in a fight in an Atlanta waffle restaurant in 2007.

The 37-year-old, whose real name is Robert J Ritchie, also received 80 hours community service and six hours of anger management counselling.

Ritchie pleaded no contest to one count of battery. Four other assault charges were dropped.

The incident took place last October at a branch of the Waffle House chain.

Ritchie and his entourage had been performing at a gig in Atlanta and before stopping off in their tour bus in the early hours of the morning.

The fight took place when an argument broke out with another customer at the restaurant.

The rapper and five of his crew were arrested at the time.

Number one

All five appeared with Ritchie in court but the charges against three of them were dropped.

Two others pleaded no contest and were also sentenced to community service and probation.

At the time of the fight, Ritchie had just scored his first number one album in the US charts with Rock N Roll Jesus.

The rapper was previously married to Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, but the actress filed for divorce after four months of marriage in 2006.

Ritchie is originally from Detroit and has sold more than 20 million albums.

He is currently number three in the UK singles chart with the Lynyrd Skynyrd-sampling All Summer Long. Rock N Roll Jesus is released in the UK next week.

BY-BBC NEWS