Interviews History 96-98
The
Howie Mandel Show
We remember Howie Mandel from his hilarious stand-up routines and as one of our favorite characters from St. Elsewhere. Now we see him with his own talk show. Of the three roles this is the most fun.
It was even more fun on October 16, 1998, the day before the premier of the 3rd season of The Pretender, when Michael appeared as Howie's first guest. In addition, this appearance was a true learning experience. While we knew that Michael walked on land we heard that he swims in the ocean, scuba diving in Tahiti, and flies through the air, with a parachute.
Maybe that's part of why he calls himself an "environmental individualist". He believes, as we do, that if individuals do their part to conserve, reuse and recycle in their own lives the collective effect on the water, land and air will be enormous.
To illustrate his points Michael led Howie back into the office areas of the NBC studios to show Howie how they could be more environmentally conscious. From the bottom picture up Michael points out that, rather than use paper and styrofoam cups the crew could bring re-usable glass or plastic cups and mugs from home. In the next frame Michael finds a lunch packed in a plastic bag and reminds us to get paper bags at the grocery store and recycle them too. (Howie promptly threw out that person's lunch. We couldn't help hoping that the food would at least be composted and the plastic bag recycled.) In the next frame Michael explains how video tape can be reused and then recycled. And in a fourth lesson Michael finds paper in the wastebasket rather than the recycling bin. Need we say more? (We go a step further by taking the paper from the recycling bin, bringing it home for drawing paper and then recycling.)
All in all a great show with a great guest with important lessons taught in a fun way.
Show With Jay Leno
Jay's people called Michael's people on Wednesday. We heard on Thursday and in time to check the supply of video tapes. And he was on Friday, May 15, 1998. It was a great opportunity for Michael and NBC to plug the season's final episode and for us, his fans, to learn a little more about the man.
We love the way Michael's presence adds so much life to Jay's show. While the conversation usually is confined to Jay and the guest, Michael had the whole group involved in the conversation.
The first thing we learned was that he had a new look. (They have all been great so far.) A moustache and little beard. We also finally learned something about the "secret" film we had been hearing about. The facial hair is for a part as a porn producer that, as he explained, exposes the underside of that business "without nudity". Can't wait to see that! Also, we had never considered the comparison of facial hair to bonsai trees either.
Show With Jay Leno 2
On January 7, 1998 Michael made his second appearance on The Tonight Show. Possibly the best thing we heard was that the president of NBC's mom loves The Pretender and will stay home to watch over Laker tickets. Anything that helps keep the show on the air is great for us. We also loved hearing about a psychic's predictions about Michael's scuba diving and watching him rib Jay about his "chick magnet" job. Michael described the car racing outfit he wore for an upcoming episode as the same sort of magnet but we don't believe the suit is necessary.
The
Keenan Ivory Wayans Show
As much as we love watching Michael as Jarod and the two hour episodes lately we had missed seeing Michael as Michael. Our wishes were answered on January 7, 1998. We had to stay up late to watch The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show but did not give it a second thought. In case there were doubts, Michael really did drive himself to the show in Miss Parker's limo. (Fortunately, Andrea Parker is much nicer than Miss Parker.) He also really did sing telegrams in the early days and the "pregnant nun" was not his only character. The fire story was new to us. We wondered if, given a little more time, he could have put the fire out!
Entertainment
Weekly
In its new, earlier time slot, "there's going to be a lot of nudity, a lot of random sexual acts," jokes star Michael T. Weiss. Not really. Weiss' chameleon-like Jarod will pose an as anatomy professor, a thief, a fashion photographer, and a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon (like they need another one). "I'd like to explore the subtler professions, not necessarily the doctor, the lawyer, or the fire chief," says Weiss. "Maybe like a gang member or an underworld drug lord." Yeah, sounds real subtle. (Nov. 1)
TV Guide
The Big News: Think Jarod Russell (Michael T. Weiss) had problems last season? This year, the heat is turned up on the brainy chameleon as he's chased by two new operatives: high-powered Mr. Lyle (Jamie Denton) and his henchwoman Brigitte (Pamela Gidley), who makes her debut on the show's web site -- a first, according to executive producer and creator Steven Long Mitchell. Job Action: Jarod adds Indy car driver, plastic surgeon, and thief to his resume. We may even see him caught up in the Mafia.
Parent Trap: In the two-hour finale, there are major revelations about Jarod's family. Miss Parker(Andrea Parker) launches a search for her missing dad (Harve Presnell).
The
Rosie O'Donnell Show
On the same day that Michael taped Conan in New York for air that night he taped The Rosie O'Donnell Show and it aired on April 3, 1997. We got some information about Michael 15 hour days but also heard the first clue to the fact that The Pretender would be picked up for another year. Unfortunately it probably means that Jarod will get a new favorite candy.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
On April 2, 1997 Michael made his first appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Michael seemed very relaxed and was very funny. We had never considered the no-shorts approach to scoring points in a basketball game. Novel idea.
The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno
We always knew it would happen one day and it was great when it did. On January 24, 1997 Michael made his debut on The Tonight Show. Michael was interesting, funny and looked great. He was, well... Michael.He also reminded us of some performances we had forgotten. We loved the story about his prom date and we got a great picture of his dad as Michael described his younger days. By the way, Michael was offered that part in Ordinary People without even reading for it!