Word: actioner
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...control groups point to Project Exile as evidence that Congress--which last week postponed action again on modest new gun regulations--is out of step with states and cities that are moving aggressively against gun crime. But the National Rifle Association endorses Project Exile for another reason, saying it proves that vigorous enforcement of existing laws can thwart criminals without new controls on law-abiding gun owners...
...sheds light on the existential burdens shared by all humankind. For instance, the deep pain you suffer when someone swipes your reserved space in the studio parking lot. That this particular human tragedy surfaces in two new series--Showtime's Beggars and Choosers and Fox's forthcoming Action--is emblematic of Hollywood's new favorite subject: itself...
...business interests everyone," says Action executive producer Joel Silver. "Everyone has two businesses--their own and show." On that assumption, a slew of new, recent and planned programs is offering behind-the-scenes takes on TV (Beggars, ABC's Sports Night, and Kilroy, a sitcom George Clooney is developing for HBO) and the movies (Action, the WB's new Movie Stars and AMC's mini-series The Lot, premiering Aug. 19 and 20). In an ingenious stunt-casting move, ABC's It's Like, You Know... features former Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey as--former Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey...
...gazing is not just more insider-oriented but harsher. Rob Petrie's foibles were along the lines of tripping over the ottoman, not buying a $250,000 screenplay from "the wrong Jew" in a case of mistaken identity, as Jay Mohr's smarmily obnoxious producer, Peter Dragon, does in Action's pilot. Beggars, a sharp satire set at the fictional bottom-tier network LGT, updates Network for broadcast's era of decline. Action and Beggars compare show business, unfavorably, with prostitution and the Mob. Meanwhile, the clever but self-important Sports Night treats its topic with the laugh track-eschewing...
Narcissistic or not, the shows raise obvious Peoria-play questions. Movie Stars had a relatively strong start amid weak summer competition, while Beggars' ratings have not taken off, despite fairly positive reviews. Action, however, will prove a big test. It's got notice for bringing pay cable's profanity to broadcast, but another risky import is the deep-insider view that worked for Larry Sanders' select, limited audience. (Creator and executive producer Chris Thompson, who was executive producer of Sanders, originally intended Action for HBO.) While Action could be the best fall comedy in an anemic field, and Mohr plays...