Blog Posts by Dave Nemetz

After putting Al Pacino in a fright wig to play Phil Spector, HBO is cranking out another delightfully trashy biopic next month with "Behind the Candelabra," based on Scott Thorson's tell-all book about his five-year affair with famed pianist Liberace. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon dive into these pulpy waters headfirst as Liberace and Scott, and this first-look trailer certainly gives us an eyeful… in many respects.

It opens with the much younger Scott meeting Liberace backstage and gushing over his performance: "You were incredible out there." A heavily made-up Liberace looks very pleased to make Scott's acquaintance: "This must be fate," he says, while giving Scott a thorough once-over with his eyes.

HBO

Liberace pulls Scott into his glitzy world, hiring Scott to chauffeur him onstage in a Rolls-Royce during his Vegas act. We see Damon looking ripped climbing out of Liberace's swimming pool in a tiny white Speedo, as Scott enjoys his first taste of the good life. Last month, Damon

Paramount TV/Everett Collection, Chris Polk/FilmMagic

Here's a little-known fact: The "Cheers" theme song started out sounding much different than the one we know and love. In fact, it was a different song entirely.

It took a few false starts and countless revisions, but songwriters Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo eventually crafted a timeless theme song: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name," the sentimental, piano-driven bar ballad that preceded all 275 episodes of "Cheers."

With the "Cheers" theme heading into the Final Four of our Theme Song Thunderdome bracket, we spoke to Portnoy (who also sang the theme) this week about how "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" came to be. And he told us a story almost as long and convoluted as one of Cliff Clavin's meandering tales. But one that ends happily: with the creation of one of the best TV theme songs of all time.

From "Preppies" to "Cheers"

The story begins in the fall of 1981, when Portnoy and Hart Angelo were writing songs for a Broadway musical called "Preppies." One of those songs,

Kaley Cuoco (Associated Press/John Carucci)

"The Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco has found herself in the middle of a big media feud -- all over a single tweet.

According to The Wrap, who first broke the story, it all started when Cuoco tweeted out this paid endorsement for satellite-TV provider Dish's new Hopper DVR to her 1.2 million Twitter followers:

  Cuoco's tweet

Plenty of celebrities leverage their massive Twitter followings to endorse products, so that's no big deal. The problem? CBS, which airs "Big Bang," is currently locked in a nasty lawsuit with Dish over the Hopper DVR, which allows viewers to automatically skip commercials during primetime shows. So this tweet could be seen as Cuoco taking sides against her own network.

Cuoco's tweet has since been deleted, and her representatives aren't commenting, so it looks like this was just a simple misunderstanding on her part. But the war of words rages on between Dish and CBS.

[Related: 'Big Bang's' Kaley Cuoco Gets Back in the Saddle After a Bad Accident]

When the tweet came down,

Ricky Schroder and Cambrie Schroder. (Hallmark)

Three decades ago, Ricky Schroder was a child star on TV's "Silver Spoons." Today, he's back on the small screen... and he's bringing his family with him this time.

Schroder wrote, directed, and stars in "Our Wild Hearts," a family drama set to debut next month on Hallmark Movie Channel. And he already knows his lead actress pretty well: Ricky's 16-year-old daughter, Cambrie Schroder, makes her acting debut as Willow, a headstrong teen who moves from Malibu to a dusty horse ranch in the mountains to live with her father Jack (played by Ricky).

In the exclusive behind-the-scenes clip above, Ricky talks about stepping into the role of director: "I love being on set, because I've basically grown up on a set. And now I love to contribute as a director and help steer the ship, if you will." Plus, Cambrie credits her dad with helping her develop the role of Willow: "I'm learning how to get emotions out... I'm learning a lot from him."

The family connections don't stop with Cambrie. Ricky

With his towering afro and (ahem) informal attire, teen contestant Leonard Cooper didn't look the part of a "Jeopardy!" champion. But he parlayed one big Daily Double gamble into a Teen Tournament win last night, topping it off with what has to be considered the best Final Jeopardy! answer of all time.*

Leonard came into Final Jeopardy! with a total of $37,000 -- an impressive sum, though not enough to win outright. But that didn't stop Leonard from calling his shot. Faced with the clue, "On June 6, 1944, he said, 'The eyes of the world are upon you,'" Leonard wagered $0 and responded: "Who is some guy in Normandy, but I just won $75,000!"

(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

New “American Idol” judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj both insist that the much-publicized feud between them is over… but their body language tells a whole other story.

Carey and Minaj joined fellow newcomer Keith Urban and lone holdover Randy Jackson at a Television Critics Association panel this morning to promote the upcoming Season 12 of “Idol” (debuting January 18). And the dueling divas both brushed off questions about any lingering bad blood between them… though they didn’t exactly deny it ever existed, either.

Fall TV? That’s so last season. These days, winter TV is just as jam-packed as fall, with dozens of new shows hitting the airwaves between now and the end of March. To guide you through the wilderness (and keep you from watching “Buckwild”), we’ve selected five new dramas debuting soon that already have us intrigued… and should be able to tide you over until “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones” come back, at least.

“The Following” (Fox, January 21)

Kevin Bacon becomes the latest movie star to try TV with this grim, gritty new crime drama from Kevin Williamson (who knows all about blood and gore from “The Vampire Diaries” and the “Scream” films). Bacon stars as former federal agent Ryan Hardy, who’s called back into action when the serial killer he helped put away (James Purefoy) escapes from death row. But it’s not the killer Hardy needs to be worried about; it’s his cult of devoted followers willing to carry out his deadly commands. A pulse-pounding mash-up of “Silence of

Everybody on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" makes fun of hapless parks department employee Jerry Gergich. But who's laughing now?

On this week's holiday-themed episode of "Parks," Jim O'Heir, who plays Jerry, gets an early Christmas gift when legendary supermodel Christie Brinkley (still stunning at 58) guest stars as Jerry's heretofore-unseen wife, Gayle. We've already met Jerry's beautiful daughter Millicent, so it makes sense that Jerry somehow managed to marry someone way out of his league. But Christie Brinkley? Yeah, we know she married Billy Joel, but this is ridiculous.

Understandably, the rest of the Pawnee parks department is speechless when they lay eyes on Jerry's wife for the first time at this week's holiday party. In fact, when you include the two other gorgeous Gergich daughters, who join in on a festive holiday singalong in the clip below, you've got yourself one good-looking family Christmas card. Well,