26 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY,JUNE 25,2003
TELEVISION
Ventura nightly TV show seems stuck in the wings
The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Months after announcing that he would soon get his own nightly cable show on MSNBC, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has yet to hit the airwaves on a regular basis.
The former pro wrestler and Hollywood action star has denied rumors that his show, announced in February, is in trouble.
But MSNBC does not expect it to debut until late summer or early fall, and the lengthy rehearsal time has led to speculation that it might never make it onto the air.
Erik Sorenson, president of MSNBC, insisted that the cable channel is committed to Ventura and called the show's development "right on schedule."
"We believe the final product, when people see it, not everyone's going to love it, but people are going to say, 'Hey, that is different. That is distinctive.' You
know, you don't do that overnight." Sorenson said in an interview last week.
Ventura's show is intended as a nightly topical talk show. MSNBC has eased Ventura into its schedule with short "Hero of the Week" segments during the Lester Holt Live show.
Elected governor of Minnesota in 1998, Ventura hosted a weekly radio show during his four years in office and was a TV commentator for the short-lived XFL football league.
Ventura said in February that the show would air in about a month, and the initial delay was blamed on the war in Iraq.
Last month, Ventura said the show probably would be on the air around June 1.
The hourlong show will probably air weeknights at 9 p.m. Eastern, Sorenson said, against heavy competition from CNN's Larry King Live and Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes.
TELEVISION
Rapper brings fresh program to reality-saturated channel
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — There are plenty of the bleeped words, censored images and blue humor that one has come to expect from Snoop Dogg in his new MTV comedy series, Doggy Fizzle Televizble.
Yet the gangsta rapper-turned-media maven doesn't think anyone will get too offended when the half-hour series makes its premiere 9 p.m. Sunday.
"It's not distasteful, it's all in good taste," Snoop, who's also been featured in Girls Gone Wild and porn videos, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "It's not as many bleeps as in The Osbournes."
And actor Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd, an edgier version of Candid Camera, has gotten plenty of buzz since it debuted earlier this year.
Snoop is just the latest celebrity to have an MTV series. The Osbournes became an instant sensation when it debuted two seasons ago, chronicling the foul-mouthed clan of rocker Ozzy.
But Snoop (real name: Calvin Broadus, and formerly Snoop Doggy Dogg) said his show was unique.
"I'm changing the face of TV," he said.
Actually, with skits best described as In Living Color meets Saturday Night Live, Snoop's show resembles the The Lyricist Lounge Show, which had a few airings on MTV three years ago.
Tom Calderone, executive vice president of music and talent at the MTV Networks, wouldn't compare the two shows.
"It's certainly one of those shows where you watch it and it definitely breaks the mold," Calderone said.
Snoop made his debut more than a decade ago on hits like "Nothin' But a G Thang" with Dr. Dre, and is still a mainstay on the network, with hits like the current "Beautiful."
He's also been in several movies, including Training Day, Baby Boy and Bones and Old School.
He even helped popularize new words like "F'shizzle," which in rap-Latin means "for sure."