Frontline marks the passing of Pope John Paul II with an updated re-issue of its award-winning biography “John Paul II: The Millennial Pope,” airing Saturday, April 2, 2005, 8 p.m. ET and again at 11 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). This two-and-one-half-hour documentary which was honored with a duPont Columbia Silver Baton for broadcast excellence tells the pope’s story from his birth in 1920 and his formative days in Poland, to his ascension to the world stage as the bold and controversial leader of the Catholic Church and a significant player in world politics.

 

Emilio Pucci’'s Latest: At Neiman Marcus. Babydoll Top: Purple/fuchsia/black/ turquoise/white/chartreuse abstract print. Sleeveless; square neckline. Tonal diamond-/circle-print insets on Empire waist and hem. Gathered waist. 95% silk, 5% spandex. $950. Satin Pants: Purple. Flat front; wide straight legs. Side zip. $600.

Pucci Tote: With a pop of the signature Emilio Pucci print.
• Pink/sage calfskin.
• Velour printed trim.
• Double handles with silver buckles and logo plate.
• Top zip with pull tab.
• 8"H x 10"W x 5"D.
• Made in Italy
At Neiman Marcus, $1,100.

Kidman, Crowe, Law & More Started on Soaps

Nicole Kidman as Simone Jenkins on the Australian soap “A Country Practice (1984)” appearing on SOAPnet’'s “They Started on Soaps 4”, Thursday, April 7, 2005 at 11 p.m.

They Started on Soaps (They Did, They Did)

“Desperate Housewives” Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, and Marcia Cross and Aussies Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce started in the soaps. So did Jude Law.

On April 7, 2005, at 11 p.m., SOAPnet presents the fourth installment of its original one-hour special, “They Started on Soaps,” featuring actors who started in daytime and then made it big in primetime and movies.

Charles Pratt, Jr., creator of “Desperate Housewives,” talent managers and journalists, discuss such celebrities as Ellen Barkin, Bryan Cranston, Regis Philbin and Wayne Gretzky and how their stints on daytime television helped propel their careers.

SOAPnet, the new way to watch soaps, offers same-day episodes of popular daytime dramas, access to stars and storylines with original programs, including "Soap Talk,” the biography show “Soapography,” “1 Day With…” and the reality series “I Wanna Be A Soap Star.” The 24-hour channel SOAPnet also offers primetime classics including “Melrose Place,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” "Dynasty," "Dallas" and "Knots Landing," as well as former daytime series "Port Charles," "Ryan's Hope," and "Another World."

That's Seabiscuit and Spiderman star Tobey Maguire as he guest-starred on “General Hospital (1992)” airing on SOAPnet’'s “They Started on Soaps 4”, Thursday, April 7, 2005 at 11 p.m.

Also featured on the show are current "Desperate Housewives:"

Teri Hatcher as Angelica on “Capitol (1986-87)” airing on SOAPnet’s They Started on Soaps 4, Thursday, April 7, 2005 at 11 p.m.

Marcia Cross as Liz from the daytime drama “The Edge of Night (1984)” appearing on SOAPnet’s They Started on Soaps 4, Thursday, April 7, 2005 at 11 p.m.

Who Woulda Thunk It? Jude Law as Nathan Thompson in the English daytime drama “Families (1990)” on SOAPnet’'s “They Started on Soaps 4,” airing Thursday, April 7, 2005 at 11 p.m.

Hef Hosts Bogart Marathon

Bogie and Bacall, To Have or Have Not


Bogart Classics To Air on TCM

Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner is April’s guest programmer on TCM. Hefner has chosen an evening of movie entertainment focusing exclusively on Humphrey Bogart films from the 1940s and comments on the films from his Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, where Bogart once socialized. According to some genealogists, Hefner is a ninth cousin once removed of Bogart. The Bogart films air on April 7, 2005 on TCM (Turner Classic Movies).

Hefner’s appearance will come two days before his birthday (April 9, 1926). Hefner’s first Playboy Club, which operated in Chicago from 1960 to 1986, was said to have been inspired in part by Bogart's “Cafe Americain” in the movie Casablanca (1942, 8 p.m.). Hefner contributed funds for the restoration of the original release print of another Bogart classic, The Big Sleep (1946, 2 a.m.), co-starring Lauren Bacall. His other Bogart picks are The Maltese Falcon (1941, 12 a.m.), with the star in a legendary turn as private eye Sam Spade; To Have And Have Not (1944, 10 p.m.), Bogart’s first film with Bacall (the now legendary "whistle" line is in this one); and Dark Passage (1947, 4 a.m.), No. 3 in the Bogart/Bacall series of six movies. All times eastern. www.turnerclassicmovies.com.

HBO's "Warm Springs"

Roosevelt's Private Struggle With Polio

The HBO Films drama Warm Springs, starring Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon, tells the story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio. Directed by Joseph Sargent from a script by Margaret Nagle, the film also stars Jane Alexander, Kathy Bates, Tim Blake Nelson and David Paymer. It debuts Saturday, April 30, 2005 at 8 p.m. The film follows Franklin Delano Roosevelt, left a paraplegic from polio at age 39, as he seeks out a miracle cure in the backwoods of rural Georgia. There he encounters the lives of those affected not just by disability, but by poverty, illiteracy and racism. In time he comes to learn that though he may never walk again, he can still lead. In Warm Springs, a future four-term American president finds his personal and political soul.

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Celeb Collectibles For Charity

A Good Cause Celeb: Now in its third year, Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches announced the dates for their next Celebrity Charity Auction to run April 17, 2005 thru April 24, 2005 at www.rags4riches.org

Items include personal clothing, jewelry and shoes from Cher, Academy Award nominee Kate Winslet (her custom-designed Stuart Weitzman shoes worn to this year’s Academy Awards), Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, Tim Allen, Gena Davis (a dress worn on David Letterman show), The Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss (the dress she wears on “Lonely Runs Both Ways,” her current CD cover --as seen above), Country legend Buck Owens (boots from the 60’s made by James Laitti), Naomi Judd, Tracy Lawerence and Joe Nichols, among others.

Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches takes fashion treasures from celebrity closets and offers them to the public. They provide a website destination, www.rags4riches.org, for fans to purchase items. The profits from each sale are directed to a charity designated by the celebrity. Celebrity Rags 4 Charity Riches is the vision of stylist Renee Layher, along with her partners Cynda West Johnson and Keith Hempel.

Regina King's Oscar shoes, custom-designed by Stuart Weitzman, and featuring a pair of Marilyn Monroe's favorite earrings, will also be auctioned off, albeit with a reproduction of the earrings. The shoes will be autographed by "Ray" star King.

Lil' JJ

Lil' JJ's Rise

Lil’ JJ will star opposite Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo in the Paramount/MGM/ Nickelodeon remake of the feature, “Yours, Mine and Ours.” Lil’ JJ will portray “Jimi,” one of the children in the blended family. Lil’ JJ will also be featured in the MGM film, “Beauty Shop,” starring opposite Queen Latifah, which opens in theaters March 30, 2005. He will make his debut on Nickelodeon during the upcoming new season of the long-running comedy series, “All That,” reprising the host role in the popular “Vital Information” sketch. Lil’ JJ was the grand prize winner of BET’s comedy competition series, “Coming to the Stage.”

Thomas L. Friedman

Pulitzer Prize ®Winning New York Times Columnist Thomas L. Friedman Reports On European Views Of America: Does Europe Hate Us? Thomas L. Friedman Reporting on Discovery


On Thursday, April 7, 2005, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT), Discovery Channel airs Does Europe Hate Us? Thomas L. Friedman Reporting, a one-hour special offering a look at the strained relations between America and one of its closest allies, Europe. Friedman’s previous Discovery Channel television specials focused on global job migration in The Other Side Of Outsourcing, the ramifications of the West Bank Wall in Straddling The Fence, and Muslim attitudes towards America in Searching For The Roots Of 9/11. Friedman uses his access and expertise to lead viewers through an examination of Europe’s often conflicting attitudes towards America. Friedman pursues the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to this critical conflict. Europeans debate terrorism, poverty, and climate. Leading experts Timothy Garton Ash, an internationally acclaimed contemporary historian whose expertise is European relations after 1945, and Joseph Joffe, the co-editor of the German weekly publication Die Zeit, also reveal their diverging insights into the current state of trans-Atlantic relations. Traveling to Paris, Friedman engages Bernard Dargols, an 85-year-old veteran of D-Day. Dargols talks at length about the depth of his generation’s gratitude toward America. But much of today’s generation of French youth does not share that sentiment. While sitting with Friedman in a McDonald’s and sharing French fries, a group of students express affection for America but bitterly mourn what they see as its lost commitment to freedom, democracy, diversity and tolerance.

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Mikimoto "Pearls in Motion" from $2,500 to $25,000.

Mikimoto provided jewelry for the Kevan Hall show, and we were impressed by their catalog, which was in the gift bag. Our favorite is the "Pearls in Motion" collection, which was initially introduced in 2002, with new pieces being added.

At first glance, this "Pearls in Motion" choker looks like a chain from which 5 or 7 mm cultured pearls are dangling. But "Pearls in Motion" can be transformed to suit your mood. Each pearl is attached to an adjustable chain with an invisible mechanism that can be lengthened and shortened to transform the necklace. The necklace can be converted from a choker to a long chain with a simple movement. All pieces remain permanently attached to the necklace, so they don't get lost.

"Pearls in Motion" earrings by Mikimoto

The Mikimoto Pearls in Motion™ collection includes a range of Akoya and Black Lipped Cultured Pearl pendants, including an eleven pearl pendant where the design is such that the clasp can close between any pearl and the pearls slide along the chain giving the wearer complete independence to customize the jewelry to suit any occasion. Similarly, the 'Y' shaped pendant with three Akoya Cultured Pearls or Black Lipped Cultured Pearls, allows the wearer to adjust the pendant for any neckline.

The new collection comprises nine additional pieces, using Akoya, Black Lipped and Golden Lipped Cultured Pearls. The wearer can reposition the pearls along an 18K white or yellow gold chain, each piece being designed so pearls remain in place after being moved, giving a number of looks from a single necklace. Also included in the collection is an exquisite fringe necklace, festooned with eight Akoya Cultured Pearls, and a pendant incorporating one white, one gold and one Black Lipped Cultured Pearl. The piece de resistance of the collection is a pendant with a single Golden Lipped Cultured Pearl (Baroque). Each pendant has been designed to co-ordinate effortlessly with pearl bracelets, with either Akoya Cultured Pearls, or dramatic Tahitian Cultured Pearls. www.mikimoto.com

Milan's Sue Wong Fetches $2K

The Sue Wong “Regine” gown worn by recording artist and actress Christina Milian sold for $2,000.00 at The Clothes Off Our Back Foundation charity auction. “Regine” is a fuchsia floral printed silk/satin devoré sarong style dress, with a pleated bra and hip and hand beaded accents. The dress retails at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy’s West, and better boutiques for $439.00. Milian originally wore the Sue Wong gown to the 31st Annual People'’s Choice Awards on January 10, 2005 in Pasadena, California.

BBC Mines "Office Terriority"

BBC's The Smoking Room


Smokin' in the Boys Room

BBC America’s original premiere comedy, The Smoking Room is set entirely in the smoking room of a large company. The UK’s latest comedy hit explores the personal foibles and suppressed longings of an odd assortment of characters. It doesn’t matter how much you earn, only whether your lighter works, you can spare a cigarette, and remember the theme tune to Little House on the Prairie. Airs Saturdays starting April 2, 2005 at 9 p.m. on BBC America.

Some people - lazy lothario Clint, grouchy security guard Len and sad, bumbling Barry (seen above) - seem to spend their entire day in the smoking room. None of these individuals would normally socialize together, but their shared love of nicotine provides a tenuous link between them. The action never leaves this refuge, but smokers (and the occasional non-smoker) flit in an out. The Smoking Room brings together personnel of all ranks.

Lovelorn Robin (whose passion for Ben from the mailroom remains unspoken), Annie, an entirely self-centered emotional wreck, and put-upon PA Janet regularly pop in and out for a gossip. Recently divorced Lilian regularly livens-up proceedings with tales of her newfound freedom, while for Sharon, the snobbish boss who desperately wants to be popular, it’s a place to show off her power.

With a similar pace to The Office, the series explores all human life, as it’s played out in the self-contained world of the smoking room. It’s where you’ll find a microcosm of all human life rolled up into a comedy.

From the UK’s The Times:

Like The Office, the sitcom is the result of a BBC initiative to give new writing talent an opportunity. It is the first series for Brian Dooley, the writer, and he has been partnered by Gareth Carrivick, a veteran director of sitcoms including The Vicar of Dibley.

Emma Kennedy, who plays Heidi — a character “so deadly boring that no one noticed when she was away for six months on maternity leave” — describes the scripts as a cross between The Royle Family and The Office.