TV critics sometimes get interesting stuff in the mail from the networks.
Let me make it perfectly clear -- our favoritism can't be bought. But, to quote one of my counterparts at another newspaper, "We don't mind them trying."
I'm not talking about really valuable stuff, but a publicist's job is to get a few words about their new show in the papers, and it's a very crowded field. First, they have to catch our attention.
It's a daunting task. Typically, I'll receive about 200 emails a day and two or three preview DVDs. My job is to separate the swell from the swill and report on it in this space.
But there is never enough time to watch them all. That's where the publicists come in. I imagine there's an entire PR industry in Hollywood built around providing creative tchotchkes designed to catch our fancy and move that DVD from the toss-it pile to the watch-it stack.
As I glance around The TV Column cubicle, a few souvenirs stand out.
There's my Shark Week lunch box that plays ominous music when you open it. I have a Gotham City Police Detective badge and a dozen assorted coffee mugs with series logos.
There's a framed faux gold record hawking Empire, a mortarboard from Glee (it was when they graduated), and an actual piece of amber from the lab of Fringe.
I have a swatch of Monk's brown tweed suit, a piece of wallpaper from the Peach Pit on Beverly Hills, 90210, and a chunk of ugly yellow shag carpet from That '70s Show.
Ball caps, a Hell on Wheels railroad spike, a pewter flagon from Sons of Liberty, a Joe Carroll mask from The Following and T-shirts from everything from Real Husbands of Hollywood to Sleepy Hollow. Syfy sent a doormat for Sanctuary that says "Welcome Abnormals." I thought that was pretty cool.
And the latest to arrive: a volleyball from Fox's The Last Man on Earth. It's identical to the one featured in the comedy.
The fact that Fox sent me (and about 120 other critics) a volleyball to publicize the show had nothing to do with my writing good things about the series last week. I had heard positive reports about the show and watched the preview DVD to see for myself if it was all it was hyped to be.
It was. I highly recommend it. And now there are even more reasons to watch.
Episode 3, "Raisin Balls and Wedding Bells," airs at 8:30 p.m. today. Since it happened in the second episode last week, I am now at liberty to reveal that whereas Phil Miller (Will Forte) may be the last man on earth, there is at least one woman -- Carol Pilbasian, played by the very funny Kristen Schall.
Viewers will know the 37-year-old comedian from her roles as Mel on HBO's Flight of the Conchords and NBC page Hazel Wassername on 30 Rock.
In case you missed my preview, here's the premise.
Phil is apparently the last man on earth after a virus in 2022 seemingly wiped out everyone else. (All the decaying corpses are conveniently absent.)
For two years, Phil travels across North America in his RV searching for other survivors. Striving to hold onto hope that there is at least one other living person out there, he returns to his home in Tucson, Ariz., and moves into a swanky house on a hill.
After months of trying to amuse himself, Phil is slowly going insane. Inspired by the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away (he named his volleyball Wilson), Phil makes himself a gaggle of friends by drawing faces on balls. Hence the volleyball.
Phil even attempts a relationship with a shapely manikin, but freaks out when her arm falls off.
In despair, Phil finally decides to end it all. Before he can, he discovers the decidedly weird Carol has arrived in town. They are hardly compatible but, heck, what's a guy to do? Beggars can't be choosers.
Carol moves next door, plants a garden, and decides she and Phil are intended to be the new Adam and Eve and need to get married. That brings us to tonight's episode and a look down the road.
Mad Men's January Jones (she plays Betty Draper) has been cast as Melissa, and next week's episode is titled "Sweet Melissa." Maybe it's a flashback. Or maybe Phil finds another woman out there. I don't know.
Fox, however, could have caught my attention and saved one volleyball by simply mentioning two words: Mary Steenburgen. Arkansas' favorite acting daughter can be seen as the nefarious, scheming Katherine Hale on FX's Justified. Steenburgen has also joined the cast of The Last Man on Earth.
Details on Steenburgen's role are hush-hush, but we do know that Getting On's Mel Rodriguez and Cleopatra Coleman (Australian series Neighbours) are also in the cast.
The Last Man on Earth is refreshingly different for a broadcast network. It's creative and witty and well worth your time. Kudos to any network that has the temerity to take on something new.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 03/08/2015