samantha who

Christina Applegate is back, and she's not just starring in Samantha Who? but will also be co-producing ABC's new series with Cecelia Ahern. Samantha Who? is about Samantha "Sam" Newly and her life after she had amnesia. It was previously entitled Sam I Am, but due to copyright issues with Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham book, the title was changed to Samantha Be Good. It was later changed to its current title Samantha Who? ABC's new comedy series is created by Cecelia Ahern and Don Todd, and produced by ABC Studios & Brillstein-Grey Television. Thirteen episodes were already ordered by ABC. It is scheduled to premiere on October 15, 2007 and will air every Monday nights at 9:30/8:30c after Dancing with the Stars on ABC.

Samantha "Sam" Newly is a psychiatrist who suffered a hit-and-run accident and was in a coma after. Sam awakens after eight days but with no memories of her past, she is suffering from amnesia. Samantha Who starts with this premise and as the series unfolds, Sam starts to find out about her "not so good" previous life. Apparently, Sam wasn't a pleasant person to be with, she was selfish and only concerned with furthering her own interests. In one word, Sam is a bitch. Among her other discoveries is that she cheated on her boyfriend with a married man, and though she tries to patch things up with him (and be a better person as a whole), Sam realizes it won't work. So she moves back home with her parents, though Sam doesn't know she hasn't spoken to them in over two years. But the biggest shocker to Sam is that her hit-and-run accident wasn't an accident at all. Someone is so angry with the old bitchy Sam, that she is marked for murder. Will Sam be able to find out who's behind the "accident", or will she be killed even though she's trying to be good now? This is one of the series' story arcs that shouldn't be missed!

Christina Applegate stars as Samantha "Sam" Newly and Barry Watson as Sam's boyfriend, Todd. Jennifer Esposito plays Andrea, the old Sam's best friend who tries to hide the wild and not so good past of Sam from her. Melissa McCarthy stars as Dena, who the new Sam thinks is her best friend, though Sam doesn't know they haven't spoken to each other since the seventh grade. Rounding off the cast are Kevin Dunn as Howard and Tim Russ as Frank, the doorman in Todd's apartment. The pilot episode of Samantha Who? is already finished and was directed by Robert Duncan McNeil. It is scheduled to air to October 15, 2007 on ABC. Succeeding episodes of Samantha Who? will air on Monday nights at 9:30/8:30c after Dancing with the Stars. Premiere season continues tonight on ABC with the debut of "Samantha Who?" Here's how Kathryn Shattuck describes it:
Do over! Christina Applegate stars in this new comedy about Samantha Newly, who awakens after an eight-day coma with no memory of her life or the people in it - but who quickly figures out that she was a horrible person.
Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn play the parents she hasn't spoken to in two years. Melissa McCarthy is her faux best friend; Jennifer Esposito is her real one.
And Barry Watson is the trustworthy boyfriend on whom she's cheating with a married man. Now she has the chance to get her life right.
Ginia Bellafante thinks the show works, mostly because of Ms. Applegate's charm. Here is today's review.
Also tonight, round four of "Dancing With the Stars
Samantha Who? is an American television comedy series starring Emmy winner Christina Applegate, and created by Cecelia Ahern and Don Todd. Todd also serves as executive producer alongside Peter Traugott, with Ahern and Christina Applegate (Married... with Children) producing. The pilot was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill. The show is about a 30-year-old psychiatrist who, after becoming the victim of a hit-and-run, develops amnesia and has to rediscover her life, her relationships and herself.[1]

Produced by ABC Studios and Brillstein-Grey Television, the series was officially greenlit and given a thirteen-episode order on May 11, 2007.[2] It is currently scheduled to air on Monday nights at 9:30/8:30c in the fall of 2007 on ABC, following Dancing with the Stars.[3]

The show was originally named Sam I Am until ABC renamed it Samantha Be Good due to conflicts with the estate of Dr. Seuss.[4][5] TV Guide later reported that ABC had changed the title of the series once more to Samantha Who?.[6] Early television promotions for the series, playing off of the concept of its lead character's amnesia, appeared without stating any specific title. The lack of stated title (with a question mark shown instead) was attributed in promotions to Applegate's character not remembering the name of the series.

The series premiere is scheduled for October 15, 2007.
Christina Applegate brings considerable comedy skills to her role as a jittery young woman emerging from a coma to relearn everything about her crazed life on "Samantha Who?" (ABC, 9:32 p.m.).

With a big cast of familiar faces, from Jean Smart to Melissa McCarthy and Barry Watson, the immediate problem is packing it all into less than a half-hour. But its producers also pack the first couple of episodes with a lot of laughs, which makes the show the best new female-led comedy since "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Its presence is also a gift, if only because it shortens "The Bachelor" (ABC, 10:02 p.m.) to an hour (or less).




Remote Patrol

"The Mysterious Human Heart" (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings) looks at new advances in heart disease as they specifically affect a radio personality from Hartford, a cowboy in Brazil and a Long Island man whose blood is replaced by ice water as he awaits his transplant. Two hours of the program air tonight; a concluding hour will be broadcast Oct. 22.

Amid the growing glut of "docu-reality" series, "The Salt N' Pepa Show" (VH1, 10 p.m.) works better than most because of the central problem in reuniting the female rap duo: Cheryl "Salt" James' devotion to the church is at odds with Sandy "Pepa" Denton's still-saucy ways. The "odd couple" aspect underlies their struggles and, of course, the music is great.

"Gotti's Way" (VH1, 10:30 p.m.), on the other hand, hopes to make a sympathetic figure out of rap mogul Irv Gotti, who named himself after the Mafia don. Recently cleared of federal charges, he hopes to rebuild his Murder Inc. label that features Ja Rule and Lloyd as he battles with his estranged wife. As a portrait of post-urban rap world, suburban African American life, it's no "Run's House."

Drew Carey finally makes his debut as Bob Barker's successor on "The Price is Right" (CBS, 11 a.m.), but the comic is almost overshadowed by the colorful set and studio full of crazies. He'll do fine. (See story, Page D1.)

Samantha Harris returns from maternity leave to co-host "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 8 p.m.), where Wayne Newton got the boot last week, boxer Floyd Mayweather was in the bottom two last week and Mark Cuban has been somehow skating by. Tonight's dances are the paso doble and the Viennese waltz.

James Blunt plays "Control Room Presents" (MyNetwork, 9 p.m.).

For Game 3 of the ALCS, it's Red Sox at Indians (Fox, 7 p.m.). The NLCS is up to Game 4 with Arizona at Colorado (TBS, 10 p.m.).

And it's Giants at Falcons in Monday Night Football (ESPN, 8:30 p.m.).

Late Talk

David Letterman: Jake Gyllenhaal, 50 Cent. Jay Leno: James Spader, Lara Logan. Conan O'Brien: Anderson Cooper. Jimmy Kimmel: Danny DeVito, Mario Batali, Frankie Valli (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Michael Caine, Lizzy Cooperman. Carson Daly: Tom Green, the Honorary Title (rerun). Stephen Colbert: Dennis Kucinich, Paul Glastris.

more in /features/lifestyle

After being absent for the first three weeks of "Dancing With the Stars 5," co-host Samantha Harris is returning from maternity leave Monday night. Her absence has been both a welcome respite and an unbearable void because she is at once the most unpredictably entertaining part of the ABC reality competition series ― and the worst.

Samantha has been the co-host of the series for three full seasons, having replaced first-season co-host Lisa Canning at the start of the second season. When she's not bantering with co-host Tom Bergeron, Samantha's job mostly consists of talking backstage with each dancing couple, where they learn their scores. She interviews them and then encourages the public to vote.

Because it's her job to do this with the same enthusiasm for each pair, and because she also has a lot of time to fill, Samantha often babbles nonsensically. That is, she asks the dancers obvious questions about the score, like a local TV news journalist asking a family how they feel now that their home just burned down. She also gets overly excited about how desperately each couple needs votes to stay in the competition, framing every telephone call and online vote as a life-or-death situation.

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In fairness, this is clearly not of her own making. Drew Lachey, the winner of the second season and the co-host of the upcoming spin-off, "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann," was filling in for Samantha, and he was clearly given the same, overly simple task.

Job not well done
Still, despite its simplicity, Samantha doesn't always do her part as the show's cheerleader very well. Once, she revealed the dancers' scores before the judges held up their paddles. She jumped into her post-score interview as if she hadn't just missed her cue to hand off to the announcer for the judges' scores.

She eventually tried to explain that to viewers, but did not recover gracefully. After the judges finally held up their paddles, she said, "A little explanation for the viewers at home. The judges put their scores right into their pads that are sitting there at their desks, and so, of course, I got to hear their score. I was so excited for them I let the cat out of the bag a little early. But that's how it works, folks." How what works?

This isn't even her first hosting job nor her first time as a host for a reality show (Samantha hosted FOX's "The Next Joe Millionaire" in 2003). Nor is this her first time in front of a live audience, as she's appeared on "Good Morning America" and "The View."

She was sometimes awkward on those shows too, but here she has a much higher profile, as "Dancing With the Stars" is the second-most popular reality show in the country, following only FOX's "American Idol." She also has much more air time, so her flubs are all the more obvious and regular. Occasional mistakes are expected and forgivable. Three seasons worth of sputtering is not even a pattern, it's a clearly defined style.

Comparing two hosts
As a correspondent for E! News, Samantha works alongside "American Idol" host, Ryan Seacrest, and when "Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" are both airing live in the spring, the two film their respective reality shows in studios that are right next to each other. Spending all that time near Seacrest, she has not, alas, learned anything, as there couldn't be a bigger contrast between his always-easygoing approach and her bumbling awkwardness.

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Compare Ryan Seacrest encouraging people to vote for an "American Idol" finalist to "Dancing's" two most recent co-hosts, and Drew and Samantha would both receive Cs to his A+. Samantha, even more than short-term substitute, Drew, is full of breathless desperation in contrast to Seacrest's smooth and controlled delivery of voting information. Seacrest makes hosting look so easy and effortless that many producers and networks act as if anyone can do it.

Samantha absolutely cannot. However, Seacrest is nowhere near as funny as Samantha. While his humor is intentional and often stupid or offensive, her humor is almost always hysterical and apparently accidental.

In a now-iconic moment, while teasing an upcoming break, Samantha suddenly started talking as if someone had injected her tongue with too much novocaine, causing her to spontaneously channel Elmer Fudd: "Ooh, well wite after de-de bweak," she said as a bewildered Tom Bergeron turned toward her and started applauding her ridiculousness.

Besides laugh-out-loud moments like that, her hosting is full of grammatical and other errors ("call online," "no hold barred") and various non sequiturs. Most of her backstage conversations have no flow or internal logic. The celebrities deserve credit for not responding to everything she says with a "Huh?"


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She's also slightly clueless about her own awfulness. During last season's finale, John Ratzenberger said he wanted Tom Bergeron's job, and Samantha chimed in, "By the way, Tom, no worries, I'm not letting you go" ― as if Bergeron would ever be the one between the two of them to get fired.

Though she may be ridiculed and mocked for these and other moments, the fact remains that she is one of the show's unpredictable highlights, a surprise bit of entertainment between dances. That's the key to her value as entertainment: It is completely random.

Samantha may make it through a show without stumbling, but she may also verbally trip and fall on her face a half-dozen times, and for that, she deserves a warm welcome back.

Andy Dehnart is a writer and teacher who publishes reality blurred, a daily summary of reality TV news.

Barry Watson has made a career out of playing the sincere nice guy. He was the responsible, eldest child on 7th Heaven, the hopeless romantic in What About Brian, and now he's the good-humored boyfriend of Christina Applegate's amnesiac character in Samantha Who? That new show premieres tonight at 9:30pm on ABC, wedged carefully between Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor.

Barry Watson spoke to BuddyTV about Samantha Who?, his desire to play a bad-ass, working with such an experienced ensemble, and his wife, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designer Tracy Hutson. Below you will find a transcript as well as the mp3 audio file of the interview.



Hi this John from BuddyTV and I'm talking to Barry Watson from the new ABC Series Samantha Who? Hi Barry.

How ya doin'?


I'm doing great, how are you doing this morning?

I'm doing good! Just waiting for the show to premiere to see how we do, how we fair.


That's what everyone's waiting. Now it's tonight at 9:30pm wedged right in between Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor which is a pretty good time slot I've gotta say.

Yea, it's not that bad, I wouldn't complain.


Similar I think to your last show, What About Brian, the target audience for this show is I'm guessing more a female demographic than anything else. I'm wondering if this is an active choice you've been making, trying to do more sensitive male roles to attract that female audience?

You know what I think I've just kind of, you know, fallen into that with you know, What About Brian and this. Yeah, it's jut kind of happened that way, I can't really explain it but I'm not going to complain about it though.


Yeah. Do you ever get the desire to play just a hard-nosed cop or some guy who always gets into fights?

Yeah you know, some dude who just kicks ass for an hour and 30 minutes. Yeah of course I mean, you want to do everything ... it's kind of funny. You know when I first started off, before I was like a series regular starring or doing any movies or anything like that, I was always guest starring as like, the bad guy. Forever. But nobody will ever remember that because people only know me for playing like, you know, these nice guys.


Definitely. And with you and your co-star in this, Christina Applegate, both kind of not necessarily grew up on TV, but most famous for playing teenagers on long running shows: Married ... with Children, 7th Heaven ... two completely different series.

Yeah, a lot of TV experience which I think is great because we both go into it with kind of a professional attitude and you know we've all been there before so you know that in the TV world you never know what's going to happen. But you know I think we all really believe in this show and are kind of excited to see what happens because I think we'd all like to do it for a while.


Yeah. So everyone on the show kind of like gets along, so do you find you have more in common with her than some other actors you've acted with just because you have all of that experience for such young actors?

Yeah, I don't know if it so much that we have more in common than other people I've worked with but I just think that we just ... we know that we're both going to, and not just with Christina but with Jean Smart, who is on the show, and Kevin Dunn. Everybody's got a good body to work behind them and so everybody shows up and knows what they need to do for their part and there's no ... everybody's in it for the same reason, to make the show as good as possible so there's no kind of selfish attitudes or anything like that which is great. I don't think I've ever had a chance to work with such a solid group of people that all, you know, just want to make the best show.


And uh, I'm not sure how many episodes you've filmed already yet ...

We're about to shoot our 10th episode this week already.


Do you have just a favorite moment or favorite scene that you've gotten to do so far on this show?

Um, you know what, I mean it's funny because usually we find like one thing on something you've worked on but you know most of all my scenes are with Christina. So it's just, I mean she's ... people are really, really, really, really gonna fall back in love with Christina Applegate because of the character she's playing and how great she is. So I think like, every scene that I've had with her just, you know, cracks me up. I mean, there's something that we did a couple weeks ago where she, her character kind of realized that I have a new girl living in our apartment and there's a very funny exchange between her character and Jennifer Esposito. I can't really say too much, because I'll give it away and it probably doesn't air for another two months but you know, everything I do with Christina is just fun because you know she makes it fun, the writers make it funner, we all kind of just ... you know we're laughing everyday we go to work.


Yeah. And from your time on 7th Heaven toward the end you worked as a writer for that show and you directed a couple of episodes ... is that something that you're interested in pursuing further? Or was that sort of just isolated for that one show?

No, no, no I mean there's actually something I'm working on right now that I'm trying to write and style up for a comedy for a feature film. And you know, directing is another passion of mine that I really want to keep pursuing. Actually, I think every actor should try to dip in to every aspect of the business in some way because I think it's really made me a better actor you know, knowing every single process of how everything gets done ... and I want to try to do everything. And you know also play the bad guy, action star, I want to do it all so you know the directing this is something I'm really passionate about and I hope to do more of it.


And finally I want to just ask one quick question about your wife, Tracy, one of the designers on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ... how awesome is your house then?

Man, my house kicks ass. No, you know, it's funny because everybody always asks me that and our house is great, don't get me wrong I love it, it's beautiful but there's still some things that need to be done. But she's so busy fixing everybody else's house that you know our house is kind of on the back burner right now so, yeah. I could use some improvements, I need like Ty Pennington to show up with that megaphone, actually I don't want him to do that because I think I'd put it down his throat. But yeah, we need a couple little things ... everybody needs a couple little things to do to their house so yeah.


Okay. Well than you very much for talking to us Barry and I wish you all the best. I've seen the pilot episode and I really do enjoy it, it's a very funny show I gotta tell ya.

Well you know I think you're going to be really happy because the episodes ... all the episodes after the pilot get even better and it's going to be a lot of fun.





Contents
1 Cast
2 Episodes
2.1 Season 1: 2007-2008
3 References
4 External links



[edit] Cast
Christina Applegate as Samantha "Sam" Newly
Kevin Dunn as Howard
Jennifer Esposito as Andrea
Melissa McCarthy as Dena
Tim Russ as Frank
Jean Smart as Regina
Barry Watson as Todd

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1: 2007-2008
# Title Original airdate Code

1 "Pilot" October 15, 2007 101
After being the victim of a hit and run, Sam awakens to the shock of everyone that she doesn't remember any of them, not even her parents who were standing over her bedside.

2 "The Job" October 22, 2007 102
It's Samantha's first day back to work and her first board meeting gives her a shocking look at just how cutthroat and competitive she really was.