Obama ‘runs wild’ to push climate change message

Penn to play Jackson in HBO miniseries

LOS ANGELES, Dec 18, (RTRS): For once, Bear Grylls had a good excuse to take refuge in a hotel, in as much as he was hosting the President of the United States. But instead, the host of NBC’s “Running Wild With Bear Grylls” took President Obama on a tour of the Alaskan wilderness, in an extended mutual admiration society that -- in the best traditions of Hollywood and Washington -- offered benefits to both sides.

For Obama, coming on the heels of the climate change accord recently negotiated in Paris, the hour in primetime provided a chance to push his initiatives to take action on climate change, which, he conceded right up front, was “one of the main purposes of our trip.” As for Grylls and NBC, the stunt gave them a highly promotable episode for this relatively dead window right before Christmas, even if the net result was about as boring as reality TV gets.

Granted, there are no shortage of shows devoted to Alaska -- Discovery would surely copyright the state if it could -- and the setting was certainly picturesque. Still, the bulk of the hour was occupied by the two men walking and talking, discussing questions about faith and fatherhood, about how they learned to love the great outdoors and, incidentally, how far the Exit Glacier has receded during Obama’s presidency.

Grilling

The highlight, such as it was, involved Grylls finding a half-eaten salmon and grilling it for the President, who started the fire on which the fish got cooked. That followed Obama joking that, having some familiarity with Grylls’ eatanything shtick, he was hoping to have the chance to chow down on “something you might see on a plate.” (Inevitably, the conversation turned to drinking urine and skinny-dipping in ice-cold water, providing Obama to show off his lighter side, much like a late-night TV appearance.)

Of course, Obama’s critics will deride this interlude for the love letter/promotional video that it was, but they bear at least part of the blame. After all, if the political climate hadn’t become toxic to the point where climate science is deemed a wholly partisan issue, Obama wouldn’t have to waste time engaging in this sort of endeavor to push the message.

“I’m in awe of what you’re doing to protect our planet,” Grylls said near the end, while Obama stated how impressed he was with the TV host’s commitment to the same cause, before the two prayed together and hugged. One suspects not many minds were changed, but it likely played well with their respective choirs. And despite the harrowing appearance of what Grylls does, and Obama’s references to how he can make his staff nervous by going off script, this was the epitome of a low-risk exercise -- the PR equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel.

In the early days of “The Big Bang Theory,” series co-creator Chuck Lorre spoke about the Sheldon character being asexual - or really, just choosing not to participate in the rituals of dating and mating, preoccupied as he was with science and related pastimes, from science fiction to comic books. So the longawaited, much-ballyhooed consummation of his unorthodox relationship with Amy is either an intriguing evolution or a betrayal of the show’s roots and byproduct of “What do we do to keep things fresh in Season 9?” desperation, depending on one’s point of view.

Frankly, the plot involving Sheldon ( Jim Parsons) and Amy ( Mayim Bialik) hasn’t been wholly convincing in the build-up, given all the time viewers have spent with him through the years. One of Sheldon’s main qualities, in fact, is his almost complete lack of empathy, his sizable brain so preoccupied with scientific formulae and fictional minutia as to scarcely have enough room to fret about anyone else’s feelings. Perhaps that’s why the revelation that he was thinking about proposing - right before Amy, hurt once too often, broke up with him - came a bit out of left field.

With that as preamble, the episode that paid off that plot (and SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t watched) - combining Sheldon and Amy’s big moment with the opening of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” in extremely clever and timely fashion - was better than it had any right to be. Much of that has to do with the gifts of Parsons and Bialik, who have turned their fragile characters into a modern-day “David and Lisa,” having grown to love each other, however improbably, in spite of their respective quirks.

Those qualities came through in the Dec. 17 episode, which (in the most unconvincing wrinkle) saw Sheldon give up his ticket to the “Star Wars” opening in order to spend Amy’s birthday with her, receiving disembodied advice from the spectral TV personality, Arthur (Bob Newhart, now 86, and brilliant as always), who has become his Obi-Wan Kenobi. “Amy’s birthday present will be my …,” Sheldon concluded, in an almost clinical manner. (For his part, Arthur wondered why he was never fortunate

Angie Dickin- enough to appear in son’s bedroom.)

Yet the actual moment (OK, just before the actual moment), juxtaposed with the anticipation surrounding “The Force Awakens,” proved sweet, and almost equally funny. And while Amy’s disheveled hair hinted at a better-than-expected experience, the writing didn’t completely sell out Sheldon’s eccentricities, leaving him content to treat coitus as an annual birthday activity, while clearly harboring more enthusiasm about “Star Wars” than losing his virginity.

The laughs multiplied, moreover, through the near-orgasmic reaction of Sheldon’s friends in the theater, capturing the more extreme quadrants of “Star Wars” fandom — offset by “Star Trek” alum Wil Wheaton joining them to help let some of the air out of the festivities.

At a Hollywood Radio and Television Society event on Dec 14, Lorre addressed the evolution of the characters, noting how he couldn’t have imagined Sheldon’s arc would lead in this direction. Clearly, “The Big Bang Theory” became a better, more varied show when it elevated its female contingent from one to three, and has even weathered marrying off Leonard ( Johnny Galecki) and Penny ( Kaley Cuoco), despite clunky moments, this season and last, in servicing their storyline.

Practically speaking, with CBS’ other comedies hardly setting the world on fire, the network has a strong incentive to keep this show as its anchor, meaning “Big Bang’s” future likely hinges on whether (or really, when) the cast will grow tired enough of doing it to be willing to walk away from those Carl Sagan- like checks. And to the writers’ credit, it’s certainly riskier to explore these relationship-driven dimensions than just another “The guys go to the comic-book store” episode.

That said, there’s a long history of sitcom characters hooking up mostly out of sheer creative exhaustion - having run out of things to talk about - and ruining shows in the process. From that perspective, Sheldon’s exchange near the end with Arthur seemingly reflected a desire to avoid that quicksand.

OK, we’ve gotten the whole sex thing out of the way. That was interesting. Time to get back to the Force and the physics.

Though AMC’s “Mad Men” has permanently bid audiences adieu, the show’s Emmy-nominated supporting actress Christina Hendricks fortunately has not.

SundanceTV released the first teaser trailer for Hendricks’ latest television project -- a dark comedy series set in the ’80s. Based on fictional characters from novels by Joe R. Lansdale, the sixepisode series follows the chaotic misadventures of two unlikely best friends: woman-crazed Texas native Hap Collins ( James Purefoy) and hot-tempered Vietnam vet Leonard Pine ( Michael Kenneth Williams). Hendricks plays Trudy, Hap’s seductive ex-wife.

Though brief and lacking in Hendricks footage, the teaser offers a fast-paced preview into the escapades of Hap and Leonard as they become deeply involved in a classic get-rich-quick scheme that goes awry.

The action-packed mystery thriller, created by director-writer Jim Mickle and writer Nick Damici, is set to premiere in March, 2016.

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Sean Penn is heading to the White House.

The Oscar winner has signed on to play Andrew Jackson in the HBO and Lionsgate miniseries adaptation of “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House,” the Pulitzer Prizewinning biography of the seventh U.S. president.

Orphaned after his mother’s death during the Revolutionary War, Jackson was a self-made man, a western outsider, a violent warrior and a beloved general who became the country’s first “People’s President.” He entered the White House a recent widower in 1829. With the fate of the United States uncertain, the strong-willed and temperamental Jackson fought an intractable Congress and special interests to preserve the Union at all costs -- leaving a mixed and deeply controversial legacy.

“Narcos” creators Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard will pen the six-hour project, which goes into production in 2016. They and Penn are exec-producing along with Facebook’s head of market development, Matt Jacobson, who brought the project to Lionsgate and HBO.

Penn, who holds best actor Oscars for the films “Mystic River” and “Milk,” is also a director, producer and screenwriter. He recently directed “The Last Face,” which stars Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem and is in postproduction. He is the founder and CEO of J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

HBO famously received 13 Emmy awards for its “John Adams” miniseries, which starred Paul Giamatti in the adaptation of the David McCullough biography. It is currently filming a version of the Robert Schenkkan play “All the Way,” in which Bryan Cranston returns to his Tony winning-role as Lyn-

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