“Outsourced” is NBC’s new workplace comedy series centered around a catalog-based company, Mid America Novelties, that sells American novelty goods including whoopee cushions, foam fingers and wallets made of bacon, and whose call center has suddenly been outsourced to India. After recently completing Mid America Novelties’ manager training program, Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport, off-Broadway’s “The Gingerbread House”) learns that the call center is being outsourced to India, and he is asked to move there to be the manager. Having never ventured out of the country, he is unprepared for the culture shock. Overwhelmed, Todd discovers that his new staff needs a crash course in all things American if they are to understand the U.S. product line and ramp up sales from halfway around the world. The sales team Todd inherits includes Gupta (Parvesh Cheena, “Help Me Help You”), a socially awkward employee; Manmeet (Sacha Dhawan, BBC’s “Five Days II”), a young romantic who is enamored with America; Asha (Rebecca Hazlewood, BBC’s “Doctors”), a smart, striking woman who finds herself intrigued by Todd; Rajiv (Rizwan Manji, “Privileged”) the assistant manager who wants Todd’s job; and Madhuri (Anisha Nagarajan, Broadway’s “Bombay Dreams”), a wallflower who suffers from extreme shyness. Todd also discovers other transplants working in his office building, including an American expatriate, Charlie Davies (Diedrich Bader, “The Drew Carey Show”), who runs the All-American Hunter call center, and Tonya (Pippa Black, “Neighbours”), a beautiful Australian who runs the call center for Koala Air. (Premieres September 23rd at 9:30/8:30c)
Tag: NBC (Page 3 of 19)
MONDAY
The Event (Mon., Sept. 20 @ 9:00 PM, NBC)
* The competition: “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike & Molly” (CBS), “Lone Star” (Fox), “Gossip Girl” (The CW)
Starring: Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Laura Innes, Scott Patterson, Ian Anthony Dale, Zeljko Ivanek
Producers: Steve Stark (“Medium”), Evan Katz (“24”), Nick Wauters (“The 4400,” “Eureka”), Jeffrey Reiner (“Friday Night Lights,” “Trauma”)
Network’s Description: an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an Everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, Leila, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. Sean’s quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez; Sophia, who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean’s shadowy father-in-law. Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind.
The Buzz: NBC ain’t playing around with this one: the big question of the summer for TV fans has been, “What is ‘The Event’?” Most of those who’ve seen the pilot seem to at least be hooked enough to come back for Episode 2, though I’m sure no one is counting on finding out what ‘The Event’ is anytime soon. On a related note, there’s some very reasonable concern from folks about whether they’re going to be let down by a promising sci-fi pilot that starts strong but then either peters out early in the season or never gets properly resolved before it’s canceled. (“FlashForward,” anyone?)
Pilot Highlight: There are several moments which will have you raising your eyebrows both at what you’re seeing and what it means, particularly the final scene, but the most effective sequence begins when Sean – who’s on a cruise with Leila – returns from a solo outing to find things aren’t quite the same as he left them.
Bottom Line: The rapid-fire back and forth between past and present combined with people getting the sensation that NBC’s trying for the next “Lost” is going to make it a tough sell for some, but, damn, the first episode sure intrigued the hell out of me.
Chase (Mon., Sept. 20 @ 10:00 PM, NBC)
* The competition: “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS), “Castle” (ABC)
Starring: Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Rose Rollins, Jesse Metcalfe
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI”), Jonathan Littman and Jennifer Johnson (“Cold Case”), KristieAnne Reed (“The Forgotten,” “Miami Medical”)
Network’s Description: a fast-paced drama that drops viewers smack into the middle of a game of cat-and-mouse as a team of U.S. marshals hunts down America’s most dangerous fugitives. U.S. Marshal Annie Frost is a cowboy boot-wearing deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down the violent criminals on the run. The members of Frost’s elite team are Jimmy Godfrey, an East Texas kid who never grew up and is a true American cowboy; Marco Martinez, a good intelligence guy who loves to talk; and Daisy Ogbaa, a weapons/tactical specialist and a woman of few words. Rounding out the cast is Luke Watson, the fresh-faced newcomer, whose Washington, D.C., upbringing did little to prepare him for the Lone Star State.
The Buzz: It ain’t great. For one thing, Bruckerheimer was nowhere to be seen at the panel for the series (he was apparently on the set of the new “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, but he somehow managed to make it in for ABC’s panel for “The Whole Truth” a couple of days later), and then the panel itself was notably shorter than the ones for some of the other new entries on the NBC schedule. Maybe we shouldn’t make too much of either of these things, though. It’s more likely that it’s just a case where the show was too pedestrian to inspire much in the way of unique promotion.
Pilot Highlight: Nothing, really, and I can’t help but recall that I had this same problem with one of NBC’s pilots last year, too. (Would you please rise from the grave and take a final bow, “Mercy”?) Sometimes, a show arrives, follows its formula, and departs without leaving much of an impression. “Chase” is one of those shows.
Bottom Line: Don’t let the Bruckheimer name suck you in this time. “Chase” is the most by-the-book, formulaic cops-and-robbers drama I’ve seen in awhile, with no “hook” to make it stand out from the pack. If “Hawaii Five-0” doesn’t blow it out of the water, then I’ll have to echo Alex O’Loughlin’s sentiments and concede that I’m completely bewildered and have no idea how television works at all.
We were fortunate to be asked to join a conference call this past Wednesday with Michael Ventrella, who was crowned The Biggest Loser on NBC’s hit reality show on Tuesday night. Michael began the season at 526 pounds and lost 264 for a final weight of 262. In other words, he lost more than 50% of his body weight, in just a few months time. It’s an incredible feat, and since we were on a call with many other journalists, we chose a few of the questions at random and Michael’s answer. Our question is in bold. Enjoy!
Question: Going into this experience did you ever think you’d make it to the end? Did you think that game play would get in the way or did you think you’d have any kind of major struggles that would stop you?
Michael Ventrella: I thought there was going to be a lot of different things that might interfere with my journey. You know, it is a game show. I mean at the end of the day that’s what it is. And on top of it, you know, being at 526 you have no hope for a future. You have no hope. I mean I knew that I was going to give it my all and I knew that I would be relentless at my efforts of, you know, healthy but I surpassed my wildest dreams.
Q: So what are some of the challenges that you faced when you transitioned home? And how do you plan on dealing with those challenges moving forward in maintaining your weight?
MV: Surprisingly enough I thought the biggest challenges when I went home was, you know, like putting in my workout regimen and my new eating habits, surprisingly enough, it wasn’t that because I’m not that person at 526 anymore. I don’t think that way. I don’t eat that way. I don’t live that way. The biggest challenges I’ve experienced being at home was having everybody understand what I’m going through, what I’m trying to do. You know, I have friends who are (unintelligible) and they don’t know like the commitment at I’m – and the hard work that I’m putting towards doing this. And then I have friends and family who are overweight and never even attempted to try to lose weight and they don’t understand what I’m going through.
Q: I know that love – finding love was a big theme this season on the show. So I want to know are you dating. Are you seeing anyone? What’s your love life like now?
MV: My love life is nonexistent. The only thing that I’m learning to love is myself and that’s the only thing I have time for right now because I haven’t done that ever. I never learned how to respect myself, respect my body and take care of me. So before I learn to love somebody else I need to learn how to love myself. And I’m not completely there yet because I’m still not done with my journey. You know, the finale for Biggest Loser was last night but the finale for my weight loss is yet to come.
Q: So now what are you planning to do with your prize money?
MV: Get out of debt, at least try to. We’ll see what happens – we’ll see what I get after Uncle Sam gets a hold of me. But that’s first and foremost because, you know, being in debt you feel like all that (weight) on your shoulders and, you know, that just weighs you down along with the fat on your body. So as I’m losing weight I’m getting things sorted out and I’m really cleaning up my life in every angle.
Q: Coming from a family of big Chicagoans, I know we love our deep dish pizza and our (unintelligible) and Chicago dogs. Is there room for that in your new life or are there different ways of enjoying those kinds of Chicago foods?
MV: Oh, most definitely. I try to be as creative as possible to recreate these, you know, dishes and flavors that I love so much, that I grew up on. But of course there’s going to be some things that I can’t imitate, you know, in a healthy way. So I mean it’s inevitable that I’ll have it one day or another but I’m going to work for it. Just like a person that wants to buy a house, you don’t buy a house and then get a job. You get a job, you work hard for your money, you earn, you save and then you get what you want. And that’s exactly how I look at, you know, these different foods that might be – I might not be able to recreate. So I’ll plan ahead and be like, “Oh, Sunday’s coming around. I’m going to go get myself some deep dish pizza. So to work towards that I’m going to do an extra mile a day on the bike.” Or you know, Sunday before I go, I’ll ride my bike to the restaurant and back that way my metabolism is at its highest and I burn it off and it will just completely wash through. And so it’s a treat but I’ve got to work for that treat. It’s not going to – you know, so many Americans these days we like to play then pay and we’ve got to switch that around.
Q: You seem to have kind of a kinship with Ashley given that you both made it to the final. Did it – did you have to struggle to stay in that competitive mode given that you were facing off with somebody you grew close to?
MV: Yes and no. I mean Ashley and I’s relationship is just phenomenal. She’s like my twin, not evil twin, but my twin, you know. And we encourage each other and push each other to our limits and see what we’re possibly capable of and we’re always, you know, comforting each other because deep down to the root of things we started off this whole journey feeling the same things, going through the same things. We were both overweight throughout our whole lives. We never knew any different. And it seemed like every time she’d face a problem I would face it a day before or day later or at the same time. So all through it we knew that we were each other’s competitors but we wanted the best for one another because we are friends. And that’s – at the end of the day that’s pretty much it is that we all have witnessed such a great portion of one of the most life-changing moments. And no matter how articulately capable we can be of explaining to another person what we felt, what we went through, what we did, you know, what we were thinking, nobody will ever get it unless they were there. And me and Ashley totally (unintelligible) as far as what we went through and the whole experience together. So it’s hard not to bond after that or through that and want to see each other succeed, you know, because that’s who we are. We want (to) better for everybody.
Q: And I know you watched the show in the past, so what’s the biggest difference between watching it on TV and then actually being there?
MV: Oh, good question. You know what, when I studied it before I auditioned for the show I was just watching all the episodes and, you know, like how is everybody’s relationship? How do they react to one another? You know, how do they react to the challenges and everything like that? I told myself, “Oh, this is something I’ll never do. I’ll never partake in an eating challenge. I’ll never do this challenge. I’ll never do that.” Because it’s kind of got a standard theme throughout all the seasons. And when you’re there all that goes out the window. When you’re there you’re – I was in survival mode. I was like, “All right. I got to do this.” Because the old Michael would put so much of his fate in other people’s hands and that made me so unhappy and that’s what brought me pretty much, you know, contributed to me being at 526. So I really had to get over it and say, “I am going to play the game because my livelihood depends on it.”
Q: I just have to ask, is there something that you’re really looking forward to doing now that you felt you couldn’t do or didn’t want to do when you were heavier?
MV: Yeah. I’d love to go to a theme park with all my cousins and ride a roller coaster and be a kid for the first time in my life. You know, I am thinner now and have a smaller waist at 31 than I did when I was like 13 or 14. So I never got to experience what being a kid really was and I want to do that. I want to live that out, you know. And I love kids. I love to be around them. I like to be playful and I love my family. And so I’m definitely so excited to spend a couple days at a theme park, you know, and take all my little cousins out and just live it up.
Q: My question is, do you have a specific goal weight to reach and do you have a timeline and plan to reach that?
MV: Now that the Biggest Loser finale is over I can really rearrange my workout routines. And I can start incorporating, you know, lifting and muscle gain into my workouts now, which is great because it’s going to make losing weight a hell of a lot easier. So my – as far as losing fat mass. I’m going to start gaining muscle and losing fat. So you know, might weight might go up a little bit, it might go down, it should stay around the same but it’s the inches that are definitely going to change. You know, my arms will get bigger and my waist will get smaller and my legs will get toner and I’m really excited about that because I’m going to see how far I can exercise and push my body to the healthiest I can possibly be. And so overall that’s the biggest difference because now I feel that my body’s probably gotten used to all the cardio that I’ve been doing plus it’s taxing on my knees. I’m excited definitely because I can’t wait to just get my arms ripped up.
Q: If you had to pin down the biggest lesson that you learned on the ranch, what would it be?
MV: The biggest lesson is to really understand in order to help other people I need to help myself. You know, as a natural caring individual I was always putting other people before me because I thought, “Oh, well they need help more than I do.” Well I couldn’t really help anybody if I was sick or if I was, you know, dead. So the minute that I learned how to focus on me and what my body needed and what I needed to sustain life and live happily is a perfect example. Look at all the other people that have changed their lives. I meet countless people every day that email me, call me, salute me in the street, you know, shake my hand and say, “Ever since I saw you on Biggest Loser run the five miles, I’ve been able to walk one mile and I can’t wait to do what you just did.” And I’m sitting there like, “I never even had that intention. I’ve never even known this person. And look what happened just from me focusing on myself and setting an example.” So it’s honoring. I can’t even (unintelligible) to say how amazing it feels to be able to get that return even on top of everything I’ve done for myself I’ve been able to help other people.
Last night’s “Biggest Loser” finale on NBC was a true showdown of four contestants who really deserved to be there. No real game play was evident this season, anyone who started to play the game was swiftly eliminated by everyone else. Anyway, this was a live event, but they went through and showed each of their collective journey, especially how they all had to weigh in in front of their hometown friends and family at the start. This included the ubiquitous showing of Daris saying “I will do everything I can to make you proud,” in which he sounds like an overweight robot. I mean, the producers of this show love that clip so much, that you could seriously create a drinking game around every time they show it.
The show never managed to recapture those stellar ratings from its critically-beloved first season, when it averaged a whopping 14.5 million. There has been talk that NBC may air a movie that allows the producers to wrap up the story, but nothing has been set in stone.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
When we last left “Heroes,” Claire revealed her power for the world to see. Will we ever find out what happened in Volume 6: Brave New World? Why am I not optimistic?
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