This is the news for December 11 from Nan Dibble and Helpers' Network
Hotline for fans of Beauty and the Beast. To contact me by e-mail, post to
ndibble@fuse.net. To stop (or to begin) receiving updates as e-mail, notify
me at the above e-mail address. To reach me by phone (evenings/weekends),
call (513) 961-4813.The website is at http://home.fuse.net/helpnet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The main news this week is that Madigan Men, in which Roy Dotrice (Father)
is a regular, has been put on hiatus. However, there well may be some gold
within that cloud, and there's something we can do to help. I'll start with
a couple of news accounts I saw online (I've condensed them somewhat to
concentrate on the info pertinent to us):
___________
Friday December 8 4:11 AM ET
Webs wield axe

By Michael Schneider and Josef Adalian

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Fox has paved over ``The Street,'' while ABC and NBC
have altered their Tuesday night game plans, as the networks announced a
slew of midseason schedule changes Thursday.

Meanwhile, the new Friday ``Millionaire'' will bump ``Two Guys and a Girl''
an hour later to 9 p.m., and ``Norm'' back to 9:30 p.m. ``The Trouble with
Normal'' had previously been pulled from the night; joining it in the
hiatus pile is ``Madigan Men.''

Madigan'' isn't completely dead, however; ABC execs are waiting to see the
results of new episodes now being shot. Cindy Chupack quietly left last
month as showrunner; George Wendt and Christine Ebersol have also joined
the show's cast, which is led by Gabriel Byrne.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS
___________
Thursday December 07 10:06 PM EST
Kramer Kaput; "The $treet" Dead Ends


ABC, meanwhile, put its Friday comedy Madigan Men, starring Gabriel Byrne,
on hiatus, according to Inside.com. The move is part of a shuffling that
will shift Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from Tuesdays to Fridays and make
room for the new saboteur spy adventure, The Mole.

The Mole, a new reality game show from Stone Stanley Entertainment, will
premiere January 9 at 8 p.m. Regis, meanwhile, will head to Fridays at 8
p.m. starting January 5, and sitcom survivors Two Guys and a Girl and Norm
will fill out the 9 p.m. slot.

It's not yet known whether Madigan Men will return to the schedule
following The Mole's nine-episode run. But like all shows "on hiatus,"
don't hold your breath.
_________
Here's what media-savvy Roy Dotrice friend Stephanie Wiltse had to say:

Madigan Men will be going on hiatus after the December 15th episode --even
though a taping (sans studio audience) took place Friday night, December
8th. Three episodes may likely stay un-aired as things now stand.

On first blush the news seemed pretty bleak, as Roy Dotrice put it
Saturday. "Yes, we appear to be heading for an indefinite hiatus, in other
words the Axe!!! Anything you can do to persuade Fans to write to ABC
asking for a stay of execution would be greatly appreciated by both Gabriel
and myself."

According to an article by Nellie Andreeva of The Hollywood Reporter
(courtesy of the Yahoo club)
"The benching is not all bad news for "Madigan Men," ATG president and CEO
Eric Tannenbaum said. "The good news for 'Madigan Men' is that ABC is still
thinking (about) whether they're going to pick it up. They like the show
creatively." He said changes will be made to the show and he hopes it will
be relaunched in March or April in a new time slot on a new night."

So, it can't hurt to add one's own encouraging words. Here is the address
the production office recommended fans write to (courtesy of Kay, former
"liaison between Gabriel's fan mail handler and his online fans"):

ABC
Audience Information
500 S. Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521

There is also a phone comment line: (818) 460-7477

And an online form to send e-mail:
http://abc.go.com/abc/help/contact.html

Steff

Stephanie Wiltse
webmaster@cinemind.com<br>
Cinema of the Mind
http://www.cinemind.com
_________
As Stef mentions above, Kay has withdrawn (in a separate post) from her
role "as liaison" but continues to promote the series in any way she can.
And in her former capacity, she has this account of how the news was broken
to the show:

Says Kay:

I just got off the phone with Dana Kenerson. He has spoken to people in the
know, including one of the producers, and they haven't heard anything about
Madigan Men being put on hiatus or cancelled. NO ONE from ABC has contacted
them yet. Someone in the Production Office did mention that they found a
message on their machine this morning for a lady asking if the hiatus story
is true and, if it is so, what fans can do to help get it back on the air.
(I guess I didn't sound too incoherent when I left the message after all.)
Sonja Marie has a Gabriel Byrne Update (newsletter) that had the articles
about the hiatus in it. I forwarded that to Dana and he is going to print
it out and give copies to the people at MM who want to know where the story
originated. Dana also said he will tell them that there are fans online who
want to know how they can help. He has my phone # and says that as soon as
he hears anything, he call me. At the moment, he is being told that they
may know something Dec. 15. But today, Madigan Men is taping another
episode - without a live audience. So, that is promising.
_________

In a following post, Kay also provided the address/phone information, in
terms of how we can call/write to support the show. Letting Stephanie have
the last word, she remarked in another post, "I just happened accidentally
on a favorable mention for Roy Dotrice (if not Madigan Men et al) in the
December 18th issue of People Weekly magazine. In its "Picks and Pans"
section our hero was referred to as a 'Foxy grandpa.' No kidding <grin>
Steff"

So he is, so he is. In fact, he defines the term! Thanks to Kay and
Stephanie for giving this way of supporting our dear friend. Keep those
calls and letters and e-mails coming, please!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just a small mention that I've ceased advertising my novelizations and the
various audio and video tapes I've been doing for people. I will take no
further orders until all the present ones are filled (and I'm still, sadly,
some distance from that). I surely didn't anticipate order fulfillment
being as hard as it is when I decided to make these books/tapes available.
For instance, it takes about 6 hours to prepare each copy of Beyond Words,
Beyond Silence (copying/collating the book itself, then reproducing the art
at 6 minutes per page on my nice but slow color inkjet printer x 12 pieces
of art, plus binding, plus getting covers reproduced, etc. et al.) And
since my illness in June, there just hasn't been that much energy to spare,
I've found. Whine, whimper, snivel. And I know, nobody put a gun to my head
and FORCED me to volunteer for this. Like many things, it just seemed a
good idea at the time.... And we all know what the road to hell is paved with.

Everyone's been very patient and good-natured about the delay, and I WILL
get all the orders filled. Perhaps during my otherwise quiet Christmas
holidays there will be time to shove a few more out the door. Anyway,
please don't send me any more orders until I've fully dealt with those I have.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good news from Jamie Murray (Myhr):

"Got the flats for my second bookcover in yesterday's mail (a flat is the
first printrun of the paperback cover, used for promotional purposes).
"Quincey Morris, Vampire" should be in bookstores this July.

Note: "Quincey" will be in paperback..."His Father's Son" (my first
bookcover), will be released first as a hardback, this May."

Nan again. I've reproduced the scanned art of this cover Jamie kindly sent
along on the Helpers' Network website, in this update. To clarify, I
believe what Jamie is saying is that he did the COVERS for the mentioned
books, not that he wrote them. But a piece of Jamie Murray art is always
worth looking at.and fun, too! May these be the first of many, Jamie!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helper Eve M. sent some sightings: "There is a tv movie called "Melanie
Darrow (starring Delta Burke) on USA---both Bruce Abbott [Devin] and Brian
Bloom [Cameron Benson, "The Hollow Men") were in it.

Also, in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, also a few weeks ago; also on
USA----Jamie Murray's tv station (AND JAMIE) were featured as hostages at a
radio station taken over by bad guys!!! Jamie was shown almost throughout
the show because he sat on the floor next to one of the stars- Alexandra
Cahill. It was great! Jamie had actually told me about this show at the LA
Con."

Thanks, Eve! Glad to know that ep finally aired (it's not a show I follow
slavishly).

And the always observant Stephanie Wiltse is the first to note (to me,
anyway) that the co-pilot in that new Tom Hanks film "Castaway" is none
other than Jay Acovone! Thanks again, Stef!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, from the 2001 ConCom:

Dear Friends,

We are approaching the traditional time of the year for celebration,
rejoicing and family. No matter what faith or set of beliefs we follow we
hold our children a little tighter, smile a little more, and share our good
fortune with friends and family.

Once again I ask that you think of the little ones at Hale House. Tiny
babies arrive everyday sick and alone. The little brownstone in Harlem
takes the babies in and care for them until they are bright eyed healthy
toddlers who are then placed back with responsible members of their
extended families. There are almost a dozen who have no one at all, the
eldest is 8, a little girl, one of 3 sisters who lost both parents to AIDS.

Please think of them when you're shopping for presents. A teething ring, a
rattle, a baby shirt, a teddy bear, a precious book, a pretty hair clip
will be gratefully received by these special children.

This year the Walt Disney elementary school, headed by our very own Olive
McNeil, Principal, has organized a toy drive, an event where each child
will be bringing a baby toy for the HH kids. In the same spirit, I ask that
you think of the Hale House children.

Baby clothes are always in need of course. Books are highly prized.

Please remember that the gifts must be new. They are throw away children,
like Vincent, and it is important not to reinforce the unfortunate way in
which they entered this world by giving them our own cast-off articles,
even though we mean well. Building self esteem is critical to the healing
process.

I am asking that you send your gifts directly to Hale House, 152 West 122nd
Street, New York, NY 10027. I am recovering from surgery to repair a torn
rotator cuff and some surgical art work on the bones in my shoulder, and my
elevator is being fixed in "two weeks." Those of you who have seen the
movie, The Money Pit, know what that means!

I want to thank Olive and Caloric for getting the ball rolling and thank
all of you for your generosity.

May your Holidays be joyful and may you be twice blessed for your kindness.

Please pass this message on to your friends.

Thank. You.

Aurea Andino
Once Upon A Time In NYC, Inc.
230 West 99th Street, Suite 7N
New York, New York, 10025
http://www.onceuponatimeinnyc.org
Hale House
152 West 122nd Street
New York, NY 10027
212 663-0700 Office
212 749-2888 Fax
http://www.halehouse.org
___________________
In a separate post, Aurea added,

Attencion Amigas y Amigos!

The correct address for the con website is:
http://www.onceuponatimeinnyc.org - the name of the pilot.

Honest. I got it right this time.

Please read the summary page and pay particular attention to the Hotel's
pricing structure. Sharing a room not only saves but will give you more
time to catch up with your old friends and learn all about your new ones.
 
When you click on the logo to register for the con, you will see extra
messages alerting you to the fact that you are entering a secure area.
You'll need a browser that handles 128 bit encryption and is enabled to
accept cookies.

And now that I've confused half of virtual fandom, I will say buenas
noches. :->

Aurea
NYC Above

Nan again. I believe I have the URL right on MY website, but I'll check
once again to be certain that the link works.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are the sightings from Helper/Correspondent Maxine Mayer:

Saturday, December 9
5 p Cliff DeYoung (Prof. Alexander Ross, Dark Spirit) in The Craft (SFC)

Sunday, December 10
3 p Linda Hamilton in The Secret Life of Girls (AMC)
5 p Ron Perlman in The Magnificent 7 (TNN)
2 a Ray Wise (Tom Gunther, the pilot) in Season of Fear (TMC)
1 a Beauty and the Beast (ODY)

Monday, December 11
7:05 p Delroy Lindo (Isaac Stubbs, No Way Down) in Strange Justice (TMC)

Tuesday, December 12
1:10 a Lance Henriksen (Snow, Snow) in Spitfire (MAX)

Wednesday, December 13)
Nothing of interest noted.

Thursday, December 14
Nothing of interest noted.

Friday, December 15
9:30 p Roy Dotrice in ep of Madigan Men (ABC)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If it's news and has to do with Beauty and the Beast, please think of the
Hotline and relay. We're all in this together, keeping the dream of Beauty
and the Beast alive however we can. Beast wishes, be well, and goodbye.


ndibble@fuse.net
http://home.fuse.net/helpnet