Mark Mandala, a former president of ABC Television Network, died Saturday.
Mandala, 72, spent more than three decades at ABC, culminating with his appointment as president of the network in 1986. He held that position for seven years. He also had stints running the ABC-owned and -operated television stations as well as senior posts in sales.
A reception for friends and family will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Dorset Field club in Dorset, Vt. A West Coast memorial for Mandala will be announced shortly.
Mandala is survived by his wife, Joan, and three sons.
-- Joe Flint
Photo: Mark Mandala. Credit: ABC.
John Barrowman talks 'Torchwood: Children of Earth'
I'm preparing a feature/review of "Torchwood: Children of Earth," a five-night miniseries that airs on BBC America starting July 20. Based on a viewing of the first three episodes, I posted this rave about the miniseries. I've now seen all five episodes of "Children of Earth" and all I can say is ... I have to watch the last two hours again. I'm still mulling those final installments over, to say the least (it's all I can do not to go to UK Web sites and look for "Torchwood" assessments; the miniseries aired there last week).
Don't get the wrong idea, I still think "Children of Earth" is well worth watching. And for that feature on the miniseries, I spoke to "Torchwood" star John Barrowman, who plays Captain Jack Harkness. Captain Jack leads a special team that deals with alien threats, and in the suspenseful five-night miniseries, the Torchwood team faces one of their biggest menaces ever.
Barrowman and I spoke by phone a couple of weeks ago, after I'd seen the first installment of "Children of Earth." I've done my best to take out anything that might be considered a spoiler.
Questions are in bold, answers are in regular type.
So I've seen Episode 1 of "Torchwood: Children of Earth" and I really liked it.
Oh, good. Well, just wait, because it gets even better. Episode 1 is brilliant, but if you're putting it in a scale of one to 10, it's about a five.
You said at Comic-Con last year -- I think you had just gotten the scripts for it -- that it hits the ground running and only gets more intense from there.
That's absolutely right. If I say it all the time, it sounds like me being overzealous for the project, but the other night, I put the first [couple of] episodes on. I let my mom and my dad and my sister -- they're over here spending the summer with me -- I let them sit and watch the episodes. Normally my mom and dad would get up and get a drink, go to the bathroom, whatever. For the first two episodes, they sat and didn't say a word. If they thought it was [expletive], they would tell me. They're the ones who are the most honest with me. As soon as [the episodes] were done, we had to go to bed, it was 2 a.m. The next morning, we get up and they're having coffee and all they said was, "When are we watching [Episode] 3?"
So for me, that's what I hope the reaction is for the audience watching [on TV]. You see one and you want more. You cannot wait for the next episode. It's a big roller-coaster ride.
My fear would have been, given that there's so much action and so much suspense, that the character stuff might get left behind, but that's not the case at all. There are these really good moments with Jack and Ianto [Gareth David-Lloyd], with Gwen [Eve Myles] and Rhys ([Kai Owen].
That's the beauty of the writing and the vision that Russell had for these five episodes. Just one example, in the hospital, you think we're going to be doing [a sad scene -- I took some details out of this sentence], Ianto and I, and soon as the [hospital] guy is gone, we're [doing a typically 'Torchwood' thing] and yet we're having a conversation about our relationship while we're doing that. That's what I think has made each character popular with audiences, Jack and Ianto and Gwen and Rhys -- they're just like those people who watch.
So what is going on between Jack and Ianto? Are you glad that their relationship is a big part of the story? Had you lobbied for that?
I'll be honest with you, I'm not one of those actors [who lobbies for particular stories]. My job is to come in, look at the script, learn the lines, play the character, get the emotion on camera and try to make the character likable. I tend not to go in-depth with the writers about where the story should go and what I think should happen. They trust me to do the stuff I'm supposed to do on camera, so I trust them to do what they're supposed to write. I never question Russell. I just don't, because I think he's brilliant.
I'm glad that they tried to look at it from that angle and go deeper into it. The ironic thing for me and the astounding thing to me is that women wanted it to be looked at, which is just wonderful. That relationship to female audiences than the other relationships, which I thought was incredible.
The relationship will develop and change. Some people are going to like it and some people aren't. That's all I can tell you.
So we find out in the first episode that Captain Jack [has been hiding a big personal secret]. That took me by surprise. Had there ever been any allusions to that and I just missed it?
This is a new thing. But we like to think that Jack has been hiding this secret for a long, long time. It's clearly obvious [that this is a significant part of Jack's life]. That's what's great about this [season]. You find out so many more layers to these characters. When I read that in the script, I was like, "Oh my God, no way." That opens up a whole other dynamic [and it affects] his relationships with other people. There's a line someone says and it sums up these episodes -- it's all to do with "sins of the past."
Captain Jack has quite a few.
He does have quite a few that he's keeping to himself. The realization of all of these things that he has done over the years kind of comes to a head [over the course of 'Children of Earth.']
Why is it such a short season? And are you signed on for future seasons?
It doesn't work that way over here [in the UK]. When you make a [season], no matter how long it is, they let the series run, and at the end of it or after [it has aired], they see how the ratings were [and then decide on future seasons].
The decision was made [to do a 5-episode miniseries of "Torchwood"] because … [BBC1 wanted] "event television." Now, this time, we have to make an impact. I talked to Russell the other day and he said, "That's not to say we won't come back with two events or three events." But decisions will not be made until after its run in the UK.
I want it to come back, and I want it to come back with even more episodes, or like Russell said, two or three "events." I think if we didn't, there would be an uproar, I think.
So if there was a desire for future seasons, you would sign up for that?
I say this with my hand on my heart: If I were only asked to be Captain Jack for the next 10 years, I would do it.
Why? 

Because I love it. It may be a long way 'round but it'll get to the point: When I got into this business, I got into it to be a working actor. I wanted to entertain, I wanted to do what I love to do. So if something came along that brought fame, I was going to embrace it. I don't understand a lot of actors and actresses who, when fame comes to them, they go, "Oh, I can't be seen, I can't do this." You know what? Get over your [expletive] self. You knew this could possibly happen, so why reject it?
What Jack has done for me is -- I mean, he's changed my life. I'm sitting here in my back garden with a view of the sea, and I wouldn't have that without Jack. If he were a real person, I'd love him. And I don't mean that in any kind of weird ego way. But I love who that character is and I love what he stands for. I love what he's done for my life and I love that people love him.
The best, the most amazing thing is when you're walking down the street and a young boy or girl comes up to you and says, "I love you, Captain Jack." It's the best feeling in the world, and I will challenge anyone who plays a character on television to say that they hate that.
So I'm definitely up for [Season] 4, 5, 6, whatever. For as long as they want to do it, I'm there.
Would Russell have to be the one writing it or in charge? I mean, "Doctor Who" kind of had a changing of the guard. Though I'm very interested to see what Steven Moffat comes up with there.
Oh yeah, Steven will be great for "Doctor Who." Russell will still -- I might be speaking out of turn here, but I would guarantee you that Russell has a vision for "Torchwood." And even if he's not as involved as heavily as he has been in the past, Russell will surely -- if we have another one or two "events," he will have the story line to guide those writers, because he would still be the executive producer and overseeing those writers. [As is the case with "Doctor Who,"] it will be kept in the family, no matter what.
We all know that David Tennant's leaving "Doctor Who." Will Captain Jack meet David's Doctor before Tennant leaves that show?
All I can say to that is, at any time, the Doctor may call upon Jack, or Jack may run into the Doctor. So never say never to a meeting between the Doctor and Jack.
So you still have family in the Midwest, right?
My sister is in Milwaukee, and my parents go between [a town outside Milwaukee] and Florida. But they're over here this summer, my sister and I are writing another couple of books. We're writing a "Torchwood" novel and we're also doing a follow up to my autobiography. It'll be called "I Am What I Am." We're also doing a series of science-fiction books for teens. So she's on a working vacation and my parents were with me for a tour I did, that just finished up.
Weren't you meant to be in Chicago recently?

No, that didn't happen because the day before I was meant to fly, I had just finished my concert tour. I stepped off our deck and I snapped my ankle. And I wasn't able to go to a convention that was being built around me in Chicago. But the doctor wouldn't let me fly. I did everything for the convention via Skype.
I haven't been back [in a while]. I really love Chicago, it's where I grew up, well, in the area. I'd spend the weekends [downtown], I went to DePaul [University] for a semester while I was finding my feet. There's nothing better than flying in to Chicago and going shopping for the day.
Is that what you'd do here?
I think I'd go for a big, sloppy pizza. During the day, I'd probably go to the Art Institute.
Star Report: Ryan O'Neal appears in court
Ryan O'Neal appears in court; Fergie wears some very weird shorts; David Beckham shows off his legs.
Female Directors, Still A Scarce Movie Commodity
Of the films you saw last year, it's likely that fewer than 10 percent were directed by women — which makes it remarkable that seven movies now in theaters have women's names above the credits.
CHILE: Home Truths About the Dictator and His Family?
SANTIAGO, Jul 13 (IPS)"La Familia. Historia privada de los Pinochet" (The Family: Private History of the Pinochets), a book that delves into the personal life of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and his immediate family, has had a mixed reception in this country and in Ecuador, where a man claiming to be his illegitimate son may soon identify himself.
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