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| Rachael Taylor, Minka Kelly and Annie Ilonzeh |
PopGoesTheNews.com If you haven't yet caught an episode of the new Thursday night show Charlie's Angels, time is running out. Ratings for the reboot continue to fall and it's only a matter of time before ABC cancels the show Hollywood Reporter critic Tim Goodman described as "beyond heinous."
Charlie's Angels, starring Rachael Taylor, Annie Ilonzeh and Minka Kelly as the titular crime-fighting beauties, debuted to nearly 8.8 million viewers in the U.S. but dropped to 7.1 million in its second week and then to 5.9 million for episode three. In Canada, 955,000 tuned in to the premiere on CTV but only 795,000 came back for episode two.
Why? According to Goodman, Charlie's Angels "contains some of the worst acting of the last decade on network television."
So, before it's too late, here are a few interesting facts about the new series. It's likely not enough to convince you to start watching — but at least you can surprise friends and loved ones with your trivial knowledge as soon as the show is cancelled.
Tough act to follow
To be fair, it was easier for a show to be a hit in the '70s when there were far fewer viewing options. The original Charlie's Angels series ran for five seasons starting in 1976 and became a phenomenon, propelling Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson to stardom. "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting," Fawcett has said. "When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra." It remained in the top five in its first two seasons but started to drop off and was cancelled after 110 episodes. Two big screen adaptations starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu in 2000 and 2003 grossed more than half-a-billion dollars worldwide.
Bonus fact: A spin-off called Toni's Boys, about a wealthy friend of Charlie (played by Barbara Stanwyck) running a detective agency with three good looking guys, never made it to air. In 1988, the Fox network tried unsuccessfully to revive the Angels franchise with a new series starring Téa Leoni.
Miami's nice
The new Charlie's Angels is set in and around Miami — and while it's not the first prime time series to use the city as a backdrop, it's only the second to actually be shot there since Miami Vice went off the air in 1990. The USA Network series Burn Notice has been filmed in the Miami area since it debuted in 2007. (Before you start firing off an email, CSI Miami and Dexter are almost entirely filmed in Los Angeles.)
Bonus fact: A lot of movies have been shot in the Miami area, including Scarface, Bad Boys and There's Something About Mary.
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| The Savoy Hotel doubles as the Angel's office. |
Location, location, location
On the new series, the address displayed on the Townsend Agency building is 1976 Ocean Drive, a fictitious address — the real Ocean Drive only goes up to 1501. The street number on the show reflects the year that the original Charlie's Angels premiered on ABC. The building used for exterior shots of the Townsend Agency is, in fact, the Savoy Hotel at 425 Ocean Drive.
Bonus fact: Both the 1976 series and the 2011 series debuted on Sept. 22.
Angels gotta fly
Six actresses played Angels in the original series and Tanya Roberts held the distinction of being the one in the least number of episodes — only the last 16. But, 30 years later, her record as the shortest-lived Angel was broken by Nadine Velasquez (My Name is Earl), who was killed off in the first half-hour of the premiere episode of the new Charlie's Angels. (When the series is cancelled, its three Angels will also have beaten Roberts' record.)
Bonus fact: Jaclyn Smith is the longest-serving Angel and the only one to appear in all five seasons of the original series.
Who's the Bosley?
Four actors have portrayed Bosley, the Angels' trusted leader, on TV and the big screen. In the new Charlie's Angels, Puerto Rican actor Ramon Rodriguez plays John Bosley, a role originated by David Doyle, who starred in all 110 episodes of the original series. Doyle died in 1997 at the age of 67 so the character was played by Bill Murray in the 2000 film. For the sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in 2003, Bernie Mac appeared as Jimmy Bosley.
Bonus fact: Early in the first episode of the new series, a David Doyle lookalike shows up in a pool party scene.Charlie's eh!ngels
Canada has contributed some talent to the Charlie's Angels franchise. In addition to London, Ont. native Victor Garber as the voice of Charlie in the new series, Ottawa's Tom Green and Sudbury's Alex Trebek both popped up in the first Charlie's Angels movie.
Bonus fact: Garber took over as the voice of Charlie following the death last year of John Forsythe, who supplied the voice in all but one episode of the original series and in both movies.
Drew crew
At this year's Emmy Awards, the three new Angels came out on stage with Drew Barrymore. She wasn't there because she played an Angel on the big screen, though — Barrymore is their boss! The star owns the screen rights to Charlie's Angels via her company Flower Films. Barrymore's name shows up in the credits of the new series as an executive producer.
Bonus fact: The co-creators of Charlie's Angels, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, were nominated for an Academy Award in 1958 for writing Man of a Thousand Faces.
Cast photos by Nathan Bell, courtesy ABC. Savoy Hotel photo courtesy Mary Ann Sullivan.
Cast photos by Nathan Bell, courtesy ABC. Savoy Hotel photo courtesy Mary Ann Sullivan.
