By Neal Justin, Star Tribune

The show may be one of TV’s strongest, steadiest hits. So how come you never hear about it?

VALENCIA, Calif. - It’s hard to believe, but there are millions of viewers who haven’t caught “American Idol” fever. They’re too invested in the adventures of military investigators who spend as much time cracking jokes as they do cracking cases. » More

By Brian Ford Sullivan

Welcome once again to “On the Futon With…,” a new (hopefully) weekly feature where I sit down and talk TV with some of my favorite people in the industry, all the while trying to give the impression I’m not some overgrown fanboy.

THIS WEEK’S GUEST: “NCIS” star Michael Weatherly.

Getting inside a character’s head is a challenge for any actor. For Michael Weatherly, it’s the challenge of getting inside the head of manchild Anthony DiNozzo each week on “NCIS.” It’s a character he says is the end result of several things - from his own need to break free as an actor to watching too much “CSI: Miami” - and a job he calls his favorite ever. I recently had the chance to visit Michael on the Valencia-based set of “NCIS” where we talked about how “the DiNozzo” came to be, the challenges of being “TV worthy” and his love of HBO’s “Extras.” » More

In Part II of our exclusive interview with NCIS star Michael Weatherly, we learn much about the man behind the dorky hat — mainly about his hearty appetite for independent films. Michael also shares the scoop on what really went down on the set of Dark Angel.

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On NCIS, Michael Weatherly plays Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, an ex-homicide detective, whose snarky fratboy ways are forgiven only because of his superior skills in the field. Although Michael denies many similarities to his character DiNozzo, we found him to be just as snarky in real life.

In Part I of our two-part series of interviews with the former Dark Angel star, MeeVee’s own Marjorie Kase uncovers some juicy details about the show and Michael himself, including DiNozzo’s inevitable consummation with Ziva, transitioning from JAG to NCIS, and his somewhat unlikely conspiracy theories regarding the Fonz and Mrs. C. » More

HOLIDAYING in France over Christmas, the actor who stars as NCIS’s Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, was constantly greeted by adoring fans of the show.
“There were a lot of people pointing and going ‘DiNozzo ha, ha. I love him , he’s crazy’,” Michael Weatherly says in his best French accent. “Then they wanted to slap me on the back of the head.”

The French, it turns out, appreciate DiNozzo’s penchant for physical theatrics. Don’t forget, the French love Jerry Lewis. They love that physical slapstick style of comedy. So DiNozzo strangely resonates with the French people.

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