Today's Entertainment

With Veterans Day coming up on Tuesday, chef Robert Irvine, interior designer Genevieve Gorder, actor Gary Sinise and the Gary Sinise Foundation teamed up to honor one very deserving member of the U.S. military and his family. In "A Hero's Welcome," airing Nov. 11, on all six Scripps Howard cable nets – Food Network, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, HGTV, DIY Network and Great American Country – they and 250 members of the U.S. military team up to completely renovate the Oahu, Hawaii, home of Army Staff Sgt. Tony Woods. Woods, who served for more than two decades, was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Iraq and rendered comatose for 45 days. He and wife Joedi also serve as foster parents to children in need, opening their home to as many as they can take in. The project involved almost completely demolishing and rebuilding their house in the span of five days. It also involved feeding all concerned: family, craftspeople and the military members. For Irvine, who coordinated the food service, this was a passion project. "A 3,000-square-foot home, emptied and demolished in 24 minutes," Irvine says. "Two hundred fifty Army men and women from the military police came in and we gave them sledgehammers and you name it. The only thing existing was the exterior walls. The windows were gone, the flooring was gone. The kitchen was completely gutted. So you if you think 'Restaurant: Impossible' was fast at 36 hours, let me tell you, 250 military girls and guys was hilarious." Five days later, the family had their new home, and their reaction, Irvine says, was "just amazement. I mean, this family never asked anybody for anything. If you think that they adopted eight of the 13 kids that they fostered and never turned away a child, even through their tough times and Joedi had a stroke, they never turned anybody away, never asked for anything. "So to see their faces and the kids when they saw the house, they were just mesmerized and blown away and just so humble." On Veterans Day, Irvine and others roll out 'A HERO'S WELCOME' Chef Robert Irvine BY GEORGE DICKIE • What are you currently reading? "Right now, I'm reading 'The Trident' by Jay Redman, and it's a true-life story of a very special (Navy) SEAL ... ." • What did you have for dinner last night? "I was doing a live show in Greenville, Tenn., so probably – my normal is roast chicken and mashed potatoes. That's what I eat every day. It's nothing exciting." BEST 'FRIENDS' STARS' PROJECTS "The Comeback" (Lisa Kudrow, HBO, 2005; resumes Sunday, Nov. 9) Kudrow has stayed active by producing such series as "Web Therapy" (in which she also stars) and "Who Do You Think You Are?," but she earned some of her biggest acclaim for this then-ahead-of-its-time comedy about a once-popular actress followed by cameras for a reality show. It's no small matter that almost a decade later, this venture is being revisited with new episodes – something largely unheard-of in television. "Dirt" (Courteney Cox, FX, 2007-08) She's had a much longer post-"Friends" series run with "Cougar Town," but Cox made a noteworthy stretch in both character and theme with this drama about the modern tabloid culture. Also an executive producer of the show, she played a magazine editor who wasn't above getting ... well, dirty to land juicy stories. "Episodes" (Matt LeBlanc, Showtime, 2011-present; resumes Jan. 11) It's ironic that LeBlanc has been more successful series-wise by playing himself than by trying to prolong his "Friends" role as Joey in a spinoff. Adapted from a British show, the comedy has come full-circle in a way with the fictionalized LeBlanc being pursued to star in an NBC series. "The Good Girl" (Jennifer Aniston, 2002) Aniston has had plenty of variety in her movie career, but she dug particularly deep for this comedy-drama about a married, bored small-town store employee who embarks on an affair with a younger co-worker (Jake Gyllenhaal). "The Good Wife" (Matthew Perry, CBS, 2012-13) Perry was only in this series for several episodes, but that was enough for him to make his mark as smug Mike Kresteva, formerly an opponent of Peter Florrick (Chris Noth) for the Illinois governor's seat ... and also a nemesis of Florrick's estranged wife Alicia (Julianna Margulies) in other ways. "NYPD Blue" (David Schwimmer, ABC, 1993) Ask any television fan which role Schwimmer is most associated with besides Ross Geller, and chances are good the answer will be "4B," the apartment-number-based nickname for his character who seemed an unlikely candidate to take the law into his own hands. BY JAY BOBBIN "The Comeback" "The Good Girl" "Episodes" 8 The Goshen News • TV Spotlight • November 10 - 16, 2014

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