A Night Out On the Cougar Town

Cougar Town continues to be the little show that could, snatching renewal from the jaws of cancellation year after year. The critically acclaimed comedy returns for a fourth season on Jan. 8 on a new home -- cable network TBS. The cast and crew of Cougar Town celebrated the show's upcoming return by inviting press to the set (at the Culver Studios) on a recent evening. And yes, much wine was poured.



This is a cast that seems to genuinely love their show and each other. Perhaps it's the underdog nature of Cougar Town, which was never a big hit on ABC but was nonetheless appreciated by critics and a small but vocal fanbase for basically being Boozy, Grown-Up "Friends." The cul-de-sac crew is a group that you'd truly like to spend time with, sipping a Pinot and playing a mindless game of Penny Can.



The show's cast and producers are also the show's biggest boosters, and have spent much time, money and effort fanning the flames to keep it alive. Executive producer Bill Lawrence famously shelled out a lot of his own cash to throw Cougar Town parties before the start of the show's third season. He's also a big Twitter user, taking advantage of the medium to speak directly with fans. At the recent event, Lawrence and the cast went out of their way to make sure they were interacting with press and talking up the show.



Lawrence is genuinely thrilled with the amount of promotion TBS is putting into this new season of Cougar Town. The show was even promoted in theaters across the country. It's great to see the gang back -- and we'll be watching on January 8.

Retro Friday: Last Day for Culver City's Studio Drive-In Theater

A fun and interesting 7-minute story produced for AMC in 1993, when Culver City's Studio Drive-In Theater shut down for good. The piece does a great job summarizing the history of drive-ins, and how they grew out of favor.

The Studio Drive-In, which was part of the Pacific Theatres chain, doubled as the drive-in theater in films including "Grease" and "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure."

Also check out this 1998 L.A. Times story chronicling the destruction of the old giant screen.

Help a Franklin Avenue Reader Out: Driving Advice

A reader writes in:

May I ask if you know of any source or website that gives suggestions about driving from Los Feliz to the Westside - specifically, Culver City?

Thank you very much!
Claudia

Why Claudia, yes you may. Everyone has a different shortcut they use to get from East to West (or from West to East, but that's a whole different headache). From Los Feliz, I would take Sunset to Wilton, head South until you hit 6th St., then head west until you get to Hauser. Then, in your case, you'd want to take Hauser until you reach Venice -- then head West to Culver City.

That's just one of hundreds of possibilities. Post your route below!

Culver City, Heart of Red Light Ticketland

(Flickr pic by The Damn Mushroom.)

According to the L.A. Times, the City of Los Angeles is still losing money on its red light traffic cameras. What's more, according to the story, tiny Culver City generated nearly $2 million in revenue from its red light cameras over the past eight months, more than Los Angeles ($1.6 million)!

The lesson here, other than the obvious L.A. incompetency angle: Do not drive in Culver City. Just don't do it. I don't care if you find Tito's Tacos delicious. Chances are you'll be slapped with a red light ticket. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Rate-A-Restaurant, #166 in a series

(Flickr pic by He Cooks She Eats.

Restaurant: Fraiche

Location: 9411 Culver Blvd. (Culver City)

Type of restaurant: French/Italian



They stipulated: That you gotta drive to Culver City. Ha. Joking -- as you well know, Culver City has become quite the foodie mecca, and Fraiche is at the forefront.

We stipulated: Meeting an exec for lunch, my colleage Joe and I suggested several spots -- and Fraiche came up as a good, classy lunch choice.



What we ordered: I got the Pan Bagnet -- seared albacore tuna, black olive, anchovy and egg sandwich ($14). For dessert, we all shared piccolo pasticerria -- plate of assorted cookies ($6)

High point: Plate of cookies? Simple, yet pretty damn good, thanks to the handiwork of pastry chef Miho Travi.

Low point: Service, as noted elsewhere, is spotty. I kept getting skipped over by the waiter -- basically, I had to nail him down to get my order taken. When dessert was ordered, he asked everyone at the table if they wanted coffee -- except me. Then left before I could order one.



Overall impression: Named one of Los Angeles magazine's top 75 local restaurants, Fraiche is good, and an excellent lunch choice if you're meeting people on the west side -- but I guess I'll reserve the "better than good" debate until after I check it out for dinner. My sandwich was delicious (perhaps because it was quite salty -- thank you, anchovies!) but I don't feel like I've gotten the full Fraiche experience. Perhaps dinner, with wine, is necessary.

Chance we will go back: Possibly, although probably won't be getting to Culver City for dinner anytime soon, so another lunch with execs is more likely.

For a complete list of our over 166 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.

Baby, If You Ever Wondered, Wondered What Ever Became of Loni Anderson

I share Will Campbell's disappointment that nope, the Loni Anderson running for Culver City's city council isn't Jennifer from "WKRP in Cincinnati."

(Pic by Will Campbell via Metblogs LA.)