As play-by-play man on ABC’s “BattleBots,” veteran sportscaster Chris Rose often finds himself getting caught up in the action as the shrapnel flies between the show’s robot combatants. For him, yelling and jumping out of his chair isn’t uncommon and his enthusiasm for the competition is obvious. And he’s spread that enthusiasm to his two sons, who regularly watch the show on the family’s DVR. To them, the show is required viewing. But that wasn’t always the case in the Rose household, especially when Dad was first approached about doing the show. For research, Rose was watching the original Comedy Central series on YouTube when his eldest son Josh entered the room. “He’s like, ‘What are you doing?’ ” the 45-year-old Ohio native recalls. “I said, ‘Well, I’m talking to these people that are jump-starting this show that used to be on Comedy Central.’ He sat down, he watched with me ... for about 90 seconds. He said, ‘You are not doing that show. I’m gonna get laughed out of school if you do that show.’ I was like, ‘Well hold it, hold it. It looks kind of cool. You know, it’s different. It’s, you know, robotics.’ He’s like, ‘No way, Dad.’ “So I ended up getting it,” he continues. “And then when it started airing, of course, all his boys at school loved it, and that’s all they wanted to talk about, and then he became like the cool kid for a minute. I was like, ‘See? See? Sometimes you’ve got to go for it, dude.’ ” As Season 2 gets going Thursday, June 23, Rose is joined by a new host, ESPN college football reporter Samantha Ponder, along with returnees Kenny Florian, Alison Haislip and others for 10 more episodes of metal-on-metal violence. Doing this show clearly gets the adrenaline flowing for Rose but it has also had an unexpected effect. “There’s natural comedy in seeing something get ripped to shreds,” Rose says, “and seeing these people who pour months and thousands of dollars into building these things so they almost become a part of their family, losing it and then being able to laugh at themselves, I mean, that’s what’s the fun part of it all, I think.” Full name: Christopher Rose Date of birth: Jan. 27, 1971 Birthplace: Shaker Heights, Ohio Education: Graduated from Miami (Ohio) University in 1993 with a degree in English and journalism TV credits: “Celebrity Boxing,” “Championship Poker at the Plaza,” “Poker Superstars,” “FullTiltPoker.net Presents: Learn From the Pros,” “The Best Damn Sports Show Period,” “Guinness World Records Amazing Animals,” “Intentional Talk,” “Golden Boy Boxing” Short commute: For his MLB Network series “Intentional Talk,” Rose broadcasts from a studio in his Los Angeles-area home. His co-host Kevin Millar does the same from his home studio in Austin, Texas Favorite book: “Actually, I dove into ‘The Perfect Storm’ and read it in one day and was enamored by it, fascinated by it. About the Andrea Gail.” Favorite movie: “I’m going to go back to my childhood. ... My favorite sports movie of all time is ‘Slapshot.’ I mean, I’ve watched that a bazillion times and my brother went dressed as the Hanson triplets for Halloween one year. That never gets old. As far as what I’ll sit down and watch, I mean I still watch ‘Shawshank (Redemption)’ every time it’s on. I still stop and I don’t know why I stop. I know every line. It’s ridiculous. I feel like a moron.” Favorite musical artist: “I used to love the band Live. They were kind of a big early ‘90s, mid’90s band. I loved them. I’d still get them going a little bit. That’s probably my favorite one of all time.”
Checking in with
CHRIS ROSE BY GEORGE DICKIE
Net Picks “The Fundamentals of Caring,” www.netflix.com/ title/80097349 Dropping Friday, this Netflix original film stars Paul Rudd as a retired writer who after a personal tragedy becomes caretaker to a foul-mouthed teen with muscular dystrophy (Craig Roberts, “Red Oaks”). Together, the pair embark on an impromptu road trip to all the places the youth has heard about while watching the news, including his holy grail: the World’s Deepest Pit. Jennifer Ehle, Selena Gomez, Megan
Muskogee Phoenix
Ferguson and Frederick Weller also star.
“Raised by Wolves,” acorn.tv/franchise/raisedbywolves Acorn TV, the home of all series British, debuts this six-episode comedy series Monday about a raunchy family composed of six socially-isolated, home-schooled siblings and their acerbic mother. In pursuit of her crush, the eldest daughter drags her reluctant clan out into the world, where they go clubbing (though some are underage), engage in voy-
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eurism, take the law into their own hands and deal with major life milestones in very inappropriate ways.
“So Ya Wanna Be a Broadway Star?” www. soyawannabeabroadwaystar.com BroadwayWorld TV comes forth with this satire that follows the adventures of Micki Manuel Minnelli (Jamison Daniels), an overnight YouTube sensation seeking Broadway stardom any way he can get it. A German documentary team follows him and his makeup artist and
No. 1 fan Sandy (Patricia McCarthy) in his quest to become famous.
“Filthy Preppy Teens,” www.youtube.com/ watch?vs6DwmSsOPlI Paul Scheer (“The League”), Jonathan Stern (“Burning Love”) and Curtis Gwinn (“The Walking Dead”) are the creative forces behind this spoof of soapy Millennial dramas such as “Pretty Little Liars” and “Gossip Girl.” Hannah Kasulka, Max Carver, Chris Parnell and Dylan Gelula star.
June 19 - 25, 2016