Lucchino turned to Epstein after a couple of rival GMs said no; still, he says the hire shows the Sox want to do “new and innovative things.” (Earlier this fall, in another novel move, they hired stats guru Bill James as an adviser.) Epstein doesn’t sound so innovative in his boilerplate comments. “Being the general manager of this club just feels right,” he says. “Growing up in New England, you never lose the Red Sox from your blood.” But he may have the genes to provide a perfect ending to the team’s long soap opera. His grandfather co-wrote the screenplay for “Casablanca.” If Theo writes the Sox a winning script, all New England will be toasting, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
Q & A: Andy Richter
Fox’s sitcom “Andy Richter Controls the Universe” returned to the air this week. Conan O’Brien’s former sidekick talked to NEWSWEEK’s Bret Begun about reclaiming his perch atop the world.
Your show’s a midseason replacement–again. Fox doesn’t exactly think this is the hottest thing on the network, does it? They are largely behind the show. You just know by how much promotional stuff you record for ’em. If they say, “Oh, no, we don’t need you to do that much,” you kind of feel like, “Oh boy.”
Conan makes an appearance this season. When he was on set, was it, “You’re on my show now, buddy!”? You guys want everything to be a drama! You want the whole world to be “Knott’s Landing.” I miss him. And I miss his show: the immediacy of it, the camaraderie and the lack of adult supervision.
Speaking of drama, have you had any “Now I know I’m In L.A.” moments? Trying to think…
Sorry, that’s one of those reporterly questions. I should know by now that I’m going to be interviewed, and when things happen I should jot them down. [Pause] I guess I’ve had a couple of Robert Evans sightings.
You’re doing voice-over for a documentary on Trio called “Brilliant But Cancelled,” about shows that got axed. Are you tempting fate here? I’m just trying to crack that voice-over market. Next thing will be some Discovery Channel history of stock-car racing. Or the life of a caterpillar. “It’s a long journey from pupa to moth…”
What do you watch? “Sopranos.” “Simpsons.” “Degrassi.” There’s “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
There is? Is that like the next generation of “Saved by the Bell”? No. There’s an earnestness to Canadian teen soap operas that is sorely lacking in American teen soap operas.
Have you thought about doing your own talk show? Or are you done with that? It’s not something that’s on my mind. That would be many failures down the road.
