Tag Archives: Stars Earn Stripes

Marine Andrew McLaren NYPD Officer J.W. Cortes Talk Todd Palin, Stars Earn Stripes

By Gary P Jackson

An interview from a few days ago on Fox and Friends. Marine Andrew McLaren and New York City police officer J.W. Cortes, two of the pros on NBC’s Stars Eran Stripes, talk about Todd Palin, Stephen Colbert, and why the show is so important to them.

McLaren says it bothers him that so few people can name a single Medal of Honor recipient. Like many, he feels people simply don’t realize what our brave men and women go through in training and combat.

As a viewer, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Stars Earn Stripes, but I have to say, after week one, I am sold. This is serious business. Seriously hard core.

For the first time in a long time NBC has some must see TV.

Video courtesy SarahNet.

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Todd Palin America’s Newest Action Hero

Forget Chuck Norris. Send in Todd Palin

By Gary P Jackson

Looking at the previews of Stars Earn Stripes it would seem America has a new action hero, and his name is Todd Palin.

Not only is Todd Palin in excellent physical shape, a body no doubt honed from decades of commercial fishing and racing the brutal 2000 mile long Iron Dog snow machine championships, he’s made a lot of friends on the show. We’re hearing comments like this from Navy SEAL Chris Kyle [the greatest sniper in American history]: “Going through that knee-high mud will drain anyone except Todd Palin.He’s kind of like God walking on mud out there.” And: “You don’t need anyone else. Forget Chuck Norris,send in Todd Palin!

Todd [and Sarah] have also gotten huge praise from Iraq war veteran Andrew McLaren.

NBC has released some teasers, including this called Todd Palin, One Man Army:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Here’s an overall look at the series Stars Earn Stripes:

One of the cool things about the show, besides the competition, is everyone is not only competing to win this thing, they are also looking to earn money for charities that benefits military and law enforcement. Todd is supporting Armed Services YMCA Alaska, and if he wins, that’s where the money will go.

Kevin Scholla interviewed Todd this week for SarahNet Radio.

Todd talks about a variety of topics, from Stars Earn Stripes, to politics, the future of his Iron Dog competition, to David Lee Roth vs Sammy Hagar in Van Halen.

Todd’s a low key guy and quite humble. The kind of guy you’d love to hang with.

Stars Earn Stripes premieres Monday night on NBC.

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Sarah Palin: “Stars Earn Stripes”..Wimps Need Not Apply!

By Sarah Palin:

Stars Earns Stripes” is honoring our veterans and first responders who are fighting to protect the good guys every day! Todd was privileged to work with an amazing team of production experts, competitors, and patriots in this absolutely kick-butt show that airs after the Olympics. It will blow you away as you witness what our troops and first responders go through.

I don’t know if I’ve ever met such a genuine, dedicated, and hardcore self-disciplined group of “stars” and operatives. This show can change your life if you understand the discipline and dedication our troops and first responders go through in order to bring honor to this great nation and then apply that same courage and discipline to your own life.

Stars Earn Stripes“…wimps need not apply! 🙂

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Sarah Palin, The Hit of the Party in Hollywood

Sarah Palin generated such a huge interview scrum that it threatened to leave the actual NBC stars ignored.

~ TV Critic Alan Sepinwall via Twitter

By Gary P Jackson

Sarah Palin was the hit of NBC’s annual Summer party at the Television Critics Association Summer press tour . NBC was holding it’s annual event to showcase it’s new season.

Todd, of course, is a contestant on Stars Earn Stripes a program that teams a star up with a member of the military, and the two take part in training exercises similar to what one does in the military. The teams are all competing for charities that benefit military and police.

As always, Sarah is the star in whatever room she’s in, and when among liberals, even they can’t wait to be around her.

As expected, this got a lot of media attention. We’ll start with the New York Times:

Sarah Palin Turns Heads at NBC Party in Beverly Hills

LOS ANGELES — Sarah Palin was given rock star treatment here Tuesday night at a party thrown by NBC for its roster of fall television shows.

She looked like a star, too, in designer sunglasses, green hip-hugging dress, and platform gladiator shoes. Surrounded by packs of reporters around the pool of the Beverly Hilton hotel, which features vintage photos of stars from Hollywood’s golden age along all its halls, she seemed to fit right in.

Oh, not really,” Mrs. Palin protested. “Everybody puts their pants on one leg at a time.”

Mrs. Palin, the former Alaska governor and the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, was on the scene because her husband, Todd, does star in an upcoming NBC series, a reality competition show called “Stars Earn Stripes,” which pairs celebrities with special operatives from the Navy SEALs and other elite first-responder units, in contests designed to emulate missions. The winners get cash prizes for charities.

Mr. Palin said, “I did things I never thought I would do.” These included jumping out of helicopters, “shooting grenade launchers, shooting a 50-caliber machine gun from World War I.

When told that a fellow contestant, the former N.F.L. player-turned-actor Terry Crews, reported that Mr. Palin had kicked butt in the competition, Mrs. Palin’s ears perked up.

Todd’s hard-core,” she said. “He’s a commercial fisherman. He’s a world champion snow-machine racer. He’s got all this physicality.”

Mrs. Palin was displaying some physicality of her own, enough to draw several compliments on her appearance from female reporters, which inspired a broad smile and “Oh, thank you” that emphasized the broad “a” of her Northwest accent. (She did disavow ownership of the shoes, saying she was wearing them “on consignment.”)

The Palin family has become second perhaps only to the Kardashians in terms of reality-show performances on TV. Mrs. Palin herself had a show on TLC, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” Her daughter Bristol made a splash on “Dancing With the Stars” and currently has a show on Lifetime that also features her sister Willow and son Tripp. Now Mr. Palin has entered the arena.

Mrs. Palin, who steered clear of all political discussion at the event, defended Bristol’s new show, saying, “It’s clever and absolutely real.” She also said it paints a realistic picture of “what single motherhood really is.”

She praised Todd Palin’s new show for its portrayal of military activities and tied it to her son Track’s service in Afghanistan. “Todd is very cool, calm and collected all the time,” Mrs. Palin said. “I’m just very happy he has the opportunity to participate in an appropriate, worthy cause.”

But asked if she could see herself participating in a second year of “Stars Earn Stripes,” Mrs. Palin said, “I would have to do a lot of push-ups.” When asked if it sounded tougher than politics, she added, in her only brush with a political comment, “Politics are pretty brutal too.”

NBC was clearly surprised by Mrs. Palin’s accessibility at its event. One executive said while she had mentioned she might attend the news conference about her husband’s show, the network did not expect her to join the party for such an extended period of time.

But she was clearly having fun. “I would love these folks to all come up to Alaska to go fishing with us,” Mrs. Palin said. “We could barbecue some salmon on the grill for everybody. That’s how you really get to know people.”

Bruce Miller at the Souix City Journal ran the headline: Sarah Palin trumps stars at NBC party:

How do you gauge “star” power?” By the crowd a celebrity draws.

At a party to promote NBC’s fall shows, Crystal, the Weeping Capucin monkey who stars on “Animal Practice” and is a Hollywood veteran (“Hangover II,” anyone?), clearly had the focus Tuesday night.

And then? Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin showed up and, clearly, the mob drifted.

Wearing a form-fitting brown dress, high, high, high heels and sunglasses, she attracted as much attention as she did the last election cycle. Never mind that she isn’t on NBC.

Palin was at the Beverly Hilton hotel as a guest of husband Todd, who’s one of the contestants on “Stars Earn Stripes,” a new reality show that features “stars” in boot camp-like situations. Palin admitted she wouldn’t have been good on that show — or “Dancing with the Stars” (“I can’t dance,” she said) — but she enjoyed the attention that came her way.

Todd Palin, meanwhile, pulled back, giving his wife the focus. And through it all, the two looked very star-like. “You look very glamorous,” I told her. “In my Oakley sunglasses?” she said, surprised.

She was very personable — talking about daughter Bristol and the great job soldiers did. And she steered clear of any heavy political talk.

While she didn’t look like a candidate running for office, she did act like one. She took time for just about everyone and didn’t miss a photo op with Gen. Wesley Clark, who’s host of “Stars Earn Stripes.”

Early exit? Not in the least. Palin stayed at the party long past names like Matthew Perry and kept the sunglasses on well past their usefulness.

Of course, the bunch at TV Newser couldn’t resit the snark, claiming Sarah “crashed” the party in their headline. Boring. We did get this from them though:

God has absolutely blessed us with wonderful opportunities,” Sarah Palin told Jam!’s Bill Harris. “One of our mottoes is to live life vibrantly and that is what we’re doing in participating in different forms and formats that have been presented us.

[ …. ]

A source at NBC Entertainment tells TVNewser that executives there were just as surprised as attendees that Mrs. Palin stopped by. She was expected to appear at the press conference for “Stars Earn Stripes,” but indicated that she was unlikely to go to the party. She ended up staying for hours, talking to anyone who wanted to say hello.

Invited but unlikely to go is a tad different than “crashing the party,” eh TV Newser? Of course, they ran that headline for the liberals. They have limited comprehension skills and won’t make it past the headline anyhow. So the narrative is created that Sarah “crashed the party” rather that surprised everyone by actually showing up.

Michelle Malkin’s Twitchy has all the interesting tweets and more photos here.

Palin4America has more as well.

Andrew Breitbart consistently said Conservatives need to infiltrate pop culture in order to bring about change. In an interview in May of 2011 with Human Events Jason Mattera, Breitbard said Sarah Palin “gets it”. Indeed she does. No other Conservative has been able to seamlessly move between the worlds of hard core politics and pop culture the was Sarah does. She knows who she is and what she believes in. She’s comfortable in her own skin. In other words, she’s real.

While liberals hate, and the Republican Establishment™ turn their noses up, Sarah Palin continues to win hearts and minds. Team Romney should take note. This is how it’s done!

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“Stars Earn Stripes” Star and Iraq Veteran Andrew McLaren Impressed by Todd and Sarah Palin

Decorated Iraq War veteran Andrew McLaren

By Gary P Jackson

Todd Palin is making friends on the set of NBC’s Stars Earn Stripes the show designed to put the challengers through the same paces our military heroes go through in training.

Here’s Todd with former NFL player and actor Terry Crews sitting for an interview about the new show:

Terry Crews and Todd Palin recently braved military training to earn money for charity on NBC’s upcoming reality competition, “Stars Earns Stripes.”

Paired with actual armed forces or law enforcement members, Todd and Terry, along with Nick Lachey, Dean Cain and Laila Ali, got a gritty glimpse into the rigorous world of defense training.

We did everything,” Terry—who stopped by Access Hollywood Live (along with Todd) on Friday – told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover. “We jumped off helicopters, we swam [in] full gear, we shot machine guns, we blew up buildings, we were doing everything and anything, and I have to say, I have an all-new respect for the military. It’s just incredible.”

Despite his ridiculously fit physique and rough and tumble roles in action films like “Expendables,” Terry – a former NFL player – said there were many moments during the reality competition where he contemplated throwing in the towel.

Look, I’m an actor. I only look badass!” he said with a laugh. “I want my smoothie, you know what I’m saying? Where’s my smoothie?!

Kidding aside, the actor, 43, said he is now in awe of the members of the armed forces after spending time in their boots.

You watch the military, you see what they do all the time, you think you know – [but] I had to experience [it],” he said. “And I’m like, I don’t know anything about this thing!

Todd, who boasts a bit more outdoor experience having won Alaska’s Iron Dog snowmobile competition four times, told Billy and Kit there weren’t any safe words or “lifelines” while filming “Stars Earns Stripes” – just trained professionals helping them push through the sometimes terrifying training exercises.

No lifelineswe worked with military operatives who are the best of the best, you know, Delta Force, Navy SEALs, State Troopers, and they trained us and would give us the confidence,” Todd said.

So what was the most difficult challenge for Todd?

Jumping out of a helicopter,” he told Billy and Kit. “It’s easy to shoot a gun, but jumping out of a helicopter a hundred feet above a building or a lake – that initial step is a challenge.

For Terry, however, no feat was more terrifying than water activities.

For me, it’s swimming,” Terry said. “I’m literally less than five percent body fatI can walk on the bottom of a pool — I don’t swim!

Iraq war veteran Andrew McLaren told Fox News’ 411 that he was blown away by Todd and Sarah.

Andrew McLaren is a decorated Iraq War veteran and fast becoming an “it” boy in Hollywood, having been hand-picked over hundreds of thousands of contenders to star as an expert operative in NBC’s forthcoming “Stars Earn Stripes” competition series alongside the likes of Todd Palin, Dean Cain and Nick Lachey.

But given that “reality television” has become something of a dirty word in recent times, this devoted military man did take some convincing.

When they said it was a reality show, I thought ‘I don’t want to do a reality show’ but they said it was for charity for law enforcement and military. It wasn’t your typical reality show,” McLaren told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “I was excited because we had weapons that I didn’t get to use when I was in the Marines. The military puts a lot of money into us, so they don’t want us doing ridiculous things where we could be hurt. On the show we do some crazy things and people are going to be shocked when they watch the show.

Stars Earn Stripes,” which debuts on August 13, is centered on eight celebrity competitors who gather at a training facility where they tackle complicated and difficult “missions,” and each is paired with an expert – an experienced member of the U.S. military or a law enforcement agency. Contests range from helicopter drops to long-range target shooting, with the star and veteran competing as a team. Each week, one team is given their marching orders.

And while audiences might be blown away by the skills and danger exerted on the highly-anticipated program, McLaren was personally blown away by Todd and Sarah Palin, and admitted that he thinks of them very differently now than before they met.

I like hanging out with Todd and Sarah a lot. They walked into my trailer, and obviously we disagree on some issues. I am a libertarian guy – socially liberal and an avid supporter of gay marriage, but I am pro-gun rights and pro-life, and we made off like regular people. I was teaching Todd how to shoot grenades, we were hanging from helicopters together 60 feet above the ground and we were swimming together with full gear on,” he enthused. “The thing that impressed me most is that Todd is a commercial fisherman in Alaska, he is pretty hardcore. He even won a challenge with a broken arm! He really earned my respect.

McLaren also noted that even though his friends are shocked that he has become such good friends with the high-profile Republican couple, the portrayal of the Palins in the media is often vastly distorted.

Todd and Sarah Palin are the nicest people I have ever met,” he said. “I love America and they love America. They may not agree with me on my stance on gay marriage, but that is their personal view and I respect that. That’s what is so great about being American.”

However, this is hardly McLaren’s first brush with the lights and camera. In 2001, he put his burgeoning modeling and acting career on-hold to enter into the Marine Corps, following in the footsteps of his father who was a Vietnam veteran. He soon became part of a new military group called the Anti-Terrorism Battalion in Iraq, and after years of extended service, received an honorable discharge as a sergeant.

I was hired as a cop in New York but then had the opportunity to try out for Blackwater and was accepted. I ended up going to Baghdad guarding President Bush, John McCain, John Edwards and John Kerry,” he continued. “Bombs would go off all day, I’ve been almost killed so many times. I was just trying to stay alive for my kids.”

But bombs were going off in McLaren’s personal life too – which is why he promised that he will never let Hollywood wrath go to his head.

I know what it is like to hit rock bottom. My wife left me, she was cheating on me when I was deployed and it showed me that family is the most important thing in my life,” he added. “The whole Hollywood aspect, it will eat you up. If God builds you up and you start to get an ego, he will smack you down.

McLaren is soon releasing the biographical book “American Mercenary,” about his time working for Blackwater USA, with one hundred percent of the proceeds going to families of his friends killed in action

Todd Palin Weaponized

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