New Straits Times (Malaysia)
Section: Pg. 6
July 18, 2004, Sunday

Delving into stars’ intimate secrets

YOU never knew love like this before! Love Chain, ntv7’s new Monday series, which airs at 10.40pm, charts the players in Hollywood’s high-stakes dating game.Jada and Will, Sarah Michelle and Freddie, Jennifer and Bradthey seem tohave the “happily ever after” formula set. But as for the serial daters -the Britneys, the Demis, the Georges, the male cast members of Friends -you’d need a scorekeeper to stay on top of their ever-changing dance cards.

Oh, what a tangled web they weave!

Given their history of love, marriage and separation, the quintes-sential Hollywood couple is an oxymoron. Their stories have made for greattabloid gossip fodder – and perhaps even a publicity tool to give their careers a boost.

In ntv7’s new series, Love Chain, which airs every Monday at 10.40pm, one famous Tinseltown couple is microscoped under six degrees of celebritylove separation.

Each week, Love Chain examines the loves lives of such famous stars as Jennifer Lopez, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Brad Pitt, Winona Ryder, and many more.

Viewers will have an inside peek as to what went right, what went wrong, and what lies ahead in the future romantically. Specifically, the series shines a spotlight on celebrity love and lustthat chronicles the romantic lives of some of Hollywood’s leading men and women.

The inspiration for the show from a one-off television special thatdissected the ups and downs of Britney Spears’s relationship with JustinTimberlake. High ratings achieved for that special encouraged the producers tocreate Love Chain as a series.In addition to interviews and archival footage, the show features comments from a bevy of knowledgeable observers including friends, associates, family members, and colleagues.

Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson is the subject of a Love Chain episode. Sexologist Dr Ava Cadell calls her “the ultimate fantasy woman” and explains that her popularity stems from “a combination of beauty, sex appeal and vulnerability”.Among her paramours include actors Scott Baio and Dean Cain, Baywatch co-star David Charvet, surfer Kelly Slater, Calvin Klein underwear model Marcus Schenkenberg, rockers Bret Michaels and Tommy Lee, and the bawdyrock star Kid Rock.

The episode details Anderson’s journey from obscurity to pop-iconstatus. It all began in 1989 when the British Columbia native attended afootball game wearing a Labatt’s Beer t-shirt. Her image was projected onto the stadium’s jumbo TV screen and the fans cheered their approval. As a re-sult, Labatt’s tracked her down and offered to make her its “Blue Zone” girl.

Playboy magazine also enticed her with a pictorial spread. Soon after, Anderson landed a featured role on such popular sitcoms as Home Improvement and Married With Children. Before too long, Baywatch beckoned.

Love Chain attempts to connect all points of the love puzzle. The half-hour show dishes up tantalising clips, sensational factoids, and unintended comedy.

While discussing Anderson’s breast implants, a plastic surgeon shows viewers silicone capsules that enlarge breasts to a D-cup.Sexologist Cadell theorises that Anderson and her Motley Crue ex-husband Tommy Lee hit it off so well because they “had the best sex of their lives together”.

And Greg Gutfield of Stuff magazine describes Anderson’s infamous home movie with Lee as an “instructional video for the rest of us”.

In upcoming episodes of Love Chain, find out if Gwyneth Paltrow is a sex friend, or if George Clooney only likes playing the field, or if Jennifer Lopez micro-manages her lovers. Is this show tawdry? You bet. Is it fun? It’s that, too. For a shot ofguilty pleasure, tune in to ntv7 every Monday at 10.40pm for a peep into the private love lives of some of Hollywood famous dating game players on Love Chain.