Stay Tuned
Reviews, previews and much more on "The Real Housewives," "How I Met Your Mother," "NCIS" and many more of your favorite shows. This is the place to talk about all of the things that make us "Stay Tuned"…
Friday, February 27, 2009
My apologies...
I just wanted to offer my apologies to all of you for not posting all the “Top Chef” goodies last night as I promised.
Instead of updating my blog, I decided to watch “Lost.” I hope you will all find it in your hearts to forgive me…
I’m a little busy tonight—which you know if you read my “Idol” blog—so I promise to give you all the “Top Chef” goodies, including some comments from Hosea, tomorrow. Plus, this weekend I’ll have some of the goodies you can expect during February sweeps, which this year, is in March.
You guys know that Richard Blais is my favorite “Top Chef” contestant of all time (It was great to see him last night, by the way.). But I have to say that Stefan is seriously gaining on him.
In fact, as Stefan was urging us bloggers to ask more questions on a conference call today. I came dangerously close to asking him if he was taking applications for wife number three.
And trust me. If you had been on that call with him you would have felt the same…
I’ll have much more from Stefan later, but I just wanted to share this little gem from him right now…
“I won ‘Top Chef.’ Read the blogs. You win, you get a one hundred thousand dollar egg. You get second, you get the chicken that lays the eggs.”
Later I’ll have Stefan’s plea to Jamie AND his strategy to help Carla that actually backfired.
“Top Chef” Carla on the Finale: “Do not blame Casey”
I’ll have much more on this later, but I just wanted to drop in with this great quote from Carla, who finished third last night on my beloved “Top Chef,” since I have a feeling that every other blog in America will be using it…
If you saw last night’s finale, you know that Carla took some bad advice from Season three contestant Casey, who was working as Carla’s sous chef. During a media conference call I had the chance to ask Carla if she has had a conversation with Casey since the finale.
“I haven’t, but I would love to give her a call to see how she’s taking all of this. I hate for her to get the brunt of it. If I could get on a loudspeaker and tell the whole world and everyone who watches the show, I would tell them, ‘Don’t blame Casey.’ I take full responsibility.”
I’ll have much more from Carla later, including her thoughts on my fave Stefan AND I may just have some thoughts from Stefan as well, so Stay Tuned…
You no doubt noticed that I didn’t say anything about the Academy Awards.
That’s because, in all honesty, I didn’t care…
That may sound a little mean, but I just can’t help it. I mean, I like Hugh Jackman and all, but I haven’t seen any of the nominated movies, and the only nominated performance I have seen was Heath Ledger’s. So I just didn’t see any point in watching.
And the Academy really didn’t give me any reason to change my mind since they didn’t nominate “The Dark Knight” (Popcorn movie snobs!) AND they insisted on shuffling the presenters in through the back entrance to keep up the suspense of who the presenters would be. Isn’t that part of the reason people tune in? To see their favorite stars—that they know are going to be there—present?
I did turn over out of curiosity and was thankfully just in time to watch Heath Ledger win (I must admit that I did care about that one.). But what was up with those former winners singing the nominee’s praises? What happened to just showing a clip and then handing out the award?
And did anyone else observe that they held off the Supporting Actor award until the 10 o’clock hour, knowing that was the main reason people would be watching? Supporting Actor has been, for many years that I know of, the very first award given. Think about how long they could have gotten people to watch if the Academy had actually nominated a film that people saw…
I turned over at 11 p.m. to see if the show was still on—it, of course, was—and saw John Legend doing some kind of song and dance number. No wonder Peter Gabriel got mad and backed out of performing. Good for him! And in all honesty, could you even take this category seriously without Bruce Springsteen’s song from “The Wrestler”? I’ve never heard the song, but it’s the Boss and it won a Golden Globe. How could it not be good?
I turned back over again around 11:40 p.m., just to see how behind the news was, and I was totally chagrined that the show was still on—and only handing out Best Actor for goodness sake! And I’m sure Sean Penn was great, and I’ve already added “Milk” to my Netflix queue (since it didn’t play anywhere around here), but wouldn’t it have been more fun to see Mickey Rourke win? I’ve got to believe he would have given a less political speech (I know “Milk” was based on important issues, but it was 11:45. Just say thanks and get off the stage. People need to go to bed on the east coast!).
Since it was almost over, I continued watching to see Best Picture. The montage of the nominees was well done, but why were all of those clips from other movies in it? Didn’t that make it a little confusing to see Michael Sheen’s David Frost interspersed with images of “The Queen” where Sheen played Tony Blair?
I am happy that “Slumdog Millionaire” won, just because it kept Harvey Weinstein from winning for “The Reader.” Weinstein—who you know is on my list for all of this “Project Runway” nonsense—had been running a pretty strong campaign to push “Reader” over the top. Thankfully, it didn’t work.
So, what did you guys think? Did you make it through the whole thing? Do you wish they would just shut up and hand out the awards as much as I do?
Photo Credit: Copyright 2009 A.M.P.A.S., Michael Yada, Photographer
Pick of the Week: Going With the Obvious and a Must-See Bonus
I could have not gone with the obvious, but admit it. You guys would have been disappointed…
My Pick of the Week is the season finale of “Top Chef: New York.”
Not only will we see the final three—Carla, Stefan and Hosea—but the previews show us that Rocco DiSpirito will also be there (probably to assist one of the chefs) and pictures on the Bravo press site tell us that the show will be following tradition and allowing Fabio to be part of the dinner. I hope they allow him to share all of his quirky insights since he’s WAY funnier than Simon Cowell wannabe Toby Young, who sadly rejoins the show for the finale.
The season finale of “Top Chef: New York” airs Wednesday, February 25th at 10 p.m. on Bravo…
Believe it or not, this was actually kind of a tough call for me, so I’m throwing in a bonus….
Wednesday’s episode of “Lost” will center on John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) and what happened to him when he left the island. The previews show us conversations with Charles Widmore (the always welcome Alan Dale) fights with members of the Oceanic Six and much, much more. So it’s a definite must-see…
I had hoped to tease you with a picture from the ABC press site, but they have not posted any pictures from this week’s episode. However, they have posted some VERY interesting pictures from the March 4th episode, but we can discuss that at a later time…
“Lost” airs Wednesday, February 25th at 9 p.m. on ABC…
Photo Credits: Virginia Sherwood/Bravo and Art Streiber/ABC
The overwhelming consensus among TV critics is that “24” is back.
But you’ll notice I’ve gone quiet about my beloved show. Does that mean I don’t agree?
If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said, no I don’t. After all, the episodes just seemed so bland. I just kept waiting for that GASP! moment or one that made me say “Oh no he didn’t.” But that moment never came.
In fact, it still hasn’t come. But I’ve decided that if the hour is as well-crafted as last week’s, I can do without it.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I finally agree. “24” is back. Thank goodness!...
There are still some repetitive elements in this season—using the girlfriend to get the bad guy, the mole—but for some reason they’re not bothering me. The show’s way of dealing with the torture issue is becoming quite brilliant—even though I don’t think they should have to be dealing with it all (It’s a TV show, people!). And Cherry Jones (President Taylor) is turning what should be a soap opera storyline into a powerful drama. I think they should just give her that Emmy nod now.
Renee (Annie Wersching) is starting to really get on my nerves, especially since the previews show her slapping Jack (Are you kidding me?), but again the drama works so well I’m willing to overlook her. And since she and her boss Larry (a solid Jeffrey Nordling) bring out some of Jack’s best moments, how can I not tolerate them?
Even though it was tough to go so long without “24,” I think the Writers’ Strike was the best thing that could have happened to the show. Last week’s episode was written and produced after the strike and I think that was fairly obvious with its solid continuity (Jack saying that Dubaku was responsible for the death of a friend of his) and story flow.
And how could any “24” fan not smile at the sight of Aaron Pierce (Glenn Morshower) called back into duty by Bill (a hot James Morrison) to once again help the President?
Of course that reveal would have been SO much better if Morshower’s name had not been in the opening credits, but I digress…
At this point in the season, I am always concerned about where the show is headed, and I still am. But I’m feeling much better about giving the show the benefit of the doubt…
“24” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on FOX…
Photo Credits: Michael Muller/FOX and Mark Lipson/FOX
I never watched more than an episode or two of “Baywatch.” I never watched “Fame,” “T.J. Hooker,” “The Real World,” or “The Heights” and I never saw “The Blue Lagoon.”
But somehow I have become completely hooked on the trials and tribulations of Jeremy Jackson, David Chokachi, Billy Hufsey, Adrian Zmed, Eric Nies, Jamie Walters and Christopher Atkins—the stars of VH1’s “Confessions of a Teen Idol.”
Now since this is a reality show it’s really hard to tell how much of the show has been real. But it seems to me that the emotions are real as these guys deal with past pains and try to figure out how to put their careers back together.
This show isn’t about people fighting with each other or stabbing each other in the back. It’s more like a support group that we get to watch. “Confessions” gives us a real window into the mind of a person who had fame, lost it, and is desperate to get it back again.
That’s what I call good television…
Sunday, the guys say goodbye to each other, but not before receiving some special parting gifts from producers/hosts Scott Baio and Jason Hervey that will help them jump start their careers.
And yes, I feel quite certain that I will cry…
The season finale of “Confessions of a Teen Idol” airs Sunday, February 22nd at 8 p.m. on VH1…
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you are reading that headline correctly. I have decided to revive “Manic Monday.”
And yes, that means I am still watching “Heroes”…
If you couldn’t tell, I was looking for any excuse not to watch “Heroes.” After all, it would make Mondays a lot less crazy, but for some reason I’m still watching.
I wouldn’t say I’m hooked. I’m just still watching.
But why?...
There’s still a lot annoying about “Heroes.” Claire is still constantly whining about her dad’s secrets—even though he’s keeping them to keep her alive—yet she’s devastated when he moves out of the house. And Hiro and Ando are back to their annoying subtitled antics (I’m sorry, but I hate reading TV shows.).
So why would I still be watching? Three reasons: Sylar, The Hunter and HRG (aka Noah Bennett).
Yes, it’s true that Zachary Quinto (Sylar) is chewing quite a bit of scenery, but for some reason I like it. And when Sylar went back for the boy (the adorable Dan Byrd), I actually said, “Awww” out loud. It was a great moment…
I’m still not sure about The Hunter and that entire storyline, but when you have a high-caliber actor like Zeljko Ivanek playing him, you have to be interested. I’ve been a fan of Ivanek since his “Homicide” days, but it’s his time on the first season of “24” that leaves him a place in my heart. He completely elevates every scene he’s in—no matter how far-fetched it might be…
As for HRG, I guess old crushes die hard. HRG has always been my favorite character on the show. And seeing him back to his mysterious season one self has been great—even if it is terribly repetitive. Jack Coleman is wonderful and always manages to find a way to rise above the constant sounds of Claire’s whining. And since next week’s episode promises to be HRG-centric, I have no choice but to keep watching…
I’m not sure “Heroes” will ever return to season one form, and maybe that’s why it’s easier to watch. My expectations are so low anything halfway decent is worth watching.
Or maybe it really is worth watching…
What do you guys think? Is “Heroes” coming back to form, or is it just a case of me trying too hard to reunite with an old love?...
Although it will free up a space in my Wild Wednesdays, I am still dreading the season finale of my beloved “Top Chef.”
Why? Because it means the season is over. And the first Saturday I can’t turn over to Bravo and watch two or three episodes in a row I’m going to be really sad…
You guys know I love “American Idol,” but “Top Chef” is the best reality-competition show on TV. Many critics would tell you the show was off this year, but I totally disagree. The chefs did get off to a rough start in the beginning as their dishes were uninspired and the personalities unexceptional, but four or five episodes in the show hit its stride—no matter how many times new judge Toby Young tried to derail it (Is that guy supposed to be funny?).
Now, the final three face off for the title in New Orleans: Hosea, Stefan and Carla. Fabio, who I still think will be the fan favorite, got eliminated last week after failing to impress with his attempt at Creole cooking. But the big surprise of the episode was not Fabio’s elimination, it was the twist the show ripped out of the “Project Runway” playbook. The three most recently eliminated chefs—Jeff, Jamie and Leah—returned to compete in a Quickfire Challenge for a chance to re-enter the competition. It was a nice twist, but the biggest twist was who won the Quickfire.
Returning to the competition was none other than Jeff, the cheftestant who badmouthed the show and Tom. After the show, I did some investigating and I believe Jeff made his comments about the show after that episode was filmed.
Now granted, Jeff did not get to move on to the finale (He had to win the elimination challenge to stay.), but he did well and received numerous compliments from all of the judges, including Tom. So why would he badmouth the show after receiving a second chance? That just doesn’t make sense. I was sure that he lost the Quickfire and his anger over that is what drove his comments. I really hope Andy Cohen confronts him over what he said during the reunion show, because I really want to hear an answer.
So who am I rooting for to take it all? You guys know that I’ve been pulling for Stefan, but last week he was so over-the-top cocky that I just don’t know if I can keep backing him. I definitely can’t support Hosea because his constant need to best Stefan is annoying. That leaves Carla the underdog, who has toned down the annoying and has actually become somewhat endearing (She will be the only one to give Fabio a run for his money for Fan Favorite.). And since I love an underdog story, I think I will throw my support to her…
To get you geared up, Bravo is airing a mini marathon Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. You can catch a marathon of the entire season Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m.
The “Top Chef: NY” season finale airs Wednesday, February 25th at 10 p.m. on Bravo…
Sometimes every thing comes together so perfectly on a show that you just have to say out loud, “I love it.”
I just never dreamed I would say it while watching “Lost”…
Warning: If you have not yet seen Wednesday’s “Lost” stop reading now…
But how else could I react when the pilot of the plane carrying the Oceanic Six back to the island was none other than Frank Lapidus.
And although there are still A LOT of questions—What happened to Aaron? What happened to Ben? How did Hurley know to get on the plane? Who is that woman with Sayid?—I have the utmost confidence they’ll get answered.
And we’ll have a lot of fun along the way…
Speaking of answers, EW.com’s Doc Jensen has two mind-blowing theories about what happened to Ben and Jack’s grandfather, but I’m not going to share either one of them in case they’re true. They’re so good, I don’t want to ruin it for you. If you can’t resist, you can read them here.
So what did you guys think? Are you as eager to find out how Locke died as I am?
This week I am avoiding the obvious temptation of picking part one of the “Top Chef” finale and going with something else…
My Pick of the Week is part one of the season finale of “Leverage.”
If you’ve been following “Leverage” all season—and I hope you have been—you had to see this one coming. After helping lots of other people all season, the team decides to help one of its own as it targets the CEO of the company who denied medical treatment for Nate’s (Timothy Hutton) son.
But, when another of Nate’s former associates AND his ex-wife (the wonderful Kari Matchett) make appearances, things quickly fall apart and the team has to scramble to save themselves.
“Leverage” airs Tuesday, February 17th at 10 p.m. on TNT…
So some of you out there may be wondering what I decided about resurrecting Manic Monday.
In other words, am I returning “Heroes” to my must-see list?
And the verdict is…I don’t know yet.
There was a lot disappointing about last week’s episode. The whole thing with Matt having Isaac’s power. The “death” of Daphne (I put death in quotes because this is “Heroes” after all.). And even though the creator told us that we didn’t need to know anything from the last volume, they insisted on reminding us of the whole Ando will kill Hiro in the future thing.
But for some reason I’m still intrigued. There’s something about this whole Sylar storyline that’s got me interested—especially with the addition of the adorable Dan Byrd as Sylar’s sidekick.
And maybe Zeljko Ivanek (The Hunter) is so good he’s making me believe the show is better than it actually is. And I love Adrian Pasdar (Nathan) as a total sleaze.
So, I’m giving it one more week. And then I will decide once and for all what to do about “Heroes.”
However, with the way the ratings are dropping each week, if I wait long enough I may not have to make any decision at all…
I’m a little surprised that I was able to wait until Saturday to watch “Lost” and no one spoiled it for me—especially since there were such juicy revelations…
Warning: If you have not seen the February 11th episode of “Lost,” stop reading now…
So let’s recap what we’ve learned…
The smoke monster is the guardian of a temple on the island. It changed Danielle’s boyfriend somehow, making him want to kill her. However, she shot him instead…
Charlotte grew up on the island, but then left with her mother. She returned to look for her father. She believes that Daniel was the scary man who told her that if she returned to the island she would die…
Locke was supposed to turn the wheel to move the island instead of Ben…
And the big one. The mysterious Mrs. Hawking, who is going to help the Oceanic Six get back to the island, is Daniel’s mother.
Obviously, Daniel has A LOT to do with this whole thing…
Last week’s episode has spurred me to come up with my own theory about something. Stop reading now if you don’t want to see it…
What if Ben killed Locke? Maybe he was jealous of all the attention Locke was receiving from Jacob and Christian and he decided to take matters into his own hands and turn the wheel himself. But when Locke exposed the mistake, Ben killed him. Now, he realizes that was a mistake and he wants to go back and fix it.
Like I said, it’s just a theory…
So what did you think of the episode? Any theories of your own?...
I was excited about watching the premiere of “Dollhouse.” After all, it comes from the mind of Joss Whedon, who created “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
And even though I’ve never seen an episode of “Buffy,” I know how respected Whedon is in television circles.
But I have to tell you, I just didn’t get “Dollhouse.” Maybe I’m just tired from all the “Idol” stuff last night or maybe I’m just really excited to watch my tape of “Lost” and I wasn’t really focused on what was happening.
Whatever it was, the dots just didn’t connect and I’m starting to think that all those stories about problems behind the scenes may be true…
The Dollhouse of the title refers to a facility of individuals known as Actives. Actives are people whose minds are wiped clean of their memories and personalities so that they can be imprinted with new personas. The Actives are hired by the rich and famous to be whatever the clients need them to be.
Eliza Dushku stars as Echo, the Dollhouse’s newest Active. Her handler, Boyd Langton (Harry Lennix) is a former cop who seems unsure about the Dollhouse’s activities and wants to use the organization’s resources to help people—regardless of what the client wants. The Dollhouse is run by Adelle Dewitt (Olivia Williams) with the help of the enigmatic Laurence (Reed Diamond). Topher Brink (Fran Kranz) is the genius who programs the Actives.
In the premiere, Echo takes on the persona of a hostage negotiator to help a wealthy man get his kidnapped daughter back. The mission runs into problems when the persona Topher programmed gets too involved in the case.
Meanwhile, FBI agent Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett) tries to find some way to close in on the Dollhouse, which his supervisors think is a fairy tale.
The episode gets off to a confusing start as it tries to show us how Echo came to be a part of the Dollhouse. Although I’m sure we’ll get more about her past later, what we get in the premiere doesn’t really make sense. And the action jumps around so much it just doesn’t really all come together. And just when it does, the storyline completely falls apart because the persona Echo takes on in the premiere just isn’t that interesting…
The premise of the show is a good one and it does show some promise—especially with its cast. But it’s going to need to iron out some serious wrinkles.
Maybe someone should wipe it clean and start over too…
“Dollhouse” premieres Friday, February 13th at 9 p.m. on FOX…
"The Millionaire Matchmaker" Review: She's Good At What She Does
If you’ve never watched “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” based on the title alone you might think it’s another cheesy dating show.
But to call anything about “Matchmaker” cheesy is to insult Patti Stanger’s life and livelihood. Patti is a professional matchmaker and she’s good at what she does—if you follow the rules.
And if you don’t? Bad for you, but seriously entertaining for us…
In the premiere, Patti has her hands full with two clients: Brett, an entrepreneur who seems to have trouble staying in one place, and David, who introduces himself as one of the hottest guys on the planet AND who has a painting of Madonna kissing Britney Spears in his living room.
You can’t make this stuff up people…
So, as Patti says, she has to “tweak” these guys and I don’t think I have to tell you that David needs A LOT of tweaking…
And that’s where the show can be really fun. In the tweaking process we see not only the mistakes these guys make, but also the mistakes we women make when it comes to them. And watching Patti’s trained eye match these people up can sometimes be almost scary. As I said, she’s good at what she does and in the process the show can be quite insightful.
But first and foremost, reality TV is about entertainment and “Matchmaker” is pretty entertaining. Patti is as no nonsense as they come, which we learn pretty emphatically when we get an update on Paul, Patti’s client from last season that proposed to a woman on the first date.
Patti calls it “tough love.” You’ll call it the kind of advice you’d wish you’d gotten at some point in your life. And since Patti is adding women to her client list this season, there will be plenty of tough love to go around…
And for those of us watching, that’s a good thing…
“The Millionaire Matchmaker” premieres Thursday, February 12th at 10 p.m. on Bravo…
Well, it looks like this spring’s “Dancing With the Stars” should be called “Dancing With the Stars”: The Couples Edition…
As the official press release from ABC proclaims, “for the first time three real life couples take the ballroom floor.” Professional bull rider Ty Murray will be competing against his wife, singer Jewel. Newly engaged pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff will be dancing against each other. And in a bit of a surprise, Julianne Hough will return to dance with her boyfriend, singer Chuck Wicks.
The official pairings (other than Hough and Wicks) have not been announced yet, but the 13 celebrities competing will be:
Belinda Carlisle, Singer David Alan Grier, Actor/Comedian Jewel, Singer Shawn Johnson, Olympic Gymnast (the youngest contestant ever at 17) Lil’ Kim, Rapper Gilles Marini, Actor (“Sex and the City” movie) Ty Murray, Professional Bull Rider Steve-O, Comedian (or whatever you want to call one of the stars of “Jack--s”) Nancy O’Dell, “Access Hollywood” Co-Anchor Denise Richards, Actress Lawrence Taylor, NFL Hall of Famer Chuck Wicks, Singer Steve Wozniak, Apple Co-Founder and Billionaire Genius (as Kathy Griffin always described him)
You have to admit it’s an eclectic group…
Honestly, I don’t know what surprises me more—that Julianne would return to dance with her boyfriend or that Chuck Wicks would do the show so early in his career. I guess they just really want to spend time together. But I hope Chuck is thick-skinned because you know how competitive she can be…
Since we don’t know the official pairings yet, I’m going to hold off on my prediction, but I can already tell you who I’m rooting for—Steve Wozniak. He will be terrible, but he’s just so darn loveable you can’t help but root for him.
And I think you all know who I’m rooting against—Denise Richards. I mean, do we really need to give that woman another TV show? I’m thinking she may be this season’s Heather McCartney, the one the fans love to hate…
The press release promises an “exciting twist” in the first weeks of the competition as the bottom two couples will “Dance Off” to determine who goes home…
The season starts Monday, March 9th with a two-hour performance show, with the results shows beginning March 17th…
As you know, the Grammys were last night, so I wanted to tell you about two TV-related stories…
First, Wayne Brady was nominated for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “A Change Is Gonna Come” from his OUTSTANDING album, “A Long Time Coming.” He lost out to the legendary Al Green…
And Kathy Griffin did manage to get a nomination for her comedy album, “For Your Consideration,” but even she had to know there was no way she was going to beat George Carlin for the award…
Those of you who are longtime readers of this blog know about Manic Monday. That’s what I called Monday nights when I would watch “24” live at 9 while taping “Heroes” and then rewind the tape and watch “Heroes” at 10 after seeing the sunglasses on moment of “CSI:Miami.”
There’s a slight possibility that Manic Monday may return, depending on how Monday’s episode of “Heroes” turns out. But in the meantime, a new day of the week has replaced it—Wild Wednesdays.
Sadly, this week will be the wildest of them all. And because each hour of the night is important, I’m making the whole night my pick…
My Pick of the Week is Wild Wednesday…
The night kicks off with “American Idol.” This episode will reveal the top 36 in a two-hour episode.
This means I will have to tape “Lost” at 9 p.m. This episode will build on the big reveal at the end of last week’s episode and Locke will take steps to end all the time traveling, so it’s not an episode to be missed.
But because I will be so involved in all of the “Idol” drama for my other blog, I will also need to tape “Top Chef.” This is the episode that will decide which four contestants will move to the finals in New Orleans. Or I can forgo sleep and watch the encore at 11 p.m. which I think we all know is what I’ll do…
Unless I decide to watch “Lost” at 11 p.m. But then I don’t really like to watch it late at night—especially since the smoke monster is supposed to return soon…
“American Idol” airs Wednesday February 11th at 8 p.m. on FOX, “Lost” airs Wednesday, February 11th at 9 p.m. on ABC and “Top Chef” airs Wednesday, February 11th at 10 p.m. on Bravo…
As if Mondays weren’t manic enough, our new president has decided to make them even trickier…
President Obama will have a televised press conference Monday at 8 p.m.
AND, according to TVWeek.com, the President is also reportedly considering a prime-time appearance to tout his economic stimulus package Monday, February 16th.
So why is he messing with Monday nights? One word: Viewers. Monday night is one of the most watched nights of the week. He’s playing the numbers…
However, the numbers are not good for the networks. According to “TV Week,” if FOX’s pulling of “House” it will cost them $3 million in ad revenue. CBS will lose $2 million and ABC and NBC will lose around $1.5 million.
OUCH!
But that’s not all. On Tuesday, February 24th, President Obama will give his equivalent of the State of the Union speech (The address is not usually called that in the President’s first year.) for two hours in primetime.
And yes, you are correct, ladies and gentlemen, that would be “American Idol” night. But since the show will be right in the middle of the semifinals, I’ve got to believe FOX will not carry it and go on with its regular programming—unless it decides to do a shift to Wednesday-Thursday.
As for Monday’s schedule, ABC, FOX and NBC will preempt their regular programming from 8-9 p.m. to cover the press conference. CBS will cover the conference from 8-8:30 p.m. “The Big Bang Theory” will move to 9:30 p.m., preempting “Worst Week.”
Messing with my favorite TV night of the week aside, I have to question why Obama’s advisers would allow him to be on primetime TV for three straight weeks. Does anyone else think that’s a little too much? No matter how popular the guy might be right now?...
This Sunday, ABC will reveal the cast of the next cycle of “Dancing With the Stars.”
They’re calling it “All Night Name Drop” as host Tom Bergeron will reveal the contestants during episodes of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Brothers & Sisters.”
Several names have already been reported [Stop reading now if you don’t want to know] including Lawrence Taylor, Steve-O and Denise Richards (UGH!) and now Jewel is also being floated around.
If you read my “Idol Chit-Chat” blog you know that Donny Osmond has postponed his appearance until the fall edition—unless that was before he knew his nephew was eliminated on “Idol”…
Since I’m usually not home on Sunday nights, I’ll just wait for the press release from ABC and we’ll discuss it Monday…
Let me say for the record that I despise “Lost” being on after “American Idol.”
I know this isn’t the first time that’s been the case, but I wasn’t a Lostie then…
I actually convinced myself that I could watch the episode live without a problem. But I was so distracted by what was happening that my recap post on my “Idol” blog was over 30 minutes late and I called my favorite contestant by the wrong name!
And having “Top Chef” on at 10 doesn’t help matters…
Next week I’ll be taping “Lost” and watching it on Thursdays—at least until “Top Chef” wraps up in three weeks. I owe that to my “Idol Chit-Chat” readers…
So what did we learn last night?...
Warning: If you have not yet seen the February 4th episode of “Lost,” stop reading now…
Jin is still alive and is also time traveling as he came face-to-face with a young Danielle Rousseau…
Ben was the one hassling Kate about Aaron, presumably to shake her up into returning to the island…
Sun received a gun in a box of chocolates and apparently plans to use it to kill Ben…
Charlotte survived, but now Juliet and Miles are having nosebleeds…
Now, onto some questions…
Who sent Sun the gun? And where is her child (Doc Jensen has a theory about that one but I won’t share it in case it’s a spoiler.)?...
And how long before Sawyer and Juliet hook up? I know he misses Kate, but you know it’s going to happen…
Here’s some renewal, pick-up and cancellation news from the world of cable…
ABC Family has picked up three new series: “Ruby and the Rockits,” a comedy starring Patrick and David Cassidy and produced by Shaun Cassidy about a former teen idol; “Perfect 10,” a drama set in the world of gymnastics; and “10 Things I Hate About You,” a comedy based on the movie of the same name…
The network has renewed “Greek” and “Lincoln Heights” for an additional season and is also preparing to pick up another season of its hit “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
Sadly, however, ABC Family has cancelled “Kyle XY”…
The fine folks at TNT informed me today that they have renewed “Leverage,” which I named the best new show of 2008…
Remember the days when you watched the Super Bowl for the commercials as much as you did for the game?
It was all about the cola wars and what Nike would do next.
Clearly, those days are long gone…
Last night’s crop of ads were probably the weakest I’ve ever seen. You’d think if you were going to spend all that money, you’d put together something good.
Here are the ones that stood out for me…
Doritos had a strong outing with two commercials featuring a magic snow globe that worked its magic when people threw it at stuff. The second spot featured a man getting great things every time he ate a Dorito, until he got hit by a bus…
Bud Light seemed to be all about violence, while Budweiser went touchy-feely with the Clydesdales. However, Bud Light did have a decent one with Conan O’Brien doing a strange commercial he thought would only air in Sweden. The Budweiser Clydesdale ads were a little hit-or-miss, though. I liked the go fetch and circus love ads, but why does a third-generation Clydesdale born in America have an Irish accent?...
And Pepsi’s big idea was to compare will.i.am to Bob Dylan?...
Priceline produced a funny one with William Shatner coaching a man on how to talk to his wife and the man imitating Shatner’s speech pattern…
Denny’s Super Bowl debut was a good one as mobsters’ revenge plans were interrupted by a waitress decorating pancakes. But this one also stood out for me because of the free Grand Slam Breakfast they’re giving to everyone Tuesday and we have no Denny’s near here to take advantage of it…
The Hulu commercial was going well until that whole alien thing. Although hearing Alec Baldwin say, “We’re aliens and that’s how we roll” was kind of funny…
I always love MacGruber on “Saturday Night Live” so it was cool to see him in a Pepsi commercial, especially with the real “MacGyver” Richard Dean Anderson. But as much as I hate to admit it, the best cola ad featured Steeler Troy Polamolu spoofing the classic Mean Joe Greene ad for Coke Zero…
So which ad was my favorite? I’d have to go with the E*Trade spot with the baby’s friend singing “Broken Wings.” I have no idea why, I just thought it was cute. Check it out for yourself here.
By the way, the winner of the annual “USA Today Ad-Meter,” which is the standard by which the Super Bowl commercials are measured was the Doritos snow globe spot, which was actually created by a pair of amateurs from Indiana who won a Doritos online contest. You can see it here. My favorite didn't even make the top 10...
But in all honesty, the best ads were actually NBC Universal promos. I loved the “Heroes” promo where they were playing football and John Elway turned out to be a hero. And the USA characters ad was funny and beautifully done. You can see the “Heroes” promo here.
If only NBC’s shows were as good as the promos…
And speaking of NBC, I should say a word or two about their coverage of the game. I have to admit that the only part of the pre-game I saw was Matt Lauer’s interview with President Obama, which despite technical difficulties was quite good (Still can’t believe President Obama mentioned Jessica Simpson pushing him off the “US” cover. That was funny!).
But based on what I saw, and the halftime and postgame shows I have to ask a very important question: Are NINE EMMYS not enough for you people? Apparently, Cris Collinsworth was not enough of an analyst so they had to invite an entire fleet of people to join them. Mike Holmgren and Tony Dungy I could almost see—although they were completely unnecessary—but MATT MILLEN?! This is the guy that helped a team go 0-16 for the first time in league history and we’re supposed to believe he knows what he’s talking about?! Seriously?!
If Collinsworth doesn’t win his ninth analyst Emmy in a row, I’m totally blaming NBC…
As for the game itself, I thought the coverage was solid and regardless of what the “Wall Street Journal” might have said, John Madden hasn’t lost it…
But I don’t think I have to tell you that I was not thrilled about how the game itself came out. I am a Bengals fan after all…
So what did you guys think? About the game? About the commercials? About the fact that NBC apparently forgot their hair colorist in New York because Bob Costas, Dan Patrick and Cris Collinsworth were all showing their gray?...
Discuss…
By the way, you can see all of the Super Bowl ads at Hulu.com…
UPDATE: I just realized I didn't say anything about the Halftime Show, which I thought was very solid although I would've liked it better if Bruce and the gang would've ended with "Workin' On a Dream" rather than bringing out that lame ref to signal the end of the show. With the gospel choir and the candles, "Dream" would have been much more inspirational. I also loved it that Max Weinberg brought most of the Max Weinberg Seven for the show...
Angela Henderson-Bentley has been a TV addict since, as a little girl, she fell in love with Face from "The A-Team." When she's not watching TV, she can be found sleeping.
