Life Without TV

Yes, you read that headline correctly. I am currently spending the next few days without TV...

AAAAHHHH!!!

As you well know, one of the joys of moving is waiting for all of that to get hooked up. I hope to see TV by the end of the week.

My Internet will not be ready to go until at least Thursday, so I will be away from the blog until then. And then it's time to get focused on the new TV season, which is starting VERY soon...

Stay Tuned...

Pick of the Week: A Family Affair

As we get closer to the start of the fall TV season, that means some of our favorite summer shows are coming to a close…

My Pick of the Week is the summer finale of “The Closer.”

This episode is a total family affair as Kevin Bacon returns to direct another episode of the drama starring his wife, Kyra Sedgwick. But this time, Bacon will also be directing their daughter, Sophie, who is wrapping up her guest arc on the show.

“The Closer” is already one of the most solid dramas on TV, but the finale takes the drama up a notch as Brenda pursues a ninja killer with the help of a Texas detective (played by the always fantastic Xander Berkeley).

In a recent interview with “TV Guide,” Bacon promised “a gruesome murder, car chases, [and] action.” Throw all of those things in with one of the best ensemble casts on TV and how can you honestly go wrong?

I think the answer is, you can’t…

The summer finale of “The Closer” airs Monday, August 24th at 9 p.m. on TNT, followed by the summer finale of “Raising the Bar”…

Photo Credit: Karen Neal/TNT

"The Rachel Zoe Project" Review: On Another Level

If “The Rachel Zoe Project” was just about Rachel and her team waiting to see if FedEx delivers a certain dress on time or whether or not Taylor picks out the right shoes for a big star we never actually see, it would be a pretty boring show.

Thankfully, there is plenty of drama to fill the gaps between dress arrivals and shopping trips…

If you’ve never tuned in, “Zoe” follows Hollywood stylist, Rachel Zoe, and her team as they style some of the biggest names in Hollywood for the biggest events in Hollywood. This season, the team gets a wrench thrown in their process since the recession has caused designers not to produce as many dresses, leaving them fewer options from which to choose.

The important thing to note about the show is even though her name is in the title, Rachel Zoe is not the star. That would be Taylor, Rachel’s right-hand woman. Last season, Taylor was angry about Rachel’s hiring of Brad to join the team. This season, Taylor actually gets along with Brad. Now she’s angry that she’s still doing the same job instead of working with Rachel’s product line as she was promised.

If I had to pick the #2 star, it wouldn’t be Rachel either. That would be her husband and business partner, Rodger. I am always amazed at just how understanding he is about all the things in Rachel’s life.

I would actually rank Rachel #4 after Brad, who continues to bond with Rachel in a way that Taylor never has.

In the premiere, it’s Golden Globes time and Team Zoe is dressing five clients. To make things even more interesting, Rachel has decided to ask a designer to alter his design just for her client.

The second episode takes us to Fashion Week in New York where Taylor’s “I don’t care anymore” attitude really starts to show. And Team Zoe is up against the clock as it’s also Oscars time and Rachel has once again asked a designer to do something different to his design.

Last season, “Zoe” didn’t really get cranked up until about midway through, It looks like this season will get off to a much faster start.

As Rachel herself would say, it’s on another level. And that’s a good thing…

“The Rachel Zoe Project” premieres Monday, August 24th at 10 p.m. on Bravo…

Photo Credit: Andrew Durham/Bravo

“Project Runway”: We Get It Already!

I have to admit that even with all of the Lifetime/Bravo drama, I was kind of psyched to see the “Project Runway All-Star Challenge.”

But it was so hard to enjoy it, because Lifetime insisted on banging us over the head with promos for the “Runway” premiere.

“You’re just two hours away from the premiere.” “You’re just 90 minutes away.” Every commercial break another time check. Like we weren’t smart enough to figure that out ourselves—especially with that annoying countdown clock in the corner of the screen.

“Project Runway” is on Lifetime. We get it already!

If you were able to get past the promos—and that’s a big if—the “All-Star Challenge” was kind of fun. That is until the judges lost their minds and decided that the crap Daniel Vosovic was passing off as fashion was actually good. It was hard not to notice that Santino did not walk back out to the runway to congratulate Daniel. Who could blame him?

But the biggest shock was not Daniel’s win, it was just how bad the designers’ work actually was. In my opinion, only Uli put together a good collection. But the judges didn’t even include her in the top four because she didn’t use any colors like she had before.

What happened to judging that challenge only?

After the two-hour challenge—which did not include nearly enough of Santino Rice doing his Tim Gunn impersonation (How dare Mychael Knight tell him to shut up.)—the MUCH hyped premiere finally aired. As I told you before, the show has not changed, although it was hard not to notice the extreme—and extremely unnecessary—close-ups of the judges during their comments.

The judges surprised me again—but this time in a good way as they eliminated a contestant I was sure they would keep around just for drama. But it was the right decision. And although the show is taking some flack for having Lindsay Lohan as a guest judge, I thought she made some good comments, especially when she said, “You can make all you want, but it doesn’t matter if no one buys.” Oh, snap!

But the show came off terribly dated as Lindsay looked incredibly normal and the contestants visited the red carpet of last year’s Emmys...

Lifetime would have been good to just stop after the premiere. But they decided to continue the overkill with a spin-off show, “Models of the Runway.” Someone had better hope there’s more drama to come because otherwise this show is going to be seriously lame. The only interesting thing about it is watching the designers choose their models at the end of the episode.

And because they just couldn’t let it go, during every commercial break of “Models,” we had to hear about the encore presentation of “Runway” airing right after it.

Plus, even though Harvey Weinstein complained that Bravo had diluted his brand with marathons, I couldn’t help but notice that Lifetime was airing the premiere again Friday…

At the same time Bravo was marathoning season three (Man, do I love them!)…

It pains me to even think about not watching my beloved “Runway,” but if Lifetime insists on continuing to jam it down our throats, I might have to tell it Auf Wiedersehen…

“Project Runway” airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. on Lifetime…

Photo Credits: David Russell/Lifetime Networks 2009 and Mike Yarish/Lifetime Networks 2009

"Eli Stone" and "Dirty Sexy Money" DVD Reviews: Getting the Goodbye They Deserve

In the old days, when a show was cancelled, you never heard hide nor hair of it again…

But now, thanks to DVDs we get a chance to relive these shows. Or in the case of “Eli Stone” and “Dirty Sexy Money,” whose final seasons both hit DVD this week, find another reason to mourn them all over again…

“Eli Stone” was one of TV’s most original shows with its combination of drama, comedy and fantasy. Its series finale combines all of those so well—with a special twist for fans—that I was sorry I didn’t watch the show more when it was on the air.

And if you’re a faithful reader of this blog, you already know the love I have for “Dirty Sexy Money.” The second season gets off to a terrible start, but the show does manage to get back on track just in time for the series finale, which hits you with a doozy of a cliffhanger.

If you’re hoping for answers as to what would have happened with these shows if they had continued, you’re going to be disappointed. But both releases give the shows the credit they deserve with some cool special features. On “Eli,” you’ll get a cool behind-the-scenes look at the “Dancin’ In the Streets” musical number, a fun look at the cast off the air, bloopers, and deleted scenes. “Dirty” gives us even more with a look at how an episode is directed, a day in the life of the fabulous Natalie Zea, a humorous look at the show from the point of view of craft services, and bloopers. There are also deleted scenes, including one that appears to be an alternate ending to the series (I actually prefer the one we saw.).

Kudos to Disney for giving these series the proper goodbye they deserve, although a commentary to tell us what the writers had planned would have been nice.

On second thought, maybe it’s best we don’t know. It would probably just make me sadder…

“Eli Stone: The Complete Second and Final Season” and “Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete Second and Final Season” are available now.

Photos Credit: ©Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Help for the Holidays #1: A Less Expensive Gaming Option

I know what you’re thinking. School has just started and you’re already thinking about the holidays?

Well, if you’re like me, you shop all year round, which means it’s never too early to hand out a hint or two.

And here’s a great one for those of you who are looking for a less expensive way to satisfy your kids’ (and maybe your) video game addiction—TV Games Motion.

This new video game line takes the already popular Plug It In and Play TV Games and adds motion. You can buy TV Games Motion titles featuring “Toy Story,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Spider-Man,” Disney fairies, “Power Rangers” and more. The great thing about these games is you still get all the perks of a motion game without all of the expense and the extra equipment. You have just one controller that you plug into your TV.

The game I tested was “Star Wars: Clone Wars Republic Squadron Flight Game.” The object is to complete five flight missions by shooting down the bad guys, avoiding asteroids and landing safely at base. You literally steer the flight controller to control your fighter.

Since I’m not a gamer, it took me a while to get the hang of things, but once I did I was blowing stuff out of the sky left and right. And who doesn’t enjoy taking out the bad guys?

For someone like me who likes occasionally dabbling in video games, but not enough to invest in an expensive system, a system like this is perfect.

Now if I can just find the time to perfect my flight skills. Because right now, I’m afraid in my hands the Republic is doomed…

“Star Wars: Clone Wars Republic Squadron Flight Game” and all the other TV Games Motion titles (Ages 5+) are available now in stores and at online outlets for a suggested retail price of $29.99…

Photo Credit: JAKKS Pacific

"Top Chef Masters" Finale: Bravo!

Warning: If you do not want to know the result of last night’s “Top Chef Masters,” stop reading now…

It’s so rare when the person I want to win actually wins a reality competition show, so I savor it whenever it happens…

Which is what I did last night when Rick Bayless took home the title of Top Chef Master. I was a little concerned when his seafood came out overcooked and actually had flashbacks of when Dale lost “Top Chef: Miami” because of one dish. But thankfully, Rick triumphed, thanks to the rest of his dishes and critic James Oseland’s insistence on not giving Michael Chiraello anything more than 3 ½ stars…

Maybe Michael’s idea to serve one of his dishes on charred pages of James’ magazine was not such a good idea…

Last night’s episode was strong from start-to-finish as for the first time, all of the “Top Chef” winners gathered together to judge the meal. Plus, the final challenge—a four-course meal detailing the story of the chefs’ lives—was beyond brilliant. It was also nice to see the chefs just be able to do their thing without any final twists.

And the way the episode was edited was fantastic as the outcome was truly kept in suspense until the very end. If Jay Rayner had not given Rick the four stars he needed, I think I would have thrown something at the TV.

And judging by the BravoTV.com poll that showed how little support Michael had, I wouldn’t have been the only one…

I truly hope that Bravo does this show again, because it was a lot of fun to watch. In fact, I already have a suggestion for them…

Anthony Bourdain vs. Rocco DiSpirito. How awesome would that be to watch?

For more from behind the scenes of last night’s finale, be sure to visit the Bravo website and read the critics’ blogs. Plus, you can get Rick’s thoughts on the finale at www.Rickwon.com...

The "Octomom" Special: Where Is the Line?

No doubt you’ve noticed that one of the things I missed was FOX’s announcement for “Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage,” a special airing tonight.

I’m not sure that I missed that one as much as I just chose to ignore it…

In a preview clip FOX provided to the media, Nadya Suleman, aka the Octomom, says, “What was I thinking?” I would like to know what FOX was thinking…

Wait, I know the answer to that one. It’s called ratings…

But honestly, where is the line?

Every time FOX starts to gain a reputation as the home of quality, Emmy Award-winning programming, they pull a stunt like this. Do we really need a two-hour documentary about this woman and her kids? Do we really need to give her any more attention?
Mike Darnell, the dark prince of reality TV strikes again. Someday, someone will put a stop to that guy…I hope…

“Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage” airs tonight (Wednesday, August 19th) at 8 p.m. on FOX…

If you watch, be sure to tell me about it, because I won’t be watching…

"Hard Knocks": Seriously?

If you’ve been reading this blog for an extended period of time, you know that I am a Bengals fan. Although every day something else happens that makes me wonder why…

I do not get HBO, so I did not see last week’s premiere of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals,” but what I heard about it was not that good, and I’m still completely perplexed at why the team would agree to do the show.

Now, today, in my inbox, I receive a description of tonight’s second episode and I have to wonder why HBO would agree to do the show…

From the HBO press release:

During a break in practice drills, Bengals star QB Carson Palmer, who is miked
up, talks about his high standards for the perfect sports energy drink mix:

“I’ve always been a Gatorade snob. Sometimes guys (who mix the drink)
half-a-- it. They don’t really put the right mixture of the Gatorade powder and
water to create the best taste. Some guys’ mix is watered down. Some guys’ is
too sweet. But Lemar (Mosley) has a wild-berry fruit punch mix, mixing three or
four flavors, and it’s fantastic. That is an A-plus right there.” Lemar Mosley
is a member of the Bengals athletic training staff.

Wow, is that scintillating television or what? I know that makes me want to run out and add HBO, how about you?

The press release also promises a look at Dhani Jones’ routine of acupuncture and “aggressive inside-the-mouth massage,” a look at Laveranues Coles’ sleep recovery system, and a night out on the town with Chad Ochocinco.

Okay, that last one might be entertaining, but the others? Seriously?

The Bengals fan in me is relieved that the team isn’t giving the show a lot of drama, but the TV fan in me says, are you kidding me with this? I’ll stick with my Bravo, thank you very much…

What do you guys think? If you’re watching the show, let me know what you think of it and how you think it makes the team look…

The Return of "Runway"

I admit it. I honestly considered showing some love to “Project Runway” in my Pick of the Week post.

But then I felt like that would be a betrayal to Bravo—not to mention the “Top Chef: Las Vegas” premiere was so good—so I didn’t…

This week’s “Runway” premiere is a tough one for me, because I genuinely love the show. I’m just still miffed at how everything went down. I know that they settled everything out of court, but that doesn’t settle it for me.

But I have to admit that Lifetime certainly tempted me into trying with their scheduling of the “Project Runway: All-Star Challenge,” which brings back eight “Runway” alumni to compete for bragging rights and $100,000 (with a reported cameo from Nicole Kidman, no less). And they’ve brought back two of my very favorites—Santino Rice from Season 2 and Chris March from Season 4.

Joining them will be Daniel Vosovic (Season 2), Jeffrey Sebelia (Season 3 Winner), Uli Herzner (Season 3), Mychael Knight (Season 3), Sweet P (Season 4) and Korto Momolu (Season 5).

I have to give props to Lifetime for putting this great group together, but I also have to wonder whether they’ve shot themselves in the foot. Because not one designer in the premiere of season six looks to come anywhere close to the personalities that these eight bring. And that could be a problem…

Of course, within the first 15 minutes of the premiere we learn the real reason we’ve missed the show so much when Tim Gunn talks a contestant through a breakdown as only Tim Gunn could. Thankfully, it looks like season six will feature him much more prominently than season five did.

Now can someone tell me why he wasn’t submitted to the Emmys as a co-host along with Heidi Klum like Tom Colicchio was for “Top Chef”? But I digress…

For those of you who were concerned that Lifetime and the new producing team would make big changes, don’t. Everything is exactly the same. The concept, the graphics, the set, the runway, everything. It is literally the same show, different network.

And I do have to say that this group of designers has way more personality than the group from season five and there are a few standouts. But I hesitate to tell you who those standouts are because I have absolutely no indication who will be eliminated during the premiere. The media screener from Lifetime ended before the judging.

Just for the record, my friends at Bravo would never do that to me…

“Project Runway” premiere night kicks off Thursday, August 20th at 8 p.m. with the two-hour “Project Runway: All-Star Challenge.” That’s followed by the season six premiere at 10 p.m. Closing out the night is “Models of the Runway,” a new reality show that follows the competition from the models’ point of view, premiering at 11 p.m. on Lifetime…

"Hannah Montana: The Movie DVD Review: An Honest to Goodness Family Movie

The problem with most TV-based movies is a weak story that never really gives any good reason for the TV show to be on the big screen to begin with.

However, that’s not a problem with “Hannah Montana: The Movie” as the writers found the perfect way to send “Hannah” to the cineplex…

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, “Hannah Montana” follows the adventures of Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus), a seemingly normal teenager with a whopper of a secret—she’s also international pop star Hannah Montana. Helping her live her double life is her dad and manager Robby Ray (Billy Ray Cyrus), her brother Jackson (Jason Earles) and her best friends Lily (Emily Osment) and Oliver (Mitchel Musso).

In the movie, the seemingly normal teenager is developing quite the big head, thanks in large part to her publicist (wonderfully played by Vanessa Williams). After Hannah gets into a fight over shoes with Tyra Banks and embarrasses Lily at Lily’s own birthday party, Robby Ray decides Miley needs a Hannah detox and takes her back to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee.

Of course, Miley hates it—that is until she reunites with old classmate Travis (Lucas Till). Little by little she decides that country life isn’t so bad. But then something happens that causes Miley’s two worlds to collide and she realizes just how many sacrifices have been made for her double life—especially when Hannah causes problems with Robby Ray’s potential new girlfriend, Lorelai (Melora Hardin).

As I said, the story is the perfect way to send the “Hannah” gang to the big screen because it actually makes sense. Instead of coming up with some wacky set of circumstances to send the family to another setting, we get a realistic one that families can actually relate to. What tween girl hasn’t been punished by her father for acting like a spoiled brat?

And yes, there is a lesson to be learned here, but it isn’t some out-of-the-blue one that just swoops in at the end of the movie to make it all worthwhile. It’s one about the importance of family. And I think we all need to hear that lesson as many times as possible…

Miley Cyrus has been getting A LOT of flack lately, but regardless of what you think of her, you have to admit she’s got acting chops. The movie gives her a chance to play physical comedy and drama and she handles both extremely well. But most of the movie’s best moments actually go to Billy Ray as he takes on the comedy-drama combination as well.

If you’re a “Hannah” fan, you know that Jason Earles usually handles most of the physical comedy on the show and he does have his moments here. Unfortunately, most of his storyline is cut from the film—a story that I think would have helped the movie tremendously by plugging some continuity holes. Thank goodness for the DVD so you can see the story in the special features…

Which leads to the movie’s biggest problem (for adults anyway). It never seems to find the balance between the story and the music. While the songs are fun and tween “Hannah” fans will love them, I wanted to see more of the story that inspired them.

But speaking of inspirational, I dare you to not get a little teary when Miley belts out “The Climb” in the movie’s climax. It almost makes you willing to forgive the “Quantum Leap” ending…

If you’re looking for an honest to goodness family movie, this one definitely fills the bill as there are humorous sight gags for the kids, fun musical sequences for the tweens (not to mention a super cute guy for the tween girls) and some good story for the adults—even if it isn’t as much story as we would like…

If you have a Blu-Ray player you’ll be treated to all kinds of special features including a chance to learn the “Hoedown Throwdown” and seven music videos. But those of you with regular players shouldn’t be too disappointed as the standard edition has deleted scenes, bloopers, a behind-the-scenes featurette, “The Climb” music video, a tour of the stars’ hometowns and an audio commentary…

“Hannah Montana: The Movie” DVD is available now…

Who Will Be "Dancing" This Fall?

Yesterday, the 16 celebrities that will make up the cast of this fall’s “Dancing With the Stars” were announced on “Good Morning America.”

They are:

Aaron Carter, singer/actor
Natalie Coughlin, Olympic swimmer
Mark Dacascos, “Iron Chef” host
Tom Delay, former House Majority Leader
Macy Gray, singer/actress
Ashley Hamilton, actor (George Hamilton’s son)
Melissa Joan Hart, actress
Kathy Ireland, model/actress/fashion CEO
Michael Irvin, NFL Hall of Famer
Joanna Krupa, model/actress
Chuck Liddell, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter
Debi Mazar, actress
Mya, singer/actress
Kelly Osbourne
Donny Osmond
Louie Vito, professional snowboarder

The pairings with the professionals will be announced next week. But even though I don’t know who she’ll be paired with, I’ve got to give the early edge to Mya. If you saw her moves in “Chicago,” you’ll know why…

And Tom Delay? Seriously? Does he think this will help his chances of escaping a trial on charges of violating election laws?

What do you guys think of the cast? Are you excited or baffled?

“Dancing With the Stars” premieres Monday, September 21st on ABC…

Jay's First Guest Will Be...

“Variety” reported this week that Jerry Seinfeld will be the first guest on “The Jay Leno Show.”

I think he’s a good guest and all, but I was really hoping that Jay would pack a real punch on his first night. And I’m just not sure that Seinfeld does that any more…

Also this week a report surfaced that ABC and CBS will not be booking any of their show’s stars on the show since “Leno” will be airing in primetime. No word yet on what FOX will do, but since it has no 10 p.m. programming, I think they should go for it—if NBC will allow it…

“The Jay Leno Show” premieres Monday, September 14th at 10 p.m. on NBC…

On a Personal Note...

Allow me to interrupt this blog with something personal…

You have no doubt noticed that my posts have been a little spotty lately and that I have been late with or missed altogether some important TV events.

I just wanted to take a second and apologize for that, but I hope you’ll accept my excuse…

I am in the process of buying a house and for any of you who have done that, you know how stressful that can be. Plus, I have to be out of my apartment by the end of this month.

So, while I am apologizing for the spottiness of my posts recently, let me warn you that they’re probably going to get even spottier in the next few weeks. And at some point, they will be nonexistent for a few days while I get a new Internet service up and running. I hope you will all just bear with me.

It is my hope to be back online in time to get you ready for the new fall TV season…

Doesn’t anyone at my bank realize how important this time of the year is?

Can Freddie Prinze Jr. Pull Off "24"?

For months I have been concerned about Freddie Prinze, Jr. being cast on my beloved "24.”

It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just that I’m not sure he has the chops to pull it off. And I keep having flashbacks of Rick Schroder from season six…

But I had decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. That is, until this.

Here he is on last night’s “WWE’s Monday Night Raw” (Thanks to RT for passing this along to me.). How am I possibly supposed to take him seriously after this?



Apparently Freddie is a big fan of the WWE and was even a writer for them at one time, which doesn't make me feel any better...

Thoughts?

It's Time To Flip Out Once Again...

So what does a successful house flipper do when the real estate market goes down the toilet?

Well, if it’s Jeff Lewis, he flips out, of course…

After what seems like forever, “Flipping Out” returns this week with Jeff back in the remodeling business since he’s unable to flip houses any more. In fact, things have sunk so low that Jeff is living somewhere I would’ve never believed (and I won’t give away here because it’s such a surprise for longtime fans). But he still has his team of his maid, Zoila, his executive assistant, Jenni, and his business partner, Ryan. Jenni is looking for a man but she isn’t the only one looking as Zoila works on her flirting skills as well.

There are also some new team members, including Trace, the design intern who can’t get out of bed until he wins at iPhone checkers. And if you think that makes him fit right in with Jeff, you would be correct…

Jeff actually seems to be handling his situation rather well when the premiere begins—with a few minor OCD quirks—but before that first hour is up, we’ll see a classic Jeff Lewis flip out…

And isn’t that really why we watch?

The previews show us a ton of juicy stuff to come, including a showdown I would have never expected to see…

It’s time to flip out once again, and I couldn’t be happier about it…

“Flipping Out” premieres Tuesday, August 18th at 10 p.m. after the season finale of “Miami Social” on Bravo…

Photo Credit: Vivian Zink

Pick of the Week: A Favorite Returns With A Little More Seasoning

Generally, when one of my favorite shows premieres, it’s an obvious choice for my Pick.

But this week, two of my favorites are returning. So I should have been in for a tough decision. But then one of the premieres just blew me away…

My Pick of the Week is the premiere of “Top Chef: Las Vegas.”

This season’s cheftestants are the most experienced yet. The “cast” includes executive chefs, Michellin Star recipients and James Beard Award nominees—all impressive credentials in the culinary world.

But fortunately for us, the cheftestants also have personality…

There’s Mike, who sets himself up to be the season’s villain fairly quickly. There’s Ron, who made a dangerous journey to come to the US from Haiti. And then there’s Bryan and Michael, two brothers competing against each other as much as they are competing against the other cheftestants.

All the usual “Top Chef” tricks are there, but they’ve thrown in some extra ones inspired by Vegas. That means luck becomes a factor in addition to skill.

Plus, the first elimination challenge has Wolfgang Puck as a judge, and he doesn’t mince words. In fact, I’d say he’s one of the best judges I’ve seen on the show (Anthony Bourdain is still the best.).

“Top Chef: New York” could taste a little blah at times, but I don’t think we’ll have that problem in Vegas.

Let the flames begin…

“Top Chef: Las Vegas” premieres Wednesday, August 19th at 9 p.m., followed by the season finale of “Top Chef Masters” at 10:15 p.m. on Bravo…

Photo Credit: Justin Stephens/Bravo

"NYC Prep": A Little Sad to See It Go

Somehow—and I don’t know how—I got completely hooked on “NYC Prep.”

It started when the previously annoying Taylor actually got interesting. She dumped Sebastian for her ex-boyfriend, Cole, but didn’t bother to tell Sebastian. He just discovered it when Taylor came to a party with Cole. But then Taylor was surprised when later Sebastian told her they weren’t friends.

That night I found myself talking to the TV. And if I’m doing that, then I’m hooked...

So hooked that I’m actually a little sad that the finale has arrived…

I missed a couple of episodes, but thanks to a mini-marathon over the weekend, I’m mostly caught up and ready for the finale. Although I still don’t understand why PC wants to hang out with Taylor or Camille—other than the show encouraging it. But since I find PC highly entertaining, I’m willing to go with it.

And the finale also promises to be highly entertaining, as the previews show Camille pulling an “oh-no-she-didn’t” trick when she makes Jessie look bad in front of some important people. Plus you just know there’s going to be a final throwdown between PC and Jessie…

If there isn’t, well, that’s when I’ll be really sad…

The season finale of “NYC Prep” airs Tuesday, August 11th at 9 p.m. on Bravo…

Photo Credit: Heidi Gutman/Bravo

"The Jay Leno Show": Too Much Change?

Last week at the TCA Press Tour, we got a better picture of what “The Jay Leno Show” will look like.

I wish I could say it made me feel better…

During his panel with critics, Jay confirmed that the show will be very different from his “Tonight Show.” Thankfully, some elements of that show will continue including Jaywalking and Headlines. But those elements will come at the end to lead into the local news. The show will still begin with Jay’s monologue.

In between will be guests and musical acts, but those will be completely different. There will most likely only be one guest and they’ll do more than just talk. NBC is building a racetrack next to Jay’s studio so that Jay can race electric cars with his guests. And instead of just one musical guest, there will be more than one performing together. The first show will feature Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West doing a song from Jay-Z’s new album. The show is hoping to bring together some interesting combinations.

You guys know I love Jay (although I’m a little miffed at him for replacing his longtime director Ellen Brown) and I really want this to succeed, but I’m a little worried that the more NBC tries to make the show different from “Tonight,” the more they’re going to screw it up.

Because personally, I think if they let Jay just do his thing as usual, the show could be a hit. But then they’d have to admit they screwed up with this whole Conan thing. And that’s never going to happen…

Even though we all already know they did…

“The Jay Leno Show” premieres Monday, September 14th at 10 p.m. on NBC…

Photo Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

Pick of the Week: A Favorite Adds Some Extra Spice

Since next week’s Pick is going to be a Bravo show, I wanted to try to pick something from another network for this week.

But then I saw the previews for a Bravo favorite and I just had no choice…

My Pick of the Week is “Top Chef Masters.”

When the show’s most fun—and my favorite—contestant, Art Smith, was eliminated last week, I really didn’t know how the show would recover. But you’d think after all these years, I would know better than to doubt the Magical Elves…

This week’s episode—the next to last—adds some spice by bringing in former “Top Chef” cheftestants to assist the “Masters” contestants. They include Jamie (“New York”), Spike (“Chicago”), Dale (“Chicago”) and my guy Blais (“Chicago”).

Now you’d think that since these are major chefs that the cheftestants are working for that they’d be on their best behavior. But thankfully, that’s not the case. The previews show Dale—who we know has a short fuse—getting into an all-out fight with Michael Chiarello. Plus, the chefs have to deal with Spike after his derogatory comments toward them as a judge last week [Rick Bayless even said something about pushing him off a roof.].

Up to this point, the “Masters” competition has been pretty respectful. But I’d say those days are over…

Thank goodness…

“Top Chef Masters” airs Wednesday, August 12th at 10 p.m. on Bravo…

Photo Credit: Kelsey McNeal/Bravo

"Dirty Sexy Money" Finale: So Wrong on So Many Levels

Oh, that was so wrong!

That’s what I said last night at 10:57 as the series finale of “Dirty Sexy Money” went black…

We finally got the answer to the mystery that had plagued the show since episode one, opening up a whole new avenue of story and…nothing. Show over. Kaput. Done.

I think it actually hurt me a little…

I know I should be happy that we at least got the answer, but it created so many cool possibilities, I just can’t be happy…

If you missed it, there were very few loose ends tied up, but there were many new lines cast. And because this was the finale, some of them came out of the blue and some of them just didn’t get the attention they deserved.

Brian didn’t reunite with Andrea, but he did remodel Nick’s place, leading to the possibility the two would be living together for a while longer. Lisa decided to write a tell-all about the Darlings and ended up debating Nick about it on a daytime talk show. But later, Lisa tried to reunite with Nick. Nick, however, had already told Karen he wanted to make it work with her and the baby. But when Karen saw Nick and Lisa together, she got upset and fell down the stairs, losing the baby.

There had to be a better way to give Nick and Karen a fresh start, but whatever…

Nola found her brother and decided not to return to New York after going to get him. Jeremy proposed, but she turned him down and left. Simon’s nurse then convinced Jeremy to go to Las Vegas. And, of course, when Nola changed her mind and returned to New York to accept Jeremy’s proposal, there was already a Mrs. Jeremy Darling. Meanwhile, Patrick decided to fight for a relationship with the Congressman’s wife.

But the biggest story of the night was the revelation of who was behind all of Simon’s misdeeds against the Darlings. The story played out in frustratingly small pieces over the hour as Simon told Nick the tale of how he stole the biofuel from Nola’s father by having him thrown in jail and how he controlled her by hiding away her brother and promising to get her father released.

Finally, when Nick asked Simon why he had Nola go after Leticia, the truth came out. Simon confirmed what I had already suspected—that Dutch, Nick’s father, was alive and pulling Simon’s strings via blackmail.

And that was it.

But think about the possibilities that could have opened up here. Nick dealing with his father being alive. Leticia dealing with the man she loved trying to destroy her and her family. Tripp facing off against his former confidant…

See what I mean about being wrong? It’s like “Commander In Chief” all over again…

Just like with “Commander,” I put the blame for the demise of “DSM” squarely on the doorstep of ABC. True, the Writers’ Strike didn’t help, but it was ABC that chose to shelve the show, allowing people to forget about it, instead of trying to get it back on the air—as CBS did with their dramas with great results.

And when the show did get back on the air, it was a shell of its former self thanks to behind-the-scenes changes. By the time it found itself again, it was too late.

Now, all we can do is mourn the loss of such great potential and hope that Natalie Zea (Karen) and Glenn Fitzgerald (Brian) find great new jobs soon.

But, I think if Donald Sutherland does another pilot and it gets picked up by ABC, that he should quit immediately…

Photo Credit: Vivian Zink/ABC

An Unseen "Housewives" Battle Royale

If you watched last night’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” you know there was a battle royale between Kim and Sheree with NeNe witnessing and trying to figure out who to believe.

If you saw the previews, you know there’s an even bigger fight brewing next week…

But if you saw last night’s “Watch What Happens,” you know that the fighting is not over. Only this time it’s between Kim and NeNe. But the show ran out of time, so the fight had to continue over to BravoTV.com. And boy, did it ever…



I, too, am looking forward to that reunion show. You just know that Bravo is going to milk it for all its worth…

I know I would…

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. and "Watch What Happens" airs Thursdays at Midnight on Bravo...

"Prison Break: The Final Break": We Deserve Better

Over the weekend, I finally saw “Prison Break: The Final Break,” the movie which fills in the gap before the five-year time jump in the series finale of “Prison Break.”

I was hoping that I would see something that would justify the show killing Michael. Something that would show that the writers had some master plan.

But if you’ve already seen it, you know I didn’t see either one of those things. But what I did see was a pathetic excuse for a finale that will forever mar what was once a clever, original drama.

Yeah, it’s that bad…

Which is probably why this didn’t air on FOX. And probably why the DVD has no commentary or behind-the-scenes features. Not even the people who made it can justify this mess…

The movie starts out on a good note as we see Michael and Sara finally tying the knot. But their happiness is short lived as the FBI arrests Sara for the murder of Michael’s mother. Because of jail overcrowding, Sara is taken to a maximum security prison. And after the FBI decides to throw the book at her, Michael realizes the only way to save her and their unborn child is to break her out.

Warning: If you’d prefer not to know any further details, stop reading now.

Apparently, the writers were a little nostalgic for the prison days of season one, as thy brought back all that creepy stuff, only with women. But since we’d already seen it, it was more pathetic than shocking. And Lori Petty’s Daddy is no T-Bag—mainly because Petty is no Robert Knepper.

Speaking of T-Bag, he is there as well because he and The General just happen to be right next door in the men’s prison. That’s a disbelief suspender for sure, but it’s worth it just to see Knepper again. As usual, he’s the best thing going here.

Not that everyone else doesn’t give it their all. Sarah Wayne Callies makes the best out of a bad situation as she’s beaten up for no real reason, ogled by creepy women and branded as a member of a prison “family.”

Wentworth Miller (Michael) is so strong he actually made me tear up a little and William Fichtner manages to make Mahone seem worth watching even though his flip-flopping between good and bad is a little ridiculous. Plus, there’s solid support from two great guest stars—Amy Aquino as the warden and Chris Bruno as FBI Agent Whatley.

Unfortunately, though, it appears the writers and the director just phoned it in. That becomes incredibly evident during the sequence where Michael sacrifices himself to save Sara…

In order for Sara to escape, Michael must connect some wires to open a door—an action that causes an explosion that kills him. As I watched the scene, I tried to think about how I would react if I didn’t already know the outcome. I have to believe I would be shocked just because it was the death of the main character. But then I would have reacted exactly the way I did—with a huge “Are you kidding me?”

There was just no drama in the scene—not nearly as much drama as you would expect from the death of the main character. Not to mention that there was not enough attention paid to the possibility that Michael was dying anyway to make it work.

I REALLY hope FOX learned its lesson about letting a show kill its main character in the end…

I did tear up a little during Michael’s goodbye video for Lincoln and Sara, but that quickly passed when the movie lamely ended with the video shutting off after Michael declared “We’re all finally free.” I actually said out loud, “That’s it?”

Sadly, the answer was yes, it was…

It’s bad enough that “Break” killed Michael, but to do it in such a lame fashion?

I think the final break is actually the breaking of the hearts of “Break” fans everywhere…

“Prison Break: The Final Break” is available on DVD now…

Photo Credit: FOX Home Entertainment

Pick of the Week: Here We Go Again...

One of my biggest TV pet peeves is when a show gets better AFTER it gets cancelled. It’s so sad to see such potential unrealized.And unfortunately that will be the case for this week’s Pick…

No, I am not re-running the Pick from two weeks ago. It’s just happening again…

My Pick of the Week is the series finale of “Dirty Sexy Money.”

After a rather lame clip show, “DSM” has been better than ever with lots of soapy goodness, including moustache-twirling villains, clandestine affairs, dramatic breakups, and surprise pregnancies.

In fact, the show has packed in so much soapy goodness, I can’t see any way we’ll get any closure. And if we do, it will be in such a Quantum Leap fashion that all the momentum of the last two weeks will be destroyed.

It’s so sad…

But I’ll still be watching and if you’ve ever been a “Dirty” fan, you should be too…

The series finale of “Dirty Sexy Money” airs Saturday, August 8th at 10 p.m. on ABC…

Photo Credit: Vivian Zink/ABC

The Bayside Gang Reunites

If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a look at this week’s “People” magazine cover featuring a “Saved By the Bell” reunion…

WOO-HOO!!!

Apparently, “People” had been working on this for quite a while—even before Jimmy Fallon started trying to make it happen.

You can get a sneak peek at the article from People.com here…

Photo Credit: People Magazine/Time Inc.