who is…

antm_whitney.jpgAmerica’s Next Top Model?

Our plus-size, full-figured, normal-person model Whitney!  It was a tough road as Whitney had been in the bottom two for a few weeks.

First with the final four needing to step it up, the challenge was work behind the camera. Their test was a shoot with Paulina, and while Whitney seemed professional, Fatima with her relaxed manner won an extra 50 shots.

And the whole gang could have used more shots as the 50s style glamour shoot was a weak week for all. Whitney missed being in the bottom two for the first week in a while, but while Fatima’s ‘tude is turning off the judges, tranny looking Dominique was sent packing.

And then the final three did the usual Covergirl commercial and photo shoot. Whitney was still seeming a bit overdone and fake in the spot but her photo was top of the bunch. Anya had great moments in her commercial even with her weird Hawaiian accent but would need some serious editing, though Paulina said in her photo she looked dumb. But it was robotic Fatima who though lovely looking didn’t seem like she’d be able to take direction and was sent home.

Then for the final runway show the ladies were joined by last year’s winner Saleisha to wear Versace. We all thought they both were doing some weird arm things but in their two looks Whitney was able to step it up. Anya had taken great photos and won challenges throughout the competition but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough. Personally I would have liked to have seen Whitney crack the exterior a little more for her commercial but she definitely got my vote.

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bad girl gossip

ggirl-georgina.bmpAh we always love the bad girl action on a soapy show and there has been plenty to go around. Serena was greeted by the return of former wild child partner in crime Georgina, with the guest appearance and rumored new cast member come fall, Michelle Trachtenberg (formerly Dawn from Buffy). Serena’s vilification of Chuck, as he took up stead as her step brother to be, ended with her leaning on his shoulder for help with the Georgina situation. But Serena made problems worse lying to Dan trying to keep the awful truth hidden. Well we all know the awful truth always comes out.

Serena tried to make nice but when she tried to stop her partying ways, after Georgina drugged her for a night out before the SATs, G moved to blackmail. G’s got a hidden video of the real reason S left town, apparently they ‘killed someone.’ Georgina isn’t just messing with Serena, she’s lying to Dan pretending to be normal gal Sarah to gain his trust and secrets. And she’s spreading the secrets wherever she can, outing S’s brother Eric to the family.

Turns out Eric didn’t have a crush on the littlest Humphrey, Jenny, he had a crush on her boyfriend. Apparently they’d been involved since rehab and were caught kissing on the street. So when gay boyfriend tried to up the ante on using Jenny as his beard she caved to the reality and made a pact to their mutual benefit, she’d fess up to doing the deed and he’d let the status-less gal lean on his pedigree. As we recall the Humphreys are on scholarship to the exclusive private school and are forced to bring things like a sack lunch from their tragically poor Brooklyn.

Jenny just couldn’t keep up with the Joneses, or the Waldorfs as the case may be. Since Jenny was so busy shoving Blair down to claw her way to the top, B couldn’t let things lie. After arranging for the gals to show up at Jenny’s house just in time to catch her in her ‘borrowed’ dress from one of the gal pals moms she arranged a full outing of Jenny’s new beau at the latest social event. Now Blair wasn’t going to out Eric, she does have her standards, but once the cat was out of the bag for Eric he was happy to call a gay a gay.

Something tells me more trouble is a brewing, so stay tuned tonight as Serena starts to return to her wild girl ways.

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next week 5/12

Stay tuned this week for the finales of many a show, does this mean it’s summer?

Monday

  • Samantha Who? (ABC, 9:30) Season Finale – Samantha’s birthday brings her family, buddies and romance together for some chaos.
  • Medium (NBC, 10pm) Season Finale – Being a medium and a mom is a challenge, or something.
  • The Bachelor (ABC, 10pm) Season Finale – I hear it’s one of the most dramatic and romantic yet!

Tuesday

  • Beauty and the Geek (CW, 8pm) Season Finale – And I’m sure the beauties and the geeks have all learned a little about each other.
  • Law & Order: SVU (NBC, 10pm) Season Finale – One of the detectives is caught up in a case and becomes a suspect.
  • Women’s Murder Club (ABC, 10pm) Season Finale – The gals get involved in the pursuit of a the kiss me not killer.

Wednesday

  • America’s Next Top Model (CW, 8pm) Season Finale – The latest Top Model will be chosen.
  • Til Death/Back to You (Fox, 8/8:30pm) Season Finales – I don’t actually watch either of these comedies but I’m sure hijinks will ensue.

Thursday

  • My Name Is Earl/The Office (NBC, 8/9pm) Season Finales – Both these shows will air two part episodes as finales.
  • Smallville/Supernatural (CW, 8/9pm) Season Finales – There will be battles.
  • CSI/Without a Trace (CBS, 9/10pm) Season Finales – There will be murders and missing people.
  • ER (NBC, 10pm) Season Finale – And the special guest star is… Steve Buscemi.

Friday

  • Ghost Whisperer/Moonlight/Numb3rs (CBS, 8/9/10pm) Season Finales– Um, ghosts and vampires and fbi cases.

Saturday

  • Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30pm) – Steve Carrell and Usher join to round out the season.

Sunday

  • Extreme Makeover/Desperate Housewives (ABC, 7/9pm) Season Finales – Two hour episode of Makeover followed by housewives that are oh so desperate.
  • Academy of Country Music Awards (CBS, 8pm) – They came, they sang, they won, and lost.
  • Everybody Hates Chris/Aliens in America/The Game (CW, 8/8:30/9pm) Season Finales – Everybody… ok I don’t watch these shows either.
  • The Simpsons/King of the Hill/American Dad (Fox, 8/8:30/9:30pm) Season Finales – Animated shows need time off too.
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strike schmike

tv_static.jpgApparently the numbers are in for most of the shows returning after the strike and overall they’re down. Have people given up on television? My instinct tells me that it’s not so much that, as folks have started their summer drop off a little bit early. But the world of television is still shifting as people are able to catch things online and on dvd in addition to the watch as you will tivo (I still don’t totally understand how they calculate tivo views which at some point were supposed to be added into the numbers).

Personally over the strike period I didn’t watch any less tv, in fact I think I might have watched more. The timing coincided with my getting used to a little expanded cable, VH1, TNT, etc. and I got to explore some alternate shows. In addition to just surfing a little more I stopped by a little reality, can you say Celebrity Rehab? And picked up a few older series on reruns of the initial season. The Closer had gotten some buzz, and I gave two shows that I initially dismissed another shot, Greek and Burn Notice and found that their cheesiness grew on me. I have to say I know reruns don’t get great numbers but the cable networks aren’t afraid to use them and I like it.

I was also a little nervous that things would be barren for some time so I held on to some shows for a little longer than I normally would. Who knew I would come to be intrigued by the Terminator despite disliking the two main characters. Not all extended stays faired so well, I found myself dreading another episode of New Amsterdam and had to finally cut it loose. I also got readdicted to American Idol, who can fill more time than Idol? Maybe Big Brother but I wasn’t that desperate yet. Though I don’t think I will sit through another entire season of Idol, I mean isn’t it over yet, though it was a fun diversion for a while.

But what about the rest of the public. Are folks forgetting about gems like Pushing Daisies with its early departure and will only stick to previous addictions come fall? Or will folks not tuning in come fall at all? Even if everyone has turned to tv on dvd, which really is a great way to catch things we’ve missed. There needs to be enough viewers to keep things in production long enough to make it to dvd. The point may all be mute pending the agreement on the actor’s contract due end of June. There’s already been reports of walking away from the table over ‘unreasonable’ demands, and hmm, the demands seem to center around dvd and internet distribution, is that ironic?

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next week 5/5

New and notable for the week to come:

Monday

  • Two and a Half Men (CBS, 9pm) – Thursday’s CSI writer’s swap with these guys whilst George Eads makes a pop by to see the men this evening.

Tuesday

  • Dancing with the Stars (ABC, 8/9pm) – It’s the 100th episode at 9 after we see the judges all-time top 10 at 8.

Wednesday

  • Audition: Barbara Walter’s Journey (ABC, 10pm) – She’s got an autobiography out where she talks about sleeping with some senator forever ago, if that’s the most interesting who knows what else she’ll talk about.

Thursday

  • Scrubs (NBC, 8:30) Season Finale – Hard to tell the difference between fantasy and the regular show, but this one takes it down the fairy-tale road.

Friday

  • TV’s All-Time Funniest (ABC, 8pm) – I don’t know that recounting what’s funny is all that funny, but for nostalgia’s sake…

Saturday

  • I can’t talk about movies of the week again, so perhaps go to an actual theater.

Sunday

  • Survivor (CBS, 8/10pm) Season Finale – I don’t watch this show anymore but I think they still have a good balance of playing the game and keeping it interesting, the two-hour finale is followed by the reunion show.
  • Brothers and Sisters (ABC, 10pm) Season Finale – This family drives me crazy but I’m still watching them get into mischief and in each other’s way.
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antm down to 4

We’re narrowing down the ladies, just a few more and we’ll have another top model. And what does that mean, not much… So what’s happened? So while Lauren was being raced off for cutting into her thumb, Fatima lost her travel documents and as a non us citizen was trying to lock those down before she’s dropped from the competition for not being able to travel…

antm-stacyann.jpgPaulina gave the gals a test interview and set them loose on a red carpet and cocktail party. Whitney and Stacy Ann both came across as fake, Dominique couldn’t come up with the dress designer’s name and Lauren inappropriately swore. But who surprised me most? Crazy accented Albino Anya impressed with being personable and being herself. She won her second individual shoot, this one for 7-up and in addition to her lemons and limes she actually got paid a little 10k check.

And the shoot was a little airport action where the gals did a group shoot taking turns being the key gal. Everyone except Fatima of course who was off getting her papers in case she was chosen to travel internationally. Though getting those papers was almost was got her eliminated. Fortunately for her they thought that overall she was stronger than Stacy Ann who was too darned perky to seem real and didn’t seem to be pushing it on the shoots.

antm-lauren.jpgGood thing Fatima got those papers because the ladies were off to Roma! So the gals did a little Italian meet and greet with a designer who gave a little mini challenge, of I don’t know, who he liked most… and picked Anya. That weird girl has got something.

And then on to the Italian speaking Cover Girl commercial. No one was good, but Whitney continued her fake presentation by being over the top, and Lauren was so awkward and lifeless it was almost too painful to laugh, but I couldn’t help myself. It was like someone was trying to be the opposite of everything they were supposed to be doing. So although they dragged the final two moment out with Whitney, no photos could cancel out Lauren’s terrible in person walking and talking.

antm-kat.jpgThen we learned a little local skills, gladiator style fighting. The skills were of course were put it to the test in a shoot. Whitney won the challenge and took Anya on a shopping spree for her win. Then Tyra shot the renaissance castle shoot. And Fatima who says she is going to get called first… did. And for those called last… Whitney seems a bit stuck, lovely but still a little too sexy… and Katarzyna was nice, but just seems to fade back not popping in person and in her photos.

So I have to say of the girls left I like Whitney best, and I love it that a plus size girl is finally staying in the game, but based on past performances she’s not the favorite. Dominique who is noted as ‘not fresh’ in person (i.e. old) and is super annoying, seems to have been able to pull off some good shots. And albino Anya who has the oddest in person presence just seems to step up again and again. Fatima looks great in person and on film but her holier than though attitude might be translating to her shots whilst she rests on her laurels. So who will win? Who cares. But I’ll still stay tuned for the next two episodes…

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next week 4/28

Monday

  • House (Fox, 9pm) – Back after the strike hiatus and our favorite curmudgeon is back diagnosing and annoying those around him.

Tuesday

  • Shark (CBS, 9pm) – Back from strike I sometimes catch this abrasive celebrity attorney as he continues trying to convict and keep his personal life together.
  • The Riches (Fx, 10pm) – Last ep due to the strike, I dig this show but so far have this season all backlogged on tivo.
  • Women’s Murder Club (ABC, 10pm) – Returning from strike is this light yet enjoyable procedural show with each of the gals bringing cop, coroner, da and journalist pov.

Wednesday

  • Secrets of the Dead (PBS, 8pm) – Documentary that shows the story of two men who escaped Auschwitz to try to warn the world.
  • The Farmer Wants a Wife (CW, 9pm) Series Premiere – This is what it sounds like, a version of The Bachelor on a farm, personally I pass.
  • Boston Legal (ABC, 10pm) – This show gets a new time slot though I’m not sure what the old time slot was as I could never quite get into this crazy legal show.

Thursday

  • My Name is Earl/Scrubs/The Office/30 Rock (NBC, 8-10pm) – The second week of the new order of the lineup.

Friday

  • Man vs. Wild (Disc, 9pm) Season Premiere – Bear Grylls returns to the wild to show how he can keep getting out.

Saturday

  • Nascar (Fox, 7pm) – They go round and round I think.
  • The Shell Seekers/A Teacher’s Crime (Hallmark/Lifetime, 9pm) – How could a person decide which movie of the week to watch?

Sunday

  • Cold Case (CBS, 8pm) Season Finale – This procedural, that I usually miss, solves old cases as it wraps up another season.
  • Family Guy (Fox, 9pm) Season Finale – This family gets a pet or something, and Amanda Bynes guests.
  • This American Life (Show, 10pm) Season Premiere – This NPR show starts its second series of televised stories.
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six down… six to go…

top6.jpgOk so it’s really five to go since there are six left but that didn’t sound as good. So we’ve gotten rid of some of the riff raff, and Michael Johns. So who might win? Let’s do a little ranking.

  1. David Cook has really stepped it up consistently, or at least the most consistently, doing an interesting take on the song of the week and actually seeming like rock star, or at least a pop star, instead of a karaoke/cruise ship singer (to steal a phrase or two from Simon). But do I want him to win? I’m not sure… there is something negative about the perception of being most loved by America as well as being tied down with the winning contract instead of taking your notoriety and running.
  2. David Archuleta is the young kid with the good, but slightly raspy voice, who sings a lovely inspirational ballad, and who I couldn’t be more bored by. There is something a little too young about him and he has failed to shine in a good upbeat song and his romance appeal so far seems limited even for a teeny bopper audience.
  3. Carly Smithson has a great voice but to date has dipped into the bottom three because folks haven’t been won over by her song choice, lack of connection, and angry singing. But when she called Simon out on being hard on her it sounded like he actually appreciated her more than initially thought, he just expected even more.
  4. Brooke White has dipped into the bottom three a couple of times but she’s got that folk singer thing down and when she’s not trembling with fear, or whatever, she’s actually quite likable. She’s been slipping but I’m thinking she has another good one or two in her.
  5. Jason Castro doesn’t have the strongest voice but he has started doing some good song picking to make the most of what he’s got and his laid back thing is just making him so darned not hateable. I should put him above Carly and Brooke but I feel like he’s due for a weak one.
  6. Syesha Mercado also has a lovely voice and has had some good performances but she has been picking songs of great singers or at least singers who make the song their own and she’s been unable to do that. She started out not at the top of people’s lists and has consistently hit the bottom three.

But leave it to America and a bunch of inconsistent singers to prove me wrong, that’s one of the things we like about reality, right? So stay tuned tonight as the gang performs song from Andrew Lloyd Weber, really? And of course see who will be the latest castoff — it may surprise us all — on Thursday!

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next week 4/21

Monday

  • Gossip Girl (CW, 8pm) – We’re back from the strike and get to find out how Blair adjusts to being dethroned as queen bee and how Serena adjusts to getting ready to being Chuck’s new step sis.

Tuesday

  • Most Outrageous Moments (NBC, 8pm) Season Premiere – A shows will clips of moments that are outrageous.
  • Reaper (CW, 9pm) – Post strike premiere as Sam decides if turning against the devil is a good idea.

Wednesday

  • Pussycat Dolls: Girlicious (CW, 9pm) Season Finale – The latest girl group that I will never listen to will be chosen.
  • Men in Trees (ABC, 10pm) – Last episode before a hiatus as that annoying Anne Heche is girly or something.
  • Law & Order (NBC, 10pm) – The cops and lawyers return from strike but Jesse Martin is bowing out as Anthony Anderson takes his place in the latest cast change.

Thursday

  • Ugly Betty/Grey’s Anatomy/Lost (ABC, 8/9/10pm) – Post strike returns to Mode Magazine and two shows that I have been greatly anticipating!
  • Supernatural (CW, 9pm) – And the brothers fight or find or whatever they do to the supernatural.

Friday

  • Moonlight (CBS, 9pm) – The vampire show I don’t watch returns from strike.

Saturday

  • The Mighty B! (Nick, 10:30am) Series Premiere – Amy Poehler is the voice of this animated overzealous girl scout equivalent.

Sunday

  • Big Brother (CBS, 8pm) Season Finale – And they… elect a king?
  • Aliens in America (CW, 8:30pm) – This is new and I don’t remember if this is the first back from strike… but Raj gets a girl, or tries to get rid of a girl.

* ‘next week’s are posts of new or noteworthy shows for the week to come and do not imply endorsement by the procrastinator

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live… it’s saturday night…

snl_hil_obama.jpgSo I’ve actually added Saturday Night Live to tivo, though historically I’ve tended to scan through and maybe watch the Weekend Update news piece and seek out that maybe one funny bit. My biggest problem is the obvious, the skits aren’t funny, what’s mildly funny is dragged into a long ongoing series of no longer funny skits, most of the guest hosts are painful to watch as they read from their cue cards, and I don’t even listen to most of the bands they have on.

There was a decent amount of buzz around its return after the strike and its ability to excel in a pre-election climate. They can poke fun at politics by playing the politicians in a way that Stewart or Colbert for example can’t. They are in fact planning some special weekly Thursday updates just prior to the election. I will have to say that although I found the first pass amusing, I just don’t know that its keeping my regular attention.

Amy Poehler does a fantastic Clinton. Fred Armisen is alright as Obama, though he captures the stiff, he misses that x-factor that’s what Obama seems all about. And McCain, well McCain hasn’t had a lot going on yet so he’s about as boring on the show as in real life.

There has been some talk about whether SNL has a bias, it’s seemingly pro Hillary skits paired with Tina Fey’s quite funny Bitch is the new Black opinion piece in the news were pretty good. They’ve certainly taken stabs at others and had Tracy Morgan do a little Obama opinion rebuttal piece that unfortunately just wasn’t as spot on.

My problem is more the problem that I have overall, the repetitive nature of the jokes. For example the whole ‘folks take it easy on Obama’… Funny at first, and then they need to bring something fresh to it. Will they keep being able to fill Saturday night’s as well as four Thursday night episodes? We’ll see. Maybe in tonight’s debate Obama will call people bitter again and Hillary will talk more about sniper fire.

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