my idol

idol_cook_win.jpgWell they knocked out the runner ups one by one, and although the order they went may not have been in the order I predicted we all expected this final two to be the Davids. And the winner, either despite the judges calling of the finale night for Archie, or because of it, was Cookie.

I have never gotten the whole David Archuletta attraction, I find his voice at times good but overall has a weird strained quality to it (he apparently had some vocal issues early on in his childhood), I found his song selection to lack any sort of interest – all balladesque and not all that emotional, and overall I found his youthful asexual presence to be lacking energy and connection. But he was unquestionably able to hold up vocally week after week and he’s comes across as a sweet kid.

David Cook on the other hand was working the rocker vibe. He pretty consistently gave what was actually a performance and tried to make interesting choices on his songs picking an alternate arrangement or rearranging a bit on his own. He worked the electric and acoustic guitar and was actually able to back it up vocally. He was working to balance out that cocky/cool attitude but he too comes across as a good guy.

For the finale Archie’s final performances were all quite good. As Randy Jackson says if you can sing, you can sing a phone book, and he picked a good time to peak. But again the songs weren’t all that, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, “In This Moment” (a songwriting competition runner-up), and a reprise of his “Imagine” performance.

Cookie didn’t have a wow moment in the night but he showed us some of the reasons why we like him. He’s got range, he’s got presence, and he’d rather take a risk on a song than do something safe. And as Randy put this one he sang his face off with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Dream Big” (songwriting competition runner-up), and “The World I Know.”

idol_cook_audition.jpgOh and as for the over bloated 2+ hour finale show… I forgot to tape it. I went as far as to check that nothing else was conflicting that I needed to record… and I never put it in as a season pass because I was in denial all season that I was going to watch every episode. And although I enjoyed the season I’ve had my fix and I plan to not get sucked in again.

Though rumor has it they are going to retool things a bit next year to catch some of the ratings drop this blockbuster has started to suffer. They will at least narrow the results to a half hour and if the populous has any say they will find some way to get rid of some of those dreadful group numbers and limit the theme shows so that they can still push the singers to show some range but allow them to stick to songs that are remotely relevant to what their career might be.

As for last night’s ep it was reportedly a little more interesting, though still containing must ffwd through moments, with the full gang back together again and mixed with performances and duets by real artists. I’m sure I’ll catch most of it online, where I can probably waste more than the 2+ hours. Other than that I’m actually a little curious to see what Cookie will do with his first album, other than being forced to sing a dreadful Idol inspirational pop song of course.

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fall is in the air

Well we’ve had a week to wrap up the up fronts where networks tout their fall and onward tv seasons for advertisers, so let’s take a look at what looks like it will look like:

ABC

New:

  • Life on Mars – David E Kelley’s version of BBC series where cop transports back to 1970s
  • Opportunity Knocks – Game show where they knock on your door, or something

Returning: 20/20, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal (final season), Brothers & Sisters, Eli Stone, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Supernanny, Ugly Betty, Wife Swap
Midseason returns: According to Jim, The Bachelor, Lost, Scrubs (New from NBC)
Noteworthy not returning: Men in Trees, Miss Guided, October Road, Women’s Murder Club

CBS

New:

  • Eleventh Hour – Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest, adapting from the british 4 part sci fi series dealing with mysterious cases
  • The Ex List – This one is based on an Israeli show where a psychic tells a woman she has already met her true love and so she revisits the exes
  • The Mentalist – Simon Baker uses his powers of observation to solve crimes
  • Project Gary – Comedy starring Jay Mohr as a recent divorce, and contractor which might explain the ‘project’ part
  • Worst Week – This comedy of newly engaged couple is another BBC show made over american style

Returning: 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, Amazing Race, Big Bang Theory, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Ghost Whisperer, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, New Adventures of Old Christine, Numb3rs, Survivor, Two and a Half Men, The Unit, Without a Trace
Midseason returns: Rules of Engagement
Noteworthy not returning: Moonlight, Shark

CW

New:

  • 90210 – The next generation, as a new brother and sister move and start at West Beverly High, including pop bys by Jennie Garth as Guidance Counselor
  • Surviving the Filthy Rich – With Reba’s JoAnna Garcia as nanny to rich kids, based on a book series
  • Stylista – New reality from Tyra Banks where folks compete to work at Elle

Noteworthy note: Contracting out Sunday nights to production finance company Media Rights Capital who will be responsible for two dramas and two comedies and selling the ad time.

  • FAT City, IM Valentine, Book of Murphy, Surviving Suburbia

Returning: ANTM, Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville, Supernatural
Midseason return: Reaper
Noteworthy not returning: Aliens in America, Girlfriends, New Amsterdam

Fox

New:

  • Fringe – JJ Abrams latest starring Joshua Jackson teaming up to investigate unexplained phenomena, I wanna say like the x-files
  • Do Not Disturb – Comedy starring Jerry O’Connell working at one of NY’s uber hip hotels

Returning: American Dad, America’s Most Wanted, Bones, Cops, Don’t Forget the Lyrics, Family Guy, House, King of the Hill, Kitchen Nightmares, Moment of Truth, Prison Break, Simpsons, Smarter than a 5th Grader, Terminator, Til Death
Midseason return: 24, American Idol, Hell’s Kitchen.
Noteworthy not returning: Back to You

NBC

New:

  • Crusoe – As in Robinson…
  • Kath & Kim – Molly Shannon and Selma Blair in remake of Australian sitcom about mother and daughter living together again
  • Knight Rider – If you caught the ‘hit’ tv movie you’re familiar with this remake
  • My Own Worst Enemy – Christian Slater as a gov agent/normal guy whose two lives start to blur
  • Thursday Night Live – Special SNL shows leading up to the elections

Returning: The Biggest Loser, Chuck, Dateline, Deal or No Deal, Heroes, E.R. (final season), L&O:SVU, Life, Lipstick Jungle, My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock
Midseason returning: Friday Night Lights, L&O, Medium
Noteworthy not returning: Bionic Woman, Journeyman, Las Vegas

Additional Notes:

Tons of new shows scheduled for after fall, but we’ll chime in later once those become more solid, other than the fact that I should note there’s an Office spinoff scheduled as well as the new Joss Whedon show Dollhouse with Eliza Dushku, scheduled for midseason. I miss the Grr Arg.

And if you want to see the current stab at the schedule you can check it out at TV Guide.

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next week 5/19

More finales this week, hope the new Bachelorette and Last Comic will keep you entertained moving forward.

Monday

  • Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother/Two and a Half Men/Rules of Engagement/CSI: Miami (CBS, 8/8:30/9/9:30pm) Season Finales – I have to say that Big Bang sort of grew on me over the season – Sheldon makes the show, HIMYMother also still makes me laugh, though 2 1/2 Men doesn’t as much, and I usually turn to Samantha Who instead of Rules… Horatio on Miami makes me cringe whenever he opens his mouth.
  • Bones/House (Fox, 8/9pm) Season Finales – I have to say I like this lineup and I’m surprised how much I look forward to Bones, and in the finale we revisit Gorgamon!
  • Gossip Girl/One Tree Hill (CW, 8/9pm) Season Finales – I can always use a little Gossip, the cheesier it gets the more I dig, but I refrain from visiting that Tree Hill.
  • Bachelorette (ABC, 9pm) Season Premiere – This two hour episode reintroduces previously dismissed DeAnna to us while introducing her to 25 potential true loves, what’s the ratio one bachelorette to every five bachelors?

Tuesday

  • American Idol (Fox, 8pm – also Wed 8pm) Season Finale – Performances on Tuesday with who knows how much filler on the 2 hr results show on Wed, but at least we’ll finally see the battle of the Davids and wonder if America could really prefer Archuletta to Cook.
  • NCIS (CBS, 8pm) Season Finale – The two hour season finale.
  • Dancing With the Stars (ABC, 9pm – also Mon 8pm) Season Finale – The finalists compete on Monday, with a replay Tues at 8 before the winner is chosen at 9.
  • Reaper (CW, 9pm) Season Finale – This show’s gotten much more interesting with Sam in trouble as the demon rebellion loses trust, is Sam really the son of the devil, but didn’t he date a girl who he thought was the devil’s daughter?
  • Shark (CBS, 10pm) Season Finale – Sebastian’s nemesis threatens his daughter.

Wednesday

  • Criminal Minds/CSI: New York (CBS, 9/10pm) Season Finales – Murders and crimes.
  • Boston Legal (ABC, 10pm) Season Finale – Wacky legalness.
  • Law & Order (NBC, 10pm) Season Finale – McCoy has some trouble with the politics of his new role as DA.

Thursday

  • So You Think You Can Dance (Fox, 8pm) Season Premiere – I don’t totally know the format of this but folks compete with dance.
  • Ugly Betty/Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 8/9pm) Season Finales – Something happens on Betty and then of course more drama with Meredith and Derek, let’s hope they leave them together for a while this time.
  • Last Comic Standing (NBC, 9:30pm) Season Premiere – This hour and a half ep kicks of the latest search for some funny.

Friday

  • Take a break, see a movie, read a book…

Saturday

  • Vinegar Hill (CBS, 8pm) – This telefilm based on the book by A Manette Ansay stars Mary Louise Parker as a wife and mother

Sunday

  • Recount (HBO, 9pm) – This film dramatizes a story of the human side of the controversial 2000 presidential election.
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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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