Month: January 2007 (Page 9 of 14)

TV DVD QT, Special Edition: The 2006 Closeout

January 17, 2007 /

I’d just as soon start 2007 with as clean a slate as possible, so I wanted to toss out a few quick takes of stuff that I’d really intended to do longer takes on, except that…well, I just never had the time to watch them in their entirety, basically. I hate to knock out a full-length review on a season of a show if I’ve only watched a few episodes; it results in a composition that’s mostly filler…and if it’s gonna be mostly filler, then why not just do a quick take in the first place? So here goes…

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: Season Two: Jonathan Katz’s animated creation returns with another season of stand-up comedians who need therapy. Katz once again returns to do a few audio commentaries, though unlike the previous DVD set, none of his former guest stars took time out to revisit their appearances; they’re barely missed, though, given that Katz is a man who’s always “on,” thereby resulting in always-enjoyable commentary. The biggest question you’ll have after watching this set is, “What the hell happened to Kevin Meaney, and why doesn’t he get more work?” Damn, that guy’s funny.

Criminal Minds: The First Season / Numb3rs: The Complete Second Season: I’m pretty sure CBS has more crime dramas than ABC, NBC, and Fox combined, and here are two of them, both of them about the FBI. “Criminal Minds” focuses on the organization’s criminal profilers, and while the show has an okay ensemble, it’s clearly a vehicle for Mandy Patinkin’s character, Special Agent Jason Gideon, who’ll remind you of Will Graham, from Thomas Harris’s novel, “Red Dragon.” Of the aforementioned ensemble, the character that really stands out is Dr. Spencer Reid – played by Matthew Gray Gubler – who’s a genius with virtually no social skills. It’s an okay show, but it’s not must-see TV. And neither, for that matter, is “Numb3rs”…and, yet, David Krumholz’s performance makes it a show that you’ll almost always stop to watch when you happen to flip by it. Having a supporting cast that includes Peter MacNicol and Judd Hirsch doesn’t hurt any, either…but – and maybe this is just me – I just don’t buy Rob Morrow as a tough-guy FBI agent. It’s worth nothing that both of these DVD sets include decent special features, featurettes, behind-the-scenes docs, commentaries and whatnot, furthering the theory that CBS treats fans of its recent shows better than just about any other studio.

Joan of Arcadia: The Second Season: This is a show that had its one-liner of a premise – teenage girl talks to God – played up way too much. Until I got this set, I had absolutely no idea that Joan’s parents were played by Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen. Hell, if I’d known that, I’d’ve watched the show when it was on the air in the first place! Seriously, though, while Joan’s conversations with God in all his various guises are a major part of the show, “Joan of Arcadia” is a well-written drama that parents could watch with their teens with neither party feeling like the show isn’t aimed at them. It’s philosophical, it’s intelligent, and it provides a positive message without getting mired in schmaltz. Basically, it’s “Touched By An Angel” for the crowd that understands that, in life, every ending isn’t happy.

Ghost Whisperer: The Complete First Season: I think you’re either a “Medium” guy or a “Ghost Whisperer” guy, but you can’t be both. And, frankly, if you’re a guy, you might think you’re not supposed to be either one…but the reality is that “Medium” is awesome. “Ghost Whisperer,” meanwhile, stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, who’s way too perky and cute to be talking to the dead. Sorry, I’m just not buying it. And you probably shouldn’t, either. If you do happen to be a fan, however, you’ll be pleased with all the special features. (Yep, it’s another CBS release.)

Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete First Season: My wife saw this set come in, and while she didn’t exactly grab it with a “Yoink!” and run off to watch it in one sitting, she did find herself wrapped up in the series just as much as she had been during its original release. Me, I was mostly fascinated by how the show’s 2-hour pilot plays less like a teen-angst drama and more like an attempt to reproduce the feel of a John Hughes movie on TV; it doesn’t really succeed on that level, but that’s definitely what it feels like they were going for. While my wife mostly rejoiced in watching episodes she’d already seen half a dozen times on FX, she did observe that “the producers must’ve had a checklist of every teenage problem they could think of and were going through, checking them off as they went through them. And they’re all solved so fast – generally before the end of a single episode – that they must’ve been scared they were gonna get cancelled and didn’t want to leave any cliffhangers.”

Melrose Place: The Complete First Season: Has any guy ever watched a complete episode of this show and not felt guilty about it? Yeah, maybe. After all, the cast includes Courtney Thorne-Smith, Daphne Zuniga, Heather Locklear, and Josie Bissett, making it pretty easy to keep your eyes on the screen and still live with yourself. Actually, this first season of the show – which, FYI, was a spin-off from “90210,” thanks to Jennie Garth’s character from “90210,” Kelly, dating studly carpenter Jake Hanson (played by Grant Snow) – is before things went so far over the top that Locklear was willing to mock the show on “Saturday Night Live.” It was actually a pretty decent nighttime soap at this point. And can you believe there were 32 episodes in the first season? That’s a lot of backstabbing and bedhopping in a year’s time.

Def Comedy Jam Classics, Volume 1 & 2: What’s that? You say that you love comedy, but you can only afford to buy one of these volumes and you want to make sure you get the one that’s got the highest ratio of f-word usage to funny material? Well, I don’t want to make your decision for you, but Volume 2 features James Hannah, Arnez J, and Rich Vos, and it’s hosted by Steve Harvey, while Volume 1 features Dave Chappelle, D.L. Hughley, and Chris Tucker, and it’s hosted by Martin Lawrence. Go ahead, pick.

External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs

Would you dare harass this man’s daughter?

January 17, 2007 /

Nah, me neither…but that didn’t stop 21-year-old Daniel Snee from threatening ex-girlfriend Amanda Sorvino, causing concerned father (and former Goodfella) Paul Sorvino to show up on the scene brandishing a gun:

Amanda Sorvino testified Snee threatened to kill her at a hotel Jan. 3 in Stowe, Vt.; she said she locked herself in the bathroom and called both police and her father. Her 67-year-old father showed up before police, she testified. […]

“He got in my father’s face and said, ‘Go ahead, Paul, shoot, I ain’t done nothing wrong,'” Amanda Sorvino, 36, told a Monroe County judge. The judge granted her request for a protection-from-abuse order against Daniel Snee, 21.[…]

When police arrived, the young man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, she said.

Charged with disorderly conduct…and branded a front-runner for this year’s Darwin Awards, no doubt. That is, assuming young Daniel hasn’t already been fitted for a lovely new pair of cement shoes by some of Paulie’s less reputable associates.

Actors, Gossip, News

American Idol Returns With a Dysfunctional Bang

January 17, 2007 /

Ah, the return of “American Idol.” You can almost smell the dysfunction in the air when you tune in to Fox on the third Tuesday in January. And that’s because every year the producers of the show try to out-drama the year before with some of the ridiculous contestants who get off thinking they can sing.

So last night the show kicked off, and before they got to the Minneapolis auditions, there were some self-serving moments of “Here’s what we’ve done for you.” And really, you can’t argue with the fact that the show has made stars out of average schmoes like Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks and Carrie Underwood. Hell, Jennifer Hudson may prove to be the biggest star of them all, and she didn’t even win “Idol.”

But back to the fun, and even though it’s at times painful watching these auditions, it’s definitely fun.
Guest judge Jewel didn’t really add much spice to the show, but she made a few contestants really nervous.

First of all, let’s note that out of 10,000 contestants in Minneapolis, only 17 made it to Hollywood. That means most of them can probably drive a snowmobile better than they can sing. But of the 17, the ones whose auditions they showed weren’t even that great. 16-year-old Denise Jackson, an admitted “crack baby,” was one of the best, with a voice that, once she reigns it in just a little, can go really far on the show.

Perla, the Hispanic chick who flirted with Ryan Seacrest (is it just me or does dude seem a bit desperate for a date?), was awful trying to sing Blondie, but when Randy Jackson prompted her to sing Shakira, it was like turning on a light switch.

Jerry, a Navy dude who won “Reagan Idol” on the USS Ronald Reagan ship, sang Rascal Flatts and was pretty damn good. Michelle, a 19-year-old blonde chick, obviously wanted to follow Carrie Underwood’s lead to Nashville, singing a Deana Carter song. She was just okay, but good enough to forge ahead to Hollywood.

Matt, a 16-year-old kid with a show choir background, sang “California Dreamin'” and there was something unique about him. He sang his ass off, but there was more than that to him and the judges saw it. Rachel Jenkins, whose husband is currently in Iraq and who works in her dad’s body shop and is also an Army reservist, also impressed. Finally, Sarah Kruger sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and while she was no Catherine McPhee, she did good enough to punch a ticket to Cali.

Okay, now for the bad ones:

Jessica, a make up artist at the Mall of America, is going back to her day job. Jewel is her idol so she was obviously nervous, but she sang through her nose so badly and was so out of key that it made everyone’s ears hurt. Still, she thought she was automatically going to the finals, and when the judges told her she sucked, cried like she just found out she had two days to live. Jessica, get OVER it.

Troy, going for what he called the “Urban Amish” look, admitted to never seeing the show. Come on dude, we all know that’s bullshit. Plus, you sucked. Then there was Charles Moody, dressed as Apollo Creed from “Rocky.” Here was an African American dude singing Italian opera for this audition. What’s wrong with this picture? Exactly.

Trista, the large woman whose claim to fame might be a dead-on impersonation of the Lion from the “Wizard of Oz,” was entertaining only because she kept incorporating that hilarious Lion-meets-Chewbacca noises into her song. I mean, that’s talent. Then vocal teacher Steven proved that you can make money as a vocal teacher in Minneapolis even if you can’t preach to the choir.

Dayna, whose boss flew her out to audition because he believed in her, found out that she sings a bit out of tune, and while the judges almost let her through when they met the boss, cooler heads prevailed.

As they usually save the craziest ones for later in the show, the grand finale began with Jason, who juggled while he sang. Dude could juggle, but he was an awful singer. Still, when he left the audition room, he started crying and saying that the judges hated him, taking personal shots at each one of them.

Brenna, who sang Queen’s “Under Pressure,” declared that she had a degree in vocal performance.
Boy, did it not show. She then asked the judges how she could improve, and Simon accurately replied, “Leave.”

After a tribute to Minneapolis native Prince, in which they showed most of the lousy contestants doing bits of Prince tunes, the last one they showed was Josh, who sang Fuel’s “Bad Day.”
Not only did he do this weird grungy imitative thing with his voice, but they asked him to sing Abba to see if he did that differently. And he didn’t. Imagine Shrek singing “Dancing Queen.”

So that’s it. Tonight’s Seattle auditions should hopefully display more talent, but there will likely be more drama as well. The moral to the story is this: folks, if you think you can sing, you probably can’t. But if you’re stupid enough to get in front of Simon Cowell, expect to be ridiculed.

Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t mention Paula Abdul once. She was noticeably tame, but we all know that can’t last. Welcome back, “American Idol,” and welcome back all of you for this long ride.

American Idol, TV

Who’s more edgy and topical than Stephen Colbert?

January 16, 2007 /

Why, this man, of course:

I’m not gonna tell you I wasn’t a huge fan of Rich Little when I was a kid; truth be told, I can still remember watching “Rich Little’s Christmas Carol” on HBO and loving every minute of it. But, c’mon, was the backlash from last year’s entertainment at the White House Correspondents Association dinner – Stephen Colbert – so tremendous that they had to find the cleanest, most mainstream political comedian (and I’m using the term loosely) to follow him?

Apparently so.

Actors, News, Stand-Up Comics

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