Category: TV (Page 245 of 595)

The Biggest Loser: home is where the half-marathon is

So after Mandi of the blue team was eliminated last week on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” host Alison Sweeney had the black team also come back in for another announcement. Uh-oh, another twist? These producers can’t sit still, can they? Anyway, the twist this week was that everyone would be going home to be with their families for a full week, and then return to Hollywood to weigh in. Everyone was excited and it was great to see the familys’ reactions, except for Ron’s son and Mike’s brother Max, who is also huge and could have been and still should be a contestant on the show.

But wait, they can’t make it easy, can they? Each contestant, within minutes of being home, received a package from “The Biggest Loser,” a tin of giant sugar cookies, and a DVD of Alison telling them they would each be running a half-marathon this week. The winner would take home $10,000. Wow. But wait, there’ s a catch. For each cookie that someone eats, they can add 5 minutes to someone else’s time. They all joked around that they wanted to add as many five minute increments to Tara’s time as possible, but not many of them actually at the cookies as we’ll find out shortly.

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American Idol: yee haw, y’all

It’s Grand Ole Opry Week on “American Idol,” meaning the contestants last night had to sing country music songs by anyone who belongs to the Opry, including recently inducted member and former Idol champ Carrie Underwood. Opry veteral and country music legend Randy Travis spent the week in Hollywood training and mentoring each contestant. Country week can be challenging for most of the finalists at best, and painful for viewers at worst. But honestly, there wasn’t anything last night that was so hideous you knew for sure what tonight’s results would be. At least, that’s how I saw it. Here is a recap of the very good, the good, and the mediocre:

THE VERY GOOD

Allison Iraheta sang Patty Loveless’ “Blame It On The Heart” and while I had my doubts about this young (16!) hopeful, Allison proved last night that she is not only going to hang around a bit, but that she could be a contender to win it all. Her voice is just sick. Kara said Allison can sing anything in her own style, Paula said it was rock solid, Simon said it was good but tuneless in spots, and Randy strongly disagreed with Simon, saying it was “dope.” I agree, it was dope.

Danny Gokey came out dressed in this weird white jacket that made him look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from “Ghostbusters.” Really, whose idea was that? Danny started off slowly with Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” but in the chorus he soared to heights that few in this competition can match. And to be honest, I hate this song. Kara said the second half of the song was amazing, Paula said it was brilliant, Simon agreed with Paula but said he hated the marshmallow suit and that it looked like Danny was going on a polar expedition, and Randy agreed with Kara that he only liked the second half of the song.

Anoop Desai was close to being eliminated last week, so he knew he had to step up his game. And he did just that, with a solid performance of Willie Nelson’s “You Are Always on My Mind.” Paula declared, “Anoop is back!” and that he touched her heart (please…), Simon said Anoop went from “zero to hero” and that it was an excellent song choice, Randy said he showed great skills and that he loved the arrangement, and Kara said Anoop took a classic song and made it sound amazing. Indeed.

Matt Giraud closed the night with Carrie Underwood’s “So Small,” but did a really cool piano version of it. This kid is a dark horse…..remember, his day job is as a dueling piano player, and his only blemish so far was that awful Coldplay song a few weeks ago. Kara said there is nothing small about Matt and that he is a true talent, Paula said it was authentic and honest, Simon said Matt doesn’t get enough credit for his vocal skills the way Adam and Danny do, and Randy said it was his favorite performance of the night.

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Welcome to the Concession Stand

Welcome to a new feature here on Premium Hollywood…and, believe me, it’s one I’ve been wanting to premiere for quite some time. I’m someone who enjoys trying new foods and new beverages, and I’ve often thought it would be fun to write a column which gave me the opportunity to write about the experience. Unfortunately, I’m forever buried in DVDs that need to be reviewed. Finally, I had an epiphany: why don’t I figure out a way to combine the two?

And, thus, “Concession Stand” was born.

The beverage: Mountain Dew Voltage.

Last year, over a quarter million votes helped Voltage win the so-called “DEWmocracy” election, with the taste, name and color of the product all developed by the customers themselves…well, y’know, with a little help from the folks at PepsiCo. (What, like they’re gonna give the yokels all the power?) As the bottle proudly trumpets, it’s your standard Dew brew, but charged with raspberry citrus flavor and ginseng. The color of the beverage is a slightly disconcerting shade of blue, but the raspberry mixes with the traditional Dew flavor rather well, making the taste not so far removed from a Sweet Tart. If it’s icy cold, it goes down fast and smooth…which is good, since it’s so sweet that drinking it slowly may result in you taking awhile to finish the bottle, but caffeine fiends with a sweet tooth will have no problem chugging it down to score the inevitable rush.

When I was pitched the opportunity to check out Voltage, they sent me three bottles of the stuff, so I scoured my to-be-reviewed pile to see if I had three DVDs featuring the same person in some role or other. Lo and behold, I did…and that person’s name was Lea Thompson.

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24 7.14: And you will know us by the trail of dead

Terrorism, thy name is Starkwood. Sounds more like a country club, doesn’t it?

With ten hours to go, “24” finally gives up the name and occupation of Jonas Brother’s company, and I feel like a complete idiot for not guessing that they were a private army. What other organization would have a trained killer like Quinn on payroll, not to mention do business with the Butcher of Sangala? God, it was right there in front of me. (*slaps forehead*)

I like how they’re writing characters’ absences from the screen with the ‘put ’em in holding’ trick. Chloe is finally sprung from the writers’ purgatory – and sorry, babe, but if we were Morris, we would have given up Jack’s location in order to secure your freedom too – but now Jacqueline is being put away for aiding Jack in acquiring Quinn’s identity and giving him Senator Dumbass’ address. I was a bit puzzled, though, that Jackie has better hacking skills than Janis, but I’m sure that’s just me.

“Tell me, Dudley, have you been in a ‘Saw’ movie? Then you don’t really know the meaning of the word ‘terror,’ now, do you?”

Chloe wasn’t the only character sprung from ‘holding’ this week. Tony’s back in play after Jack calls him and gives him orders to assemble a bunch of gear and meet at Alexandria Port to stop Starkwood from acquiring their Candyman-tested bio weapon. God help the show if Jack and Tony try to take Starkwood down – a private military, mind you – by themselves. Come on, really? I know that Jack looks guilty as sin right now after he was the last person seen in the company of Dumbasses Senator and Lil (a moment of silence for the former, please), but the first thing he should do after hanging up with Tony is call Dudley Do-Right, and explain everything to him. “Larry, bomb, Starkwood, Alexandria Port. See you in 20 minutes.” That should do it, right? The Feds see what’s going down, problem solved. Ah, who am I kidding, that makes too much sense. I also wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Tony’s in bed with Starkwood, that his connection to them is just one of those “bad things” he alluded to earlier. I hope that isn’t the case, but we do have ten more hours left. Lots of time for an obstacle or three.

How, exactly, did Quinn get to Senator Dumbass’ house ahead of the police? Were we supposed to think that he got there by monitoring the police band, or was he already planning on killing the Senator as a means of covering their tracks? For their sake, I hope it’s the latter.

And even though we got a glimpse of what mayhem Jonas Brother has planned, it turns out that the show’s deadliest character is in the freaking White House, baby! The ink is still wet on the paperwork that brought the First Daughter onto her mother’s staff, and Olivia has already set Ethan up to take the fall for Lil Dumbass’ death and Jack’s subsequent escape from custody. Kitten doesn’t just have claws; she has machetes. The pieces are clearly in place for Olivia to be the new Sherry Palmer, though at present, Olivia isn’t nearly as interesting (or fun) as Sherry was. But let’s get to the important part: we have a female character who a) resides in the White House, b) has no ethical standards, and c) will lie to anyone and everyone if it meets her needs. Gosh, her ideal nickname seems too obvious, doesn’t it? Do I dare christen her Hillary Clinton?

The Spectacular Spider-Man: Volume Two & Volume Three

Spider-Man fans may have to wait until 2011 for the next installment in the popular film franchise, but until then, they’d be wise to check out the web-slinger’s latest animated series, “The Spectacular Spider-Man.” Though the show is gearing up to begin its second season on March 23rd, those who missed the first batch of episodes can catch up with the release of the second and third volumes on DVD. Volume One’s “Attack of the Lizard” may have already set up the overarching story of the first season, but Volumes Two and Three are far more entertaining thanks to the inclusion of so many classic Spidey villains. After numerous appearances as a pair of petty thieves, Flint Marko and Alex O’Hirn are finally transformed into Sandman and Rhino, respectively, while Dr. Octavius assumes his own supervillain alter ego after the Green Goblin lures him into a trap. And just who is the Green Goblin? All I’ll say is that it’s not who you think it is, making his real identity the first major shake-up from the official canon.

Reminiscent of the great Marvel shows of the 1990s, “The Spectacular Spider-Man” is hands down the best superhero cartoon on the air. An interesting blend of the comics (both old and new) and the Sam Raimi-directed movies, purists may be irked by some of the changes that have been made, but kids will love it nonetheless. Unfortunately, the series can currently only be purchased in these silly three-episode volumes, so unless you have the money to spend on all four Season One DVDs (which will run you about $60), you’ll want to hold off for the inevitable complete set.

Click to buy “The Spectacular Spider-Man: Volume Two and Three”

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