Category: TV (Page 357 of 595)

American Idol: Welcome To Dollywood

So after dumbass host Ryan Seacrest told America that “American Idol” was being postponed due to some writer’s strike, pulling a fairly predictable April Fool’s joke, it was on to business. For a split second though, I forgot it was April 1, and thought “Awesome, I can go back to watching the Mets/Marlins game,” but no dice.

The mentor this week was Dolly Parton, and the remaining nine contestants were asked to sing something from Dolly’s catalog. This could go a few different ways for these singers, and you might expect just a few of them to do well. But what happened was that many of them stepped up their game, some in surprising fashion. Here we go….

THE GOOD

David Cook came clean before his performance, saying that some of his previous arrangements Continue reading »

American Idol: Ramiel Hangs On

Remember how bad Ramiel was on “American Idol” Tuesday? Remember how I wrote yesterday that she was just about a lock to go home? Well, she wasn’t even in the bottom 3 in last night’s results show. I know there are always surprises, but geez. Anyway, here is how the show went down.

30 million votes, blah blah blah. Group song, blah blah blah. Recap of Tuesday, blah blah blah.

Chikezie, bottom 3….I didn’t think he was all that bad but apparently America did. Brooke White, safe. Carly Smithson, safe. Then a break, blah blah blah.

David Archuleta, safe. David Cook , and we find out he didn’t arrange that cool version of “Billie Jean”…it was in fact Chris Cornell, who Ryan Seacrest had to mention called in to the show and said he loved Cook’s version of his version. Anyway, David, very safe. Syesha Mercado, Bottom 3. What? She was amazing on Tuesday, so America in my mind right now is not a great judge of talent. Michael Johns, safe.

“Idol Gives Back,” blah blah blah. Dolly Parton mentoring next week, blah blah blah.

Then Season 2’s Kimberly Locke performed her song, “Fall.” She looked great and has an incredibly powerfull voice, but this song was as bland as a plain potato. The music industry suits need to start letting real songs back in instead of formulaic crap, or it’s all going to blow up in their faces.

Then they took some phone calls….and this was pretty funny last night, as one of the callers asked Simon Cowell if he thought it would be easy for her to eventually take Ryan Seacrest’s job. Then another caller asked David Archuleta why he picked that awful song, “You’re the Voice,” on Tuesday.
David claimed that it’s one of his favorite songs, and he was hoping he would get to perform it at some point. Um, dude, your musical taste is um, not very good.

Back to the results. Ramiel, safe. Here we go….I mean, she’s cute and all, and has a decent voice…but better than Syesha? No way. Did Danny Noriega call 5000 times to vote for his pal? Kristy Lee Cook, safe…and that was no surprise, because she really did a very smart thing by grabbing all the red state votes with “God Bless the U.S.A.” What’s that, Ryan Seacrest? Lee Greenwood also called in and said he loved it? Lee also says thank you for the royalty check. Oh, and if Dolly Parton is the mentor this coming week, can we assume country music theme? If so, Kristy just got another free pass. So it was Jason Castro in the bottom 3 along with Syesha and Chikezie, but he was almost instantly sent back to safety.

So down to Syesha and Chikezie. Mrs. Mike said Chikezie, and she said it as soon as he was sent to the bottom 3. Well, she has been right for 2 weeks in a row, so no reason to doubt her, and she called it AGAIN. So no more Chikezie on Idol, but I know this guy is going to find a recording niche as a young Luther Vandross type.

So now, my power rankings for the remaining nine:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke White
4. Michael Johns
5. Carly Smithson
6. Syesha Mercado
7. Jason Castro
8. Ramiel Mallubay
9. Kristy Lee Cook

There you go….eight more weeks of Idol, or maybe nine if you include “Idol Gives Back”…remember, last year no one was eliminated on that show. See you next week, I’m going back to watching the NCAA tournament tonight.

American Idol: Top 10 Step It Up

Last night’s “American Idol” featured the Top 10 finalists, and with it only being 90 minutes, it’s like Fox handed me change back from a $20 bill. Good stuff. Anyway, the contestants had to sing a song from the year they were born, and most of them really stepped up their game. But it’s also worth mentioning this…..that it had to make most of us feel REALLY OLD seeing years like 1987 and 1990 come up.

Anyway, here is the recap…

THE REALLY GOOD

That sound you just heard was David Cook stamping his ticket to superstardom. He closed out the show last night with a grungy version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” What, you say? Just how far can Mr. Cook push the envelope with his song choices? Well, he saw the ball coming and hit it clear around the world. It was that good, and dare I say one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on the show. I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it. I turned to Mrs. Mike and said, “There is your winner,” and then the judges agreed with me. Randy said “You might be the winner” and used the term “molten hot.” Paula said it was brave and brilliant. And Simon, who rarely uses such words, uttered this one: “Amazing.” This is clearly David’s competition to lose.

THE GOOD

Syesha Mercado was born in 1987, and sang Stephanie Mills’ “If I Were Your Woman,” and it was, for me, her best performance yet Continue reading »

The Departure of “Jezebel James”

After a mere three episodes, Fox has opted to yank “The Return of Jezebel James,” the sitcom created by Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Gilmore Girls”).

Although Sherman-Palladino’s skillful dialogue-writing abilities are well-documented, even stars Parker Posey, Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under”), and Dianne Wiest couldn’t save this thing…mostly because it was saddled with a God-awful laugh track which never gave the rhythm of Sherman-Palladino’s writing an opportunity to breathe nor Posey a chance to really let loose. The chemistry between Posey and Ambrose was more than acceptable, but, honestly, I can’t tell you how Wiest fit into the proceedings because she didn’t appear in either of the episodes on the screener that had been sent out by Fox, and neither of those episodes were funny enough to inspire me to try and seek out the show in its regular timeslot. But don’t ask me when that timeslot was, because I didn’t bother to look for that, either.

Yes, it was just that disappointing…and this is coming from someone who owns every single season of “Gilmore Girls.” If this experience doesn’t sour Sherman-Palladino on television, I’ll still be curious to see what she produces in the future, but what I’m really curious about is what she’ll have to say about why “The Return of Jezebel James” went so horribly wrong.

Review: “John Adams” – Episode 3

When we last left John Adams, the Declaration of Independence had been signed, but now that we’re back, it’s time for him to head over to Paris – with his son, John Quincy Adams, in tow – in order to assist Benjamin Franklin in establishing a treaty with France so that they will assist America in its efforts to battle against Great Britain.

John’s initial announcement of his impending departure goes over poorly with Abigail, given that he’s only just returned from an expedition, but as those of us who’ve ever found ourselves as part of a couple can appreciate, her reaction is one which begins with utter infuriation but concludes with concern that he’s packed properly for his trip. The two Johns soon get aboard the ship to head to Paris, and there’s a humorous moment where young John Quincy lies in his hammock and continues to do his lessons while his father pukes his guts out. (Some people just can’t handle the motion of the ocean.) Things quickly get dramatic, however, as the ship encounters a vessel on its way from Great Britain, resulting in a oceanic battle with guns and cannons blazing. Certainly the most profound moment from a character standpoint occurs when Adams ignores the demands of the ship’s captain and joins the battle, but it leads to a disconcerting sequence where one of the hands is struck by a cannonball and requires immediate surgery. Note to self: if I’m ever time-traveling back to the 1700s, avoid any injury that might result in amputation.

Upon their arrival, the Adams boys meet up with Benjamin Franklin, and while John Quincy begins the matter of his further education, his father quickly learns that his erratic temperament has no place in France. Franklin first announces that a tentative treaty between France and America has been signed, thereby making Adams’ sea voyage predominantly unnecessary, but when Franklin discusses the specifics of the treaty, Adams immediately gets out of sorts, demanding more. It’s not an attitude which sits well with the French, and it’s made worse by the fact Adams hasn’t bothered to learn a lick of the language. The audience clearly sympathizes with Franklin in the scenes where he chastises Adams for his poor ambassadorial methods, and it’s even harder to treat Adams as a good guy when he continues to fly off the handle on these matters. Again, Tom Wilkinson’s performance as Franklin is wonderful, interspersing Franklin’s well-documented wit with his knowledge of politics and infuriation at Adams’ refusal to pay him any heed.

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