Category: TV (Page 453 of 595)

American Idol: Sanjaya’s Hair and Haley’s Legs

March 28, 2007 /

Really now, was there anything more memorable from last night’s “American Idol” episode than Sanjaya’s hair and Haley’s legs? Like the Mrs. says, Haley knows what she’s doing. As far as Sanjaya, like Randy Jackson says, I just don’t know what to say. But I think maybe dude is trying really hard to get himself voted off the show.

This week the coach/theme person was Gwen Stefani, but the producers really cheated with the theme, because it was the songs of Gwen’s band, No Doubt, as well as all of her influences. That ranged from Donna Summer to The Police to The Cure to Cyndi Lauper and more. Anyway, I’ll tell you what was refreshing…the fact that Gwen didn’t pull any punches. She said things that were very telling…like, “If Chris doesn’t watch his tempo, he’s going to be in trouble.” And then that exact thing happened. But more on that later.

So here we go with the recap….

THE REALLY GOOD

Melinda Doolittle was Melinda Doolittle again and continues to Dooalot. Melinda sang Donna Summer’s version of “Heaven Knows,” and was predictably amazing. I decided during this performance that Melinda is someone I would pay to see perform and I’m litterally getting goose bumps thinking about it. Randy said Melinda knows how to interpret the songs she chooses, Paula said she has charisma from the word “go,” and Simon said it was an outstanding vocal but he hated her outfit. Really now, we don’t care what anyone but Haley is wearing.

THE GOOD

Lakisha Jones also chose a Donna Summer song, performing “Last Dance,” and while it was really good, it wasn’t typical Lakisha, and it sure as hell wasn’t in Melinda’s league. Randy called Lakisha the “Fly Diva,” Paula said it was good that Lakisha took a chance, and Simon said he loved the big notes and that it was a great vocal.

I can’t believe Phil Stacey is in this category, but dude really brought his A-game last night. Singing The Police’ “Every Breath You Take,” Phil not only chose the perfect song, but he knocked it out of the park. Randy said it was really solid, Paula said it was a good song choice but that Phil played it safe in the verses, and Simon said it was very good, surprising everyone in the room and in the audience.

Jordin Sparks took a huge gamble with No Doubt’s “Hey Baby,” and while there were moments of tempo and pitch problems, they were merely moments. Most of it just kicked ass. Randy said it was risky but great, Paula said Jordin is adorable, and Simon said that Jordin is the most improved in the bunch.

Gina Glockson did her best performance that I’ve seen last night, with The Pretenders’ “Stand By You.” At first it looked awkward with Gina’s rocker image and her choosing more of a ballad, but it really worked. Still, Gina annoys the crap out of me. Randy said it was one her best performances, Paula said Gina keeps improving, and Simon said it was “not one of her best, but THE best.”
Dammit, I guess we have to see more of Gina.

THE IN-BETWEEN

Chris Richardson took on No Doubt’s “Dont Speak,” and while it was pitchy in spots it was also really good in spots. I’m afraid for Chris because he was in the bottom 2 last week, but I think he’ll hang around one more time. Randy said he liked the flavor of the song, Paula said it was good, and Simon said it was a good choice but he wasn’t crazy about the vocal.

Blake Lewis sang The Cure’s “Love Song,” and I think it’s even a stretch to put him in this grouping because he kind of lulled me to sleep. But even though it was boring, Blake was pretty much on pitch.
Randy said it was not a great choice but was a good performance, Paula said she loved it and even hinted that we could see Blake in the finale (okay, Paula is officially retarded if she thinks Blake is better than Lakisha), and Simon said Blake has to be careful about being self-indulgent with his song choices.

THE BAD

I’ve been pimping Chris Sligh all along, but he was so bad last night that he could have punched his ticket home. Chris sang The Police’ “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” and like Gwen Stefani predicted was all over the place. Randy said it was not good and off tempo, Paula agreed, and Simon said it was a mess.

Haley sang Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” and while it was very much a karaoke performance, Haley really has amazing legs and they were out there for everyone to see, again. Randy said it was just “aight,” Paula said it wasn’t the best song choice, and Simon said it was “sweet but forgettable.” At least the judges weren’t blinded by the outfit.

(side note: Did anyone see Carrie Underwood on SNL? Her skirts keep getting shorter and shorter as well, and those legs of hers look like stilts…will somebody just put her in some tight jeans or something?)

THE REALLY BAD

Sanjaya came out with this “faux-hawk” hair style and it truly was remarkable. He attempted to sing No Doubt’s “Bathwater” and it was quite ridiculous. I mean, I’m not sure that Sanjaya can take his suck train any further. Randy said the hair was interesting (and nothing about the vocal), Paula said Sanjaya can sing but didn’t put his voice out there, and Simon said that Sanjaya is in his own universe, and that “If people like you, good luck.” In other words, pity the idiots that keep voting for this no-talent.

So my bottom 3? Chris Sligh, Sanjaya and Haley. And I really think Sligh is going home, if only because he was so bad, and because America wants to see what Sanjaya does with his hair next week.

Side note 2: You all didn’t see the commercials I did, but Belmont University here in Nashville bought air time and pimped the fact that hometown girl Melinda Doolittle is a ’99 graduate, and how they teach excellence, blah blah blah. It was incredibly self-serving and really distasteful. Yeah, the fact that Melinda went to Belmont makes me wanna go there too! How about the fact that Melinda was born with that talent and nurtured it as a backup singer for years, and it had nothing to do with her education?

See you all tomorrow for the results….

American Idol, TV

Prison Break: “Fin Del Camino”

March 27, 2007 /

The second-to-last episode of the year comes on the heels of the news that Fox has ordered another season of the show. This news is both good and bad. In many ways, two seasons feels like a natural conclusion to the story, but the show is still entertaining (at times) and is doing well in the ratings, so a third season is not unwarranted. But how do they stretch this concept out another year? Creator Paul Scheuring shed some light on the subject:

Details on the serialized drama’s storyline for next season are being kept under wraps, but it is understood that brothers Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln (Dominic Purcell)–who recently escaped to Panama with the FBI hot on their trail–and many of their fellow fugitives would end up back behind bars, possibly in Panama.

“It essentially will be a new chapter,” creator/executive producer Paul Scheuring said. “It’s going to return to the fundamental conceit, to the roots of what the show was about.”

“They got scattered in the winds–their stories became separate and defused,” Scheuring said. “They will come back together again, [and] their conflicts and interactions will return.”

But while stars Miller and Purcell will return next season, don’t consider them safe, Scheuring said, hinting that one of them might not survive beyond the first couple of episodes.

This week’s episode was mostly about Michael’s desire to put T-Bag back behind bars. As in all things “Prison Break,” this goal only leads to more hurdles to overcome. He succeeds in his task (and in retrieving the money), but unbeknownst to him, Mahone has captured Linc. They wrapped up T-Bag’s storyline nicely – the knife in his one good hand was classic – but based on Scheuring’s hints, at least one of the brothers will run into Bagwell in a Panama jail. It’s also nice to see Mahone’s storyline shifting from a “I need to capture Michael at all costs” mentality to a “I want to retire” mentality. And with the lovely Callie Thorne playing his wife, it’s easy to understand why.

It looked for a moment that Sarah would be the focus of Season 3 – that maybe Michael and Linc would have to sneak back into the States to break her out of prison – but Agent Eisen’s sudden reversal could prevent that.

It’s understandable why Sucre isn’t exactly thinking straight. After all, his girlfriend is supposedly stashed away somewhere on the verge of death. But if you’re holding the ever-dangerous T-Bag hostage in the back seat of a car, you need to keep an eye on him. Otherwise he’ll retrieve a screwdriver with his foot and stab you in the chest. Seriously, Sucre, you don’t have to look at Michael in the front seat to talk to him. Humans are perfectly capable of communicating without eye contact.

Lastly, Bellick’s exclamation when he was captured – “Innocente!” – was hilarious. It’s looking more and more like he’ll end up in a Panamanian jail with the other convicts.

Next week is the season finale and it appears that the elusive Mr. Kim is going to show up in Panama. The episode is entitled “Sona,” so maybe we’ll finally find out what the word means. The last break featured a great twist (Agent Eisen agreeing to help the brothers), so expectations are high. Don’t let us down, fellas.

External TV, Prison Break, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

24, Hour 15: Nadia Yassir stars in “Kill Bill Buchanan”

March 27, 2007 /

Stupid TiVo. I usually plop in front of the TV around 20 minutes into each episode so we can skip the commercials, and as we did it tonight, we noticed that the record light was not on. The DVR thought it was recording the show, only…it wasn’t. “This show is not currently available,” it said. Nor will it ever be. If I were Jack, this is the moment where I’d say “Dammit,” and then torture the dog down the street.

The first thing I see is Jack talking with Brady, who has some kind of learning disability. He’s supposed to give a flash drive to Gredenko in the place of his injured turncoat brother, who’s now helping CTU. Lord have mercy, how many times have they sent newbies to do drops with the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted? For a second, I thought they were going to have Brady suffer an accidental death, but then I realized: they can’t kill the mentally challenged kid. That’s bad karma. Torturing the shit out of Arabs, that’s cool. But you can’t cap the slow guy.

They then cut to the brouhaha over the wrongfully imprisoned Nadia, whose PC was being accessed by remote, therefore absolving her of any wrongdoing. Everyone apologizes to Nadia, Milo shares a painfully awkward and forceful kiss with her, and then everyone gives Nadia her space…

…and Nadia’s about to make them pay for it. Capitalizing on the white guilt they all feel for doubting her, Nadia is in the perfect position to begin the sinister second phase of her infiltration for Fayed. No one would dare question her motives now, for fear of being branded a racist. Even better, she can manipulate Milo nine ways to Sunday for “doubting” her, even when he was absolutely right in the first place and had no idea. Oh man, is this sweet.

For the record, I don’t really think that Nadia will kill Bill Buchanan. I just couldn’t resist the tie-in.

“Let me ask you a question. If I were Commander in Chief and suffered a debilitating accident that left me borderline comatose, what would you do?”

“I’d have you removed from office on the grounds that you were unfit to run the country, then I would hire a covert ops group to have you killed and set up some Islamic extremist group for the fall. Lastly, I’d piss all over your grave and leave a flaming bag of dogshit at your sister’s front door every day for the next 20 years.”

“Congratulations, Noah, you’re my running mate.”

What, the, fuck. This is the most glaring problem with “24” this year. Never in a million, billion, bazillion years would a dove like Wayne Palmer have a warmongerer like Senator Roark as his second in command. Roark clearly doesn’t want to relinquish his authoritah, and that’s understandable. Still, he’s not as smart as Wayne, and Wayne will find a way to make him pay for his transgressions. It’s going to be sweet to watch, even if it kills my Season Five conspiracy theory once and for all.

So what did I miss in the first 20 minutes? Did former President Buck Buck Brawwwwwk bite in en route to the hospital? Did the First Lady of Crazy kill herself out of grief, or craziness posing as grief? Is Old Yeller out for revenge, dunh dunh duuuuuuuunh? Or did they do what I suspect they did, and ignore those plot threads altogether? And don’t forget that Farmer Hoggett is still in play. Did Mark work for Farmer Hoggett? I really don’t know as I’m typing this. Stupid TiVo.

24, External TV, TV, TV Action

Battlestar Galactica: “Crossroads, Part 2”

March 26, 2007 /

**WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**

In the week leading up to the season finale, Sci-Fi was promoting the fact that we’d learn the identities of the final five Cylons. Prior to hearing that, I thought the show would sprinkle in the reveals to add some punch throughout next season, but they did indeed reveal four of the Cylons, and four out of five ain’t bad.

So it’s Tigh, Tyrol, Sam (Starbuck’s husband) and Tori (Roslin’s assistant). Considering that Tigh, Sam and Tori were hearing the music during last week’s episode, it’s fairly unsurprising (but powerful) that they are indeed Cylons. I don’t remember Tyrol dealing with the music last week, so his reveal was a bit more surprising, though when he started humming the music this week, it became pretty clear that he was a skinjob as well.

Two observations about the music:

1) The music was from a contemporary song, Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” I didn’t recognize it until the second line: There must be some kind of way out of here / said the Joker to the Thief / there’s too much confusion here / I can’t get no relief. My first reaction – WTF? Why are these four singing a Dylan song? I hope that the writers have some sort of explanation prepared for this and that they don’t just forget about it. Could the song be part of the 13th colony’s map to Earth?

2) Initially, the music was unrecognizable because it had a Middle Eastern feel to it. Given the current state of the world, is this supposed to have some sort of hidden meaning? I think we Americans have been taught over the last several years to fear all things from that part of the world, so are the creators playing on this fear, this xenophobia?

When the four met in the room, and Tigh asked them to close the doors, I kept waiting for the fifth Cylon to knock. (That would have been a very interesting cliffhanger.) There are theories flying around that Starbuck or Roslin is the fifth. Starbuck supposedly died, but there she is in the nebula, flying a nice-looking Viper.

I’ve been to Earth. I know where it is and I’m going to take us there.

Big words. So is she a Cylon? Maybe, but it’s not as clear as some fans think it is. If she were a Cylon, it would explain how she “survived” the explosion. But it seems kind of obvious to me.

Roslin is another possibility. She reacted after the jump to the nebula, but before the power went out. Coincidence? Doubtful. She definitely has ties to the Cylons (opera house dreams) so that could be why she reacted. Supposedly, she is the dying leader that guides the humans to Earth, but even that’s not for certain.

With Tyrol being a Cylon, his baby is a hybrid. They didn’t address it at all in the episode, so I just wanted to throw that out there. Hopefully, that becomes a storyline next season. Also, Tyrol had a great line when his wife asked him where the hell he was.

I’ll tell you later.

Now that conversation is going to go over like a lead balloon.

One other random observation. They made a point of developing a budding relationship between Sam and Seelix (the short-haired brunette) by having them hugging on each other in the bar last week, and it’s no coincidence that it was Seelix who discovered Sam and Tori in the (locked) barracks this week. Expect this to play out somehow next season.

Regarding Baltar’s trial, my sister pointed out something that I missed. The segment with Lee’s diatribe about how Baltar was the one we all wanted to blame, to throw out of the airlock, coupled with the doctor’s long hair and beard – that segment had some Christian overtones. Throw in the Cylons’ insistence of One God (while the humans believe in gods – plural – just like the ancient Romans did), and the references grow even stronger. Is Baltar the Messiah? The way his new “followers” whisked him off the ship would indicate that at least a few people believe he is.

I have to mention Romo’s hilarious line after Baltar goes on and on about how he knew that he’d be found innocent:

Your boundless confidence provided us with great solace throughout the proceedings.

Did anyone else notice that Romo let Lee off the hook about Bill’s prejudice of Baltar’s trial? As soon as Lee finished his speech, Romo rested his defense. Also, Romo wore sunglasses for the entire first episode, save for a scene where he had to convince Number Six not to betray Baltar. He didn’t wear them for the entire trial, but then put them back on as he said goodbye to Lee. Plus, his limp was gone. When he’s wearing the shades, he’s himself, but when he’s not wearing them, he’s playing a role. Kudos on the great acting job, Mark A. Sheppard!

But back to Starbuck’s reappearance. I think it was fairly obvious that she’d return, though not necessarily in this manner. As Lee was flying through the nebula, did anyone else see a giant ship/structure just before Starbuck’s appearance? Did Starbuck bring help?

I liked the zoom out to see the Milky Way, and then the zoom back in to see Earth. Now we know approximately where the fleet is.

Starting with the reveal of the four Cylons, I thought the ending to the episode was fantastic. They did a terrific job of incorporating some very cool guitar (with an “All Along the Watchtower” feel) to ramp up the anticipation of the Starbuck reveal. The only downer is that we have to wait until 2008 for some answers.

2008?!? That’s practically a year away!

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Weiss, Weiss, baby…

March 26, 2007 /

He may not particularly look it, but Greg Grunberg is cool. Let us count the ways:

1. He stars as telepathic cop Matt Parkman in this season’s hottest new show, “Heroes”
2. He got eaten by an unseen creature in the pilot for the 2004/2005 season’s hottest new show, “Lost”
3. He played the comic sidekick, yet still got the girl — or at least the girl’s equally hot half-sister — as Agent Eric Weiss on another hot J.J. Abrams show, “Alias”
4. Dude’s in a band. With Hugh Laurie. And James Denton from “Desperate Housewives.” And they donate all their proceeds to charity.

‘Nuff said.

Oh, and speaking of charity: NBC is auctioning off four original paintings from “Heroes” to benefit Grunberg’s charity of choice. Visit NBC.com for details if you want a shot at hanging “Hiro Battles T-Rex” in your living room.

Actors, Heroes, TV, TV Dramas

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Premium Hollywood

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑