Category: TV (Page 461 of 595)

Quick: You need a young female Terminator. Who ya gonna call?

March 8, 2007 /

No, screw Kristanna Loken. Your go-to gal should be none other than Summer Glau, of course. After handily dispatching legions of deadly, cannibalistic Reavers as mysterious telepath River Tam in Joss Whedon’s “Serenity,” Glau could play a cyborg killing machine in her sleep…which, for all we know, she probably does.

Glau has been cast as one of two Terminators in the upcoming Fox TV series “The Sarah Connor Chronicles;” the other cyborg will be played by “The Nine’s” redemption-seeking gunman Owain Yeoman. “300’s” Lena Heady will take on the role made famous by Linda Hamilton, and a current “Heroes” cast member (don’t click the link if you don’t want to know) will portray future savior of mankind John Connor.

Heady reports that, just as in the second and third “Terminator” installments, one cyborg will fight for the side of the humans, and one for the side of the machines. No word yet on whether Summer gets to play the good guy or the bad guy…but given that Owain’s got a little bit of a Robert Patrick vibe, and given that making the female cyborg the “bad guy” would simply reprise the T-3 setup, my money says Summer’s on the side of the Connors. Of course, that could also open up the potential for some awkward human-cyborg crush action between Summer and young John, which could be interesting to watch as well.

Stay tuned; this one is certain to make the Fox lineup next fall.

Actors, Actresses, External TV, News, TV, TV Action

American Idol: No Secret Here

March 8, 2007 /

Last night’s “American Idol” proved that there is no secret with this year’s competition. The ladies are making the guys look bad. Real bad. The judges keep saying it, and America can’t ignore it. But it’s not all the ladies. It’s a powerful quartet of Melinda, Lakisha, Stephanie and Sabrina that brings an A-game every week and is making everyone else look like weak amateurs.

It’s worth noting that the little war of words between Simon and Ryan gets more and more excruciating every week. And that Paula gets drunker every week. The producers may call it the charm of the show, but it’s all got to stop before someone gets hurt. You think Simon won’t beat the shit out of Ryan? I’m betting on the buzz cut if that happens.

Anyway, as far as last night’s performances, here we go…..

THE REALLY GOOD

I’m keeping Melinda Doolittle in this lofty class, because she anchored last night’s show in fine fashion once again, belting out “Woman” with the conviction of someone who has her eye on the prize and isn’t going to stop until May. You can’t tell me there was a single flaw in Melinda’s performance. This girl is a star in the making and until someone else raises their game, she is the favorite to win it all. Randy said it was the hottest performance of the night, Paula said it was fantastic and Simon called Melinda a “little tiger,” adding that Melinda seemed to be having fun on top of being incredibly gifted.

THE GOOD

Lakisha Jones took on Whitney Houston’s “If I Don’t Have You” and while it wasn’t her best performance, she was second-best last night. There is a short list of singers in this competition that could do that song justice and Lakisha is on that list. Randy said it wasn’t her best but was still great, Paula said Lakisha is going to stick around a while, and Simon said she had passion and believability and that she looked great this week.

Jordin Sparks kicked off the night with Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker.” Not only was she having fun, but so was Ricky Minor and the band. While Jordin was off-key in spots, she was still outstanding. Randy said it wasn’t Jordin’s best, but still better than every guy who sang Tuesday night. Amen to that. Simon called Jordin’s performance a bit shrieky but that she definitely shows personality.

Stephanie Edwards sang Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing,” and Chaka’s shoes were obviously a bit large to fill. She wasn’t at her best, but was still better than the girls below this line, and better than every guy.
Randy said it was just okay, Paula disagreed and said it was near flawless and Simon said that while Stephanie isn’t very original, she is 100% going to be in the finals. Agreed.

THE IN-BETWEEN

Sabrina Sloan was not at her best last night but she too was still better than most of the dudes. She was a little shouty and this is a problem with her. I think she’s one of the top six girls easily but she can’t go head to head with Melinda or Lakisha. Randy said it wasn’t Sabrina’s best, Paula said there’s no question she can sing, and Simon thought Sabrina was lacking emotion. I still think she’s safe.

Gina Glockson sang an Evanescence song and said it fit her personality better than anything she’s done in recent weeks. She was off key at the start but brought her game as the song progressed. This girl annoys me almost as much as Sundance and almost as much as Evanescence, and she has a chance of going home this week. Randy said it was the real Gina, Paula agreed but said that she should be careful not to oversing, and Simon said Gina finally looked comfortable.

THE BAD

Antonella keeps landing in this category and yet America keeps her in this thing. I have to say, she wasn’t as awful as usual last night, but at the end of the show when they showed clips of all eight performers, Antonella was the pasta equivalent of ramen noodles. She sang Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On” and Randy and Paula both thought it was a good song choice. Simon said that Antonella has gone as far as she can, because she’s simply surrounded by great singers. Exactly. So America, please stop the insanity.

Haley Scarnato was even worse than Antonella last night. This girl is really good-looking but she too is outclassed by most of the other ladies. Randy said Haley was just okay, and Simon said it was “horrible” and “ghastly,” and even worse, he said he didn’t even remember Haley’s name from week to week. That’s about as low a blow as you can get, but you can’t say he’s wrong. I’d be really surprised if Haley isn’t heading back to Texas tonight.

So here’s the deal….Haley and Antonella should be going home tonight, but I don’t trust the American voters to get it right. Just like Sanjaya keeps getting more chances, so will Antonella. So I’m picking Haley and Gina to go home. For the guys, Jared and Phil. America, please prove me wrong this time and send Sanjaya and Antonella into the sunset.

Oooh, Carrie Underwood tonight….and some big surprise from Ryan Seacrest…..the biggest announcement ever on the show or something. Yeah, I don’t really care either and I’m not buying a stupid Ford. Oh, and one more thing. I AM smarter than a fifth grader. You read it here. Now go enjoy the results show tonight….

American Idol, TV

Soundies = the precursor of the music video

March 8, 2007 /

There’s a show airing on PBS stations around the country right about now that every music fan should check out, particularly if you enjoy history as well. It’s called “Soundies,” and its topic is stated outright in its title.

Soundies were, as the title of this post indicates, the precursor of the music video. The Mills Novelty Company created a refrigerator-sized machine called the Panoram, which was essentially a video jukebox, and these soundies – three-minute films of various musical artists performing their hit songs – could be watched on the Panoram in groups of three. (It was early technology, of course, so you couldn’t fast-forward or rewind; if you wanted to see the last soundie on the reel, you were stuck watching the first two as well, whether you wanted to or not.) The soundies began in 1940 and started off as a roaring success, but World War II caused the Panoram business to stumble – the war effort necessitated a slowing in the manufacturing of new machines – and by the time the armistice had been signed, it was too late; the era of the soundies was over by 1946.

But, wow, who knew how many video artifacts from those six years were still out there…?

Fans of jazz, country, pop vocalists of the ’40s, and even early R&B will find their jaws dropping at some of this footage. You’ll see performances from Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Les Paul, Kay Starr, Fats Waller, Spike Jones, the Mills Brothers, Merle Travis, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, and even a young Liberace. The stock line about soundies is that while the most popular white artists tended to be under contract to other studios and were therefore unavailable to make soundies (there’s an interesting story about how Mel Torme’s group, the Meltones, did a soundie with another member lip-synching Mel’s vocals because Torme himself wasn’t contractually permitted to appear on camera), there were plenty of black artists who were more than willing to get in front of the camera in order maximize their exposure…and it’s so awesome that they did. Actually being able to see Fats Waller kick out the jams on the piano is pretty damned sweet.

There are also some interesting choices of talking heads brought onboard to discuss the soundies; in addition to new interviews with some of the folks who actually made them, like Les Paul and Kay Starr, we get commentary from Joe Franklin, Hugh Hefner, jazzmen George Duke and Wynton Marsalis, and…Stan Ridgway? Oh, it’s not so strange; didn’t you know that he recorded an album of standards a few years back? (If not, you will soon…when we discuss The Best Albums You’ve Never, Ever Heard. Check back at Bullz-Eye in early April!)

You can check out the official website for “Soundies,” but I’m led to understand that in addition to future airings, there’s talk of releasing it on DVD. Fingers crossed that that’s true; there’s a lot of stuff here that’s worth watching over and over again.

Documentaries, External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV

Enter 77

March 7, 2007 /

I’ve long said that the Sayid-centric episodes of “Lost” are among the show’s best, and while the flashback sequence behind this week’s story wasn’t nearly as interesting as those of the past, it still made for one excellent episode. Apparently, Sayid is one damn good cook, and while working in Paris after leaving his post with the Republican Guard, he’s approached by a fellow Iraqi with an offer to come cook at his superior restaurant. Despite Sayid’s keen sense for knowing when others are lying, however, he agrees to meet the man only to be ambushed and interrogated for the torture of the guy’s wife. The whole time I was watching it, I was thinking to myself, “Of course Sayid didn’t torture this woman,” only to be completely shocked when he begged for her forgiveness later in the episode. Luckily, the woman took kindly to his apology and released him.

Getting back to more gripping stuff, Kate, Locke and Sayid continue their journey to the Flame hatch only to discover that it’s a farm in disguise, run by Eye Patch Man. After Sayid is shot for trespassing, Kate and Locke flank the guy only to discover that he’s “the last living member of the Dharma Initiative.” Bullshit, and this time Sayid can smell it miles away. After being served some very nasty looking yellow iced tea, Eye Patch Man (or Mikhail to his friends) attacks Sayid again, but has his ass handed to him as is expected from an ex-soldier. Meanwhile, as Sayid and Kate learn more about Eye Patch Man’s business on the island, Locke plays a friendly game of computer chess and upon winning, accesses an override to the hatch that gives him several command options.

Now, is it just me, but when did Locke become so damn stupid? I mean, did he know that if he entered “77” into the computer that the whole building would blow up, and if so, why? They could have easily used the hatch to their advantage, so it doesn’t really make any sense why you’d knowingly let it explode. Anyways, the past is behind them (Mrs. Klugh is dead – anyone know Russian that can translate that?) and they’re moving on with their mission to save Jack.

On a side note, it’s nice to see that rest of the survivors are having fun while a select few risk their lives. Last week it was the joyride through the woods, and this week it’s a friendly game of ping-pong. Sawyer, upset that all of his goods have become thrown into the community sharing pool, makes a deal with the rest of the camp: if you’re best player can beat me at a game of ping-pong, I’ll stop calling people by nicknames, and if I win, I get all my shit back. Well, he loses… to Hurley, though I hardly believe that the writers will put an end to the nicknames – that makes his character – though I love the fact that the survivors are finally lightening up to their situation.

The funniest line of the night comes courtesy of Hurley after crushing Sawyer in ping-pong: “It doesn’t look like that last slam caused any long term damage to your forehead.”

External TV, Lost, TV, TV Dramas

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