Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Mentalist

Airing Tuesdays @ 9pm on CBS.

This is the first screener so far this year that I hadn't made it around to reading the script yet... so no preconceptions and I have no idea what it's about or what's going to happen.

Okay, so it's a CBS show and we naturally start at a crime scene. But Simon Baker is there being mysterious and silent and pretty while watching other officers cart away some kid for some girl's murder. There's a press conference right then and there (weird) with the father of the murdered girl talking and Simon Baker notices the body language of the guy's wife. Blah blah blah, Simon Baker confronts the wife in their home and just by looking at her, nails several key attributes about her and her life. Psychic? No he just reads people very well (he's observant... but he used to pretend he was a psychic... on TV...) Husband/father comes in, Simon Baker accuses him of being the real murdered, blah blah, wife goes off and gets a gun and kills her husband.

This is all a character-introduction preamble to the pilot's actual case involving a serial killer (on CBS? shock!) named "Red John". Oh, apparently because of Simon Baker being a douchebag, he was put on suspension. I'm actually not sure if Simon Baker and his people are detectives or FBI (okay, they work for the "California Bureau of Investigations"... so, something in between??) Anyway, his people are played by Robin "Wooden Actress" Tunney (whose character, interaction with Simon Baker implies, was probably romantically entangle with Simon Baker or wishes she were), Owain Yeoman (who has thus far been relocated to background stoicism... why isn't this guy a star, already?), a silent Asian man, and some random girl in the "rookie mistake" role.

I'm writing too much tangential to watching the pilot, so I'm going to watch the next 35 minutes and then write... because, really, I could sarcastically go on for hours, but there's no point because thus far, this is nothing more than typical.

I don't get why they use the pilot to do a case that is a COPYCAT of a serial killer the main character has been involved with trying to catch for several years instead of something with the ACTUAL serial killer (considering there is PLENTY of talk and background on said actual serial killer... I guess the show wanted/needed a crime to be SOLVED during the pilot).

Sigh, everyone wants House as a cop show... Baker's Patrick Jane is a semi-abrasive, semi-charming character. While the show gives Patrick a tragic, hubris-y backstory, he's just not nearly as intriguing as Gregory House. Simon Baker is just too pretty to be as truly in-your-face assholic as a House-like role demands. Worse yet, his character seems to know how good looking he is.

In addition, the show does not deliver a Wilson character, which, as I think the House finale showed, is all-important to that show's character mix. The Mentalist has a Cuddy (Tunney), and the original three assistant types (cute boy/Chase, minority/Foreman, naive girl/Cameron), but no Wilson.

Direction, by David Nutter, is of course great. But I don't see this sticking out from any other procedural crime show on the air, particularly on CBS, where there is obviously already a glut of them.

Plus, it's against Fringe, which will be one of fall's biggest buzz shows, and will have House as a lead-in. Better than a presumably old-skewing show going up against Dancing with the Stars and having NCIS as a lead-in.

Next: Not sure, have to wait for my next batch to come in. I believe CBS's "The Ex List" is going to be in that, not sure what else. So let's say "The Ex List" is next...

Monday, May 26, 2008

Fringe

FOX's "Fringe", airing Tuesdays at 9pm (after a two-hour premiere in late August).

Hm, an Abrams pilot beginning with a turbulent plane scene? It's so meta I could die. Ew, that was so much more gross and disturbing and frenetic than it was on the page (or that I remember it being... been a long time since I read the script).

Unlike Lost (which was Abrams written-and-directed), this is a somewhat maddeningly slow two hours (slower, certainly, than the genius Alias pilot). Abrams produces though, and while I don't think Anna Torv as the lead female character Olivia is quite up to par with his previous leading lady finds (Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner, Evangeline Lilly), she's good. Not Gillian Anderson good (since, ultimately, this series it going to try to be The X-Files for technological/scientific wonders as opposed to supernatural/extraterrestrial happenings), but good. She's a little smirky throughout. I love the way Lance Reddick calls her character "liaison" (let's hope that, since this is a Bad Robot project, we can still get more Matthew Abbadon on Lost).

Not sure how I feel about the giant CGI blow up superimposed letters that set us in different locations (it really tries to be the next step up from Alias's push-through lettering... but I'd almost just prefer a subtitle telling me I'm in Baghdad... especially when the angle cuts away from the moving aerial show and you can still see the giant "Q" in "Iraq"... that was weird). Kinda distracting, actually.

Joshua Jackson seems a tad young. I'm not sure if it's unconvincing... but I just don't quite buy him. He's also a tad monotone in a role that could be more colorful (it eventually edges closer to amusingly sardonic, but still isn't quite what it could be).

In series, I hope the characters don't devolve into a pattern of Waler Bishop constructing a crazy experiment, Pacey complaining about how insane it is leading to a pointless but amusing argument, and Olivia ultimately going with the crazy guy so that we can move on with the plot.

You what really bothered me about this pilot? Jasika Nicole. She just stands in the background being the diversity-required African-American lab hand (even though I think she's FBI?) until about 3/4 through the pilot. She largely serves as a talking board for Walter (and Pacey) to explain the science of what's going on. At least it's not super genius scientists talking to themselves about the experiments or tests or whatever in a way they never, ever would just so the audience can get it (see every episode of a medical show or crime show or legal show ever where people of the same profession boil down the complex mechanisms to colleagues who ought to know anyway WTF is going on...)

The shared dream is wicked.

Massive Dynamic's office building must be the coolest place to work in ever.

A lot of the music reminds me of themes from Lost. I wonder if the pilot will be re-scored.

This pilot will intrigue you... but it won't blow you away in the way Lost's pilot did (though, god bless it, it tries). It looks amazing though, you can really see the $10 million budget. Oh, there's so much more I could say, but I'd really rather you watch the think in August. And I'm particularly eager to see what comes next because this show could go either way... but I really want to know what it looks like on an episodic basis. Will is really be like The X-Files, as the pilot hints at / holds the promise of? It certainly has the conspiracy-laden underpinnings.

Oh, and that last scene? YES! YES!

Next: CBS's "The Mentalist".

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Worst Week

CBS pilot airing Mondays at 9:30pm.

Oh, where to begin... okay, first, I'll say that, wow, CBS doing a single-camera sitcom. Second... please, stick with your multi-cams.

Worst Week, or the pilot anyway, is about a hapless man named Sam (Kyle Bornheimer) visiting his girlfriend/almost-fiancée's parents' house (Erinn Hayes in a bland role), a place he apparently burnt down (at least some of it) the last time he visited. Think Meet The Parents, but as a weekly TV show (and not quite so charming... yes, MTP more charming than something, I know right). It tries very hard to be funny and I won't get into the shenanigans (all of which seemingly would be solved if Sam grew either a pair of balls or a brain), but I think the show ought to have tried to be Everybody Loves Raymond. The parents, Kurtwood Smith and Nancy Lenehan had potential to be the lovingly overbearing and bothersome parents like Frank and Marie Barone (Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts). Instead... it's about Sam being a screw-up. Which is a shame, because TV is really lacking a traditional family sitcom. It remains to be seen, of course, if future weeks are as crude and unfunny as this pilot, and how they incorporate the parents into it. But will Two and a Half Men viewers stick around for this? I have my doubts.

Next: FOX's "Fringe"

Surviving the Filthy Rich

Pilot screeners are starting to roll in! I'm so happy......!!!!

Surviving the Filthy Rich, CW Pilot Presentation (it's about 30 minutes of the "key scenes", isn't the whole story but since it's been picked up, the rest is going to be shot... though I've read the script so I know what was missing). It will air Tuesdays at 9pm.

General story: Yale graduate works for crappy tabloid-ish magazine in NYC, wants to write about things and people that matter. Her apartment gets burned down and she doesn't get a promotion to be a full-time writer at the magazine she doesn't want to work at anyway, and through a lucky connection, is sent to Palm Beach (where she happened to grow up) to be a stay-at-home tutor to two pretty, immensely wealthy spoiled sixteen year old girls who live with their grandmother because their parents both died. The plot, as you'd expect, rotates around the main character liking/not liking her job, and the trials and tribulations put in front of her so that she earns keeping the job, and thus we have a series.

Here's the thing about this presentation... it's almost completely, and woefully miscast. The lead, JoAnna Garcia is the best of everyone. Considering I disliked the script, she did an good job making me sympathetic towards her character, Megan. Lucy Kate Hale plays Rose, the seemingly less evil of the evil twins. I saw keep her. Unfortunately, I think everyone else must go. Ashley Newbrough just does not work as well as Hale does in her role as Sage, the bitchier, evilier, more out-to-get-Megan-ier role. Plus they don't look like twins (yes, yes, fraternal twins, blah blah... still, family resemblance isn't working for me). Marsha Mason is woefully Laura Bush-ian in her role as Laurel, the grandmother (OMG IS THERE A THEME TO THE NAMES!?) and Michael Cassidy is painfully bland as Megan's best friend (who we meet in video chat before her NYC apartment burns down and then find him waiting tables in Florida). Not cast yet from the script are Megan's sister, and her boyfriend who happens to live next door to Megan's new home and has caught Megan's eye (oh, sigh, love quadrangle, sigh).

As in the script, there is an atrocious "let's do something insane just so we have a series" moment (the day after Megan gets fired and then tells Sage off in front of Laurel and storms out, then she wakes up to find out she is no longer fired) where Laurel, of her own free will, draws up a contract that says that she can't fire Megan for 6 months, or Megan can sue Lauren for all she's worth (and, it is noted, she is worth a considerable sum). Um... okay...

Anyway... I'm not sure who, precisely, the audience for this show is. Yes, it has the trappings of a younger female oriented soap (though post-college), and it attempts to paint the "filthy rich" in both impossibly terrible and endearingly vulnerable lights (except Sage). But there's just something not quite right with it. Probably has to do with my problems with the cast.

Next: CBS' "Worst Week"

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Miranda Bailey

I am in love with Miranda Bailey because she knows about Jacen and Jaina Solo.

ALSO

All the reasons that the second three finale was wrong? The season four finale was right. This was a hopeful, fun finale (especially because the last act was basically EVERY SINGLE MAIN CHARACTER KISSING ANOTHER ONE... and also, major professional progression for the intern/first year resident characters). That actually makes me look forward to next season. It took all season... but I think, just maybe, the show is back on track.

I even didn't hate Lexie!

I've been waiting for Alex to have a breakdown every since we found out his father was abusive. Yay, plot!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Gasp!

Sometimes surprises are awesome.

So I got home at 9:57pm from the gym, changed my TV to Idol to see the result... and at 10pm, Ryan is saying "and the winner is --"

AND THE CHANNEL CHANGES BECAUSE MY NEW, BROKE-ASS FAUXVO didn't get the message that Idol was going to run long (my old one always did... this is something I will have to note for the future) wants to record. It flipped to Top Chef. Which was fine. I wanted that recorded. But apparently the new FauxVo was also recording a South Park repeat.

And I was like... WTF.

I hurriedly changed it back and was like "what?"

Then I was like "yay!"

And now I'm going to "shower!"

And then see IJ&tKotCS at 12:15am at the ArcLight...

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

KO

So, um, anyone think David Cook threw the finals? I mean, on purpose. Because he sounded good, but for someone who has so consistently had great song choice (and a plethora of amazing performances to choose from for the final song)... with the theme of the night, from a production standpoint, being a boxing match, I really felt like he threw it (with both of his last two performances... don't get me wrong, still really good). Not certain if I *really* mean he did it on purpose... but if I were him, I wouldn't really want to be locked into the Idol contract instead of being able to have my pick of the labels, contracts, and managers.

Anyway, Cook has a viable career ahead of him on Adult Top 40 radio.

Best of luck to Archie with his technical singing, lack of emotional connection to songs, and his pale clone of "A Moment Like This" / "This Is My Now" ;)

I kind of want to tell Randy Jackson that "molten" is never going to happen and he should give it up. 10 Schrute bucks to the first person who gets that.

I think Simon was a bit pissed that David Cook flailed because Archie, aka Presumptive American Idol Winner David Archuleta, is not the modern, relevant recording artist he kept talking about all season. Not that I ever expected Cook to win. Despite the obvious performance artist gap between them, it has been obvious (perhaps too obvious for the show's purposes, hence Simon week after week saying how Cook would win if it were a talent contest) that Archie would win.

ALSO

Is it just me, or did in seasons past as the numbers were whittled down, the performances got longer? Why, in the finale, are we only getting 3 songs at 90 seconds each from each contestant?

That Was Disappointing

Ugh. I loved the Gormogon serial killer plot on Bones. But the resolution was crap.

Meanwhile, House's season finale was great.

So Much To Say

Yawn. Wow, so I am behind on this whole "regularly blog" thang I semi-have going here.

I can explain.

I moved apartments this weekend.

Hence... yawn.

And speaking of yawn... WTF, Gossip Girl? That episode was poorly plotted, IMHFO. Not the entire thing... just the last act. I'm sorry, but you're a teen serial. Leave us with a bang (doesn't have to be literal, but some kind of huge, buzzy cliffhanger would do). Instead, the show limps off to summer with a One Week Later coda that seems to put 80% of the characters back where they started the series (not to mention mixing up, like, all of the teenagers' partners in lust... but in a matter of fact way that doesn't demand exploration, as opposed to that OMFG moment I kept waiting for). I don't get it. When Gossip Girl went on hiatus in early January, I couldn't wait for the next installment. September 1st? I'm not entirely sure I care that it's over three months away.

While on the subjects of narrative leaps, I think I'm in the minority on Desperate Housewives' five year jump. I like it as a reset button. There are plenty of blanks to be filled in... but only a couple that really matter (the central one being why is Susan not with Mike). Let's face it... the show, even though it had a creative resurgence due to Katherine Mayfair / Dana Delany, was getting tired. How many iterations of Gabrielle cheating on Carlos did we see? How much annoying crap with Lynette's preteen boys? This allows new kinds of stories to be told for certain characters without all the hullabaloo of, y'know, transitioning us there (so, in concept, I like it... in execution it seems like the show gave Lynette's storyline to Gaby and is aging Lynette's monsters five years and they're still going to be giant pains in the arse...)

But, hopefully, good riddance Andrea Bowen! May you never come back from college. And can suit-and-tie Andrew please get his gay storyline back? I mean, Brothers & Sisters follows the show... make it work, people.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

What?



Love this.

That Script Thing

So, most of the networks have announced all the shows they're picking up for this season.

Except ABC, which has barely shot any of them.

I've got scripts for all of the dramas (because... comedies? on ABC?) and have read them all... so let's have a little round up, shall we? Please note that none of these are final drafts... so plenty can change by the time the pilots get shot (I'll report back when I've seen screeners).

"Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas" - Billed as Harry Potter for TV, it's actually more like the sucky version of Pan's Labyrinth, or more accurately like The Spiderwick Chronicles (a movie I did not see). Plus, the lead character is a 13-year old girl. Production nightmare. It may be different than other stuff on television... but that doesn't mean it's good.

"Castle" - A practically unreadable script (seriously). I stopped after the first act, but then decided to read the last 5 or so pages to see what the series set-up was. I'm interested in seeing what Nathan Fillion does with the lead character, who is a kind of philandering cheap thriller novelist who gets called in by the NYPD to help with a series of murder mysteries that reflect those in his books (zzzz). The dialog needs work. The series set-up after this murder investigation is that Captain Tightpants' character is going to base a new series of crime novels off the detective he worked with on the pilot case, and thus will be tagging around. The show wants to be the crime show version of House. It falls short... but after reading the other crime shows, I think it may stand out in a way ABC will be interested in.

"Cupid" - We all know, basically, what this show is going to be. I like Bobby Cannavale as the lead... I think he'll be more approachable / less abrasive than Jeremy Piven's Cupid was, which was part of the fun but also a turnoff for many. They're moving the show to New York City and the script I read was set in Los Angeles, so who knows, this all may change. Plus, who is going to be playing Paula Marshall!?

"Finnegan" - Los Angeles set hardnosed female detective who heads an Organized Crime & Vice unit. ABC needs a serialized crime show like it needs another season of Cavemen. It needs a franchise procedural crime show. This ain't it.

"Good Behavior" - Think Brothers & Sisters is the Walker family were lower-middle class nogoodniks, and all the gloss replaced by grit. It's the other side of the family drama/dramedy coin. It's got heart, and it's got funny (especially with Catherine O'Hara as the matriarch/Sally Field...) It's the kind of show ABC normally would go for... but does the network really need another ensemble family show? Based on the script I hope so, but the programmer in my isn't certain. At least it stands out from basically every other show on television because the main characters aren't incredibly wealthy people.

"Prince of Motor City" - Hamlet on TV. While it's always interesting to see modern adaptations... we all know how this one ends, right? Plus they don't even get to the ghost telling the son to avenge him until the end of the pilot. I dunno. It's intriguing. But also not. I'll have to wait to see the screener to really judge.

"Untitled David Hemingson Legal Dramedy" - I could do without the first 5 pages of set-up before the main character starts his job (the first five pages establish Dylan Hewitt as valedictorian at Columbia Law, introduce a seemingly neerdowell brother / family, and have Dylan easily convinced to take a job at a firm in Los Angeles instead of working at the tax firm he was supposed to). With Boston Legal ending, a legal dramedy seems a tad slap-in-the-face-ish... but I can see this show skewing younger, with the leads being 20somethings, not James Spader and William Shatner. It's exceedingly silly. I don't really buy what it's selling. If Eli Stone tanks on Tuesdays at 10pm and ABC is really gung-ho about having a legal show on... okay, I guess by default they'd have to go here. But eh...

"The Unusuals" - I like the writer, Noah Hawley. He's done good work on Bones. This, however, is your run-of-the-mill New York set police procedural. Not bad, but nothing special. And I think that's an unforgivable sin in a television landscape with procedural crime shows ranging from L&O, CSI, and The Closer.

"Section 8" (title may change because of some lawsuit) - So apparently ABC has already given this show a episode order. I hope they can rescind it. This is trash. I mean, really, what were they thinking? Unless I got a foiler script. It is, as it's logline suggests, about a secret government group that solves crimes and has "advanced mental abilities". Problem is it basically amounts to CSI with superpowers. I don't even like CSI, but part of what makes it interesting is the human element... people like like you and me figuring murders out. Plus, the scripts starts of so very Heroes (voiceover about the human mind and the things it's capable of... come on). Problem is they left out the humanity and the "discovery" elements that were present in Heroes at the get-go. You know, the stuff that really made it good? Ugh. Such. Crap. Maybe it'll be really cool on screen.

ABC's needs at midseason will ultimately be dictated by what works out on the fall schedule (I'm specifically looking at some part of Wednesday failing, the questionable Life on Mars, and probably Eli Stone). ABC might choose to use some of these series (the ones ready, anyway) on Mondays between DWTS cycles instead of the middling and piddling Dance War.

Bold Prediction of the Year

ETA - scratch the below, FOX is programming House on Tuesdays at 8pm... that's clearly the winner. Any time the below says "win" it now means "second place" ;)

The CW will win the Tuesday 8pm timeslot in the A18-49 demo this fall. For at least one night. Or at least be extremely close.

Please note, this prediction is not taking into consideration the possibility that 90210 will premiere before the other networks premiere their programming.

Why? Here's why.

The competition in the fall is weak. Yes, Idol changes the game in January (though, as many have pointed out with the ratings decline... the time to program aggressively against Idol has come... you won't win, but it doesn't have to be total annihilation). But consider:
- ABC has an untested reality/game show. DWTS doesn't get much more than a 4.0 on that night... this is going to approach that? Hey, I'll eat my words, but... I don't think so. Deal or No Deal is way down... the new wave game show semi-bubble has burst.
- CBS has NCIS. There's no audience shared there. NCIS will almost certainly win in viewers, but with a demo that will be in the low-to-mid 3s.
- NBC has The Biggest Loser. The show has gained momentum this season in the ratings... but it's still, like NCIS, low-to-mid 3s.
- FOX has Bones (or so I'm presuming), a show, again, with low-to-mid 3s.

Now, you're thinking... The CW has never rated higher than a 3.0 in the demo (IIRC, the Cycles 7/8 ANTM finales). What makes Travis think that 90210 is going to rate higher than the above shows, which typically rate a little bit more than what The CW's highest rated airing put up?

The CW has nothing else to promote over the next 3-4 months. There are only two other shows premiering: Surviving the Filthy Rich, the initial success of which is entirely dependent on the 90210 lead-in, and Stylista, which airs out of Top Model. 90210 is make-or-break for CW. Literally. Its failure would destroy the network. So where are all of CW's marketing eggs going to go, hm?

So... 90210 is going to open big. Admit it. You're curious about the new show. Whether you were a fan of the old series (at any point in time, not just at the end of its run)... you're curious. Even if not, you're curious.

90210 does not have to be the best show ever. The original was trashy, fun television. That's the only expectation this series needs to live up to. It doesn't have to be, say, Lost in terms of OMFG quality. But it has to not suck (and unless it doesn't translate from page to screen the way I suspect it will... it's not going to suck). It probably won't be OMFG awesome enough to keep what I think is going to be a timeslot winning premiere audience... but it's going to be competitive.

With its scheduling of 90210 on Tuesdays at 8pm... I think CW has, at long last, done something truly smart.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Blondes and the Boys Have It

Well, it was inevitable that it would be David vs David on Idol. I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm certainly disappointed because Syesha deserved it more than Archie, based on performance. Also, Fantasia schooled the contestants.

Before we started watching this cycle of ANTM, my friend and I said "a blonde will win this cycle". No, it doesn't matter that neither Whitney nor Anya are natural blondes. Anyway, with Fatima's expulsion (because of that hideous commercial performance... also Nigel is shooting the Seventeen cover and we know he doesn't like working with Fatima), we're right. Also, this season has clearly had Tyra's "plus size winner" agenda front and center. I'll admit... it's pretty cool of the show to have a plus size model in the final two, and walking a fashion show in Rome wearing Versace no less. Based on the three snapshots of each girl they showed for the cover, Anya should win. As far as storytelling goes, it certainly would be a nice story for the show to have the girl who was in the Bottom Two for, like, four eliminations running be the winner. Look, she learned... sorta...! Saleisha (UGH!) has her awful hair back. Sigh. Gasp! Was this a semi-real fashion show? I'm actually having trouble telling. Only two looks? Okay, no, this wasn't real at all (what with Whitney and Anya staying on the runway and posing at the end of the show). Um... how come Tyra and Anya changed dresses between the show and the judging? Probably Whitney didn't because the first dress was, shall we say... not the right color or fit for her? Pink works on that girl, somehow. But, let's be honest... Anya looks more like a model.

Side note... I was kinda surprised there was no "coming Tuesdays this fall, 90210" 5-second interstitial. Oh, wait, nevermind, they had it at the end of the final, and therefore most-watched, commercial break.

I love that Paulina is like "um... it's obviously Anya, shut up, Tyra" and Tyra is all "suck my dick, bitch". Then Paulina is like "you know this show has never made a real high fashion model, right" and Tyra bites Paulina's head off and gives it to the girl that American men want to have sex with (seriously, though, in that pink number, she looked like a Victoria's Secret ad... just, like, 25 pounds "too heavy").

You know what, making the plus size model this year's winner? Almost sort of makes me want to forgive the show for Saleisha. Because it's a good message (even if it's still Tyra being self-serving).

But... really!?

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Top 3 Perform

A Top 3 I can be satisfied with! Wowza.

Anyways.

Judges' Picks:

Archie - Adequate, nothing amazing.

Syesha - Beautiful and impeccably dressed. I love that Randy (?) said she was number three instead of top three... why was Syesha's trip home just a video of her in a limo?

Cook - Round 1, Cook/Cowell.

Contestants' Picks:

Archie - Sung well enough (as always), but do we believe him singing "my boo" as a lyric? Not if I or Randy have anything to say about it. I'd have gone with something different if he was going to go modern (which the contestants haven't had a ton of chances to do this season). It just shows his lack of musical knowledge, to be honest. If he had to go recent, I'd have gone with a OneRepublic song. Since he's trying to court femme tween votes, I've have gone with Stop & Stare, which is a love song, over Apologize. But what do I know.

Syesha - Now that is a fun choice to go with her theatricality. Syesha has been running, um, "blazing hot" since ALW night. Loved that note at the end. I disagree with the judges. But, again, what do I know. Randy gave her a modern song to do... this showed another side of her personality. We all know she's going home no matter how well she sings, anyway.

Cook - Switchfoot. Very appropriate band choice. Probably better he didn't pick Lifehouse, if he was going to choose a semi-Christian mellow rock band (since his voice is so remarkably similar to Lifehouse's lead singer's). His voice has sounded better, but with the rockier arrangement, the edge and strained warble works, I think.

Round 2... Simon says tie, I give a slight edge to Syesha.

Producer Picks:

Archie - Zzz. Talk about treacle-y ballads. All of the judges just got fired for questioning the producers' song choice.

Syesha - Wow, so the producers suck. Either that or this has been intentional sabotage to see which contestant rises above. I don't get this one (not Syesha's fault).

Cook - Well, this one actually makes sense. Round 3 to Cook by a WIDE margin.

Bones

One episode left and there's been no Gormogon mystery yet since the episodes restarted. But the cliffhanger last night was fine. Argh, I wanted more of that mystery, it's what made the show more than just an amusing procedural.

House

EXTREMELY weird episode of House last night. I enjoyed the show's last foray into the title character's mind much more (the season two finale "No Reason"). But the last act, when he finally interpreted everything... really, really solid. I was a fan of Cutthroat Bitch back in the Survivor-esque period that was the start of this season, but as soon as she started dating Wilson, she was... less awesome. Still, when the reveal was that she was on the bus crash with House (the creepy "who am I, what does my necklace mean" bit)... very, very much looking forward to next week's finale. We here at TY still love Anne Dudek and I'm glad that she's going to be our very special patient of the week.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Nikki Finke

Damn, Nikki Finke has got some fine sources this year, because she's hearing about things and posting them right before I get my info blurbs... so I'll just direct your to DHD for pilot pick-ups instead of trying to scoop her. After all, it's her job, not mine.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Weekend

What a weekend. Spent it relaxing in Palm Springs. Soooo necessary.

Anyway. Let's talk BSG briefly. I feel like this episode was the one we've been waiting for since the start of the season. I mean, that was good TV.

Glad the Hybrid mentioned the Opera House in its prophecy. I mean... I've really disliked that semi-dropped (or just nary mentioned) bit from last season's finale. And I was about to talk about the prophecy itself, then they had a whole scene deciphering it... so oh well. At least I was right!

And then Roslin shares a dream with her cancer ward friend. Nice.

Meanwhile, I'm not so big on The Simpsons airing an episode on Mother's Day about Homer's mother DYING. I mean, yes, the episode is about the "what I'd do because I love my mother" aspect, but still.

Now, to watch DH and B&S.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Cabin Fever

So... Lost.

Flashbacks = Locke as a wee baby. Incidentally, I love period pieces, but think Swingtown is shit.

First post-strike Freighter scene! Desmond still hasn't discovered buttons. Keamy shows up, 'splaining that Smokezilla tossed the people 50 feet into the air... BUT THEY DIDN'T DIE WTF.

Keamy attempts to shoot Michael/Kevin Johnson and is surprised that his bullets won't fire, as is anyone watching the show who didn't see "Meet Kevin Johnson". Silly Keamy, Michael can't die until the Island says he can. God, don't these people have video replay?

Skipping past the nonsense (I like that Ben says with extreme displeasure that he used to have the dreams that Locke is now having... it really is a weekly question who the real key player in this series is)...

We're back in the flashback. John was a premie but fought off various diseases. AND RICHARD IS WATCHING OVER HIM. Wow, can Cane please be officially canceled so we get more Richard?

Anyway, now John is older than a baby and Richard shows up at his house and invites him to Hogwarts. Ooh, John drew Smokezilla as a kid. Ooooh, Mystery Tales! What was the secret of the mysterious "Hidden Island" indeed! Was John Locke proto-Walt? Who else knows deep down how very wrong (or alternatively how very afraid) Richard is?

Michael Emerson's delivery is so dry. We love it.

Back on the boat. THE DOC COULDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR (name). DAMN YOU, TIME-SPACE CONTINUUM. Seriously, didn't "the doc" wash up on the beach an episode or two ago?

Fix my gun. Lol.

Hurley chooses to go with Locke. In the season premiere, he told Jack, in flashforward, he should never have gone with Locke. I believe this is what he was talking about, not the speech in the premiere that helped divide the camp.

Mittelos! Man, teenage John Locke was a whiny bitch. DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO! Oh, man, the Lost writers are really putting my squee through the ringer.

There's a freeze frame with Keamy that I'm pretty sure is going to have one of my friends shouting his thanks to the gods in our Lost e-mail discussion chain.

I'm trying to remember "Live Together, Die Alone". The bearing Ben gave Michael... I thought it was 3-2-5. Not 3-0-5. Shrug. Sayid motorboating to the rescue!

Destiny is a fickle bitch is definitely a Top 10 Quotes Ever contender (certainly in the Top 3 on the subject of Fate... though the Wonderfalls quote about Jaye letting the Universe stick its hand up her butt and making her dance...)

OMG Matthew Abbadon with Locke during his spinal injury recoup AND TOLD HIM ABOUT THE WALKABOUT. How uncomfortable are we with the idea of Locke owing Abbadon one?

And there's the cutting of the doc's throat. Okay, at this point, there has to be a future plan for this Keamy character.

Oop, captain's dead. So, yes, what is that thing on Keamy's arm? I hope we're not talking some sort of "my heart beats slower than 50 bpm and this bus blows up" device (by bus blows up, I of course mean there's some sort of wacky, possibly nuclear, detonation). I bet Frank is gonna take the copter off course / won't use the 3-0-5 bearing. Nah, that'd be too easy.

Oh, hey, look... the beach! Go, Frank!

Christian Shephard... oy. Brain go ouch. Can't wait for this explanation (which I guess will come in, what, two years?) Oh, that's right, Claire followed Christian into the jungle last episode.

To save the Island... move the Island? I'm. So. Confused.

Season finale, part one, next week!

... WTF?

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Finally

A semi-intelligent decision from The CW!

It's going to be selling off its Sunday primetime block to an unnamed advertising conglomerate, which will develop programming. Meaning it will still have interstitial time, some ad revenue coming in (to the network, as opposed to just the affiliates), but won't have the costs of programming those three hours.

Just one step closer to just NOT PROGRAMMING IT AT ALL.

CW should never have been a 13-hour netlet, it would've been much healthier (especially this season) under UPN's 10-hour format.

Sigh, I've been so busy lately... I'm so behind in the news, and ratings, etc.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

That Does Not Rock

Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame night of Idol. I'm so excited to watch the Davids, Syesha, and Carly, er, and Michael, um... and Brooke...

Enough of that.

David C - "Hungry Like the Wolf" - Mediocre. Not bad, but when compared to the times he's brilliant (which seems to be more than 50/50), it was just okay (or a'ight, if you'll accept the parlance). Much like the other times he takes songs and sings the original flavor.

Syesha - "Proud Mary" - Yeah, it's been covered almost as much as "Yesterday". Which she sang pretty well. But Syesha has, personality-on-the-stage-wise, come out in recent weeks. And this should be an opportunity to shine. Loved when she busted out some dance moves, even if in the faster parts of the song she got a bit shouty and strained. You go, girl.

Jason - who cares - terrible. Even worse, Ryan saying hello to Carly right before his video package. Honestly, at this point, I don't think Jason is even trying to stay in the competition. I kind of loved in his video package how he laughed when he was like "d'uh, Bob Marley". And it sounded like he was high. Nice...

David A - "Stand By Me" - Remember when Josiah Leming mutilated this song almost as badly as Jason just mutilated "I Shot The Sheriff"? I have a hunch that the beautiful girls, as well as infinitely more unattractive ones, will be standing by Archie... I'm surprised Paula hasn't offered to squeeze his head off and put it on her rear view mirror. Simon stops just short of calling it a master class... he hasn't used that one much this season.

David C - "Baba O'Riley" - Obscure choice, no? Wouldn't matter if you knew it... that was completely different.

Syesha - "A Change Is Gonna Come" - Despite comparing her experience of being in the Top 4 to the Civil Rights Movement... this is a great choice for Syesha, because after the fun of "Proud Mary" she needed a song to say "remember, I'm a kick-ass vocalist, too". Unfortunately, I think nothing's going to change. I think you're bottom two bound this week (what with the Davids in the mix), but you'd best not be leaving! I love how Idol always gets the perfect closeup of crying contestants. Weep!

Jason - does it really matter - even worse. How the hell do you forget the words to "Mr. Tambourine Man"? Ugh, and the cameras have Carly standing and clapping (probably thinking "how the f*** is this dips*** still in this competition?") How can anyone in that audience boo Simon telling Jason to pack his suitcase? How!?

David A - "Love Me Tender" - Okay, I have to ask. Why did Archie *pick* "Love Me Tender" if, in his video package, he admits that he doesn't know it too well? I mean... ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME. COUNTLESS SONGS. SURELY (don't call me Shirley) YOU MUST KNOW TWO OF THEM WELL! Ugh. That's what pisses me off most about this season's contestants. They don't seem to know crap about music (it's been bugging since multiple contestants talked about not being familiar with the Beatles' songbook... ARGH). Archie brought the falsetto out to play tonight. Did anyone else flash to a Temple of Doom place when she said she felt David's heart tonight? KALI MA!

Friday, May 2, 2008

Yeah

Iron Man is amazing. Stay for the end of the credits. You'll love it (especially if you're a Marvel fanboy). I wasn't so big on the inevitable final, climactic showdown... but it was better than a lot of other movies' obvious, big budget final climactic showdowns. The rest of the movie? Spot fucking on. Seriously.

Heck, I'm even glad I went to see it instead of watching the hours and hours of TV I now have waiting for the weekend (or, perhaps, during a lull at work... will there ever be one???)

That includes new Lost.

Yeah. That good.