Shed a tear for Brooklyn
I went into tonight’s Real World: Brooklyn finale pretty bummed out. This season really surprised me. It was shorter than most, just 13 episodes, but I still feel like we got to know each of the housemates.
The final hour gave us the typical last-minute drama in the form of a prank gone horribly wrong, followed by the obligatory drawn-out goodbye. Ryan is, of course, headed to Iraq; J.D., Chet, Katelynn and Sarah are all going back home; and Scott, Baya and Devyn are moving into an apartment in the city.
I got through about 10 minutes of the reunion special before I decided I wouldn’t be able to stomach the rest. I love this show, but my love only reaches so far.
While I enjoyed the season — mostly because of the ensemble — there were three very noticeable problems:
- The drama wasn’t as consistent as it would have been if the housemates were required to work, or at least volunteer, together.
- The producers didn’t send them on vacation.
- And most importantly, no one in the house hooked up!
I’m assuming the lack of vacationing and hooking up will be remedied during the next season of The Real World, which is currently being filmed in Cancun. Until that guaranteed hot mess hits the airwaves, you can cope with your withdrawel by visiting Chet’s blog.
It’s funny… sometimes.
90210’s Silver lining
I hate myself for watching the new 90210, and I hate myself even more for actually liking one of the characters.
Erin Silver is crazy. I figured the writers would give Kelly Taylor’s little sister a rough ride through high school, but Silver is literally out of her head-piece.
In last night’s episode alone, Silver had sex with her boyfriend in multiple classrooms, secretly video taped it without telling him, rented out a small theater at which she screened said sex tape, put a garbage can fire on her boyfriend’s lawn, broke into her teacher’s apartment and threw a wine bottle at his face.
The biggest surprise of all was that the actress who plays Silver, Jessica Stroup, actually managed to pull it all off. The pleasure I get from90210 remains far from guilt-free, but I think I might be starting to love this crap.
(Also, I love the Us Weekly cover I used for this post. What amusement park professional did they get to “estimate” her weight?)
Best death ever (if that’s really what it was)
After months of teasing, the extremely patient fans of Desperate Housewives were finally rewarded tonight.
The recycling of imagery from previous seasons for Edie Britt’s death was nothing short of brilliant. (Bookmark this post. It’s the only time I will ever [EVER] refer to this show as brilliant). Bree’s second strangling fake-out… Orson (almost) experiencing his second hit-and-run, this time from the other side… So good.
In case anyone out there is keeping score, Dave has lost two wives in car accidents now. I wonder if he scared his first wife out of the house, too?
And for the first time in the history of the series, I was genuinly impressed by Nicollette Sheridan’s acting. Too bad it may have been her final bow. Unless they decide to let her pick up the narration every now and then.
(You know they will).
When did Ghost Whisperer become cool?
…OK, maybe “cool” isn’t the right word, but there’s definitely something eerie about the quiet success of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Friday night drama.
Before I begin my rant, I feel I should admit that I’ve never actually watched an episode of Ghost Whisperer. As a 21-year-old in college, my Friday nights are spent, well… not watching TV. I do record The Soup for the next morning, though.
And while I may not have tuned into last Friday’s new episode of Ghost Whisperer, according to the Nielsen Overnight Ratings, 11.11 million people did! It was the most-watched show on network TV for the night. Sure it’s the saddest night in prime time, but it’s still impressive.
Am I missing something? Is it possible that I’ve been mistakenly goofing on Ghost Whisperer all these years when I really should have been loving it? If I ever find time to breathe this semester, I might check it out and give it my real verdict.
(Sidenote: I really do need to give this a shot aftering finding out that Christine Baranski plays J. Love’s mother-in-law in the first season).
Housewives FAIL
The disconnected poorly-planned wide variety of story lines on Desperate Housewives are always soapy and ridiculous, but rarely do they have any connection to real world current events — until now.
Yes, the effects of our current economic apocalypse have begun to hit Wisteria Lane: Just look at Tom and Lynette who had to sell their pizzeria after seven years in business, and Susan who was actually forced to leave her house and get a “real job.”
But here’s my question:
Beginning this season, didn’t the show jump ahead five years? The goings-on in Fairview are technically taking place in 2014, so why are they just beginning to suffer financial woes? Was this merely the result of some absent-minded writers, or is it a grim prediction of the recession’s longevity? And more importantly, how did they survive the end of the Mayan calendar?!
Housewives… FAIL
Preview: CB gets Ugly
I’m still on vacation, but I thought I’d temporarily come out of hiding to remind you all to watch this Thursday’s Ugly Betty. Not only is it the last new episode airing before the show’s dreaded hiatus, but it also features the long-awaited appearance of Miz Christine Baranski.
As previously reported, CB will be playing Victoria Hartley, the mother of Betty’s new billionaire boyfriend, Matt. Of course this is blatant typecasting, but when you’ve got as much class as CB you just need to keep milking it.
TV.com has a clip from the episode of Betty and Victoria’s first interaction. Click here to check it out.
This season’s American Idol scandal count: 1.5
Not counting Joanna Pacitti’s quiet exit from the show (and who is?), American Idol officially has its first real scandal of season 8!
Vote for the Worst posted photos of Top 12 contestant Adam Jonas Lambert engaging in some very un-Idol-like behavior, specifically dressing in drag and kissing “some dude.”
It’s probably too soon to say how this will affect him in the competition, but at this point I think anyone who was willing to look past his ridiculous hair is willing to look past just about anything.
In case you’ve never seen Adam in action, here’s his performance from last week, “Satisfaction.” She loves her high notes.
Thank you, slow-mo Sally
I just finished watching tonight’s two-hour Brothers & Sisters “movie” and I think I’m in love with this show again. It’s more over-the-top and melodramatic than it’s ever been, and yet still I want more. (Just look at Holly on the left. How can you deny the power of those crazy eyes?)
And even though the commercial lied and no one TECHNICALLY died (oh, oops, spoiler alert — sorry) it was still great watching the episode for all of the little things we learned:
- Julia totally snuck some food in before everyone was seated for dinner. (You can blame it on faulty editing, but I’ve always said she was selfish).
- I’ve decided that doing impressions of Holly’s voice is instant fun. She talks like royalty — the love-child of Sean Connery and a flamingo.
- Classy shows reference The Drudge Report. Trashy shows reference Perez Hilton.
- Sally Field looks fantastic in slow motion. But I think we already knew that.
Sometimes this show is predictable — weren’t we all expecting Ryan? — but that’s what I love about it. It’s a smart show, but it also lets us pat ourselves on the back every once in a while for putting the pieces together on our own. Next week looks even better: Tommy gets arrested for his shady dealings and Sally gets physical with his face — of course during a family dinner.
Angela vs. CB! Where’s Tony when you need him?
As Christine Baranski’s appearance on Ugly Betty draws ever closer, we’re beginning to get little nuggets about her character.
We already know she is going to play the mother of Matt — the guy Betty met at YETI last week — but now Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello suggests that CB may also be entangled in the life of another character: Claire Mead.
Betty is casting the recurring role of Richard Hartley, a fiftysomething Ted Turner-type and the father of Betty’s new love. … Sure, this probably means he’s married to Matt’s mom, Christine Baranski, but, hey, that’s a minor obstacle for someone like Ms. Meade.
I know I complained that Judith Light wasn’t being given enough material as of late, but this is NOT what I had in mind! I’m already choosing sides.
Team CB!
Run, Sally! Run!
Sally Field had better start stocking up on Boniva, because it looks like something big is about to go down on Brothers & Sisters.
The show returns with a full night of new episodes — they’re actually calling it a “movie event” — in two weeks, and the trailer literally the single most dramatic thing I have ever seen in my life.
A joyous birth? A shocking death? A family shaken to its roots?
Please… Just give me two solid hours of Sally Field doing slow-motion cardio and I’ll fall asleep with a smile on my face.
Feed for Big Spoon