What Was the Big Deal?

I'd heard about The First Time, Tuesday's 'controversial' Glee episode for days. It was on the news; I heard it discussed on talk radio. OMG! Two high school couples were going to have sex for the first time. It was a ratings ploy, one station said. Another hypothesized that it was a gimmick to raise Glee's low ratings.

I don't think so.

First of all, I saw the episode. It was the chastest episode about sex I'd ever seen. In fact, all we ever saw was a little kissing. Yes, several of the kisses were exchanged between two boys but honestly, is that even that big of a deal anymore.

There were no scenes where soft music played while our two couples of soon-to-be-lovers gazed longingly into each others eyes as they slowly removed their clothes. There were no shots of partially nude kids holding each other in the soft dim light. There was none of that.

In fact, what you had were two committed couples who made the decision to have sex. They talked about it and decided to do it after being together and exclusive for a while. If I had a kid, I'd want my kid to show that level of maturity about sex.

The truth is that teenagers do it. Many do it without nearly as much thoughtfulness or concern. It amazes me that in the era of Teen Mom, they'd be concerned about Glee.

Eddie's Out

He might be at the Oscars this year as a
guest but he won't be there as the host!

Director Brett Ratner stuck his foot in his mouth at the Tower Heist screening, which made good friend Eddie Murphy decide to walk away from his Oscar hosting gig. Too bad, I was looking forward to it.

Here's the story...

The offending comment occurred during a Q&A session after a screening of Tower Heist in LA. According to The Wrap, it went like this.

Moderator: So you get this entire group of actors together -- what was rehearsal like?

Ratner: Rehearsal? What’s that? Rehearsal’s for fags. Rehearsal. Not much. A lot of prep, preparation, complex action sequences, visual effects. Storyboards, animatics. The process was I made the actors stick to the script. And they wanted to, because the script was great.

Several audience members left after that and later Ratner issued an apology. He said, “I apologize for any offense my remarks caused. It was a dumb way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words.”

Nevertheless, the damage was done and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was not too happy about Ratner's 'choice of words.' Ratner resigned as Oscar's producer yesterday. People were speculating that his good friend Murphy might follow suit.

Today he did. In his statement, he said, "I completely understand and support each party's decision with regard to a change of producers for this year's Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I'm sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job."

In that article, the author cited that 'early in his career', Murphy had gotten in hot water a while back with comments he'd made about AIDS and calling gays derogatory names. I don't remember that ... but I do remember him getting in trouble with a tranny back in the day.

This just in... Producer Brian Grazer (24, A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster) is in as the new producer.

I Got Nuthin' But Love for Ya

Rest In Peace to the former
Overweight Lover.

Okay, my posting has been a bit sparse as of late because I've been working long hours and I don't even make it on to the computer most days. I figure this will last about two more weeks before the brunt of it is over. So please bear with me.

So I dragged myself up the stairs to do a quick post and I find out that Heavy D is dead at 44 ... just a year older than me. Heav and I go way back ... not personally but his music colors many of my college and post-college memories. He's one of those artists who acts as a musical time machine, I hear We Got Our Own Thang and I'm immediately transported back in time!

What I think I respected most about Heavy D (Dwight Myers) is that he did more than just rap. He did the theme songs for In Living Color and MadTV. He even branched out into acting with recurring roles on Boston Public and the Tracy Morgan Show. He even guest starred on Law & Order: SVU, Bones and Living Single.

Of course, he also lost an impressive 135 pounds which is a huge accomplishment (I am finding it hard to lose even 10).

So it's with a heavy heart that I have to write about the passing of Heavy D. He will be missed!

Movie Review: Tower Heist

With Tower Heist, I saw glimpses of an old friend, the old Eddie Murphy. You know the Eddie Murphy who made a career out of playing the street-smart, wise-ass. The Eddie Murphy whom adults found funny in a host of movies from  Delirious and Raw to Trading Places, 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop and even to Boomerang. This was the pre-fatherhood Eddie before he devoted himself to family friendly fare like Shrek, Daddy Daycare, The Nutty Professor and The Haunted Mansion. Old Eddie … we missed you!

I say we saw glimpses of the old Eddie in Tower Heist because Tower Heist is an ensemble piece and not an exclusive Eddie Murphy vehicle. In Tower Heist, Ben Stiller plays Josh Kovacs, the manager of the swankiest address in New York City. He knows every tenant and he and his staff are there to meet their every need … even before they know they need it . Among the staff are: brother-in-law, concierge and soon-to-be first time dad Charlie (Casey Affleck), doorman extraordinaire and hopeful retiree Lester (Stephen Henderson), Jamaican maid in search of a green card husband, Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe), and new elevator operator Enrique (Michael Pena). Their richest resident is Arthur Cross (Alan Alda) an investment banker who has recently been given control of the staff’s pensions (with a promise that he can triple their returns).

Problems arise when the Feds (led by Tea Leoni) arrest Arthur for defrauding his investors. Josh learns that his entire staff has lost their pensions. Josh loses it too, taking a golf club to Shaw’s beloved car (once owned by Steve McQueen). That reckless, though understandable act, leads Josh, Charlie and new guy Enrique to get fired. It’s then that together with evicted former Wall St. Whiz Kid, Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick), that they decide to get their money back. Of course, they need a real robber. Enter, Slide (Murphy), a career criminal that lives in Josh’s neighborhood and who actually went to day care with Slide back in the day.

With the Occupy Wall Streeters in the news daily and the bitter taste of bank bail outs and Bernie Madoff still on our collective tongues, Tower Heist is as cathartic as it is funny. A bunch of regular Joes taking down the Wall Street honcho. Yet, Tower Heist isn’t preachy or political. It’s a funny film.

We get some sparks from Murphy but Broderick, Pena and Sidibe are bringing the funny too. Stiller here is more of a straight man who generously allows those around him to help themselves to the punch lines.

There were a few laugh-out loud, moments and lots of chuckles. In fact, many people in my audience cheered at the end.

Murphy’s children range in age from 22 to 9 (plus the one he had with former Spice Girl Mel B is five). I hope he’s ready to at least add some more adult fare to his film choices, even if he doesn’t leave the family films behind for good. He has been missed.  Now, I wonder if he’ll be any good as the hosts of the Oscars come February.

Once Upon a Time, Episode 2

Being bad has never looked
so good!

At the end of the pilot episode for Once Upon a Time, I said I'd withhold my verdict until episode two. I was hoping the next episode would live up to the promise the pilot made. Well, after the second episode, I can say, "I'm in."

The pilot was a bit bogged down with exposition but this episode hit the ground running and left me with several good questions. What happened to make the Evil Queen so evil? Who is the sheriff's fairy tale counterpart? Does Emma have a copy of those pages she burned?

The reason those are good questions is because those are the kinds of questions you ask when a show draws you in.

I'm glad to see Jennifer Morrison (Emma) play a part so different from her character on House (likewise for Giancarlo Esposito, whose Man in the Mirror/Newspaper Editor is a far cry from the steely sociopath he played on Breaking Bad). She comes across as capable and tough enough to go  up against the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla). Speaking of Her Royal Bad-Assedness, Parrilla is delicious in her role. I loved when she attempted to hand Emma one of her 'apples'.

This is the only show I've seen so far this season that actually lives up to the hype. I now know where I'll be Sunday nights at 8:00!

Force Feeding? I’ll Pass

I watched it. I moved on. NBC
could play it eight nights in a
row and I still wouldn't watch.

NBC must really believe in Prime Suspect. The problem is that we, the viewing audience, don’t seem to. They cancel The Playboy Club after three episodes and then what do they do? In an attempt to make us believe in Prime Suspect, they put it on four times in one week. This week it’s on Monday through Thursday all week at 10:00.

It’s one thing to get behind a show but it’s another thing all together to try to make people see ‘the error of their ways.’ I watched Prime Suspect twice and for me, that was enough. I didn’t think Maria Bello was ‘a revelation’. She was good but not great. I found her a bit too gruff and I didn’t connect with her character. I also found it implausible that she’d face so much misogyny in 2011. I know the police department is an old boys' club but we are almost 25 years away from the Cagney & Lacey era.

So go ahead NBC. You could try to shovel Prime Suspect down my throat but it won’t work. I ain’t watchin’.

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was a cute, quirky black princess who had grown weary of kissing frogs.

Opps, sorry, Once Upon a Time wasn’t my fairy tale, but another sort of fairy tale all together (though neither theirs nor mine seems to have a happy ending!). After a summer of hype, I settled in Sunday night for a dose of fairytale magic. What I got was lots of exposition (after all it was the pilot) and lots of promise.

It all started when Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) married Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). Before they could even get in a good “Kiss the bride,” the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) swooped in with her own wedding gift … a curse. It wasn’t just any curse but the curse to end all curses. It was a curse that would end all happy endings and transport our fairy tale favorites to ‘someplace horrible.’ 

Of course, she doesn’t do it just then, she waits. Meanwhile, Snow and the Prince are expecting their first child. Consumed with anxiety, they visit Rumplestilskin to get some insight on the Queen’s plan. Things don’t look good, but there is one hope. The baby Snow is carrying will save them all once she hits her 28^th birthday.

When the curse comes, baby Emma is the only one who is spared. So what was the curse? Where is this ‘horrible’ place with no happy endings? Our world, of course and they have no memory of who they really are … except for the Queen … who’s now the mayor (did anyone think she wouldn’t be in politics?). Snow is a teacher and little Emma has grown up to be a bail bonds person who meets her 10-year old son for the first time on her 28^th birthday.

He’s runaway to find her and bring her back to Storybrooke Maine. He’s read a fairytale book given to him by his teacher and is convinced the stories are true and she is the only one who can help.

Being a serious fairy tale fan (Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales is one of my favorite books), it was fun to see some of my favorite characters reimagined in our world. Grandma and Red Riding Hood become a hotel owner with a goth granddaughter in a red shawl in our world. 

I think the show has a lot of promise. Ironically, the fairytales we knew and loved as kids were watered down sunny versions of the actual fairy tales that were often much more intense and gory. Cinderella’s stepsisters each cut off part of their foot to try to fit into the coveted glass slipper. One the way to the wedding, a bird came down and gouged one of their eyes out. On the way back from the wedding, the bird came back for the other eye!

I hope that Once Upon a Time can straddle a happy medium between the intensity of the original stories but still maintain a few moments of whimsy, and dare I saw humor, sprinkled in.

Monday, Monday

Ryan Murphy has an early Christmas present for us, Gleeks. How'd you like Chord Overstreet wrapped up and under your tree (maybe in his Rocky Horror costume!). Overstreet will return to Glee in a multi-episode arc starting in December. Murphy said, “So here’s an early Christmas present for all the Gleeks — Sam is coming back to McKinley, and just in time for sectionals!” The real question is what does this mean for our girl Mercedes. She was dating Sam at the end of last season but she's moved on. Will she move back?

Here's something to talk about. Aisha Tyler is no longer a guest host on The Talk. She's now a full-time host … joining Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen, Sheryl Underwood and Sara Gilbert. Tyler is the voice of Lana on FX's Archer and has had recurring roles on Friends and The Ghost Whisperer.

Not a Lot of News

If this photo doesn't
pique your interest
I don't know what will!

Last week was hard. Work was relentless and at home I was working on getting a new book up on Kindle (It's just $1.99! Click here). I didn't have a lot of time to write and as I try to catch up, I'm not finding a lot I want to really post about.

Against my better judgment, I saw Real Steel yesterday. I let a friend pick the movie and that's what she wanted to see. I was pleasantly surprised. It was good ... kind of like a combination of Rocky and live-action Rock'em Sock'em robots with a Transformers look.

I missed one of my new favorite shows this week, American Horror Story. I will blog on this in  greater detail later in the week. I'm really enjoying this show. It's creepy and twisty and it's got a great cast: Dylan McDermott (all kinds of yummy), Connie Britton (fresh off of Friday Night Lights and still amazing), and Jessica Lange (chewing up every scene she's in). It's not too late to get involved. You can get recaps of the show on the FX site). Wednesday, 10:00 PM, FX.

I'm hurrying off the computer now because I want to check out Once Upon a Time tonight (8:00 ABC). I'll let you know what I think.

Lots of News

"Goodbye Angels," we can almost hear Charlie saying it. Charlie's Angels has been a victim of the cancellation guillotine. It looks as if the show will remain on for the time being, maybe long enough to burn off the four remaining episodes. So, it's bad news for our trio-of-ass-kicking Angels, and it may soon be bad news for our quartet of sexy Sixties stewardesses (they called them that in the 60's). Pan Am ratings continued their free fall this past week. This Sunday was a ratings low for the show that follows a fledgling Desperate Housewives. It won't be long now.

Trouble in Paradise? It looks as if the blissfully quiet waters of Klaine are heading for a potential storm on Glee. According to TVLine, it's coming in the form of Sebastian, a scheming Santana-like gay Warbler, played by theater actor Grant Gustin. Apparently, he has his sights set on Blaine. Uh-oh. In other Glee news, when the show returns on November 1st, the seven-episode arc for Damian McGinty begins. The Irish lad will play an exchange student who ends up living with Brittany and family. She thinks he's a leprechaun. As my favorite from The Glee Project, I do find him magically delicious!

In other bad news, after two seasons, TNT has canceled Memphis Beat, the quirky police drama starring Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard. I enjoyed that show! A few months ago, they cancelled Men of a Certain Age ...  a show I watched once and fell asleep halfway through. Go figure.

November fifth, Saturday Night Live will be hosted by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses star Charlie Day. While I like Day, the musical guest is Maroon 5 and I love me some Maroon 5! Maybe you don't ... but remember, it's my blog! Muh-ha-ha!!! (that's the evil Daffy Duck laugh).

Damn Baseball!

Baseball? If I want to watch
a bunch of chewing and
spitting, I'll babysit a
newborn! Really!!!

Okay, I'm going to say something that would make my dearly departed grandfather (and die-hard Indians fan) roll over twice in his grave: I hate baseball. It's boring, it has the least number of hot guys (next to golf), and I swear, every time I turn past a baseball game, they're always showing some guy in the dugout chewing and spitting (tobacco, gum, sunflower seeds). So it was with a mixture of anger and disgust (watching grown men spitting, really???), that I tuned in to The X-Factor only to find baseball!

Baseball!!!! Ugh!!

Apparently, there was a rain delay that caused the game to start over two hours later. So here's what you want to know. Last night's episode of The X-Factor will air tonight. Tonight's episode will air Sunday unless it is bumped by a Game 7 in whatever inane baseball series is still going on.

Next week, there is only one evening of X-Factor and that will be Tuesday. You know what is airing Wednesday and Thursday (Grrrrrrr!)

Baseball. Ugh!





Pick Ups and Put Downs



Whitney's been picked up for the entire
season. Who'd of thunk it? I didn't.

 Whitney (NBC), Up All Night (NBC), The New Girl (Fox), 2 Broke Girls (CBS) and Ringer (CW) have all been picked up for a full season. I might have to watch an episode or two of Whitney and Up All Night. I have watched The New Girl and it's okay, although I can see why it got picked up. As one broke girl, I haven't watched 2 Broke Girls (I'm kinda living that) Ringer, with Sarah Michelle Gellar, might merit a look or two. It's about a twin who takes over her estranged sister's wonderful life only to find it's a lot more complicated than she anticipated.

Joining The Playboy Club on the Cancellation Trash Heap is Hank Azaria's Free Agents. H8R, the CW series where 'fans' could confront the reality star they loathe the most has also been axed. My bets on the next shows to be strewn atop the cancellation trash heap would be Pan Am (ABC) and possibly Charlie's Angels (ABC).

Pan Am Taking a Nose Dive

Call Air Traffic Control! This show is losing altitude! After last night's third episode, the ratings are not looking good. Pan Am dropped 27% from last week down to a piddly 1.6 ratings share. You'd think having Desperate Housewives as a lead-in would help except that DH managed a 2.7 rating (8.46 million viewers) which is an all-time low for the series.

Seeing as The Playboy Club was cancelled after a dismal 1.2 ratings share, I'd say our faithful crew of plucky flight attendents better release the oxygen masks and prepare to use their seat cushions as floatation devices because this baby is about to crash!

Sparkle Gets More Shine

Here's some of the original artwork.
This time it will be Jordin Sparks and
not Irene Cara belting out a tune.

The production of the remake of Sparkle is gaining momentum. Jordin Sparks will play the title role while Whitney Houston will play her mother. Now we learn that Cee-lo Green has been added to the cast and R. Kelly will oversee the music.

Two unknown (well at least unknown to me) actresses will play Sparkle’s sisters and the other two member of their trio. Those actresses are Carmen Ejogo and Tika Sumpter. Rounding out the cast are Derek Luke, Mike Epps and Omari Hardwick.

Straight Outta Where??

Why we need a biopic about gangsta rap group N.W.A, I’ll never know … but one is in the works, Straight Outta Compton. Original N.W.A. member turned actor Ice Cube is co-producing. It looked as if Boyz in the Hood director John Singleton would be at the helm but then again, maybe not. According to several sources, producers are looking at three other directors: Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan, the upcoming Footloose), F. Gary Gray (Set It Off, The Italian Job, Friday) and Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Hancock, The Kingdom). I'll keep you posted because I'm sure you're sitting on the edge of your seat ...

Movie Review: The Ides of March

George Clooney and his writing/producing partner Grant Heslov are back with The Ides of March, an adaptation of the play Farragut North. For those who aren't familiar, Farragut North is a stop on the Red Line for the DC Metro. It lets you off near K Street where all of the political consulting firms are.

Clooney and Heslov renamed it The Ides of March, which is part of the line from Shakespeare's Julius Cesar. The emperor is told to "Beware the Ides of March" because that is when he will be assassinated by those closes to him.

Clooney grew up in Covington, Kentucky (a suburb of Cincinnati on the other side of the Ohio River), and The Ides of March is set right in Clooney's backyard in the week before the big Ohio primary. Although he is featured as Governor Mike Morris, who is vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, the film's star is Ryan Gosling. As Morris's press secretary, Steven Myers, he's a 30-year old veteran, who's viewed as a bit of a wunderkind by his colleagues. He's jaded but still manages to be idealistic believing that Morris is the candidate, the only candidate, who can really make a difference. Sharing in his cynicism but not his optimism is his boss, Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) the head of media for Morris's rival, and Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei) a political reporter.

Myers makes two mistakes. First, he takes a meeting, behind Zara's back, with Duffy who wants to recruit him for his team. He also starts an affair with a young intern (Evan Rachel Wood) that has some nasty repercussions. There is also a sizable subplot about both teams courting the delegates of one Ohio senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright) because both sides know whoever takes Ohio, takes the nomination.

The actors in Ides are first-rate and they deliver first-rate performances. Watching Clooney, Gosling, Hoffman, and even in lesser roles, Giamatti, Wright, Tomei and Wood, was enjoyable. That alone was worth the price of admission.

At first, I had trouble believing that Myers could be so naive as to pin on his hopes on one guy. In fact, I found it hard to believe that he would have hopes at all. However, by the end of the film, I'd come to believe that it was this particular chain of events that killed whatever hope that Morris had initially ignited in him.

Ides of March is a political and cerebral thriller. The machinations and betrayals come more through words than actions so if you go into it expecting an action thriller, you will be disappointed. There is a lot of talking and posturing. It works for this film and I enjoyed it.

Also, I have a friend, K, who is a rabid conservative Republican. If you share K's views, do not, I repeat, do not see this movie. There are several speeches that reveal Morris's left-leaning Democrat tendencies (yes on gay marriage, free college after two years of public service, ...) if that is going to tick you off, don't go. The older couple seated in front of me left after one key speech and I think that's why ... but it was George Clooney so what did they really expect?

Anyway, politics aside, I enjoyed the Ides of March and if you like strong performances with a little politics thrown in on the side, I think you will too.

Asian F Gets an A in My Book!

Yes, the episode is called Asian F, so
technically, I guess Mike Chang's pic
should be here but Mercedes has a
man and that's what I'm going with.
My blog, my rules, damnit!

So I get back from my vacay, and get hit with some weird bug that kept me completely fatigued for practically a week. I went days without even going upstairs and turning on the PC. I'm feeling better now but man was that weird! I did get to watch most of my shows though (thank goodness the TV is downstairs). You know, I wouldn't have missed Glee (even if I had to prop my eyes open a la Clockwork Orange).

A lot of Gleeks gave up on Season 2. They said the writing was uneven. They didn't like some of the song choices. Many felt it had become the Kurt (and sometimes Rachel) show. It seems as if Ryan Murphy was listening and the first few few episodes of this season have been great, with this past Tuesday's episode Asian F being the best of all.

The focus was on Mike Chang who's father came to McKinely out of concern when Mike received an A minus (an Asian F) in Chemistry. His father felt his focus on the Glee club and dance were at the crux of his problem. Plus, we finally got to hear him sing (and he's pretty good). Meanwhile Mercedes and Rachel continued to battle for the lead, Maria, in Westside Story. We got to see a little more of Mercedes boyfriend, who was actually encouraging and supportive (though his insistence that she couldn't be friends with Rachel was a bit much). Finally, Rachel considered throwing her hat into the presidential ring along with Kurt and Brittany.

In the adult Glee wold, Schue thought that Emma was too embarrassed of him to introduce him to her parents. When we met her parents, we found that nothing could have been further from the truth. We also got to see the origins of some of Emma's issues (and with parents like that, who could blame her). With songs from Westside Story, Dreamgirls, Coldplay and Beyonce, Glee is back!

Oh Boy, Playboy!

Do you want to see Brian Williams
in a towel? I don't.

The first casualty of the Fall TV season … The Playboy Club. Last night's third episode was its last. I for one was beginning to get into the story lines and saw some potential in the show. I guess I was one of the only ones. Last night's episode only averaged 3 million viewers. The show will be replaced by Prime Suspect until October 31st when yet another news magazine show premieres, Rock Center with Brian Williams.

While I like Williams as an anchor, I'd rather watch Cibrian, who looks good in a suit, but even better in a towel. I doubt we'll get that kind of eye candy from Williams (not that I'd really want that kind of eye candy from a news anchor)!

Yes, I'm Back ...



I'd love to say that I thought about my
blogs while I was away, but I didn't!
It was a vacation, it wasn't work!

 And you didn't even know I was gone. I meant to do a quick blog announcing I was going out on vacation, but I came down with a bad case of vacationitis and didn't get around to it. I had a nice, relaxing time on Edisto Island - reading, journaling, taking photos, walking on the beach and just enjoying not having to do anything. Since there was no night life on the island, each night I got to cozy up with my favorite shows. So I'll do a quick recap of the second week of the new TV season.

The Sing-Off: Still loving this show and waiting for Sara Barellis to find her rhythm. I think she is getting over her nerves now and tomorrow night should be better. I still think this show has the best talent of all of the current shows.

The Playboy Club: I'm enjoying this show. I really am. It has enough of an ongoing plot to keep my interest as well as episodic plots that are wrapped up in the hour.

Castle: I'm a fan and these first two shows have this shaping up to be the best season yet. Penny Johnson Jerald brings a new energy to the Captain's role (call me 'Sir' not 'Maam'). Plus, there is the whole Beckett heard Castle's declaration of love but he doesn't know it undercurrent. The search for a superhero in the second episode was pure Castle.

Glee: I've enjoyed the first two episodes but I'm not sure I am really enjoying the focus on Broadway songs. The return of Shelby Corcoran is a good thing but two glee clubs at the same school? The verdict is out on that one. Quinn going after full custody of Beth seems a little short-sighted, I hope that doesn't develop into a full fledged storyline.

The New Girl: The second episode featured a new boy. I still need the boys to be three boys and not just three variants of the same guy (I still get that feel from them). Yet, the second episode was funny and sweet.

Raising Hope: Episode two was more sweet than funny, and I always expect more funny from this show.

The X-Factor: Like the first week, the audition episodes still feel very American Idol, entertaining but not original. I'm looking forward to this week so I can start to see what this show really has to offer.

Law & Order SVU: Danny Pino joined the cast. I loved this episode featuring Mehcad Brooks. I like it when the focus is on the case with more of a human element and less of a 'creep-me-out' factor.

Charlie's Angels: Loving the sexy Bosley, he's like a male angel. This week the dialogue was a touch better. I hate to say this but when Isaiah Mustafa is fully-clothed (i.e. not the Old Spice Guy), he loses a bit of his sexy.

Grey's Anatomy: Okay, Meredith is definitely getting on my nerves. I don't think we have seen much emotional growth from her character ... and it's been eight years. I'm hanging in there but so far, I need to see something new.

Prime Suspect: I want to like this show. After the first episode, I wasn't sure that I could. After the second, I feel like I might be able to like it. I need Bello to show us some different sides of Jane Timoney. The great Helen Mirren originated this show in Britain and Bello has a lot to live up to. I get it, she's a tough-as-nails-takes-no-BS female cop in an all-male environment, I need to see more (and a little less of the pork pie hat).

Fringe: I need Peter back and I'm interested in seeing how that happens. I'm also intrigued by how both universes are working together. John Noble is still the man.

Harry's Law: I was wondering how long Harry could make the quirky law firm inside of a shoe store work. In season two, the storefront and lawyer for the neighborhood storylines are gone. Harry is in charge of a large firm with major cases including a man (Alfred Molino) accused of beating his wife to death and not sure whether or  not he did it. Kathy Bates hopefully has a better cast to play off of.

My Take: The X Factor and Law & Order: SVU

The X Factor

It’s here. Billed as the most highly anticipated show of the season, The X-Factor premiered last night. The show, another brainchild of Simon Cowell, as been wildly successful in England and he left the wildly successful American Idol to bring it here.

Of course, it promises to be different from Idol: auditions in front of a live audience, no age limits and groups are encouraged to perform alongside solo artist. As the show progresses, the judges will be responsible for grooming the next ‘star,’ so while singing talent is a factor, it isn’t the only one: charmisma, stage presence, personality, all come into play with deciding who has The X-Factor.

As the show goes on it will differentiate itself from Idol but from what I saw of the first round of auditions, it was Idol in front of a live audience. There were the contestants with a tear-jerking backstory – like the 42-year old single mom. There were precocious child stars – including Rachel Crow, the first contestant, who could have walked off the stage and into her own Disney sitcom. There were awful auditions, including Geo Godly, who exposed himself and, in my opinion should have been cut off (no pun intended) a lot earlier than he was. Of course there were the angry, deluded non-singers who was incensed at the suggestion that they couldn’t sing (“Whaddaya mean I can’t sing???").

Although much has been made of the Paula/Simon chemistry, the most intriguing dynamic to me was the one between Simon and successful music producer L.A Reid. Unlike the laid back Randy Jackson, here is a guy who is just as egotistical and confident as Simon. Both men have strong opinions and don’t always agree. Watching this play out over the season should be interesting.

There are more auditions tonight but I will reserve final judgment until later when I see what really makes The X-Factor stand out.


Law & Order: SVU

And so we start Season 13, without Chirstopher Meloni’s Detective Elliot Stabler. While the case, in this case a ripped from the headlines version of Dominique Strauss Kahn and the hotel maid, is always the main case. A secondary plot line involved Elliot being investigated for the shooting of a teenage girl. Apparently, Internal Affairs went beyond that case and began investigating all of Elliot’s shootings. At the end of the show, we learned that he decided to turn in his badge.

However, executive producer and creator Dick Wolf knows better than anyone that the show must go on and so it did. Kellie Giddish, formerly of NBC’s The Chase made her debut as Detective Amanda Rollins, a transplant from down South (I can’t remember if it was Texas or Georgia) who is a fan of Olivia’s (she’s been following her work, we were told).

Also moving over from the original Law & Order is Linus Roache as Michael Cutter, who has been promoted to bureau chief, a position where he oversees the Special Victims Unit. For years, I thought he was the best thing about the original L&O, so I’m excited to see his character back in a slightly different role. I was sad to learn that he’s only doing four episodes. Stephanie March as ADA Alexandra Cabot is slated to appear in five episodes this season.

Christopher Meloni left some pretty big shoes to fill. This week we were introduced to Giddish’s Det. Rollins, with the next episode we’ll meet the second new detective, Nick Amaro, played by Danny Pino of Cold Case fame.

MY Take: Glee, The New Girl and Raising Hope

Glee

Looking forward to New Directions
new directions!

The third season of Glee has begun! In the first few minutes: Chord Overstreet's absence was addressed (his dad got a job in another city); we met Mercedes new man (he's bigger than I thought); we found out that Lauren had quit New Directions and Puck (fine with me she didn't add anything to the group and she couldn't sing) and that Quinn had entered a rebellious phase (complete with 'edgy' pink hair).

Sue is serious about running for Congress and has found a message that resonates with voters, "stop all funding for the arts in public schools." Of course, this has fired up Will, whose relationship with Emma is progressing (but not quite as far as Will would like). Kurt got Blaine to come on over to McKinley (and New Directions). Speaking of Kurt, he and Rachel have been bitten by the New York bug, after their trip to Nationals and they are bound and determined to make it big in New York. However, last night they got a rude awakening (courtesy of Lindsay from The Glee Project) and realized that being a big fish at McKinley doesn't translate to being a big fish anywhere else. While I like Kurt and Rachel as best buds, I kind of miss Kurt and Mercedes's friendship.

The songs ran the gambit from Broadway (You Can't Stop the Beat fron Hairspray, a mash-up of I Can Do Anything/Anything Goes and Ding Dong the Witch is Dead) to 80's pop (The Go-Gos We Got the Beat) and Tom Jones' It's Not Unusual.

This first episode made it clear that this is a pivotal year for New Directions (as many of them are seniors). It's also a pivotal year for Glee after so many fans and critics thought the show took a nose dive in Season 2, it's trying to find its way as well in Season 3.

The New Girl

If the black guy doesn't look familiar,
there's a good reason. Damon Wayans
Jr., did last night's pilot episode. This
guy, Lamorne Morris, starts in the next
episode. Want  more Damon Wayans Jr.
Check out Happy Endings on ABC.

Honestly, if you have seen the relentless onslaught of promos for this show all summer long, you've pretty much seen the first episode. Zooey Deschanel plays Jess, a kooky, quirky girl next door type who moves in with three guys after she breaks up with her boyfriend. I liked Zooey Deschanel and the quirkiness of Jess, but the verdict is out on the three roommates (Daman Wayans Jr only appeared in the pilot, in the next episode he'll be replaced). It needs to be more than Jess and three generic guys. The guys need to differentiate themselves. I'll be tuning in to see if that happens. As much as I enjoyed Deschanel's performance, she's going to need some help to carry this show.

Raising Hope
Yay!! What I thought was the funniest show of last season, is back. In this first episode, we learn that Jimmy Chance used to be a musical prodigy (maybe?). Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and the gang are in top form. I'm looking forward to this season.

If you are new to Raising Hope, take less than 2 minutes to listen to this opening song from last night's episode to get caught up.

2 and a Half Men - Oops, I Missed It!

Okay, so I was apparently the only one who didn't watch it. While I was singing along with The Sing-Off, apparently every other American was watching Ashton Kutcher’s debut on the season premiere of Two and a Half Men. Huge ratings were expected, ever since we watched Charlie Sheen crash and burn last winter. When Kutcher was announced as his replacement, everyone was curious and last night that curiosity was satisfied.

27.7 million viewers tuned in last night to see Sheen’s funeral and Kutcher’s debut as the sullen suicidal billionaire who becomes Alan’s new housemate. Part two of the episode airs next week, and only time will tell if Men can retain their record-setting audience.

My Take: The Sing-Off and The Playboy Club

The Sing Off was the perfect way to kick off the new Fall season. This show just makes me feel good.

It's about the music. All of the a capella groups are very good and its clear that they love to sing! There are no deluded or embarrassing performances. There are no rude or abrasive judges. Its just a fun show. I'm glad its back.

With The Playboy Club, I was expecting a lot of style but I wasn't sure if there would be any substance. I was pleasantly surprised. I have seen Eddie Cibrian as part of an ensemble but as Nick Dalton, the handsome ambitious lawyer with mob ties, he came across as leading man material.

Within minutes of the open, we were knee-deep in a murder cover-up. Nick likes what he sees in a sexy new cigarette bunny, Maureen (Amber Heard). However, so does his old boss, a mob kingpin who does a little dance with Maureen but is more interested in doing the horizontal mambo with her. He's trying to rape her when Nick walks into the back room. The three tussle until Amber's stiletto stabs him in the neck. Of course, this will be the central mystery of the season.

Throw in a bunch of bunny back stories (jealousy, husbands, homosexuality, ...) many set at the Playboy mansion and you have a show worth checking out again. 

The Second Best Thing About September!

Finally, it’s here! The new Fall TV season is here! And my birthday falls smack dab in the middle. What could be better? New TV and my birthday! Here’s what I plan to watch this week.

Monday
8:00 – 10:00, The Sing-Off (NBC) – I’ve loved this show for the past two seasons and am excited about Season 3. More groups (16 instead of 10) and a new judge (Sara Bareillis).

10:00, The Playboy Club (NBC) – This show has something for everyone. Eddie Cibrian for the ladies and a bunch of curvy chicks in skimpy bunny costumes for the guys. Also helping to set the mood throughout the season will be some contemporary singers channeling their 1960’s counterparts (click here for that story).

Tuesday
8:00, Glee (FOX) – Season 3 begins with Finchel back and Sue running for office. Plus we have the winners of The Glee Project and their seven episode arcs … plus, Mercedes gets a man! I’m so there!

9:00, The New Girl (FOX) – I’ve liked the promos and am curious about the show. I hope it can do a good job of filling the slot between Glee and Raising Hope, otherwise its dog walking and shower time.

9:30, Raising Hope (FOX) – Definitely one of the bright spots of last season. I’ve been looking forward to Season 2 since Season 1 ended, here’s hoping that lightning strikes again with Hope, Maw-Maw and the gang.

Wednesday
8:00, The X-Factor (FOX) – Simon Cowell is back and promising that this won’t be American Idol Part 2. Along with L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherziner (so that’s why she’s not judging on The Sing-off!), this show looks promising. It’s a huge hit already across the pond.

10:00, Law & Order SVU (NBC) – Who would have thought that SVU would be the last in the L&O franchise still standing? Not me. Anyway, they go into the 13th season without Christopher Meloni’s Detective Stabler. Let’s hope 13 isn’t bad luck for the series.

DVR Alert – Harry’s Law (9:00, NBC) – I know its easy to overdose on David E. Kelly’s quirkiness and incessant moralizing but I like this show. Kudos to Kathy Bates.

*** This is my birthday so there is a chance that this whole night could be DVRed! ***


Thursday
8:00, Charlie’s Angels (ABC) – Yes, I will be watching this latest incarnation of Charlie’s Angels. The question is, will I be watching it more than once.

9:00 – 10:00, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – I’ve been here for seven years, so I guess I’m in it for the long haul. I guess that is a good sign considering on how I’ve bailed on Desperate Housewives and Private Practice.

DVR Alert - Second Episode of The X-Factor, I figure I’ll get the gist of it on the first night.

Friday
8:00, Kitchen Nightmares (FOX) – FOX clearly loves some Gordon Ramsey (Hell’s Kitchen, Master Chef and KN) and so do I.

9:00, Fringe, (FOX) – I was on the fence at first, but now I’m fully committed to Fringe and it’s sparring alternate universes. Why John Noble hasn’t been nominated for an Emmy by now is beyond questionable. It’s criminal!


Saturday
Absolutely nothing to review. I’ll probably catch up on my DVRed shows.

Sunday
10:00, Pan Am (ABC) – Another period piece but I’ll check out the pilot.

The Playboy Club: Retro Music with a Modern Spin

The Playboy Club isn't just about vintage bunny outfits. The show (premiering Monday night at 10:00 p.m. on NBC) is using contemporary artist to portray the 60's musical acts who perform at the club.

Most recently, winner of The Voice, Javier Colon, has been tapped to play Ray Charles. He'll be singing, Let the Good Times Roll. Colby Caillat will do her Lesley Gore impression in It's My Party and one of my faves, Raphael Saadiq will perform  Twisting the Night Away as Sam Cooke.

Eddie Cibrian and good music? I'm so there!

Mercedes Gets a Man

OMG! Two black people together!
Everyone knows black men don't date
black women! How racist!

Amber Riley's Mercedes is the only original cast member of Glee who has never really been developed. They bring her out when they need the big black girl to belt out a song. She's Kurt's accessory. There hasn't been any thought of introducing us to her parents and newer cast members have had more plot development than she has (Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chan, Ashley Fink as Lauren and Darren Criss as Blaine immediately come to mind).

In the season finale, we thought Mercedes would finally get her man when she was seen slyly holding hands with Sam (Chord Overstreet). However, over the summer, Overstreet left the show, leaving our girl single again ... but apparently not for long.

Mercedes gets a guy in Season Three. Lamarcus Tinker (Friday Night Lights and Cougartown) will play the football player who wins her heart. Amber told TVLine that we'll see a softer side of Mercedes. She said, "She’s very lovey-dovey. It’s kind of like, ‘Oh my God? Is this Mercedes?!’ She dresses different. She’s girlier now."

Amazingly, many of the comments I've seen regarding Mercedes and her man are actually upset that, OMG, they actually paired her with a black man. How terribly 1980's! Everyone knows that all black people date non-blacks. I mean, really, two-black people together???? It's positively racist.

So since this is my blog, allow me to say, get over yourselves. Personally, I am tired of every black man on TV being paired with a white girl or some non-black girl. There are black men out here that date black women. The overwhelming number of blacks who are getting married are still intraracial couples. Believe it or not, some black men actually choose to date black women. It still happens ... even in 2011.

If you want to see interracial couples so much watch Parenthood, Private Practice, Happy Endings, 90210, ... and I could go on and on and on. So let Mercedes have her man and realize that black-on-black love is a common occurrence. Again, get over yourselves.

The $130 Million Dollar Man

Tyler Perry tops Forbes’ list of the highest paid men in Hollywood. In other words, Madea might be ghetto but she helped Tyler make some beyond bougie bank! He’s also extended his deal with Lionsgate (who has released all of his films). He’s currently in Cleveland filming, I, Alex Cross, in a role that originally went to Idris Elba.

The list was compiled of all Hollywood heavy hitters and not just actors. Here’s the Forbes Top 10 Highest Paid Hollywood Men:

1. Tyler Perry ($130 million)
2. Jerry Bruckheimer ( $113 million) – producer of Pirates of the Caribbean and all the CSI shows.
3. Steven Spielberg ($107 million) – super producer/director. His latest films War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin come out at Christmas.
4. Elton John ($100 million) – his latest tour grossed $204 million in a year.
5. Simon Cowell ($90 million) – His new show, The X-Factor debuts on FOX on September 21.
6. James Patterson ($84 million) – I thought it was a typo but he churned out 20 best sellers in 2010. Apparently, he uses a lot of co-writers. Tyler Perry is playing the lead in I, Alex Cross, one of Patterson’s books.
7. Dr Phil McGraw ($80 million) – And you thought Oprah was the only one raking in some serious bucks!
8. Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million) – Shutter Island and Inception placed him as the only actor to make the list. Both movies combined earned over one billion dollars!
9. Howard Stern ($76 million) – He just signed a new deal with Sirius … and made some serious money in the process!
10. Tiger Woods ($75 million) – Despite his personal problems, he’s still the highest paid athlete.

Whitney Houston Sparkles?

Remember the movie Sparkle? Okay, maybe you don’t (there I go showing my age again!). It came out in 1976 and starred Irene Cara who later achieved fame by starring in ... Fame. Anyway, it was Dreamgirls, before Dreamgirls as it was also loosely based on The Supremes except this trio was made up of sisters.

It looks like a remake is underway. Written by Mara Brock Akil, creator of The Game and Girlfriends and directed by her husband Salim Akil (who directs The Game). American Idol Season 6 winner Jordin Sparks is set to star as lead singer - Sparkle. Houston would play her mother. Comedic actor Mike Epps is on board playing Satin, a comedian who marries one of the sisters.

In an unrelated story, it was only a matter of time before Bobby and Whitney’s daughter started singing. Here she is doing a cover of Adele’s Someone like You. What do you think?

Zero is NOT My Hero!

Zero? I don't think so.
She's still got some hips.

So according to Joy Behar, she saw Jennifer Hudson out shopping and overheard her and the saleswoman say that Jennifer Hudson is now a size zero.

The Weight Watchers spokeswoman has lost well over the 80 pounds she discussed on Oprah, but when I look at the League of Zeros (Courtney Cox, Mary Kate Olsen…), J Hud is still a little too hippy and booby to be a zero. I’m not quite believing it.

On a larger note, why should zero be the goal? ZERO means nothing and who wants to be a nothing? I am all for her losing weight for health and beauty reasons. Every woman, heck everybody, deserves to feel good and look their best but a zero? Is that really looking your best?

I absolutely hate the way Hollyweird insists on making full grown women look like prepubescent boys. Real women have curves. Most men like a woman with some curves. I’m not talking bumps and bulges but curves. You know, some cleavage, a shapely curve of the hips, a little meat on the thigh or in the booty.

When she hit the 80 pound mark and even as she lost a little more, she looked fabulous and healthy. Now? Not so much. Her face is starting to look gaunt and that is not a good look.If she’s happy, I’m happy for her but if I had a daughter we’d sit down and have a long talk about real women and reality.

Too much of a good thing can be too much of a good thing especially when it means whittling away to nothing.

Movie Review: Contagion

It’s been a long standing pet peeve of mine that people no longer cover their mouths when they cough, sneeze or yawn. Hopefully, those people will see this movie and rethink that behavior.

In Contagion, director Steven Soderbergh takes the same approach he took with Traffic a decade earlier. Traffic focused on the spawling ‘war on drugs’ and it looked at it from a variety of separate and occasionally overlapping stories and characters. In Contagion, he applies that approach to a rapidly evolving, deadly virus.

Possible Patient A, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) finishes up a business trip in China. She has a lusty layover with her lover in Chicago before heading home to her unsuspecting husband (Matt Damon) and son in Minnesota. Soon, there are patients all over the globe coming down with and dying from this virus: Japan, London, Chicago.

In a matter of days, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is called in. Led by Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurance Fishburne), his new lead investigator (Kate Winslet) and lead researcher (Jennifer Elhe), they hope to contain the virus initially and then find a vaccine after it begins spirally out of control. Over at the WHO (World Health Organization), Marion Cotillard’s Dr. Leonora Orantes, goes to the heart of the outbreak in China. Meanwhile Jude Law is a blogger who wants more than truth, he wants to profit from a potential cure. If that weren’t enough, this outbreak is a concern of Homeland Security (led by Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston).

The tentacles of this outbreak - its origins, its spread, its cure - are all over the place and Soderbergh is the director to keep all of these infectious balls in the air. He creepily shows how something as innocuous as a door knob or a glass can be a carrier of disease and death. A ‘harmless’ cough by a stranger on a train can have deadly consequences.

As he soberly numbers the days since the outbreak of, we see how quickly a virus can spread moving from the contagion of the disease to a contagion of fear among survivors. It is a provocative and thought-provoking look at something that could potentially happen. How does it spread? How quickly can we come up with a cure? How will people respond? What if you had enough of a vaccine to give to some but not to others? Soderbergh addresses all of these questions and more.

However, he does this from a distance. Contagion is not character-driven … unless you consider the virus to be the main character. Everyone else is there to support the virus. Don’t expect to cry because (outside of Damon who has his moment towards the end) you won’t be that invested in the characters. You feel bad for a moment, but then we are off to the next scene, quite possibly on another side of the world.

At the end of the movie, the audience did not applaud. We all just sat there for a few seconds, and I think that is the intended effect. — stunned silence.

My takeaways from Contagion: cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and for goodness sakes, if you have a sweaty fever and hacking cough, do the really noble thing, don’t drag yourself into work, keep your sick ass at home!