Collegiate on TV

Idol Season 8 Top 8 Perform

2009-04-08T19:44:00.005-04:00

“Songs from the Year You Were Born” was the premise on last night’s episode of American Idol. It’s a popular theme that has been on nearly every season of the singing competition, and it’s become well known for producing some of Idol’s best performances. While most of the contestants gave decent performances, it was clear that only one would contribute to the fame of this memorable Idol theme.

Season 8’s Top 8: Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Anoop Desai, Scott MacIntyre, Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud, and Adam Lambert.

Recap
· 01 Danny Gokey- "Stand By Me"
Though a version of this classic tune was released in 1980, this song choice felt like a violation of the theme. Despite that, Danny’s performance was solid, and the vocals were improved over past weeks. The great thing is that he didn’t dance. The bad thing is the judges are still over praising him.
· 02 Kris Allen- "All She Wants To Do Is Dance” (1985)
After Kris’ sultry, soulful rendition of “Ain’t No Sunshine” last week, this performance was disappointing. Kris is still talented, but Simon called the performance “indulgent, boring, and forgettable.” He added that Kris “came over as a guitarist who wanted to sing, rather than a singer.”
· 03 Lil Rounds- "What’s Love Go To Do With It"(1984)
As the fastest fading star, it now seems a distant memory when Lil first rocked the stage with R&B flavor. Now her vocal prowess is falling victim to poor song choice, week after week. Simon said it was a “ghastly, copy-cat performance.” Adding that, “We’ve lost you. You’re not making the impact you should be.”
· 04 Anoop Desai- "True Colors"
Anoop’s take on the Cyndi Lauper tune was smart, as its slower tempo allowed him to do more vocally with the piece. Randy said it was “a very nice vocal, and very controlled.” Kara commented, “You interpreted it with soul without being someone that you’re not.” Simon thought it was good, but he called Anoop—whose performance has been up and down the past few weeks—a “singing yo-yo.” Fun fact: Anoop’s birthday, Dec. 20, 1986, is the same as Idol winner David Cook’s.
· 05 Scott MacIntyre- "The Search Is Over" (1985)
Scott stepped back from the piano and strapped on an electric guitar. Odd? Yes. Effective? No. Scott’s a nice guy, but his vocal abilities just aren’t on par with the rest of the group. In fact, the judges spent more time discussing his instrument choice than his singing.
· 06 Allison Iraheta– "I Can’t Make You Love Me" (1992)
While the song fit Allison’s voice very well, and she continues to offer solid performances, the song choice was just way too predictable (and overused). Despite this, Paula’s critique was spot on when she discussed the gift that Allison possesses: “We hear one note, and it’s undeniably Allison.” Paula went on to commend Allison for using the same song arrangement, but still managing to make the song her own.
· 07 Matt Giraud- "Part Time Lover" (1985)
Rebounding from last week’s unfortunate attempt at The Fray, Matt’s performance of the Stevie Wonder song was upbeat, bluesy, and enjoyable. Though he still hasn’t convinced me that he’s as good as Adam, Kris, or even Anoop, hopefully, he’s heading back in the right direction. Kara called the performance “incredible, on every level.” Simon said it was “a million times better than last week. Well done.”
· 08 Adam Lambert- "Mad World” (1982)
In the pivotal last position of the night, Adam easily gave the best performance of the show (and perhaps of the entire season thus far). It was understated and masterful. It was tender yet powerful. Unfortunately for those with TiVo or DVR, it was also cut off early since the show was running over its allotted time. Simon was the only judge permitted to comment. His response: “I think words are unnecessary, but I want to give you a standing ovation.”

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Adam Lambert’s stage presence and vocal chops made everyone else look like amateurs. Despite his performance being cut off on TiVos and DVRS, it’s safe to say that the theatrical pop rocker is safe. Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, and Matt Giraud should also be just fine.
· Anoop Desai technically gave the second-best vocal performance of the evening. However, his “yo-yo” antics might hurt him and land him in dangerous territory. Kris Allen wasn’t at the top of his game, but will viewers forgive and forget? Or will poor song selection lead him to the dreaded silver stools?
· Lil Rounds is fading, and Scott MacIntyre was easily the weakest contestant of the night. However, we’ve all learned that that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re heading home. Scott will be in the bottom three, and I predict he will be joined by Anoop, Kris, or Lil.

Tune in at 9pm tonight for the results on FOX.

Idol Season 8 Top 9 Perform

2009-04-01T00:06:00.008-04:00

Yesterday's theme of iTunes top downloads seemed to have so much potential. Finally, America’s most beloved singing competition—where being “relevant” is such a high priority—is handing the American Idol contestants an open opportunity to tackle some actual contemporary hits. Despite the “easy button” offered by the Idol producers to the final nine, very few of the contestants pulled off the week’s current theme. Last week we said sayonara to Michael Sarver, and this week, unfortunately, many of our favorite Idols are in danger of heading home.

Season 8’s Top 9: Anoop Desai, Megan Joy, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Scott MacIntyre, Matt Giraud, Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, and Kris Allen (pictured).

Recap
· 01 Anoop Desai- "Caught Up"
Picking an Usher song is risky because no one can really compare to the smooth R&B singer. However, the performance did show Anoop’s personality, and it also showcased his lovely vocals. Despite this, Simon thought it was an “utter mess.” Randy said Anoop “definitely picked up his swagger,” and had “good, cool vocals.” Paula said he needs to take more liberties with the song, and Kara said he “played it safe.”
· 02 Megan Joy- "Turn The Lights Down Low”
The good thing about the Bob Marley song choice is that it forced Megan to slow things down, including her so called “quirky” dance moves. Unfortunately, Megan’s unusual voice went from charming and endearing to strange and irritating throughout the duration of the song. Simon said the “song was boring, indulgent, monotonous.” Randy said the performance was “like watching paint dry.”
· 03 Danny Gokey- "What Hurts The Most"
This Rascal Flats tune was a perfect song choice for Danny. It allowed his voice to return to its more soulful, rock roots, which kept the audience from having to endure his cheesy, up-tempo shouting and dancing. The only problem I have with Danny is that he’s not as good as he thinks he is, and he’s not as good as the Idol judges and producers want the audience to think. Though the judges were correct in saying that this was Danny’s best performance, Danny has failed to show any originality thus far.
· 04 Allison Iraheta- "Don’t Speak"
Selecting a song by a contemporary female rocker was smart, and Allison’s performance of the No Doubt hit was both genuine and enjoyable. However, the judges’ decision to spend more time criticizing her outfit was troubling. This is a singing competition, and poor clothing choices shouldn’t be at the forefront. However, Allison’s get-up did affect her otherwise decent performance in a huge, gaping, negative way: as Simon said, it made everything feel “slightly precocious.” Allison should listen to Kara’s advice: “Rock and roll comes out of you, so you don’t need to dress the part.”
· 05 Scott MacIntyre- "Just The Way You Are"
Scott has been a one-trick pony this entire competition, sitting behind his piano with his coiffed hair and subpar vocals. Tonight, he proved how song selection can turn that all around. Though he wasn’t amazing, Scott’s clever decision to take on a Billy Joel song helped the piano man give his best performance to date on the Idol stage. This song enabled his vocals to be likable and engaging, rather than one-dimensional and predictable.
· 06 Matt Giraud– "You Found Me"
Matt’s song choice sort of made sense. It did fit his raspy voice, and it could have given him all kinds of room to turn it into a bluesier, R&B anthem. Butt he failed to do this. As Paul said, it was a sound-alike performance. The judges agreed it was the wrong song choice, and said Matt should’ve opted for a tune by OneRepublic instead. Kara concluded, “You’re a talented guy. You don’t deserve to go home.” (My message to the judges: don’t use the Idol save on Matt! Save it for Adam, Anoop, Kris, or Allison!)
· 07 Lil Rounds- "I Surrender"
Given the week’s theme, I don’t understand why Lil chose a dated, non-R&B tune by Celine Dion. Though Randy and Kara were right to praise Lil’s immense vocal ability, Simon’s comments were spot on. He said it was a safe, old-fashioned song, and it felt like “a wedding performance.” He added, “It’s like all the personality has been sucked out of you.”
· 08 Adam Lambert- "Play That Funky Music”
As always, Adam was surprising, risky, a bit scary—and most of all—incredibly bold and talented. His take on the Wild Cherry hit was uninhibited and memorable. Though it’s definitely one of his less enjoyable performances, he still managed to outsing his competition. Simon said Adam’s performance was “very brave” and “original.” He liked how Adam “got rid of all this karaoke nonsense.” And Kara said what audiences everywhere were thinking: “Every week, I cannot wait to see what you are gonna do next.”
· 09 Kris Allen- "Ain’t No Sunshine"
With the best song selection of the evening, Kris’ performance was overflowing with raw talent, grit, and sex appeal. The song choice played well with his “heartthrob” role on the show, and more importantly, it allowed his voice to be fuller. Finally, Kris made me believe in him as a true contender. It was also nice to see him on the piano instead of a guitar. As Randy pointed out, Kris has been “slaying” the competition (minus Adam—my words, not Randy’s). Kara chose to be concise, saying, “That is artistry.” Simon praised Kris’ confidence and the song arrangement, saying the performance was clever and cool.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Kris Allen and Adam Lambert were the only contestants to successfully tackle the evening’s theme, proving they are the real frontrunners in this competition. If you give into the Idol brainwashing, then Danny Gokey and Scott MacIntyre were also considered good.
· Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud, and Lil Rounds weren’t the best of the evening, but they weren’t the worst either. They managed to bring strong vocals to the stage, despite some poor song or outfit choices.
· Megan Joy was really the weakest contestant, but does that mean America will (finally) send her home? I do think she’ll make the bottom three, but something tells me Allison, Anoop, or Matt may also join her on the infamous silver stools.

Tune in at 8 pm tonight for the results on FOX.

Idol Season 8 Top 10 hit Motown

2009-03-26T16:34:00.006-04:00

Last night’s theme on American Idol was Motown week. Legendary Motown icons Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy attended the week’s festivities, and they helped the Idol contestants pull out some very polarizing performances—some strong and captivating, others not so much. After losing frontrunner Alexis Grace last week, the Idols definitely felt the pressure, and only some seemed able to keep up.

Season 8’s Top 10: Matt Giraud (pictured), Kris Allen, Scott MacIntyre, Megan Joy, Anoop Desai, Michael Sarver, Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, and Allison Iraheta.

Recap
· 01 Matt Giraud- "Let’s Get It On"
This Marvin Gaye classic was a smart choice for the dueling-Piano player because it allowed Matt to showcase his soulful side without boring us to tears. Unlike his previous performances, Matt was engaging and fun onstage. Kara said he came out of his shell, and Simon commended his “brilliant choice of song.”
· 02 Kris Allen- "How Sweet It Is"
Another smart song selection came from resident sweetheart Kris Allen. He made the song sound fresh and contemporary, and he was just so natural, playful, and fun to watch onstage. Randy noted him as a “very consistent” contestant, Kara loved his artistry, and Simon advised that Kris begin to believe in himself more.
· 03 Scott MacIntyre- "You Can’t Hurry Love"
Scott was smart to pick a more up-tempo tune this week, but the delivery was cheesy and subpar. He’s not knocking any songs out of the park. Randy said it was a “very hotel kind of performance,” while Kara stated Scott has “good ideas, but the execution wasn’t perfect.” Simon concluded, “Week after week, you are choosing the wrong songs.”
· 04 Megan Joy- "For Once In My Life"
Perhaps the worst of the evening, Megan shouted and rushed through this Stevie Wonder gem. The judges agreed the performance was hectic and all over the place. Paul said it was the wrong song, and Simon told Megan, “You could be in serious trouble.”
· 05 Anoop Desai- "Ooh, Baby, Baby"
Though not as moving as his Grand Ole Opry performance, Anoop continued to deliver excellent control, range, and phrasing during this performance. Paula once again said Anoop was sweet and tender. Simon said it was “a great vocal. You’ve have two good weeks in a row.” Randy suggested Anoop “turn up the energy” next week.
· 06 Michael Sarver- "Ain’t Too Proud To Beg"
Michael’s performance was fun, likable, and much better than last week. Despite this, he’s showing again and again that he’s as vocally strong or stylistically relevant as his competitors. Paula said it was a “Las Vegas, lounge-y” performance. Simon cited Michael’s shouting, saying, “In the real world, it just isn’t good enough.”
· 07 Lil Rounds- "Heatwave"
Personally, I believe this song should be banned. There is no way to make this Motown hit sound contemporary, or non-cheesy, in today’s world. Despite this, Lil’s performance was solid, though she tended to shout more than sing as she rushed through the verses and chorus. The song selection was poor, as it didn’t let Lil show her R&B flavor. As Simon said, the song didn’t give her “a moment.”
· 08 Adam Lambert- "The Tracks of My Tears”
Opting for subdued and understated, rather than his trademark theatrical swagger, Adam offered a sweet, tender interpretation of the song. In the end, he earned a standing ovation from Kara and the crowd. Kara said the performance was one of the best of the night. Simon disagreed, saying, it was “the best performance of the night.” Randy commended Adam’s range, stating that he “can do anything.”
· 09 Danny Gokey- "Get Ready"
The song choice was fair, much better than the atrocious “PYT,” and it allowed him to be powerful without being cheesy. However, if this frontrunner wants to maintain his status, he needs to resist the urge to dance or risk forever scaring away the audience. Though the other judges raved, Simon saw the performance for what it really was: “clumsy and amateurish.”
· 10 Allison Iraheta- "(Papa Was A) Rolling Stone”
As perhaps the only female contestant who’s still got it together, Allison delivered another solid performance. It wasn’t as strong as her Heart performance, but as Randy said, it was “blazing hot.” Kara said the girl was amazing, and Simon called her “a survivor,” adding that this performance was one of Allison’s best.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Matt Giraud, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, and Allison Iraheta provided the best vocals and performances of the night.
· Following closely behind, Anoop Desai, Lil Rounds, and Danny Gokey also offered up some decent performances.
· Scott MacIntyre, Michael Sarver, and Megan Joy were by far the weakest contestants of the evening and should be in danger of elimination.

Tune in at 8pm tonight night for the results on FOX.

Idol Top 11 Performances Recap

2009-03-25T18:59:00.005-04:00

Two weeks ago, the round of Michael Jackson songs sent two American Idol contestants packing—Jorge Nunez and Jasmine Murray. Then last week, the 11 remaining Idol hopefuls attempted to tackle songs by the inductees of the Grand Ole Opry, which is the heart and institution behind legendary country music. Let’s do a quick recap of the performances before moving onto tonight’s newest episode.

Season 8’s Top 11: Michael Sarver, Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Adam Lambert, Scott MacIntyre, Alexis Grace (pictured) , Danny Gokey, Anoop Desai, Megan Joy, and Matt Giraud.

Recap
· 01 Michael Sarver- "Until The Sun Comes Up"
Though Michael is becoming more comfortable and believable on stage, and though both country and a Garth Brooks song should have fit him like a glove, Michael was just so-so. He ran out of breath and poorly showcased his vocal abilities.
· 02 Allison Iraheta- "Blame It On Your Heart"
The Patty Loveless tune was a great choice for Allison, as it allowed her to show off her pipes and her maturity on stage. Though it didn’t stand out as much as her previous Heart performance, it was still rock solid.
· 03 Kris Allen- "To Make You Feel My Love"
Kris was smart to go without his guitar for once, and he’s even smarter for targeting his role and honing his skill as the balladeer of the group. And quite possibly, I think he is becoming more likable and convincing as a performer.
· 04 Lil Rounds- "Independence Day"
Lil looked a lot better this week, and she showed off her amazing vocal talent during the chorus. The problem was the song’s predictability, and her inability to master its verses.
· 05 Adam Lambert- "Ring of Fire"
The Middle Eastern, sitar-tinged rendition of the Johnny Cash classic may have scared some viewers and annoyed others, but vocally, Adam was spot on. The performance showed his personality, his willingness to take risks, and most importantly, his impeccable singing range.
· 06 Scott MacIntyre– "Wild Angels"
The good news is the Idol crew attempted to tame Scott’s hair. The bad news is his style of song selection has remained the same: “inspirational,” or better said, cheesy. Scott has a decent voice, but his song choices are not allowing him to stretch his vocal ability. He’s okay, but he needs to get better.
· 07 Alexis Grace- "Jolene"
I don’t understand why people think they can touch this lovely Dolly Parton classic; it just can’t be done, at least, not with the proper conviction. Alexis sounded and looked pretty good, but there was no sense of power or believability to the performance. It was second only to Scott’s performance as the most forgettable of the night.
· 08 Danny Gokey- "Jesus Take The Wheel”
Sorry, but no one can touch a Carrie Underwood song, especially singers who think they’re better than they really are. I’m looking at you, Gokey! Though this was better than his Taylor Hicks-esque performance of “PYT” last week, there was more shouting than singing.
· 09 Anoop Desai- "You Were Always On My Mind"
Anoop Dawg is back! Anoop’s take on the Willie Nelson tune was tender, effortless, and beautiful. His masterful performance was definitely a surprise comeback, and unlike other performances this night, it showcased his ability to sing above all else.
· 10 Megan Joy- "I Go Walking After Midnight”
Megan is cute, quirky, and “joy”ful, but by sticking to that niche, she is getting a bit too predictable. Her performance was pleasant and fun, but she needs to step up her game. Plus, the dancing is no longer adorable. It’s just annoying and needs to cease to exist.
· 11 Matt Giraud- "So Small"
Men should not cover Carrie Underwood songs. No, all people should not cover Carrie Underwood songs (unless you are skilled—for example, David Cook). Despite the mistake in song choice, Matt was pretty decent. He has a nice, raspy quality to his voice, but I’m still not convinced that he’s Idol material.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· After a nationwide vote, America decided (and the judges chose not to save) a one-time fontrunner, Idol contestant Alexis Grace.

Due to Obama’s press conference, Idol was moved to Wednesday and Thursday night this week. Tune in tonight at 8-10pm on FOX, where the Top 10 contestants will be performing songs according to one of Idol’s favorite themes: Motown hits. Results will follow on Thursday night at 9pm.

Idol Season 8 Top 13 Perform

2009-03-10T21:55:00.012-04:00

After initial auditions that included a special trip to Puerto Rico, expanded Hollywood auditions, Billboard Hits-themed rounds, and the reinstated Wild Card selections, American Idol has finally begun the main stretch of the competition. And with the legendary Michael Jackson’s songbook at their fingertips, this season’s Top 13 had a lot to work with, and a LOT to prove. While the majority of contestants offered up solid, consistent performances, some lost their frontrunner status, and others catapulted themselves into an entirely different league.

After three groups of 12 singers performed and were cut down into a Top 9, four more contestants were chosen by the judges in the Wild Card round to make Season 8’s Top 13:

Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Jasmine Murray, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Anoop Desai, Jorge Nunez, Megan Joy Corkrey, Adam Lambert (pictured above), Matt Giraud, and Alexis Grace.

Recap
· 01 Lil Rounds- "The Way You Make Me Feel"
Paula got it right, proclaiming that Lil is “a force to be reckoned with.” And although Simon thought it was “a bit of a lazy song choice” and hated her outfit, Lil owned the stage with her undeniably big voice. It was a great way to start the show.
· 02 Scott MacIntyre- "Keep The Faith"
The visually impaired contestant is inspiring on stage when he sings and plays the piano. His has a lovely, controlled voice, but as Randy pointed out, Scott’s performance was “very safe.”
· 03 Danny Gokey- "PYT"
Hearing Danny growl, holler, and sing “Pretty Young Thing” was unexpected and surprisingly good. However, he shouted a bit at times and his dancing was hideous. He did show a fun, entertaining side, but he’s not as good as the judges and AI producers want everyone to think.
· 04 Michael Sarver- "You Are Not Alone"
Michael has a pleasant voice and is the kind of likable, regular guy you want to root for. But as Simon said, he’s not the best singer. Though the judges praise his passion and heart, Michael’s performance was just nice, and nothing more.
· 05 Jasmine Murray- "I’ll Be There"
17-year old Jasmine has a beautiful voice, but she hasn’t had her moment yet. This was a good song choice, but her performance felt disconnected and old-fashioned. As the Brit said, she “made a good attempt.”
· 06 Kris Allen– "Remember The Time"
Both Kara and Paula pointed out that “the girls love Kris” and he’s “adorable-sexy,” prompting me to ask, “Did I miss something here?” Sure Kris is cute, fun, and likable with a “very Jason Mraz-y” feel, as Randy said. But when considering looks—and more importantly vocals—he is no David Cook or David Archuleta from Season 7, and he certainly doesn’t compare to fellow Season 8 contestant Adam Lambert.
· 07 Allison Iraheta- "Give Into Me"
At 16 years old, Allison definitely has a voice and stage presence that is beyond her years. She has such style, soul, and maturity to her voice. She’s an authentic rocker, and as Randy said, she’s “the one to watch.” One of the best of the night.
· 08 Anoop Desai- "Beat It"
Also known as Anoop Dawg, this crowd pleaser didn’t fare so well. He is fun and works the stage, but poor song choice kept him from showing off his vocal ability, and he came off as sounding karaoke. Paula said, “This song is untouchable” and Simon deemed the performance as “horrible.”
· 09 Jorge Nunez- "Never Can Say Goodbye"
I’m not a Michael Jackson expert, but I was definitely surprised by how many contestants picked lesser known MJ songs. Jorge’s song selection was by far the worst of the evening. He has a big, beautiful voice, but tonight’s performance was just corny.
· 10 Megan Joy Corkrey- "Rockin’ Robin”
Though Megan had the most unusual song choice of the night, she effectively injected her personality and quirky style into her performance. She’s original and cute, but she is in desperate need of picking a serious song that requires her to do more than bop around on stage.
· 11 Adam Lambert- "Black And White”
Following his awesomely audacious rendition of “Satisfaction” from the previous round, Adam continued to prove that he is a real performer. He’s got his own swagger, an incredible vocal range, and true star potential. As Simon said, “That was totally in a different league than everything we’ve heard tonight. It was an original version, and the vocals were terrific.”
· 12 Matt Giraud- "Human Nature"
The dueling-piano player from Kalamazoo, MI, returned to his more soulful sound, and while he was consistent, I wasn’t moved by his performance. Judges Paula and Kara, however, praised his talent. Randy liked his performance, and Simon said it was difficult to follow Adam.
· 13 Alexis Grace- "Dirty Diana"
Alexis has a gorgeous, sexy voice and style that makes her a serious contender. She’s talented, authentic, and current. While Paula and Simon advised her to avoid over-singing, Randy said he liked her attitude on stage, and Kara said, “You’re naughty, and I liked it.”

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, Lil Rounds, and Alexis Grace were the strongest contestants of the evening, each offering up memorable and unique performances. As long as America remembers this is a competition about singing, they should all be safe.
· Following closely behind, Danny Gokey, Scott MacIntyre, Kris Allen, Michael Sarver, and Matt Giraud had decent performances tonight as well. They should all have strong enough fan bases to keep them in the competition.
· Anoop Dawg and Jorge Nunez were by far the weakest contestants of the evening, and both are in danger of elimination. Megan Joy Corkrey and Jasmine Murray, though cute and talented, were underwhelming compared to previous performances. They, too, could be at risk.

Tune in at 9pm Wednesday night for the results on FOX. Surprise twist! Simon said two contestants will be eliminated, so voting for your favorites is important. There’s more involving the judges, but that won’t be revealed until tomorrow’s show.

Note: Due to 1-866-IDOLS-13 being an inappropriate phone number (X-rated, in fact), Alexis Grace’s phone number is 1-866-43657-36. All other Idol numbers are as follows:
1-866-43657-## (01, 02, 03,…, 10, 11, 12).

P.S.- Critic’s Vote
While my heart aches for Anoop, and I assume he will be going home (he is definitely a favorite of mine), I have to send my votes to the strongest contestant both tonight and so far in the competition: Adam Lambert.

Your Turn!
So, who did you like and who do you think will go home? Comment below and let me know!

Heroes season three brings it back around

2008-12-16T14:00:00.004-05:00

Hit TV series, "Heroes" gets back on track with its season three conclusion yesterday night.

For most of season two, and season three, the show seemed lost in an endless cycle of killing off heroes, just as fast as they were introduced. There appeared to be no rhyme or reason to "Heroes," and many were thinking, what's the point? Was the sketchy plot of season two, and the chaotic hodge-podge of characters at the start of season three a poor attempt to keep a show past its prime rolling in the dough?

Finally came the answer. No. With the dramatic ending of volume three, we finally get what we have been waiting for; direction.

Nathan Petrelli, played by Adrian Pasdar, is planning to deport people who exhibit special abilities. The Petrelli brothers go head to head, Peter trying to stop Nathan before he exposes them all.

At long last, our lovable Ando gets powers, and just in time, now that Hero has lost his. Talk about role-reversal. And what happened to the catalyst?

"Heroes" is finally at a point where the characters are all tied together, in search of a common goal. Sound familiar?

It is. In season one, there was a single phrase that left us all cancelling our Monday night plans to tune in, "Save the cheerleader; save the world."

And now we once again, the heroes unite in a common goal. This time they will have to save themselves, and determine which side they are on. Will they be heroes, or villains?

For more reviews, including Collegiate Staff Writer, Ryan Leneau's Web Exclusive "Heroes" review, see www.thecollegiatelive.com.

Regenesis: The best show you've never heard of.

2008-11-26T01:20:00.000-05:00

A brief aside; to the best of my research I have not found this show syndicated in America. The first two seasons are available for free to watch on Hulu.com. The show wrapped up it's fourth season in May.

I am not a big fan of the typical cop or medical drama's because they seem too formulaic. You really are never brought into the life of a police officer, or a medical investigator. You don't learn much about the actual science behind the job. Regenesis breaks the mode. Finally a show that assumes you want to learn.

Regenesis is a Canadian show that I stumbled upon looking at Hulu.com (my primary source of television). The story centers around Norbac, a fictional international center to research bioterrorism, outbreaks of illness and environmental changes. The characters that staff the Toronto-based Norbac are the best sciences that North America has to offer, creating a wonderful cultural mix of people. The usual drama occurs between the staff, characters sleep together, date, and constantly bicker. This is of course, much like every day life.

The main character of the show is David Sandstrom, and though I have no formal evidence I have little doubt that the main character of House borrows much from this character. He is shamelessly brilliant, and utterly arrogant. Almost all his personal relationships are strained both because of his arrogance, and because he is an extremely distant person. When he isn't battling Alcoholism he is spending his time trying to find the next woman to woo. He is a hard character to love at times, but once you get a glimpse of his heart, you get hooked on the show.

The gem of this show, beyond the great cast (not one actor is easily recognizable, though a few have played bit parts in movies and other television shows), is the science. Instead of telling you how the cast solves, or doesn't solve the problem, they try to explain it. The science in this show is refreshingly heavy. I think for some it may be a turn off, but the idea I can watch a television show and learn at least scientific principles excites me. It is worth mentioning, that the show also tackles ethical problems in a long thought out way. The show follows an hour long format, but most 'events' on the show occurs through an arc of several episodes, allowing many things to be explained in detail. Yet much like other shows it helps to be aware of what happened throughout the season.

I can not stress enough how entertaining this show is. I really hope that American television takes a hint from this show and realizes that not everyone wants a cut and dry, learn nothing drama. For me the best part of this show is the fact that it is so in depth, and it shows me a little respect by assuming that I actually want something explained in a logical manner.

Lost Finale Fallout

2008-05-30T22:47:00.005-04:00

Now that we've all of There's No Place Like Home, the mini-movie to end season three (read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), here's some questions, thoughts and observations from the finale.

- How did Locke get to the mainland? And how did he die?
- Who is "everybody" that needs to go back to the island? Does this include Frank, Desmond, and Walt?
THEORY THAT WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE CONFIRMED: Michael wasn't allowed to die, after he killed two people and betrayed everyone. He even drove a wedge between Sun and Jin. He was brought back to the island, where he not only helped everyone to survive, he finally resisted Sun. Because of his heroic selflessness, the island (in the form of Christian Shephard) told Michael that his debt was paid and that he could finally die. And, he did.
- Just how magical is the island? After turning the frozen wheel, the island banished Ben to the Sahara desert.
- Did Widmore move the island before Ben did?
- How does the magic wheel room operate?
- What goes wrong on the island?
- Will Season Five's default time on the mainland be with getting back to America, or will the default time be three years in the future, with Jack & Ben trying to gather the gang up for one more adventure in the Mystery Machine?
- Why does Miles stay on the island?
- Was Charlotte born on the island?
- Are Charlotte's parents dead on the island? Because Miles can talk to dead people. So that would be the "easy" way for him to know that Charlotte was born on the island. ("If" she was...)
ADDENDUM: Are Charlotte's parents Adam & Eve?
- What happened to Farraday?
- Sun before said that she blamed two people for Jin's death. One of them is her father. Is the other Jack? Kate? Michael? Frank?
- Why was Locke going by the name "Jeremy Bentham," and why did he visit Walt?
- What all did Locke say during these visits?
- Where is Sayid taking Hurley?
- When Locke died, did the island reach out to Ben to reclaim his title as island leader? Does he have to act as an "interim" to get the gang back?
- If Desmond has to return to the island, he'll probably be the most angry. He is (presumably) living happily with Penny for years. To get him to go back to the island will tear him apart. And unless they can bring Penny with, he will not be easy to convince.
- Do the DHARMA transmitters still work in the island's new location? Will they still get food drops?
- Will Sawyer and Juliet hook up?
- How will Hurley fare outside of Santa Rosa?
- Was that one of Widmore's men watching Hurley?
- So it seems pretty clear now that Sun bought a share of Paik Industries to get closer to Charles Widmore. But what is her motivation? Is she working with Ben? Sayid? On her own?
- What are Penny and Desmond doing? Are they helping to hide the island? To find it again?
- Was the missing week just planning the cover story? Or did more happen on that boat?
- QUESTION THAT WON'T BE ANSWERED: Um, CLAIRE? Is she alive? Dead?
- We never really got to explore the Orchid, above or below ground. How big is it? And what all can it do?
- This episode seemed to indicate, more than others, that Ben's team of Others cause the whispering. BUT, whispers have also been associated with the smoke monster before. Was that association just a coincidence? Or do more Others know more about the monster than they let on?
- What is Frank doing?
- How come we have to wait until 2009 for more answers? (Knowing full well those answers will just replace these questions...)

What worked:
- Desmond and Penny. That reunion scene was short but emotionally satisfying.
- Acting. Every single brought his or her "A" game for this three-part "movie."
- Moving the island. That scene was weird, in a "magical" sort of a way. It was confusing, it was inspiring, it reset so many aspects of the show where now having two seasons left almost seems too short to deal with all of the ramifications.
- While I figured out that it was Locke in the casket as soon as Ben and Jack talked about Bentham saying the island was going bad - and especially "he didn't blame us for leaving" - it was still a very confusing twist. And almost a mirror image of Walkabout. Instead of seeing Locke in a dark place, then finding out he's going to be fine, we see Locke's rise and ascension to power and finally becoming the person he's wanted to be all along, to seeing him dead in a casket. Which raises some of the very basic questions of the show: Is island life what these people were meant for? Does the "real world" not represent who they are? Or is the island just escaping from reality?

What didn't work:
- The most surprising scene - moving the island - was maybe surprising because it was predictable. Or, because it happened yet this season. Talked about in one episode and done within five episodes after? That is lightning speed for this show.
- We knew that the Losties would get rescued. We knew the island would be moved. While we maybe didn't know about Locke being Bentham, we normally get one more twist that wasn't foreseen. I'm not quite so certain we had that this season. BUT, I'm also not sure that such a twist would have been necessary to carry out the stories that we now have laid out ahead of us. Look at all the questions I have above... there are many more raised from the finale tonight. They certainly have enough to work with for the remaining 34 hours the show has left.

Lost: There's No Place Like Home, Part 3

2008-05-30T21:26:00.003-04:00

This is part 3 of "There's No Place Like Home." (Or, the 10 p.m. hour of the finale. Or, if you prefer, the hour where all the crazy stuff happened.)

The Copter/Freighter:

The chopper has 4-5 minutes of fuel left. Hurley sees the boat, and they fly towards it. As the chopper approaches, Desmond runs out and warns for them not to land. Frank, flying on empty, doesn't see any other choice. Frank quickly uses duct tape to patch up the bullet hole (It's handy, sure, but... really?) Frank does his best to fuel the chopper again, he says. But, they don't exactly have any time to do so, because Michael has run out of frozen air. Kate has run in to get Jin, but, I don't know exactly what happened, but Jin takes forever to get out of the engine room. Michael has to tell Jin that he is a father and a husband, that he cannot be reckless. He has responsibilities. Jin then runs like he's going to blow up and tries to get to the chopper. Sun, Aaron, Desmond and all the others are in and taking off. After they are at least twenty feet into the air, Jin runs out. Sun screams. But it's too late for Frank to go back. Jin runs for the edge of the ship... And in the engine room, Michael is waiting to die (or perhaps wondering if he can die) when he suddenly sees Christian Shephard appear. "You can go now, Michael," he informs. "Who are you?" Michael asks, before the boat blows up. With Michael dead (being released from the island's powers), and Jin... maybe being dead. He wasn't in the center of the explosion. But as far as Sun knows, he is dead. And she screams and cries and this is a terrific piece of acting. But unsettling television.

Sun is screaming, saying that they have to go back. Jack uses his known bedside manner to sayL "Sun, he's gone. He's gone." Hearing that come from someone else silences Sun into shock. "Frank, fly us to the island," commands Jack, like Frank is some kind of taxi driver. Sun, realizing that Jin is gone, begins to cry again. (As well she should!)

The beach:
Apparently the ocean ate Sawyer's shirt, because he comes ashore without anything to cover his upper body. He sees Juliet with a bottle of DHARMA rum (Jack Sparrow would be proud). He asks her if she's celebrating. She's not. She points to the smoke from the freighter. Sawyer: "That our boat?" "It was," replied Juliet.

The Orchid:
Locke is panicking about the freighter. "It's not my problem, John," says Ben. Keamy, with his dying breath, warns Ben that "wherever you go, Widmore will find you." "Not if I find him first," dares Ben. And with that, Keamy gives up the ghost.

Locke becomes mad. Ben apologizes for stabbing Keamy, saying that he was overcome by "bad emotional responses." Ben, having previously loaded the time traveling chamber with metal objects, closes the doors and turns the room on. The room explodes, like metal inside a microwave. When that's done, Ben goes to change his clothes. Because that is a natural thing to do after killing maybe dozens of people and blowing up a room.

Ben changes into a DHARMA fur jacket - the same one he woke up in the Sahara desert with in the future. Ben says that he's going somewhere, and that Locke is not going with. "Whoever moves the island can never come back," Ben reveals. So Locke will be taking over Ben's command as leader of the Others. Just like he was maybe meant to do, years before. "Goodbye, John. Sorry I made your life so miserable," Ben says. And Ben and Locke shake hands, like Ben just didn't kill Locke's comrades. Locke leaves the station and walks to camp to find Alpert and company waiting for him. He stares the ragtag group over and smirks.

Ben goes inside the exploded room, where a hidden tunnel has been revealed. He climbs in with a crowbar, then falls down into an icy room. (Where he cuts his arm, like it was cut in the Sahara.) The room appears to be ancient, with hieroglyphics's on the wall. The room is icy cold. And as a result, icy. There's a big wheel, which is funny, because the producers were teasing this scene as being the Frozen Donkey Wheel. I didn't think they'd kind of, sort of mean, it's be a actual frozen wheel. Anyways, using the crowbar to loosen it up, Ben musters up all of his strength to turn the wheel. He curses Jacob in the process. But as he turns the wheel, a light appears. The more he turns, the more light comes out. Ben smiles. And then...

The light engulfs him. It engulfs everyone on the beach. (Juliet has never been more radiant!) It engulfs the whole island. (And it made the same noise as when the hatch imploded, too.) And then, the island is gone. There are a few ripples from where the island once stood. Other than that, there is no trace that the island ever once existed.

The chopper crew: (again)
After witnessing the island being moved, the chopper runs out of fuel. Sayid throws out a life boat before the chopper goes down. And underwater, there are the most pretty bubbles ever. The ocean is full of perfectly clean, pristine bubbles! Everyone is alive, incredibly. And they all get inside the life boat.

Hurley makes a comment about Locke actually moving the island. Jack says "No, he didn't." Hurley's all, dude, the island was just there, now it's NOT. But then it's nighttime, or maybe it's nighttime now in this paragraph, I don't recall. (My notes aren't THAT great, apparently.) But it's nighttime now, when they see a light. There is another boat out there. Everyone is excited, except for Jack, who looks terrified. He tells everyone that they have to lie, to protect those that they left behind. Everyone is ticked, but Jack tells them to just follow his lead.

The boat (Searcher) pulls aside and they start tying the boat up. Henrik recognizes someone and starts franticly yelling, "Ms. Widmore!" (Meanwhile, I was probably one of 100 people nationwide who recognized Henrik.) That Ms. Widmore is none other than Penny. Desmond is overcome with joy. Penny just beams. They stop to look at each other in momentary disbelief before giving us a kiss so great that it could stop time itself. This scene was so great, so emotional that it gave me goosebumps. Des asks "how did you find me?" "Your phone call," Penny explains. "I have a tracking station." They kiss again, and it is so completely happy and joyous, I will not lie. It is as happy as their Christmastime phone call. So, of course, Jack comes in, all ready to lie, and tells Penny that "we need to talk." Way to kill the party, sport.

ONE WEEK LATER (This show can do that?)

Penny & co. have evidentially worked out a convincing cover story. The Rescuer is bringing them to an island 3,000 miles away. Jack, Sayid, Kate, Aaron, Sun and Hurley all board the boat, saying goodbye to Frank, Desmond and Penny. Desmond remarks that "as long as I've got Penny, I'll be fine." So Jack brings their relationship full circle by stealing Des' famous line, "I'll see you in another lifetime, brother." "Aye," Des replies. Aw! Jack then tells everyone "let's go home." They paddle forever, for 8-9 hours, and wash up on shore in the village that they said they washed ashore at during the Oceanic Airlines press conference. INTERESTING...

Flash Forwards:

Sayid assassinates a man at 8:15 p.m. at Santa Rosa. He sneaks inside to Hurley's room, where Hurley is busy playing chess. "This isn't a visit," Sayid warns. He tells Hurley that circumstances have changed, that Bentham has died. Sayid tells Hurley that reports said that Bentham died of "suicide," but Sayid clearly doesn't believe it. Hurley asks why they keep calling him Bentham when his real name is---Sayid interrupts, saying that they are being watched. Sayid wants to take Hurley to someplace "safe," which is NOT the island. Hurley eventually agrees, after Sayid makes a comment about how his paranoia keeps him alive. Before he leaves, Hurley checkmate's his invisible chess partner with the black piece. But this invisible chess partner isn't Dave, it's Mr. Eko. Cheapest. Guest Star. EVER.

In London, Sun talks to her kid on the phone, until she can steal a minute of Charles Widmore's time. Sun introduces herself as co-owner of Paik. Widmore acknowledges that, but doesn't seen to acknowledge that she's one of the Oceanic Six. She calls him out on that, saying that he knows that they have all been lying. She gives him a business card, saying that they have "common interests" and that when he's ready, he can talk to her. Sun mentions that "they" weren't the only ones to leave the island. As Sun walks away, he asks her why she would want to cooperate with him. She doesn't answer.

Kate is sleeping in her bedroom when she wakes up, frightened. She then gets a phone call, full of backwards-speaking whispers. She freaks and gets her gun. Inside Aaron's nursery is... Claire. CLAIRE. CCLLAAAIIIRREEE. On the mainland! As in, off the island! Holding her son. She looks very sad, and... bloated? Emile de Ravine, uh, what...?? "Don't bring him back, Kate," Claire warns. And then Kate wakes up. It was a dream. I hate this show sometimes. HATE. Anyways, that dream/apparition/island's spirit/whatever was enough to move Kate to go to Aaron's room and apologize repeatedly to the sleeping child.

Jack, on his way home from the airport, goes back to Hoffs Dawler Funeral Parlor. It's late at night, and not open. So he breaks in. He goes to open the coffin, but he is suddenly overcome with conflicting emotions. He hesitates. He opens the coffin up. Who is it?

We don't get to see, because standing in the same room as Jack is Benjamin Linus. "Did he tell you I was off the island?" Ben asks. Jack clearly had no clue he was on the same soil as Ben. Jack last spoke to Bentham one month ago. (Kate, too.) He told him that after they left the island, some very bad things happened. And that he didn't blame them for leaving. And that Jack had to come back.

Ben comments on how dark Jack has gotten, like riding in planes, hoping they'll crash into the island. Ben informs Jack that he can't go to the island alone. All of them have to return. Jack laughs. Ben offers to help get the crew back together. (Or, at the least, Kate.) "It's the only way," Ben says. Ben has a few ideas of how to get the crew back to go to the island. But, Ben points out that all of them have to return. Including Jeremy Bentham, the man in the casket. Jeremy Bentham's real identity? John Locke.

Locke is dead. #@%*.

Lost: There's No Place Like Home, Part 2

2008-05-30T00:10:00.003-04:00

This recap is part 2 of 3 of the Lost season finale.

In the future:
The editors pulled an Alias on us by having the "previously on" segment merge into the start of the episode. Right after Jack told Kate that they "need to go back," Kate drove away. But then she came back to yell him out but good. Kate's all "we have to go back?" Until Jack tells here that Jeremy Bentham died, and now it's all... different? Basically, they fight - again - and Kate slaps Jack. She also drops the bombshell that they have been off the island for three years.

At Santa Rosa Mental Hospital, Hurley gets a visitor in the way of a kindly old grandma who is not too kind after taking her son from New York to California to visit a man in the psych ward. After finding out that Hurley isn't "dangerous," she allows her grandson to talk to Hurley: It's Walt. Walt is looking older by the minute. It's awkward small talk, made even more uncomfortable by the fact that none of the Oceanic Six have visited Walt since they returned home. But a Jeremy Bentham has. And Walt wants to know by the O6 are lying. Hurley tells him that it is to protect the ones who didn't come back. "Like my Dad," said Walt. "Yeah," answered Hurley.

The beach:
Faraday comes back to take another "load" of people to the freighter, just as soon as he gets more water. (I hope he's not going to the caves... that's a day's walk!) "Dan, thanks for helping us," beams Juliet, who looks absolutely hopeful, radiant and beautiful. If the Emmy's had a category for Most Radiant Actress, Elizabeth Mitchell would win for these scenes.

Miles is eating some of the peanuts from the beach pantry, prompting a severe scolding from Rose. After she leaves, Miles, Daniel and Charlotte have a chat. Daniel wants them all to be on the next boat, thinking that something "dire" is about to happen. (And he would know... how?) Miles wants to stay. Charlotte at first says that she'll leave, prompting Miles say say: "I'm surprise you want to leave," after she was so eager to get back to the island. Charlotte is the audience voice and asks: HUH? Miles coyly goes, "yeah, what do I mean?" Oh, writers. They know that the scene would confuse us, and they pretty much told us that, too. It's so meta, it's unbelievable.

Charlotte later changes her mind. "I'm going to stay, Daniel. At least for now." Daniel warns there may not be a later. "Nothings forever," she corrects. Charlotte is still looking for where she was born, and I guess she minus well look on the island. (Good! At least one character will explore this island...) Charlotte and Daniel say goodbye, with the romantic tension thick enough to cut. The raft gets loaded up. Juliet is not on, saying that she is going after everyone else gets off the island. Aw! Dan's not so sure there will be another boat load, but, he and the extras get on off to the boat, which is now clearly visible from the shoreline.

The jungle/chopper story:
Keamy, while taunting Ben, wonders upon Frank, who is still trying to get his handcuffs off. Keamy hears a noise, readies his gun when Kate wanders out. (Kate was last seen with Sayid, hostages of Halpert) Kate says she is being chased by "Ben's people," and then we hear the whispers. And then the electric darts appear again. And it's the original Others, attacking Keamy's crew. Kate and Ben run off. There's a chase, and then Sayid appears to engage Keamy in a fight. They punch, kick, and then Sayid gets a big plank and spanks Keamy, no joke. Keamy gets more angry and almost kills Sayid, but then Keamy gets two bullet holes and is killed. And who killed Keamy? Richard Alpert. Ben is shocked. Alpert cut a deal where if Kate and Sayid helped Ben get free, they would let those two leave the island without incident.

Kate, Sayid and Frank meet up with Sawyer, Jack and Hurley. Saywer looks at Dead Keamy and snarks, "He do something to tick you off, Freckles?" Heh. Sawyer helps Frank ("Kenny Rogers") saw off his handcuffs and they all go inside the helicopter and take off. Jack is happy, Kate's relieved, and everyone else is... happy, I'm sure. We don't dwell on their emotions.

We don't dwell for long because a stay bullet pierced the copter and they are losing fuel fast. And Frank can't find the boat. They need to throw off excess weight to help alleviate the chopper's woes. After throwing off all the cargo, Frank says that he still wishes the chopper was 200 lbs. lighter, prompting a very sad expression from Hurley. Sawyer leans over to whisper stuff to Kate. Kate is confused and asks him why he said all that. (We don't know what "that" was that he said.) "Just do it, Freckles," he commands. He goes over to the edge of the helicopter... and Sawyer jumps. He's fine, and starts swimming to shore. SAWYER JUMPED. To save Kate, and the others. ...Aw!

The Freighter:
There is enough C-4 present to blow up an airplane. Desmond has had six months of explosives training when he was in the service, and he knows enough to know that there is no way to dismantle the explosives. (Sydney Bristow would have, sir.) Because of the remote trigger, all the wires become trip wires, involving a hilarious scene where Des (and Jin) say "boom."

Michael and Sun briefly talk. Sun is very scared and lonely. But Michael, unlike the Michael on the island who would have loved to have hugged and comforted a scared Sun, resists the urge. He can say no to Sun. AND he has an idea to save the boat. There is one can of nitrogen. They can use that to temporarily freeze the battery, stalling the explosion. Later that hour, while keeping the battery frozen - and with the tank almost empty - a red light comes on, indicating that as soon as the battery is warm enough, they all die. Find out next episode if they live together or, well, in this case, die together!

The Orchid:
Jack and Sawyer find Hurley, then the Orchid station, then Locke. Maybe if they have such good luck they should try to find a way back home, huh? Sawyer and Hurley eat old crackers, and Hurley asks about Claire. Awkward. Jack and Locke have a battle of wills, the most engaged, philosophy-filled Science vs. Faith discussion on the show ever. Jack tells Locke to let them leave the island. Locke says that it is "destiny" that they stay on the island, and that such knowledge will eat Jack alive for the rest of his life. (Well, yeah, Locke. Now that you said it... Power of suggestion and all!) Locke tells Jack that they will have to lie about everything on the island. "It's the only way to protect it," Locke claims. "It's not an island. It's a place where miracles happen." "There's no such thing as miracles," Jack asserts, not knowing that Locke himself is a walking miracle. (Subtext!) Suddenly, Ben enters the scene. Ben helps Locke find the hidden passage inside to the Orchid and he and Locke go down the secret elevator, leaving Jack "forever." As it were.

The elevator goes really deep, deep down. The Orchid station, being DHARMA and all, has a very "hatch" feel to it. Locke is very impressed by the dump. But, Ben has to assure him that this room is "not the magic box." Ben has Locke watch a "informative video" on the station: another DHARMA orientation film. The Orchid is all about space and time. And it has time traveling bunnies. No joke. DHARMA was able to use this room to manipulate time and space.

Suddenly, the elevator goes back down, and this time is brought in Keamy. Who was not killed, because he was wearing body armor - which makes total sense and I kind of beat myself up for not even considering that possibility before. Keamy taunts Ben forever, saying that he can't kill him, because his magical arm device is a remote trigger for the C-4 on the Freighter. And if his heart rate goes to 0, the bombs go off. This is when Locke steps out and tries to be all diplomatic with the mad man. Keamy does not appreciate this, and especially does not appreciate it when Ben comes out of the shadows and stabs him repeatedly. Locke looks like he's just seen the hatch implode again. "You just killed everyone on that boat." Ben: "So?" Michael Emerson's delivery was pitch-perfect, I hope he wins an Emmy, if just for that scene.

I saw a tornado on LIVE TV

2008-05-24T16:51:00.003-04:00

I was in my room, enjoying a mid-afternoon snack after having mowed the lawn. Buzz came into the room - enjoying the last few days of sharing a room with me, I'm sure - and turned on the television in order to play GameCube. The television had last been on the FOX News Channel, you see. So he turned it on and my eyes instinctively went to see what was on. He had quickly hit the "Input" button to get to the gaming system. But in that brief second, I recognized something. Something amazingly incredible, rare and magnificent. THIS:
A TORNADO. On live television. Taken with one of those helicopter cameras that can zoom in for miles and miles.

Normally when you get to see a tornado video, it's edited. All the choppy parts are gone, only the highlights are left. And it's usually not more than a minute or two. This video was real, raw and long. We saw the tornado go back up into the cloud, then come back down and hit the ground. Over and over again. It was almost chilling to realize that you were seeing this big, black thing as it actually happened.

If you want to see the video of that broadcast, click below:

Part One

Part Two

The right David wins

2008-05-21T23:00:00.004-04:00

Without a doubt, tonight was definitely the best American Idol finale with amazing performances by the Top 12 (Carly Smithson and Michael Johns' duet of "The Letter" rocked), fantastic celebrity guests (everyone from Seal, Donna Summers, and ZZ Top to One Republic, Bryan Adams and George Michael), and a lastly, an entirely deserving winner (by more than 12 million flippin' votes). After 97 million votes were cast, America chose it's newest Idol, and the winner is...David "Sugarfoot" Cook! And yes, that is a ridiculus nickname--blame the producers for that. ;-)

David Cook FTW!!!

Also, enjoy a hilarious and also quite lovely Guitar Hero commercial from the new Idol champ:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfieqankw2c

Idol Top 2 Performances

2008-05-20T22:03:00.006-04:00

American Idol had the opportunity to have a great final performance night. However, ghastly production choices (a boxing theme? what?) and underwhelming performances by David Cook made the evening a bit lackluster. In fact, while Elder David seemed to be a bit off his game tonight, David Archuleta soared (to my dismay...dang it!) and gave two out of three knockout performances (sorry Simon, there is no way Archie's cheesy coronation song was better than Cook's rock-edged selection.)

Recap:
Round One- Clive Davis Song Choice
David Cook: His take on U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was strong, controlled and captivating. It definitely was a great way to start the show, and it was a great song choice by Clive. No, David didn't really change it up, but this song also really didn't need it.
David Archuleta: To the surprise of many, Archie tackled Elton John's classic "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" with finesse. My only nitpick was the weird bouncing movement occuring near the end, plus a few diva-esque notes that weren't flattering. It was a good song choice. Simon declared Round One to him, though I'd say it was more of a tie.

Round Two- Contestant's Choice from songwriting contest
David Cook: This round is entirely one of personal preference. If you hate the usual, cliche, sappy coronation songs, then Cook offered something refreshing and radio-ready with the song "Dream Big." Though, if you like the sap, and therefore Archie, you (and Simon Cowell) hated it.
David Archuleta: There's no denying that Archie's song choice in "In This Moment" was better mellodically. Plus, despite the extreme sappiness, he sang it pretty well. Cowell said Archuleta owned this round too, but viewers' opinions will likely vary depending on whether they embrace Idol coronation songs or despise them.

Round Three- Contestant's Choice aka "Useless--if they aren't going to do the same thing!" Round
David Cook: Collective Soul's "The World I Know" was an interesting choice. He sang it well and it showed his softer side, but it didn't end with the bang he needed to step up his game. However, Cook can say that the audience does know what kind of album he will make--something that Archuleta cannot.
David Archuleta: He decided to reprise his performance of Lennon's "Imagine." This was a good idea because it gave him the knockout status of the night. However, hearing him tackle a new song would've been good too. Guess it doesn't really matter. His legion of teeny-boppers already have this thing in the bag.

Final Thoughts:
So now the competition boils down to this. Should David Archuleta win for completely showing up Cookie on the finale--the single night that matters a great deal? Or should Cook's consistent originality all season long earn him the title? If it were up to me, David Cook would win. And though experts and betting rings thought the same earlier today, tonight's performances may have changed some minds. Here's to hoping they haven't.

Final Prediction:
Who Should Win: David Cook
Who Will Win: David Archuleta

For more recaps and reviews, visit the following: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-05-20-idol-recap_N.htm

http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2008/05/american_idol_top_2_performanc.html

http://www.curlio.com/article/10213/American_Idol_-_The_Contestants_Fight_It_Out

http://communities.canada.com/shareit/blogs/tvguy/archive/2008/05/20/american-idol-finale-the-singers-brought-it-the-producers-blew-it.aspx

Tune to Fox tomorrow at 8pm for a mostly satisfying finale (except for the part where Archie is crowned the new American Idol). Forget this, just go buy Cook's cd when it comes out.

Battle of the Davids, Experts weigh in

2008-05-20T19:04:00.005-04:00

After all this time, we've finally come down to the last two standing on American Idol. Whether you know them as Archie and Cookie, or perhaps Little David and David the Elder, these two contestants are poised to have the closest and most heated race in Idol history. On Yahoo's web site, various television and magazine voices in the industry discuss the competition between Idol finalists David Archuleta and David Cook.

"Aren't we American Idol fans lucky? We got the David vs. David finale we were hoping for, and if both boys bring their A-game to the stage it could be the best night in 'Idol' history. Has there ever been an Idol more adorable than David Archuleta or more original than David Cook? We don't think so. And now we're all debating with friends and family about WHO WILL WIN." -Yahoo

Click the following link to see who the experts think will take the Idol crown home: http://tv.yahoo.com/american-idol/show/34934/photos/idol-who-will-win/259

Who will America choose? Find out by catching the season's last two episodes. Tune in tonight at 8pm to watch the final performance night. The American Idol finale--complete with the returning Top 12, numerous celebrity guests, and the final voting results--airs tomorrow at 8pm.

Lost: There's No Place Like Home, Part 1 (of 3)

2008-05-16T00:38:00.003-04:00

The penultimate episode of sorts before the last week of Season 4, There's No Place Like Home is shaping up to be an amazing mini-movie. It didn't give much to speculate on at all, not much to talk about for two weeks, really. But it definitely made me interested in seeing the last two hours of the episode/season. To refresh your memory on what happened, here's Collegiate on TV's recap:

The beach
Rose makes a cameo and rambles on about whether or not the satellite phone was dropped so they would follow the boaties, or hide from them. Jack figures that any move they make is a terrible one, so he gives the phone to Faraday. Faraday is able to hear the audio on the helicopter for just a few minutes - like it's a fancy baby monitor - and no one can hear Sayid or Desmond. Jack asks for Kate and the two of them walk off, but not before Juliet continues to scold Jack like there's no tomorrow. He just had surgery! Man, I absolutely love Juliet. And I love how after a couple years of becoming a hardened woman on the island, Juliet is still a mother hen after all. Take a look:

I. Heart. Juliet.

Meanwhile, Faraday caught a reference over the phone to "The Orchid." As Charlotte wonders if the Arvin Sloane impostor got to it first, Faraday goes through his trusty, time-travel-y notebook and realizes that Keamy is following the second protocol (!) and that they are all going to die. "We HAVE to get off this island. Right now," he said, scaring us all. Or he would, if they haven't been saying that since the first episode of this series.

Sayid & boat wash ashore. Sayid tells everyone that Keamy & Ko. are going to kill them all. Juliet and Faraday look tense as they gently explain that Jack is running towards them. Sayid all but bangs his head in frustration. Sayid says that he wants to ferry people to and from the boat. Faraday offers to do that so Sayid can warn Jack. Sayid agrees. Juliet makes sure that Sun gets on the first ferry, because she's pregnant. Kate wanders back to the beach - (check "The Jungle") and takes Sayid on a tracking expedition. Jin also gets on the boat with a couple very unenthusiastic extras. Jin gloats as the rescue boat ferries off to the freighter. And thus ends the beach story, for now.

The boat

Desmond helps unload the first ferry of people on to the freighter. When Sun and Jin get off, they hear a very familiar voice - Michael. They are so ticked off. Faraday leaves for the next group as Desmond gets word that Michael fixed the engines again, so they can start moving towards the island. Des makes sure that they are on a heading of 305. Problem is, there's some radio interference on that channel.

Sun catches up with Michael, where he tells his whole sad story. Sun asks if he's still working for Ben. Michael insists that he is not, and never was, and cries and whatever. Desmond freaks out and tells Michael to get inside the boat. He goes to the radio room, along with Jin and some other extra. Guys, there was probably two hundred blocks of C-4 explosive in there. They have the decency to make sure Sun isn't anywhere near the radio room, because when the entire boat blows up and kills everyone, the pregnant woman should die in the surrounding area, not in the immediate blast. We are left to wait two weeks to see if anything happens with that or not.

The jungle

Jack and Kate are catching up to the helicopter folk, so they decide to take a break. (?!) Jack's shirt is wet; Kate says that he is bleeding. Jack calls it a "discharge" and that his body is fighting off an infection. Kate: "Liar!" Just in time for the finale, Miles, Sawyer and Aaron stumble into the scene. They ask where Claire is and Sawyer replies with - I kid you not- "We lost her." As if she died! Sawyer also explains that Keamy blew up the barracks - just like Locke said he would. This has Jack and Sawyer fighting over how every single strategy on the show has been completely stupid, and how I wish Sayid could have been there to agree with both of them!

Jack goes off to find the helicopter folk by himself. He charges Kate to take care of the baby - which she does, for about 20 minutes - and leaves. Sawyer charges after him. And Miles? I don't know where he went.

Sawyer and Jack begrudgingly catch up on "old times" (a week, maybe?), when they come upon the helicopter. Frank says that he dropped the phone out of the helo so they could come find him and release him - he's pinned down! - and then he can fly them all home. They release Frank, but then Sawyer mentions that Hurley is with Ben and Locke. Jack gets mad, and they go and find him.

Kate and Sayid come upon a new set of tracks, when they run into the ageless Richard Alpert. He keeps telling them to put down their guns, and they don't, so then about two dozen Others show up, and then they put down their guns.

Ben, Hurley & Locke

The lovable trio wanders off to go to the Orchid, DHARMA's own greenhouse. When Ben is asked how they can move the island, Ben repliesL "very carefully." Heh. Apparently moving the island is very dangerous and unpredictable, and as such is a measure of last resort. (Hurley points out that moving the island will still move the people with guns with them, so... nothing changes? Ben doesn't know how to explain that, nor does Locke.)

Ben finds a secret compartment, with a mirror that he uses to communicate with "you know who." (No, we don't, Ben. Jacob?) The sun's reflection sets off a similar reflection on the top of a hill, and with that secret password all clear, the team can move forward.

Locke tells Hurley that it is "too late" to get off the island, but we've seen the flash forwards, Mr. Locke. You are wrong.

They arrive at the Orchid, where Keamy's men are already inside / outside, guarding the place. Ben gives weird instructions to Locke, involving finding an elevator to go to the real Orchid station. Ben surrenders to Keamy, who gladly pistol-whips him.

Flash Forwards

The Oceanic Airlines representative, played by Michelle Forbes, preps the Oceanic Six for their return home. They are landing at a military base in Honolulu, and everyone's family is waiting for them there. Forbes also explains that they have been nicknames the "Oceanic Six," which she says is not the best name in the world for her company, but it is catchy. The survivors get off the plane and Hurley meets his parents, Jack his mom - who hasn't been in since season one, I believe?, Sayid gets to meet Hurley's family, Sun's parents are so happy even Mr. Paik is about to cry. Everyone is happy. Except for Kate, who stands there, alone, holding Aaron. :(

The Oceanic Six hold a press conference of lies. It's so full of lies, subtext, hints and clues to the entire mythology, it's easier if you just watch the press conference itself instead of recapping:

Sayid then meets up with Nadia, his own constant. They kiss, they hug, we all cry. A lot. Especially since we know Nadia dies not too long into the future. That makes this happy reunion all the more emotional.

Sun returns home to Paik Industries. She talks to her dad, who asks about her pregnancy. She tells him not to pretend to care, because she knows he hated Jin. She also says that she thinks that he is one of two people he blames his death on. He chastises her for being a woman or whatever his hillariously backwards ways are. She tells him not to be so smug, because Oceanic Airlines gave her a very generous payout. So she took that money and bought a controlling interest in Paik Industries. She tells her dad that she's going to have the baby, then she and him are going to have a talk about the future of "our" company. You go, girl!

Hurley comes home from Mr. Cluck's, only to find no one is in his house, mysteriously enough. He then finds a coconut on the floor and freaks out. Then he hears whispers. He picks up a statue to fight off any monster with. He opens the door to the patio to find a surprise party! But Hurley's mom is upset that Hugo is holding the statue. "Jesus Christ is not a weapon." Hee! That may be the best line of the whole entire series.

The birthday party is inappropriately island-themed. Jack, Kate, Aaron, Sayid and Nadia are all there. Hurley's dad pulls his son away from the party to show him their car. Cheech had fixed the car as sort of a "memorial" for his son. They get in to go for a test drive when Hurley notices the numbers on the dashboard are "481516" and "2342." He flips out. And runs away, down the road, like a Simpsons character!

We then meet up with Jack, giving a eulogy at his father's funeral. "Goodbye, Dad. I loved you. I miss you," he says to himself. Afterwards, everyone leaves, including Jack's mom who, I'm sorry, I can't believe the producers remembered she exists! And it's not like Joyce Davenport has been busy or anything. I was beginning to think I misremembered that he had a mom! So why hasn't she been in more? A. mazing.

A woman walks up to Jack and apologizes. She believes she is the reason Christian was in Australia when he died. Jack is confused. She was in the hospital when he came down. But the real reason he went to the country was to see his daughter. Her daughter. The funny thing is, her daughter was on Oceanic 815, too. Jack's half-sister was sitting near him all along! "Her name was Claire," Carol Littleton explains. Jack's brain practically explodes trying to comprehend this. (Good job, Matthew Fox!) As Carol leaves, she notices Kate and Aaron. "You're son is beautiful," she says, unaware that she is referring to her grandchild. Oh, the rich subtext!

Questions/Comments
- Keamy's device is probably a trigger for the explosives, dontcha think?
- How did Mrs. Littleton get out of the coma?
- Does the freighter blow up? And does anybody die? (We know Michael can't, though he'd be burned pretty good if it did explode!)
- Who was Ben communicating with? Was it really Jacob?
- What does Alpert plan to do with Sayid and Kate?
- How does the famed Oceanic Six get together? Sun and Aaron are on the boat, Hurley's with Locke, Jack is wherever, and Kate and Sayid are in their own pocket of the island.
- Was the Oceanic Airlines story about the six washing ashore on a small Indonesian coast true?
- To what extent is Oceanic willingly lying? What does the Michelle Forbes character know?
- Can Michelle Forbes team up with Abbadon? Please? They would make an excellent pairing.
- What is Sun's end game in becoming a major player in Paik Industries? Paik is a global company, one that's rumored to have ties to Widmore. Is this Sun's way of trying to start to figure out where the island is? Is Sun working with Ben?
- Is the C-4 causing the interference? I think it might...
- Sun said she blamed her father for Jin's death, saying he was one of two people she held responsible. Who is the other person?

In two weeks: The two-hour finale begins at 9 p.m. ET. It involves a helicopter, the main cast, and... I couldn't decipher the ABC promo for anything in the world. Also, there's supposed to be a spectacular kiss and a cliffhanger that the producers have code-worded "Frozen Donkey Wheel." Huh.

Idol Top 3 Performances

2008-05-14T14:31:00.002-04:00

Time has certainly flown by for Season 7 of American Idol. It seems like just yesterday that viewers were being introduced to the Top 24, where early fan favorites Brooke White and Jason Castro were standing out as true competitors. Who would've thought that they would later become the contestants we couldn't wait to get rid of? And even though we knew David Cook and David Archuleta were forces to be reckoned with, I doubt anybody expected the big voices of Michael Johns and Carly Smithson to be cut off so soon.

They were several memorable moments, and overall, this has been a decent year on Idol. The Top 12 offered great diversity and talent, though by the time we reached the Top 5, the quality had substantially diminished. However, if it all comes down to a David-vs.-David finale, perhaps the media machine that is Idol can bounce back and treat audiences to a worthwhile finale. My fear is if Syesha Mercado slips into the Top 2, audiences will have to sit through the most unexciting final round in Idol history. Any way you slice it, you can almost guarantee that someone named David will win.

For more information, check out the following:

--> Top 3 Performances Review: http://tv.ign.com/articles/873/873870p1.html

"Tonight, each singer got to sing three super-short songs; one that the judges picked, one of their own choosing, and then the Idol producers came up with the last one. The judge's picks were outstanding, the contestants had good thoughts but poor execution, and the producers' picks were dreadful. I really wish they'd had the singers sing two songs, allowing them to maybe sing a whole song for a change."

--> Performance Recap:
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/realitycheck/blog/2008/05/american_idol_top_3_perform_1.html

Tune into Fox tonight at 9pm for the results.

Lost: Addendum

2008-05-10T20:58:00.002-04:00

I forgot to mention one of the most obvious subtexts in this week's Lost episode, "Cabin Fever." Locke, who was told in the past he was not meant to be a superhero, must now move an island, which is a task no ordinary person could do. It would take a - wait for it - superhero to move.

However, Locke's emotions have always been easy to manipulate. Especially after you start to show interest in whatever he does. That's how the cop was able to infiltrate the commune, that's how his dad was able to steal a kidney, that's how Ben has been able to manipulate him all these weeks. So when Christian and Claire informed Locke that he needs to move the island, are they really telling him that because they think he's a chosen one? Do they really think he's a chosen one?

Another question that I've been ruminating over is... Who is Abbadon working for? Most of Locke's flashbacks concerned Alpert and his mysterious Mittelos Science outfit. And Alpert is in Ben's camp. (Although maybe not too entirely happy about it.) But Abbadon organized the freighter's team of Frank, Charlotte, Miles and Faraday. And those four are bankrolled by Charles Widmore, who in the future is an enemy of Ben. So it might stand to reason that Abbadon is somehow connected to Widmore.

However, after four flashbacks relating to Ben, can we really believe that there's this clean transition over to a Widmore employee? We can believe Alpert going all about, trying to recruit people for the island. But Abbadon? Why would Widmore try to get Locke to the island? Was Abbadon working for Ben at the time? Is he still working for him now? Was Ben working with Widmore?

With a character steeped in mythology as Abbadon, I find it hard to believe that they showed him in Locke's crippled condition just because they could. There is something more that meets the eye, besides the fact that Locke was constantly being recruited to go to the island all his life. It's the fact that after Alpert, we had ABBADON recruiting Locke that's the real mystery.

Lost: Cabin Fever

2008-05-09T23:15:00.003-04:00

This is one of those strange episodes of Lost in which you don't realize until after the episode is done that it was actually a really, really good episode. During the episode, I just kind of watched with glazed anticipation. But now that I'm pouring through my notes, the episode was amazing! Oh, how weird. Let's get to the necessarily-long recap.

FlashBACK 1: A teenage Emily - a Buddy Holly fan - is going out with a man twice her age who "loves her," despite her mother's objections. She runs outside in the rain and is hit by a car. (We don't know who hit her. Presumably irrelevant, although, that's assuming a lot on a show like Lost.) Switch to hospital, where Emily tells staff that she is six months pregnant - the first time she's admitted it to anyone, apparently. There's a short delivery scene, but Emily can't hold her premee child, he's whisked away to N.I.C.U. But before he goes away, Emily yells "Name him John!" John Locke.

FlashBACK 2: Hospital again. Baby John, although being a premee, has survived just about every type of infection and disease there is at a hospital. He is called a "miracle baby." Emily is given the opportunity to hold baby John for the first time. Emily freaks out and runs away. Emily's mom asks if they can give John up for adoption, as she tries to light a cigarette inside a hospital. Grandma Locke is cold, folks. Cold. As Grandma tries to outdo Dina Lohan as Mom of the Year, she sees a very creepy looking Richard Alpert looking through the window. And no, Alpert doesn't look younger. He looks the same.

FlashBACK 3: John is five, maybe? He's in another foster home and a girl his age hates backgammon. HATES. Foster mom lets ALPERT in to talk to John, about admitting him to a school for "special" and "gifted" children. (Chilton?) The test involves setting out a bunch of subtext-rich items - like a "Book of Laws" and a container of sand - and asking John which of those items already belonged to him. John chose the knife. Alpert, MAD, storms off, saying that John doesn't belong there. Alpert actually kind of freaks out. Also scarring John emotionally for life. Jerk.

FlashBACK 4: In high school, John is the kid who gets stuck in lockers. A counselor/adviser/plot device encourages John to attend a summer camp at Mittelos Bioscience. John freaks, saying that acting like a science nerd is what would continue to get him pushed into lockers. Mr. PlotDevice said that he got the brochure from a "Dr. Alpert." "I'm not a scientist!" John yelled. "That's who you are," said the mysterious high school man. "You can't be... a superhero." "Don't tell me what I can't do!" declared John.

FlashBACK 5: Locke, post-accident. After a tough day of physical therapy, he is being wheeled around the hospital to who knows where, as an orderly talks about how anything is possible and yadayada, we don't care until we realize the person talking is Matthew Abbadon. He and Alpert, together in one show? Makes for the creepiest hour EVER. Abbadon asks Locke if he believes in miracles. Locke doesn't. Abbadon says he does, and then fakes out the audience by making us think he'll push Locke down the steps and my heart pounded fast CRAP THAT WAS SCARY. Instead, Abbadon talks to Locke about going on a "Walkabout" and how it "changed his life." Locke scoffs at first, but then starts to seem convinced later on about it. Abbadon says that it will completely turn his life around. And then leaves by saying "when you and me run into each other again, you'll owe me one." CREEPY McCREEPSTER! Ew.

The Freighter: Keamy & company arrive back on the boat, post-Smokey damaged. The dead doctor is there, ALIVE. Keamy wants to know how many people are on the island, but Sayid, wisely, does not volunteer that information. Keamy ask Captain Gault who "gave me up." Gault: "MICHAEL!" Michael confirms that he knows who Keamy is, and that he's Ben's mole. Keamy tries to kill Michael, but, of course, the island won't let him, so his gun doesn't work on him. So he just pistolwhips him. Welcome back, Harold Pennireau?

Later that night/day, Mahey dies. Keamy tells Frank to gas up the chopper. Gault thinks Keamy might have "I'm crazy!" island sickness. Keamy doesn't think so. He just has "second protocol," which involves a DHARMA folder. Since when does Widmore supply his men with DHARMA folders? Keamy mutters that Ben only has "one place to go," and then mentions "torching the island." Gault is mortified. Gault tells Sayid and Desmond to hide. Sayid instead wants a small boat to help save islanders. Gault agrees!

Frank talks to Michael, where we realize that Frank is a conspiracy buff, and that he doesn't think that the 815 wreckage is real, but laughs that Widmore planted it? I... it was a throwaway scene, honestly. Michael warns that Keamy will kill EVERYONE! Keamy struts his abs in front of everyone (shameless, producers. Shameless.) while attaching a metronome to his arm. (Okay, so maybe it's a bomb?) Gault gives Sayid the boat, and a working compass. Desmond won't leave the boat, saying that she spent three years on the island, so he doesn't exactly want to step foot on it again. (That's fair.) Sayid leaves. Say, that boat looks kind of small. Like it only has room for... six?

Night. Omar tells the doctor that he's dead. Doctor: "Uh... okay?" Frank asks why the mercs are loading up napalm or whatever we would see if the scene wasn't set at nighttime. Frank then boldly declares that he won't fly them. So Keamy, ticked, slices the doctor's throat. Thereby killing him, in... the island's past? Future? Gault then appears, shooting a gun. ("I fixed your gun!" he quipped.) Keamy warns that Gault does NOT want to shoot him. So Keamy kills Gault! The cool guy with the accent! Sad face. Frank, freaked, agrees to fly them out now. But he carefully wraps up a satellite phone into a container, then drops it onto the Losties beach as they fly overhead. Now Jack & company can now track where Keamy and his men are going. Convenient! If only Frank could drop something onto Jack, so he doesn't keep moving around and almost tearing out his stitches. Man, was Juliet mad! Good for her.

Team Locke: First segment: pure exposition. No lie. Then Locke wakes up to see Horace Goodspeed chopping wood. He's building a place for him and his wife, as a break away from the "D.I." (DHARMA Initiative.) He then says "You gotta find me, John. And when you do, you'll find him. Jacob. He's been waiting for you a long time." Horace repeats, literally, and the trees he chopped down reappear for him to chop down again. Then LOCKE WAKES UP. So he's not actually alive after 12 years? Sad face. Ben also has a sad face, saying that he "used to have dreams."

Hurley questions why he is with Locke and Ben. Locke tells Hurley that he is "special," because he can see the cabin. Hurley thinks all three of them can see it because "we're the craziest." Locke then talks about how DHARMA suddenly just disappeared off the island, and Ben stops in his tracks and looks mad. They are suddenly in front of the mass grave, where Locke finds Goodspeed's body. But not before outing Ben as a mass murderer to Hurley. Inside Goodspeed's pocket is a map to a cabin. Forgetting the map is now at least twelve years out of date, and the cabin can MOVE, Locke assumes this will lead him to the cabin correctly.

Ben then corrects Locke, telling John that he didn't order the purge. Locke snaps back that Ben is the leader of the others. Ben says "not all of the time." Locke offers Hurley a chance to leave now, since he can get to the cabin without Hurley's help. Hurley quickly surmises that his chances of death are equal, if not lessened, if he stays with Ben and Locke. So he stays. Ben comments to Locke how John made it sound like it was Hurley's decision, when it wasn't. Locke pretends that he's not becoming the new Ben.

Locke later tells Ben that he's sorry Alex died and everything. Ben says that it's destiny. And that "destiny is a fickle bitch." He says although he is a "chosen one," there are still consequences that must be paid. But he is no longer a chosen one. Locke is. Or so Ben the manipulator says.

They arrive at the cabin. Ben and Hurley stay outside and share a candy bar. (It was hilarious.) Locke lights a torch and goes inside the cabin, completely ignoring the fact that Jacob hates light. Idiot. Inside Locke meets Christian Shephard, of all people. Jack's dad is now speaking on Jacob's behalf. He asks Locke why he is there. "I'm here because I was chosen to be," said Locke. "That's absolutely right," comments Christian. (They're both Calvinist!)

Suddenly, a female voice says "Hi, John." It's Claire, looking really relaxed. Like she's drunk, high, dead, or D) all of the above. Christian asks Locke to not tell people that Claire is there. He says that people "aren't ready yet." He then realizes the episode is almost done and asks Locke for one question to be answered. Locke asks "how do I save the island?" Both Christian and Claire smirk like a couple of drunk idiots.

Locke exits the cabin later, saying he knows what to do. "He wants us to move the island." END.

Questions & Comments
- Was Cooper really conning a 16-year-old Emily? That's just cold.
- Bad parents seem to run in the Locke family. Bad dad, bad mom, bad grandma... I think we should be grateful John isn't a dad himself! (...that we know of.)
- As a baby, John Locke survived through impossible odds. He survives falling 16 stories later on in life. Damaged, but, survived. He and Michael now have increasingly similar backstories, and both are not "allowed" to die. But why? And how?
- This episode seemed to reinforce that Locke needs to believe in miracles. Will faith be the key to his moving the island?
- I just noticed... we've never met Sawyer's parents, have we? Did Sawyer like his parents before they died? What a weird Lost character!
- Early in the episode, Hurley asked "who builds a cabin in the middle of the jungle?" The answer: Horace Goodspeed.
- Does the map change when the cabin moves?
- Is the magically moving cabin a small-scale island? Can it's moving properties be applied to the island as a whole? (And does moving the island involve Alcatraz?)
- Who was the "other leader" that Ben was referring to?
- Is Christian Shepard actually Jacob? He claimed to be speaking on his behalf, then said he would grant one request. This sounds an awful lot like the Wizard of Oz...
- OBVIOUS QUESTION OF THE WEEK: How do you move an island?
- Is Sayid's Zodiac boat how the Oceanic Six escape the island?
- Will the island be torched?
- What is up with Claire? Is she dead? Is she alive? Is that Claire, or a Smokey interpretation, a la Yemi?
- Is Sawyer dead? (Oh, he just didn't have a scene this week? Okay, thanks!) But seriously, is he dead?
- What has Jacob wanted Locke to do, to become, all his life?
- Does Alpert ever age?
- Can Abbadon be any more creepy? He and Alpert need their own show where they stare at people. It would be the scariest thing since that in-bred house episode of The X-Files.

Next week: Guys, did you pause the preview? There's a standoff in the jungle with ALPERT! ALPERT! Next week is part 1 of a 3-part finale. Lost airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. on ABC.

Idol Top 4 Performances

2008-05-06T21:08:00.004-04:00

This week's theme on American Idol was songs from the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Despite the rock theme, tonight's contestants--aside from resident rocker David Cook--opted for more mellodic choices that, interestingly enough, didn't sound anything like rock music. With over 500 songs to choose from, quite a few of the song selections seemed rather odd. However, the contestants still managed to turn in a some memorable moments--some that were lovely, and others that weren't quite so pleasing.

Recap:
--> Starting off the show, David Cook performed a rather straightforward rendition of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf." The performance was fine, and his vocals were solid as always, but for a night that catered to Cook's personal genre, everyone seemed to be expecting more. I'd say poor song choice is what caused a slightly subpar first performance. Fortunately, his second song--The Who's "Baba O'Riley"--showed off his big voice and well-defined style. The unfortunate part of the evening is that he performed first, likely causing this great performance to go unremembered. Let's hope this doesn't turn out to be the case.

--> Next up, Syesha Mercado continued her improving streak by performing the unforgettable "Proud Mary" and Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." Syesha is definitely worthy competition as far as vocals go. The problem is she doesn't take the same risks as fellow contestants--in particular, the Davids. Instead, she covers songs rather well without truly making them her own. Tonight, she looked lovely, sounded strong and consistent, and offered audiences two different sides of her voice and perfomance style. If singing talent dictates voting like it should, then Syesha should be safe.

--> The third contestant to hit the stage was Jason Castro. As much as Brooke White deserved to go home last week, I'd rather have had her on the stage tonight. The difference between the two relatively weak contestants? Brooke at least seemed to try to improve and enjoy herself. Jason, on the other hand, seemed indifferent and even a bit lazy tonight with his lackluster performances of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" and Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." The latter wasn't too bad, but it definitely didn't make up for Jason's first song, which Simon called "atrocious."

--> Lastly, the Idol producers' cherished prodigy David Archuleta stepped up his game and returned to form, giving two truly great performances. He sang Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" and Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender." Both were great song choices that fit his style, range and target audience. Not only that, but the boy sang the heck out of each of them. Simon said David crushed the competition tonight. I don't necessarily agree with that, but he definitely solidified his spot in the finale.

Best case scenario: Syesha Mercado or Jason Castro (he should've gone weeks ago) goes home, leading up to what deservedly should be a David-vs.-David finale. No other contestants have served up as strong or innovative of performances as these two over the entire duration of the competition.

Worst case scenario: In the shocking tradition of eliminating strong favorites--i.e. this season's Michael Johns and Carly Smithson--one of the Davids could go home a la' Chris Daughtry of Season 5 or Tamyra Gray of Season 1. As Ryan said, if you want your favorite to stay, you need to vote.

Tune in tomorrow night at 9pm for the results.

Lost: Something Nice Back Home

2008-05-01T23:46:00.004-04:00

I think I might start off a lot of Lost recaps saying "wow, what a great episode," and maybe this episode doesn't quite deserve a lot of praise, but still, wow, what a great episode! And we actually learned some answers, some hints, clues, and a character who we thought was dead may actually be very, very alive? My mind hurts.

The recap: The beach folk are mad that Faraday and Charlotte's people on the boat aren't answering. Rose appears, almost for no other reason than to give Charlotte a quick insult. ("Just watch your tongue, red.") Jacks' appendix burst, which is normally hilarious on sitcoms, and normally just a cheap sweeps stunt in an hourly drama. Oh look, we're in the sweeps period! Good to know. Jack, being a control freak, demands that Kate hold a mirror so he can see Juliet perform the very routine surgery that she has done repeatedly. Kate does, until Jack freaks out and Juliet puts him under. She then later tells Kate that Jack kissed her, but that was just to prove to himself that he loves Kate. Aw...

Meanwhile, Faraday has a crush on Charlotte, and it's cuuute. Jin knows Charlotte can speak Korean after he caught her eavesdropping on him and Sun trash talking her. Awkward. He threatens Faraday's fingers (!) if Sun doesn't leave the island on the helicopter. What about you, Char asks. Jin doesn't even care. He just wants Sun to get back home. Aw! Does this mean you're still alive, Jin? Please?

Elsewhere, Sawyer's journey back to the beach with Claire, Aaron and Miles gets interrupted when Miles starts hearing voices, then magically knows that they are standing on Danielle and Alex's dead buried bodies, so they show us their dead buried bodies and, GROSS? Later, Frank comes out of nowhere, running away from someone?, and tells the Losties to hide. Keamy (killed Alex) and his men (!) are nearby. They are injured, but, alive. Even after the smoke/sand/soot/whatever monster attacked them. They escape, barely unnoticed (thanks, Aaron).

Then later at night, Claire wakes up to find Christian Shephard standing there. Her dad. Jack's dad. Alive. (?) She walks off with him, and that's the last we see of her. Sawyer finds Aaron in the morning, but no Claire-bear.

Jack's future: (Post-Kate's trial) In the future, Jack and Kate get naked together. A lot. And Kate never, ever wears pants. The sex is great, Jack gets along well with Aaron, and they are all happy. Until Jack visits Hurley. Hurley tells Jack that Charlie visited him, and that Charlie had a message for Jack: "You're not supposed to raise him." Also, Jack will be getting a visitor as well. Hurley said that he was happy until he got a visitor, then it all went downhill. Hurley, crazy, thinks they are all A) on the island still, B) dead. Whether any of this is true or not, it plants the seed of a self-fulfilling prophecy into Jack's gullible head. Jack tries to ignore it, by proposing to Kate. She accepts. Aw!

Slowly, Jack begins to think Kate is cheating on him. She says that she is meeting with one of the Mom's from the park, named Noreen. This may or may not be a lie. Because whoever she is meeting with, it's a favor, for Sawyer. Who we learn chose to stay on the island. (He's alive!) Jack, spiraling back into alcoholism, starts getting all mad and defensive, then Kate kicks him out of the house. But not before Jack unwittingly tells Aaron that Kate isn't his real mom. That kid's going to have issues.

Questions:
- Who is "Noreen"? Is she one of the mom's in the park? Is she Cassy? What favor does Sawyer need taken care of?
- Is Christian Shephard alive?
- Where did Christian and Claire go?
- Rose mentioned that people on the island generally get better, not worse. (Like in Jack's case.) Is that true? Or has she forgotten about all the dead "sacrifices" that the island has demanded?
- Was any part of Hurley's speech true?
- Where does the power for the medical station come from? (Nice shout out to fans, BTW... "Add it to the list." Nice.)
- What's Keamy's objective? And does it even match the captains? Or Naomi's?

Next week: Horace Goodspeed returns? After being dead 12 years? Anyways, we spend time around Jacob's cabin. And if press releases don't lie (they do), there should be some guest stars that Lost fans will really appreciate... (Thur., May 8, 10 p.m.)

Idol Top 5 Performances

2008-04-30T11:13:00.003-04:00

At first, I was skeptical about having this week's theme center around Neil Diamond on American Idol. However, after a lovely video clip reminded audiences that Diamond is a shining example of longevity with over 120 million albums sold over a 4-decade career, I was convinced that he was surprisingly right for the Idol stage. This week was another challenging one for the contestants, and it clearly showed which of the artists were the weakest 'links' in the giant machine that is American Idol.

Let's just begin by saying that David Cook is the show's only saving grace. If he doesn't win, then the show's credibility should definitely be questioned. After losing the likes of Carly Smithson and Michael Johns, Cook is the only contestant worth rooting for. David Archuleta has a great voice, but as a mild, easily manipulated 17-yr old, he plays right into the Idol producers hands. Please, let's not have a repeat of last year.

Syesha Mercado also has a strong voice, but as Simon stated, she may be in trouble. Brooke White is also in danger after attempting to tackle "I'm a Believer," which turned out to be excruciatingly cheesy. But if the show--for once--gets rid of who deserves to head home, then Jason Castro should be packing his bags. Yes he's pretty, but that isn't and shouldn't be enough.

For more info, check out the following:

Entertainment Weekly's Idol Coverage:
http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20007164,00.html

Article: Predictions at MLive.com:

http://www.foxesonidol.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article2387.art&page=1

Tune into Fox tonight at 9pm for the results.

*Additional rant: David Archuleta sang "America" and got rave reviews for a smart song choice. The sad part for Michael Johns fans is that was one of the songs the Aussie rocker said he would've chosen had he still been around.

Lost: The Shape of Things to Come

2008-04-24T23:36:00.003-04:00

Welcome back to the Lost recaps! After a multi-week hiatus, the popular island drama/mystery has returned to airwaves to confuse us once again. But this time, we have video from the show! I know. We are very cool.

What happened

At the beach, Kate flirted with Jack by going strapless. Jack likes it, but, he would like to not have stomach pains even more. The doctor from the boat washes onshore, dead, with his throat slashed. Faraday makes a morse code radio (?) and asks the boat what's up with the doctor being dead. Faraday tells people that the boat said that the helicopter would rescue them in the morning. Bernard, knowing morse code, said that Faraday lies, that the boat people say the doctor is fine. (I think his corpse would beg to differ.) Jack, upset at Faraday's lies, asks him again if they were intended on taking them off the island. Faraday finally answers: "No." This makes Jack so angry you can practically see his ulcer growing. And Charlotte stares on.

At the barracks, Locke receives a phone: "Code 14-J." This is Alex's signal for telling the others that she is captured and they are all in danger. (She sent it using the fence deactivation code.) A bunch of extras who I never knew were ever at the barracks die, while Sawyer gets to play Jack Bauer and dodge about three hundred incoming bullets. The boaties have a grenade launcher, which they use ONCE and only once, to blow up Claire's house. Claire is fine, BTW. Like, extremely fine. After some psychological warfare, the boaties kill Alex. Ben is visibly upset.

So Ben goes to his secret room, where there is another door to ANOTHER secret room. (!) Except the Secret Room2 seems to be older, a cave perhaps. It seemed to have markings, maybe? Does Ben have his own DHARMA station? Anyways, Ben emerges looking dirtier, and more confident. (Dirtier = more dirt and soot.) Ben stays calm as Smokey the Island Monster comes roaring into the village and kills the boaties - and only the boaties. Team Locke guesses that Ben can summon the monster. Sawyer, Claire and Aaron leave for the beach, while Ben and Locke take Hurley to go find Jacob's cabin and get some answers.

In the future, Ben is a international spy. We seem him travel to the Sahara, Tunisia, Iraq and London. Isn't chromakey a wonderful thing? Ben wakes up in the Sahara, with a wound on his arm, wearing a winter DHARMA parka. He seems very confused as to what he is doing there. Later, in Iraq, he spies on Sayid, who is mourning the death of Nadia. It seems Sayid had recently met up with her again, married her, and then she died. That... sucks.

Future Ben has Sayid kill a man who Ben says killed Nadia. Said man works for Charles Widmore, the man Ben says is the show's ultimate villain. It works. Sayid wants to partner up with Ben, unaware that he's becoming one of Ben's pawns. Ben then pays Charles Widmore himself a visit. But we've got a video of that for you.

The questions

- Ben seemed confused as to why he was waking up in the Saraha like he did, and he also asked what the date was at the hotel. Even the year. Is Ben... a time jumper?
- Is the doctor really dead? Are the boaties lying when they say he's fine? Or... are their duplicates of the doctor?
- Did Bakir really kill Nadia?
- When Sayid tackled Ben, he yelled something about "why do you spy on me," but then was very surprised to find out it was Ben. Who was Sayid referring to?
- Did Ben get off the island the way he said he did?
- What is the Secret Room2?
- How did Claire survive a house explosion with little to no visible injuries, and is walking straight? What kind of magical contract did Emile de Ravin sign to defy our expectations for TV explosions?
- What relationship does Ben have with Smokey?
- Where is Penny?
- Are Ben and Widmore looking for the island?
- Why can't Ben kill Widmore?
- What were these "rules" that were changed?

Video: Ben and Widmore face off for the first time:

Next week

"Something Nice Back Home," 10 p.m. ET. Jack's appendix bursts, leaving Kate and Juliet to take care of him. Who will he thank first? Also, team Sawyer encounters something wrong while making their way back to the beach.

More Idol Fallout

2008-04-23T22:46:00.004-04:00

*Spoiler Alert*

After the shocking American Idol elimination of Michael Johns two weeks ago, you would think the Idol execs would be done breaking their viewers' hearts. But alas, this is not the case. Sadly Irish charmer Carly Smithson was eliminated. To make matters worse, Syesha Mercado was the other contestant in the bottom two, while somehow Jason Castro & Brooke White (easily the weakest two contestants) managed to remain safe. This either proves that Americans are deaf, off their rocker or voting for personality/looks--or, the just as likely reasoning, that Idol is rigged.

If MJ's elimination wasn't enough, now Idol has truly lost some fans and viewers with Carly's departure. I would claim that her elimination is even more unexpected. Fortunately, there is a good aspect to all of this. David Cook will most likely benefit as he is the only worthwhile contestant left for MJ & Carly fans. Here's to hoping for a David-vs.-David finale.

Ok, the rant is over...for now. ;-)

Idol Top 6 Performances

2008-04-23T15:36:00.003-04:00

In the past on American Idol, contestants were advised to stay away from being too theatrical because broadway voices were considered a negative connotation. Despite this, producers thought it was be a good idea to have this week's theme center on songs composed and written by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. Not only was it a bit odd, especially considering it is following Mariah Carey week, but it was also rather difficult for the group of contestants. Nevertheless, it seemed to offer them a great challenge, which only a handful of the Idols could properly handle.

Last week Kristy Lee Cook was voted off (finally). In comparison to the boos and shock of MJ's elimination the week prior, few were upset by this week's results. To be fair, Cook was really improving and did have a great voice. Though, I'm sure most of us felt it was her time to go.

According to recaps of tonight's performances, Syesha Mercardo stepped up and gave a performance full of personality. Carly Smithson and the Davids were also said to give solid performances. Brooke White and Jason Castro struggled, and they are probably the two contestants most likley in danger.

For more info, check out the following:

Article: Showtunes trip up 'Idol' contestants:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24262296

Article: Song by song recap:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem-top-6-a_b_98129.html

Article: Predictions at MLive.com:

http://www.mlive.com/music/index.ssf/2008/04/andrew_lloyd_webber_a_hit_on_a.html

Tune into Fox tonight at 9pm for the results.

*Random musings: The themes for the past two weeks have made this sad Idol fan miss Michael Johns. If anyone could've belted out Carey's diva songs or Lord Andrew's showtunes, it would've been MJ. Though, this is coming from a distraught fan. So, in other words, don't mind me.

TV Spin-Off's: do they work?

2008-04-20T23:47:00.004-04:00

Television spin-offs do not always fail. Nor do they always succeed.

With all the buzz surrounding the forthcoming spin-off of NBC's The Office, lots of internet commentators have been wondering if there can be a successful cousin from a popular television show. We went looking through the internet to find what worked and what didn't work. Here's some examples of what we found.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show - This popular sitcom about a woman balancing her personal life and career not only enchanted millions of viewers each week, it also had a bright cast of characters, a few of whom got their own television shows.

Spin-Offs:

Rhoda: Mary's spunky neighbor moved from St. Paul/Minnesota back to New York to find romance, get married, get divorced and try to find love all over again. The show was a huge success when it premiered, sometimes out-performing the show it spun off from. However, creative decisions clashed with what fans wanted in later seasons and the show was ultimately canceled, but not before staying on the air for a respectable five seasons and producing 110 episodes.
VERDICT: Successful spin-off.

Phyllis: The precocious landlady left The Mary Tyler Moore Show to star in her own sitcom. During it's first season it was the sixth highest-rated television series, but was canceled in it's second season because of lower ratings.
VERDICT: Semi-successful.

Lou Grant: After The Mary Tyler Moore Show went off the air, actor Ed Asner was able to continue playing his curmudgeon news director, this time switching from a half-hour sitcom about a television newsroom to an hour-long drama set in a newspaper. Like Rhoda, Lou Grant lasted five seasons and produced 114 episodes. The series continued to have great ratings and it's cancellation was the subject of controversy. (The networked thought Ed Asner was using the show, and his SAG presidency, as political soapboxes.)
VERDICT: Successful spin-off.

Friends - This television show about a group of friends experiencing life's ups and downs was one of the highest-rated television shows of all time. The final episode was watched by over 50 million viewers. So it seemed like a terrific idea to spin off one of the shows most popular characters into their own show, called...

Joey: Having moved from NYC to LA, Joey must now grow up and take charge of his life, while other characters continue to behave in eccentric ways. The series high point in the ratings was 18.6 million viewers, until it plummeted down to below 5 million. The show failed to attract a steady audience and was met with much criticism. The show produced 46 episodes and was canceled after two seasons.
VERDICT: Not successful. For modern-day television viewers, Joey is what people fear most in a The Office spin-off: completely changing a character and putting him/her in a situation that the viewer does not appreciate.

Grey's Anatomy - Hot doctors, hot young doctors, love triangles and sex. This premise has helped the Seattle-based hospital drama become a weekly staple for millions of viewers who need to get their Seattle Grace fix, no matter how many bad McPuns their friends make. In 2007, the show took one of their lead doctors and spun another show off, called...

Private Practice: Dr. Addison Montgomery moved to LA to work in a communal medical practice with her best friend from medical school. At Oceanside Wellness, she discovered that they too have hot young doctors, love triangles and sex. However, the show was aimed for more older, 'mature' viewers, alienating many original Grey's fans, who felt the show was a let-down. Despite this, the show found enough new viewers to make it one of the most-watched shows of the season.
VERDICT: It's still a young show. It has time to fail, it has time to blossom. I'd say it looks successful, but like Phyllis, it could take a sudden nosedive. (I hope not, though. It's got charm.)

SO? Could an Office spin-off work? If history is our guide, it could last for at least one season. And more often than not, it might actually work fairly well. Some shows like Joey and AfterMASH have scared a lot of people to the idea of spin-offs, while forgetting other notable successes, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer's spin-off Angel, which ran for five seasons. Or All in the Family, which begat Maude and The Jeffersons.

Television spin-offs can and have worked. But as to whether or not The Office 2 will work or not, unfortunately, we will just have to wait and see what it itself is like before making a judgment.

What is "Scarlet"?

2008-04-15T22:13:00.003-04:00

Have you seen ads for the TV mini-series Scarlet? Suddenly tonight, both on television and online I've been barraged by ads for this series, premiering in just a couple weeks, that I have never heard of. Worse? None of the ads say what network it's on. None! And it says it's a "TV series," so we know it's on TV. But try doing a web search! There's nothing out there about the series.

It's one thing to withhold information to build excitement. But even with marketing ideas like that... I mean, we all knew Cloverfield would be in theaters. We knew where to find it. I saw an intriguing commercial for an intriguing series, but I have no clue where to find it, after spending several minutes looking for it. Now I'm less interested.

Can anybody clue me in? What channel is this TV series airing on?

Idol Top 7 Performances

2008-04-15T21:59:00.003-04:00

This week on American Idol the theme was Mariah Carey's songbook as the diva was the contestants' mentor. This is a difficult week for songs because it greatly limits what the contestants can sing. However, it also gives them a chance to tackle more contemporary material. With such a talented and diverse group of performers, this week could truly demonstrate who could actually make it in today's music industry.

(Image: The Top 8 performing during last week's evening of Idol Gives Back).

As for last week, Idol had it's annual season shocker as the gorgeously talented Michael Johns was prematurely eliminated. To make matters worse, the producers had Ryan Seacrest send Johns out on a rather cruel note, reminding him and everyone else that no was was eliminated during last year's Idol Gives Back week. Call me crazy, but it seems the backlash has proven that being 'unpredictable' doesn't pay off.

Thus with the departure of the "Glossy Aussie"--a nickname created by resident rocker David Cook--I also take my leave of Idol Season 7. I'll continue to post recaps by linking to other sites. And if I end up watching again, I'll return to the former recapping format.

As of now, my fingers are crossed for a David Cook finale versus either David Archuleta or Carly Smithson. They're the top contenders now.

According to recaps of tonight's performances, the Davids were solid once again. Jason Castro and Kristy Lee Cook showed improvement (darn her! would she just leave already?). And lastly, Brooke White, Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson are the ones that might be in danger.

For more info, check out the following:

Article: American Idol guys sing Mariah Carey better than the girls:
http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2008/04/15/american-idol-guys-sing-mariah-carey-better-than-the-girls/

Article: AI Top 7 Performances, Live Thoughts:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/american-idol/american-idol-7-top-7-performa-18624.aspx

Samantha Who?: The Boss

2008-04-15T17:10:00.004-04:00

Timothy Olyphant guest-starred in this episode. Who is Timothy Olyphant, you ask? I don't know! Because I don't get HBO. But, he was on the series Deadwood and became popular through that, I guess. But he IS popular. So, I guess it was a big deal that he was on this week.

This week's episode dealt with Olyphant, playing one of Samantha's bosses, coming in to propose to the titular character. Except Sam doesn't remember having an affair with Olyphant, so she turns him - and the diamond ring - down. Olyphant doesn't like hearing "no" and woos over Samantha's parents. (Quite easily, too.) Still, Samantha rejects his advances. But not before almost loosing Andrea as a friend. (Andrea was quite smitten with Olyphant) And Dena, taking an online romance writing course, explained what was going on the whole time.

The biggest moment would be when Todd comes storming into the Newly household, jealous that Sam is dating a billionare. In a moment of anger and confusion, Todd did what he only knew how: He kissed Sam. And not just a peck. This was a kiss. Whoo-boy!

What worked: Samantha was truely sorry that she didn't remember Olyphant and was extremely gracious and gentle. She didn't fall head-over-heels just because he's a billionaire (her mom did, though). She tried to remain true to who she knew she is. They could have easily made it where Sam was smitten with Olyphant and didn't care about anything else, but having her take this slightly unexepcted route made the episode much more charming and engaging to watch.

And I really like Dena's subplot where she analyzed the characters and their romantic stereotypes. If you've never seen the movie Stranger Than Fiction, then you might have missed what it's like to have any entire storyline about telling the main story. It's terribly meta, but completely fun just the same.

What didn't work: I'm not quite sure I buy that Andrea would just become so sad and depressed about loosing Olyphant. I know Andrea tries to make herself look tougher than she actually is, but I thought she would have tried to exact revenge, get even. Within the time constraints of a half-hour, I can *maybe* see why they did what they did. But I still don't quite buy it. (Even at that, the actress continues to earn her pay with her incredibly powerful, engaging performances.)

Next episode: Sam and Todd deal with the fallout from their kiss. And Sam tries to save a butterfly habitat from demolition. Oh, Sam. It airs next Monday on ABC at 9:32 p.m.

Samantha Who?: The Girlfriend

2008-04-13T20:51:00.003-04:00

Wow. I am so behind on my television. I just got to Monday's Samantha Who? on Sunday. I haven't even seen Idol in two weeks! I know. It is completely horrible. Thankfully, lots of primetime television is now online, so I can watch at my pleasure. (When I'm not watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, that is.)

You know what this show kind of reminds me of? Frasier. Not in that it's a deep intellectual show. And unlike Frasier, Samantha Who? tends to be funny throughout without switching to drama. But I think this is the rare show where they can take their characters, throw them into any situation or relationship, and it works out just fine. While shows like How I Met Your Mother, The Office and Two and a Half Men get a lot of press, this little gem just keeps plugging along with or without guest stars, spin-offs or what-not.

Monday's episode had Samantha having to pretend to live in her apartment with Todd and his girlfriend, Kiele Sanchez. I realize she was only on-screen on Lost for about 30 minutes total, but who knew Kiele was such a terrific actress? And funny, too. The subplot involved Dena and Regina getting wasted and acting out their childhood frustrations. It involved makeup, a rabbit and a turtle... it's better if you see it.

What worked: Uh... everything? First off, both Christina Applegate and Kiele Sanchez were amazing. So was everyone else (no bad acting marks this week!), but these two really shined. The Newly's poultry fascination was once again in full force, with Howard absent this week because he was at some sort of rooster convention. I... love whatever this show does.

What didn't work: Not enough Andrea. The scene with the doorman seemed to tie up the storyline a little too neatly, but the doorman is neat enough where I can let it slide. I don't want to seem like I'm not critical of TV, I am. (See: Lipstick Jungle, Lost) But this episode was a nice little slice of TV heaven.

Next episode: "The Boss," guest starring Timothy Olyphant as a wealthy businessman who proposes to Sam, stirring up some rivalry against Andrea. Airing at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

NBC's family hour?

2008-04-13T20:45:00.002-04:00

There has been some talk about NBC's airing of 30 Rock's "MILF Island" episode at 8:30 p.m. last week. The network had previously said that the 8 p.m. hour would be for family programming, reality and game shows, all nice entertainment stuff that the whole family can enjoy. (Or loathe, if you're talking about me and Deal or No Deal contestants.)

NBC issued a statement, saying that when NBC said 8 p.m. would be family hour, they basically mean it unless they want to air something that is not family friendly in that hour. (Read it for yourself to judge what he said.)

So next time they tell you that they're designating an hour of programming for something, don't listen? I guess?

The Office: Dinner Party

2008-04-12T14:05:00.004-04:00

Remember when The Office came back in the fall with the hour-long episodes, and how after months of anticipation we were all so excited for a new episode, and then it kind of wasn't exceptionally great and you were like, is this The Office or a kind of a funny show? And then answer is, it's a kind of a funny show. It was daring. It took a risk. And it should never do it again.

The episode had Michael trapping Jim and Pam into going to a dinner party with him and Jan, plus Angela and Andy. Jan thinks Pam is Michael's former lover and cannot stand her. Jim cannot stand anything about the evening. Pam is hungry, but dinner won't be served until three hours after they arrive. (That sucks.) Michael and Jan trade barbs the whole night about how each other is bothering themselves, which keeps escalating the whole night until the police are involved. (It's easier if you just watch the episode on Hulu)

What worked: The acting was superb. Jim and Pam's facial expressions were absolutely hilarious. While she had about two lines, Angela was extremely funny. And Michael and Jan were great to watch. The acting stole the episode.

What didn't work: Eh... it wasn't my favorite episode. First off, having only two or three "interview moments" (are those what those cutaways are called?) made scenes feel a lot longer than normal. And there was really nothing to tie it back to the paper company. Part of why I like this show is because it shows all these really weird moments and how co-workers just have to deal with that in a working environment. It was still fun to watch, but, not as much fun as when the whole rest of the cast is involved. Unlike 30 Rock, whose surreal environment leads to more experimentation, The Office puts things in a fishbowl and leaves everybody to deal. This episode changed fishbowls on us, and I was left wanting the old one.

And, we definitely need more cutaways.

Next week: Michael becomes fascinated with a office supply catalog model. Kevin and Andy try to win back stole parking spaces from the other businesses in the office park.

30 Rock: MILF Island

2008-04-12T13:48:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the delayed review, but, I have to work. And I occasionally time-shift my TV programs, so, I don't always see the same shows when you do.

After a long absence, 30 Rock returned to Thursday night television with a very unique, different but funny episode. Instead of having Liz play the timid person trying to awkwardly keep things together, Liz was power-mad, doing whatever she could to keep people from finding out that she was the source of a Page Six blind item blasting her boss, Jack. This was juxtaposed to the season finale of MILF Island, a Survivor-type show which involves young boys and, well, really hot women the show it called MILF Island they need to be mothers these boys would like to... yuck, fake NBC, yuck and yuck real NBC this show airs at 8:30 during family hour oh my WOW.

What worked: One of the reasons I enjoy 30 Rock is it's Simpsons-like style of comedy, this sort of comedy where they just throw jokes out left and right and move past them as quickly as possible. If something is absurd, terrific. If it hits close to home, great. This episode also did a great job showing off aspects of Liz Lemon that we kind of knew were there already, but did so by casting her in a different light. I wouldn't want angry Liz every week. But once a season, maybe? I can dig it.

And let me just say that I'm glad the writers seem to remember their theme song. The opening act was all written, edited and produced very well in a mock-dramatic way that blended extremely well with the theme song. Another NBC show that I recapped, in it's season finale a few weeks ago, had an extremely sad opening, but then we had their extremely bouncy and flirty theme song. It didn't work and took me out of the show. Well done, 30 Rock.

What didn't work: Having to wait this long!

Next week: Dean Winters guest stars as a civilian hero who Jack has brought in to the building. Jack also looks for a hip republican icon, but can only find one from 1940's, so he turns to Tracy to support republicans. Hee!

Bonus: Here's a very funny clip, relating to the comic strip Cathy:

Idol Top 8 Performances

2008-04-08T21:39:00.004-04:00

To fit this upcoming Wednesday airing of Idol Gives Back, tonight’s theme was inspirational songs. With such a vast spectrum of songs, the contestants had a lot of freedom and a great chance to impress the judges and audience. However, odd song choices and difficult, hectic scheduling due to Idol Gives Back hurt the evening’s inspirational theme. Instead, the Idol group provided viewers with lackluster performances, many of which we can only hope to forget.

Last week, Ramiele Maluby was voted off. It was especially sad to see her go since it meant Kristy Lee Cook made it through to another round (again!).

(Above: Last week's "It's All Wrong But It's All Right" was a defining moment for Michael Johns.)

Recap

· Michael Johns- “Dream On”
This performance was not as memorable or strong as last week’s, but it was decent. As Simon said, it was a good performance but Michael is better when sticking to the more blues, R&B element rather than straight rock.

· Syesha Mercado- “I Believe”

This girl could belt out every single number in creation and the judges would still continue comparing her to the original song artists. Syesha gave a great performance and her voice sounded wonderful, but the judges still don’t show her the love she deserves.

· Jason Castro- “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”

Though it was the most understated performance of this song ever on Idol, Jason’s vocals returned a bit to their former glory. The one thing he could improve upon is ridding himself of those awkward facial expressions.

· Kristy Lee Cook- “Anyway”

Her song choice was probably the most suitable for her style, as it showcased her voice very well. She’s been making smart song selections, which has helped in keeping her here.

· David Cook- “Innocent”

Oh how the high and mighty fall. Though others have stumbled in this competition, this was perhaps the most unusual performance of the night. There were odd key changes that David couldn’t keep up with, and it was weak overall.

· Carly Smithson- “Show Must Go On”

This was the only other performance to rival David Cook’s as the worst of the evening. Carly’s interpretation of inspirational was heavy, angry and stiff. Once again, she was disconnected and far from engaging.

· David Archuleta- “Angels”
Though this wasn’t his best performance, David had the best song choice of the night. He started off a bit weak, but after hitting the chorus, his vocals sounded great. Overall, it was a decent performance.

· Brooke White- “You’ve Got A Friend”

When performing last, viewers expect the best. So when a contestant performs a boring, forgettable song at the end of the night, that singer should be a bit worried. Brooke’s performance was nice, but not original, strong or memorable.

Who Stays & Who Goes

· The Best: There weren’t any truly standout performances of the evening, so it’s difficult to peg who performed the best or worst. Taking improvement into consideration, Syesha Mercado, Jason Castro and possibly Kristy Lee Cook could be considered the best for tonight. David Archuleta was also pretty consistent.

· Middle Ground: Michael Johns’ performance was strong, but it didn’t stack up against the brilliance he demonstrated last week. Brooke White also gave a so-so performance.

· In Danger: If previous weeks are taken into consideration, these two should be safe. Despite this, David Cook and Carly Smithson did give the weakest performances of the evening. David should be safe, but Carly might be in trouble.

Tune in tomorrow, Wednesday night at 7:30 for FOX’s presentation of Idol Gives Back. The results show will be at 8:00pm on Thursday night.

-----

*Note: Image from previous performance night. Photos of tonight not available yet.

Your popular TV shows

2008-04-07T18:00:00.003-04:00

I was busy on Facebook today, looking at the Grand Rapids CC network page, when I noticed the top 10 TV shows amongst students:

Family Guy
House
Grey's Anatomy
Lost
CSI
That 70's Show
Simpsons
Friends
The Office
South Park

Does that compare to your taste? I doesn't to mine completely. I would have taken off Family Guy, Grey's, CSI, That 70's Show, Friends and South Park. Now mind you, this is out of 8,892 GRCC students on Facebook, out of what, 20,000 or more students on campus? So it's a large number, but by no means the fair majority... yet. So what's your top ten list? In no particular order, mine is:

Lost
American Idol
Pushing Daisies
The Closer
Bones
House
The Office
Samantha Who?
Psych
Chuck

And that's just shows on the air currently! And that's not even counting shows I watch out of some sort of obligation even though I kind of really hate them. (24, Heroes) As you can see, it doesn't quite match up to the average GRCC Facebook user.

Idol Top 9 Performances

2008-04-02T16:04:00.005-04:00

This week on American Idol, the theme was Dolly Parton’s songs with Miss Dollywood herself as the guest mentor. Dolly’s songbook is unique in that there are several classics that are simple enough for the contestants to inject their own style and personality. She was without a doubt one of the show’s most effective and likable mentors, enabling the contestants to give some truly memorable performances.

(Above: The Idols with mentor Dolly Parton).

Last week, Chikezie was voted off, keeping Syesha Mercado and Jason Castro safe. Personally, I am glad we didn’t have to sit through his warbling a Dolly Parton number.

Recap

· Brooke White- “Jolene”

At first it seemed like an odd song choice, but if fit her style. Brooke is consistent, but she needs to have another big moment to showcase and prove her strength again.The song choice

· David Cook- “Little Sparrow”

Spastic new haircut aside, David’s original arrangement and song choice were both impressive. It may not have been his best performance, but his voice still sounded great.

· Ramiele Maluby- “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?”

She has a good voice but even with decent song selections, Ramiele’s personality and presence on stage aren’t stacking up. In a such a strong season, she isn’t standing out among the bold and innovative competition.

· Jason Castro- “Traveling Through”

It was nice to hear Jason perform a bit more uptempo—and slightly less sleepy—song, but it still wasn’t different, memorable or strong enough. He needs a truly great song choice to return him to his “Hallelujah” glory.

· Carly Smithson- “Here You Come Again”
Carly picked one of the best songs of the evening, which is also a personal favorite of mine. Her arrangement (sounding eerily similar to former Idol Clay Aiken’s version), was silky and smart. Her vocals were great as always, but her performances are starting to wane.

· David Archuleta– “Smokey Mountain Memories”

David tends to choose mature songs, and while he is able to pull them off, it would be nice to hear him pick something younger. Despite that, he sounded ground and was committed to giving another good performance.

· Kristy Lee Cook- “The Coat of Many Colors”

This week’s theme was perfect for Kristy, but she didn’t make the most of it. Simon was spot on when he stated that it was “pleasant but forgettable.”

· Syesha Mercado- “I Will Always Love You”

The best song choice of the evening, though Randy and Simon insist on hating whenever contestants tackle Whitney renditions. Syesha showed great control and her voice was beautiful. It was a fantastic performance.

· Michael Johns- “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright”

After last week’s high note, this was a great follow up to continue showing his versatility and style. His voice and tone were bluesy, raspy and beautiful. It was a very natural performance with great presence.

Who Stays & Who Goes

· The Best: David Cook, Carly Smithson, and David Archuleta proved to be strong and consistent competitors last night, while Syesha Mercado and Michael Johns treated audiences to the best performances of the evening.

· Middle Ground: Brooke White gave a good performance, but she’ll needs to step up her game like other contestants have. Kristy Lee Cook sounded and looked nice, but she may still be blooming too late.

· In Danger: Ramiele Maluby and Jason Castro were the weakest of the night. While Ramiele is forgettable with a good voice, Jason’s struggle is that despite being memorable and likable, he’s been giving mediocre performances.

Tune in tonight at 8:58pm for the results on FOX.

Discovering "The Bob Newhart Show"

2008-04-02T00:42:00.003-04:00

I was messing around on Hulu the other day when, having exhausted all avaliable 30 Rock episodes, I decided to try something new. I watched episodes of the now-decades old The Bob Newhart Show. And I love it. It's a great show with engaging characters and situations. And the humor holds up over time, too.

While watching one episode, I noticed a character seemed to be slightly familiar, but I had no clue who it was. (I'm not an expert on 1970's television.) I stuck around through the credits to find out that the mystery man was none other than Arvin Sloane himself, Ron Rifkin. If you want to see Uncle Saul from years ago, he's the business manager in this episode embedded right below. Enjoy!

What happened to G4?

2008-04-01T10:54:00.003-04:00

If you are a Comcast subscriber, you may have noticed one less channel in your basic plan. That's because Comcast moved tech-friendly G4 to digital channel 162. So unless you pay for one of those converter boxes, you'll have to do without Attack of the Show.

If you do get a converter box, then Comcast added even more HD channels for you to chose from! Or, at least, they were supposed to. Here's what we've heard - from the March 1 Grand Rapids Press - they are adding:

Effective March 31, 2008, Local Origination on Ch 20 and Ch 900 is Leased Access and will remain on Ch 20. Ch 900 and Ch 901 will become Comcast Television Network.
Effective March 31, 2008, HD Direct Tune Ch currently available on Ch 210 will move to Ch 253.
Effective March 31, 2008, Cinemax HD will move from Ch 219 to Ch 217, Showtime HD will move from Ch 223 to Ch 218 & Starz HD will move from Ch 227 to Ch 219.
Effective March 31, 2008, Disney HD Ch 230, ABC Family HD Ch 229 will be added to the HD lineup.
Effective March 31, 2008, G4 will now only be available on Digital Starter Ch 162.
Effective March 31, 2008, MTV Jams, MTV 3 and MTV Hits will now be available in the Digital Classic Package.
Effective April 1, 2008, AMC HD Ch 222, Nick HD Ch 228, & Spike HD Ch 225 will be added to the HD lineup.
Effective April 9, 2008, REELZ Ch will be added to Digital Classic Ch 260.
Effective April 9, 2008, AZN Ch 186 will no longer be available.
Effective April 9, 2008, GOL TV will be added to the Sports & Entertainment Package Ch 268.
Effective April 9, 2008, LOGO will be added to the Digital Preferred Package Ch 163.
Effective April 9, 2008, Encore multi-plex Channels 152, 154, 156, 158 & 160 will change service level from Digital Preferred to Digital Classic.

Ramblings: What if TV was like the internet?

2008-03-31T00:45:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Ramblings, our new feature where our writers just write out their thoughts as they happen, without essay format or anything making any kind of sense, or using logic, really. Which is like my writings usually, anyways. Huh. - Charles

We all what it's like to sit down in our dens, bedrooms, living spaces and watch television. And now, an increasing number of people know what it's like to watch television on the internet. But what if the internet crossed over into your living room? Here are some advantages -and disadvantages - of switching over from one medium to another:

- Your TV would probably look like the illustration above. There would be a big button, probably touch activated if so desired, to play a program. You would have a dedicated information bar, to relay programming information and ads.

- You would no longer be flipping through channels at random to see what's on. You would have to shift through menus, chose networks, chose programs, then individual episodes. Kind of like on-demand.

- There would be less advertising. Most streaming shows have an equal or reduced number of ad breaks, with one commercial sponsor for each break.

- You wouldn't need TiVo, per se. You just move your TV viewing schedule ahead one day, so you can watch most of your favorite programs online. (Live TV is still a ways off for most networks)

- While laying in bed, you could rate a particular episode, leave a review, or suggest a similar title to what you are watching.

On the flip-side, if the internet were more like broadcast television:

- You would have more advertising in exchange for no more menus. Programming would always be on. You just choose the channel you want to watch. If you want to re-watch a program, hope that it is replayed on Saturday night. If not, wait for summer reruns!

It is interesting to see how there are different levels of interactivity for a program, depending on which medium it's in. For broadcast television, it almost seems like watching a show can be a passive activity. Whereas on the internet, suddenly it can become interactive.

That doesn't mean I want the lines blurred between them much more, though. I enjoy flipping through channels and seeing what's on at all times. But I also enjoy going on-line and being able to watch a show that I like whenever I choose to. (I just watched The Bob Newhart Show for the first time, on-line. I couldn't do that on broadcast TV in 2008!)

And yet, this is a web site, talking about television programs, usually on broadcast television. (Oh, there is some irony there!)

Of course, with TiVo's being hooked up to the internet now, along with other DVR's, I'm guessing soon everyone can just go on-line to watch programs through their TV's, in addition to broadcast television. If that happens, I want TV's produced that look like my quickly thrown together illustration. With full credit. And royalties.

theRecap: Prison Break news to lose a head over

2008-03-30T00:12:00.004-04:00

Welcome back to theRecap, our weekly feature where we shift through all the gossip to bring you the actual news of the TV week goneby. (And there is a lot of gossip and speculation, too.) Here's what you might have missed:

Prison Break to bring back someone
One of the many people to have died on the popular FOX thriller will be alive and well when the fourth season kicks off next fall. If you don't want to know who it is, please, move to a cave. Because this will be one of the big stories talked about when the new season premieres, and will be heavily hyped. (Spoiler-fillde Story)
Related: Women's Prison Break spin-off still planned. (Same spoiler-filled story)

Juliet Darling not so Dirty Sexy
Samaire Armstrong will not be returning to Dirty Sexy Money next season in a full-time capacity. She is expected to still be in the show, just as a recurring character. (Source)

David Alan Grier's Chocolate News
A new Comedy Central show, David Alan Grief's Chocolate News, has just been given the greenlight by the cable network. The show will take a humorous look at pop culture. The show is expected to premiere in Summer 2009. If the title stays the same, I will be amazed. (Story)

Daytime Emmy's 'court' a new category
The annual awards ceremony celebrating the best in television has added a new category: Best court show. (Story)

FOX refuses to pay 'arbitrary' FCC fine
The FOX broadcasting company is refusing to pay the FCC $91,000 in fines related to Married with Children episodes. (I know! How many college students even know what Married with Children even is?) But the FCC says that sexual activities depicted warrant the fine. (Story)

CNNHL adds comedy
CNN Headlines News will take after FOX News Channel and try their hands at some weekend comedy with Not Just Another Cable News Show, a half-hour program program in the same line as Weekend Update and The Half Hour News Hour. (Story)

NUMB3RS LOS3S 1
Diane Farr will be leaving the spelling-challenged NUMB3RS next season. (Story)

Dollhouse gets a big cast...
...And it's probably filled with newcomers you never heard of. But, it's Joss Whedon, so they are probably excellent actors and actresses. I hope. (Story)

Idol castoff update
This week saw Chikizie get the boot.

TV Highlights: March 31 - April 6, 2008

2008-03-29T23:05:00.005-04:00

Welcome back to TV Highlights, where I comb the primetime television listings and point out what sounds interesting to me, and what might be interesting for you also. It's not a complicated gig, so let's get to it.

Monday, March 31
- CBS has new episodes of their programs all night long. Including CSI: Miami at 10. And a new Britney-less episode of How I Met Your Mother, where Barney uses a basketball bracket-like system to figure out 1 out of 64 women who are trying to sabotage him. That is... actually kind of funny. (8:30 p.m.)
- The tango and jive are the dances of the week on Dancing with the Stars, 8 p.m. on ABC. It is followed by a new installment of The Bachelor: Give me a Green Card at 9:35.
- A murder in Chinatown reminds John of one of his dead children on New Amsterdam, causing him to reflect on his immortality, like every episode. (FOX, 9 p.m.)
- Part two of Medium's exciting episode concludes at 10 p.m. on NBC. How'd they get Anjelica Huston? That is some cool casting there.
- People do superstitious things in a game of chance that is so not-challenging it makes Tic-Tac-Toe look like a military strategy. (Deal or No Deal, 9 pm., NBC)

Tuesday, April 1
- Dolly Parton's songbook is the theme for American Idol. Horrific? Yes. But it's now down to just one hour. Yes! Only one hour of Idol per week. And it's on at 8, too, on FOX.
- After Idol is the premiere of Hell's Kitchen. But if you've watched FOX for more than 30 seconds in the past month, you would have already seen an ad for it.
- CSI: Miami is on tonight, too? What kind of crime scene investigation heaven is this? (10 p.m., CBS)
- Kylie Minogue performs on the Dancing with the Stars results show at 9 p.m. on ABC.
- Barbara Walters wants to know if you can Live to be 150 at 10 p.m. on ABC. She will interview old people or people who have known really old people, then talk about how you too can be really old. No, seriously. It's a real special. Not that I have anything against growing old, but, I'm also left-handed and we seemingly die sooner than everyone else, so I don't have much to aspire to, I guess.

Wednesday, April 2
- Criminal Minds is all new at 9 p.m. on CBS. I should watch, because TV Guide says that it has Nicholas Brendon in it, and he is not that bad of an actor. I say this having watched both Buffy AND Kitchen Confidential. I'm not sure if he's actually in it, the unreliable IMDb doesn't credit him for this episode, but, we'll see!
- CSI: NY is all new on CBS? ANOTHER new episode of a CSI franchise? Oh my, 10 p.m. on CBS is just crazy this week!
- Here's a fun activity: Watch Men in Trees at 10 p.m. on ABC. Then congratulate yourself! You were probably the only one. And it's a shame, because the show is really good. Yes, I'll watch it on occasion. It had Ever Carradine in it for a couple episodes once. How could I not watch?
- Dolly Parton sings "Jesus and Gravity" and the Clarks Brothers perform on American Idol: David Archuleta doesn't get kicked off, 9 p.m. FOX. It's lead-in is the most. shocking. episode. of Moment of Truth. EVER.
- The third season of Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures kicks off at 8 p.m. on PBS.
- Hey! It's another Deal or No Deal on NBC at 8! I can't wait to see people not the million this time!

Thursday, April 10
CBS has a new Survivor: Fans vs. Fan's Fans or whatever at 8 p.m.
CBS then has a two-hour CSI event, starting at 9 p.m. TWO HOURS of CSI? After Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday's installments? OH MY WORD THIS IS HOW 'MILLIONAIRE' DIED JUST ASK REGIS.
ABC has two new episodes of the cute Miss Guided at 8 p.m. Well, one new episode at 8 p.m., the next at 8:30. It's not like they can play two new episodes at once. Or, can't play both episodes at once well. Or can they?
- Eli Stone has a brain thing that causes musical numbers to happen spontaneously at a law firm, AGAIN! (10 p.m., ABC)
- Smallville is a repeat? But how will I know if Clark Kent ever becomes Superman?

Friday, April 4
- CBS has an all-new Ghost Whisperer, Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular and NUMB3RS, starting at 8 p.m. I guess we needed a night off from CSI's.
- Duel returns to ABC at 9 p.m. with a "revamped formula," by which I hope they mean the show is less awkward and easier to understand what on earth is going on.
- FOX is airing a repeat of Bones from the first season at 8. I guess... why not? It's followed by a new Cantebury's Law at 9, in which Elizabeth is indicted for a crime and then has to tackle accused killers. It happens to all of us!
- An all new Amnesia at 8 on NBC, followed by a two-hour Dateline that does NOT need the Grand Rapids media to hype up! Terrific.

Saturday, April 5
- The Final 4 play in the NCAA Basketball Tournament at 6 p.m. on CBS.
- ABC plays Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 6
- CBS has an all-new Cold Case at 9, followed by a "new" Dexter at 10.
- Oprah's Big Give is all new at 9 on ABC. Natalie Cole and Jada Pinkett Smith guest star.
- Sense and Sensibility concludes at 9 on PBS.
- NBC is using repeats of their USA shows Monk and Psych to fill up Sunday night. And I'm not complaining. The Monk episode guest stars Andy Richter and the Psych episode Lou Diamond Phillips. (Who was just in Grand Rapids for Camelot.)

And those are your highlights for the upcoming week!

Lipstick Jungle: Take the High Road/Carpe Threesome

2008-03-27T23:08:00.002-04:00

I know I'm a little behind in these recaps, so I'll keep them short.

This show is boring.

Not the actors or actresses, mind you. Although the actor who plays Kirby was evidentially hired only because of his muscles, because his acting verges on vapid and empty. Thankfully, it's just his eyebrows that do much acting. And his abs. Here's what you missed:

The recap: There was a rumor of a Harry Potter prequel. Nico and Wendy flew out to Scotland to secure rights, but Nico is a backstabber, brought BoyToy along, Wendy found out, and they are no longer BFF's. Nico continues to hook up with BoyToy, but then feels a rush of guilt when her husband has a heart attack and no one can get a hold of Nico because she's busy. With BoyToy. Victory calls up Wendy, and the three hug and cry. Incidentally, Charles and Nico must have no other family or friends near the city, because it is only them at the hospital. In the end, Nico breaks up with BoyToy, AGAIN, to focus on her husband - who is definitely cheating on Nico.

Meanwhile, on the Victory show, she moves in with Joe. But, in a separate bedroom. Even though she has about 300,000 million square miles of house, Victory thought Joe was ready to make a commitment. So, she gets mad like Victory does. Her mysterious benefactor turns out to be bankrolled by Joe, which makes Victory MAD, because that means Joe owns her. She's an independent woman! She only needs her girl friends! So she breaks up with Joe. And then tries having a threesome with a celebrity couple. (No joke...) She later calls Joe back up, wanting to give things another shot, but Joe's sharing his bed with another lady. Awkward!

What worked: If Kim Raver is not, at the least, voted for an Emmy, I will be very mad. She takes her crappy material and makes the most out of it. You could feed her a chocolate chip and she'd turn it into a pan of brownies, is what I'm saying. Her co-stars are great, too, even if the scenes for Brooke Shields are awkward, and Lindsay Price's storylines are just downright stupid.

What didn't work: The writing. If the show can bring back a whole new team of writers, better writers, then the show could actually be GOOD next season. They've got a great cast. The production values are usually pretty good too. Their main problem is horribly childish storylines that make the main characters unlikable. And they need to find a way to bring Victory into the fold somehow. Nico and Wendy's stories often intertwine, but Victory feels like a tag-along, something the writer's throw in to fill time. Either cut her, or make her essential.

And the Celebrity Apprentice is...

2008-03-27T23:07:00.001-04:00

Piers Morgan won this season of Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice. Go figure. The one businessman out of the whole bunch won a business competition.

Idol Top 10 Performances

2008-03-25T22:12:00.005-04:00

With the judges repeatedly insisting that this batch of contestants is the best in any seasons of American Idol, this week definitely backed up those claims. In the entire history of the show, there has never been such a strong performance week this early in the competition. To make up for last week’s dismal song choices and performances, almost every contestant tonight selected great songs (theme: from their birth year), and they all showed improvement. Hallelujah!

*(Above: David Cook has clearly become the frontrunner with one of tonight's strongest performances. Michael Johns redeemed himself with the evening's best and most memorable performance.)

Last week, Amanda Overmeyer was voted off—which, not to be rude, probably contributed to making tonight such a memorable evening for the Idols’ performances.

Recap
· Ramiele Maluby- 1987 ”Alone”
The song choice was good and shows that she’s trying to change things up. Some parts had pitch-problems, but it was a decent performance overall.
· Jason Castro- 1987 ”Fragile”
The song choice was good for his voice, but it was also completely safe. He improved over last week’s train wreck, but if he stays, Jason needs to try something different.
· Syesha Mercado- 1987 ”If I Were Your Woman”
Syesha gave another strong, solid performance. Her range and voice are so lovely; these last two weeks have been good for her.
· Chikezie- 1985 ”If Only For One Night”
I like that he tried a slow song, but in comparison to the rest of the gang, it was just an okay performance.
· Brooke White- 1983 ”Every Breath You Take”
Brooke redeemed herself a bit from last week, picking a song that fit her style and voice. It was good, but unfortunately for her, it was followed by some more memorable performances.
· Michael Johns– 1978 ”We Will Rock You” & “We Are The Champions” Medley
Michael gave into the judges’ constant nagging and finally belted out a big, rock song(s)—which definitely was a good move. He needs to continue down this route of rocking the stage with his strong voice and stage presence.
· Carly Smithson- 1983 ”Total Eclipse of The Heart”
Carly also followed suit with the other contestants by improving from last week. Though, she was tense and stiff throughout her performance, which kept it from really soaring.
· David Archuleta- 1990 ”You’re The Voice”
David picked the strangest and cheesiest song of the evening, but he gave the performance his all, and his voice sounded great. Though, Simon wasn’t completely off when saying it reminded him of a theme park performance.
· Kristy Lee Cook- 1984 ”God Bless The USA”
This was also a cheesy song selection; however, Kristy belted it out and showed that she can actually sing. Good for her! The question is, is it too late?
· David Cook- 1982 ”Billie Jean”
David stayed true to his rock roots and also did much better than last week. He’s quickly become the frontrunner and is probably the reason why Carly has gotten so tense when performing. As the judges said, he’s the most original and bold contestant, and he’s also willing to stretch boundaries.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· The Best: Syesha Mercado, Michael Johns, David Archuleta, and David Cook gave song really strong and truly memorable performances. Tonight, they were the ones that proved just how great this group of singers is. They all deserve a spot in the Top 9.

· Middle Ground: Brooke White and Carly Smithson also gave good performances, but they paled somewhat in comparison to the astoundingly bold performances given by Michael Johns and David Cook.

· In Danger: Ramiele Maluby, Jason Castro, and Chikezie were all decent, but either their stage presence or vocals lacked and didn’t quite make the grade.

· Wild Card: Kristy Lee Cook upped her game this week. But is it too late? Fans of the show have mostly agreed that she should’ve gone weeks ago. But perhaps this performance was enough to validate her talent?

Tune in tomorrow, Wednesday night at 8:58pm for the results on FOX.

----

*Note: Images from previous performances. Photos of tonight not available yet.

Holiday Break

2008-03-24T20:24:00.001-04:00

TV doesn't take an easter weekend, but, Collegiate on TV did. New TV Highlights and theRecap coming soon.

Lost: Meet Kevin Johnson

2008-03-21T01:16:00.005-04:00

Tonight was the last episode of Lost to air before the show moves to 10 p.m. on Thursday nights on April 24. The shows lead-in will then be Grey's Anatomy, which should help boost the program's dwindling Nielsen numbers. But enough about that stuff! On to the show.

The recap
Freighter-land: Sayid and Desmond hear an alarm and go out to deck to find Captain Gault slugging someone else, keeping them from leaving the boat. He says it is to save their lives. Sayid gets a minute in with Michael Dawson/Kevin Johnson and asks Michael why he is there on the boat. Michael replies: "I'm here to die." So, he's still a bundle of sunshine. Later, Sayid and Desmond confront Michael, who is working in the engine room, and tell him that they need to know why he is on the boat. Michael tells all in form of flashbacks. After the story, Sayid is more than a little mad to know that Michael - the traitor and murderer - is working with Benjamin Linus. So Sayid strong-arms Michael into Gault's cabin and tells the captain that Johnson is "not who you think he is" and that he survived Oceanic 815. And that his name is not, in fact, Kevin Johnson. "It's Michael Dawson. And he's a traitor."

Flashback-land: Some unknown amount of time after getting off the island (!), Michael got a place in New York City. He apparently didn't like it, because he pinned a suicide note to his jacket, revved his car up by the dock of a bay, and slammed the car into a wall. Instead of the water. Because Michael is a moron. Michael survives, much to his dismay. He hallucinates Libby is his nurse, which is kind of creepy. (His real nurse was kind of like Carla, on Scrubs. I kind of expected her to call Michael "Bambi.")

Michael then visits his mom, because he wants to see Walt. (!) Ma won't let him. Apparently, Walt does not want to see Michael. He has nightmares during the middle of the night, panic attacks, something. It's terrible. Awful. And apparently, Ma has to keep the fact that Walt and Michael are alive a secret. They have fake names, apparently. Ma tells Michael that until he can explain what he was doing during the two months he was missing, he gave up his parental rights. Michael walks away, and briefly sees Walt in the window.

Michael then continues to be a jerk by selling Jin's watch, for a gun. With bullets. To kill himself with. Again, jerk. Michael is about to pull the trigger on himself in an alley when Mr. Friendly walks on by. They fight, briefly, and Michael makes it known that he really wants to die. Mr. Friendly acknowledges that his people have been keeping tabs on Michael, and now they want him to do something for him. Michael backs away, prompting Friendly to mention that Michael can't kill himself, because the "island" won't let him. (Is the "island" code word for network censors?)

Michael later tests that theory, and sure enough, even a fully-loaded gun doesn't do anything. He sees the news report that Oceanic 815 was found, all are dead, wreckage can't be recovered. He drops on by Friendly's place, where he finally finds out which was Mr. Friendly swings. (Gay and fierce! But dead.) Friendly feeds Michael the line that Charles Widemore bought a plane to bury in the ocean, that he paid to have an Asian grave dug up and bodies planted, everything is a Widemore production. Because he wants full credit for finding Mystery Island...? Michael believes it and gets his mission: Infiltrate the boat as a crewhand and then "kill everyone on board."

The parade of dead people continues with Minkowski, Naomi, and I think maybe Regina. Naomi and Michael bond over accents, while Miles knows that Michael's real name isn't "Kevin Johnson." Well, thanks for confusing us with that, Miles! Ben has a package delivered to Michael on the boat. Friendly calls. And then there's dialogging from Frank about how awesome it would be if they found some Oceanic 815'ers alive and how he (Frank) believes that there are survivors out there, somewhere.

Michael sees a bunch of the crew doing disc shooting, which is suspiciously killer-like, which Michael should know, so he rushes to open the package. It contains a suitcase. Inside the suitcase is a bomb. Michael places it in the engine room. He sees Libby again, who says "Not Yet," and that is just creepy. The timer goes off, and a tiny little flag pops up. A piece of paper reads "Not Yet," and I laugh so hard. It's like Michael is Wiley Coyote and Ben works for ACME! Hee.

Ben also calls Michael up (under the fake name "Walt") and tells him to be careful, or kill everyone, or something. Ben reminds Michael that the boaties will KILL EVERYONE. So he wants lists on and about every single person on the boat. Then Michael should sabotage the radio room and the engine room. Michael agrees, then Ben calls Michael "one of the good guys."

Barracks-land: Locke assembles a town hall meeting of sorts with Claire, Aaron, Sawyer, Hurley, Karl, Alex, Danielle, Ben and Miles. Locke tells everyone that there will be "no more secrets," which is a lie, but, whatever. Locke and Miles reveal that the boat people are there on the island to... look for Ben! "We kind of knew that, like, forever ago," snipes Hurley. But what they didn't know is that once they have Ben, the boat people have orders to kill everyone else on the island. (If true, why?) Miles switched sides, apparently, and will now help protect Ben from everyone. Ben also lets loose the bomb that Michael is his man on the boat, ticking Sawyer off to no end. Miles later tells Locke in private that Ben will manipulate his way into getting that money that he's supposed to pay, and that he is very good at getting what he wants.

Ben tells Alex that she needs to go to The Temple, a DHARMA station (?) that is a safe sanctuary. Karl is upset; he didn't know about it. Ben doesn't tell everyone, because then it wouldn't be a sanctuary, dolthead. You deserve to die for that kind of stupidity! (Heh.) Ben gives Alex a map to the Temple and says that she can't take Claire, Locke or anyone else, because it is "only for us." Danielle agrees to protect Alex, because if the boaties ever found out that Alex was Ben's daughter, they could kidnap her and use her as leverage.

Cut to.. hours later. Karl, Alex and Danielle are walking. They stop to drink some water and they drink for an eternity, my word, editors, that felt like FOREVER. Longest 40 seconds of my life! Karl channels Han Solo, saying that he "has a bad feeling about this." Then, a sniper attacks them, killing Karl on the spot. I rejoice, because I am cold, heartless and not a Karl fan. Danielle consoles Alex and promises to protect her. She even tells Alex "I love you," which is huge considering Danielle has only known Alex for about a week. So, of course, Danielle gets shot. They SHOT the French Chick. So, I guess she doesn't get a flashback episode, then. Alex surrenders to the unknown gunmen, declaring "I'm Ben's daughter! I'm Ben's daughter!"

What worked: The fact that we had one flashback take up most of the episode. That was rare and done really well. The actor playing Michael did a good job with his role.

What didn't work: The Rousseau deaths felt rushed and done more for shock value than for anything substantive.

Questions: How does the island chose who lives and who doesn't? How can that power apply off the island? How many times did Friendly try to kill himself? Is Walt still on the mainland? What will Gault do with Michael now that he knows he's a habitual traitor? Did Widmore really plant those bodies? Are the boaties going to kill everyone? Who killed Karl, and how can I thank them?

Next time: April 24, 10 p.m., ABC. I'm not even positive I know whose episode it is, actually. The promos make it look like a war is going to break out next episode, but, editing is deceiving, me thinks.

American Idol: 11 to tour?

2008-03-20T15:27:00.004-04:00

Amanda Overmyer may have been kicked off American Idol, but she may yet have a chance to tour. Word is coming out that 5 contestants will be vying to compete for a "Wild Card" spot to go on the summer tour. The five include Amanda, David Hernandez, and three others from the top 24. Voting for the Wild Card spot will happen during Idol Gives Back, a 120-minute charity special to air on April 9. Idol Gives Back will be hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Ellen DeGeneres. (Hat tip: mj's big blog)

Next week's Idol theme: Songs from the year the contestants were born.

Behind-the-Scenes: Late Show w/David Letterman

2008-03-19T23:38:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be at a taping of a late-night talk show? Wonder no more. A few days ago I was able to attend a taping of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman in New York City. (Not a perk of having this job, mind you. It came about through a "lucky coincidence.") So here is my painstakingly detailed account of the show, from start to finish.

I was walking along Broadway (I know... be jealous) and I walked past the Ed Sullivan Theater, where I saw a sign for "free tickets" to attend a taping of Letterman. I thought, well, I'm in town for a few days, why not? So I went in, and I gave them my name and contact information, which they then put into a lottery. They said that if my name was drawn, they would give me a call to let me know.

So I went on throughout the day, doing various stuff. (I was in NYC with other Collegiate editors for a journalism conference, so I was in lecture for the afternoon) Later, after a speech, I checked my phone and lo and behold, I had a voicemail telling me I had won the lottery! (For the Late Show, that is.) So I called back, we exchanged more contact information, and they told me to be at the theater between 4:30 and 5:30 on Monday.

Come Monday, I arrived back at the theater lobby at approximately 5:25 to get my ticket. (Long story on why so late... It involved subways and tours that say they are 1-hour, when they are, in fact, 2-hours long.) They then said to come back to the theater at 6:15. So, I did. Obviously. Because a column on how I didn't see a show could be kind of boring.

Come 6:15, I was standing in ropes to be seated. They had assistants, staffers, interns, whoever, talk to the crowds to warm them up. (Terrificly awesome people, I should add. They were all extremely nice, charming, and funny.) They explained to us that the show has no laugh track, so we needed to laugh at everything. And that the more we laughed, the better the show would be, because then Letterman would know it was going well and would be more comfortable on stage. (Fair enough...) They then began to randomly seat people (and boy, was it random!). I got in to my seat maybe at 6:40, 6:45. I got a balcony seat, which was still okay, because the Ed Sullivan Theater is pretty small in person. Those wide-angle lens on the cameras really do help create the impression that the stage is really big.

Also, the set is a big brighter in person than comes across on the broadcast. The blue on the set were, in person, this brilliant color that I can only describe as Disney Store-blue.

They had their in-house comedian come out and give his own little monologue to warm the crowd up. It had topical humor, which surprised me, because I've heard most in-house comedians just repeat the same act. Over. And. Over. So he warmed us up, the band warmed up, and everybody took their places. A few minutes before the show starts, Letterman likes to come out and talk to the audience for a bit.

Remember how Letterman had heart surgery, and who knows what other health ailments? And he's starting to get up there in age, too. Not old, really, but, he's aging. Well, when it came time for him to come out on to stage and talk to the audience, Letterman RAN on to the set. In one or two bounds, he was there. He is amazingly spry for his age! He didn't have much time to talk to us, about two minutes, then he had to go backstage and wait for the curtain to rise for the show.

You know how you see the graphics on TV when you watch the show? All over the audience are TV monitors that show you the graphics and the camera, as it will appear on broadcast. So you are not only seeing the show on stage, but you can also watch it on TV, before it actually airs on TV.

Interestingly enough, and I don't know why I never thought about this before, but they do edit the show for time during broadcast. The show taped on Monday, but aired on Wednesday. Monday was St. Patrick's Day, but it obviously wasn't on Wednesday. When Letterman came out for the show, I was almost positive he made a joke about how "it still feels like it's St. Patrick's Day." Which was funny for the audience, because we were in on the joke. But either that joke was during the warm-up, or it was too "inside joke" for national television.

Another broadcast edit - and this is a major one - was during the Top 10 list with the cast of Battlestar Galactica. When Letterman was introducing Lieutenant Sharon Valeri, he messed up on the pronunciation of "Valeri" and kept trying to say it in different ways. It was fun, it was cute, and the actress seemed to take it in good spirits. And after the Top 10, Dave made another joke about him trying to pronounce the name. But, for whatever reasons, that was cut from broadcast as well.

Watching the show in the audience, I won't lie, made the show feel like it was just flying by extremely fast. On TV, the Brooke Shields interview lasted a good long while. But in person, it felt like just two minutes and that was that. (Another editing thing: I'm not sure, but that monkey clip may have been longer... Brooke made a joke about "her role" as the woman being attacked by a monkey)

One tough thing is making yourself laugh for all of the jokes, or when you think people should laugh. Because I know when I was TV, the most I'll usually emote is a chuckle or a smile. But here, you had to laugh, because you had the microphones in front of you, you know?)

Did you know that the background can move? Bridges, lights, everything. Behind the skyline is a screen, which hides the band equipment. During the long commercial break before the guest band plays, the skyline is quickly moved, the band set up, and the set put back as quickly as possible.

What about during the other commercial breaks? you ask. Not much happens! The band plays, a video montage of crazy Letterman stunts plays on the monitors, and Letterman & crew go over stage notes, interview questions or whatever else needs to be discussed.

And as soon as the show was over, we all left. On the main stage, there are three main doors to exit. Well, people would flock to just one of the three. So the assistants kept saying "you can leave through this door, too!" but then the whole crowd would move to just THAT door. One person said people were like "lemmings" that night, and, it was hilariously true. (I can report that I was told I was not one, thank you very much.)

If you missed Wednesday night's show, you can read a full recap of it here. And I have to say, considering I chose to recap Lipstick Jungle for this blog because it was something unique, different and unusual for me - and then wound up hating the show - it is pretty funny that I wound up seeing Brooke Shields in person. (I should remind everyone that my problem has always been with the writing, not the actors... The actors are usually the only good thing I have to say about the episodes.)

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my unnecessarily long and detailed report.

Idol Top 11 Performances

2008-03-19T18:43:00.005-04:00

Most would assume that devoting one week to the Lennon-McCartney songbook is enough. However, for some reason, American Idol producers decided to prolong the theme by reserving the Beatles’ songbook for this week’s performances. Though there are so many wonderful and memorable songs to choose from the British phenomenon, the Idol’s renditions fell short of ‘wonderful,’ and most viewers are hoping to forget this somewhat dreary week.

(Above: Syesha Mercado's will fondly look back upon "Yesterday;" a performance that left the rest in the dust.)

Last week, David Hernandez was voted off. It was a surprise to many as several people thought Kristy Lee Cook, who was in the bottom three, would be eliminated. Some have speculated if news about his past occupation affected the vote. I would like to think not, but perhaps it played a part.

Recap
· Amanda Overmeyer- ”Back To The USSR”
The song suited her style, and she has a strong, consistent voice. The problem is she’s become exceedingly predictable, which takes away from the whole ‘rock’ edge she supposedly has.
· Kristy Lee Cook- ”You Got To Hide Your Love Away”
Understandably after last week, Kristy wanted to pick an easier song and let it be. The result was a safe, boring performance. It was better than last week, but it was still weak.
· David Archuleta- ”The Long and Winding Road”
He has a tendency to pick songs that are a little too old for him, but this was a good performance since it redeemed him from last week.
· Michael Johns- ”A Day In The Life”
His performance had decent moments, but the song was altogether too complicated to be crammed into such a short time. He needs to appease the judges and viewers by picking a big, great song choice next week. So far he’s been coasting, but it won’t last for long.
· Brooke White- ”Here Comes The Sun”
Brooke gave an uncharacteristically weird and awkward performance. The song choice didn’t work because she didn’t do anything to make it her own. Instead, the performance was safe, too easy, and fell flat.
· David Cook– ”Day Tripper”
His performance was fun and interesting, but it doesn't compare to his rocking rendition of “Hello.” David better heed Simon’s warning of becoming predictable or the sheen of his fancy guitar will fade.
· Carly Smithson- ”Blackbird”
This was probably Carly’s weakest performance so far. It was nice to hear her try something softer, but it turned out a bit dull in some parts. She’s still fantastic though, and she should hopefully continue on to next week.
· Jason Castro- ”Michelle”
His choice of song was also quite strange, and it wasn’t worth fumbling through some French phrases to perform. The song didn’t fit him, and unfortunately, this dreadlocked charmer may be in danger.
· Syesha Mercado- ”Yesterday”
Syesha had the best song choice of the night, selecting something that fit her style and allowed for a lovely arrangement. Her voice was on spot, and she gave the only truly good performance of the evening.
· Chikezie- ”I’ve Just Seen A Face”
The slow intro of the song was smooth and nice, but when the harmonica entered, a cheesy Chikezie hoedown began, and it was not pretty. It was another odd moment on a very strange performance night.
· Ramiele Maluby- ”I Should’ve Known Better”
It was good that Ramiele was trying to change things up and attempt a more up-tempo song. The trouble is that her voice isn’t strong or memorable enough. It may be too little too late.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Syesha Mercado had the best performance of the night along with an amazing return from David Archuleta. They should both be safe.
· Michael Johns, Brooke White, David Cook, Carly Smithson, and Jason Castro didn’t live up to their previous performances, but they have each shown great promise so far in the competition. This group of contestants deserves another chance on the show.
· Amanda Overmeyer, Kristy Lee Cook, and Ramiele Maluby are the contestants most likely in danger, as they have been consistently predictable, safe and lackluster.
· Chikezie is a tough call. He’s talented, fun and likable. However, the cheese factor in last night’s performance may have been a bit much.

Tune in tonight at 8:58pm for the results on FOX.

TV Highlights: Lost Finale

2008-03-16T00:21:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the TV Highlights for March 17-23, 2008. Lost ends, Dancing begins and My Dad is Better Than Your Dad!

Monday, March 17
The six male contestants are Dancing with the Stars at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Cantebury's Law and New Amsterdam are all new on FOX.
My Dad is Better Than Your Dad is new again on the lifeless NBC. (8 p.m.)
XXX: State of the Union is playing on FX, if you want a good laugh and/or bad action movie. (8 p.m., FX)

Tuesday, March 18
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown brings the holiday spirit in a slightly depressing but heartwarming way (8 p.m., ABC)
The Top 11 Idols perform for two hours starting at 8 p.m. on FOX
The female contestants are Dancing with the Stars at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Wednesday, March 19
Supernanny faces her worst. family. YET. (9 p.m., ABC)
One of the top 11 gets the boot on American Idol. (9 p.m., FOX)
WOOD-TV has the Michigan Statewide Townhall Meeting with Governor Jennifer Granholm at 8 p.m.
ABC Family has My Big Fat Greek Wedding at 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 20
CBS has the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament, starting at 8.
Miss Guided, Lost and Eli Stone are all new on ABC.
Lost is also the mid-season finale, so be sure to tune in! (9 p.m., ABC)
The final two must work to throw together a concert

Friday, March 21
CBS has the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament, starting at 8.
FOX has another new episode of The Return of Jezabel James at 8:30.
MyNetworkTV has the 2001 Jake Gyllenhall version of Bubble Boy at 8.
My Heart Will Go On: TNT has Titanic, also at 8.
Disney Channel has Ella Enchanted at 8.

Saturday, March 22
The Ten Commandments make their annual return to ABC airwaves this night, starting at 7 p.m.
CBS has round two of the NCAA basketball tournaments at 8.
Potential Cheesy Movie Alert: Remember The Missing, a 2003 movie with Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones? Me either. But it airs at 7 on The CW.
Hallmark will play the classic Hayley Mills Parent Trap at 6, followed by the classic Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at 9.

Sunday, March 23
The modern-day version of Sahara airs on TBS at 8 p.m.
The Sound of Music airs at 7 p.m. on ABC Family. The hills are alllliiivvvee! (With the sound of music)
TNT knows drama and... comedy? Shrek airs on the drama net at 8 p.m.
Discovery Channel is Walking with Dinosaurs with three new hours, starting at 8 p.m.

Lost: Ji Yeon

2008-03-13T22:45:00.007-04:00

This is the second to the last episode before the break. And a very head-splitting episode of Lost. I'm pouring over my notes and will try to separate fact from theory. And then I'll cry a little, because this episode deserved it. Here's what happened in the different storyline:

The boat: Frank took the helicopter to run an "errand" on the island, but not before giving Desmond and Sayid some lima beans for a mean. (The kitchen had problems) Along the way he sees a woman, Regina, who was reading a book upside-down. Later, in Des & Sayid's room, a note gets slid underneath the door: "Don't trust the captain."

Later, Des & Sayid are brought to the deck to meet the captain. On the way, they see Regina - covered in chains - jump over the side of the boat. No one reacts, save for Des & Sayid. The captain, Gault, comes out and said that he doesn't want to lose any more people going in and trying to retrieve Regina. He said that his crew has been suffering from a "heightened case of cabin fever," and that the boat belongs to Charles Widmore. (Perking Desmond's ears.)

Gault takes Des & Sayid into his cabin, where he pulls out the Black Box from Flight 815. He explains that it was retrieved with the wreckage, along with the 324 bodies. Gault theorizes that, since there are actual real survivors, that the wreckage she found was staged. And it would take a lot of money and resources to stage the crash. And that is, in part, why the boat crew want Benjamin Linus for answers.

The boat's doctor then escorts Sayid and Desmond to their new room, which has a terrible post-suicide (?) blood stain left. The doctor gets mad and yells at the far-away janitor "Kevin Johnson" to come clean it up. But this Kevin Johnson, you see, is someone that Sayid knows well and that Desmond has a good idea about who he is: MICHAEL. Walt's dad. MICHAEL. It might be more shocking if the actor wasn't credited for the past several episodes, but, still. He's back - and with a haircut.

Jin & Sun: Jin & Sun discuss baby names (Ji Yeon for a girl) and are absolutely adorable in the process. Sun starts to believe that they won't be rescued, so she and Jin start to pack up to go to Locke's camp. Juliet thinks this is a terrible idea and tries to get them to stop. They won't, so Juliet pulls out the "there are only three weeks left to live" card, and fails. She then pulls out her trump card: "Jin, your wife had an affair." Jin leaves angrily. Jin and Sun have a little tift (understandably), when Bernard comes and winds up fishing with Jin. (On Karl's boat?) Bernard then talks about how marriage is, how karma comes back around, yadayada... Sun and Jin are a happy couple. Jin knows he was a jerk, and forgives Sun. And now Jin knows that the baby is his.

Kate vs. World: Kate is a jerk. Kate, the con artists/murderer, is mad because Charlotte knocked her unconscious. For similar reasons that Kate would have knocked Charlotte out for, if the missions were reversed. Kate is very upset, very angry and probably not going to become good friends with the fiery redhead anytime soon.

Flashback: Jin: It's the Year of the Dragon, which is in the year 2000 mainly. Oceanic Flight 815 crashed onto Lost Island on Sept. 22, 2004. Jin is busy trying to buy a panda and make it to the hospital on time. We were supposed to think he was on his way to see Sun, in 2005, but, it's 2000! And he is on his way to give the panda to an associate of Sun's dad, whose daughter just gave birth.

Flashforward: Sun: Sun is finishing brushing her teeth, with the TV on in the background. Suddenly, she thinks that something is wrong with her baby. That's called LABOR, Sun. Or, something technical for distress or something that causes labor to happen anyways and it's a GIRL, Ji Yeon. Later, Hurley comes into town to visit Sun & Baby. It's cute. They then go to visit Jin, in a cemetery. Jin's tombstone reads that he died on Sept. 22, 2004. And I cry on the inside, and am very much confused.

Questions & Comments:
- What happened to Jin? Is he really dead? Or is Sun covering up for him? (Which, at Kate's trial, it seems like the Oceanic Six are.)
- WILD THEORIES: Sun's dad is faking Jin's death. Jin is alive and in the rest of the world - working for Ben.
- Who is the last member of the Oceanic Six? (Or does Aaron count after all?)
- Does Ben have the resources to fake the wreckage of Flight 815?
- Did the boat people originally know about the wreckage when they set sail to go to the island? Did they ever suspect the wreckage was faked - and that is why they were not surprised that the 815'ers are alive?
- Did your brain hurt when you saw Jin's grave? (Mine did. Just wondering.)
- Remember Nikki? Her show, Expose, was playing on the TV before Sun went into labor.

One of the biggest questions is: What happened with Michael? Next week, we find out. Plus, Karl and Alex! Ben! And some previously dead people make an appearance on the show. And someone dies. I've narrowed down my list of candidates to: Jin, Jin, and maybe someone else.

Idol Top 12 Performances

2008-03-11T23:13:00.004-04:00

With a brand spankin’ new intro and set, American Idol started its next leg of the competition with a big bang. The theme of this week was songs from the Lennon-McCartney songbook, which truly assisted in making the show more entertaining overall. A majority of the contestants dealt with obvious nerves being on the enhanced and enlarged Idol stage. Most of the performances were equal to last week; though some singers stepped up their game, while a few stumbled into the possibility of being in the bottom three.

Last week, Danny Noriega, Luke Menard, Kady Malloy and Asia’h Epperson were voted off, creating Season 7’s Top 12:

Chikezie, David Archuleta, Jason Castro, David Cook, David Hernandez, Michael Johns; Kristy Lee Cook, Ramiele Maluby, Syesha Mercado, Amanda Overmeyer, Carly Smithson, and Brooke White.

Recap
· Syesha Mercado- "Got to Get You Into My Life"
According to Simon, it was a good song choice. However, Syesha started weak and seemed troubled by nerves throughout her performance.
· Chikezie- "She’s A Woman"
Arguably one of the best performances of the night. Chikezie was energetic, took control of the stage, and surprised us all with an interesting, fun rendition.
· Ramiele Maluby- "In My Life"
The safest, most forgettable and most boring performance of the night. Ramiele’s vocals were good, but the song choice was predictable and dull.
· Jason Castro- "If I Fell"
Jason still boasted his natural, mellow vocals, but the song choice didn’t compare to last week’s “Hallelujah.”
· Carly Smithson- "Come Together"
With the best song selection of the evening, Carly also provided America with the best vocal performance of the entire show. She’s consistent, strong and likable.
· David Cook– "Eleanor Rigby"
David wisely chose to let his guitar rest and instead rocked the stage solo. Despite a bit of trouble on some of the low notes, his performance was believable and brilliant.
· Brooke White- "Let It Be"
Though I thought the praise from the judges was a little too kind, Brooke still picked a fitting song and performed it well. However, she did struggle to hit some of the bigger notes.
· David Hernandez- "I Saw Her Standing There'
David is still a strong vocalist, but his take on an otherwise decent song choice was a bit overdone. I thought he had some good moments, but Simon referred to the performance as “corny, verging on desperate.”
· Amanda Overmeyer- "You Can’t Do That"
Though I’m still not a fan, Amanda did select a great song, and she definitely put her mark on it. She works the stage well, though it’s a shame she insists on wearing such hideous pants.
· Michael Johns- "Across the Universe”
Michael gave a solid, good performance, but he left the judges wishing he had taken more chances with the song. Despite this, his vocals were smooth and soaring.
· Kristy Lee Cook- "Eight Days A Week”
Kristy has a good voice, but tonight, she almost made me wish Idol hadn’t acquired the Lennon-McCartney songbook—that’s how cheesy and awful her country version of this classic was. Simon summed it up as “horrendous.”
· David Archuleta- "We Can Work It Out"
David gave his first truly weak and poor performance so far in the competition. It was truly the most disappointing moment of the night; though, not necessarily the worst. It felt forced and was just a mess.

Who Stays & Who Goes
· Chikezie, Carly Smithson, and David Cook were the most memorable and talented in the bunch. Unless America is complacent or insane, they should all be safe.
· Following closely behind, Brooke White, Jason Castro, Amanda Overmeyer and Michael Johns gave decent performances. Hopefully their fan bases will pour in enough votes to keep them in the competition.
· David Archuleta had the most anticlimactic performance, but viewers should be forgiving as he has performed consistently in the past.
· Syesha Mercado was all nerves, Ramiele Maluby was forgettable, David Hernandez took a shaky risk, and Kristy Lee Cook’s background music destroyed a classic. These are the contestants in danger of elimination.

Tune in at 9pm Wednesday night for the results on FOX.

P.S.- Critic’s Vote
This week it was especially hard to decide who to relegate my votes to. Usually I’ll vote for as many contestants as need, even if it’s nearly all of them. This week, the critic’s votes went to Michael Johns. As Simon said, he’s a consistent performer; he just hasn’t had his moment yet. Here’s to hoping that big, special vocal moment comes soon.

TV Highlights: Top 12 Perform on "Idol"

2008-03-08T22:12:00.009-05:00

Welcome to TV Highlights. I shift through the TV listings and mention whatever catches my eye. I then deem it a highlight. Simple enough premise, right? Well, the twist is... it may not be a highlight after all! (But, it still might be... Will we ever know?)

Monday, March 10
The two-hour finale of October Road airs at 9 p.m. on ABC. Eddie and Janet's relationship will be strained! Will they get back together? Will the show come back? Who knows?
Cantebury's Law makes it's premiere and New Amsterdam gets it's third episode within a week on FOX. (8 p.m.)
Anjelica Houston makes an appearance in part 1 of a 2-parter Medium. (10 p.m., NBC)

Tuesday, March 11
American Idol is two-hours long as the Top 12 sing songs from The Beatles. It's the British Invasion all over again! (8 p.m., FOX)
Biggest Loser is two-hours long as the... teams lose weight and get sentimental. Sorry, NBC, but, Idol wins this round. (8 p.m.)
Brooke has to deal with Victoria on One Tree Hill. (9 p.m., The CW)
Disney Channel has a movie called Bob the Butler, which supposedly has both Tom Green and Brooke Shields in it, which boggles my mind. Also, there is a kids show called Bob the Builder. Is this part of a Bob the... series? (8 p.m.)

Wednesday, March 12
Marin and Jack decide to move in together, despite the town of Elmo's advice. Oh, those Alaskans! (Men in Trees, 10 p.m., ABC)
American Idol is new at 9 p.m. on FOX, in which we find out who is the first of the Top 12 to go home.
America's Next Top Model is new at 8 on The CW.
FX has The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen at 8, which is not as good as I had hoped, but I have high standards, so maybe it's not so bad?

Thursday, March 13
Lost is new on ABC at 9 p.m., in which we learn the rest of the Oceanic Six, who the captain of the freighter is, and maybe even more!
Don't Forget the Lyrics is FOX's counter-programming at 9 p.m.
Wendy, Nico and BoyToy go to Scotland on Lipstick Jungle. Poor Victory! (Ha! I just said "Poor Victory!") (10 p.m., NBC)
BRANDON LEE ALERT: His last film, The Crow, airs at 8 p.m. on WXSP.
FX has Ice Age at 8 p.m., which is a GREAT film to watch then if you are trying to get to sleep. (No angry e-mails, please.)
Travel Channel has the 25 Sexiest Beaches at 8 p.m.

Friday, March 14
The Return of Jezebel James has two new episodes on FOX, followed by that episode of House where the boy thinks he was taken by aliens or something. (8 p.m.)
Two new hours of 20/20! (9 p.m., ABC)
Friday Night Smackdown!, of course, on The CW.
AMC will creep you out with the 1976 film The Omen at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 15
Catch Me If You Can, 8 p.m., ABC. (If you haven't seen it, shame on you. It is a funny, heartwarming story of a con man. It even feels a little... old-fashioned!)
The CW7 has Mrs. Brown, a Judi Dench movie about Queen Victoria's relationship with a servant. (8 p.m.)
You don't need to see the whole movie, but Drumline's finale is a musical wonderland. (8 p.m., TNT)

Sunday, March 16
Big Brother is new, because CBS needs something to be new. (8 p.m.)
ABC Family has Cutting Edge 3 at 8, which is a skating movie in which angsty teens skate and fall in love. (Spoiler alert?)
Josh Lucas coaches a basketball team to victory (Spoiler alert?) in Glory Road. (8 p.m., TNT)
At 7 p.m., catch Howl's Moving Castle on the Disney Channel.
USA plays National Treasure at 8, because it's probably been a month since the last time.

New Amsterdam: Golden Boy

2008-03-08T21:03:00.003-05:00

A boy suffocates to death inside a plastic bag and the viewing audience gets to see it. Fun!

One thing I like about this show is that after hundreds of years, Amsterdam has a wealth of knowledge about everything else in New York, except love. He thinks he knows what it is, but then something else turns up that throws him all off. The fact that he's a demi-immortal, but doesn't know everything about life, is a nice little touch.

The recap: A young man is killed during a game of erotic suffocation. (Yeah...) The case leads to an elite private school, where Dead guy was kicked off of track and had an affair with the coach's wife, also a teacher at the school. Teacher then killed her husband, because she really liked doing the nasty with the Dead guy, but covered it up as a suicide. Amsterdam noticed that the suicide note was forged, so he forged a letter to get a confession from the teacher. Which, is tricky, legally? Maybe? I don't know. Anyhow, case closed.

Meanwhile, we found out that Amsterdam's bartend buddy, Omar, is actually his son. And this week's flashbacks are about John's love affair with a black woman, which did not go over well in 1940. At the end of the episode, John gives his son more information about his mom, and Omar gives his dad the identity of "the one" in the subway station.

What worked: Zuleikha Robinson and her character, Eva, were great this week. She played off Amsterdam perfectly, was not intimidated, nor tried to be intimidating to her partner. She was cool, professional and just a little pushy - when in the interrogation room. If they could cast Michelle Rodriguez as her sister (named Ana-Lucia Ortez?), I would be in tough-cop-heaven. Another element that worked: the opening credits. They were cool, refreshing and fun to watch.

What didn't work: In the "previouslies," they showed a clip of Amsterdam saying "I'm an alcoholic." But then didn't do anything with that! What's up, show? Also, while I appreciate the occasional film-nor approaches that the show makes, it needs to tone down the extreme camera tilts. They are cool once in a while. But not often. Lastly, the show could use some color for current day NYC. The desaturated pallet is "edgy," but also sometimes "boring."

Next episode: On Monday at 9 (the show's new regular time spot), Amsterdam investigates some suspicious claims made by a war vet, played by Orlando Jones.

theRecap: 24 gets a movie

2008-03-08T01:15:00.001-05:00

Friday Night Lights saved, Kristin Bell returns to Heroes and Jack Bauer gets an extra two hours. Welcome to theRecap, your weekly source for the TV news that was.

24 takes two
The production company behind Jack Bauer is working on gathering a cast together for a two-hour TV movie, to air in the fall, which will bridge the gap between season six and seven. Season seven was originally going to air in winter 2008, but was pushed back to 2009 because of the WGA strike. The 24 team is currently working on filming the rest of season seven and will have all 24 episodes completed by the time the show airs on FOX.

Friday Nights Lives
DirecTV and NBC Universal have teamed up to save cult hit/ratings-impaired Friday Night Lights. Under the deal, DirecTV will air new episodes first, then NBC will later get rights to reruns. (Similar to NBC's deal with USA for Law & Order: CI)

Noah Wyle gets a paycheck
TNT has ordered a new installment of the Librarian action movie series, starring Noah Wyle as a mild-mannered adventurer/explorer. The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice will air in late 2008.

Fierce Runway
Between Tyra, Danny Norwiega and Project Runway, this has been an extremely fierce television season. So perhaps it's fitting that the fiercest Runway contestant of them all, Christian, wins the shows fourth season.

Idol's Wild Week
Every now and then, Simon Cowell will call someone's performance "very cabaret." Little did we know that someone would be able to relate to that reference very well. Current contestant David Hernandez once worked at a strip club called Dick's Cabaret, up until last year. He also had a record contract with Universal, but was dropped.

This same week we also saw old videos from Danny Noriega pop up, in which he wishes Santa Claus to do something to your mom that could get Santa on the sex offender list. We also learned that he went to a school for at-risk children.

Leaving the reality competition this week were: Kady Malloy, Luke Menard, Asia'h Epperson and Danny Noriega.
Next week on Idol: The top 12 perform songs by The Beatles on the newly re-designed big stage. And there's only one performance night, thank goodness. And the results show will turn into a call-in show. Hillarious!

TNT goes original
Thanks to successful series like The Closer and Saving Grace, TNT is ordering a bunch of new series. Their goal? To have the cable channel to air three nights full of original programming every week by 2010. Instead of Law & Order marathons, I presume.

Will We Meet the Mother?
Alicia Silverstone has been cast on a multi-episode arc on How I Met Your Mother, leaving Michael Ausiello to wonder: Is Silverstone the mother?

The CW kills laughter
The CW, that young start-up network, has decided that after just a few years of existence that their comedy division isn't working out, so they are getting rid of it. Well, more accurately, they are combining a bunch of departments together, but that restructuring doesn't include the comedy unit.

High School Musical: The Reality Show
ABC is developing a reality TV show based around High School Musical. There aren't many details known, apart from the fact that the network wants the show for this summer, but it sounds like a singing competition with HSM-themed weeks, with appearances by HSM stars, and the winner gets a secret top-prize, which I am going to presume is being on the tour, or in a new HSM movie. But that's just needless speculation.

Lipstick Jungle: Dressed to Kill

2008-03-07T22:59:00.004-05:00

Deception. Lies. Mistrust. Bonfire magazine. Guess which of those four things made me most excited during this episode of LJ? Bonfire, of course. Being episode 5, the show finally decided we were ready to see copies of the magazine that Nico helms. Of course, it made a small cameo only, when Victory was reading it in Nico's office. But nevertheless, it was there! The show has finally hit it's stride, and unfortunately, it looks like this show might get picked up. I chose to recap this show because I thought it would be canceled. I am bummed.

The recap: Wendy's husband, Shane, used to be a musician for a mediocre jazz band. Wendy is smitten by this and submits the tape to a movie she's working on and gets Shane a job. He thinks it's not because Wendy pulled strings, but, she did! Some people think Nico's not having an affair, but, she is! And she sets up rules with BoyToy, then breaks them. That's about how far Nico progressed this week. Victory discovered her old assistant sold her designs to a fashion designer and taught her a lesson, or something. Anyways, nothing happened in a satisfying way, but it impressed an investor who wants to use Victory Ford to start up his new fashion line. So Victory gets to have a job again. I'm sure that will be thrilling to watch.

What worked: Did you see Ricardo, that 'evil' fashion designer? He looked like an elf from Lord of the Rings! But, he talked like the food critic from Frasier. I wanted more of him! I have to say, Kim Raver could probably deservedly get an Emmy nod for her gig. Not for her character, which is written rather poorly. (As is the show.) But Raver knocks it out of the park consistently.

What didn't work: For a scene, we were supposed to think that BoyToy had a girlfriend, and Nico was sad. The orchestra swelled sympathetically for her. I'm sorry, but HOW are we supposed to feel sad for Nico that BoyToy got a girlfrield? She is using BoyToy for sex. Behind her husband's back. BoyToy sued Nico for what, 90 minutes?, and I can't imagine that there is still a compelling reason he wants to be with Nico. All in all, the show wants us to be sympathetic that Nico and BoyToy's hearts are broken, when there is no justification for that.

Also, I decided I wold wait a while before making a judgment about this, but: the theme song? Doesn't work. And the slow fade-outs to commercials make the show feel like a cheesy, low-budget TV movie, or like a Lifetime movie. (Same thing?)

Next week's episode: Take the High Road: Nico uses secret information from Wendy to benefit her Bonfire magazine, while Victory enjoys having an investor. And BoyToy's eyebrows will probably continue to distract from the rest of his body. Seriously, thin them!

Lost: The Other Woman

2008-03-06T23:47:00.005-05:00

Creepy. If you had to chose one word to describe Ben's actions in this episode (not just the series itself), that would be it. The Other Woman was an episode that outlined Juliet's romantic past with Goodwin, the Other who died, thanks to Ana-Lucia. We already knew the two were romantic with each other. What we didn't know was that Goodwin was married when they first shacked up, and that Ben is very jealous of Juliet. And she may look a lot like Annie, Ben's girlfriend back in his DHARMA days. The episode itself moved kind of slow, and was somewhat boring, but there were still some things to talk about. Including the fact that we might know who the ultimate villain of the whole series, and it's someone we've met before.

The recap: Juliet: Charlotte and Dan sneak out in the middle of the night. Jack, Juliet, Sun and Jin break up to look for them, I think, since we don't see Sun and Jin at all for the rest of the episode. (Thanks for the cameos!) While looking, Juliet hears the whispers, then Harper, a psychiatrist for the Others, appears. She says that Ben wants Juliet to kill Dan and Charlotte, because they are heading for The Tempest (power station) and will kill everyone on the island. After some whispers, Harper disappears. Jack is confused and creeped out, Juliet's kind of sad.

Kate runs into Charlotte and Dan, who look at a Middle Earth-type map and lie about what they are doing. When Kate discovers their gas masks, Charlotte knocks her unconscious. (Which, ironically, is a very Kate thing to do.) Jack meets up with Kate, which leaves Juliet an opportunity to ditch them, for no clear reason. (Well, maybe because she didn't want to risk them being exposed to [radiation?] in the power station...)

Juliet goes to The Tempest and finds Daniel furiously at work on the computer. He overrides the system, and the plant overloads and everyone almost dies, or so they wanted you to think. But, we've already seen the future, and it doesn't include zombies. Thanks anyways, show. Anyways, Charlotte and Daniel wanted to override and change controls at the station, so Ben couldn't use it in the future to kill everyone with gas. "He's done it before," they warned. (So that's how they killed the DHARMA initiative!) In the end, Charlotte and Daniel are semi-trusted again and Jack and Juliet kiss. Aw!

The barracks: Locke continues to make Ben food. When he brings Ben a rabbit, Ben asks if it had a number on it's side. Ben continues to manipulate Locke, who is too busy looking smug to fully notice. Ben cuts a deal that, if he's allowed out of his cell, that he'll tell John who's freighter it is offshore. Locke agrees. Ben has Locke open a safe (36.15.28), and inside is a video called "Red Sox." "I taped over the game," deadpans Ben.

The video shows Charles Widmore, father of Penny and enemy to Desmond, involved in some shady activity that may include kidnapping? Killing? I don't know for certain. Ben tells Locke that the freighter belongs to Widmore, that he has been looking for the island for a long time and wants to use it for his own gain. (It's Ben telling the story, so maybe only 75% truth?) Ben also gives Locke his files on Widmore. Ben also promises to tell Locke who his man on the boat is, but of course we have to wait a week (two at the longest) to find out who it is.

Flashbacks: After arriving on the island, Juliet is required to talk to Harper, a psychiatrist, whom Juliet hates. Juliet feels like she's isolated, because she is treated like a celebrity. Harper, who might be jealous of that, says that she was brought to the island probably because she "looks like her." Juliet confides her hatred of Harper to Goodwin, who turns out to be Harper's husband. (Awkward!) But since Goodwin is the only person Juliet feels comfortable confiding in, they become friends. With benefits. This does not sit well with Ben, who sends Goodwin off to the tail section and leaves him there, knowing that he'd be killed. Why would he do that? Because, Juliet is his. So... he's a creepy psychotic stalker boyfriend-from-afar who is also the puppetmaster for everything on the island. Good situation you're in there, Juliet.

What worked: I like how, even when it's kind of a boring, slow episode, it still takes at least five paragraphs to recap everything that happened. The acting was consistently good throughout, same with production.

What didn't work: The writing felt a little... flat. The dialogue wasn't creative, worse yet, it felt a little childish. The reason why Juliet ran off on her own to go to the power station was vague, at best. It felt maybe... rushed? (WGA strike side-effect?) And the power station scene was just silly. Juliet couldn't even get a kick in against Charlotte? And what about Charlotte? Is she sent from The Matrix? That fight would have fit right in on Alias, but felt contrived on Lost. And for me, there was nothing captivating about the plotline. Elizabeth Mitchell did a great job with what she had, which was not a whole lot.

Questions: Juliet gets a flashback, not a flash forward, so, will she live or die? Was Harper an apparition of the smoke monster? How did Ben get that information to Juliet? Did he? Is Charles Widmore as bad as Ben says? How did he learn of the island? What does he want with it? Who were those people on the Red Sox video? Was the power station used to wipe out the DHARMA initiative? Is Harper dead or alive?

Next week: We find out the last of the Oceanic Six (does Aaron count?), Sun has a question, we meet the captain of the boat, Bernard makes an appearance and supposedly enough stuff happens, because this was going to be the finale for this half, until ABC decided to air one more episode before the break. Here's hoping!

Idol Top 16 Performances

2008-03-06T11:51:00.006-05:00

When recapping this week’s Top 16 performances on American Idol, the judges’ comments continue to sound alarmingly old and repetitive. Paula can’t help but mimic lingo from Randy and Simon, throwing in talk of vocal textures and colors along the way (her usual rambling). Randy has subdued his constant use of dawg, though now he’s resorted to calling the ladies ‘dudes.’ As for Simon, he continues to predictably surprise us. However, audiences love knowing that they’ll never truly know what’s beneath Simon’s scowl. He’s the one judge that we still tune in for.

As for the singing, as Simon concluded very correctly on Wednesday night, the guys are faring better than the females. Whether it’s based on vocal ability or song selection is yet to be seen.

(Above: David Cook performing his "emo" version of "Hello." I didn't say it, Randy Jackson did.)

Last week, Jason Yeager and Robbie Carrico were sent home. Unfortunately, America sent home two of the more promising female contestants, the talented Alaina Whitaker and Alexandrea Lushington.

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The Guys

First off, this is the first time that these early stages have been confined by themes. It’s great because they give the show and performances more structure, and they provide a challenge right away for the contestants. The bad thing is, we end up sitting through mediocre routines stuck in the past instead of enjoying fresh, contemporary performances.

The worst: Because the guys are collectively a really good bunch, the weaker singers stand out like sore thumbs. The weakest, and sure to head home, is the beautiful Luke Menard. Honestly, his voice is decent, but he sucks at picking songs. That’s pretty much what it all comes down to. Danny Noriega, his obscene views on Christmas and your mother not withstanding, continues to be one of the more ‘charismatic’ (aka annoying) personalities on the show. Problem is he uses his big voice on cheesy, mediocre performances. Though they weren’t bad, the soulful Chikezie and recently outed male stripper David Hernandez weren’t as strong as last week, which could put them in danger.

The Best: The guys have proven to be an innovative group with David Cook’s rock version of Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and a stripped down performance by Jason Castro. Michael Johns was consistent, though Simon says he has yet to connect with the perfect song. David Archuleta’s voice was spot on, but his “Paradise” song choice was weaker than previous weeks. However, he should still be safe as both the judges’ and America’s favorite so far.

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The Girls

The Worst: I hate to say it, but Kady Malloy is still one of the consistently weak contestants. However, she definitely improved from last week, singing Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever.” Ramiele Maluby is an adorably beautiful and talented female contestant; but she seems to miss the big notes and hasn’t truly shined. As for the improving and likable Kristy Lee Cook, she put an interesting country spin on Journey’s “Faithfully,” but as Simon says, she is becoming forgettable in contrast to the other contestants. Asia’h Epperson’s version of “I Want to Dance With Somebody” was better than last week, but she still comes off as lackluster when compared to the show’s other female vocalists.

The Best: I don’t like her, but Amanda Overmeyer performed well, returning to her original, more bluesy-rock roots. I wonder when audiences will grow tired of this, though, as I already have. Once again, Carly Smithson and Brooke White stood out as the best, singing “I Drove All Night” and “Love is a Battlefield,” respectively. Syesha Mercardo sang “Saving All My Love for You” very well, but her song selections are becoming predictable. She’ll make it into the Top 12, but she’ll need to change things up when she gets there.

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Every season the judges rave about how this group of singers is the best they’ve ever had. To be honest, this hasn’t been true since Season 2, the only season that wasn’t predictable. However, this year’s group is more creative and original than past seasons, perhaps inspired by Season 6’s risk-taker Blake Lewis. As long as they continue on this route, the Top 12 may live up to the judges’ praises.

Tonight the last four contestants are eliminated to create Season 7’s Top 12.

Tune in at 8pm for the results on FOX.

New Amstedam: Pilot

2008-03-05T23:27:00.007-05:00

John Amsterdam saved the life of some native Americans, who then blessed/cursed him with eternal life, until he finds his true love and their "souls are wed." He has a dog named "36," has had 609 girlfriends, and has taken pictures of Times Square every year for decades. When he is not solving crimes, he builds desks, which, because he did so decades ago as a furniture artists, are worth tens of thousands of dollars. He has gone through so many partners, he doesn't even accept them anymore, because he knows they will either transfer out, or will be killed in the line of duty. He thinks indoor plumbing is the best invention, the alarm clock the worst. And to relax, he likes to swim naked. Got all that?

The recap: John meets all the shows characters. THE END!

The (actual) recap: John meets all the shows characters. Including a bartend named Omar, his new smart detective partner Eva Marquez, and he gets a glimpse at a woman who may be "the one" who will make him mortal again. A young actress, Chloe, is murdered and her boyfriend, Eddie, is blamed. John believes that it wasn't Eddie, and proves that is was the (old) head of a chain of hotels. That's not before they out the hotel's owner son - who dated Chloe - as a gay.

John temporarily dies. He leaves the hospital, without a name on the record and with a very worried staff. Especially since his blood type tested as RZRZ, which became extinct a long time ago. (Good to know!) One of the said hospital workers happens to be John's potential soul mate, so I think he'll be finding her soon enough.

What worked: The show was very restrained. It would have been very easy to make John as the "I'm old, I'm cranky" type, but they didn't go down that route. (Being able to see sunlight probably helps, Angel.) And Eva was smart and witty, but she wasn't a laugh a minute. And her performance was really restrained, and felt... real. The detective stuff and John's personal life balanced really well, I felt.

What didn't work: There were just one too many "I'm old" references. There weren't as many as some writers would have been tempted to throw in, but, it felt like it was beating me over the head with it.

Lasting power: Three seasons, based on the pilot alone. The show's mythology, about having 400 years of experience, surprisingly doesn't seem to have much to draw out over the course of the show. But the chemistry between John and his new partner, Eva, is electrifying and compelling, almost in a Law & Order: SVU kind of a way. And for that reason alone, the show will last a while. It's not a terribly smart show. It's definitely no The Closer as far as procedurals go. But it's entertaining, and there's still a hint of mystery that makes me think that the show has some good things to show us in the future.

I'm not terribly energized about the show at this point, but, I'm going to keep watching. It has promise, and the show feels smart enough where I will probably trust whatever direction the show goes in.

Next episode: Tonight, Thursday at 9. According to the previews, John has another son, who is dead? Alive? I'm so confused, FOX promotions department.

Terminator: Vick's Chip/What He Beheld

2008-03-03T20:03:00.011-05:00

Tonight concluded the season, perhaps the series, of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. If the show were to stay away forever, it'd be a shame. While it took a long time to get it's feet, the show has really started to blossom into something special, something really entertaining. And, to be honest, having an hour-long drama that usually has just four people as a focus is a bit of a rarity in today's primetime landscape. Bear with me, as a ton of stuff happened, so there is a LOT to recap.

Recap: Vick's Chip: Cromartie continues his search for the Connors, which includes him raiding a high school shower room, because he is that creepy. Cameron spots the T-unit in school and makes John's Bjork-loving friend Morris pretend to be John, throwing Crowmartie off the trail. John is freaked out that Cromartie is in town and makes Cameron promise not to tell Sarah. Cameron agrees with a wink. Derek dug around Cam's room and dug out Vick's computer chip, which is like a brain. John builds a computer to read the chip, which provides clues to the show's entire mythology, so of course we can't read most of it. Computers separate their memories into categories, instead of in one fluid motion, like humans supposedly do. The computer gives us a narrative of Barbara, Vick's loving wife who programs a seemingly unstoppable traffic control program that will serve as the nervous system of Skynet.

Derek brushed his teeth for 20 minutes with Sarah's toothbrush. Ew! The search for Vick's wife, Barbara, turns up a Jessica Pick, who was a treat to the program, and thus was killed. Derek and Sarah go on a mission to upload a virus to the program. After proving that Sarah is capable of acting like Sydney Bristow, we find out the program rejects all viruses and makes it the coolest program ever, ya'll. Derek's plan is just to "blow it up," as it his plan for just about everything, which doesn't work out so well all the time, does it, Derek? Anywho, they ulimtately shut the program down by uploading Cameron's brain into a traffic light, which then overpowers the program and destroys it. (Which, if that program were essential to Skynet, doesn't that mean they kind of, sort of, WON?)

Other things: One of Derek's men was involved in the traffic program plot, which got his men killed, and not Cameron. John almost got the T-888 to re-program itself, via Dial-up on his Blackberry? I don't know. And later, Sarah walks in on Derek in the shower and doesn't make out with him, which makes no sense, because they are two good-looking people, he's in the shower, and it's a TV drama! The recipe is all there, but, the showmakers show restraint? Goodness, folks! Or maybe Sarah doesn't jump Derek because she knows that he killed Andy Goode. "You lie to me again," Sarah warns. "I'll kill you." Also, Sarah is not a great cook, and John apparently does not know how to take a roast out of the oven.

Recap: What He Beheld: We spent about 4 minutes doing previouslies for the entire series, no joke. On April 21, 2011, Derek and Kyle Reese were playing baseball when Judgment Day happened. Their ages? 8 and 15. (Which would mean a lot on Lost, but, on this show? Probably not so much.)

Sarkissian is the man who now owns the Turk, and he has people watching the Connor Crew all over. He is a snazzy man with great line delivery. He revisits the shady people who gave Sarah the new false identities and pretty much kills them. In return, Cameron kills one of his men while on a field trip to a science museum. (She also agreed to be Morris's date to prom. Morris is stoked.) All while wearing this very weird Flinstone-y shirt (pictured) that was fashionable... never?

Long story short: Sarkissian dies, Connor Crew gets his hard drive and a new lead: a cashier at a WiFi cafe who turns out to actually be Sarkissian, while suave guy was some kind of decoy. Charlie gets a visit from Ellison, who babbles stuff about Revelation and pretty much pledges allegiance to Sarah Connor.

Ellison also figures out Cromartie has been posing as an F.B.I. agent and gets a team to take him down. Cromartie, being a T-unit, is unstoppable. So we get this hilarious scene where we see FBI agent after FBI agent getting tossed into the pool, with Johnny Cash playing on the soundtrack. And a scene with multiple deaths should not make me giddy, but that scene was so well done I can't help but smile. (I'm very dark, I know.) Ellison's partner appears to maybe be dead also. Cromartie is about ready to kill Ellison, and Ellison is ready to accept fate, when Cromartie takes another look and decides to spare Ellison's life and move on.

Meanwhile, John worries that everybody will forget his birthday, but nobody does, so maybe he should just shut. UP. (Just a suggestion.) Derek's birthday present is bringing John out to see the young Kyle and Derek Reese. Which is creepy, since John is what, 15? And Kyle Reese was 5, meaning that John got to see his dad, in flesh, only he was OLDER than his dad, and, ew! Thanks for the creepy present, DEREK.

In the end, Cameron notices the real Sarkissian right before she turns her Jeep on and IT EXPLODES. And that's the cliffhanger. Which would be thrilling if we didn't already know from the pilot episode that T-units can withstand vehicular explosions quite nicely.

What worked: Having multiple storylines with real, deep character interests. Guys, these two episodes rocked. When this show premiered, I wouldn't have necessarily recommended it, but if it comes back for another season? I'm definitely making everyone I know watch it. The show has become this good, ya'll.

What didn't work: John worrying about his birthdays. I'm sorry, but there have been what, a dozen people sent back through time to try to kill or save this kid, and all he can worry about is his birthday? What a loser!

Lines that I laughed at:
Sarah: "Have fun at school. It's pizza day. I read the newsletter." (exits.)
Cameron: "Isn't pizza day tomorrow?"
John: "Yeah."

Kid: "Happy pizza day!"
Cameron: "Thank you. I had two pieces. Do I look fat?"

Also, every time Cameron quips "That's tight" in that deadpan delivery, I crack up laughing. Whatever Emmy Summer Glau qualifies for, please, nominate her this season!

theRecap: Scrubs to ABC?

2008-03-02T23:44:00.006-05:00

Welcome to a winter break edition of theRecap, your weekly source for news that you should have known in the land of TV. We've got the roundup on rumors, facts and who is out of a primetime job.

Gossip Girl and Mischa Barton? The most widely discussed rumor of the week would have to be the talk that Mischa Barton was approached to appear on Gossip Girl. GG is headed by Josh Schwartz, who also helmed The OC, which made Mischa a star. In the end, Mischa turned down the part and will not be appearing on television anytime soon.

Idol DUI: Amanda Overmyer was discovered to have had a DUI in the past. Her blood alcohol level was 0.108. She received a suspended sentence of 60 days and 180 days probation, which ended in August, 2007.
Related: Idol to sing Beatles tunes

Scrubbing In or Out? The NBC cult hit Scrubs may return for another final season, this time on ABC. Word is the alphabet network wants to pick up the show - which they produce - for 18 episodes as soon as NBC is done with the series. However, NBC still has legal rights to the program and is now threatening to sue ABC for even considering the possibility. The end result is fans still do not know when, or where, the show will end.

Addison looks a little Grey: Private Practice may be closed until fall, but Addison will keep busy enough. News broke this week that Kate Walsh will be headed back to Seattle Grace for a episode to air during May sweeps. Unfortunately, it sounds like her Private Practice crew will stay in California while Addy vacations.

32 million people watched The Oscars, which sounds like a lot, and it is, but amazingly enough, 32 million makes for the least-watched telecast in decades.

Mission: Impossible for a Food Network star. Robert Irvine, star of Dinner: Impossible was discovered to have lied about his credentials, including having designed a wedding cake for Princess Diana. Food Networked investigated and decided not to renew Irvine's contract for additional seasons.

Bree has a sister? The Desperate Housewives character was rumored to have a sister by way of actress Julianne Moore, but unfortunately the acclaimed thespian is not joining the hit program.

Returning to his roots? Billy Ray Cyrus will be the next host on Nashville Star. The reality competition is also moving from USA to NBC. (They're all in the NBC Universal family, don't you know.)

quarterlife not suitable for networks: The creator of the web show quarterlife said that in retrospect, it was a stupid idea to move the show from the web to NBC. (The show lasted one episode before being burned off on Bravo.)

6.9 million people. That's how many watched the season finale of Monk, making it the most-watched episode to-date.

Six more episodes of Lipstick Jungle were ordered by NBC, ensuring that Nico and BoyToy can forever mess around without any real consequences, Wendy can continue her Frasier imitation and Victory can act like she's in her own little annoying show.

TV Highlights: Winter Break Edition

2008-03-02T20:41:00.002-05:00

You may be on Winter Break, but that doesn't mean this blog is. It might be slower this week and have less posts, but it's still up and running. And for when you're lazing around your apartment in your PJ's and have nothing else to do, here are some things you can watch on the tube:

Monday, March 3, 2008
Morning Movie: AMC has Young Guns on at 11:15 a.m.
FOX has the two-hour season finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8.
ABC has a two-hour 20/20, also at 8, all about the British Royals.
MyNetworkTV (WXSP) has a new Paradise Hotel 2 on at 9.
Flavor Flav alert: MTV has a new Flavor of Love 3 on at 9.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008
E! has Celebrity Rehab Centers Exposed at 11 a.m., and I don't think I could be more excited. (You think I'm joking, don't you?)
Billy Ray Cyrus takes a break from his daughter's career to host Hillbilly: The Real Story, on the History Channel at 2. Music makers, peddlers, and everything else that defines a hillbilly. And I guess Billy Ray should know?
ABC has a new Primetime: What Would You Do? on at 10, which I can't lie, those are kind of fun to watch.
CBS counters that with a new Jericho on at 10. And judging by the ratings, I guess this would be one of the last episodes of the show, period.
FOX has a reality program called American Idol, which is only an HOUR long! Downside? It's 80's music. The show is followed by the premiere of New Amsterdam, which, no promises, I might cover for this site.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Growing Pains gets their own True Hollywood Story on E! at 9 a.m.
Remember when Tom Cruise was a rising Hollywood star that was well respected? Yeah, me either. That may be because Cocktail is almost as old as I am. Nevertheless, TBS has it on at 9 a.m.
Comedy Central has Bad Santa on at 5. Always timely, that Comedy Central.
Wife Swap, Supernanny, and Men in Trees are all new on ABC.
NBC has a new Law & Order (original) on at 10.
FOX has night 2 of American Idol on at 8, followed by Moment of Truth.

Thursday, March 6, 2008
AMC has the 1943 version of Sahara on at 10:30 a.m.
The Olsen twins invade your day in a New York Minute, 4 pm Oxygen
ABC has a new Lost at 9, in which Juliet receives an unwelcome visitor.
FOX has the Idol results at 8, followed by another New Amsterdam at 9, this time with a flashback to 1941 that may hold a clue to that hour's mystery.
NBC has a hour-long repeat of The Office at 8. (The one with Moses and the farm!)
NBC also has Celebrity Apprentice at 9, in which Piers and Omarosa fight AGAIN, followed by a new Lipstick Jungle at 10, in which Shane suddenly has a music career. (?!)
MyNetworkTV has Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit on at 8.

Friday, March 7, 2008
Have you ever watched Baby Looney Tunes? It's a kids show, but it is actually kind of fun. It's on at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, and I would advise watching it if you happen to flip by it.
At 11 a.m., E! has the Forbes Top 20 most expensively outrageous celebrities, including interviews with Donald Trump and Simon Cowell.
Before it was a web browser, Firefox was a Clint Eastwood movie. (12:30 p.m., AMC)
At 8, ABC Family has Bring It On. Six words why I should watch: Kristin Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Gabrielle Union.
At 8, CBS has the Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular.
NBC has a new Amnesia on at 8.
The CW has a new Friday Night Smackdown!
ION has the 2000 version of The Hound of the Baskervilles at 7.

Saturday, March 8, 2008
A&E has two hours of my favorite weekend show, Sell This House. (9 a.m. - 11 a.m.) Guys, some decorating shows are hit-or-miss with me, but there's a certain charm to this half-hour show that actually motivates me to wake up early on a weekend to see it. Please, watch it then disagree, although I doubt you will.

Starts at 8: ABC has The Road to Perdition, NBC has a Law & Order marathon, E! has Lost in Translation, Oxygen has the Kiera Knightly Price & Prejudice, TBS Bad News Bears and WGN has Mighty Joe Young.

Sunday, March 9, 2008
At 7 p.m., NBC has 100 Most Outrageous Moments, which are zany highlights from TV years gone by. It sounds dorky, but is probably pretty entertaining. Which is more than I can say for Ben Silverman's NBC, but, enough about poor programming decisions! (How's Quarterlife doing for you, Ben?)

ABC has a new Oprah's Big Give at 9, which will be CRAZY, RIGHT LADIES?
TBS has Kicking and Screaming at 8. It's Will Ferrell sports movie, so if you see one, then you've seen them all! (No hate mail, please.)
PBS plays music from the 60's at 8.
Remember in 1998 there was that Merlin TV movie with Sam Neill, Isabella Rossellini, Martin Short and other kind of big names? All 4 hours are playing on WXSP at 7 p.m.
TVLand is playing Beetlejuice at 10 p.m., for reasons I do not know, but may not complain about if I did.

SNL: Editorial Response

2008-03-02T14:22:00.002-05:00

I don't normally watch clips from Saturday Night Live, mostly because I don't watch the show. (I know, I know... I go to college and I don't watch SNL. I defy stereotypes!) But I thought this clip with Sen. Hillary Clinton was pretty, so I thought I'd share with you.*

*This post by no means indicates any affiliation with Clinton, Obama, McCain, Huckabee, Nader or any other presidential candidate.

Lost: The Constant

2008-03-01T21:08:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Lost! I hope that years from now, Collegiate on TV will still exist. I need that constant force in my life!

The recap: If you are exposed to large amounts of radiation or electromagnetism and then deviate and hit some of the island's magical power spots, side-effects occur, such as: time jumping. We already know Desmond could do this briefly after the hatch imploded, but his powers subsided to just flashes from the future. But after traveling in the helicopter briefly - but yet for a day and a half?! - the powers kick in at full force, with him jumping back in time frequently. But, as we learned, it's just the consciousness that jumps, not the physical body itself. Whenever Des jumps, he inhibits his body at whatever time he jumps back to, and his future body stands still.

It would probably take me three hours to recap these 45 minutes, so I'll just skim over details: 1996 Desmond's consciousness travels to the future, where he knows nobody. But Daniel Faraday convinces Desmond to go back to Harvard and find him. '96 Des does, and discovers more about time traveling. But, if you do not have a constant force - a person, for example - who is there in the past and in the future, your brain will hemorrhages and die. Des decides that Penny will be his constant. (Constant=Valentine?) Once finding their constant, the consciousness won't be "stuck" in time, and everything will be "fine" again. So '96 Des pesters Penny's dad - who is buying Black Rock memorabilia - to give him Penny's address. He does.

'96 Des then visits Penny, who wants nothing to do with him. '96 Des wants a phone number, so he can call her in eight years, to be a constant force. Penny finally gives up the number in desperation, then kicks Des out. Jumping to the future, Des calls '04 Penny, who answers and I cried inside because it was beautiful and when they said "I love you" at the same time? Yeah. I melted inside. I can't even make fun of it because it was raw, honest, real and great. Finding his "constant" saves Desmond's life, and also brings '04 Desmond back to reality.

Meanwhile, back on the island, Dan keeps looking through his notes, until he finally finds a page that mentions that "if anything goes wrong, Desmond will be my constant."

What worked: First off: The return of the sudden opening. No "previously on Lost" led straight to the action, which for this episode worked great. Henry Ian Cusick deserves an Emmy for his acting in this episode, which was beyond great.

What didn't work: The whole rat test seemed kind of... weak? Like, it made sense, but at the same time seemed kind of rushed just the same.

Questions: Now that Dan was able to save Desmond's life and introduce Des to himself, maybe Dan will be able to concentrate better? Does Charles Widmore know the significance of the Black Rock?
Was time-jumping Daniel's side-effect? What other side-effects are there? (Healing?)
Are these side-effects the "sicknesses" that affected Rousseau's crew?
How did DHARMA get to the island without time-jumping? (Or did they jump?)
What will happen to the crew of the Kahana (the boat) when it gets closer to the island?
Did Michael gain any powers? Did Walt get any extra powers?
How can I get a Christmas tree like Penny's?
Does Locke have a power - and does it fade? Can the smoke monster sense powers? This might explain in part why the monster spared Locke's life one episode, but tried to take him in another.
Who wrecked the communications equipment and opened the door? (Hint/spoiler?: You'll know before the 8-episode pod is done.)

Next week: Juliet gets an unexpected visitor who tells her to stop Charlotte and Daniel's mission by any means necessary. And Ben and Locke play psychological chess, again. And there is a kiss with Jack and one other character... ! And a guest star surfaces who has already been seen in one of these five episodes, who is not who you'd expect, considering whose episode it is.

Lipstick Jungle: Chapter 4: Bombay Highway

2008-03-01T20:19:00.004-05:00

This episode was good! Good, of course, being compared to the other episodes. The characters had real conflict, they were in constant interaction with each other and the way that they came together made sense. The show is still not exactly high-caliber television. And they air this on Thursday nights? For shame, NBC. This is definitely a Friday night show. Nevertheless, after tonight's episode, I saw a glimmer of hope for the series.

The recap: Nico is still being sued for sexual harassment by BoyToy. Nico lies to Julian Sands that she knows him or what he wants. She then confesses to her friends about BoyToy, and they are shocked... that she didn't tell them earlier. This revelation causes Victory to go into Selfish Depression and Wendy to interrupt her husband's laundry duties with some dirty sex.

Wendy's latest "passion project" is a love story called Bombay Highway, and she wants to throw a huge premiere party for it. Victory gets to design a number for the film's The Hills-esque warbling, drunk starlet. She acts like a six-year-old brat about having to listen to orders from Wendy. To Wendy's credit, she doesn't give in that easily.

Nico, meanwhile, re-discovers how awesome her husband is, only to suspect that he too may be getting a little close with one of his students. (The obvious answer would be that he is cheating on Nico. Therefore, on Lipstick Jungle, he is.) Nico visits BoyToy - now Bartender BoyToy - to ask why he is suing her. He looks at her with sad eyes - and obviously waxed eyebrows - and whimpers away. He drops the lawsuit later that day, because he wants to get busy with Nico again. Nico, now thinking her husband may be doing some dirty work himself, decides to go ahead and cheat on him once more. After all, BoyToy is only happy through sex!

There was also something about the Starlet getting drunk thanks to Victory and crashing into cars and other stuff like that, and something about how no one even saw the movie because the party was too good, but, who cares?

What worked: We actually had a reason to care about most characters this week. Nico's crisis put her marriage, job and friendship at jeopardy. Wendy's career was kind of on the line, as was her sanity and friendship with Victory. And Victory actually had to work, which was challenging enough for her. (Seriously, how did she ever get famous? Girl's a slacker.) Julian Sands rocks his socks off as the Owner of Everything. He never got a chance to seriously flex any acting muscle on 24, so it is great to see him doing what he can with this role. Brooke Shields is starting to settle into her role, which makes the character more believable. And you know what else worked? Kim Raver. She can say so much with her face, it's crazy. It makes the Nico character not only believable, but also a little sympathetic.

What didn't work: Access Hollywood is NOT on 24/7. They do not even do news cut-ins.
This show is supposed to be fashionable, right? So why did the costume department dress Brooke Shields in saran wrap for the Bombay Highway premiere?
It's week four, and no Bonfire magazine.
We introduced a critic who didn't like Victory's work, but never resolved that with this episode. Are we going to revisit that in the future, or was it time killer?
Victory Ford. Please.... shut up. You are whiny, bratty and have a socially-immature boyfriend. Dump him for your assistant, who actually cares about your feelings, or, at least, is capable of feeling them like the rest of us humans.

Next week: Victory realizes someone has been stealing her stuff, so we'll get to spend lots of time with her so take a Tylenol before watching. Wendy tries to help Shane's music career, which, wasn't he an architect in the pilot? Whatever, show. Also, Nico tries to get Kirby a different job.

Top 20 Idol Performances

2008-02-27T22:42:00.004-05:00

The seventh season of American Idol continued on Tuesday night with performances by the top 10 male contestants, and again on Wednesday with the top 10 ladies. This week the theme was music from the ‘70s (how original, considering last week focused on the decade prior). Overall, many contestants seemed dedicated to improving; some hit a plateau; and others were just horrible…again.

Last week Garret Haley and Colten Berry were sent home; they were two of the guys I predicted to be in the danger zone. As for the females, Amy Davis and Joanne Borgella were sent packing.

(Above: The beautifully imaginative David Archuleta. Don't you just want to hug him & take him home?)
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The Guys

This year it’s difficult to measure which group is better, the guys or the girls. The easy thing to decide is which group is more entertaining. And hands down, I’d so much rather watch the guys rock out on the Idol stage.

The worst: Even though he improved his vocals from last week, Jason Yeager was once again the worst of the bunch. Most disturbing of all were his theatrics and spastic dance moves. Hopefully, this will be his last week stealing another contestant’s slot on the show.

A majority of the guys’ performances were decent. However, along with Yeager, Robbie Carrico was a weak performer and was far from “Hot Blooded,” as he still hasn’t convinced anyone that’s he a true rocker. Luke Menard is also still someone to worry about. His “Killer Queen” performance was so-so. It was the perfect song for his range, but it didn’t flatter him in any other way. Plus, despite his spunk and surprisingly good voice, Danny Noriega has yet to measure up.

The Best: Tonight was the night of the Davids. David Archuleta’s rendition of Lennon’s infamous “Imagine” was innovative and beyond beautiful. David Hernandez stepped up from last week and gave a stirring performance of “Papa was a Rolling Stone.” And finally, David Cook proved that he is this year’s true rocker. Early favorites Michael Johns and Jason Castro fell slightly from their pedestals created last week; however, they should still be safe. Another performance worth mentioning was Chikezie’s; he’s also here to stay.

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The Girls

The Worst: Once again, Kady Malloy gave a disappointing performance, and is in danger of elimination. Bringing down most of the girls was poor song selection, leaving many of them unsettled. Alexandrea Lushington was okay, though she, like many others, didn’t live up to last week’s performances. Asia’h Epperson committed a dire Idol no-no, singing the overdone “All By Myself” that was too big for her voice. Amanda Overmeyer sported crazy hair and seemed to hit a plateau.

The Best: There were only two standout performances. One was from Irish sweetheart Carly Smithson who sang Heart’s “Crazy On You.” The other came from beauty school dropout, Brooke White as she sang the classic “You’re So Vain.” Syesha Mercado and Alaina Whitaker weren’t as good as last week, but they’ll still be safe. Kristy Lee Cook improved, while Ramiele Maluby also fell victim to poor song choice; though, she is most likely safe as well.

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This week some contestants truly stepped up, while others fell from their initial grace. Overall, the guys have shown the most improvement and consistency. Unfortunately for the ladies, Wednesday night really had only two performances worth remembering. The rest fell flat (and off-key). It is becoming very difficult to pick the ones to be eliminated. For both guys and girls, the competition to get into the Top 12 is already heated, and from there, it’s only going to get more exciting and nerve-wracking.

Tune in Thursday night at 8pm for the results on FOX.

Terminator: Demon Hand

2008-02-27T19:18:00.003-05:00

Say, do you think Cameron might be slightly human? I wasn't quite sure, what with the show beating it into our skulls for a whole hour. That aside, this was another fairly enjoyable episode. And seeing as next week is the 2-hour season finale, I would hope that these would all be good episodes. But enough general ramblings. Let's get to the recap.

The recap: Derek does not like Cameron. He "knows who she is." She "knows who he is." And they do not specify how they know each other or why they abnormally dislike each other. *sigh* Remember the creator of the Turk, how he had a Russian partner? Said Russian partner's sister is a ballet instructor, so to get close to the Russian, Cameron started taking ballet lessons. It was not as funny as I hoped, but still rewarding. Cameron finds out what she needs (a picture of who wanted the Turk), and long story short, leaves her ballet instructor to die. COLD.

Ellison is hot on the trail of Sarah Connor. He watched videos of when she spent time in the crazy ward. And he's obsessed with that spare T-888 hand that he keeps in his freezer. (I guess that's as good as any place to keep it...?) Somehow Sarah figures out that Ellison has the hand, so she casually breaks into his house. A high-level FBI agent doesn't have Brinks? Anyways, she snags a tape, which John later watches alone, where Sarah signs away her parental rights. John is sad, because now he thinks she's not his mom...? But then mom's like, dude, I broke out of that place to get you. Sorry? Sarah and John burn the T-888 hand, and Derek see's Cameron doing ballet, which will make her not kill us all or something.

There was also a subplot with Dr. Silverman from the asylum being a crazed believer, kidnapping Ellison and Sarah saving Ellison, but he thinks that he was hallucinating or whatever. Oh, and Arnold's Terminator may be God, and Sarah may be Jesus. Just so you know.

What worked: The show has a slow pace, but it's consistent. The actress who plays Sarah Connor absolutely rocks all her scenes. The show itself isn't necessarily award-worthy, but Lena Headly absolutely deserves at least a nod.

What didn't work: Ellison. I love the character, but his plotlines always feel... fake. Contrived. Done just to be a convenience later. Please, show. Stop.

Next week: The show ends for the season. Or maybe forever! Because ratings have been low, considering the advertising money spent and the high budget for the show. We'll see!

Do Oscars need a new producer?

2008-02-27T18:18:00.002-05:00

As you no doubt know, this year's Academy Award telecast was the lowest-rated in over 30 years. With viewership declining for years now, and with a long string of unsatisfying hosts and too-glitzy production numbers, I wonder: Is it time to get rid of Gil Cates?

(Before I go any further, no, I do not know him personally. He seems like a great guy.)

The show is extremely glossy with little to no content. They didn't include a famous decease actor in a montage, even though he had been dead for weeks. They said they didn't "have time" in the montage. Even though the whole show was padded with useless montages left and right. And you're telling me that in a day and age filled with hundreds (thousands?) of producers who have worked in news stations, who must edit and update packages all the time, that no one on the crew was able to slip him in? That's just rude.

The show for years now has been considered "boring" by both mainstream Americans and media alike. Viewership declines consistently. (Note: He didn't produce last year.) And this guy keeps his job? How many jobs in this country allow you to consistently fail and still allow you to keep your job? If I became a producer of a local newscast, I can guarantee you that if the show was considered dull and I lost viewers all the time, I wouldn't keep the job. None of my staff would. But Cates does!

Since there's no real danger of Cates actually losing his job ever, apparently, then let's hope that he can be creative enough and open enough to new ideas to spruce the show up. The Emmy's are in an ugly transition period as they struggle to stay new and fresh, but at least they're trying. (For the record, I liked Ryan Seacrest in the round theatre. There, I said it.)

The Oscar's ratings are declining, and it seems pretty obvious that if you keep doing the same thing, it is not going to attract eyeballs.

Oscars Review

2008-02-25T17:06:00.003-05:00

Last night, the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony were held on ABC. In case you missed it, I held off doing other homework (heh) and live-blogged the whole ceremony for our sister blog, Collegiate on Movies. If you missed the ceremony, here's what you missed:

Not a lot.

I was talking to blogging parter Rebekah today and we both agreed that we were entertained throughout the whole show. In my opinion, it was still a kind of dry show, but there were enough funny bits from Jon Stewart where it made the whole thing entertaining. But apart from the honest speech from the Once music team and Javier Bardem's speech, there were not many standout moments. It was entertaining to watch at the moment, but nothing that really sticks out in my mind the day after.

What worked: I was impressed, though, by Jon Stewart. Some shows have the host on for very little throughout the whole show. But Stewart had a definite presence throughout the program.

What didn't work: Those montages! I actually liked the "horrible" montages of people looking through binoculars, but having the orchestra swell with a sentimental piece every five minutes as we remember shows past? When a seventh of your show is spent remembering other shows, it doesn't say a lot for your confidence in the program, writer's strike or no writer's strike.

TV Highlights for Feb. 25 - March 2

2008-02-24T23:56:00.001-05:00

Here are your television highlights for this week:

Monday
Kyle XY is all new again on ABC Family.
A Raisin in the Sun, a TV movie, airs on ABC at 8.
FOX has a new Moment of Truth, followed by a new Terminator. (I don't get the pairing either.)
NBC has a new Deal or No Deal, My Dad is Better than Your Dad and Medium.
CW has a new Girlicious. If you can watch the whole hour, you'll lose weight! You'll have one ounce less of dignity left. (Cheap shot, I know.)
Steve Martin alert: TVLand is playing The Jerk at night.

Tuesday
Primetime returns to ABC at 10.
American Idol is 90-minutes long on FOX.
CBS has Big Brother and Jericho, only one of which is anybody watching, fanboys.
NBC has a new Quarterlife at 10. It is boring, vapid and uninspired, perfect for the new NBC!
One Tree Hill is new on the CW. Will K-Fed be punched again? If so, I'll totally watch.
E! has the 30 Most Outrageous Celebrity Feuds at 8.
Before she had twins: Jennifer Lopez stars in Maid in Manhattan on FX.

Wednesday
Men in Trees is on Wednesday nights now (take note) at 10 p.m.
American Idol is 90-minutes long on FOX. Again.
America's Next Top Model and Girlicious are on The CW. Maybe Tyra can be the homecoming queen again!
Cheesy one-liner alert: A&E has a CSI: Miami marathon.
MTV has a new Real World/Road Rules Challenge at 10.

Thursday
Lost is new at 9, where we get to what happened on the helicopter and we meet some more people!
CBS has a new Survivor on at 8. And folks, I know this may be rerun season anyway, but there is barely anything new on this week AT ALL. It's sad!
Celebrity Apprentice is new at 9 on NBC. Will Omarosa and Piers fight? (Probably.) It's followed by a new Lipstick Jungle, which I will watch and recap for this blog, because... it's something on TV to recap, even though it's awful.
AMC has the Sandra Bullock 2002 film Murder by Numbers at 8.

Friday
The Price is Right is on at 8 on CBS.
20/20 is two-hours on ABC, starting at 9. It goes up against a 2-hour Dateline on NBC.
WXSP plays Agent Cody Banks 2 at 8. Yeeeaaah...
ION networ will be playing Aftershock: Earthquake in New York at 8, which is a delightfully cheesy TV movie and I advise everybody to set their VCR's or TiVo's and watch it later.
AMC's obsession with The Matrix continues at 8.

Saturday
CBS has the movie Secondhand Lions at 8.
WXSP will have the Trumpet awards at 8.
MTV has a new Making the Band 4 at 8.

Sunday
ABC's new block of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Oprah's Big Give and Here Come the Newlyweds premieres.
FOX has new editions of their comedy programs at night. A new Simpsons... hooray!
A new Quarterlife on NBC at 9.
FX has a new Dirt episode on at 10.

theRecap: Las Vegas Cancelled

2008-02-23T20:45:00.005-05:00

Welcome to theRecap for the week of Feb. 17-23, 2008. I'm your author, Charles Jurries, bringing you the best links the internet can afford. What did you miss in television news this week? Probably a lot of cancellations! Let's get to the news.

- I hope Josh Duhamel got a lot of money for doing Transformers; his Las Vegas show got the ax this week.
- Bionic Woman was also laid to rest. Not that there was any doubt...
- Women's Murder Club is NOT dead!
- The new cast of Dancing with the Stars was announced this week.
- Dora the Explorer is going live action for a TV movie. No joke!
- NBC announced that it, like FOX, will have a year-round schedule, instead of the old-fashioned fall-centric schedule. Knowing Ben Silverman, it will all be mindless, contentless reality shows.
- Jesse L. Martin leaves Law & Order, guy from K-Ville replaces him.
- There is a semi-spoilerish, no-holds barred interview with the Lost producers. Including an answer to how soon it will be before we know who all the Oceanic Six are!
- Nip/Tuck had it's worst-rated season finale yet. It seems Julien McMahon hasn't been able to use his acting powers to make people feel Charmed. (Go ahead, slap me for that.)
- A new trailer for The Hills was released this week.
- No one really knows what's exactly up with Friday Night Lights, but it sounds promising. If the show isn't dead, it may be shared with another network or moved altogether off of NBC. Besides, FNL is a scripted show, so it probably doesn't fit well with the new NBC. (Zing!)

Lipstick Jungle: Chapter Three: Pink Poision

2008-02-23T17:15:00.003-05:00

Another week brings another Lipstick Jungle. This week's "chapter" is entitled Pink Poison, or as I like to call it, NBC hasn't cancelled this show by now? Folks, this show is still uneven. It feels like three bad shows jumbled together without a care. Of course, I say this as a guy, and the show is not made for a guy. But speaking generally about rules of pacing, cohesiveness and consistent writing, it's not a great show. And this week wasn't even passable as mindless filth (which, isn't that what NBC is now? Mindless trash?), it was boring and hard to keep my attention. Let's see what our egotistical millionaires who are completely real are up to this week.

The recap: Show #1: Nico's Bonfire magazine continues to work with the Prince Harry shoot. I have yet to see a copy of Bonfire magazine on the show. Nico feels guilty for going out with horny BoyToy, who clearly has no sense of boundaries or when making out is or is not appropriate. Nico comes to her senses and dumps BoyToy. If, by dumping, you mean getting him fired. He's upset, hurt and confused, and really, still horny and wants to get it on. Ew. We finally see more of Nico's husband, who is a book nerd but treats Nico extremely well and is a great husband. For shame, Nico! You cheated on that? BoyToy is still wounded and then sues Nico for sexual harasement. (Probably persuaded by Nico's rival.)

Show #2: Wendy is still suffering the fallout from that new tell-all book. UppityPublisher (who is so over-the-top, it's actually fun to watch) wants Wendy to feel rejected, because Wendy rejected her years ago, or some stupid nonsense. It doesn't matter. Wendy's daughter doesn't have a cell phone, and is upset. Said daughter gets dragged along to a luncheon, where she is persuaded by a movie star brat that daughter is being used as a publicity tool. Daughter gets upset, UppityPublisher get's a coat ruined, and basically Wendy overtakes UppityPublisher's office? And the daughter is happy to have a horrible mom like Wendy? It... felt like a Frasier plot, except, dumb.

Show #3: The worst show of them all! Victory, Victory, Victory. She hires a guy who reminds me of Tucker Carlson for some reason as her new assistant. Her billionaire friend doesn't have friends and hates meeting Victory's friends. So he flies out to Paris, blah blah blah, he still hates personal contact, Victory cannot imagine that her boyfriends wouldn't just totally immerse their soul into her demoness realms and assume her life completely without compromise, and... it just hurts to watch these Victory scenes. It's not the fault of the actress, it's a crappy character with bad plots.

Also, all three of these women take time out from their busy lives to go shoe shopping. In the middle of a work day. Uh, seriously? Because Nico just finished a photo shoot with ROYALTY, so I think she'd be busy. And Wendy kind of runs a movie company. How do they get this time?

What worked: The show was one hour long.

What didn't work: See recap above.

Lost: Eggtown

2008-02-21T23:51:00.004-05:00

While the quality of this show has continued to be amazingly high and the atmosphere amazingly mature, I think this season has slowed down a little. There weren't many questioned asked and not many answered. The season has found it's groove, I think. Before we get to the juicy stuff, I must put the regular disclaimer that THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS about the episode.

The recap: Ben plays mind-games with Locke, causing Locke to go on a power trip and act like a kinda-dictator, slowly becoming like Ben himself. Kate wants to talk to Miles to find out if people know about her rap sheet. (They do.) But before he tells her that, he needs to talk to Ben. So Kate uses Sawyer to distract Locke while she breaks Miles out and takes him to Ben. Miles uses the art of extortion, asking for $3.2 million in cash within a week, in exchange he'll keep Ben's very existence a secret. Why $3.2 million? Because 3.2 reversed is 2.3, and 23 is one of the numbers! THAT's why, Ben. Ben agrees. Locke is upset, and acts like Jigsaw and leaves Miles tied up and with a LIVE GRENADE in his mouth. Kate is kicked out/leaves the barracks, but not before cozying up with Sawyer again.

Elsewhere, Charlotte helps Dan practice memory-strengthening techniques, Jack can't contact the boat and no one has seen the copter in a day and a half. And they had limited fuel, too. So, they're dead! No, not really. Because they're alive in the previews for next week. So they'll die then? Also, Jin wants to move to Albuquerque, but Sun wants to go back to Korea.

In the FUTURE... Kate stands trial for a whole laundry list of crimes that hilariously takes about 30 seconds just to read. Kate is oddly defensive about HER KID, who she won't let be a character witness. She also won't let her MOM, who is still alive (!), see the child. And Jack doesn't want to see him. After a long trial, Kate's mom refuses to testify and the case falls apart. Kate jumps at the chance to have 10 years probation, under the condition that she cannot leave California. Like, she's really excited at that opportunity. Is it because she doesn't want to go back to Mystery Island, like we've already seen? Or is it because she wants to stay and protect her son, who isn't really her son, but instead is a kid named AARON? Yes, Aaron, Jack's half-nephew. Claire's baby. He is living with Kate and unnamed caretaker, with no Claire in sight.

What worked: The pacing, editing, everything about the show worked really well. I want that judge to have his own show. Having Kate's mom still be alive was a nice little twist. (As was the end.) And, well, pretty much everything has been great so far. This is season one quality here. Even when it's a slower episode, like this, it still feels ten times better than other things on TV. (Like, Lipstick Jungle!)

What didn't work: That has to be the most depressing lighting in a courtroom I have ever seen. Is the future that bleak? That they use harsh gym lighting in our nations courtrooms? (I thought the design was great, though.) I know we wrapped up Charlie's plotline pretty well in the season premiere, but can we please see Claire miss him? I know he was on-again, off-again, but still! They were good friends.

Questions: Is Claire alive? Is Aaron counted as one of the Oceanic Six or not? Did I hear wrong when Jack testified that eight survived the plane crash? If so, is part of the cover story that two died on the island, or are there eight survivors, not six? Why is Kate so protective of Aaron? Why does Sun want to go back to Korea? Why isn't the helicopter back yet? What happened to Daniel's memory - and are he and Charlotte a thing? How stupid-crazy is Locke? (Answer: very.)

Next week: We follow Sayid & Desmond's journey on the helicopter. And despite Charlotte's objections, Daniel Faraday lets loose a hint about an island secret we recently found out to Jack and Juliet. (And there may be more to Daniel than we knew...)

Idol Top 24 Performances

2008-02-20T22:03:00.009-05:00

American Idol is in full swing, and the top 24 hit the stage for their first round of live performances on Idol. Now in season 7, this is the first year that the early rounds are being assigned themes. This week, the top 12 guys & the top 12 girls tackled music from the 60s...and to varying levels of success.

(Left: From down under, Micheal Johns.)

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The Guys

First let's begin with the bad news...

The worst: Even though his backstory was touching and he has an adorable son, nothing could save audiences from Jason Yeager's sleepy, boring rendition of "Moon River." If everyone's hearing was in check, Yeager is the first to deserve the boot.

Two guys will be eliminated. As such, contestants Garret Haley, Colten Berry, and Chikezie are in possible danger. Though, look for the absolutely gorgeous Luke Menard to be sent back home. Seriously, the man looks like some genious combination of Patrick Dempsey and Orlando Bloom. Unfortunately, his performance was dull. If you just turn the volume down on your TV, you could mistake his screentime as a glimpse of Heaven.

The Best: David Archuleta has a good voice and fits perfectly into the 'adorable' category. Only a major mistep will keep him from the top 12. Dread-locked Jason Castro is one of the few finalists that is unique and original. But, the best performance of BOTH guys & girls night was that of Australian bloke Michael Johns, who belted out "Light My Fire," and boy I tell you, he sure did. ;-)
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The Girls

The Worst: The judges love her, but I can't help comparing Amanda Overmyer to season five's Taylor Hicks. Sorry, she's a one-trick pony, and it's not even that good of a trick. That's just me, though; she'll make it through. In danger are Amy Davis, Kristy Lee Cook, and Kady Malloy.

The Best: As Simon said, this season the girls & guys are fairly evenly matched. While Castro, Archuleta & Johns shined on Tuesday, Wednesday boasted quite a few great and promising performances from the ladies.

At the top of the list is the amazing S-YES-sha Mercado. Sorry, it's Paula Abdul humor. So far, no one else can sing like this girl, who reworked "Tobacco Road." Others to watch for excellence include Carrie-Underwood doppleganger Alaina Whitaker, Asia'h Epperson, and good-girl Brooke White. Alexandrea Lushington, Ramiele Maluby, and Carly Smithson also show great potential.
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Overall, this was definitely a good group of top 24 performances. No one was truly awful, though only a special few were beyond amazing. I didn't vote, but so far my favorites are definitely Michael Johns and Syesha Mercado. By the way, I love when the judges banter. Simon and Ryan account for over half show's charm.

Tune in Thursday night at 8pm for the results on FOX.