Confession time. One of my guilty pleasures is watching Gossip Girl. I know it isn’t the most cerebral TV show but it sure does get you once you start watching. If you don’t know what I mean then don’t start watching even a single episode unless you want to get hooked. If you’re already hooked, then you obviously know what I mean.
So what brought about my confession? Hillary Duff.
I have never been a Hillary Duff fan and was even turned off with her mouthing off against Faye Dunaway, even if Faye Dunaway kind of deserved it. From where I come from there’s something called respecting your elders.
Anyway Hillary Duff is going to be on Gossip Girl. According to EW, “The actress-designer-pop chanteuse will play Olivia Burke, a movie star who enrolls at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. She ends up rooming with Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) so it’s safe to say she’ll be majoring in Drama!” As for the confession it seems that Duff is a fan of the show and her favorite character is Chuck Bass. I guess we do have something in common. There’s just something about Chuck Bass that makes me watch Gossip Girl. Maybe it’s as Hillary Duff said, “I don’t know why, because he’s so bad and terrible. He is so sad that I feel bad for him.” So come fall we’ll be seeing Hillary Duff aka Olivia Burke but we’ll have to wait and see if her character will be into Chuck Bass as she is or some other guy.
And it’s goodbye for now for the Gosselin family, at least till August 3. The episode of “Jon & Kate Plus Eight” was aired this week and what we saw were edited versions of the family’s journey since the show started, from their Hawaii vow renewal trip (they didn’t show the vow renewal part though) to short teasers of all new upcoming episodes showing Jon and Kate going on separate trips with the kids.
The show was put on hiatus by TLC and because they want to give the family time to work out the divorce and also settle on some semblance of normalcy for the kids, at least in terms of custody schedule, before the filming resumes.
The episode was really bittersweet as it not only showed us the fun family times but also saw (although the editors did not try to highlight that part) how the couple slowly drifted apart. Watching it makes you realize how fragile a marriage can be. As the show goes on hiatus many, whether for Jon or for Kate, can only say that they hope the couple saw the episode, whether it be to help them say their final goodbyes or to help them realize that they should give it a last ditch effort. Whatever we feel though we can be sure that Jon and Kate, however mean and loving they were to each other, will feel more than double of what we feel if they did watch that episode. The question is will the feelings be positive or negative? Probably both.
The Saturn Awards were given away last week and we all know that the “Dark Knight” dominated the awards show, at least for the movie awards categories. When it comes to the TV awards “Battlestar Galactica” still rules, managing to get back its title of being the Best Cable TV Series, which it has won 2005 but was snatched away by “Dexter” last year.
Below’s a list of this TV winners of the 35th Annual Saturn Awards. For a full list of winners you can download this Microsoft word document provided by the by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
Best Television Series: LOST
Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Best Presentation on Television: THE LIBRARIAN: THE CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE
Best Actor on Television: EDWARD JAMES OLMOS (Battlestar Galactica)
Best Actress on Television: MARY MCDONNELL (Battlestar Galactica)
Best Supporting Actor on Television: ADRIAN PASDAR (Heroes)
Best Supporting Actress on Televison: JENNIFER CARPENTER (Dexter)
Guest Starring Role on Television: JIMMY SMITS (Dexter)
My reaction to the winners? Being a Battlestar Galactica fan I’m glad they got the title back. I also really like Dexter though so it’s good that they at least got awards. As for Lost, I lost my interest in the series a few seasons ago so I couldn’t care less. The twists and turns are also too much to follow and I am not in the mood for a Lost marathon just so I can finally figure out what’s been happening.
Been trying to write about some tv show but I keep coming back to Michael Jackson’s death. What else could I do since it seems like there’s nothing else to see on tv except rehashed stuff about MJ. Not that I’m really complaining because I am quite guilty of the fascination most people feel when MJ is brought up. I also have to admit that his death leaves me totally befuddled. I am not a fan but weirdly enough his loss does hit home. It leaves me wondering not just about his life but brings up all these stupid existential questions. I would love to come up with a fitting post for Michael Jackson but after I read Neil McCormick’s article on the Telegraph, “Michael Jackson: This Really is It”, I felt like he nailed exactly how I feel. Here’s an excerpt of Neil McCormick’s article:
The death of someone so famous shakes us to the core, because it is like a death in the family. Love him or loathe him, Michael Jackson was part of the fabric of all our lives. Or maybe worse, it is like the death of a God, a sudden unexplainable absence in the mythos of the times. President Kennedy, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Lady Diana: these are the kind of deaths that confront us with our own mortality, the realisation that the end is unavoidable, death stalks us all, no matter how anointed by the fates. Such a death is usually greeted with a kind of incredulity. But this is it. This is really it.
And as the dust settles, what are we to make of Michael Jackson, who had denied us, and himself, the ultimate showbiz redemption?
MJ RIP. To his kids I hope they have a better life than their father had.
Image Source: ABC News
And the winner is….Lou Diamond Phillips!
No surprise there since none of the other celebrities really deserved the title. Just take a look at the “I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Outta Here” poll results and the resounding answer to their question, Did America make the right choice in crowning Lou Diamond Phillips ”King of the Jungle”?, is a resounding ABSOLUTELY YES (at least 88% yes when I just looked in a few minutes ago).
So what does the new “Celebrity King of the Jungle” have to say about his three-week stay in a bug infested jungle where the only noise that competed with the biting bugs were the non-stop complaints of his fellow celebs? Lou Diamond Phillips said, “This experience is head and shoulders and far to the left of anything I’ve ever done. No movie set ever compared to this - this is the real deal and it’s been an amazing trip.” We believe him. After all in movie sets not only do they have trailers, catered food, and stunt doubles to do the hard parts. As for the divas, we still have to confirm if they complain more in the jungle or in movie sets.
Congratulations to Lou Diamond Phillips and we hope this somehow gives your career the jump start it badly needs. I still remember you making me swoon in “Young Guns”. A bigger congratulations to Phillip’s chosen charity: The Art Has Heart Foundation.
After all the speculation on Jon and Kate Gosselin’s marital problems the couple has finally announced that they have indeed filed for a divorce. The announcement was aired on this season’s premiere episode of the reality show “Jon and Kate Plus 8” when Jon said 40 minutes into the show, “Kate and I have decided to separate.” Not a big surprise with the tabloids eating them up for months now. But the question is what happens to the kids? And for fans of the show: What happens to the show?
According to the couple they will be sharing custody of the kids. The kids will be getting the house and Jon and Kate will be the ones who’ll be staying over at the kids’ house during their turn to spend time with the kids. Unlike the bickering that has been going on between the two about every single thing, at least the divorce arrangements seem to be going smoothly with the kids’ farewell foremost in their minds. As for the show it will still continue although this time we won’t be seeing Jon and Kate together but with them doing their own thing with the kids, pretty much what we’ve been seeing in the tabloids the past months. As Kate said, “The show must go on.” But as in any divorce while the parents may see it as another chapter in their lives it will still be difficult for the kids and while Kate says that she “just need[s] relief now” and Jon says that the split is necessary because “It’s not good for us to be arguing in front of the kids” we all know that either way the kids will be getting the short end of the stick on this one. All in all while we keep on peeking into their worlds we can only hope for the best of the kids and if the best means giving up the show hopefully they’ll see that sometimes the show must not go on.
A new reality show is in the works and its all about second chances. At least according to Ryan Seacrest and Lindsay Lohan that’s what they’ve been working on when they were reported to be seen by the paps partying together all night clubbing in LA and hanging out both in Linsay’s pad at the Chateau Marmont and also at Ryan’s place.
Ryan Seacrest, who’s the producer of “Keeping up With the Kardasians”, “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated”, and “Bromance”, tweeted that he “Met with Lindsay last night about a show idea I have for her . . . it helps people and gives others a second shot!” Lindsay also seems excited about the reality show in which she will be a judge (No she won’t be the one we’ll be watching trying to get a second chance…she’s already got that after all!) and tweeted, “Working on a really great project for television — I am excited!”
The reality show will be cast people who are in need of a second chance. The show will be giving the one deserving of a second chance $1 million dollars to start life anew. Of course with how things have been going for many people who have appeared on reality shows after the shows are over we don’t know if it’ll actually result in a second chance at life or just the same life but with the added pressure of being under the microscope.
HBO will be airing True Blood season 2 this June 14th. I have to admit that I couldn’t care less about the show and that I really am quite perplexed that it actually has fans. Don’t get me wrong about being a vampire snob because when it comes to vampires I often can not get enough of it. I was obsessed with Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and of course watched the film though I’ve read all the books. I love Underworld, Twilight is ok, and you can still catch me watching old episodes of Angel. So when I first heard that HBO was coming out with a vamp series I was really excited. Fast forward to episode one of season one and my first reaction was that I was floored. I was floored that I hated the whole thing. I was stunned how could HBO have messed up a vamp tv show?
The pilot episode’s tone was just not right. I couldn’t decide if it felt more like porn, lousy comedy, or drama. Whatever it was it seemed that they tried to cram too much in the first episode and in the end everything just fell flat. Despite my very negative experience with True Blood though I know that my mistake is not sticking around to even see any of the following episodes because it seems that it finally took off. Just goes to show though how important pilot episodes are. Hopefully season 2 will start of a lot better. If it does I might even bother to get a dvd copy of the first season and watch it all, except for the first episode of course.
What do you think? Should I give True Blood another chance? Are you a fan or are you one of those that was really turned off after seeing the show’s pilot episode last season?
Friday is D-day for TV viewers across America because Friday is the last day when you can watch TV on your analog tv sets, unless you’re a cable or satellite subscriber or you have a new tv set.
So what exactly will be happening on June 12? On June 12 ALL tv stations will be switching completely to digital over the air broadcast television. No analog signal will be transmitted for your rabbit ear antennas to catch. The good news is that you won’t have to put up with grainy tv anymore but the bad news is that if you’re still relying on the rabbit ears you won’t be putting up with any tv at all.
So what can you do to make sure you will still be able to watch tv after Friday even if your TV isn’t equipped for getting digital signals? Here are some things you can do.
Subscribe to cable or satellite TV – The cable and satellite providers will be the one to do the analog to digital conversion for you. The problem with this is of course is more bills to pay and in this economy this is not the solution for everyone.
Buy a “digital to analog converter box” – I checked it out at Walmart.com and you can get these for $49.87. Again the problem is the cost but the good news is that the government has helped defray the cost by issuing $40 coupons at 2 coupons per household. You can get your coupon at the “TV Converter Box Coupon Program” website. Note though that as of the moment coupon issuance is on hold but you can still sign up and be waitlisted.
It was Jay Leno’s last night at the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and for the first time he nearly brought me to tears. His last night wasn’t really spent trying to put together tear jerking moments but despite the jokes Jay trying to keep his composure made me sentimental. Unfortunately I got to the tv to late to watch the start of the show and only saw the last half of his interview with Conan, who will be taking over the Tonight Show come Monday.
Jay Leno was gracious through out the interview and even told Conan that he was glad that Conan would be taking the reigns and that Conan was his only choice. Jay Leno has mentioned in the past months that he wants the transition to be as smooth as possible for Conan and he was obviously letting Conan do the talking during the interview, giving the audience a preview of what’s to come. They even showed a short clip of Conan going undercover doing a focus group to help him determine what best to do for the Tonight Show’s audience. Conan is expected to tone down his act a little bit to fit the more conservative Tonight Show audience but he is determined to do it without losing his own flair by making small changes. According to Conan,”Television’s changing drastically, and I want to make sure that my show isn’t too buttoned up, that I don’t have this feeling of, well, it’s the Tonight Show and so I’m going to completely change everything about myself. I’ll make small changes day-in and day-out, tiny little adjustments that I feel are appropriate.”
As for Jay Leno his final goodbye ended with him showing the real legacy of the Tonight Show – the children of all the Tonight Show staff that were born during the 17 years. His legacy is 68 in all. All I can say is good job to the Jay Leno and the Tonight Show staff. Thanks for all the laughs and we’re looking forward to September.
