Does anybody remember when The Learning Channel used to be about, you know, learning? I can’t pinpoint the moment in time when the cable network re-branded itself as “TLC” and became a home for exploitative reality shows, but these days, the stuff TLC is teaching is the kind of thing nobody but the most voyeuristic viewers want to learn.
USA Today reports that Kate Gosselin (who apparently isn’t getting nearly enough TV coverage already) is starring in a new series for TLC called Twist of Kate, in which Gosselin travels around the country and “tries on” the lives of her fans. (Anybody else wondering who’s watching those eight kids while she’s out visiting her fans and dancing with stars and stuff?) She’ll also be starring in a series of Kate Plus 8 specials that follow-up on her former show while focusing on her life as a newly single mother.
Come on, TLC. I know Gosselin is a fame addict, but you’re totally enabling her.
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that TLC is so interested in staying in the Kate Gosselin business. This is, after all, the network that regularly brings us such TV landmarks as I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, Toddlers & Tiaras (about child beauty pageants), Hoarders: Buried Alive, One BIG Happy Family (about a morbidly obese family), and no less than four different shows about little people. Not to mention all the shows they keep ripping off from the Food Network (I’m looking at you, Cake Boss and Ultimate Cake Off – Ace of Cakes and Food Network Challenge will be suing any day now).
I have always wondered why the Real Housewives of New York had a single girl as part of the main cast. Whatever the reason was the uber strong (referring to personality here) Bethenny Frankel is now a real wife after getting married two days ago. March 28 saw her fellow cast members Ramona and Alex McCord at the event.
Ramona posted in her blog that “It was probably one of the nicest weddings I’ve ever been to.” All I can say is that her dress is one of the nicest I’ve seen in a while! And for that I’m posting a picture of her instead of Bethenny here!
The decision to get married was obviously not a snap decision (like Lamar and Khloe’s was) especially since Bethenney has been pregnant for the last 7 months. I guess she finally realized after all those months that she has it in her to be a housewife if she has it in her to be a mom. It also doesn’t hurt that she now has her own show (a spin off of the Real Housewives), Bethenny’s Getting Married. The show will of course still be under Bravo though the exact air date is still not announced.
Good luck to Bethenny and Jason. Hopefully the toll of being on a reality TV show won’t take too much of a toll on their marriage.
Foodies watch out. There’s a revolution going on and Jamie Oliver’s right smack in the middle of it.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s new show airs tonight at 10PM on ABC. The show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, actually aired a sneak peek on the 21st but I missed it. After seeing Larry King last night though my interest was peaked, not because it seemed a particularly entertaining show, but because I am eager to see how well the “revolution” will be accepted.
According to Ryan Seacrest (He’s the executive producer of the show. That guy is getting busier and busier by the minute!), he was “embarrassed as a teenager” because of his weight. Like Bill Clinton he thinks that by changing the kind of food served in school cafeterias he would probably have been less fat and reap better health as he grows older.
The revolution starts in Huntington, WV where Jamie helped change the daily menu from serving processed foods like pizza, frozen chicken nuggets, ready-to-eat eggs and corn dogs for breakfast and lunch to healthier foods made from fresh ingredients. Not surprisingly his first few weeks was met with resistance from the school cooks (They should be thankful it’s Jamie Oliver and not Gordon Ramsey that’s “revolutionizing” their kitchen) and the children. However, it seems that they are already warming up to the idea and other schools are starting to look into the possibility of making changes.
Jamie Oliver is also taking his advocacy to the White House where he wouldn’t be hard pressed to find an ally since we all know that First Lady Michelle Obama has made reducing childhood obesity a priority.
Last night’s AI episode showcased past #1 hits from the Billboard charts. With so many songs to choose from it wasn’t surprising that some of the contestants were able to pick really really great songs for them to sing (i.e. Aaron, Katie and Crystal). The crazy thing was that with all that song choice a lot of them actually picked mediocre and even sucky ones. Anyway here’s my take on last night’s show.
Miley Cyrus – It was great to see someone that young “mentoring” the contestants. She did give good advice (we can even probably credit her for getting Crystal to take a bigger risk) and surprised me by seeming to be more better than I initially gave her credit for. It was funny to see her though because at first she seemed just as nervous to “mentor” the contestants as they were to hear her opinion.
Great performances of the night - Crystal gave the best performance (as always). I really loved how she loosened up out there. So looking forward to her “big plans” next week. Siobhan started out ok and ended her song with a bang (again as usual) though last week was definitely way better. I LOVED her hair and makeup though. Props to whoever styled her. Aaron chose a great song but his laryngitis/tonsillitis showed. Hopefully he’ll be better next week. Casey rocked though he did not make eye contact even if Miley told him too.
Great progress - Katie finally chose a young song! She also looks younger though a change in hairstyle might help even more. ANd of course she’s got to take care of the pitch problems. Lee looked a lot more comfortable on the stage and moved around. It was good but not good enough to be memorable when 10 other contestants get to sing after you.
Uhohs – The big mess of the night was Paige Miles’ performance. She was just all over the place. Too bad because I love her song but it was just painful. If America votes right, she’ll be going home tomorrow.
The votes are in and America got it mostly right. AI girls voted out tonight were Janelle Wheeler and Ashley Rodriguez. For the boys the first two to go were Joe Muñoz and Tyler Grady.
I’ve got to say that for the girls America got it right. Though it did look like the judges were rooting for Ashley Rodriguez, at least compared to Didi Benami, both she and Janelle was among the girls who I though could be going home simply because of their song choice. Their voices weren’t powerful enough to do their songs any justice, leaving their performances flat. It showed in the votes and the results wasn’t a big surprise. For a minute there though I was really nervous for Didi Benami because though I really liked her performance the judges disagreed and it left me wondering if I was the only one who thought she should stay one – apparently I wasn’t. Yay!
It was the guys’ results that gave us a shocker though. Joe Muñoz definitely did not deserve to go home last night. His performance was realy good, especially compared to Tim Urban’s and Alex Lambert’s. Apparently even Tim Urban agreed because the look on his face when he was declared safe was priceless – utter shock. Clearly Urban’s good looks saw him through this round. On the other hand, Tyler Grady’s “American Woman” did not endear him to America’s women, resulting in his being voted off. I am sorry to see him go though because he is such an interesting character and would definitely have made AI more interesting. Am not feeling to bad about it though because it meant that Alex Lambert (whose surprised expletive at not being voted off lead to AI being cut short) gets to stay another week. I don’t believe that he’ll last long but it’ll be nice to see him “ripen” up a bit.
The judges were right: it’s the girls year this year. The guys’ first live performance was mostly a disappointment, though with the relatively low expectations set by the judges it isn’t that big of a disappointment. Compared to the girls night the last episode was really boring with people probably wondering, just like I am, if there’s even 6 guys that’s really worth watching week after week. Maybe it’s just because I missed the first three performances, but I doubt it. To be fair though I did like some performances.
Casey James definitely stood out tonight. It was nice that his performance was great (“Heaven” really did suit him) but even if he sang out of tune any girl would have to agree that he is just to yummy not to stand out. I mean he really has Kara’s cougar vibes going and we can all see why! Seriously though I closed my eyes a couple of times while he was singing just to make sure that the visual wasn’t messing with my objectivity – it wasn’t. He sounded great.
Another good but disappointing performance was Andrew Garcia’s rendition of “Sugar, We’re Going Down”. It wasn’t disappointing because it was bad but only because everyone had such high expectations. I think he’s the only guy, based on talent alone, who can give the girls a run for their money. I’m a fan though and he will definitely go a long way. Hopefully he comes up with something fresh and really riveting next time.
As for the rest (that I saw at least) they were just ok. I squirmed a lot for Alex Lambert who was as nervous as hell though he’s so nice I want him to stay just to see him grow. Can’t help but root for guys like him. Oh well tomorrow we’ll see who’ll make it and who won’t.
American Idol Season Nine’s first live show is over and the girls did a pretty good job. Based on how well the girls performed yesterday you can say that this season will be interesting, probably with lots of unpredictable goodbyes, what with all the great talents.
Yesterday the girls that stood out for me were the last two to perform – Crystal Bowersox and Katie Stevens – plus Haeley Vaughn. Sure Crystal needs to work a bit on her “star power” but you have to hand it to her she really stands out without having to seem to try. Katie on the other hand did sound old, Ellen and Simon agreed on that and I’m sure pretty much everyone does, but even then her voice is just completely amazing. I’m definitely looking forward to how she’ll do once she tries to be her age. I also really liked Haeley Vaughn’s version”I Wanna Hold Your Hand”. I don’t care if the judges says that she needs to work on her technicality because her aura (she just exudes adorable!) makes you automatically want to vote for her.
Other girls that did pretty well in my book, despite mixed reviews from judges, were Katelyn Epperly (boy did she look awesomely weird..definitely memorable and interesting), Siobhan Magnus (tops the girls in terms of awesomely weird), and Didi Benami (I don’t agree that it was boring…not at all!). I’m sure that if I didn’t miss Lilly Scott’s performance she’ll be here in my list.
As for the others, even if the judges thought they were good (which they were), I just dont really find myself rooting for them…except for Lacey Brown who really needs to do better next time. I like her.
Next up – the boys. We’ll see who catches our eyes..I mean ears.
American Idol Hollywood Week didn’t really deliver for me. It was actually pretty boring and I hated seeing some of the people with great stories (shown during the audition episodes) go. It’s not that the judges seemed to be making lousy calls, but simply because I can’t help but root for people like Maddie.
Anyway the highlight of Hollywood Week was definitely ELLEN. I have to say – Ellen passed with flying colors. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since she’s so used to “pleasing a roomful of audience” but I guess being her fan made me nervous as to how she’ll do. She brought a little comic relief (so and so please step forward..oh I’m sorry…please step back) and lots of good judgement. As for the other judges’ reaction to Ellen it looked like they got along pretty well with her. Simon, who people say is having a feud with Ellen, clearly he has the hots for Ellen. If you don’t know what I’m talking about watch this clip from the Ellen Show. Hilarious! Seriously though I am more inclined to think that Kara would be more ill at ease with Ellen than Simon because Ellen, with her big personality, will probably overshadow Kara.
What do you do after watching the Super Bowl? Last night, those who didn’t feel like getting of their couches or bothering to even pick up tjeir remote all have the same answer – watch “Undercover Boss”.
Undercover Boss is CBS newest reality show. Each episode features a CEO of a big company go “undercover” by changing names and donning the uniform of regular Joes. The CEO then works alongside his own employees while cameras roll to “document the plight of laid off people looking for an entry level job”.
Undercover Boss’ first episode showed Waste Management, Inc. President and COO Larry O’Donnell sorting trash and being chided for being too slow at it. It also showed workers hurrying to meet productivity and punch in on time.
I did not get to watch last night’s episode but the reviews has definitely peaked my interest, not because they are all good but because of the scathing reviews. The show, according to Hank Stuever of Washington Post, is “an unbelievably juicy PR opportunity for the companies that agreed to do the project and a manipulative bummer for the unwitting employees who have the misfortune of appearing on it.” A sentiment that many seem to echo. However, others who have watched still seemed entertained. And of course, there’s still this optimistic side of me who wishes that the impact to CEOs will be real and will really trickle down.
Real or PR. Good or bad. One thing’s for sure: people are intrigued. In fact, Undercover Boss is currently the 24th most popular search term in the last hour according to Google!!! I’m sure that makes CBS happy.
Got my American Idol fix for the week and all I can say is that yesterday’s auditions was much more interesting than tonight. Granted that Avril Lavigne contributed nothing except for a few giggles and not too constructive criticisms, and Katy Perry was a bit too bitchy; I still found last night more enjoyable simply because there was more talent in the LA auditions compared to Dallas. Dallas was plain boring with the high point being the ex-Barney girl turned Simon’s fantasy and the girl who beat leukemia.
Now the funny thing is that although Katy Perry grated on my nerves by the end of last night’s episode and I’m sure I liked more contestants in those auditions all I can remember is her saying she wants to throw coke on Kara’s face and saying something like they’re not trying to make a “movie story”. Looking back at Victoria Beckham’s guest judging stint, which I missed but saw on TiVo (Yay for TiVo!), I can’t agree more when she said that being polite is good. Katy could use help from Victoria. On the other hand, I guess people would call Victoria boring but all I can say was the she was “nice”.
Hopefully next week’s auditions will be better. Better judges and better contestants – both in terms of talent and quirky entertainment value.
Does anybody remember when The Learning Channel used to be about, you know, learning? I can’t pinpoint the moment in time when the cable network re-branded itself as “TLC” and became a home for exploitative reality shows, but these days, the stuff TLC is teaching is the kind of thing nobody but the most voyeuristic viewers want to learn.
