ABC Family has a new series and we’ll be seeing it for the first time tonight at 7/8. Their new series, “10 Things I Hate About You”, is based on the 1999 hit movie comedy of the same title, which in turn is based on Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”.
I am pretty excited about this series simply because it takes me back in time. My girlfriends and I used to watch the movie again and again and again. It’ where I first fell in love with Heath Ledger. Enough of the movie though and back to the present.
If you’ve read the “Taming of the Shrew” or saw the decade old movie (Time sure does fly!) then you already know the tv series premise. It’s about sisters who are complete opposites. The non-conformist older sister, Kat Stratford (Lindsey Shaw), is being pressured by her popular younger sister Bianca (Meaghan Martin) to start dating because their over-protective dad, who equates dating to getting pregnant, won’t let her unless Kat dates. The show is said to be not too different from the movie although the teens now go online and have nicer phones, in short they’re living in this century.
We’ll still have to see if the show disappoints or it will trigger the same enthusiasm among teens that the movie did. As for Shakespeare, your guess is as good as mine as to how he’ll react to the tv series version of his “Taming of the Shrew” were he alive.
Big Love producers may have issued an apology for the show’s upcoming episode but they have also declared that HBO will still air the controversial episode on Sunday. The episode immediately drew the attention of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) or the Mormon church when they found out that the ritual called an “endowment ceremony” will be part of the episode.
LDS gave a statement regarding the controversy saying that, “Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding.” But despite the offence they feel they are definitely taking the high road by opting not to call for an official boycott of HBO according to LDS, “Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose. The Church … as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series,” a smart move for a group that is often presented in the media in a bad light.
As for HBO they stand behind their series saying that the writers have done their best to ensure that the sacred event which will be shown in the most accurate and respectful manners.
This will be the first time in history that the LDS’ sacred ceremony of endowment will be seen on television. The endowment ritual is an event performed within the LDS temple wherein particular gifts or powers were “endowed” upon members of the church. So far that is all I know of the ceremony and have no idea if I’ll learn more when I see Big Love on Sunday.
When you think of the South, what comes to mind? Thick southern accents perhaps? Mullets? Beer? Country music? Perhaps all that and more. While some of these stereotypes may hold true, real people from the real South know that there is so much more about them and their way of life than what the rest of the (perhaps uninformed) world knows. You have to admit, what Hollywood brings to the screen – TV or movie – is not always the real deal.
With Eastbound & Down, however, we just might get a taste of what southern living is really all about. Danny McBride, the writer behind the series and the main actor as well, wants the world to know that the show is not all about the “Hollywood south.” Instead, he wants to shout that this is the real thing – the real south with real people living real lives.
So what is this six-episode series all about? Amy Hotz of Star News Online wrote:
McBride plays Kenny Powers and “Eastbound” is about his down and out life. Kenny used to have a very successful career as a pro baseball pitcher. He had the money, he had the girls, he had the drugs. Progressively, though, he just seemed to have lost his power on the mound. And then he lost his job.
Forced to find something else to do, Kenny had no option but to put his head down in shame and return to his hometown, Shelby, N.C. To add insult to injury, the only job he can find in this un-glamorous town is with his old middle school, which needs a substitute P.E. teacher. Oh, and he’s so poor he has to live with his brother’s perfect family.
The unique thing about the show is that they found actors who are really from the south. To quote McBride, “When people that aren’t from the south pretend like they’re from the south it just brings out all the cliches and, you know, just all the stuff that you’ve seen a million times. It’s not even that accurate and not even that entertaining anymore at this point.” As such, do not expect any of the usual portrayals we see. Looks interesting to me.
Who is your favorite spy? James Bond? I guess he used to be mine but when I discovered Chuck Bartowski, there was no going back. This CIA agent is nothing like the spies that we used to know. Chuck is a Stanford kick out who never really got his due. Now he works for the Buy More, a huge electronic chain, as part of the Nerd Herd. Somewhere along the way, Chuck finds himself the bearer of all the government’s secrets when ex-college friend Bryce Larkin sends him an e-mail. Turns out that Bryce Larkin is a special CIA agent, who they thought had turned rogue. In his e-mail, he encoded the Intersect, the collection of all the government’s secrets. Thus Chuck was introduced to his life as a CIA agent.
There is more to the story than that, naturally, but I would not go into the details here. Anyhow, this TV series is more than your normal run-of-the-mill espionage action. More than the spy action, it factors in romance, family relationships, and of course, general geekiness.
In keeping with the show’s proclivity towards technology, they just released a 3D episode – something that is not all that common as of yet. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have any 3D glasses handy when I watched it. As a result, my view was a bit weird – I suppose that happens when you don’t have the glasses? It didn’t really take away from my viewing experience as the quips and Chuck’s gaffes were still there.
Anyone able to watch in 3D? How was it?
Slumdog Millionaire has caught the world by surprise and what a big pleasant surprise it is! This movie did not really seem to catch our interest in the beginning but once people started watching it, it took off like a rocket on jet fuel overdose.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then, to hear that some people are looking to cash in on the concept. Take for example the producers of the movie. Rumors have been circulating that they are going to create a reality TV show dubbed Secret Slumdog Millionaire. The name is a juxtaposition of the movie title and a highly successful British TV show called Secret Millionaire.
In the TV show, affluent men and women go undercover and choose a fortunate person to be the recipient of their charity. They infiltrate the less fortunate communities and make their choices from there.
Quite obviously, Secret Slumdog Millionaire will move along similar lines. I am thinking that they will gather affluent people and take them to the needy areas of Mumbai. These people will then have to choose the lucky recipient and reveal to them – with all the pomp and drama of TV – their “destiny.”
Naturally, this move will attract some criticism from many sectors. It’s something like using poverty to make money – get my drift? I am sure, though, that if this show ever gets off the ground, it will prove to be a success. Then again, I have been wrong before.
What about you, would you watch this kind of reality TV show?
This came as a shock to me – really. I mean, Paris Hilton has been known to try the most outrageous things in her young life. Why would she say no to trying to find love on a reality TV show? The Press Association talks about it:
“I’ve been offered to do one of those dating shows and I don’t like that idea, I thought it would be much better to find a friend rather than a lover. That’s actually how I come up with the concept of the show,” she said.
You probably already know about her reality TV show wherein she tries to find her American bestfriend. This time around, she is launching a similar series in the UK, in an effort to find a bestfriend across the seas. Dubbed the Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend, the show started yesterday. And what does she have to say about this show?
But while she admitted loving British men, she said she wasn’t going to chase Prince Harry who, it has been reported, has recently split from girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
“I think he’s a nice guy, I love Chelsy though – I think she’s so sweet – so I wouldn’t try anything,” she said.
Oh wait, that is not about the show – it’s about British men. Hmm, I wonder if she will find the new love of her life now that she and Benji Madden are not together anymore? A Brit and Paris? Why not?
…whole and unbroken! The next time that I say something to the effect that movie and TV stars have it easy, remind me of this post.
Actress Mira Sorvino reportedly broke 5 of her teeth while shooting a new TV series that she is part of. The series is dubbed The Last Templar, a mini-series based on the novel of the same name. The novel was penned by Raymond Khoury and was released in 2005. The TV series was aired in January 25 and January 26 of this year and stars Mira Sorvino, Scott Foley, Victor Garber, Anthony Lemke, Kenneth Welsh, and Omar Sharif.
So what happened to the hot actress? The Bosh has this report:
She explained: “I broke five teeth. There was blood everywhere – it was gross and hurt so much.”
Things soon went from bad to worse on the shoot when the director decided to film a love scene shortly after the 41-year-old star recovered from her knock.
She added to the New York Post newspaper: “For some reason, right then our wonderful director, Paolo Barzman, decides that we should have a kiss to end all kisses, and so, after they paint even more bloody purple make-up on me, we have the big kiss. And at the end of it, Scott ends up for two weeks in bed, sick with my cold!”
I don’t know whom I should feel sorry for more – Mira Sorvino or Scott Foley. I guess Mira – breaking teeth is much worse than getting a bad cold.
Good news for sci-fi fans. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be assured of a full season’s worth of episodes.
Fox has ordered another nine episodes of the critically-acclaimed series despite the fact that the show had been somewhat struggling with its Monday night timeslot. But the developing fan base and the critics’ response has been enough for Fox to put some more money into it. Finally, Fox decides to think for a change. The network has been notorious for just axing shows if it doesn’t perform well immediately in ratings.
Jason Priestly is coming back to 90210… but not to act! He’s going to direct the season’s 18th episode. Will Shannen Doherty (who has officially agreed to come for two episodes) be part of that episode’s cast? Stay tuned!
The Fringe premiere party was just as cool as the show. It was held in a secret, unmarked (read: creepy) building with a rickety elevator. And cocktails? No lame margaritas, here. We’re talking glowing green stuff.
