6 posts tagged “tv”

I am completely back on the LOST bandwagon; oh how I have missed this show.
I get my weekly fix of theory diving via Doc Jensen onEW.com and so after
reading his column and an entire weekend of thought (and
rewatching the premiere a couple of times over) here are the theories I am
most interested in at the moment:

• Jeremy Bentham/John Locke is not really dead; he will come back to life
  once they all return to the island.
• Miles Straum is the son of Marvin Candle - this is a no brainer (just
  like when we all knew that Claire was Jack's half-sister - btw, where IS
  Claire?)
• Ben Linus always knew so much about the crash survivors because he's
  met them before - in their time travels while he was a kid on the island! I
  want this theory to be true so badly.
• The 'Adam and Eve' found at the caves might just be a couple of our
  crash survivors after they die while they are traveling in the past (likely
  from Time Travel sickness! Since there was no sign of trauma on the bodies
  they mentioned).
• Not a theory, but a question: Who is coming after Aaron and why do they
  want to take him from Kate? In all likelyhood it is Widmore; but that is too
  easy of an answer - so who could it be?

Combine the writers strike with my lack of satellite television (why does it take 2 weeks for them to get out to my new place and set it up?!) and you'll find me sitting at home watching all the tv shows that stream from the national networks. I got to catch up on Ugly Betty (oh how I love the campy gayness and dark sinister humor!) and Desperate Housewives (cattiness at its best) - two shows that I've been neglecting for some time. But anyway, whilst I was perusing the ABC website desperately looking for something to watch, I remembered that there had been some buzz about the show Pushing Daisies, so I clicked on it and started watching and I was immediately hooked!

So here's the show's premise: Ned has a special power...he can bring back the dead by touching them, but the catch is that he can only keep them alive for a minute before someone else nearby has to die. So what he does is he goes to the morgue, brings murder victims back to life, asked them who killed them and then collects the reward money. He's also the owner of a pie shop called "The Pie Hole" along side his employee Olive Snook (played by Kristin Chenoweth aka Galinda from Wicked!). Right, so when Ned finds out that his child sweetheart Charlotte aka Chuck has died, he decides to bring her back to life for good and so long as they don't touch each other, she'll stay alive (if they ever did touch, she'd be dead for good).

I think this show has a very whimsical and "Tim Burton-ish" feel to it. It's like a fun fantasy/dramedy show that really combines so many of the elements that I find entertaining: murder, mystery, love, and even a few places where the characters burst into song (Olive Snook sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You" after she closed the store one evening). The show is slated for a second season, which we probably won't get until fall, but I'll continue watching those reruns of it and wait eagerly for the season two return!

Let's all just admit it right now. Food network is not really about food. It's about good looking, charasmatic people strutting their stuff in front of a camera and the food is really just an after thought. Okay, okay I know that is an gross generalization, so I thought I'd go down the list of the biggest food network stars and pose the question for their cooking, personality and looks: are they HOT or NOT?

Giada de Laurentiis -The odds are in her favor. She's a native Italian, she's gorgeous, she's very warm and friendly on her show, and umm...there was something else - oh yeah I remember, I guess she does this thing called cooking? In case some of you haven't noticed... In all seriousness though, I have tried a few of her recipies since most only have a handful of ingredients and I must say everything she makes is easy and tasty - although sometimes the ingredients she uses can be a little bit expensive. (procuitto is like 12.99/lb and who the heck buys a huge wedge of fresh parmeganno regganio?) But who cares about that - we were all just watching hoping the camera would get a better shot of her cleavage. So for Giada...Cooking: HOT (if you notice any of it) | Personality: HOT | Looks: HOT

Rachael Ray - I like to think of Rachael Ray as the Ryan Seacrest of the food industry. She works a lot and a lot of people think she is really annoying, but yet she's on EVERYTHING because I guess she looks good on camera? Her most well-known show, 30 Minute Meals is, in my opinion, a joke. She talks a mile-a-minute, she already has her veggies and herbs prepped in the fridge (honestly, who does that?), and her recipies are usually far more elaborate than what I'd like to do in 30 minutes. If I want a 30 minute meal, I'm making a sandwich. I have to say she is a little more bearable to watch on $40-a-day, but the woman needs to stop being so giggly all the time. Rachael my dear...Cooking: NOT | Personality: NOT (case in point here. and here.) | Looks: HOT

Alton Brown - I don't think I'll have any dissenters when I say that Alton Brown is THE man. Not only is he hip and nerdy, but he is extremely knowledgeable about all things food. I know you are thinking, but isn't his show scripted? Yes...Good Eats IS scripted and written by writers who have a lot of time to do research, but over the summer I watched Brown's special series called Feasting on Asphalt. The man had done his homework on so many regional food techiques and all that and it was a very candid side of him that we don't normally see on Good Eats. There is really nothing I don't love about Alton Brown - he's amazing! Alton, sir...Cooking/Knowledge: HOT | Personality: HOT | Looks: HOT (yeah that's right - Alton is HOT!)

Dave Lieberman - I watch Good Deal with Dave Lieberman for the same reason any man watches Everyday Italian (see Giada above in case you are missing her already). In short, Dave is just about the sexiest chef I've ever seen. So he turns making soup into a big, long, drawnout process...at least he's smiling and charming while he does it. I actually once tried to make a salad that he had made on his show, but it ended up not being good at all - obviously no one should be trying out these recipes. I do commend him on his party throwing skills though - he's always got some cheap beer or wine to serve his guests. And besides it isn't about the cooking for him anyway. I mean, isn't it every woman's fantasy to have a young, sexy, Jewish chef throw her down right there on the counter after the meal is said and done? Or wait, is that just me? Dave, darling...Cooking: NOT (although I would come over if you want to cook me dinner) | Personality: HOT | Looks: HOT x 100

Bobby Flay - I'm not as into Bobby Flay or quite as knowledgeable about him as I am about the above Food Network stars, but I thought he was worth mentioning because he is on a lot of FN shows and he has a bold personality. There are two shows in particular that he is on that I think characterize his cocky personality. The first is Throwdown with Bobby Flay where he goes around challenging the best of the best in a cookoff to see who wins. Just the fact that he thinks he can beat some of these people screams arrogance to me and in the few times I've watched the show, he usually loses. He also does Iron Chef America where he faces off against other Food Network Chefs - never seen him on it since I don't watch it (Iron Chef just isn't the same without the eccentric chairman and all the voiceovers) but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in saying it has got to take some serious talent to do that show, albeit another notch on the arrogance belt for him. Okay Bobby...Cooking: HOT | Personality: NOT | Looks: NOT (quit eating your own food buddy)

Emeril Lagassi - This list just wouldn't be complete without the father of all Food Network Stars. I mean, FN just wouldn't be what it is today without him. His recipes look hard as hell, but I love the band and I love the little noises he makes when he shakes salt onto food and I love it when he just dumps the whole bottle of beer/bowl of garlic/cup of cream into the food to make it richer and I love the BAM! I've also heard his restaurant in New Orleans is great - I'd love to go there someday. Emeril...you the man...Cooking: HOT (even if humanly impossible for us non-chefs to make) | Personality: HOT | Looks: HOT

What TV show(s) will you be watching this season? Why? 
Submitted by ducnly.vox.com.

Oh the joys of having a DVR...I can keep up with so many shows and not even have to remember what day or time they actually come on.

These are my *must watch* shows:

• LOST: If I could only choose one this would be it. What else can I say, this is a great show and I think everyone knows it!
• 24: This starts mid-season, but the advantage is that we get new episodes back-to-back, which I love. No one is a bigger bad ass than Jack Bauer.
• Scrubs: Another mid-season starter, but it is totally worth it. There are very few shows that can make you laugh and cry all in one episode. Seriously genius (and I don't watch Grey's Anatomy because they wish they were Scrubs, or something).
• Project Runway: Just when I had been falling off the reality TV train, I discovered PR in the second season. Fashion + catty designers + Tim Gunn = Love.

These are shows I record but are not ones I am in a hurry to watch:

• Desperate Housewives: It isn't nearly as juicy or mysterious as it was during the first season, but I've grown to like the characters on this show and it is always a good laugh with all the dark humor that goes on.
• Smallville: Oh Smallville how I wish you would just wrap it all up. I love the Superman mythos, but there are only so many teeny-bopper themed shows I can take. I usually only watch the episodes that have some heavy bearing on the series as a whole. I hope this is the last season.

These are the new shows that I'm still scoping out:

• Jericho: Interesting premise so far. I'm really feeling for the kid that lost his mom in Atlanta. And I think Skeet Ulrich is really comfortable in his role. I like it so far, so we'll see how it materializes.
• Studio 60: I love Matthew Perry too much to not watch it and see how things go. I'm still a little annoyed with Amanda Peet's character, but you can rarely judge a show on the pilot alone.
• Six Degrees: Thought I was going to hate it because that girl that played Big's wife on SatC is a main star in the show, but actually I ended up liking her. Also the guy that works at the police station and is looking for love reminds me of my brother. I like it so far, so I'll keep watching for a bit.

These are the syndicated shows that I record just so there is always something to watch if I'm bored:

• Sex and the City: No matter how many times I watch an episode, it never gets old. This show is so classic.
• Southpark: I love that they make fun of everyone on this show. And I love Butters!
• Whose Line Is It Anyway? : This show just wouldn't be funny without Wayne Brady. It is always good for laughs.

I just read that five familiar faces on SNL will not be returning as the season kicks off this coming Saturday. Horatio Sans, Chris Parnell, and Finness Mitchell have all been given the axe, while Rachel Dratch and writer Tina Fey have left to pursue other projects. Yeah, yeah, SNL hasn't been THAT funny since Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Chris Kattan and company left, but it's still one of those things you just watch for sake of nostalgia. Well anyway, I guess in an attempt to poke fun at themselves, NBC has two new shows that seem to mirror the behind the scenes life at Studio 8H.

Studio 60: Aaron Sorkin takes us behind the scenes of a fictional late-night sketch comedy series. Lately, "funny" has been in short supply at Studio 60. The executive producer just had a meltdown - on live TV. The control room is out of control. The actors are acting up. And that's just last Friday's show! Studio 60's only hope lies with two wunderkind writers (Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford) with troubles of their own, and the headstrong new network president (Amanda Peet) determined to turn things around. source: NBC

Okay so, late-night sketch? check! No longer funny? check! New writers, actors, and network presidents to turn it all around? What exactly is NBC trying to do by criticizing themselves in a show about the story of their life? I did watch the pilot of this show and while I WANT to like it, I just think it is okay and the only really good cast members are Perry and Whitford. Now lets move on to where Tina Fey went because this new show looks as though it pretty much mirrors her own drama on SNL...

30 Rock: Welcome to the set of The Girlie Show, a fictional television show that serves as the backdrop to Tina Fey's new workplace comedy. Liz Lemon (Fey) is The Girlie Show's head writer and is being pushed to the edge of reason by the show's two stars and a demanding network honcho. In order for Liz to keep her job, and her sanity, she has to balance the egos, the mandates and the neuroses while maintaining The Girlie Show laughs. It won't be easy! In this bold, star-studded comedy, anything can happen! source: NBC

Hmm, okay, so Tina Fey really IS a writer and on the show she is a writer and she's feeling the pressure from everyone in her workplace? Mmmhmm, sounds a bit like an autobiography turned comedy (re-enacted reality show?) to me! At least I like the cast better than Studio 60, so we shall see if this gimmick that NBC is trying to spring on us really works.

If you could be on any reality TV show, which one would you pick and why?

I would love to be a contestant on the Amazing Race. It would be such a great opportunity to travel and have experiences that I wouldn't otherwise think of searching for on my own. I already know who I'd apply with - either my friend Jeff or Allen.

Jeff is one of those people who loves to gossip and talk fashion and I could see him getting pretty catty with the other racers on the show. We'd be the team that talks trash about everyone during the confessionals, and we'd probably be the team that everyone watching would love to hate.

On the other hand, if I went with my friend Allen on the show, he is more of a prankster and is all about having fun and making jokes and oogling women. Then we'd be the team where I was the girl who is always rolling her eyes at her zany teammate but also trying to keep him focused. I think that would be pretty entertaining too.

Oh and I've already told my husband if I ever do apply to be on the show, he is NOT going to be someone I would have on my team. We'd drive each other insane and we can't seem to ever agree on directions when we are out traveling together. So, sorry dear, you aren't going.

My second choice would be The Next Food Network Star because I love to cook and my friends always tell me I should do my own cooking show because I'm always teaching them something in the kitchen (and of course because I might get to meet my biggest celebrity crush Dave Lieberman - excuse me while I wipe the drool off my face).

And then someday, if I am fortunate enough to have a minging old house and a terminal illness, I could go on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They build the most awesome houses for these people AND they send them to Disneyland while they are doing it. But I don't even have a minging old house or a terminal illness, so I guess I'll just have to wait.

I used to think I could totally win American Idol (who is that gray-haired guy anyway?) but I can't stand Ryan Seacrest, so I'd probably get booted on the first day for tying him up on the railroad tracks or something. Plus, American Idol is so passe these days. I was pretty much done with that show after season 2. I'm not really pop star material anyway. I'd rather be in musical theatre, oh but you guys all know that. So hmm, carry on.