Posted Nov 3rd 2009 4:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, OpEd
Fox's master foodie is at it again.
Gordon Ramsay has conjured up a new show called MasterChef, only it's not really his idea. See, it's already been done in England and Australia, but Gordon will put his spin on this show. So for all intents and purposes, it's another Gordon Ramsay project. (Like the Alan Parsons Project without Alan Parsons and a small 'p').
In
MasterChef, amateur chefs will compete to master the perfect dish. These will be everyday people, not sous chefs or short order cooks, but backyard grillers and homemakers who have a specialty at which they excel. Sounds to me a bit like the
Food Network Challenge shows in which people try to make the best chili or the definitive hamburger.
Continue reading Gordon Ramsay cooks up new show
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 3:30PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Daytime, Video, Celebrities, Talk Show
It's always fun when Bill O'Reilly visits
The View. Bob posted about it yesterday, too, talking about
how weird Whoopi was acting.
My first thought whenever O'Reilly visits
The View is Joy Behar. She always looks like she'd rather be anywhere else but sitting next to him. But I suppose she puts up with it -- and has no choice in the matter -- because O'Reilly and Barbara Walters have been friends for a long time, and Barbara, of course, has the final say on who gets on the show and who doesn't.
This is all speculation, of course. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. Just reading the body language, which I've learned a little about while watching
Tonya Reiman on O'Reilly's Fox show,
The O'Reilly Factor.
Continue reading What's Hot on SlashControl: Bill O'Reilly on The View
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 3:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
Former
According to Jim star Jim Belushi is moving to a drama series. He's been
tapped to star in a legal drama created by
Murphy Brown mastermind Diane English and
Homicide and
Oz exec-producer Barry Levinson. The show is loosely based on the memoir "How Can You Defend These People?" by TV commentator and lawyer Mickey Sherman.
This is an excellent way for Belushi to wash the stench of
According to Jim from his person. If presented as a dramedy (much like many of the popular dramas today), this could be a winner.
Continue reading Jim Belushi goes dramatic
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 11:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Awards, Reality-Free
Oscar roulette is usually played when it comes time to figure out the nominations. However, this year there seems to be a wheel of fortune spinning with the names of possible hosts for the show. Of course, the
folks running the show have intimated that they might want to have a few stars sharing the duties. Historically, that hasn't worked out too well.
The other day when
Hugh Jackman removed his name from the running, I asked you for your ideas and told you that I like Kathy Griffin. Jimmy liked George Clooney and Justin Timberlake. Sancty suggested
Neil Patrick Harris.
Continue reading Who'll host the Oscars? The oddsmakers like Billy Crystal
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 10:05AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Gone Too Soon
I remember watching
Boomtown for the first time. I remember where I was, and at what point in our lives it was on the air. Now, I watch a lot of television and have seen and forgotten more shows than most people would ever even want to be aware of. But
Boomtown had that much of an impact on me.
Oh, I'm a sucker for a unique premise or take on familiar territory. I first tuned in to
24 because it took place in "real time," and I just had to see how that would work. I tuned into
Boomtown because it promised me a look at crime from every possible perspective. How, I wondered, is that possible? And yet it brilliantly, beautifully and all too briefly was.
Continue reading Gone Too Soon: Boomtown
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 9:33AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, NCIS, Casting, Reality-Free
There's good casting and then there's great casting.
NCIS has had a propensity for great casting when it comes to the father's of the core characters. Michael Nouri has been spot on as Ziva's autocratic Israeli father. Ralph Waite was a surprising, but superb, choice as Jethro's down to earth father.
Now, we've just heard the news that there's another pop coming to
NCIS.
If you haven't read about the famous TV star chosen and you don't want to know about it, please, don't read any further. However, if you can handle casting without feeling like the story lines are spoiled, follow after the jump.
Continue reading NCIS casts Tony's dad... and he's someone you know
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 9:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free
According to the New York Times, Comcast
is set to own NBC Universal and all channels that are part of it as early as next week.
This could change the entire television landscape and pretty much give us less of a selection in terms of entertainment. The rumor is that Comcast is going to keep the cable channels, then sell the NBC network. News Corporation expressed interest in the property, but the Comcast talks progressed along far enough to eliminate other potential buyers. It could be argued that having MSNBC partially owned by the same owners of Fox News is a bit of a conflict of interest.
Who would step forward to buy NBC network? The ratings haven't been great and they did do that silly thing with Jay Leno and their 10 p.m. slot. NBC is too much of a name brand to let fall by the wayside. Who do you think should step up and buy the network?
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 3:00AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Heroes, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S04E08) As
promised, this week's episode of
Heroes took us back to the heydays of the first season. Back when this was a world of wonder filled with new and exciting characters and mystery. Their futures lie before them, and it all centered on Charlie, the poor waitress that Hiro failed time and again to save back then.
Now that he's working on his bucket list before he kicks it, the time has come to head back three years and try to undo her death by Sylar's hand. Which means we got to see HRG, Claire, Hiro, Ando, Sylar and even Isaac as they were three years ago.
The question was whether or not he could change the past and save Charlie, when he failed to before. Furthermore, could he do so without changing all the subsequent events that had happened. He'd already had a taste of success with Ando and his sister, but this sojourn had much higher stakes.
Continue reading Review: Heroes - Once Upon a Time in Texas
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 2:22AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Dancing With The Stars, Episode Recaps
(
S09E14) It's week seven of
Dancing with the Stars, and the pressure is on. Lacey Schwimmer was the victim of a cold; Anna Trebunskya has stepped in to help Mark Dacascos. The other victims tonight were the professionals who were forced to wear costumes designed by the celebrities. While it worked for Kelly, it backfired on Joanna.
You know that there will be longer commercials between performances when you get a professional opening sequence. Five professionals and one woman who wasn't named performed a tango and paso doble. The dance was supposed to be an example of teamwork, but the paso and tango was also not as synchronized as I expected.
Continue reading Recap: Dancing with the Stars - Performance #7
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 1:30AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Gossip Girl
(S03E08) "Bla
ir and Serena at war again? Yummy!" - Gossip Girl
I disagree with Gossip Girl on this. Blair and Serena at war again? Same old. Same old. Once again, Blair and Serena are at odds while wanting to be friends. Can we move on?
I'm tired of Blair and Serena breaking up, making up, fighting, backstabbing one another, not understanding one another, etc. I hope the writers planned for the duo to not cross paths for a few episodes so we can get some quiet time before they fight some more and then make up.
Continue reading Review: Gossip Girl - The Grandfather Part II
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 1:05AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S07E06) It's somewhat refreshing to know that Charlie Harper is not the soulless heathen I thought he was. It turns out that Charlie does have a very spiritual side, that he's aware of the good fortune that's been bestowed on him, and he's in touch with his emotions to the point that he can cry.
So what could make Charlie Harper cry? Find out after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Two and a Half Men - Give Me Your Thumbs
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 8:03PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV Royalty, TV on DVD, OpEd, Reality-Free, Jane After Dark
Ah, how good it is to get back to
The Wire. I've been steered off track by other DVDs landing on my doorstep for
Jane After Dark, so season five of
The Wire has been a while coming. One again, the show blows me away with the writing, characters, cinematography and realism. I'm just part-way into season one, but I love all of the references to everything that's happened thus far in the series, and the crew's continued attempts to bring down Marlo's organization. And, apparently, Omar is still in the game ...
Continue reading Jane After Dark: The Wire, season five (part one)
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 7:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
I had been expecting the JFK assassination to become part of the
Mad Men storyline from the moment they showed us the invitation for Margaret Sterling's wedding on November 23, 1963. Expectations are one thing. Watching the way the national tragedy was depicted was quite another. As I watched the scenes unfold, I was riveted to the screen – and that was a surprise to me because on Fox the Yankees and the Phillies were locked in a very tight World Series game, and I cared about the outcome.
But I found myself unable to turn away from
Mad Men. It wasn't pleasant to watch those black and white images of anchormen Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley. The moment I saw the flickering images behind Harry and Pete in the Sterling-Cooper office, I knew what was happening. It was terrific storytelling, by the way, for the viewer to know, but for Pete and Harry to be oblivious.
Continue reading Mad Men gave me the chills
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 4:29PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Game Show, Reality-Free
Something about the syndicated
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire seems off this season. It might be the gimmicky "Tournament of Ten" that they've been building towards; it starts next week. Or it might be the bumped-up money tree they've instituted, paired with tougher questions; now it's easier to get the first safety level (now $5,000) but much more difficult to get to the second (still $25,000).
But what might also be off is that the producers have been mixing in some very young contestants into the show, and when they're on, the program screeches to a halt.
Why? They're too young. Even if they're the most book-smart kids on the planet, their knowledge of pop culture and historic events goes back maybe ten years, and those questions are a large part of the stack most contestants get.
Continue reading Why college students don't belong on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 2:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free, Nurse Jackie
A funny thing happened when I turned on
Bravo over the weekend. Instead of an avalanche of
Flipping Out flip outs or
Real Houswives' table-flipping or Tabitha's disgusting beauty salons, there was drama on the cable net. Bravo aired NBC's medical drama
Mercy on Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning there really wasn't a lot going up against
Mercy. In fact, it had the field pretty much to itself for any viewers looking for a quality, fresh TV show.
I say fresh because unlike the reruns of
House or
NCIS on USA, I hadn't seen these episodes of
Mercy. So, rather than watch infomercials or pre-game college football chatter or animated cartoons, I watched
Mercy.
Continue reading Bravo boosts Mercy with Saturday marathon
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