Come And Get Your Pop

KT Update-Wrapping up the 2009 TV Season

2010-07-05T08:32:00.002-04:00

Hello all my pop culture obsessed friends. Wow, it has been quite a long time since I’ve had time for a KT! Update. Damn work! Getting in the way of my fun. Anyhoo, I originally wanted to do my season finale report card but here we are over a month later & I have to say I’m not exactly sure how much I remember. So, maybe I’ll mention my favorite finales along with some of my favorite moments and standout performances of the 2010 season. So, see below for some ramblings on the season that was.

I love Nathan Fillion. I loved him as Mal, the captain of Serenity and I love him as Rick Castle. The week to week mysteries are not phenomenal, usually Jay or I call out the culprit, but week after week we tune in to see the relationship between Castle & his daughter and of course Castle & Kate. I was a little disappointed that the show pulled the old now that Kate realizes she has feelings for Castle he has moved on, but I guess it is a little early to put them together. Also, one of my favorite scenes of the season came in the Halloween episode, in a wink to loyal fans of Serenity when Rick dressed up as a “space cowboy.” I almost spit out my drink when he walked out in his gear from Firefly. If you have no idea what Firefly is, Netflix it…..immediately.

If you know me at all, you know that I have a very strong 16 year old streak running through me. In addition, if you’ve been reading the KT update for a while you know that I have shunned the CW for the untimely demises of Everwood and Veronica Mars. Combine that with the fact that I have very strict ideas of vampire lore because of The Whedon (I’m not saying all of the Buffy/Angel vampire rules are right, but that’s what I go by—vampires do not sparkle Stephanie Myer!!) So in September, when I watched the premiere of the Vampire Diaries I did so in order to come to you fine people and bash it properly. Well, that did not happen. My inner 16 year old won out (during the first 7 minutes) & I fell, fell hard I did!! Ian Somerhalder is so delicious as “bad vampire” Damon. It is quite an accomplishment for me to say that Somerhalder is the standout of the show when I hated him so much as Boone on Lost. This is another show I heartily recommend if you are looking for something to Netflix over the summer. It is not just another teen CW show there is actually a bit of substance to this show (so I wouldn’t categorize it as a guilty pleasure) and I love every single second of it. Plus, Bonus, Naked Lesbian Assassin Mandy (24) makes a guest appearance later in the season.

So this May, I said goodbye to two Jack’s. Jack Bauer and Jack Shepherd. As much as I will miss them both, I do think it was time for both to go to tv heave. I wasn’t thrilled with the way 24 ended. While Jack was bad ass (that scene when he came for the President in the tunnel was frikkin awesome) I don’t like the fact that Jack went around killing innocent people in the name of Justice. That was definitely vengeance my friend. It is kind of a shame that they are going to do movies because I think the 24 story really has to end with Jack’s death. The man needs to find his peace…or maybe that is the moral of the story. Sure Jack gets the job done and ultimately saves the day, but at what cost to his soul? I guess he doesn’t deserve peace. Aww, that’s kinda sad. Poor Jack Bauer!! Jack No. 2, definitely found peace in the finale of Lost. I know some of you were not happy with the way the show ended (and when I start to really think about all the questions I have I start to get a bit grumpy). However, I thoroughly enjoyed the last few hours (JIN & SUN!!) and got teary at all the reunions in the last episode.

The Madonna episode of Glee was so much fun. While I hope we don’t get too many performer centric episodes, I wouldn’t mind a Britney sing along (duh, you had to know that was coming). Also, because I am a big dork, I couldn’t stop squealing when former Spring Awakening costars Rachel & Jesse sang together. I also squealed when Idina & Rachel sang together.

Modern Family has stolen all of the sitcom thunder this year, but there are two other shows that I think are also worthy of some love. Both started out slow, but both Cougar Town and Community have had me laughing out loud…literally. If you can’t bring yourself to watch the whole season, at least find the Assassins episode of Community on the internet and watch. I think it might have been the best half hour of tv all year. Cougar Town started out a little iffy but you know I can’t say no to any show that has Scott Foley (Noel!!) as a guest star. By the time he was gone the show had me on its own merits.

A pretty ridiculous season of Survivor. Is it sad that I’m still bitter over Boston Rob getting the boot? I’m so in love with him that it is not even funny. And I will argue anyone who says that Sandra didn’t deserve the win or that Russell is the best player ever. 1) He had an unfair advantage because no one saw him play before 2) He would have gotten nowhere without the hidden immunity idols (if the producers insist on using idols they should do 1 per season) and 3) you have to be able to screw people over in a way that they respect you for it. Great, he knows how to strong arm people, but then they think he is a dick & don’t give him the money. You lose Russell!

The last few episodes of Fringe had me on the edge of my seat. Sometimes when a back story is finally explained it doesn’t live up to my expectations. But I thought the Fringe team did a great job going through Walter’s story (making me understand why he did it) and the effect it had on Peter. Finally, EEEE go save Olivia!

I have to say, I think the best season finale of the year happened last fall. Holy Mad Men Batman! I don’t want to say anything in case you want to Netflix it & see what all the fuss is about. But suffice it say the last hour of the season had me giddy. Don Draper is an ass, but I love him anyway (although I love Joan more). Can’t wait for season 2…get me some Lucky Strikes and a martini immediately!

Actually, another standout performance, even if just for the last 3 minutes, was the Weeds finale last summer. Hells yeah Shane! I’m so interested to see where the story is going to go this year...the Botwins on the run?

I’m sure most of you have not heard of Better off Ted, hence its cancellation but it was so quirky & funny. The show followed the day to day absurdities of the R&D department at corporate conglomerate, Veridian. Portia di Rossi was the standout as the frosty yet soft VP of the group, Veronica Palmer. I really enjoyed the whole cast, and definitely recommend this two season show to anyone looking for something to watch over the summer. Here is an example of why I love the show. In the episode posted below, a typo in a memo about inappropriate behavior orders employees to engage in offensive language. Wackiness ensues!
http://abc.go.com/watch/better-off-ted/SH559034/VD5570427/the-impertence-of-communicationizing

I’m also a little depressed that Party Down has been cancelled by Starz. Sure the ratings were low, but people could get it for free on Netflix a day after it aired on Starz. So I hope they checked the Netflix ratings too, because this show was just starting to gain buzz. I know of at least 5 people that just started watching it in the last month so I’m sad because I think it could have built an audience if Starz had just given it a little more time. Party Down is about a bunch of Hollywood wannabe’s that are employed at Party Down catering. The show was created by Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) and produced by (among other people) Paul Rudd. The show is biting & jokes go quickly so you have to pay attention. Plus, since Rob Thomas is the creator there are cameos by nearly every member of the Veronica Mars cast. Another show to check out on Netflix!

I know the “in” thing to do is praise Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester and yes, she had some FANTASTIC lines this year, but I have to say, the performance of Mike O’Malley (as Burt Hummel) and the evolution of the relationship between Kurt and his father has made me misty eyed more than once. The scene when he throws Finn out of the house was a smidge emotional and played perfectly.

How can you not love Tim Riggins? I know a lot of people are pulling for Matt Saracen to get an Emmy nomination. While I do agree that Saracen has had some pretty heavy stuff to work through this season, I think that Tim Riggins lights up the screen every time he’s on. When he went and picked the dog up from the pound, come on! He’s just so frikkin awesome. I hope the show does not suffer next year from his lessened presence.

For me, the biggest disappointment of the fall season was So You Think You Can Dance. I thought the routines were boring, I hated the new stage and I LOATHED all the changes they made to the format of the show. Final 6? Booooo. No solos in the finale? Booooooo. The top 3 girls and the Top 3 guys didn’t even dance together! Boo Booo Booo! I’m glad Nigel recognized the issues and made some changes this summer. I love having my all stars back (yay Mark & Ade) but I find that often I’m focusing on the All-Star rather than the contestant. That being said, Alex Frikkin Wong!

That about wraps it up. I promise this week I’ll send out my thoughts on the upcoming fall shows (with links to the trailers) and the chart of the fall schedule.

KT! Update: DVRs at Maximum Capacity!!

2009-09-29T16:42:00.000-04:00

Hello all my tv crazed friends. We are entering fourth week of the tv season. One show has already been canceled (tootles Mischa Barton) and there are only a handful of premieres left. I think this season has a lot of potential. It has been a while since I’ve tried this many new shows, and I’m impressed that sitcoms have upped their game. It is a little stressful depending on the loathsome Direct TV DVR. For some reason Direct TV still hasn’t figured out how to “clip” shows or offer me the option to end a recording a minute later or early so that a one minute conflict doesn’t cause me to miss an episode of Fringe!!! Oh Direct TV HD TIVO where are you? Why have you forsaken me? Can it really take this long to create a Direct TV HD TIVO or are you bastards just teasing me. Ooops, sorry for the tangent. On to my Fall premiere ratings!

Monday

How I Met Your Mother-The season kicked off with Robin & Barney trying to avoid “the talk” and Ted getting over his teaching anxiety. There’s not too much to say as this show is always solid. Premiere Grade: B+

Castle-I adore Nathan Fillion. He is the reason I tune in every week for this show. I could care less about the mystery of the week. Can I even remember what the mystery was for the premiere? Gimme a second. Oh yeah, something about a guy that was in over his head. Wow, it took me a good 3 minutes of racking my brain to come up with that. What I do remember, is Castle posing for a Cosmo cover shoot, going undercover at a poker game in China Town and making amends with his partner who’s name I can’t remember…Beckitt, that’s it!. So yeah, Castle=Fillion and that’s good enough for me. Premiere Grade: B

Tuesday
So You Think You Can Dance -You can’t really rate this show’s premiere because things don’t really get interesting until the Top 20. Hopefully it will get here soon. It was enjoyable to see Cat, Mary & Nigel though.

The Biggest Loser-Wow, talk about an emotional episode. After a ONE MILE hike two contestants needed to be taken to the hospital. One was so bad she had to be helicoptered to the hospital & was off the ranch for over a week! This is the biggest group of contestants the show has ever had (with a handful over the 400 mark) and the heaviest contestant ever (a 475 lb 30 year old woman). On top of that, this is a group of emotional train wrecks. One woman lost her whole family three years ago in a car accident & then Jillian is crying & I’m blubbering into my ice cream. I was a bit concerned that the season was going to be too depressing for me but last week was emotional in a completely different way. The group gave the big F U to the week two curse and everyone got to stay on the ranch another week. Premiere Grade: A-

Wednesday
Modern Family: I’ve learned over the years to take pre-season buzz with a grain of salt. There have been quite a few shows that have gotten rave reviews only to premiere to less than stellar ratings & not make it to February sweeps. And a sitcom? I use to LOVE sitcoms but the last few years they have been wretched. So I was a wee bit apprehensive about all the hype surrounding Modern Family, a show about 3 different “modern families”. The typical family unit, older man/younger woman newlyweds and a gay couple that has just adopted a baby. But wow. I haven’t laughed that hard at a show in a long, long time. Like when the baby was holding the cream puffs. Or the mom was screeching at the soccer game. Or they told Al Bundy that the mall walkers had to stay to the right. Or my favorite was when they brought the baby out “Simba Style”. Oh my goodness, I was laughing, Jay was dying. A great ½ hour of tv. Premiere Grade: A

Cougar Town- I really enjoyed this show which stars Courtney Cox as a newly divorced woman trying to having a normal dating life without totally mortifying her high school son. I laughed out loud a few times & I hope this show (brought to you by Bill Lawrence-creator of Scrubs) will continue at this level. Premiere Grade:B+

Glee -Seriously? Do I even need to write a review? It follows a group of misfits who sing & dance. Duh. Premiere Grade:A

Thursday

Survivor: Samoa-Survivor is a show that depends on the caliber of contestants. The chemistry has to be right or else Probst is just sitting at Tribal making quips that no one cares about. So far, I’m intrigued. CBS has been touting Russell as the biggest Survivor villain ever & I think they may be right (dude is crafty too, he found the immunity idol at camp, with no clues, while everyone was watching). But I hope the season doesn’t revolve all around Russell or things could get old fast. I think we’ve seen about 6 minutes of the other tribe. Premiere Grade:A

Community-The dude from the Soup is forced to go to community college after getting busted for lying about having a degree. He puts together a study group of colorful characters to impress a girl. Chevy Chase plays a creepy old guy. I loved the Breakfast Club references in the premiere. And here’s a fun fact, the girl who plays Annie is Pete Campbell’s wife on Mad Men! Premiere Grade: B+

Mentalist-I can’t believe I watch so many “cop dramas” but what can I say, it is the cast that draws me in! While it was Simon Baker’s Patrick Jane that lured me to this show, I think the supporting players are very strong & I definitely feel an emotional connection to them (not as connected as the Bones crews, but still, I would be sad if one of them got killed). Let’s see if I can remember their mystery of the week. Oh yes, the mom that stole a million dollars and disappeared & then found dead. Ok, I had to rack my brain again, but it didn’t take as long as Castle. I like the addition of Sam Bosco, who takes the Red John case from Lisbon & Jane. I think it is going to be enjoyable for Jane to have an adversary like Bosco, a little mono e mono to hold us over because you know they are not solving the Red John case anytime soon. Premiere Grade-B+

Vampire Diaries-For the record, despite the fact that I watch this show, I still loathe the CW. Despite all my best efforts, I was sucked in & watched the premiere. I don’t know what to say except that the commercials looked good & I wanted to be able to say that I watched it & it stunk. Well, I watched it and it didn’t stink. No. No, no, no. I already have WAY too many shows to watch on Thurs. The lead actress who was in Degrassi, is really likable and is a cross between Liz from Roswell and Emmanuelle Chriqui. Stefan, the new vampire in town (who my Everwood fans will remember as Amy Abbott’s no good druggie boyfriend) isn’t too tortured, just a little mysterious. And unlike the couple on that vampire show on HBO, I totally buy the chemistry between the two leads. The show is created by Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer) so the dialogue isn’t too cheesy or overdramatic. I also really like Boone as Stefan’s evil vampire brother. So we’ll see. I definitely didn’t hate it & at this point I’m willing to check it out.
Premiere Grade A-

Bones-When we last left the crew at the Jeffersonian, Booth had just woken up from a coma dream in which he & Bones were in love. I don’t remember anything too outstanding about the premiere & I can’t think too hard about what the mystery of the week was because all I can see is last week’s incident with all the cats & I’m still traumatized from that. Regardless, I still enjoy watching Bones & Booth running around DC solving murders. Hopefully the love story won’t kill the show. Premiere Grade: B

The Office-If you read this blog you know I’m not really a big fan of this show, it is out of love for my husband that I continue to watch it. That being said, I did let out a few chuckles during the premiere which saw Michael scrambling to start rumors about everyone in the office in order to cover up the fact that Stanley was having an affair. Premiere Grade: B

Grey’s Anatomy-I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about this episode. I thought that the opening sequence, especially Callie’s reaction, was an accurate depiction of how George’s death might impact the people of Seattle Grace. I did think (once again) that the best part of the show was Christina, Owen & Sloane (“He was kind of a dorky little guy”). I will say though, that when the janitor starting cleaning out George’s locker & Meredith broke down, I let out a tear or two. Despite the fact that this show can still get me, the more I think about it, the more I think that this show is ready to come off the dvr. Maybe next year, if I’m interested, I’ll rent the dvds & see how the season went. Even though I am attached to certain characters on this show, I don’t think anything has lived up to the first two seasons and I just can’t take the constant disappointment. Plus I haven’t forgiven Shonda for Denny or killing off George the way she did. Premiere Grade: B

Fringe-So Olivia returns from “over there” and can’t remember anything. Pacey finally gets a purpose (besides looking delicious) and Charlie bites the dust. I thought it was a little slow, but still good. Truthfully, the finale was so good I can’t imagine anything that could measure up. Premiere Grade: B+

Friday
Dollhouse-This episode gave me hope. I’m finally getting on board with Eliza Dushku as a lead & was very, very happy to see Apollo from BSG and Wesley from Angel make appearances. I thought the premiere did a nice job of taking pieces from the finale and beginning the journey towards Epitaph One (which is the lost episode you were supposed to Netflix over the summer). I really liked the stuff with Whiskey/Dr. Saunders and Topher. Can’t wait for Summer Glau! Premiere Grade: A

Sunday
Desperate Housewives-Nice. I’m glad Mike chose Susan. It will give Catherine that little bit of evil that I liked so much about her when she first showed up. Really liking the addition of Drea de Matteo and wow what an ending! Premiere Grade:A

Brothers & Sisters-New drama awaits the Walkers! The biggest thing about this episode was waiting to find out which Walker was in danger. Oh Kitty!!! There are going to be a lot of tears flowing in the weeks to come! Premiere Grade B+

The Amazing Race-First off, I want to say that I wish CBS would put this show on another night because I hate having to dvr an extra 30 minutes because football never ends on time. Anyhoo, this is an interesting bunch of people. And wow, pulling a play out of the Survivor handbook & getting rid of someone right away! That’s rough Phil! I thought the “EAT THE WASABI” challenge was hysterical even though it was mostly dependent on luck. And I was very happy to see Phil work the arched eyebrow twice in 2 hours. I wasn’t a fun of that jackass who kept yelling at Phil when he hit the mat, ya know, the guy whose wife said he was “wicked smart.” (read that with a Boston accent). My favorites so far: the harlem globetrotters, the kid with the pink hair & his dad; the poker chics (even though they are assholes) and the guy with Aspergers Syndrome & his friend. Premiere Grade:B+

The only premiere I really have left is Flash Forward. I’ll let you know what I think of that next week. Anything new that you’ve been watching that I should know about?

KT Update-Fall TV is Here!!

2009-09-08T09:59:00.000-04:00

I’m a very happy KT because the fall season is finally upon us. Since premieres are spread over the next few weeks, I’ll post a new KT Update at the beginning of the week to let you know what is premiering & what I’m going to check out. At the end of the month I’ll send out my fall premiere report card & let you know what show has made it to the all important Tivo Season Pass list & what has gotten the boot. I’m really looking forward to the day when tv scheduling is a thing of the past. In the future I envision myself just scrolling down a list of each network’s shows & recording them, which would allow me to create my own personalized tv schedule. I don’t understand why networks insists on squeezing everything into one night. I have NINE shows on Thursday but only two on Monday (or three if I give in & check out Big Bang Theory). Come on networks, spread out the quality programming!

This week is pretty light, with mostly CW shows premiering. Tonight is 90210 and Melrose Place. Even though my beloved Sidney will return for the first episode, I will not be drawn back to Melrose, um especially since Sid got run over by a car on her wedding day like 13 years ago. I learned my lesson after Brenda & Kelly lured me back to a subpar 90210. Also, I still hate the CW for cancelling Veronica Mars & Everwood (sorry, I hold grudges!). Wednesday the CW premieres America’s Next Top Model and Thursday is The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural. The only new fall tv I’ll be watching this week is Fox with the premieres of Glee and So You Think You Can Dance. I’m beyond excited for Glee, I really loved the pilot episode. SYTYCD will be in auditions for the first few episodes so I’m not as excited for that but it is happy to see Cat, Mary & Nigel so soon after the summer season ended. SYTYCD really needs to kick it up a notch this year, with both the contestants and the choreography. Season 5 was a bit lacking for me.

As for my summer tv schedule, I am happy to report that I am thoroughly enjoying the third season of Mad Men (poor little Sally, that is a child destined for therapy). I will admit that Lifetime hasn’t killed Project Runway (although for the record, Lifetime needs to upgrade to HD stat & LA isn’t as fun as NYC). And, for those of you that are up late (or have a dvr) I fully endorse Chelsea Lately on E! Chelsea is a pop culture sponge like me, but she gets to interview celebrities and has the balls to ask them the questions we wished someone would. I’ve also finally started watching Top Chef and have been sucked in rather quickly. “Take your knives & go.” Wow, that’s a pretty harsh send off! At least Heidi looks a little sad when she tells the designers they are out.

While there has been some new tv on the tube, I’ve spent most of the summer working out my DVD player. I started off the summer with a trip down memory lane with the 80’s miniseries “North & South”. Wow, it is crazy to watch that now & see all the frikkin people in it. Patrick Swayze, Kirstey Alley, Genie Francis, David Carradine, Morgan Fairchild, Robert Guillaume, Forest Whitaker, Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash and the dad from That 70’s show. On top of that, there are a whole crapload of people whose faces I recognize. Of course, North & South is really all about the Swayze, and it was lovely to see him right before he hit it big with Dirty Dancing.

“It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”. Wow. The show centers around a group of friends (who are complete and total assholes) that run a pub in Philly. Hijinks ensue. Jay LOVES this show. I think that sometimes it is a little far-fetched which pulls me out of the episode, but it is still quite funny. P.S. Season 5 starts September 17 (a Thursday—what are the odds!!) on FX.

“Sports Night” This show is the West Wing minus politics plus sports. All of the trademark Aaron Sorkin snappy dialogue, quick humor and moral quandaries are there. I think the show made have had a hard time finding an audience because despite 30 min episodes, the show was not a sitcom and not really a comedy. It was more of a dramedy. I would definitely recommend checking it out, it is a quick watch, with only two seasons. The show had a stellar cast including: Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Josh Charles (Threesome) & Robert Guillame (Benson).

Thanks to Netflix right now I have “True Blood” and “The West Wing”. The jury is still out on True Blood. I’m already liking a few of the supporting characters but I haven’t been completely pulled in by the Sookie-Bill relationship. And I’m all over the dog. That has Jacob (from Twilight) written all over it so I know who it is.

The West Wing is a big time investment, so I think I’m going to watch the first season then switch to something else, then come back. It did make me happy to see that crew together again. I really did love that show for a while.

At home, I’m rotating between “Alias” (that show was frikkin phenomenal its first 2 seasons), “Angel” (I’m in season 3) with a dash of “Arrested Development” thrown in. I still miss that show, movie needs to happen ASAP!

Moving on from TV, last month Michael & I went to see Britney at MSG. Wow. Wowie wow wow. And that was just the crowd. I have never seen so many fashion disasters under one roof. Girls trying to rock outfits way out of their league, women trying to wear outfits they were10 years too old for….it was insane. Plus, we had a 30-something woman (who was definitely a New Yorker) behind us who kept expressing her love & admiration for Britney throughout the entire show….at the top of her lungs. Britney herself was better then expected. Through the first half of the show I felt like she was phoning in her performance but about midway through she finally kicked it up a notch. Once or twice I saw a glimpse of the girl from the Oops VMA performance (my FAVORITE VMA PERFORMANCE EVER) but there was A LOT of walking around & half dancing. Michael & I have decided that Britney needs to ditch the bubblegum persona she still slips into & just fully commit to the dark sexiness. That’s when she was at her best (like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-6Xe1gGdQo) Anyhoo, I really liked the set design, the costumes, the dancers, and the transitions. I thought it was a great show.

That about wraps things up. Next week 6 of the 9 Thursday night shows premiere!

KT Update-Thoughts on the Emmy Nominations (Finally!)

2009-07-28T13:56:00.000-04:00

At this point most of you know that even though the Emmy’s tend to infuriate me, I just can’t stop watching. There were some happy surprises this year, but of course, there were also some inexcusable snubs. Take a peek below for my thoughts. Oh and Joss might finally get an Emmy. Dr. Horrible was nominated for something called Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs. No idea what that means, but I’m hoping for a win. So here they are, the Emmy nominations complete with KT comments.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
30 Rock
Weeds

I’m really over Entourage. I know it still has a loyal following, but I have heard that a lot of people are done. Mostly I’m just excited for the “How I Met Your Mother” love. I don’t think it has a chance in hell of winning but still, it is nice to be noticed. Weeds was CRAZY last year, but even though the show has gone in a darker direction, I still care about the Botwins & find myself laughing out loud. It is so weird to think back to when I hated Andy. I don’t watch Family Guy or Flight of the Conchords, but I know both have followings. Anyhoo, my money is on 30 Rock and I think it is deserving. That being said, I’m still a proponent of “If you win 3 times you have to take a year off from the category.” It would have been nice for Pushing Daisies to get some love. I’m still depressed about that cancellation.

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

I don’t think it is a big secret that I’m not the hugest Office fan, but I do think the whole “Michael Scott Paper Company” was a brilliant storyline that breathed fresh air back into the series. I still don’t want him to win though. I don’t watch Flight of the Conchords, I loathe Tony Shalhoub, Two and a Half Men is a little too “sitcom-y” for me, so this comes down to Baldwin vs. Jim Parsons. I don’t watch Big Bang Theory, but I know a lot of you do and I know how much you love it. As much as I love Baldwin (and am still pulling for him to win) it would be nice to see the unexpected newbie to win. Um, can I get some Chuck love?

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program

I love Mary-Louise Parker & Tina Fey but I’m really pulling for Christina Applegate here. It would be nice to show her some love after the way her show was neglected by ABC.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock
Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
Rainn Wilson, The Office

Although it is nice to see Kenneth & Tracy get some recognition, I’m so in love with NPH it is not even funny (how can you not love him after the singing in Dr. Horrible? ) although I wish Chi McBride was here for Pushing Daisies. Other standout performances that are missing are Casey and Morgan from Chuck, who are so frikkin hilarious.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Kristin Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Krakowski had moments of brilliance as have the SNL ladies, but this HAS, HAS to go to Chenoweth. Her Olive was so sugary sweet, vulnerable & highly funny. Plus, she would bust out into song every now & again. How can you not love her??? God it is UNREAL how much I already miss this show. Damn you ABC!!!

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alan Alda, 30 Rock
Beau Bridges, Desperate Housewives
Jon Hamm, 30 Rock
Steve Martin, 30 Rock
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

Timba-Timba-Timberlake all the way. It was the only time anyone talked about SNL after the election.

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jennifer Aniston, 30 Rock
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live
Gena Rowlands, Monk
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock
Betty White, My Name Is Earl

Has to be Fey. Oooh. See, you can give the Best Actress Emmy to Applegate & then give Fey the guest actress award! Yay! Everybody wins!

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

House. Really? The rest of this group is pretty solid. Thought Lost was stellar this year while Mad Men is a high quality show with an amazing ensemble. I just finished Breaking Bad and thought it was awesome. I wouldn’t have minded seeing Fringe on here. I thought it started off kinda slow but the last few episodes were fabulous. In fact, I would say that Fringe was one of, if not the, best season finale. Honestly, I think I’d be happy with any of these, minus House & Damages.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

I know there was little chance of this happening, but I would have loved a shout out to Life’s Charlie Crews. I generally hate cop drama’s but Charlie Crews was such an engaging character that I couldn’t help myself (this is also the case for Simon Baker in the Mentalist). In terms of who I’m cheering for, Bryan Cranston is frikkin amazing in Breaking Bad as Walt, a chemistry teacher who takes up cooking meth with a former student in order to pay for his cancer treatments & to leave his family with money after he is gone. Walt started off as an everyman doormat and has transformed into a bad ass man with a mission who uses science to solve a lot of his problems. I watched one episode & couldn’t stop. I think I watched 95% of the season in one day (don’t get too excited, it was only an 8 episode season). Cranston just pulls you in and you can’t help but root for him & love how bad ass he becomes.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

I have to say I’m not especially excited about this list. I thought Katherine Heigl (love her or hate her) had a fantastic season (or second half of the season anyway) on Greys. I also think that January Jones’ Betty Draper was amazing this year as she progressed from a naïve housewife into a woman who must decide between the comforts she’s accustomed to and standing up for herself.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal
Michael Emerson, Lost
William Hurt, Damages
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

I absolutely had some issues with Grey’s this year, nearly broke up with it when Denny showed up, but I though there were a few standouts (as mentioned above) one of which is Kevin McKidd’s tortured Owen Hunt. Even when I was dangerously close to breaking up with the show I enjoyed the Owen-Christina storyline…man, those two were smoking!! With those on this list, I would vote for either Aaron Paul (as Walt’s former student & partner Jesse) or Michael Emerson. I’m leaning more towards Emerson because I just can’t figure Ben out. Just when I think he HAS to be evil he does something that makes me doubt his full evilness and that is all a credit to Emerson. For me, even for a nano second, not to hate Ben after everything he’s done is thanks to Emerson’s flawless performance.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Rose Byrne, Damages
Hope Davis, In Treatment
Cherry Jones, 24
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

This comes down to Cherry Jones and Sandra Oh. Jones is 24’s sole acting nomination and with good reason. I often felt like she was the core of the show. She also represented a return to strength in the White House. Not since President Palmer have we’ve seen someone who wouldn’t back down from their principles. It was so awesome when she turned her wretched daughter in. Sandra Oh had an outstanding year as Dr. Christina Yang. Between Owen and Izzie, you could really feel what Christina was going through this year and it brought me to tears more than once.

REALITY

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef

Survivor is not on here? This season was one of the best in a while. JT ruled! I can’t even remember who was on Runway last year and Dancing With the Stars is lame (although I heard that a few SYTYCD alum are now on the show) and I don’t watch Top Chef (I will say that I know a lot of you enjoy it). I thought the Amazing Race was decent this year, there were some great moments (like the cheese rolling down the hills) but I thought the last episode was a little lackluster. Idol was THE show at the watercooler this year as everyone was talking about Glambert (either for or against). Idol deserves it, but the Amazing Race is the Emmy’s darling.

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Padma Lakshmi (Host) and Tom Colicchio (Co-Host), Top Chef
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

I’m so bitter Cat Deeley is not on here, she frikkin rules. There is nothing fake about her (a la Seacrest) and you can see she really cares about the performers. Probst was stellar once again. I have to say, there is nothing I love more on Survivor than when Probst calls someone out in Tribal Council.

REALITY SERIES
Antiques Roadshow
Dirty Jobs
Dog Whisperer
Intervention
Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List
MythBusters

I’m not really sure why Deadliest Catch isn’t on here (it is classified as Nonfiction Series, isn’t that the same as reality series?) These are all decent shows, so I would be fine with any one of them taking it.

Outstanding Animated Program (for programming less than one hour)
American Dad
Robot Chicken • Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
South Park
The Simpsons

South Park is frikkin phenomenal. I don’t know where they come up with some of this stuff but it is irreverent, biting, relevant & hilarious. That being said, I did really enjoy Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode II.

Outstanding Choreography
81st Annual Academy Awards • Musicals Are Back • Rob Ashford, Choreographer
Dancing With The Stars • Jive / Great Balls of Fire • Derek Hough, Choreographer
Julianne Hough, Choreographer
So You Think You Can Dance • Bleeding Love • Tabitha D'umo, Choreographer
Napoleon D'umo, Choreographer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaLroD0915o

So You Think You Can Dance • Mercy •Mia Michaels, Choreographer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYPUaF4tcEc

So You Think You Can Dance • Adam and Eve / Silence Tyce Diorio, Choreographer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBFM81rj0HI

So You Think You Can Dance • A Los Amigos • Dmitry Chaplin, Choreographer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZeW9iduGOs

I actually thought the Mia Michaels with Katee & Joshua http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-hZCl-OKDg, Katee & Joshua’s Bollywood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oO4cg9h9Ps
and Sonja’s Mark & Courtney’s piece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USR3WY-5eRE
were better than Adam & Eve or Mercy. That being said, Bleeding Love was my favorite performance of the season. I’m cheering for NapTab!

Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs
30 Rock's Kenneth the Web Page • NBC.com • Universal Media Studios
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog • drhorrible.com • Mutant Enemy, Inc.

Do you even have to ask?

Well that’s that. The Emmy’s are Sunday, September 20th with Neil Patrick Harris hosting.

Kt Update-Fall Preview

2009-05-31T21:10:00.005-04:00

Hello! Please see below for the infamous tv schedule spreadsheet. Anything highlighted I’m going to watch, anything in RED is new, BLUE is new timeslots.

But before we get into my two cents on the new fall shows, I have a bit of casting scoop:

Freddy Prinze Jr. has been cast in 24 next year (don’t know how I feel about that) while John Lithgow will be on Dexter. The Whedon also gave an interview the other day and said that we should expect to see Summer Glau (T:SCC, Firefly) in the Dollhouse next year but that she wouldn’t be a doll because that would be too obvious.

Fall Season Previews:

ABC

Shark Tank (Tues 8)-Regular people pitch their ideas to five high powered investors.

The Forgotten (Tues 10)-Centers around a team that investigates the murders of victims whose identity is unknown. Their goal is to figure out who the “forgotten victim” is & solve their murder. Originally Reiko Aylesworth (Michelle, 24) was one of the leads, but she has since dropped out. Ehh, I watch too many murder of the week shows, don’t need to add this one!

Hank (Wed 8) Kelsey Grammer stars as a rich man who lives in NYC with his family until he loses his fortune & is forced to move his family to Virginia. I won’t be checking this one out.

The Middle (Wed 8:30) –Patricia Heaton stars as the matriarch of a wacky family living in the middle of Indiana. The trailer reminded me a little of Malcolm in the Middle, but I chuckled a few times so I’ll probably check it out. Plus, bonus points….the husband is Janitor from Scrubs!!

Modern Family (Wed 9)-This show revolves around three “modern families”; the stereotypical American family with 3 kids, an older man/younger woman newlywed couple and two gay men who have just adopted a baby girl. Familiar faces include Julie Bowen (Lost, Ed) and Ed O’Neill (Married…With Children). I was entertained enough by the preview that I will be checking this one out as well.

Cougar Town (Wed 9:30) Bill Lawrence (the creator of Scrubs) brings a new comedy starring Courtney Cox-Arquette as a newly divorced, 40-ish woman trying to deal with aging while getting back into the dating world. Busy Phillips (Freaks & Geeks, Dawson’s Creek) and Christa Miller (Scrubs) co-star. Definitely going to check this one out.

Eastwick (Wed 10) When a tall, dark & handsome stranger arrives in town three women discover they have some mystical abilities. Familiar faces: Rebecca Romijn I’ll be passing on this one.

Flash Forward (Thurs 8) ABC had 2 minute previews for all of their new shows except for this one, apparently they are trying to keep the whole thing very hush, hush. From the 12 second preview, it looks like a bunch of people black out & see some horrible event that is supposed to occur in the future. Stars Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and Penny from Lost. I may check it out, but I’m already triple booked for Thurs at 8, so unless it gets rave reviews I’ll probably skip it.

V! (midseason) This is a remake of a 1980’s miniseries. Some aliens land ( Independence Day style) but then they send a message saying they are peaceful. While it seems that the visitors are friendly, a group of people start to believe that the visitors have an evil agenda and are using their influence to manipulate humans. I thought it looked interesting. Cast includes a bunch of favorites like Juliet from Lost, Tom Baldwin from the 4400, Inara from Firefly and Scott Wolf (you should know who that is without me listing all his credits!!). I’ll probably check it out just because of the cast. Hopefully it is cool.

The Deep End (midseason) Lawyer show. That’s pretty much all I got from the trailer. But I did see Mac from Veronica Mars, Dr. Abbott from Everwood & Billy Zane!! If I’m really bored I may check out the pilot.

Happy Town(midseason) On first glance it looks like a nice little story about a woman moving to a quiet, happy town (get it?) in Minnesoooooota. Well then someone gets killed by the “Magic Man” (sorry but all I could think of was Talladega Nights) and wackiness ensues. I’ll be passing on this one. Although I think I saw Amy Acker in the trailer..hold on…a quick check on IMDB confirms that I did see Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse) but I don’t think that is enough for me to check out the show (Plus this show just got a wretched review on AICN).

You can check out all the ABC trailers at: http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/index

NBC
The Marriage Ref (midseason)- From reading this description, it sounds a lot like the 30 Rock episode where Lemon goes on to a talk show & yells “That’s a DEAL BREAKER” at couples asking her advice. And if you don’t watch 30 Rock, then you lose!!

Trauma (Mon 9)-Set in San Francisco & follows first responder paramedics.

Day One (midseason) After a cataclysmic event, survivors try to rebuild. Familiar faces: Carly Pope (24, Popular) Julie Gonzalo (Veronica Mars, Eli Stone)

Parenthood (Wed 8)-Based on the Steve Martin film, the show explores the family life of the 4 grown siblings of the Braverman family. Familiar faces: Peter Krause (Dirty Sexy Money, Six Feet Under), Maura Tierney (ER), Craig T. Nelson (Coach), Dax Shepard (Punk’D), Monica Potter (Patch Adams) and Erika Christensen (Traffic, Six Degrees) Besides the cast, this show boasts some serious tv cred, with producers Ron Howard & Brian Grazer, writer/director Jason Katims (FNL), plus the pilot is directed by Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing). How can you not check this one out?

Mercy (midseason)-A medical drama focusing on three nurses from Mercy Hospital. Familiar Faces: Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy, Gossip Girl) also Guillermo from Weeds is one of the nurses (not one of the main 3) Fun Fact: One of the main characters, Veronica is torn between her husband & a new doctor that she has a past with. The two characters are played by actors who were on Men In Trees, Ivan & Jack!! I don’t usually like medical dramas, but I was a bit interested by the preview.

Community (Thurs 8)- Joel McHale (The Soup) stars as a lawyer who has to go to community college after it is revealed that he never graduated from college. He soon realizes that Greendale Community College is made up of high-school losers, newly divorced housewives, and old people who want to keep their minds active. He starts a study group to get closer to a pretty girl and everyone becomes friends (awwww). Familiar faces: Chevy Chase. The show is written & directed by the people who brought you Arrested Development. That’s enough for me to check it out.

NBC previews are available at: http://thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=8076

CBS
Three Rivers (Sun 9)-Looks at organ transplants from three different perspectives. From the donor, the recipient and the surgical team. The cast was recently completely replaced except for the dude that was in Moonlight.

Accidentally on Purpose (Mon 8:30) Jenna Elfman has a one night stand with a younger man & gets knocked up. I’m not a big Elfman fan & the preview looked a little too “sitcom-y” for me so I’ll be passing this one up.

The Good Wife (Tues 10) Ever wonder what those women are thinking when they are standing stone faced next to their husbands during a press conference where the man is confessing to adultery or some type of crime. Julianna Marguiles is a woman who must re-enter the workforce (as a lawyer) and try to keep her family together after her husband (Chris Noth) is caught up in a very public sex and political corruption scandal that lands him in jail. Familiar Faces: Christine Baranski & Grams from Dawson’s Creek!

CBS previews are available at: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/fall_preview_2009/

Fox
The Cleveland Show (Sun 8:30)-Animated show, I think Cleveland is a character on Family Guy.

Sons of Tucson(midseason)-Three boys pay a slacker to play their dad when their real one goes to jail. Familiar Faces: Tyler Labine (Reaper)

Past Life (midseason) A psychologist & a detective solve crimes by helping people with “past life traumas”. I thought the trailer didn’t look half bad but I have too many of those cop/non cop buddy shows on my plate.

Human Target (midseason)- Based on a DC Comics graphic novel, the show follows Christopher Chance (Olivia’s boyfriend from Fringe), a bodyguard who will do anything to save the lives on his clients (in the preview it is Caprica Six from BSG). Familiar Faces: Chi McBride (wah….I want him on Pushing Daisies). Trailer looked interesting, but is he going to protect different people every episode? That could get tired pretty quick. Anyhoo, it will really depend on what night its on.

Brothers (Fri 8)-Holy crap this looks terrible!! Michael Strahan plays an ex-NFL superstar who comes home to help his brother who is struggling to run his restaurant after a car accident has left him in a wheel chair. I can’t believe this show was actually given the greenlight.

Glee (Wed 9) If you missed the pilot episode after the American Idol finale you should check it out on hulu.com. Is there anything better than a story about bringing people together through singing & dancing?

Fox previews are: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b124530_watch_previews_of_foxs_new_fall_pilots.html

CW
Melrose Place (Tues 9)-Oh CW this is why you are still banned. Anything with potential you cancel (that’s why I didn’t watch Reaper or Privledged) while you keep on drivel that should have been cut years ago. And to top it all off, you have no original ideas. So one year after trying to nostalgic-me into watching 90210 (which only worked for 3 episodes) you are trying yet again with Melrose. SPOILER ALERT. THE NEXT FEW LINES WILL DISCUSS PLOT POINTS OF THE PREMIERE.
Since Heather Locklear wouldn’t do it, you resurrected my dear Sydney only to kill her off in the pilot. Well I’m not going to fall for it! Plus Ashley Simpson? BLECH.

The Beautiful Life (Wed 9)-It’s so hard being a supermodel, especially when you are Mischa Barton. I’ll pass, thanks!

The Vampire Diaries (Thurs 8) A teenage girl is drawn to a new boy at high school who just happens to be a vampire. He’s good, but his brother is a bad vampire which of course puts the girl & her brother’s life in peril. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Familiar faces: The good vampire was Kim’s husband on this season of 24 & also Amy Abbott’s bad boyfriend on Everwood. The bad vampire is Boone from Lost!

CW previews: http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/the-cw-fall-2009-preview

Here's the spreadsheet for your viewing pleasure!!

KT Update-Season Finale Grades!!

2009-05-29T09:18:00.003-04:00

Hello my friends,

Well, another tv season has concluded. It has been too, too long. Work was monopolizing my time & I apologize for the lack of KT updates. On the plus side, with facebook I am able to post notable news stories right to my page so you are never left without scoopage!! Anyhoo, please see below for my season finale report card. Last week was Upfront Week so later this week I’ll be sending out the 2009 Fall TV Schedule and some first impressions of the new shows. That will be followed up by a wrap up of the season, listing out the best performances (according to me).

Before I get to that, I’d just like to take a minute to say that people in Hollywood are DUMB. How can you possible think of making a buffy anything without the Whedon? I could see if it was 20 years from now & you were introducing the character & mythology to a new group of people but Buffy has a rabid fan base & I think you are just setting yourself up to fail. A big Booo Bahhhhh Hisss to that one!!!

As I have mentioned before, it is pretty hard for me to break up with a show after I’ve invested so much of my time but I did successfully ditch Heroes (really? You escape from a plane crash & then just hang around there? You don’t run for your life??) and Private Practice (the last 2 episodes were sitting on my tivo and I just had absolutely no desire to watch them).

Even after all this time I'm still heartbroken over the loss of Pushing Daisies. At least ABC has decided to air the final episodes along with those of Eli Stone & Dirty Sexy Money. I believe they start airing this Saturday, so make sure to set your Tivo's!!

How I Met Your Mother-This has been an interesting season with Ted nearly getting married, Barney realizing he has feelings & the constant struggle to hide both Robyn & Lilly’s real life pregnancies. HIMYM continues to be one of my favorite shows, even though later, I can’t ever remember what the episodes were about. Season Finale & Season: B+

24-This season was a significant improvement over season 6 (which truthfully, isn’t sayg very much). I was happy to see Soul Patch Tony, but I kinda wish he had stayed good because it would have been nice if Jack had one person he could always trust. I really liked the new President & her staff (except for her daughter who stunk & I’m glad her ass is going to jail). As an added bonus, Kim showed up & ultimately did not suck. She was able to avoid kidnapping, cougar attack & amnesia & even ended up contributing (and, if we are to make our own assumptions about the finale, saved her dad). I thought the finale was a bit anticlimactic, but I guess they all can’t end with Nina killing Terri (best ending ever)….Season: B+; Finale B

Chuck-You need to be watching this show. WHY ARE YOU NOT WATCHING THIS SHOW?? Chuck has one of the best ensemble casts on tv (I would argue second to 30 Rock). Adam Baldwin is frikkin fantastic as gruff agent Casey, while Sarah is the stuff little boys dream about and the staff of the Buy More regularly make me fall off the couch because I am laughing so hard. The show really kicked it up a notch over the last few episodes & turned the series on its head in the finale. Thankfully the show was picked up by NBC & will return to the schedule at midseason. Plenty of time for you to get your asses on Netflix and add it to your queue (or you can go to hulu.com or NBC.com). Season: A; Finale A+

The Mentalist-This is one of those shows that snuck up on me. I wasn’t going to watch (especially since I’m watching too many cop shows right now) but then I saw a few of the commercials & decided to check it out. The show rests on Simon Fuller’s Jane’s shoulders & he pulls it off. He has just the right amount of arrogance to make him still likable. We know he knows more than we do and he knows that we know that he knows more than everyone, but he never comes off as obnoxious. Many times the story of the week is predictable, but it is how Jane and his CBI peers figure it out that makes the show worth watching. Plus I’m definitely interested to see how the Red John story plays out. Season: A, Finale:

Life-Oh Charlie Crews, I will miss you! It saddens me that this show is gone, but I’m glad that the writers had the foresight to know that they were in danger & wrapped up most of the big mysteries of the series. Again, for me, this show was not about the week to week mysteries, it was about my connection to Crews, his mystery, his friends & his connection to Danni. I thought the finale was fantastic, especially that throat punch at the end. Season: A; Finale: A+

Fringe-I started watching this show for my beloved Pacey & even though the week to week stories were interesting, I was there for Pacey & because Jay LOVES this show. It tends to freak me out, but I like it. Although I was not over the moon for this show on a weekly basis, I have to say the finale as fantastic. Where shows like Lost & Greys’ simply set up cliffhangers for the sake of cliffhangers (more on that later) Fringe actually gave some answers to the questions we’ve been asking all season while proposing exciting new questions for next season. Besides the last scene (which was CRRRAZZY) I can’t believe Pacey is alternate dimension Pacey!!!! Season: B+; Finale: A+

Lost-Two hours. Two hours & really what did we learn? Yes, we saw some progress on the John Locke storyline. Locke is indeed dead, his body cloned & hijacked by Jacob’s early companion. Did Jacob want Ben to stab him? Was Ben finally the one being played? Exactly who is the “they” that are coming? But really, I felt like the show just spent 2 hours moving at a glacial pace to just set up more questions for next season. Questions that we’ve been asking all season anyway. What’s up with those other people on the plane? Ok, we know they are linked to Jacob, still no clue who they are. Will Jin & Sun be reunited? Will the time travelling stop? And is Juliet dead? (my guess is yes as she is in a new show next year)….so we’ll see. Last summer I rewatched the entire series straight through & I have to say that it made me appreciate the show so much more. I have faith that next season will be worth it. But I think as far as season finales go, it was WEAK. Season: A, Finale: C+

Grey’s Anatomy-I tried to break up with this show when Denny showed up. If it had just been Denny I may have been able to handle it but really the first half of the season was pretty weak. When Shonda finally admitted that Izzie did have a brain tumor (as rumored) then I decided to give it another go. It was a very uneven season. As I previously mentioned I hated Denny & I also couldn’t stand the cardiologist with Aspergers, the interns re-enacting Flatliners, does anyone remember Melissa George? Plus the disappearance of Hahn showed a complete lack of respect for not only the actress, but also for the audience (a thought I will come back to in a minute) I thought Meredith & Derek were a lot less annoying than last season (likable even!!), I think McSteamy & Callie have the best friendship ever (and I was secretly hoping for them to get together after Hahn left) and I loved every second of the Christina & Owen story (well, except for the icicle incident). The second half of the season was a lot better. Once we knew about Izzie’s illness, Katherine Heigl (love her or hate her) demonstrated the acting abilities she possesses and I thought this storyline upped everyone’s game, except of course for my dear George, who probably had a total of 45 min of screen time this year. As if I wasn’t mad enough at Shonda for George’s lack of screen time, I am furious with her for the conclusion of his storyline. I think she is a spiteful person & I have lost a lot of respect for her as a result. So you give an actor 6 lines through the first half of the season & then get pissed when he asks to be released from his contract? Shonda claims all characters have ebbs & flow. Seriously? I don’t remember anyone else having an ebb like this one. And then, in the finale, which is most likely his last episode, you drag him for a block and a half by a bus & leave him as a mangled mess. To add insult to injury, none of his friends realized it was him (because you know, they are use to George not being around on account of his 6 lines all season) until the last 5 min of the show. Even if you are having issues with an actor, you owe it to your audience to send a beloved character out in a respectful manner and I don’t think she did the George character right. Izzie on the other hand, would have a fantastic send off, if in fact she is leaving, which I don’t think she is. So yeah, we’ll see how next season goes. I’m pretty bitter about the finale & think Shonda is a big ol bitch, so if the show doesn’t hold my interest it will be pretty easy for me to remove it from my schedule. Season: C+ (D for first half A for final half); Finale C+ (thought it was good minus the whole George incident and I think the penultimate episode was 1000x more emotional)

Survivor-This is a show that varies by season. It really depends on the cast & how they interact. I thought this was a great season, it was very easy to root for JT, Stephen & Taj (especially when they went into the merge down by 3) but they managed to rally & vote off the entire other tribe. In addition, I thought Tyson added just the right amount of villain & love him or hate him, Coach provided many comic moments. Plus, not only did I win the Survivor Pool (go JT) I also want the Survivor Fantasy league (Tobins-is that a first??) Season: A, Finale: A+

The Office-Honestly, I probably wouldn’t watch this show if Jay didn’t love it so much. As I’ve said in the past, I’m kinda over Steve Carrell & it is hard for me to take him seriously as a boss. I will say that I really enjoyed the Michael Scott Paper Company development, especially since it demonstrated what makes Michael so valuable. Season: B+; Finale:B+

The Amazing Race-I thought this season had potential. The cheese challenge was hysterical & I was all about the Mel & Mike. Too bad they didn’t make it to the end. I was underwhelmed with the teams that made it to the end and I thought the finale was a bit anticlimactic. Still good times though. Season: B; Finale: C

Desperate Housewives-I will miss Edie Britt. I think the series will be missing the brutally honest bitch element that Nicole Sheridan brought to the show. I thought it was a solid season, especially the start of the season when we first were met with the ladies’ new situations, five years after the finale. I was a bit disappointed that they threw Gabby & Carlos back into the lap of luxury, but at least they are a solid couple this year. I thought the finale was ok, a bit anticlimactic, and really, I could care less about who Mike is marrying (my bet would be Catherine though) what is really interesting to me (and terrifying at the same time) is Lynette’s unplanned pregnancy (with twins!!!) Season: B, Finale: B+

Brothers & Sisters-This season was so-so for me. There were some great moments (any Walker family dinner for example). For me, it is still all about Kevin. I’m glad Tommy is gone, he was pretty lame anyway and I’m soooooo over Ryan. I had a little Buffy déjà vu when Kitty ran after Robert’s helicopter, but I suspect their marriage is DONE which is a bit sad because I like Rob Lowe, but I think it will provide some fireworks. Season: B-; Finale: B

Castle-I am a Nathan Fillion fan which is why I decided to check this show, but I grew to like it very quickly (although truthfully it is mostly because of Fillion’s character, Nick Castle). In the same way that The Mentalist relies on Patrick Jane’s ability to read people & see things others overlook, Castle, as a mystery writer, is able to take a step back from the case & see what the cops are overlooking. Again, I could care less about the weekly mysteries, it is just fun to see what trouble Castle will get himself into each week. It is a completely ridiculous concept, but Filllion is so awesome I don’t care. Season: B Season Finale: B+

Scrubs- I’m glad that ABC picked up this show last year so that it could get the proper send off it deserves. Solid season & I thought the finale was perfect (and I’m not too happy about them bringing it back next year). Season: B Finale: A

Better Off Ted-I think this is a great sitcom with a really strong cast. Besides Ted himself, I think Portia Di Rossi is a stand out. All the supporting characters are solid & I really like the original feel of the show. The finale provided extra laughs as the folks from Veridian tried to increase morale by decorating the “drones” cubes in 4 prepicked “safe” styles (cat, space, antique car & Green Bay Packers)—you know instead of letting everyone decorate their cubes in their individual styles-- and Veronica tried to complement everyone (including the kitchen cabinet) while keeping her hair down to appear less intimidating.. Season: B+, Finale: B+

30 Rock- I am so in love with this show. The best cast on tv with every single person contributing to make magic. I regularly laugh out loud & I’m glad that Liz Lemon & company are finally getting some respect. Season: A; Finale: A

Bones-I started watching this show over the summer (thank you Netflix) and caught up about halfway through the season. I think the show is great most days with a few misses (I really hated the conclusion of the grave digger storyline). I am interested to see how they are going to keep the Booth/Bones dynamic moving along without getting tired. I’m a wee bit scared of the amnesia storyline that is waiting for us next year & I thought the season finale was a big ol waste of time (don’t hype your 2 main characters getting together if it is not real!!). Season: B; Finale: D

Dollhouse-I thought the season started off a little rough but showed definite improvement as the season went on. I’m hoping Joss & Co. have a game plan laid out just in case the show survives another season because I’m a bit concerned that the overarching storyline could stall out. In addition, I was also afraid that Eliza Dushku couldn’t carry a show on her own but I think she has improved as well. I thought the finale was a little bit of a let down, but there were a few cool moments (like finding out that the doctor aka Fred was a doll and Omega kicked ass). Season: B; Finale: B-

Friday Night Lights-For me, the season started in October, so forgive me if I forget some of what happened. Regardless, I remember really enjoying the season and all of the characters (especially my Timmy!). I think the finale was great & I’m really interested to see where the show is going to go next year. Where will people’s loyalties lie? Who will still be around? How will Coach Taylor adapt? Very exciting indeed! Season: A; Finale: A

Well that's it for now. Be on the look out for the fall season grid, first impressions on the new schedule & the best of the 08-09 season!!

KT Update! Midseason Schedule

2009-01-05T17:45:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! It is midseason time so I have attached an updated tv schedule with return dates/premiere dates for the winter schedule. Below are some snippets about the new shows that will grace tv screens beginning in January. I’ll probably check out Castle (out of loyalty to Nathan Fillion), Cupid (loyalty to Rob Thomas-although if I don’t watch & it gets cancelled, will he write the Veronica Mars movie???) and Dollhouse.

Midseason shows:

Castle (ABC, Mon 10PM) Nathan Fillion tries again. I really hope this show works out for him or I may have to stop watching his shows. I feel like I’m jinxing him! This time as mystery novelist Nick Castle, who teams up with an NYPD detective when a copycat murderer starts staging murder scenes from Nick's novels.

Cupid (ABC, Tues 10PM) Back in 1998 this tv show starred Jeremy Piven as Trevor Pierce, a man who keeps insisting to his psychologist that he is the Roman god of love, Cupid. Now, ABC is bring back the retooled Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars) romantic comedy starring Bobby Cannavale as Trevor & Sarah Paulson as his shrink.

The Unusuals (ABC, Wed 10PM) Amber Tamblyn (Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) stars as a detective transferred from vice to the homicide division & discovers that her new colleagues all have a quirky sense of humor & several dirty little secrets.

Lie to Me (Fox, Wed 9) Tim Roth stars in this rip off of the Mentalist.

Kings (NBC, Thurs 10PM) Is a reimagining of the David vs. Goliath struggle starring Ian McShane, Christopher Egan (Vanished), and Sebastian Stan (Gossip Girl). Supposedly everyone geeked out at the preview which premiered at Press Tour.

Harper’s Island (CBS, Thurs 10PM) A 13 episode murder mystery event. A bunch of people go to a secluded island for a destination wedding. Then people start turning up dead. Who done it? You’ll find out in 13 weeks (provided the show makes it that long).

Dollhouse (Fox, Fri 9PM) If you don’t know about this show then you don’t read my blog. The Whedon’s first foray back into the land of tv & I’m nervous. I don’t trust Fox. Anyhoo, just in case you’ve been under a rock for the past 6 months, Dollhouse centers around Eliza Dushku’s Echo, a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. For the love of God, watch it!!!

Flashpoint (CBS, Fri 9PM) Papa Mars stars in this show which focuses on the Strategic Response Unit.

The Golden Globes are already next week (how dare they put it on against the return of Jack Bauer). I'll make my comments after the show about the winners, I haven't seen any of the movies, so I really can't comment on those anyway.

KT! Update: A Breakup, A Makeup & Letting Go

2008-12-02T16:30:00.002-05:00

Well my friends, it has been a long 2 ½ months. I apologize for the lack of KT updates, but work was kicking my ass & I didn’t have time to do a proper update. Originally, I was holding on to write my fall tv review, but I guess that doesn’t matter now as a few of those shows will not be on my television much longer. The tv season has been chugging along, so let’s get to it, eh?

As far as the new shows go, I am still enjoying Fringe, although I still say that if Pacey wasn’t there I wouldn’t be such a loyal fan. The show is a little icky for me at times, but luckily for me, Pacey makes it all better.

90210 didn’t make it past week 3. While watching an episode that was Brenda free, I thought to myself, “Do I really care?” and ultimately, the answer was a big no.

Although Jay was enjoying it, I was just about to quit My Own Worst Enemy when NBC cancelled it. I thought Christian Slater did a good job, but his “normal guy” personality was annoying. If he had just been badass for the whole show that would have been cool. Maybe Christian can go meet up with Jack Bauer this year (more on Jack in a minute).

The new show I am enjoying most is The Mentalist. Simon Baker is fantastic as a man atoning for past sins by working for the California Bureau of Investigation. His special talent is that he notices all the little details everyone else misses. Baker makes the show, while it is usually quite obvious “who done it” you don’t mind because Baker is having so much fun figuring it out.

So, the title of this update is a Breakup, a Makeup & Letting Go. Ready to hear who I’ve dumped? Grey’s Anatomy. In the words of Carrie Bradshaw, “We are so over, we need a new word for over.” I was late to the party, but watching the pilot sucked me in. I didn’t want to like them, but I did and I ended up invested. And then the whole Denny incident, that’s what pushed me over the edge & made me a true Grey’s fan. Interesting that it is Denny again that has pushed me over the edge. This storyline with Denny & Izzie is atrocious. It is so horrible that I’m actually OFFENDED by it. I just can’t believe that ABC would greenlight this kind of wretched, stupid, horrendous writing! Even though I thought it was lame, at least when I thought that Izzie was going to have a brain tumor I could make sense of how she was seeing Denny. But then Shonda came out & said that Izzie did not have a tumor & that Denny would be around at least until February. I just…can’t. I can’t. It has been removed from my Tivo & I shall not take part in it again, which does give me a twinge of sadness because McSteamy was growing on me. But then I just get all angry again because everyone I use to like I can’t stand anymore. Why won’t Cristina teach her interns? Especially after everything she went through with Hahn? Why are the interns acting out Flatliners? Why do we keep adding characters when there are already too many? Plus, I’m hearing that George has been so absent lately because ABC is getting ready to boot him too. Done..done..done…On the plus side, I’m glad that it pissed me off so much, that I could dump it because I still can’t break up with Heroes & it is killing me.

And as one thing ends, another begins….

I broke up with Britney a long time ago & I’ve been secretly hoping that she would come back & kick some ass old school style. She’s been making the rounds recently (MTV, GMA) and I have to say that although I don’t think she’s back to “Oops level” it is certainly an improvement. This morning she performed “Circus” and “Womanizer” on GMA. Of course she didn’t sing live & in “Womanizer” there was a lot of walking around, but there was a lot more dancing in “Circus.” At times she did look a little awkward but for the most part she was Britney. And ya know what, I am going to buy her new record. She needs some positive reinforcement right now because I’m still a wee bit concerned about her. I mean, I’m glad she’s got her daddy & original manager back with her but during the MTV special there were moments she did not look entirely stable. Check out the GMA performance here:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid2997052001/bclid3075891001/bctid3349166001

Letting Go.
Oh, I’m still so depressed about Pushing Daisies. I’m getting over Dirty Sexy Money & Eli Stone but I’m a sad girl when I think about losing Ned & company. Creator Brian Fuller has said that a movie may be in the works, so I’ll hold out hope for that.

At least I still have Jack Bauer. 24: Redemption was awesome, Jack Bauer kicked ass (even killed someone with his leg) and I’m super excited for this season. Hooray for Jack.

Oh & before I forget, next month the mid-season shows start rolling in, so be on the look out for the new & improved tv listings soon! Fox is already pissing me off! Dollhouse will be on Friday nights starting in February. Why oh Why don’t you show the Whedon the proper respect?

KT Update-When did Brian Austin Green Get So Delicious?

2008-09-19T16:23:00.002-04:00

Before I dive into some fall reviews, I want to take a second to discuss The Sarah Connor Chronicles over on Fox. Jay & I just finished Season 1 last night, which we found quite enjoyable (although I am baffled by the Terminator lore). Can someone please tell me how John Connor’s father is from the future? Doesn’t that mean that there was some form of a future where John Connor did not exist? Wasn’t Kyle Reese sent back to protect Sarah Connor because she was John Connor’s mother? Just thinking about the whole thing makes me go cross-eyed. In any case, as much as I enjoy the show, it reached a new level when Brian Austin Green joined the cast. DAMN!! what a hottie! As most of you know I am a sucker for a comeback & I think that Green is doing a stellar job and I have to endorse this show which airs on a jam packed Monday night on Fox (uh, why is everything on Mondays this year?) I’m a wee bit concerned for this show because it is up against so many other quality shows but if you have room on your TIVO I say give it a chance.

Next week is a big night for premieres (HIMYM, Heroes, Grey’s, Survivor & The Office) so I thought I’d give you my two cents on what I’ve been watching in the mean time.

Prison Break-Although I broke up with this show half way through season 2, Jay just can’t give up on it and so against my own better judgment, I decided to spend some time with my hubby in front of the tv (Lord knows he sits through SYTYCD, Survivor and Project Runway most nights without TOO much complaining). But, I should have known better. The first hour was not too painful, but when our favorite escapees all happened to get arrested precisely at the same moment (setting up the “take down the company or you all go to jail for a very long time” premise) that’s when I hit my limit. In the words of Chunk, “That’s all I can stand, I CAN’T STAND NO MORE!!!!”. KT Premiere Grade: D

90210- Ok, I’m going to tread lightly on this one. I know a whole heap of you watched this & hated it with a firey passion. I have to say, I was not part of this group. I didn’t LOVE it, but I didn’t HATE it either. I did consider skipping the next two installments, but since little else is on, I gave the show a 2nd & 3rd shot. With the exception of Naomi, the cast is growing on me. I really like Silver a lot & I think that she & Dixon have the potential to be a cute couple. Ethan is growing on me but Annie gets on my a little bit. I do find myself getting more excited by the Kelly/Brenda storylines & do worry that the show might lose something for me once those storylines go away. I didn’t like that Dylan was Sammy’s father. I’m still part of the Dylan-Brenda fan club. Anyhoo, I’m going to continue watching. Do I dare say that this is a quality show? Umm, no. But take a sneak peak at the old 90210 & you’ll find that this one is quite similar in tone. Its corny, but that’s how the show has always been. KT Premiere Grade: C+

Fringe-I’m not going to hide my bias, oh I’m coming right out & admitting that I *heart* Pacey & he is 75% responsible for me watching this show (J.J. Abrams is 25% responsible). I will say that this show creeps me out at times, but then I get to watch Pacey run around in his trench coat or make a sarcastic comment and all is right with the world. I’m intrigued by the premise of this show & enjoyed the premiere. I like the dynamic of the three main characters & didn’t really see the last plot twist coming (Jimmy called it a second before it happened).

So there you have it. Wow, it is Sept. 19 and I’ve only watched 3 premieres? That’s just crazy talk! Good thing I’ve been netflixing like a maniac this summer! I’m just finishing up Season 1 of Bones (I’ll have a review once I finish); as I mentioned Jay & I have been watching Sarah Connor Chronicles (and Battlestar Galatica) and finally I’ve been working my way through Lost. I just finished Season 2. Oooooo Michael. So misguided!!!

Before I head off, I just wanted to share some delightful news that has made mine & Jay’s lives much, much easier. It seems Tivo & Direct TV have kissed and made up. A few years ago Direct TV offered Tivo’s as part of their box. Then they broke up & Direct TV started offering these sub-par DVRs. Now news comes that a deal has just been brokered that will link the two for five years and in addition they are working on an HD Direct TV Tivo. Hooray! Happiness at last. Jay can watch football & I can have my tivo back. Oh happy day!

So that’s about it for today. I’ll be back next week to discuss the Emmy’s and some of the premieres I’ve waiting for:

Dancing With the Stars Mon 8PM ABC
How I Met Your Mother Mon 8:30 PM CBS
Heroes Mon 9PM NBC (There is a recap show at 8)
Knight Rider Wed 8PM NBC
Survivor Thurs 8PM CBS
Grey’s Anatomy Thurs 9PM ABC
The Office Thurs 9PM NBC
The Amazing Race Sun 8PM CBS
Desperate Housewives Sun 9PM ABC
Brothers & Sisters Sun 10PM ABC

KT! Update-They Make Me Cry

2008-08-25T21:18:00.004-04:00

As you know, I’ve spent a good chunk of this summer watching my favorite tv shows on dvd. I am in the second season of Lost, Buffy and Sex & The City. For the first time I’m re-watching Angel season 1. All of these shows have been swirling around in my mind. At the same time, I’ve finally given in & read the Twilight series. In case you haven’t heard, Twilight is young adult fiction about a teenage girl named Bella who falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. Twilight is the latest teen phenomenon happening right now, at ComicCon the movie’s panel was swarmed by girls dying to get a look at the cast & a sneak peak at the film. Last week I finished the last book of the series, and I have to say I was deeply disappointed. Perhaps I am tainted by the years of vampire lore that Joss Whedon has given me, or that Edward Cullen is not nearly as cool, tortured or dangerous as Angel or Spike. Or that even though they walk in this violent, supernatural world, there is never any collateral damage. No one important is ever lost & everything ends up so tidy. Or that Bella & Edward’s story didn’t move me the way that Buffy & Angel did 10 years ago (holy crap!) & still do. Just yesterday, I watched the crossover episode of Angel where Buffy comes to L.A. and Angel becomes human and I cried through the entire episode. I’ve seen that episode probably 6 or 7 times & I can still feel the pain between those two. So then I started thinking, are there any other tv couples that can do that to me? A couple that I can get so immersed in that I can feel their love & their pain? That I can re-watch an episode several times & still feel the emotions like the first time? Honestly, I think there is only one couple on tv right now that can do that to me, and we’ll get to that later. But first, let’s take a look back at some couples that I fell in love with and/or tore my heart out.

10. Let’s start with a blast from the past. I’m going all the way back to the early 90’s for Brenda & Dylan. Probably my first dalliance with a bad boy (although looking back, how bad was Dylan?) Brenda & Dylan were THE couple for me during my teen years. They provided your daily dose of drama & I loved every second of it. The big dance? The pregnancy scare? The break up to R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” (you know it makes an impact when I can remember the song). That was when 90210 was on point. Once Brenda & Dylan broke up, the show lost something for me. I never quite bought Kelly & Dylan together & no one ever sparked with Brenda the way Dylan did. You know you’ve got something when all I can think about on the new 90210 was that it is a shame that Luke Perry turned it down because it would have been fantastic to see Brenda & Dylan together all these years later.

9. I know the big love story on Grey’s Anatomy is supposed to be Meredith & Derek and there were points along the way where that could have happened. But for me, nothing will ever, ever beat Izzy & Denny. I came into Grey’s late. I fought the power & did not start watching the first season on dvd until the series was already in Season 3. So I knew about Denny. I remember all the brouhaha on the internet after the episode aired but holy crap did I sob when it actually happened! Jay was in the other room & came in to see what was wrong with me. That’s how bad I was sobbing. It is one thing for me to tear up, but really for a show to make me sob, well that’s an accomplishment that is usually reserved for Joss Whedon. Although I still watch and occasionally really enjoy the show, that was the moment Grey’s peaked for me and I doubt it will ever be able to top it.

8. I was a big fan of Friends & of Ross and Rachel. In my opinion, the whole relationship was fantastic in the beginning but after a few years, it got a little old (plus then Monica & Chandler took center stage). The reason I have them on this list is because if I’m flipping through the channels and happen to land on a Friends re-run and it happens to be the episode with the Prom video, it gets me, every…single….time.

7. For a while I loved the WB and then for a while I hated it. But during those dark times there was a little show about a little town in Colorado called Everwood that kept me tied to my former favorite network. Everwood was not your every day WB teeny-bopper show. The cast was amazing and I felt like I knew & loved every single one of them, most of all Amy & Ephram. It is your typical story of the outcast who falls in love with the most beautiful girl school, but with the addition of a coma ridden boyfriend, a famous neurosurgeon dad and a hot blond babysitter. Things in Everwood were never as they seemed and I really appreciated that (hello, they freakin killed Colin). In fact, Everwood is the reason for my embargo against the CW (cancel Everwood & bring back 7th Heaven??? Seriously! I’ll never get over that)…anyhoo, you could always see the love between Ephram & Amy even when they weren’t together and when they finally were, it was worth the wait (and of course the breakup was heartbreaking too) but it was all ok in the end when Amy performed the grandest gesture of all with the ferris wheel.

6.The Pacey-Dawson debate continues to rage on years later but I stand by my assessment that it was ALL ABOUT PACEY. Dawson was whiny & stupid & had bad hair. Pacey was sarcastic, biting, and yes boys & girls, romantic. The Pacey & Joey romance brought something back to the Creek. Things were getting B-O-R-I-N-G until Pacey told Joey to ask him to stay. Remember the wall? Talk about romantic gestures, that one still gets me.

5. As we all know, the Whedon is the master of ripping your heart out of you chest, showing it to you, and then throwing it on the ground & stomping on it. He has done many things that have traumatized me over the years (see Buffy & Angel) but this was one of the worst things…ever. Talk about sobbing…uncontrollably. Winifred Burkle joined Team Angel & at once Wesley Wyndham Pryce was smitten. One would think the two would be a perfect match with their mutual love of research & the supernatural, but it took Fred four seasons to realize her feelings for Wesley and just when she did, well, I can’t even talk about it here or I might have a break down. But yeah, it was bad and Wesley never recovered & I’ll never forgive the WB for cancelling the show during its best season because I really would have loved to have seen what the Whedon had in store for everyone.

4. At this point I’ve accepted that once the bad boy shows his vulnerable side, I’m a sitting duck. When Veronica Mars premiered Logan Echolls was the typical spoiled rich boy with an attitude. I pretty much hated his guts. But then you see a little into his home life, realize he is still reeling from his girlfriend’s murder and you go a little soft. Then he loses his mother & it is all over. I fell for him just as hard as Veronica did. The first kiss between the two of them in front of the motel is one of the top five kisses I’ve ever seen on tv (quite possibly my favorite). Logan & Veronica were electric & every time she hurt him or he came through for her my heart fluttered.

3. So I know this is probably going to cause an uproar, but for me, the most emotional breakup of Sex & they City was Carrie & Aidan, both times. I was never the biggest fan of Big, (I think although he loved her he was so self-centered and closed off) and Aidan just gave himself so completely to Carrie, both times. I was devastated when Carrie slept with Big & then told Aidan on Charlotte’s wedding day (!) I was even more traumatized when I realized (when she broke into hives in the tacky wedding gown) that she would never marry Aidan. Oh, and then that breakup. That last night when they cuddled together in the room that would never be their apartment. Heartbreaking.

2. As I previously mentioned, I’ve been watching a lot of tv on dvd. While re-watching Lost this summer, I realized just how much I love Sun & Jin. Some tears did fall in the finale when Jin was left behind on the freighter, so I knew that I was affected by them, but it wasn’t until I re-watched the first two seasons did I realize how much. In the beginning, Jin came off as cold hearted. But as their story evolved and you saw how their love was completely mutilated by Sun’s family, it was easy to root for a reunion.
Sun & Jin are the emotional heart of Lost. Their story encompasses so many great things, it shows the power of redemption and forgiveness. I’m going to keep out hope that an another emotional reunion is in their future.

1. I’m sure you are all sooo shocked. Yes, for me it is all about Angel & Buffy. As Cordelia pointed out “They’ve got the forbidden love of all time”. Ahh, the slayer in love with a vampire. At first it didn’t seem so bad, I mean sure he was over 200 and she was 16, but it wasn’t until they consummated their relationship that this love story took its Shakespearian turn. I was so shocked & distressed about the second half of season 2 that I started reading spoilers. I couldn’t afford to be taken completely off guard like that. I mean, for the love of God, it is a tv show! Angel becoming evil, Buffy killing Angel, the prom, Faith’s poison, graduation, the Crossover! Even at the end, when Buffy told him that she was “cookie dough”. Buffy & Angel are one of the greatest couples because their love is eternal, no matter what happens or how much time they spend apart they will always love each other and thus, hurt each other (and all of us in the process!)

So that about wraps things up. My favorite tv couples and let me tell you, Edward Cullen & Bella don’t even come close to them (and don’t get me started on that final book, worst ever!!). Did I leave someone off the list, if so let me know?

The fall season starts next week, so I’ll be profiling the shows I’m going to watch & then doing a quick report card once everything has premiered. Looking forward to an eventful fall season! Hooary!

KT Update! Doh, I forgot about the Emmy's!

2008-07-18T11:48:00.002-04:00

Wow, I’m out of the loop, eh! Emmy nominations were Thursday morning & luckily I just happened to see them. Here are the nominees along with my usual two cents.

Outstanding Comedy Series

30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
Two And A Half Men

Thoughts on the nominees: I think Entourage had a lackluster year & don’t think it deserves to be here. I’m also one of the people that is so over The Office.

Who should be on this list: How I Met Your Mother had another stellar year. Although Neil Patrick Harris stands out to a lot of people the show works because of the comic ability & chemistry between the whole cast. Pushing Daisies is one of those rare occasions when American tv viewers actually support a quirky, funny show with heart. This is one of the shows that I’ve missed the most.

Outstanding Drama Series

Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

Thoughts on the nominees: Boston Legal, really? I do not watch Damages, Dexter or Mad Men. All three received critical acclaim this year. I’ll be watching Mad Men shortly & my brother Matthew swears by Dexter. I’m excited that Lost has returned to this category but I’m a little confused by House. I know the season ended really strong, but I don’t know if the show was one of the best dramas on tv.

Who Should be on this list: Brothers & Sisters was amazing this year. I love the whole Walker clan (even Tommy) and was glued to the television to find out if Rebecca really was a Walker. In addition, Love Kevin, love him to death I’m a pit peeved he didn’t get nominated! Friday Night Lights is a spectacular show. At first I fought the power of this show, I wasn’t interested in another teeny bopper soap drama. But FNL is not that at all. This is a character driven drama. The students, coaches, teachers, they are not one dimensional. I will say that the whole Tyra-Landry storyline probably robbed this otherwise stupendous show of some well deserved recognition. Also, I didn’t watch The Wire but from what I’ve heard this show was vastly underrated & should have gotten some Emmy love.

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality - Competition Program

American Idol Ryan Seacrest, Host
Dancing With The Stars Tom Bergeron, Host
Deal Or No Deal Howie Mandel, Host
Project Runway Heidi Klum, Host
Survivor Jeff Probst, Host

Thoughts on the nominees: I would argue that Deal or No Deal is more of a game show than a Reality Competition Program. So I would nix Mandel. Other than that, I can’t really argue with this list. Although Seacrest is the front runner, he would not be my choice as the winner (I’m still a little mad at him for being so cruel to Michael Johns.) Bergeron is hysterical on DWTS. He’s always cracking jokes at the absurdity of the entire show. Love it. Heidi Klum is also incredible, but I would argue that she brings more entertainment value as a judge than as a host, plus how can you call Heidi a host & not give some credit to Tim Gunn? That leaves (as the survivor fanatics call him) Jiffy Pop, who SHOULD win this hands down. Somewhere along Survivor’s 16? 17? Seasons Probst started to give the contestants hell. He’ll call you out at tribal council about something happened back at camp. CAREFUL! If you roll your eyes while one of your tribes mates is talking he’ll call on you next. He has been brutal to those that have quit the game and even makes the occasional snide remark. Probst is everything a good host should be. He brings something indispensible to the show without trying to make himself the center of attention (I’m looking at you Seacrest).

Who Should be on this list: If we booted Howie you’d either need to add The Amazing Race’s Phil (who I don’t think really brings anything to the show except for some amusing facial gestures) and my new favorite Cat Deely. Cat is the host of “So You Think You Can Dance”. So by now you know I’m obsessed with this show but Cat rules. She often tries to defend contestants to the judges, consoles them after an ugly review and was recently seen getting down on her hands and knees (in a designer dress!) and putting Chelsie’s toe back into her show AND I can feel her empathy for the contestants. I think she really has a bond with the dancers & often says/does what I’d do if I was on the stage.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

30 Rock Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy
Monk Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk
Pushing Daisies Lee Pace as Ned
The Office Steve Carell as Michael Scott
Two And A Half Men Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper

Thoughts on the nominees: Love Baldwin, pleasantly surprised about Lee Pace. Sooooooo over Tony Shaloub and Steve Carell. I don’t watch Two & a Half Men but people love it.

Who Should be on this list: Zachary Levi (Chuck). Obviously if the show is named after you, you’ve got to be strong. Levi’s Chuck is simultaneously silly, awkward & bold as he tries to deal with this new life that has been thrust upon him. One of my top shows from 2007 and Levi was a big reason why.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Boston Legal James Spader as Alan Shore
Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston as Walt White
Dexter Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
House Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House
In Treatment Gabriel Byrne as Paul
Mad Men Jon Hamm as Don Draper

Thoughts on the nominees: So Hugh Laurie consistently does a good job, but I don’t think this year was any different than years past, although I guess I can’t gripe when he hasn’t won yet. I didn’t watch Breaking Bad, but I loved Bryan Cranston in Malcolm in the Middle and I don’t think he ever got nominated for that. The final three nominees I can’t fairly comment on as I haven’t seen those shows either…although who watches Dexter loves the show & Michael C. Hall (but I still love him from Six Feet Under).

Who Should be on this list: Kylie Chandler has been stellar as Coach Eric Taylor. This year the Taylor’s faced new adversity with the new job, baby & Julie acting like a big hussy. Coach has been robbed! Again I’ll also say that The Wire should have gotten some love in this category too.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

30 Rock Tina Fey as Liz Lemon
Samantha Who? Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly
The New Adventures Of Old Christine Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell
Ugly Betty America Ferrera as Betty Suarez
Weeds Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin

Thoughts on the nominees: I watch 3 of the 5 shows. Christina Applegate is simply charming in Samantha Who? and Mary Louise Parker rocks as Nancy Botwin, but I’m going with Fey who has improved immensely from last year & is the heart and soul of 30 Rock.

Who Should be on this list: I think it is interesting that none of the women of Wisteria Lane made it this year. I would have expected to see Bree. I also would have liked a little love for Men In Trees. Anne Heche was perfect as the delightful Marin Frist. For the love of God you cancelled her show, at least give the woman an Emmy nomination!!!

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Brothers & Sisters Sally Field as Nora Holden-Walker
Damages Glenn Close as Patty Hewes
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson
Saving Grace Holly Hunter as Grace Hanadarko
The Closer Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson

Thoughts on the nominees: Four of the five women here are bonafide movie stars. I think sometimes the name catches the Emmy voter’s eye more than the performance and really I’m only thinking of Holly Hunter here. Everyone else has tremendous buzz about their performances.

Who Should be on this list: I would have liked to see Connie Britton from FNL. When she slapped Julie I cheered out loud.

Outstanding Reality-competition Program

American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
The Amazing Race

Thoughts on the nominees: These are the most “respectable” of the genre. Runway was (say it with me) Fierce last year!

Who Should be on this list: I limit my reality intake, the only other shows I watch that would be classified as reality would be Deadliest Catch & So You Think You Can Dance. And actually, Deadliest Catch wouldn’t qualify since it isn’t a competition program.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Entourage Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold
Entourage Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama
How I Met Your Mother Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson
The Office Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
Two And A Half Men Jon Cryer as Alan Harper

Thoughts on the nominees: Although I think Piven & Dillon are great, Entourage had a lackluster season. Rainn Wilson is still amusing on The Office & how can I say anything bad about Duckie? But hells yeah Neil Patrick Harris!

Who Should be on this list: The one glaring omission in my eyes is Chi McBride. He brings so much to Pushing Daisies. I almost think that the show would be too saccharine without him.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Boston Legal William Shatner as Denny Crane
Damages Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher
Damages Zeljko Ivanek as Ray Fiske
Lost Michael Emerson as Ben
Mad Men John Slattery as Roger Sterling

Thoughts on the nominees: Aside from Shatner (who I’m so bored with) I think this is a pretty decent list. As I’ve said, I watched neither Damages nor Mad Men, but both shows received a lot of buzz. Ben Rules!

Who Should be on this list: Kevin from Brothers & Sisters. He had some great storylines this year & some awesome lines. I nearly fell out of my chair when Justin confessed to Kevin that he had feelings for Rebecca. Plus, the proposal to Scotty was amazing. It was so heartfelt, I think I may have shed a tear.

Riggins, FNL. I love Riggins. How can you not? The bad boy with the heart of gold that just smolders on the screen. I don’t know if he is the best actor on FNL, but I know I always remember his scenes.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Pushing Daisies Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook
Samantha Who? Jean Smart as Regina Newly
Saturday Night Live Amy Poehler, Performer
Two And A Half Holland Taylor as Evelyn Harper
Ugly Betty Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater

Thoughts on the nominees: A decent list. I’m pulling for Chenoweth.

Who Should be on this list: Jennifer Esposito, Samantha Who. Esposito’s Andrea is fantastically shallow, self centered and catty; but in a good way. She’s the constant reminder of what “Bad Sam” was.
Dana Delaney, Desperate Housewives. DH was infinitely better this year and a lot of the credit goes to Katherine’s arrival on Wisteria Lane. From clashing with Bree to the resolution of her mystery, Delaney was increbile.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Boston Legal Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt
Brothers & Sisters Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Walker-Whedon
Grey's Anatomy Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
Grey's Anatomy Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang
In Treatment Dianne Wiest as Dr. Gina Toll

Thoughts on the nominees: Sandra Oh? Really? But Cristina was so whiny & boring this year. Sure she had a few stand out scenes but for the most part, Blah. I don’t watch Boston Legal or In Treatment and I think Chandra Wilson & Rachel Griffiths have both been consistently strong.

Who Should be on this list: I should just add a disclaimer that although I am watching this show, I am not up to the most recent season. That being said, Mary McDonnell (President Roslin) and Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) have been consistently tremendous. I can’t imagine that the quality of either actress’ work has declined. Give some love to the Sci-Fi channel!

KT Update! Coming Soon to a TV Near You!

2008-07-16T17:35:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone! Summer is upon us & I have casting scoop galore so let’s get going!

First off, I am happy to report the Kristen Bell recently signed on to do additional episodes for “Heroes”. Additionally, Kristen Bell’s “Veronica Mars” co-star Francis Capra (Weevil) will also be making an appearance on Heroes in the fall. I’m super excited that Elle will be back (and am wishing for a scene between her & & I am hoping that “Heroes” will kick ass & live up to my expectations. Last year I was none too pleased!

More casting news from the Peacock! The O.C.’s Julie Cooper will be doing a guest stint on “Chuck.” News also broke this week that Jordana Brewster will make an appearance as the girl that crushed Chuck’s heart in college (by sleeping with Bryce).

A number of us rejoiced last spring when NBC announced that it had made a deal with Direct TV to save Friday Night Lights. Wait, did I just say something nice about Direct TV? It doesn’t matter, they are so deep in the hole with me the only way I’d ever not HATE Direct TV is if they brought back Buffy or Veronica Mars or perhaps even Arrested Development. Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to get sidetracked by my complete loathing of Direct TV. Anyhooo….I just heard that Jason Street & Smash Williams have been reduced to recurring characters. According to creator Jason Katims, there will be a 4 episode arc that will wrap up both characters’ storylines & move them forward with their lives. Although it is kind of sad to see them go, I am just grateful that Riggins & Sorenson will be back full time! Gotta get my WWRD tshirt for October! Oh that reminds me, if any of my NC friends do not have Direct TV & are FNL fans, feel free to come over every week to enjoy it with me. If I have to have this God forsaken TV service I might as well share its value with my friends!

The big news from ABC this week is that Katie Holmes will guest on an episode of “Eli Stone.” I think it is kind of funny that this is such big news & stunt casting. It is not like Katie Holmes is a movie star, she’s just been brainwashed by Tom Cruise!

Also, regarding Scrubs, I have learned that Courtney Cox will do a multi episode arc as Dr. Kelso’s successor. At this week Television Critic’s

Word on the street is that Michael J. Fox has 2 potential guest stints lined up for next year. First, reprising his role on Scrubs & second on Rescue Me. I would love to see MJF on either show, but the idea of him on Rescue Me has me completely intrigued.

So I know the casting news you’ve all been patiently waiting for is about the new 90210. Although Tori Spelling agreed to do a few guest spots they are holding off because she just had a baby. I heard that Luke Perry was a firm “NO”, Jason Priestly was most likely a “NO” while Shannon Doherty was dangerously close to signing on! Shut up! Now that would get me to lift my embargo against the CW. Shannon Doherty & Jennie Garth in a scene together….oh sweet tv drama, how I love thee!

And the my last bit of casting scoop isn’t really scoop at all. It is a plea. A plea to the tv gods to please, please make this casting decision. For those of you that watch Brothers & Sisters you know that the newest Walker “Ryan” is out there & will make an appearance this year. The show has yet to cast this role & I have the perfect person. Jason Dohring. Now that the deplorable “Moonlight” has been canceled Dohring can come on over to Casa Walker. Anyone who has seen Veronica Mars knows Dorhing can do brutal, vulnerable, and just plain delicious. He would be perfect for the role! I will be saying a little prayer each night that the powers that be over at ABC make my wish come true.

As I have mentioned, I’m spending the summer re-watching some of my favorite tv shows. I’m already through seasons 1 & 2 of Veronica Mars, and am working through the first seasons of Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sex & the City. I’m enjoying all the shows immensely. My one gripe is that SATC is not meant to be watched on a 52 inch tv. I wish they would have made the dvds better quality. It looks all grainy on my tv which makes me a wee bit grumpy. I’ll adding Angel Season 1 to the mix soon.

Despite all my tv on dvd watching, I still have some extra time to watch some live tv (not much, but some). In addition to the Deadliest Catch (Jonathan & the Time Bandit RULE!), I am completely obsessed with “So You Think You Can Dance”. As much as I love the show I am bothered by judges/producers trying to push certain contestants ahead (and out) but I guess that is to be expected by any reality show. Lord knows they do that on Idol (EEEE! Can’t wait for the David Cook record). Anyhoo, as for “SYTYCD” my current favorites are Katee, Joshua,

Mark and Chelsie.

I also really like Courtney & Gev, and most of the time I enjoy Twitch & Kherington. Which means I’m bound for some disappointment as there are only 5 couples left. I think Will is a superior dancer but I’m suffering from some serious Will Backlash. The judges are ruining him for me.

Finally, a few weeks back Entertainment Weekly released a list of new “classics”. Of course I generally disagreed with this list so I’m currently working on my 10 classic TV shows, movies & records. To be clear, I’m not saying these are the best, just the ones I deem classic. Anyhoo, you’ll see that in a week or two. And don’t forget that the new (and likely the last one on bravo) season of Project Runway starts tonight. Will it be as fierce as last year (I’m guessing not, how could it be?)….

KT Update-Grading the Finales

2008-06-03T18:38:00.004-04:00

Thursday’s two hour Lost finale marked the close of the tv season. It has been a weird tv season, to say the least. The strike put most of the new shows on hold, and we’ll have to wait until next season to see if too much time on a writer’s hands is a bad thing (I’m scared for Life). Plus, when next I see Jack Bauer it will be more than a year since I’ve heard his last “damnit!” Anyhoo, as promised, here is my season finale report card.

Samantha Who? Although I do like this show, it is not one that I would miss if it was suddenly axed. It actually hurts me to say that because I want to really, really like this show but I only moderately like it. The finale saw Sam celebrate her “first” birthday as she and Todd try to start over. Likable enough, nothing that made me gasp, or tear up or chuckle heartily. C+

How I Met Your Mother This is a show that would be sorely missed. I’m glad that Barney & Ted made up. I hate when shows mess with the format of the show too much & drag things out (see My Name Is Earl). I also really like Sarah Chalke and I hope that they aren’t setting us up for a disappointment. Since Scrubs is filming now, she should have plenty of free time next year to be “the mother”. And all you Robin/Barney haters out there, I so called that in season 1 when she was his wingman. I think they make a much better couple then Ted & Robin. Grade B+

American Idol A few weeks back I admitted that I had been sucked back into the Idol. Since then I have fallen into complete & total David Cook devotion. I still don’t understand what the big deal about Archuletta is, and I can’t believe that Simon said the finale was a knockout in favor of Archie (although I think this is why Cook won). I think Simon pissed off all the David Cook fans/cougars and we all voted our little hearts out. I think it was the most suspenseful Idol finale ever, because I really thought that Archie would win (and I will give the kid some credit, I liked the song he sang on the results show). Anyhoo, I’m super excited that David Cook won & can’t wait to see what comes next from him! The one criticism I will make about the finale is, why can’t we get any performers who have had hit songs in the past 10 years on? So, Seal (who is somewhat relevant), Donna Summer, George Michael, ZZ Top and Bryan Adams. Really? Grade: A

Survivor This has been a pretty exciting season. I can’t believe how many tribal council stunners we had. I do feel bad for Amanda because I think her game was sorely under-rated, but Parvati did make the move to get rid of Ozzie. I still wish Cirie would have taken it though. Grade: A

Grey’s Anatomy This season had its ups & downs. One of the biggest issues I have on this show is that there are not any “safe” friendships. Ya know, that friendship that doesn’t turn sexual? They completely ruined George & Izzie. Now they’ve gone after Callie & Hahn as well as George & Lexie. Booooo! I’m just waiting for McSteamy to start fighting Meredith for McDreamy!!! That being said, I thought the finale was pretty emotional with the little teen tumor patients & Meredith’s big romantic gesture at the end. In addition, I thought there was some great dialogue. Here’s hoping for more in the next season! B

My Name Is Earl Truth be told, I haven’t watched it. The show lost me during Earl’s never ending coma/TV show. F

30 Rock Ahh, my favorite comedy on tv; I think it is because it reminds me so much of Arrested Development. It was nice to see how much Liz & Jack rely on each other. I really love Baldwin, they should just hand him every award. Grade A

The office I think I’m starting to get over this show. I mean, I’ll still watch because it is one of the few shows that Jay likes, but, I think it is just a little too ridiculous for me. Although I will say that my favorite part was that the new HR rep thinks Kevin is “special”. That was priceless. Grade: B+

Scrubs I can’t grade this as the finale because NBC showed episodes out of order & didn’t give the show a proper finale. Well screw you NBC, Scrubs is off to ABC! Yay!

Desperate Housewives I thought the culmination of the Catherine storyline was superb. I was holding my breath the whole time & was so excited when she killed the bastard. It was also awesome to see Bree rally the ladies together to defend one of their own. I’m so confused about this 5 years in the future thing. I’m pretty sure I heard that the show will pick up there next season. So, does that mean that Mike is gone from the show? I’m so confused! Grade: A

Brothers & Sisters This finale was just choc full of drama! The Walkers finding out about Rebecca, Scottie & Kevin getting married, the bro-trip, Uncle Saul coming out and William is a bastard!! He had more than one affair and so Kevin & Sarah have to tell Nora that there is yet another Walker child out there (please, please cast Ephram). Plus, I’m down with the Justin/Rebecca storyline, although it makes me concerned that eventually they’ll write her off the show! Grade: A

Lost- Holy crap. There is just to much to even talk about. Sun screaming on the helicopter! Jin on the boat! Sawyer jumping into the ocean..and that kiss! Lock in the box! Ben (“So?” “If you mean time travelling bunnies, yes.”) The spooky people on Kate’s phone! Penny! I loved every second of it (although, hello, way too many commercials) and actually, I think I’m going to go rewatch it right now. Ah! More favorite moments. Miles-“What DO I mean?”; Ben-“Why don’t you watch this very informative video.” Sayid kicking the military man’s ass. Hurley “Check mate Mr. Eko.” Oh it was so awesome. Plus, I have to say I think Sun is becoming my favorite character. I think she is going to be bad ass next season. Grade: A+

Since I’m doing so much grading, I might as well throw in two movie reviews. First, Brother Jimmy & I went to see Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I will say that my expectations were pretty low after seeing what George Lucas did to Star Wars. So, I wasn’t disappointed. I thought Harrison Ford way, WAAAAY overacted the first 15 minutes of the movie. But then Shia LeBouf and Karen Allen showed up & the movie started to flow. There were some great moments & some not so great moments (could have done without the ants (eeeee!) & what the crap was up with the monkeys?) Anyhoo, I enjoyed it overall, but I think I need to see it again to give it a truthful mark. For now I’ll say B+. Oh and they are SO keeping this going with Shia.

A few of my Charlotte lady friends & I went out to see Sex & the City on Friday night. Before I talk about the movie, I have to say it was one of the most hilarious movie screenings ever. These women were SUPER excited. I mean, like, WAY…. .WAY super, serious excited. Although I made fun of them (and will continue to do so) as I sit here and type I can’t help but wonder, if by some miracle Joss Whedon created a Buffy movie, would I not be a basket case? Would I cheer every time a new character came on screen? Would I come in costume? I’m guessing I would, so I can’t really fault these ladies who were a tad ridiculous (hello renting a limo!) to see the movie. Now, as for the movie itself. I was pretty happy to see all the ladies back on screen as I have missed them. When all is said & done, SATC is one of my top 5 favorite tv shows ever and it was very nice to see them back on the screen. I felt like a lot of the movie was a love letter to the fans, which was enjoyable. However, I did have some issues with the movie, which I will not go into detail here because I know some of you haven’t seen it yet. Suffice it to say, I’m not sure I agree with how Miranda was treated & her story. That being said, I did really enjoy the movie. They still can make me laugh & cry and really miss my closest friends who I sometimes think would do the same thing as these characters (in terms of the friendships). There is a scene with Charlotte and I tell you, it made me cry because I could totally see Hylda reacting the same way. Anyhoo, for now I give it an A. I’ll need to rewatch & get back to you.

Well, I guess that’s all my friends. Summer is upon us which means the only regularly scheduled show I’ll be watching is “So You Think You Can Dance.” Most of the summer though, I’ll be hanging out with Buffy, Carrie Bradshaw, Veronica Mars and Jack Bauer.

KT Update! Fall 2008 Schedules

2008-05-15T14:27:00.004-04:00

Hello All! Upfront week has concluded. Thankfully, this was a pretty tame year. Although I’m not drooling over the new shows (well, except for Dollhouse) I didn’t lose any favorites, like in years past (CBS, stop trying to scare me by holding out the "How I Met Your Mother" renewal for so long! You are just mean!) So check it out below for the shows that didn’t make the cut as well as a taste of the new shows for 2008-2009 & of course my trusty spreadsheet of how the season will look next year.

I also want to offer a late review of Eli Stone. I finally had a chance to sit down and watch all of the episodes & I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It does freak me out a little bit to see Jonny Lee Miller all suited up (he’ll always be Crash Override to me) but I found myself emotionally involved with the cast pretty quickly. I actually think that has a lot to do with the actors & the caliber of the acting rather than the plot lines (which were generally your run of the mill wacky lawyer show storylines). I especially like seeing Spy daddy (Victor Garber) in a fun role.

Cancelled

ABC
"October Road," "Men in Trees" and "Miss Guided," "Carpoolers" and "Cavemen."

Fox
“Back to You”, “New Amsterdam”

CW
“Aliens in America”

New Shows

ABC
The Goode Family (Midseason) An animated ½ hour from Beavis & Butthead creator Mike Judge about a family who tries to do the right thing often to leading to amusing consequences.

Life on Mars –Based on a BBC show. Centers around a cop (the brain tumor guy from Grey’s or Marin’s publisher beau on Men In Tree’s) who gets into a car crash & wakes up in 1973. Uh, ok.

Opportunity Knocks- Trivia game show produced by Ashton Kutcher that travels around the country seeing if unsuspecting families can win prizes.

NBC
Crusoe-From Zap2it.com “Described as a combination of "MacGyver," "Castaway" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," this take on Daniel Defoe's adventure tale follows a man who has been shipwrecked on a tropical island for 28 years, but is still determined to return to the wife -- and life -- he left behind.”

Kath & Kim- Selma Blair gets divorced & moves back in with Mom (Molly Shannon).

Kings (midseason)- From Zap2it.com “A soldier rescues a king's son from enemy territory and is thrust into the limelight, setting off a chain of powerful events in this take on the classic David vs. Goliath struggle.”

Knight Rider-Michael Knight’s son goes around solving mysteries in a kick ass mustang that is voiced by Val Kilmer.

Merlin-(midseason) Whoa! Stop the presses. I was about to make some snide comments about this show that focuses on Merlin & Arthur as young men, but then I saw that Anthony Stewart Head (Giles!!!!) is a part of the cast. Hooray!

My Own Worst Enemy-Christian Slater has a split personality. One is family man and the other is trained killer. When the wall between to two begins to fall, wackiness ensues!

The Philanthropist (midseason)-After his only son dies, a billionaire begins travelling around the world getting his “Oprah” on.

CW
90210-Instead of Minesooota twins Brenda & Brandon, this 90210 will focus on Annie Mills and her brother Dixon from Kansas. Momma Mills is Lori Loughlin, (“Full House”). The family has moved from Kansas to keep an eye on drunken, faded tv star grandma (Jessica Walter, "Arrested Development"). Jennie Garth has signed on as guidance counselor, Kelly Taylor.

Surviving the Filthy Rich-A magazine reporter is fired from her job & falls into the position of live in tutor for two spoiled, rich brats. She is determined to make a difference in the girls lives & to stay a part of the glamorous new world she has found herself in.

Sylista-“The Devil Wears Prada” Reality style. Eleven contestants vie for an editorial job with Elle magazine.

CBS

Worst Week –this is like Meet the Fockers on tv. A guy tries to impress his girlfriend’s overprotective family but always ends up making things worse.

Project Gary Jay Mohr stars as Gary. A guy who is trying to juggle an ex wife, two kids & dating.

The Mentalist stars Simon Baker as eccentric investigator solving mysteries with his team.

Eleventh hour is from Jerry Bruckheimer and follows a brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor to the government, as he investigates scientific crises and oddities.

The Ex List- A girl (Rebecca/Ava from Grey's) explores her past boyfriends after a psychic tells her that one of her ex-boyfriends is her soul mate.
Fox

FRINGE-Yay! This is the Josh Jackson ( I *heart* Pacey) & JJ Abrams show. It is a sci-fi show about the investigation into a flight that landed at Logan Airport but everyone on board was dead (creepy).

DO NOT DISTURB –An upstairs/downstairs look at a posh inn in NYC. Stars Jerry O’Connell as the inn keeper.

DOLLHOUSE---EEEEEEE! The Whedon comes back to TV!!! Praise Jesus! Oh wow, you think I’m a tad overexcited? Maybe I need to calm myself down so I don’t have massive expectations for this show. Too bad, I can’t! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Ok, since I can’t calm down, I’ll just give you Fox’s description of the show.
Echo (Eliza Dushku) is an "Active," a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional "pro bono" good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, an FBI agent pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. DOLLHOUSE revolves around Echo's blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE CLEVELAND SHOW is a new Seth MacFarlane animated show about a guy who gets a second chance at love with his high school crush

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP an animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. Check out the voices: Will Arnett (Gob), Jason Bateman, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, Kenan Thompson, Henry Winkler

Jack Bauer back in November! On Sunday Nov. 23, Jack Bauer returns for a 2 hr movie that will take place right before season 7 and was shot on location in South Africa.

Midseason
ABC
"According to Jim," "The Bachelor," "Lost" and "Scrubs”.

CW
Reaper

CBS
Harpers Island, “Rules of Engagement”

That’s all for now. I’ll be back at the end of the month with finale report cards & my thoughts on NKOTB’s appearance on the Today show…tomorrow!

KT Update-Just When I Thought I was Out....

2008-05-08T08:39:00.002-04:00

Well, it is May, and for couch potatoes like me, this is the time of year that is both exciting & heartbreaking. Seasons are ending, shows are being cancelled & the upfronts are dangerously close (for those of you newbies, upfronts are the networks presentations of their schedule for next year).

Here’s some tv scoopage for you:

The Whedon will include another familiar face from the buffyverse in his new Eliza Dushku show. Amy Acker (Fred from Angel) has joined the cast (yay!)

Lindsay Lohan will be making an appearance on Ugly Betty while Britney will do another episode of How I Met Your Mother. All we need is Paris Hilton to get a guest spot & we will have all of our favorite hot messes on the tv screen during sweeps!

Lex & Lana will both leave Smallville after this season. Although Lana will most likely make a few appearances next year, it is doubtful that Luthor will be seen again. Is this show really on still? Grrrr. This is when I get grouchy. Really, Smallville & One Tree Hill are still on the air while Everwood, Arrested Development & Veronica Mars all got cancelled? Yes, I realize it has been a few years but I’m still a bitter betty!

There are rumors circulating that there will be a few deaths on Wisteria lane this May, one of which is rumored to be ***SPOILER ALERT******************* Edie. Apparently Nicolette Sheridian wants out. I also heard that next season will be 5 years later.

Although I’m a wee bit upset, I knew it was a matter of time. ABC has announced that it is cancelling Men In Trees. The producers did make an alternate ending for the season finale in case it became the series finale. I really liked this show a lot last year, but something was a little off for me this year. I do hope that Anne Heche finds herself another show because she grew on me like a fungus. The final episodes of Men In Trees will air this summer.

I’m still waiting for word on the fate of How I Met Your Mother and oh yeah, I will be royally pissed if they cancel that show. It is my second favorite sitcom on (behind 30 Rock) and my Mondays would be a lot sadder without the show.

In other tv news, American Idol has TOTALLY sucked me back in this year. In the past I have watched occasionally, finding favorites (Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry) and then stopping once they were voted out. I feel like I haven’t been this committed to Idol the show, or more specifically, a contestant since Kelly Clarkson. But wow. I am on the David Cooke train. Oh and I’m voting. And, I can’t stand Archuletta. Are there any fans out there? Can you tell me why you like him? Because I think the kid has zero personality and that all of his performances have been BORING. He's like an Idol-bot. Which is why I can’t understand how the show will come down to a David vs. David showdown. I guess it is because Jason Castro should be in a starbucks singing and everyone is ignoring Syesha’s talent. Either way, I’m an Idol fanatic this year & I’ll be banging on my phone keys for the next few weeks. EEEEEE!

Finally, I'm concerned about Project Runway. As you may have heard this season (5) is the last on Bravo. Not only that, but the show's producers will not be making the trek to Lifetime with the show. What does this mean? Will the show look completely different on Lifetime? Will there be a challenge to dress your favorite tv has been for her upcoming Lifetime movie? What about Tim Gunn & Heidi, are they going to Lifetime! This is so NOT FIERCE!!!!

I guess that’s all for today. I’ll be back next week with some scoop on the upfronts & at the end of May I’ll issue my season finale report card. Byet!!

KT Update-Oh Snap! Look Who's Back!!

2008-04-04T09:31:00.000-04:00

A lot of guys recount their first live baseball game, the affect it had on them & how they remember it forever. For me, it wasn’t sporting event, but a concert that changed everything for me. Eighteen years ago, my father dropped me off with two friends at the Meadowlands Arena for my first concert, I was 14. The anticipation before the show was excruciating. Even today, all grown up, my heart races as I wait for the curtain to go up and the show to start. That first night, when the lights went down & the music started my mind went completely clear and I was happy.

There aren’t many instances in life when we can forget about all our troubles and lose ourselves for 2 hours. For me, music can do this. Not every concert, but there are a select few that I can forget everything for. Audioslave at the Electric Factory, Soundgarden at Roseland, Madonna at MSG, Rage Against the Machine at the Meadowlands, Michael Jackson at MSG, and of course *Nsync. As Hylda & I like to say, *Nsync is my musical Prozac. When those boys hit the stage I am 14 again and as I gaze up at the sleeveless, sweaty, wonderfulness I can think of nothing else. I know that this goes back to my first experience at the Meadowlands with the first musical entity that instilled complete devotion in me, the New Kids On the Block. I can remember it so clearly. Wow, I loved me some Joey Mac! Anyhoo, the reason for this walk down musical memory lane is because this morning when I turned on the Today Show there was Joey, Donnie, Danny, Jordan & Jon. Shut the F up! Of course I had heard the rumors of a reunion, but I never thought it was a true possibility (really, does Donnie want to jeopardize his acting career? And I know that Jon has crippling anxiety!!!). But there was Joey, still with his sparkling baby blues, saying how they would perform May 16 on the Today show & then release a record & embark on a World Tour!! Shhhhhhhuuuuuuutttttt Upppppppp!!!!!!

I’m a bit torn by this news. Part of me wants to go rummaging through my hope chest to find my NKOTB buttons & put them on a denim jacket. But then there is the part of me that is 31 years old & is a little scared for the boys. What kind of music will this new record be? Can they seriously sing their old stuff? Joey can’t hit any of those notes anymore! Plus, if I’m being perfectly honest, really only Joey & Jordan can SING. I know more than half of you on this list are anti-my boy band obsession, but I have to say that my *NSYNC boys & yes even Backstreet can all SING. I mean, belt out, live, sing. I guess we’ll have to wait & see. I know I will be waiting for the tour dates. I don’t know if the boys will have the same affect on me, but judging from my reaction to seeing them together on the Today Show, I’m thinking they might still have…wait for it, wait for it….the right stuff. (Sorry I couldn’t help myself!!!)

Since I’m here, I might as well dole out some tv scoop. Yesterday NBC did their little presentation of next year’s tv schedule. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. On the one hand, I’m grateful that Friday Night Lights will be returning (yay another year of Riggins!). The 13 episode season will air in the fall on Direct TV’s 101, then in the winter/spring on NBC. I’m kinda sad that it is only 13 eps, but I guess it is better than nothing at all. As previously announced, Knight Rider will be on the fall schedule (did you know Val Kilmer is the voice of K.I.T.T.? ) and as expected Scrubs was absent from the schedule. What makes me a little angry with NBC is that they are moving one of my favorite new shows, Life, to the death slot!!! Fridays at 10! WTF!! Charlie Crews deserves better!!! Stupid NBC.

Before I go, I just want to say thank you to my darling brother Jimmy. As you all know, I’ve been going through Tivo withdrawal since getting Direct TV. Brother Jimmy has a Direct TV Tivo. (In the beginning Direct TV & Tivo were partners). Well, Jimmy is now moving to a cable package & will no longer need his Direct TV Tivo. So he is giving it to me! Which means that I can record multiple shows at one time & search by keyword (which is going to be so useful now that NKOTB are back)! Hooray the dark times will soon be over!!!!!

KT Update-TV Tidbits a Plenty!

2008-04-01T17:52:00.002-04:00

Hello boys & girls, KT here with lots of interesting scoop for you all.

First off, what the heck is going on with Prison Break? They are bringing back Sarah, seriously? And their reasoning is that Lincoln would be so distraught that he wouldn't really look into the box to make sure the head in there was Sarah's? Lord I hate this show. Why oh why must ridiculous shows remain on the air?

In other news, Michele Trachtenberg has signed on to do some Gossip Girl episodes. But check out this super exciting casting news. Guess who is going to do a guest spot on How I Met Your Mother as Robin Sparkles' former crush? The Dawson!! I think that is pretty hilarious casting. I hope they give him big Dawson hair. Speaking of HIMYM, did you all catch it this week? Holy crap, at the end when they were playing the Doogie music & Barney was blogging…I nearly pee’d myself. So Frikkin funny.

So, I have to admit that even though the strike is over I haven’t gotten myself fully back into tv. I still haven’t watched Eli Stone even though I have every intention of checking it out. I did start watching Miss Guided & I like that a lot. It is about a woman who was a big dork in high school who returns as a guidance counselor & all of her adventures in the high school. I think it is sweet & funny. I like the lead, Judy Greer a lot. She was Violet in Jawbreaker or George. Sr.’s secretary on Arrested Development. It is on Thursdays at 8 on ABC.

Most of you know that I was pretty devastated when Veronica Mars was cancelled. Although it could never replace VM, it looks like show creator Rob Thomas will have 3 pilots for the fall. The CW’s Beverly Hills, 90210 remake, ABC’s Cupid remake and ABC’s dramedy based on the New Zealand series Outrageous Fortune. Even better is that rumor is that VM star Kristen Bell has been offered a role as one of the daughters on the Outrageous Fortune remake, and that Rene Russo is very close to signing on as the mother. The series is about a family of criminals, in which the father gets sent to the Big House and the mother decides to set everyone straight. Interesting.

Hmm, the 90210 remake is set for the CW? I still have sanctions against the CW & am not sure I can break them. Depends on who is on the show. Have you not heard about this? Well they are re-launching the show with some of the originals worked in. I heard that Rob Thomas is trying to get Jennie Garth to come on but she just got a pilot on a different network. I don’t know, really, who from the original would make me go back? Maybe Brenda & Dylan, if they were together & had super obnoxious children?

Jay is ecstatic. He is SURE that his email to NBC prompted them to pick up Knight Rider for next season. I watched the tv movie & it wasn’t horrible. Depending on what it is up against next fall I may tune in.

Did you hear about Samaire Armstrong? The Dirty Sexy Money actress (who plays one of the twins) has been demoted to recurring character. No word on whether this was a result of her drug abuse problems (she was in rehab earlier this year) or lack of interest in her character (I tend to believe option 2)…

On the reality front I’m watching Dancing with the Stars (although I haven’t really picked a clear favorite yet) and American Idol. As far as Idol is concerned, I’m all about Carly & David Cooke. That little David that everyone loves…he stinks!

Our final tv tidbit: I have heard that both Scrubs & Friday Night Lights have been “officially” unofficially picked up for next year. Scrubs will be airing on ABC while FNL will be on a Direct TV channel & NBC. Go Riggins!

On the dvd front, Jay & I have started watching Battlestar Galactica. I like it so far although Jay thinks there is not enough action.

Hey, so guess what is coming up? It’s the Network Upfronts! You know, when the networks release their fall schedules for next year & then I make a fancy excel chart & tell you what to watch! NBC is doing a little presentation tomorrow, way in advance of the other network upfronts. I’m not to sure what this “presentation” will include. Anyhoo, here are the dates for the upfronts in May:
Mon, May 12 NBC (Part 2)
Tues, May 13 ABC
Wed, May 14 CBS
Thurs, May 15 Fox, CW

I think once all of my shows end I’m going to start watching Buffy again. I miss it since it is not really on FX anymore. Have you all been keeping up with the comic? I also have to have a Sex & the City fest since the movie is Dangerously Close to coming out!

KT Update! Big Scrubs Scoop!

2008-03-04T17:14:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Lots & lots of tv scoop so let’s get right to it.

One of the shows that was most affected by the writer’s strike was Scrubs. As most of you know, the show is supposed to end this season. Writers were concerned that if the strike went on for too long that they wouldn’t be able to film the series finale. Well, now comes news that if NBC doesn’t allow the show to film its final episodes, the show may move to ABC next fall for 18 new episodes! ABC Studios produces Scrubs & apparently ABC & NBC haven’t been able to come to a deal about the finale (NBC still has 5 pre-strike episodes to air). Sources also say that the cast is all onboard, and that includes Zach Braff.

While I was away Jay watched the new Knight Rider tv movie. He thoroughly enjoyed it (although I can not give my endorsement yet as I haven’t see it)…Jay was SO excited by the tv movie that he wanted to know if it was possible that the show could get picked up next season. Well, I have heard through the grapevine that it is very possible that the show will get a fall pickup.

In Grey’s news, Kate Walsh (aka Addison) will be dropping in for one episode. As for Josh Jackson, who was cast as a love interest for Christina-pre strike---I hear that he’s working on Fringe, J.J. Abrams' new show up in Toronto but no recasting has been started yet on Josh's Grey's role, so I’ still holding out hope…..

In other casting news, Julianne Moore will stop by Wisteria Lane as (of course) Bree’s sister..

For all of you CW fans, the station eliminated its comedy division and combined its drama and ''current programming'' departments as part of a restructuring plan. In other CW news, The news the network announced the renewals of six series, including Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. No word on Reaper. See, now you know why I have banished the CW! How many of you have told me to watch Reaper? That show won’t make it through the season! That network is dead to me…DEAD…unless…

Things are not looking so good for our friends in Dillon, Texas. Word is that the cast & crew were ready to go back to work right after the strike ended but NBC said ‘no thanks’. In April, the season 2 dvd will be released (so um, that was supposed to be our season finale?) and things are not looking good for a season 3 pick up. But, the people behind Friday Night Lights are exploring other options for the show, including the CW. So, I proclaim that if the CW picks up FNL I will lift my ban on the network. That being said, I think the people at the CW are a bunch of idiots and that they won’t pick up FNL anyway.

A few weeks back I reported that Jeffrey Tambor (George Bluth Sr.) said that Ron Howard had just contacted him about the Arrested Development movie. And now comes word that at the Independent Spirit Awards Jason Bateman told USA Today that the project is "gathering momentum." EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

This summer looks like it is shaping up to be a good movie season (yay!) Here are some trailers & release dates for movies I’m most excited about.

Iron Man May 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hx6TEqrzHU

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull May 22
http://www.indianajones.com/site/index.html

SATC May 30 http://www.sexandthecitymovie.com/?engine=adwords!10406keyword=sexandthecity

The Dark Knight July 18http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/

KT Update-Strike Officially Over!!!

2008-02-14T08:43:00.002-05:00

Yay! The strike is officially over! I can’t wait for some new tv, not so fast though.. As previously most of the new crop of shows will not return until NEXT FALL and, the worse news is that we have to wait until 2009!!!! For More Jack Bauer! Booooooooooooo! (Thank God I'll have Pacey on Grey's to make me feel better).

Also, Lost will knock out 5 more episodes this season, 3 shy of the originally planned 16.
From tv guide:
What will happen to the three "lost" episodes? Will they roll over into next season's 16, or will they vanish forever?
Cuse: Damon and I remain committed to producing the 40 additional hours of the show that we promised. We haven't figured out exactly when we'll put those other three on, but we're not eliminating them from the show. You will get those three episodes downstream.

Before we continue with tv scoopage, did any watch the Grammy’s this year? They weren’t terrible, in fact I was super happy for a surprise performance of “Jungle Love” by Morris Day & the Time!!!

Here is a little list of what comes back when (courtesy of tvguide.com)

24
Season 7 postponed until January '09. For once, Jack Bauer isn't running out of time. Eight eps are done, and production will resume soon for an uninterrupted '09 season.

30 Rock
Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on April 10.

Aliens in America
Eight pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Back to You
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD*.

Battlestar Galactica
Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.

The Big Bang Theory
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.

Big Love
Expected to go into production on Season 3 in the spring. Airdate info is TBD.

Big Shots
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bionic Woman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bones
Four pre-strike episodes are scheduled to begin airing April 14. Expected to shoot six additional episodes. Airdate for those is TBD.

Boston Legal
One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 6 to 8 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Brothers & Sisters
One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Burn Notice
Production on Season 2 expected to get under way in late April. New episodes could start airing as early as July.

Cane
No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Chuck
No new episodes until fall.

The Closer
Expected to kick off its fourth season this summer.

Cold Case
Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on March 30.

Criminal Minds
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 2.

CSI
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.

CSI: Miami
Expected to shoot 8 new episodes to begin airing on March 24.

CSI: NY
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 7.

Desperate Housewives
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Dirty Sexy Money
No new episodes until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.

ER
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 10.

Everybody Hates Chris
Twelve pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Friday Night Lights
No new episodes expected for this season. Future TBD. INSIDE SCOOP NBC is weighing whether to bring back this low-rated critics' pick; if not, it could wind up on another network.

The Game
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 8 or 9 additional episodes to air in March/April/May.

Ghost Whisperer
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.

Girlfriends
No new episodes expected this season, although a special one-hour series finale is being discussed.

Gossip Girl
Expected to shoot 5 or 6 episodes to air in April/May. Pssst! The CW is strongly considering running new episodes of this cult freshman serial over the summer.

Greek
Kicks off second half of Season 1 (which will now consist of 12 episodes, up from 8) on March 24. Renewed for Season 2.

Grey's Anatomy
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May

Heroes
No new episodes expected until fall. INSIDE SCOOP Heroes plans to resume production in April; extra episodes could air next season. Story focus: super villains on the loose!

House
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

How I Met Your Mother
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.

Jericho
Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Journeyman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Las Vegas
Two pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Law & Order
Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to air in spring.

Law & Order: CI
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Law & Order: SVU
Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing in mid-April.

Life
No new episodes until fall.

Life Is Wild
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Lost
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot five additional episodes to air in April/May. INSIDE SCOOP Lost will take a break in mid-March before resuming the next month; the 16-episode season arc will be told in 13 episodes.
UPDATE! I'm now hearing that Lost's final arc may consist of six episodes, not five.. Rather, the final installment of the current run (aka Episode 8) will likely be held to kick off the final batch of five. According to my spies, Episode 7 makes for a better, more logical, break.

Medium
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot additional episodes for this season.

Men in Trees
Eleven pre-strike episodes remain, the first of which airs Feb. 27. No additional episodes expected this season.

Moonlight
Expected to shoot 4 new episodes to begin airing on April 11.

My Name Is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.

NCIS
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 8.

The New Adventures of Old Christine
Seven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Nip/Tuck
Season 5 concludes Feb. 19. Production on the show's eight-episode sixth season expected to start up this summer. Airdate TBD.

Numbers
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.

October Road
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

The Office
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 10.

One Tree Hill
Five pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Prison Break
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Private Practice
Slim chance it could return with 4 or 5 new episodes this season. Either way, it'll be back in the fall.

Pushing Daisies
No new episodes until fall.

Reaper
Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.

The Riches
Seven-episode second season kicks off March 18.

Rules of Engagement
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 14.

Samantha Who?
Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot an additional 3 episodes to air this spring, likely after Dancing with the Stars.

Saturday Night Live
Returns Feb. 23.

Scrubs
Four pre-strike episodes remain and will begin airing on April 10. Up to four additional episodes may be shot; unclear whether they'll air on NBC or go straight to DVD.

Shark
Expected to shoot 4 new episodes. Airdate TBD.

The Shield
Final season already shot. Airdate TBD.

Smallville
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Supernatural
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Two and a Half Men
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing on March 17.

Ugly Betty
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

The Unit
No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Without a Trace
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.

KT Update-Is the Nightmare Really Over?

2008-02-04T18:42:00.000-05:00

Dare I dream the dream? Is it really true? Are the writers DANGEROUSLY CLOSE to announcing that this dreaded strike is over? I sure as hell hope so because tv stinks lately & I really can’t handle too much more of “My House is Worth What?” or “Diners, Drive- ins & Dives”. Anyhoo, rumor has it that the thorniest issue of the negotiations has been resolved & we should hear the official announcement any time now.

So, Yay! The strike has endeth (most likely!) So what does this mean for your favorite show? Well, sadly, you may still have to wait until next September for it to return (Bah!!!) According to a source at TV Guide, production on established shows will most likely start back up in early March with shows coming back in April/May. So that’s Grey’s, Desperate Housewives, etc. But, freshman shows that have already been given full-season pickups (i.e. Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Life, Chuck) will likely restart production over the summer ahead of a fall relaunch. Boooooo! I think this stinks. Why would the established shows come back & not the freshman crop? If they can return by April, couldn’t they knock out 8 new episodes in April & May?? I want to know what is going on with Life! And what about Chuck and Pushing Daisies? Also, there is still no word on the fate of the Jack Bauer Power Hour or Lost. On the plus side, this most likely means that we will get the proper ending for the Scrubs Finale.

In other news, Jeffrey Tambor (George Bluth, Sr.) was on Ron & Fez last week. He said that Ron Howard had just called him to see if he was free for the Arrested Development movie! Yahhooooooo! I miss my Gob.

Movie reviews sponsored by Netflix:

A Mighty Heart: This is the story of the journalist who was kidnapped & killed in Pakistan. It is told through the eyes of his wife, who is played by Angelina Jolie. I thought Angelina was really great in this. I also enjoyed the documentary feel of the movie. It is not often that you get to see so many of the details & inner workings of a big news story & I thought it was quite interesting.

Juno: This movie was a lot of fun. The first movie in a long time that I’d actually go see in the theater again. Ellen Page is outstanding as the snarky Juno, who finds herself pregnant at 16 after an encounter with her best friend. I thought this movie had a lot of comedy & a lot of heart. I actually hate when people say “this movie had a lot of heart” because I think that phrase is so overused, but I think it perfectly describes this movie. It had heart without being overly sentimental.

The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe: I thought this movie was pretty decent. It kept my interest most of the time, but then I would drift off wanting Legolis and Aaragorn to come in & kick up the action. I did get a little sad when the ice witch got her hands on the lion & in all honesty, I got pretty excited when I saw the preview for the next one, so I guess that means I liked it.

Up Next: Once & The Simpson’s Movie

So I guess that about wraps things up. I’m very sorry to tell you that I won’t be able to give you my scathing review of the Oscars as I’ll be off gallivanting through Europe. That’s ok though, by now most of you should be able to imagine me throwing things at my tv in disgust. I’ll be back from my trip the last week in February, so I’ll check in then. Plus I’m sure I’ll have amusing stories about mine & Mikey’s adventure!

KT Update-Strike=Boooo!

2008-01-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Hello boys & girls. My, it has been quite a while since I’ve had an update. Well, the truth of it is, there isn’t too much going on out there in tv world. The strike has crippled the tv schedule & although I still find things to watch (that’s why I’m a couch potato) I’m starting to get sick of Caesar Milan & his doggy Jedi Mind Trick. This week, new episodes of Friday Night Lights & Desperate Housewives aired and it was after I watched these new episodes that I realized how much I missed my tv season. I’m starting to get a little depressed. I mean this is starting to get a little out of hand. No 24! I was ready for Jack Bauer to make a big comeback. And only 8 new Lost episodes. Great so I can be confused for a whole year & ½ after these 8 episodes air! Now the strike is affecting award season! No Golden Globes & if the strike continues maybe no Oscars!!!!

Anyhoo, thankfully I do have Netflix & I’m going to start watching Battlestar Galatica. Maybe I’ll even add Buffy into my weekly schedule. Oooh I just had another thought. Hey Jodi, you know how we are supposed to have Thursday dinner & tv dates? Maybe I will make you watch Arrested Development and Freaks & Geeks since there is no Grey’s, 30 Rock, Scrubs or Office. Oh Scrubs! The strike might hurt Scrubs most of all since this is the final season & they won’t get to end the show the way they want if there are no more episodes! Wahhh! I’m depressing myself again.

Here is a list of how many episodes are left:

Show Returns Eps Left
BROTHERS & SISTERS 1/13/08 (Su.) at 10:00 PM 3
GREY'S ANATOMY 1/10/08 (Th.) at 9:00 PM 1
MEN IN TREES 2/27/08 (We.) at 10:00 PM 11
SAMANTHA WHO? 2/4/08 (Mo.) at 9:00 PM 3
UGLY BETTY 1/10/08 (Th.) at 8:00 PM 3
COLD CASE CBS 1/20/08 (Su.) at 9:00 PM 1
CRIMINAL MINDS 1/9/08 (We.) at 9:00 PM 2
CSI 1/10/08 (Th.) at 9:00 PM 1
CSI: MIAMI 1/14/08 (Mo.) at 10:00 PM 1
CSI: NEW YORK 1/9/08 (We.) at 10:00 PM 3
MOONLIGHT 1/11/08 (Fr.) at 9:00 PM 2
NCIS 1/15/08 (Tu.) at 8:00 PM 1
GOSSIP GIRL 1/9/08 (We.) at 9:00 PM 1
LIFE IS WILD 1/13/08 (Su.) at 8:00 PM 3
ONE TREE HILL 1/8/08 (Tu.) at 8:00 PM 12
REAPER 2/28/08 (Th.) at 9:00 PM 3
BONES 4/28/08 (Mo.) at 8:00 PM 4
HOUSE 1/29/08 (Tu.) at 9:00 PM 3
PRISON BREAK 1/14/08 (Mo.) at 8:00 PM 5
30 ROCK 1/10/08 (Th.) at 8:30 PM 1
CHUCK none scheduled 2
ER 1/10/08 (Th.) at 10:01 PM 2
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS 1/11/08 (Fr.) at 9:00 PM 5
LAW & ORDER: SVU 1/8/08 (Tu.) at 10:00 PM 3
MY NAME IS EARL 1/10/08 (Th.) at 8:00 PM 1
SCRUBS 1/24/08 (Th.) at 8:30 PM 4

So there you have it. And what the crap is up with Chuck having 2 episodes complete but not scheduled? Maybe that is a type-o.

In other tv news. The midseason shows are starting up & I have to say that I’m not quite as excited as I normally am for midseason. Maybe the strike is taking its toll on me? I kinda want to check out Lipstick Jungle & Cashmere Mafia, but really, I can’t be bothered to set that thing under my tv that is a poor excuse for a dvr. I will, however, investigate Eli Stone since it is starring Johnny Lee Miller & I’ve loved him since hackers. So, for loyalty’s sake, I’ll check it out.

One new show Jay & I have been enjoying is American Gladiators. I’m glad it is a quick season because I think it could get old fast. I’m already bored by all the trash talking & really the only gladiator I like is Crush.

With TV dying a slow death I’ve turned my attention to dvd’s and movies. See below for some reviews.

National Treasure 2: The gang is all back to prove that Nicholas Cage’s great grand-daddy wasn’t involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. I thought this was pretty enjoyable, but I liked the first one better (maybe because I’ve seen it like 6 times). Although I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t pay $9.50 to see it. Matinee it or wait for the dvd.

Kt side note. Do you realize I pay $15 for Netflix? So if I go to 2 movies in a month it is more expensive than unlimited movies (3 at home at a time) from Netflix? Maybe Jay is right. I mean, for the love of God, we have a 52 inch tv and surround sound. Why go to the theater? Although you bet your ass I’m going to see the Dark Knight this summer. Have you seen the preview? All I can say is EEEEEEE!

P.S. I love you: So this is about a young woman whose husband dies & he leaves her all these notes helping her to get out & live life again. I thought is was decent. The happiest thing for me was all the familiar faces. I nearly jumped out of my seat squealing when the opening credits revealed James Masters (a.k.a. Spike) was in it. Although, sadly, he doesn’t look quite as good with dark hair and no accent. Other familiar faces include Lisa Kudrow & Denny from Grey’s Anatomy. Anyhoo, it is your typical sapfest & I’d say wait for dvd.

Transformers: I liked this better than I thought I would. I finally understand what all the hub-bub is about Shia LeBeouf. He’s pretty likable. I mean, he actually made me sad his little bumblebee car got captured. The special effects were spectacular but a few minutes into a transformer brawl my eyes would start to glaze over. I’m sure this was good in the theater, but like I said, with our tv & sound system I really wasn’t too upset to be watching it at home.

Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer: Ehhh. I liked the first one better. It was mildly enjoyable. I really wasn’t too impressed with the effects & the story was just so-so.

Next up from Netflix:
Battlestar Galatica
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
A Mighty Heart

Before I go, I guess I should comment on all this Britney insanity. First off, I can’t believe her little sister is expecting. That’s just craziness. And as far as Britney. It is just sad. Sad that she has deteriorated into this mess that no one can help. Sad that she doesn’t want help, that she needs the media attention even when she is falling apart. Sad that her kids are not enough for her to get herself together. I just hope they get the girl some kind help before it is too late because I would not be surprised if she didn’t make it through this year.

I’m working on a 2007 wrap up. Hopefully I’ll get it to you guys this week!

06/05/03-KT & Mikey's LA Adventure

2007-11-19T09:21:00.000-05:00

Alright boys and girls, I know some of you have been waiting patiently by your computers to get the KT update of the Kt + Michael adventure in L.A. Well, wait no more, because here it is!!!
First off, I just want you guys to try to understand what this meant to Michael and I. We are both pop crazed, entertainment freaks. Obviously, if you are on this list, you know that my knowledge of all things entertainment is a little bit ridiculous and scary. This was like a little kid going to see their favorite sports team for the first time (ya know how boys get all sentimental when they recount the first time they went to Yankees Stadium)...things that I had read about and seen on tv, I was now going to see in person!!!! Yay!!!!!!
Easiest way to do this is to break it down by days:

DAY 1
All hail the makers of Valium!! Kt is incredibly relaxed during 4 hour and 50 min flight to L.A....hardly winces during take off and amazingly Michael escapes the flight without any bruises. YAY! We land around 11:30 a.m. and promptly see our very first palm tree...yay west coast!!!! 5 minutes later we see our first suspected case of SARS..we are not as excited as when we saw the palm tree.....Praise Jesus, all our luggage arrives safely (michael is still twitchy from the lost luggage incident in vegas) and we get our rental car (yeah dodge stratus) Anyhoo--5 minutes into our drive to the hotel, Michael expresses joy that he is not the driver. At this our roles for entirety of our trip are given. Michael=navigator, Kt=pilot. Bring it on L.A!!!!!

A short drive later we are on Santa Monica Blvd and then Ocean Ave. Ohhh lookie all the nice hotels right on Ocean Ave right next to the Pacific Ocean!!! UHHHH....our excitement drops a notch when we see, (packed between 2 huge hotels) the ghetto lodge, oops I mean the travel lodge. Oh lordy. Well, it really wasn't THAT bad. But, i'm old and spoiled by nice hotels, this was very reminscent of one of those motels you stayed in Seaside during prom weekend. Michael goes to check out the bathroom, its a tad bit scary. Hmmm? What is outside behind our hotel? Mike opens the bathroom window and looks down to see a homeless man going through the dumpster!! SWEET VIEW!! We throw our stuff in the ghetto lodge room and decide to start investigating Santa Monica. We run towards the ocean!! Oh Pacific Ocean!! I have heard such wonderful things about you..Pac...Pacific Ocean? Where are you??? All I see is FOG!!!! Undeterred Michael and I head down the Santa Monica Pier. Silence. We are both very quiet, our eyes jumping from all the people in front and around us. Finally, Michael speaks. "Uhm, did we just take a five hour plane ride and end up in Wildwood?"
We decide we are not going to let this disappoint us!! This is CALIFORNIA!!!! This is where everything bright and sunny and fun is!!!! So we head to the 3rd Street Promenade. The best way to explain it is an outside mall...Cin--you would have died--every store you love is right here. Ohhh Michael and I like the 3rd St. Promenade!! There are lots of people to watch!! This street has a crazy mix of people--tourists, gay boys, locals, homeless folk, runaways...all coexisting harmoniously? This is interesting. Michael and I sit down at a little cafe to eat and watch people some more (OUTSIDE DINING COUNT: 1). We are amazed that all these people are milling around together and not trying to beat the crap out of each other!! It must be some crazy West Coast thing!!! Oh, Michael is also quite pleased that if he through a rock 10 feet in any direction, he'd hit a gay boy.

We head back to the ghetto lodge for a nappy-poo and discuss our post-nap plans. Nice relaxing evening, some cocktails, and maybe an appertizer. On our way back to the ghettolodge we are excited that the fog has lifted and we can actually see the Pacific Ocean. Too bad we are not that impressed.

We settle into the ghetto lodge for our nappy poo--it is 4:15 p.m. I open my eyes and check the clock 7:45. Michael is out...Maybe I'll just let him sleep for a little while longer and then we will get up for our cocktails and appetizers. The next time I look at the clock it is 5:25 am...Hmmm I must have dozed off.

Note: As I am writing this, it sounds like it was a negative first day..but it really wasn't...Michael and I were rather amused by the whole day, we had ungodly expectations for L.A., and hello!! It is only a city.

DAY 2
Ok, Day 2!! I'm fired up and ready to go. Michael and I spend the first hour of the morning searching for a pork roll, egg and cheese on a bagel--apparently that is an east coast thing and we have to settle for egg & ham crepes (Outside Dining Count 2). Then we bust over to Barnes & Noble and raid the local travel section. Now we are armed with a guide book!!! Yahooo! Look out celebs!! Here we come!!!

Now we are both very excited, armed with this celebrity guide book, and three maps we are ready to take on L.A. But we decide that Saturday will be our big stalking day. Today, we head on down to Venice Beach. Venice Beach is like 5 min from the ghettolodge. At first, we were again reminded of Seaside or Wildwood, but upon further investigation, we realized that this was so, so much more. Venice Beach could also be called "The Parade of Freaks". As you walk down the boardwalk (which by the way in California is not very board-y...they are more cement walks) there are dozens of artists, freaks, tatoo shops, henna stops, homeless people and wandering hippies. !! AHA!! Now I get it!! That is the difference between the coasts!! On the west coast, all these crazies coexist together!!! It is amazing!! When a homeless person comes up to you in L.A. and asks you for money, they are so polite about it that you genuinely feel bad. And if you have no money to give them, they say, "OK!! Thanks! Have a good day!!" It took about an hour of this happening for it to change me...I found myself..BEING NICE!!!!! I mean, on the east coast, we are so mean. We just walk through the streets not looking at each other, if someone approaches you, you walk on--ignoring them--We are trained to distrust everyone-and everything is so fast paced that you don't have time to be nice...That is the difference.
So yes, we are walking past all the crazies, enjoying ourselves immensely. First we come upon a hippie-type kid who is making roses bouquets out of palm. He was pretty cool, telling us about how he met these girls the night before and they took him home and he crashed at their house....Alrighty....so I give our drifter friend $2 for a palm rose bouquet and Michael gets one for a cigarette. Oh yeah, in L.A. cigarettes are worth more than gold!!!!

So we continue down the path---there is a man with a huge snake draped around his neck!! YIKES!! Then we run into this lilttle couple. He's got a keyboard and is playing songs Wesley Willis style--she's got big sparkley sunglasses on!!! For $1 they sing me a song and let me take their picture!! Then the woman wishes Michael and I a lifetime of happiness!! Poor little woman, she doesn't have her gaydar on!!!

Oh how i love people watching!! And this just keeps getting better and better!! We pass all the meatheads at muscle beach, i scope the basketball courts where part of White Men Can't Jump was filmed--we see a scrawny little man put a frat boy on his shoulders and walk over a path of broken glass!! OUCHIES!!! We actually did run into one bitter homeless man. He was selling poems, poems written by him for a penny. He was a little bitter that noone was interested. Oh wait, i think he was also the same man that told us it was Nazi Germany time...God i love Venice Beach!!! (Outside Dining Count: 3)

Later that evening the rest of our crew arrives...Dave and Renee, Matt, Stan and Andy and Kim and her new man. Its like some crazy Perry reunion. I mean, they are my friends (well if you call a friend someone you see every 15 months), but I haven't hung out with any of these people in like 5 years. I see them every now and again, but wow--I will be spending much of the next 4 days with them!!! This should be interesting!! (Outside Dining Count:4)

DAY 3
Ok so this is our most ambitious day. We are getting up and busting out early so we can hit the NBC and Warner Brothers Studio Tours. Today, Matt, Stan and Andy are also joining us!!!! We get to Warner Brothers, but are forced to take a later tour---then, to delay things, it turns out that Andy is a terrorist. Not really, but the name Andy Green comes up as someone who is banned from Warner Brothers Studio and we have to wait to verify that this is not the same Andy Green. For those of you that know Andy Green, there is a small part of me that is scared that they may be one in the same!! But thankfully, Andy is not a terrorist, and they let him have a ticket, but now we are too late for the NBC Tour. SCREW YOU JAY LENO!!! Anyhoo--now we have about 2 hours until our Warner Brothers tour starts...what to do...what to do??? So Michael busts out our trusty GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD and we realize the only thing of interest anywhere near Burbank is some celebrity cemetary. Hmmm. This feels like it might be a little wrong, but what the crap, we've got 2 hours to kill...and come on..it will be like a scavenger hunt trying to find the famous graves!!!!

So we pull into this cemetary and let me tell you that the word huge doesn't aptly describe it. I was hoping for a "map to the stars graves" but, alas, we are on our own. To make a long story short (too late), we amused ourselves with a mexican holy ground, a little lizard and we also successfully find 2 celebrity graves. Bette Davis and Liberace. Triumphantly, we head back to Warner Brothers Studio.

Let me tell you, we lucked out. Our tour guide, Dean(?) was the bomb. He knew everything. Had been there for 5 years, was like the king tour guide of Warner Brothers Studio. Throughout the whole tour all I kept thinking (and hell I'll admit it, ASKING) was "Is this where PeeWee rode his bike? Haha it was awesome. So this tour is no joke--it is a 2 hour VIP tour. They let you roam around the WB museum which has props from a whole crapload of movies and most of them are not behind glass. We saw props/wardrobe from The Matrix, Innerspace, Oceans Eleven, and best of all a real oscar!!! Michael and I were like that commercial were the two idiots are drawn to the mountain dew sign and smack their heads on the glass...that was us!!! Hahah...interesting side note (apparently the guy who made the props in Star Wars was responsible for the pirate ship in the end of Goonies. So he wanted to put a little starwars action figure in the ship. So if you follow the mast all the way to the bottom, you can see R2D2....it happens so fast in the movie that you miss it!!)

The upstairs of the museum is dedicated to Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Wow-ee there is some cool stuff!! Hagrid's costume!! Baby Potter!!! Voldemort's robe!! And best of all...you can get sorted by the REAL SORTING HAT!! I got Hufflepuff (bah!), Michael got Slytherin (hmm, interesting that no one was surprised) and Matt and Stan were Gryffindor!!!
We toured through studio soundstages (we visited Central Perk and the ER set), prop departments and backlots ( the whole time michael and i were salivating) and saw a lot of stuff from Gilmore Girls. I then promptly told our friendly tourguide that we didn't know crap about Gilmore Girls because it was on against buffy and we never watched it. Our guide later confirmed for me that all the rumors of SMG are in fact quite true. Michael and I make a pact to quit jobs and move to L.A. to become WB tour guides. One thing I will say, is that the Warner Brothers tour made a quote I once heard about Hollywood seem very true to me.....Imagine seeing Cinderella, and she's beautiful in her ball gown, and then you get a little closer and you realize she's drunk and is smoking.....

Post tour we stop for nice lunch in Burbank (Outside Dining Count: 5). As we head to L.A. city, we spot the L.A. River. Now I'm excited!! Ohhh that's where Danny Zucko raced Grease Lighting!!! That's where Jack Bauer crashed his SUV!!! Matt also chimes in something about T2.......

Next up Melrose Ave. For those of you that have been to Philly, Melrose is like South St, but like 25 times bigger, crazier and more intimidating. I don't know exactly how a street can be intimidating, but it was. There were just loads of thrift shops, little designer stores, tshirt shops and we found this rad poster shop. Of course I scored some sweet post cards and picked myself up a Portishead sticker and a nifty Nirvana sticker for Jason. Michael was experiencing some kind of traumatic life moment. I mean, everyone is always saying that he and I belong in L.A., but I think that seeing all the WB lots, compiled with the cool shops on Melrose, made Michael's head go wiggy. I thought his head might explode or that he'd run down the street screaming incoherently. I've always known that Michael's days in the land of Mary were numbered. He's too big for that state. And I know that he's always known it too, but at that moment, I think we both KNEW that someday, Michael would be taking a stroll down Melrose and it wouldn't be on a vacation......

So now we pull up to the Kodak Theater (cue dramatic music). I feel like dropping to my knees and pulling a Wayne/Garth "We're not worthy" chant. C'mon!! THIS IS WHERE THE OSCARS ARE HELD!!! This is like the holy grail!!! EEEE! I'm so giddy!! I scope out NIcole Kidman's star--SWEET!!! Right next to the Kodak Theater (cue dramatic music) is the Chinese Theater. This is where lots and lots of Hollywood Premieres are held. I'm so freaking excited!!! Also, milling around in front of the Chinese Theater are all these ghetto-wannabe actors in costumes. It is simultaneously sad and rather amusing. For a $1 I take a picture with ghetto superman and not-quite ghetto storm trooper. Ya know, I just realized something. That is a running theme throughout L.A....sad and rather amusing..somehow they seem to go hand in hand.
I can sense that our group's energy is diminishing. Getting...tired...need replenishment...need...nap....But, during my research, I read that the Kodak Theater has one of the best views of the Hollywood sign. So now Michael and I are on a wild goose chase to find the stupid Hollywood sign. Finally, we see it. It's about the size of the bottom line of an eye exam. But I don't care because I SAW THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN!! YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!!

Ok group!! Time to head back to the ghettolodge!! So we all pile in and get ready for KT's first L.A. freeway adventure!!! (cue dramatic scary music).....Well, it wasn't too exciting. We went about 5 miles and then hit a parking lot. Boooo this sucks. Something I will note about the drivers in L.A. is that they like to cut each other off, but, its not in a mean spirited East Coast kinda way. They just LET each other cut in front. It was really interesting to see. Thank God I picked up on it, because for a hot second I was getting ready to ram people, but then I realized how easy it was for me to get into the other lane, and I was like WHOA!!! They let each other go from lane to lane!!! This is insanity!!!!

The day was finished off with dinner and drinks with the bride and groom...ohhh Nellie and Francine are so happy and cute together!! But I will comment more on that when I talk about the wedding!!

DAY 4
Michael and I had to split up for the first time on our trip. Michael went with the rest of the boys to see The Matrix Reloaded at the Chinese Theater while I met up with Erin, one of my nsync internet friends. Now, of course I've heard all the horror stories of crazed internet friends, and it would suck horribly if I was trapped with a psycho maniac all day. But I felt like everything was going to be cool with Erin. We know each other through a message board, and we have a lot of obsessions in common (Buffy, SPIKE, LOTR,Orlando Bloom, to name just a few)....A lot of times I'll go to post something to find that Erin has already said exactly what I'm about to say...so I figure, what the crap, I'm going to hang out with her!!

Well, let me tell you....it could not have gone any better. It is unreal how well we got along..the girl was quoting movies all day!!! By the end of the night Matt and Michael were calling her my west coast clone. Yay!! So Erin comes to pick me up at the ghettolodge. And we begin our adventure...because you know what to do is...today is the day I've been waiting patiently for since I arrived in L.A....Today is STALKING DAY!!! Yahooooo!!!!!

Our first escapade is into the Hollywood Hills and do a drive by of JC's House!! EEEEEEEE!!!!!! JJJJCCC's HOUSE!!! EEEEEE! Sorry, I still get kinda excited about that. The Hollywood Hills are crazy. When you drive up towards them, it looks bizarre because here is this big mountain and there are all these huge houses popping out of it. I've said it once and I'll say it again. Rich people aren't very smart. Why would you build yourself a beautiful house and stick it into the edge of a big ass hill? I mean, I'd be willing to bet that int the next 5-10 years some of these houses are going to tumble. Plus, the roads going up the hills are crazeeeee. You start off a road and it has a nice little yellow line dividing the lanes...but as you go further up the line disappears and it seems as if there is only room for one car. On top of that, the road is wicked windy and you just keep whipping around corners...its madness i tell you!! If i lived up there I would never ever be able to have even one drink because i would be scared sh*tless to drive home!!! After about 15 min of winding up the hill (and a few near death experiences with oncoming traffic) Erin says..."Here it comes"....Armed with my mom's camera I'm ready to take a quick snap of my future residence. Now let me tell you something about JC's house. There is no big gate, there is no big long driveway...it is right there. I mean, you could practically walk up to the front door. So we are mid-drive by when the garage door opens.

"AAHHHHHHH" "EEEEEEEEEE" This is not good. Erin and I are both screaming as we drive by. But, its not JC...its just his stupid assistant, Carlos. But yeah, I saw his car though!!! Erin praises Jesus that it was not JC, because she feared that she would simultaneoulsy pee herself and crash the car. After a moment, I say that I would take one for the team and suffer some broken bones if it was JC calling 911 for us and then rushing to our aid. And DOH! in all this excitement I didn't even get a good picture of my future house.

So we bust a U turn and head down to Britney's house. We think that ms. spears has recently sold this house (apparently it is just to hard to stay in the house that she shared with timba-timba-timbalake) --but it is the house in Britney's Diary--which, much to my enjoyment Erin likes to quote--she does a funny britney voice). Anyhoo, we pull up to the Spears residence. This is the complete opposite of JC's house. It is huge, its got a gated entrance and a big ass drive way. For a hot second Erin and I consider checking out Brit's mail (her mailbox is within reaching distance) but then we decide that jail terms are only acceptable for members of nsync (and maybe orlando bloom) and that I will not waste bail money on britney. So after I snap my pic, we're off. Hmmm what now? "Well" says Erin, "You wanna do one more drive by of JC's house?" Have I mentioned how much I love this girl? So of course, we head back up the hill to JC's house. This time, with the garage door closed, I get my picture..... YAY!!!

After we finish our stalking, we drive down the Sunset Strip. Now this is what I'm talking about!!! All these places, that I have heard of, or have seen on tv (from Access Hollywood) are right here. Look! There is the Viper Room (I promptly take a moment for River Phoenix--for those of you that don't know, this is where River OD'd..) Mel's Diner!!!! (Where all the drunken celebs go after partying!!) The Whiskey (where Morrison was discovered) Dublin's (That's where Justin had his birthday partee!) The Hustler Store -which i venture into later in the day. All i can say about that place is WHOA!! HOLY PORN!! I mean, there was some cool stuff in there, but there was some hella-scary stuff in there as well. I was gonna get my brother a little porn star action figure, but I figured my mom wouldn't approve so I brought the kid home an ashtray...Also, while Erin is pointing out all the fun of the Sunset Strip, I see my first (and only) celebrity!! Well, if you can call him a celebrity, I would classify him as more of a pseudo-celebrity. Ok remember like a year or 2 ago, that song, Butterfly (come, come my lady your my butterfly, suga, baby) ???? Well, I spotted shifty, the lead singer of crazytown. Here is a little picture of him for you. So yeah, now I'm somewhat satisfied because at least I saw someone "famous". Actually, I'm pretty happy about this after Erin reveals to me that for some reason, the only "famous" people she ever sees are Real Worlders (and a onetime run in with David Spade)

After the Strip, we head over to Beverly Hills. Now, because I am a big dork, everytime i saw the Beverly Hills sign, YOU KNOW THE ONE, THEY SHOWED IT DURING THE OPENING CREDITS...i bust out with "duh duh dunnut duh duh dunnut" and then to my surprise erin chimes in with the "chsshh chsshhh" Heehehhheee....i love my nsync internet friend!!!
Anyhoo--Beverly Hills is NICE. Very Clean, very pretty. I'm surprised though, its not as snooty as I would have thought. There are however, crazy ass cars everywhere. Porshe, ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Escalades, and then i see a freaking lambourgini!!!!

We walk down Rodeo Drive and all I can think about is Pretty Woman. Michael had this really funny idea. He was gonna go get some gucci store bags and fill them up with his own clothes and then re-enact the big Pretty Woman scene.
"You work on commission right? Big mistake, Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now!!"
After BH, Erin and I head back to the Strip and pick up some lunch at Mel's Diner. Erin must have thought I was crazy because I just kept staring at all the people, every time someone walked by, it was a potential celebrity sighting!!

After lunch we get the ringy-dingy from Michael. He's done with the boys and is ready to come with us! Yahooey!! I've been getting spoiled with all this Michael time!! I missed him!!! Erin and I head out to pick up Mikey. It is pretty entertaining being in the car with Erin. I got the feeling that some of her friends are scared to drive with her, because she kept making comments and apologizing for her speed, or her turning or what have you--for some odd reason I was never scared for my life though ---well, except for the "incident" in BH. Hee Hee (i'll never tell, erin!!!)
So we pick up Mikey and go for some coffee in WEHO. Look I'm sooooo local. WEHO is West Hollywood...it is like the gay mecca of the world. Hmm, is it more of a gay mecca than south beach? I'm not too sure, I'll have to get the official word on that, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes, WEHO is the gay mecca of the world.

Here is a big surprise, Michael likes WEHO. We didn't get to explore it too much, but while we sat outside and had coffee (i had a very tasty Vanilla Chiller--Coffee Bean kicks ass!) we saw many a gay boy walking down the street (apparently the "in" thing to do in WEHO is to walk your dog) Mmmmm! There were some tasty looking gay boys!! Seeing hottie looking gay boys is like window shopping on Rodeo Drive, its very pretty, but it'll never be mine so i'll just admire its beauty!!

After we finish drooling in our coffee, we head off to UCLA. Erin went to UCLA and is going to give us a tour. On the way to UCLA, we have to drive through BH. "duh duh dunnut duh duh dunnut" this time Michael joins in as well "chsshh chsshhh"

It is a pretty nice campus that comes complete with a movie theater that has seen many hollywood premieres!!!! After our tour has ended, Erin brings us back to the ghettolodge. But I don't want my new friend to leave!! So after hearing a read-through of Matt's speach (that he will have to give at Nellie's wedding) we kidnap erin and make her come to dinner with us. We have dinner at Chin-Chin's (Outside Dining Count: 6) Chin-Chin's is good for 3 big reasons.
Reason number 1. It is Chinese food, and Lord knows I can't go more than 6 days without a pork dumpling.

Reason number 2. It is on the Strip, so we get to do some fun people watching (If you haven't caught on yet, LA is all about people watching)

Reason 3. Chin-Chin's is at the bottom of JC's street. Granted, the man lives 15 min up the hill, but its nice that every now and again either Erin or I could exclaim, "That's JC's steet!".
Overall dinner was quite good. Except that Matt has some intense taste buds. He claims that not only can he taste the L.A. ass tap water in his ice cubes in his sprite, but that he can also taste it in his broccoli!!! Matt has CRAZY superhuman taste buds!!!!! I always knew he had some superhuman power, i just didn't realize it lay in his taste buds!!!

After dinner we say goodbye to Erin, and I'm a little sad. Today was so much fun!! I didn't even feel like I was on vacation, I felt like I was hanging with my friends, in my town all day. I mean, seriously, the dynamic between me, erin, michael and later matt, was so easy. It was like we had been friends for years. Erin engaged in one of Michael's favorite past times--exchanging of the barbs!!!

Day 5 The Wedding
Ahhh Sunday. Today is the big wedding!! OH! I still need an accessory to go with my dress!! I have a black dress, (and i wasn't planning on wearing black, but i went out of my way to NOT wear black at thatcher and jen's wedding and then everyone else was in black so this time i figured what the crap!!) and Michael and I are on the look out for either a big colorful chunky necklace or a dramatic scarf or something to go along with my dress.

Before our shopping excursion, we head down the 3rd street promenade for some breakfast. Earlier in the week we saw a Greek Cafe that was serving sausage, egg and cheese on a bagel for $2.75. (Outside dining count 7). Nothing better than breakfast and people watching. After our eggies, we begin the search. Thankfully, not long after, Michael finds a dramatic red scarf!!! It is perfect!! Now michael and i are like a little matching couple (he's got a red tie, black pants and vest, and a white vintage coat-courtesy of the HCC Costume Dept). Let's head back to the ghettolodge and get prettied up!!

Now, we (the east coasters) are a little concerned about our fashion. We are all prettied up, in suits and dresses and we are a little fearful that the west coast is gonna be represented in sandals and long floral skirts. But we figure, what the hell, we're going out, we need to represent style!!

Alright, time to head out to the wedding!!! We drive down the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and head to Malibu. It is a nice drive, but again, with the rich people not being too bright. There are houses popping out of mountain sides all over the damn place. Awww....Zuma Beach...everyone told me to come visit....but unfortunately the high temp in L.A. has been like 74 so it is not exactly beach weather!!!

Finally, we pull up the Malibu Nature Reserve. Wait!! Who will be the responsible party and drive us home!! I have been the L.A. driver for the entire trip and do not want to be the one driving home after wedding fun!! We make a pact, whoever doesn't fall down the trail after the reception will be our driver. (Now, now, before anyone gets into a tissy about drinking and driving, Renee very graciously offered to be our driver--thanks Renee!!) Now we have to hike up this dirt trail...I'm in a dress for the love of God!!!! We are such a miserable group of human beings that we complain the whole way up the dirt trail....It was rather amusing really. For those of you that know Michael, I'm sure you can see it know. "Oh (dramatic pause) MY (dramatic pause) God (dramatic pause)!!!!! IS NELLIE CRAZY??!!!

Huffing and puffing we get to the top of the hill. We are milling around waiting patiently for the bride and groom. To kill time, we theorize on how the bride will make her entrance. There is a cave across a ravine, we think it would be cool for Francine to pop out of the cave and for Nellie to swing over to her Tarzan style. Whoa. That would be cool.

Uhhh...there is a crazy looking man setting up bowls. Matt informs me that he is a Native American and will be conducting the ceremony. From here on out, we refer to him as the "indian shaman"....The indian Shaman is preparing all sorts of things, constantly on the move and just a little scary. This is too much for us. We are sarcastic, petty east coasters...and the comments coming from us are non-stop. Again, this is not to say that we didn't enjoy ourselves, we did. But we are that group that just continuously makes comments about every single detail.
Finally, Nellie makes his entrance. He is so cute in his little tux!! OH!! Little Dave Bottinelli is all grown up and about to get married!! Then, we see that he is wearing sandals with his tux!!! Giddiness ensues!!! Then, Francine makes her way through the trail. She is beautiful in a simple white gown with elegant floral trim. The trim was blue, and went around her waist and down her back. She was the pefect bride. The ceremony was pretty interesting. I'll just say that the indian shaman kept us entertained.

Now it is time for merriment!!! (Outside Dining Count: 8)
The reception was wonderful. We were on a deck with a view of the ocean. I have to take a moment to comment on Matt's speach. I had heard an practice reading, and knew how nervous he was. But it was wonderful. Nellie made sure the dj played Darth Vader's theme as Matt was called to the mic. Tee Hee Hee. I love my star wars geek friends!! Matt's speech was everything a wedding toast should be. It was sweet and charming and showed how much he loved his friend!!! I have to say, I got a little teary watching matt up there. It was a moment of weakness!! Too much for me to handle!! Matt being all cute, Michael being all nervous for Matt and Nellie being all married!! Its more than a girl can handle. Of course there was also lot of drinking. We did a happy little group shot of tequila....and we were dancing machines!!! Oh Lord, I will never forget Andy, Matt and especially Stan on the dancefloor. Stanimal lives!!!! It was a good, good time.

Day 6 The Final Day (wah!!)
So for our final day, Mikey, Matt and I head out to the Greek Cafe. It is busy there this morning, so we are forced to sit inside!!! Boo!! I'm very very impressed that Michael and I are hangover free!! I thought that tequila shot (combined with many a vodka and cranberry and a glass of wine) would have done me in!! But Halleuahia!! I'm hangover free!! Matt is not so lucky. At Breakfast, Michael and I are a little sad. It took us a day, but then we really got into L.A. and I wish it weren't so far away because it is a place I would like to investigate more. For Michael, it is more...in his words, he "found his people". Michael is so wonderfully over-dramatic!!
After our breakfast we say goodbye to Matt, Stan and Andy. They are headed back to beautiful Newark, NJ. Mikey and I are taking the red eye back, and have about 12 hours to kill. So Michael, Renee and I head out. I try to take them on a tour of the Hollywood Hills, (to JC or Britney's house) but unfortunately the streets get tricky as you get higher up and we were unsuccesful. Boooo I wanted one last chance at a JC sighting. Erin!! My WEST COAST CLONE!! My tour guide!!! Where are you!!!!!!

We do another drive by of the strip, and this time I'm like a pro, pointing out to Renee all the things that Erin showed me earlier. For lunch we decide on a place in WEHO called Tex Marix. Now, when I found out I was going to L.A. I started copying down places where celebs had been spotted. This is a joint that Cameron and Drew frequent, plus, it is choc full of gay boys!!! Lunch is DELIC!! Margaritas=good. (Outside Dining Count: 9)

After lunch we do a drive of Mulholland Dr. One word--SCARY....it is crazy twisty and turny and in some spots there is no guard rail!! HELLO PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES...WHEN THERE IS A HUGE DROP OFF A CLIFF, THERE REALLY NEEDS TO BE A GUARD RAIL OR SOMETHING TO STOP YOU FROM PLUMMETING TO YOUR DEATH!! The drive is stunning and you can see the whole city from up there.

We decided to stop at a state park and go up to the top of a mountain. Whoa!! The view is sick!!!! Michael is continuing his dramatic outpourings!! "I love it here!!" "If I lived here, I would totally walk this trail all the time!!" " I need to live here" You know I love you Mikey *smooch*
After our "hike" we head back to the ghettolodge where we take dave and renee's room hostage and take a nappie-poo. Then, we take back out trusty dodge stratus and head to LAX. Boo our trip is over!! We must return to our real lives!!
This concludes the KT/Mikey adventure in L.A. ( I don't want to go into the post LA story about KT losing 40 of her favorite cds!!)

So to sum up....this trip was freaking awesome!!! I mean, it was unbelievable to see Venice Beach, the Hills, WEHO, BH, Mulholland Dr., the Strip, JC'S HOUSE....but really, this trip was amazing because of all the people.

Nellie and Francine--Most of you know that I'm pretty cynical when it comes to love, marriage and forever. I'm not that mushy. But nellie and francine, they reminded me why people get married. They are so in love, and so obviously perfect for each other...
It was great to get to spend time with people I haven't hung out with in so long (Kim, Renee and Dave)

I'll never forget the Mexican Sacred Ground, or Andy being a terrorist, or Matt preparing his speach (or the L.A. ass water) or the Stanimal on the dance floor. It was freaking awesome meeting erin in person!! To have that great day together, the drive by, the "incident"...My west coast clone!!!

And Michael, my soul mate!!! You have no idea how much i miss having your sparkling personality with me all the time....It was incredible to get to spend that much time with you!! I love you so much!!!

Ok everyone, that's it!! Thanks for sharing the adventure!!

KT Update!-This Strike Stinks!!!

2007-11-15T16:08:00.000-05:00

Last week my brother called me to tell that he was going to board a plane to LA to take this writer's strike into his own hands (if you don't know what writer's strike I'm talking about, well then...wow, I really don't know what to say to you except for that tv & movie wrtiters went on strike a few weeks back throwing our tv season into turmoil...CATCH UP WILL YOU! Anyhoo, Jimmy was, of course, joking. But now, I'm thinking that he had the right idea & that we need to take this into our own hands.

Most tv shows have about 8 episodes complete, this is what we'll get to see. Some shows hauled ass & got extra episodes done so that they could benefit from the strike (if Friday Night Lights -which has 15 episodes done-is the only new show on Friday nights, will people watch it?) Other shows (like the office) halted production immediately because stars (like Steve Carrell) are writers too & are refusing to cross the picket line, even to film already finished scripts. But, the stinker is for those of us that are Lost and/or 24 fans. Lost, which was held until January in order to run straight through without repeats, will air its 8 episodes in January. If the writers strike hasn't ended by the time those episodes finish airing, we probably won't get a new lost until January 2009!!!!! Fox is opting to hold 24 until the strike is over so that the show can air uniterrupted. Both of these ideas stink & I don't like them. I don't want to watch 1/2 a season & I don't want to wait until next year to watch the whole season. Booo to this strike!!

Oh wait, but it gets worse. Rememeber how just last week I reported that Joshua Jackson (aka Pacey Whitter) was going to be making an extended appearance at Seattle Grace? Well they hadn't finished those scripts yet, which means that those episodes won't be filmed until the strike is over, which means that Pacey MIGHT NOT go to Seattle Grace!!! Boooooo Bah! Hisss!

Enough of this strike business, it is depressing me. So, the season is about 2 months old & I have settled into my schedule. Bionic Woman has been deleted from my season pass list, and even though I like it, I think that Journeyman is not far behind. It is just the last show that I decide to watch & actually we are 2 episodes deep on the dvr. It just doesn't hold my attention very well. Ehh.

As the season goes on, I'm getting to like some shows more & more. I noticed that there are some characters that I especially like this year. Let's take a look, shall we?

KT's Top 5 Standout (New) Characters
5. Chuck "Chuck" I'm finding myself like this show more & more as the season goes on. Chuck is so darn likable, silly & dorky. He's slowly adjusting to this new life, trying to keep his sister & best friend protected while working with the CIA & NSA. The spy stories are more fun than super serious & I like that about this show. Granted, the show also has a strong supporting cast (yeah Adam Baldwin), but I find myself enjoying Chuck the most.

4. The Cast of Samantha Who? I know that it is supposed to be one character from the show but I think everyone on this show is doing an outstanding job. Christina Applegate is wonderfully awkward & sweet. Jean Smart is perfect as the eccentric mom trying to reconnect with her daughter. Jennifer Esposito is delightlfully wicked as Sam's shallow best friend. And Barry Watson is charming as Sam's ex who may be falling for her again. I'm not a big sitcom fan, but I enjoy this 1/2 hour of sugary fun!

3. Cooper, "Private Practice" I have my issues with this show, still. Hello, did you see this week? You're telling me that a woman in labor could hold Taye Diggs hostage? Seriously? Anyhoo, Cooper, the pediatrician in love with resident psychiatrist Violet, is perfectly played by Paul Aldestein. I think part of the reason I like Cooper so much is because last year he was the evil Secret Service man on Prison Break. But now he is all lovable. He's the only one on that show that is never annoying and quite often, he makes a funny!

2. Charlie Crews, "Life" I wasn't going to watch this show. But then those NBC ads starting to invade my brain & I felt compelled to watch. The premise is simple enough, innocent ex cop gets released from jail 12 years after he was convicted of murder. I'm not really a cop-show kinda girl, but the character of Crews fascinates me. What kind of man comes out? I like how Charlie appreciates the simple things in life (like light & fruit) and also how he is all zen & sees things like no one else. The stories on the show are pretty good, but really it is watching Detective Charlie Crews that keeps me interested.

1. Emerson Cod, "Pushing Daisies" I've always liked Chi McBride, back to those Boston Public days, but there is something special about the way he plays private investigator Emerson Cod. He's got an extra twinkle in his eye, like McBride is really enjoying the role. McBride is probably the second best scene stealer on tv today (no. 1 being Mr. Neil Patrick Harris). I often find myself laughing out loud at his lines. He's reason enough to give this show a try.

In holiday news, CBS has scheduled Frosty for Dec. 7 & Rudolph for Dec. 4. I think they air all those shows too early, so Jay & I go through our holiday collection starting in the middle of the month, watching a different show every night.

That about wraps things up on my end. I went through all my old emails & posted some favorite KT updates so that I'd have them on the blog. They are up now with the original post date. I was cracking up reading some of them. I use to sign my updates Mrs. Chasez. So long ago!!! I'm trying to find the one I did after taking 3 xenadrine. Remember? when I got all mad & wrote a letter to EW defending *Nsync. Man I miss xenadrine!

Oh & if I don't post before Thanksgiving, have a good Turkey Day! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is the only "true" holiday left. No presents, no commercialism...just a ridiculous amount of food! Yay!

7/25/03 The Icon List

2007-11-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, now it is time to discuss VH-1's Top 200 Icons. Of course, I knew that I would probably disagree with most of the list, but then, they made Oprah the number 1 Icon, well that is when I decided to take things into my own hands. Here's what I'm gonna do..I'm gonna list real quick the top 25 according to VH-1, then I'll go through mine. And, I have to say, I was very unbiased about this. I didn't do it alone, Jason and I alotted points for 5 different areas that make up an Icon. (It is good that Jason and I did it together because nowhere do we disagree more violently than in the area of music....so, we kept each other in line. These are the five criteria:

Do they pass the one-name test?
Can you dress up as them for Halloween?
Did/Do they cause a certain amount of hysteria? Fan Devotion?
Did their existence influence society? (Musically, in fashion, in terms of language or how things are done, points are also awarded for originality and pioneering)
Was or is there merchandising or paraphernalia that bears their image or that they are directly involved with (i.e. clothing line)?

Now, before I go through the list, I have to admit one instance of bias and one instance of continued debate. First, truth be told, points wise, Superman should have been in front of Batman (you'll understand later) but Jason and I agreed that Batman was cooler and so Superman loses.

As am I writing this, Jason and i are still arguing over the number 1 and 2 spots. So here's what I'd like to do. When you are finished reading this, gimme a shout to let me know if you think number 1 and 2 should be swapped or stay the same (I don't want to ruin the surprise.) Ok, here we go.....

VH1's list:
25. The Rolling Stones 12. The Beatles
24. JFK Jr. 11. Friends Cast
23. Julia Roberts 10. Michael Jackson
22. Tom Hanks 9. Princess Di
21. The Simpsons 8. Michael Jordan
20. Britney Spears 7. Madonna
19. The Brady Bunch 6. Marilyn Monroe
18. Bill Clinton 5. Tom Cruise
17. Mickey Mouse 4. Lucille Ball
16. Muhammed Ali 3. Elvis Presley
15. Jennifer Lopez 2. Superman
14. Steven Spielberg 1. Oprah Winfrey
13. Jerry Seinfeld

So yeah, I don't like that list....Here is ours, with a little explanation of why they are Icons. Oh, and sadly, The Stones didn't make it, it was very close, but they ended up number 26.

25. Bill Clinton: Billy was more than a President....he was a media firestorm. The affairs, the scandals, the cigar. Even in the midst of being impeached, his approval ratings were sick. He was so likable, so outgoing, so empathetic....it was really hard not to like billy. I mean, he was everywhere....SNL loved poking fun at him every week, I mean, my goodness, there were clinton masks everywhere too at halloween time!!

24. The Friends Cast Ross, Joey, Chandler, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe....Unless you are living under a rock, you know who I'm talking about. Friends pretty much single handedly made NBC the ratings leader, there is Friends merchandise everywhere, and does anyone remember "the Rachel"? Oh yeah, I got one. The cast was an example of how to negotiate contracts. For 8 years, their "all for one, one for all" approach has been successful and made them the highest paid group on tv.

23. Muhammed Ali I wasn't alive when Ali was actively fighting, but it amazes me that he still moves people so much. People are awed by him, they are inspired by him and he is arguably the greatest boxer that ever lived.

22. Tom Cruise: He is one of the biggest movie stars of today. He's been in a bunch of films that affected pop culture (Risky Business, Top Gun, Rain Man to name just a few). He is one of the biggest box office draws in history. Men want to be like him and women (not me though) want to be with him. Still missing that oscar though.

21. Oprah Winfrey: Ohhh, look how oprah has fallen. I'm not diminshing her influence at all, I mean, my goodness, her audience is fierce, they follow her like a little flock. She is a strong woman who came into tv, and made a statement. She made her voice heard and in doing so, made it possible for other women to come up and be strong and not be afraid to say what they had to say.

20. Princess Diana: When Diana married Prince Charles she represented the fairy tale that many women dream of. I remember watching the weding on tv with my mom. She was a fashion maven....she set trends.... When her marriage fell apart, she represented a strong woman who didn't need a man to take care of her. She went on, she didn't crumble without her Prince, no, instead she became her own woman. Diana campaigned against land mines, visited poor sick children in struggling countries and dedicated much of her time to charities. Diana could never escape that hysteria that followed her after she became a princess, and died trying to flee from paparazzi.

19. John F. Kennedy: JFK was a turning point in American politics. With tv becoming more and more prominent in homes across America, the dynamic of campaigns shifted....and image came to the forefront. Here was this young, dashing man, with his perfect little wife and their perfect little family. Kennedy's opponent was Richard Nixon. They had a debate, and the thing that most people took away from it was that Kennedy looked confident and strong; Nixon was slouching (he was actually in a great deal of pain) and sweating profusely. Image was now one of the most important things in a campaign. In addition to this, Kennedy was also a figure who was larger than life. He and his family seemed to be a part of this Camelot, and everyone wanted to be a part of it. To this day, people are still fascinated with JFK, his family, the "curse" and probably more than anything else, his death.

18. Tom Hanks: Arguably the biggest movie star of our time. Hanks has been in a ridiculous amount of pop culture favorites (Splash, Bachelor Party, Big, Forrest Gump, Toy Story)...besides that, he has made the transition from comedy to drama effortlessly (which is an amazing feat unto itself, just as Jim Carrey)...In 1993, Hanks won his first oscar for Philadelphia....He followed that up with Forrest Gump and won the oscar again (one of a very few who has won an oscar 2 years in a row)...Hanks is also one of the most powerful actors in Hollywood, if his name is attatched it will get made. Just look at what his partnership with Steven Spielberg has yielded (Saving Private Ryan, From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers)....One day Tom Hanks might be known as the most loved actor of our time....

17. Britney Spears: Ok, before you all have a coranary let me state my case. In 1999 britney exploded on the music scene. She was instantly causing controversey for her video "Baby, One More Time" (i can't tell you how many britney school girls i saw that halloween) then came the Rolling Stone Cover (yikes!!)....Record No. 2, we learned britney's mantra "I'm not that innocent", then the VMA's with the performance heard round the world (I'm saying, and anyone can bring it if they think otherwise, that has got to be the one of the, (if not the) best performance on a VMA stage) then comes the ultimate pop supercouple...the breakup....you get the point--she has just dominated entertainment since she got here....Even though her latest cd didn't sell as much as the previous 2 (still over a million) this time around she established herself with an older crowd (I'm a Slave 4 U still gets play at clubs) The girl is up to her eyeballs in endorsements, she has insane paraphernalia, little girls everywhere dress a little hussier thanks to britney and her tummy showing ways. If the girl keeps up this pace, a few more years down the road, and brit could be higher on this list.

16. Jerry Seinfeld: I was never a big Seinfeld fan, but even I know what "The Contest" is. It was the show about nothing, and it was one of the biggest hits of the 90's. Seinfeld fans are incredibly loyal, watching/taping episodes over and over again. Even today, how many years later, I still hear people quote the show. It is in crazy syndication rotation, you can see it about 4 times a day.

15. Howard Stern: Stern is the man responsible for shock jock radio. Others may have done it before him, but noone was as successful. Vulgar, offensive, obnoxious, hilarious. The self annointed King of All Media is not only a radio personality, he's had tv shows, written books, even did a movie! Howard's legions of fans are completely loyal and love every minute he gives them.

14. Mickey Mouse: Mickey starred in the first animated cartoon with sound (Steamboat Willie). He is the face of Disney. He is the star of Disney World. This is not ordinary mouse.

13. Steven Spielberg: Ya know what? I'm just gonna throw some movie titles at you. E.T. Poltergeist Gremlins Goonies Back to the Future An American Tail Innerspace Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Animaniacs Schindler's List Men in Black Saving Private Ryan Jurassic Park That's all i have to say about that.

12. Superman: 11. Batman Like I said before, jason and I invoked executive privledge to give batman the edge here. Even though Superman was the first comic book hero to move to tv and the movies we like Batman more. His show is better, his movies are better and hollywood wants more!! More movies, more cartoons, more caped crusader!!!

10. The Simpsons "Eat My Shorts" Endless guest stars, tons of catchphrases...the longest running non-news program on tv. Remember all that controversey about how bart made it cool to be an underachiever? Have you seen all the collectables you can get? They even added "Doh" into the dictionary. Now that's what I call impacting society.

09. Yoda "Try? Do or do not, there is no try" All you have to do is use that crazy voice and everyone knows who you are talking aobut. No one can argue with the merchandising that was/is Star Wars. In 1981 we met the jedi master who was choc full of wisdom. In 2002, we saw him kick butt for the first time. Wow. If you saw this in the theater than you probably remember the reaction from the crowd when yoda whipped out his light saber. Yoda is a bad ass mofo.

08. Kermit the Frog "It ain't easy being green" Kermieee!!!!! Did you ever screech that as a child? I know i did. From 1976-1980 the 7 oclock hour was reserved for the most sensational inspirational celebrational Muppetational show. Gosh, 1976, that means that i've loved that show since birth? Wow, did ella and jim leave the bassinet in front of the tv? Now you know why i'm obsessed with pop culture!!!! Anyhoo, Kermie started on Sesame street, got his own gig, made a bunch of movies...I actually saw Muppets Take Manhattan in the theater....and is the oldest balloon in the Macy's Day Parade. Plus, I saw a kermie doll in macy's around christmas time and I squealed like a 4 year old....that's devotion....

07. Michael Jordon: I'm scanning my brain right now, wondering if there has been a bigger star in the world of sports...Admittedly I'm not the biggest sports fan, but I know my stars, and I think Jordan takes the cake. Holy endorsements batman--can you say Nike? Air Jordons. His own cologne. Space Jam. A michael jackson video. He is an amazing basketball player, and also seems to be a nice guy. That's rare in this business, especially for someone with jordon's fame. He inspires people, and he's someone that your kids can look up to (that's rare these days too). Think he lost some of his magic? When he came back to play for the wizards those tickets sold out faster than hot cakes.

06. Marilyn Monroe: "Happy Birthday Mr. President" Something sad but true, a lot of icons are made when they die young and/or suspiciously or tragicly. So is the case with Marilyn Monroe. Sure she was a star, her style can be seen even today. But Monroe was one of those girls (kinda like another faux blond in the top 20) that garnered attention more for her social life then for her acting endeavors. Joe DiMaggio? Arthur Miller? I think one of things people remember most about her (besides the jfk affair) is the white dress in The Seven Year Itch. Nothing about her acting, just her with her dress going up all over the place. People are just fascinated with her, her life, her death. You'd be amazed how many posters, books, postcards there are of her out there. The Marilyn Monroe merchandise machine is still making money.

05. Michael Jackson. What I want to do is have everyone try to think not with the jaded minds of someone from the year 2003, but with the mind of someone in 1982. You are rocking out with your flock of seagulls haircut and then you hear something....you turn to the tv and you see....Thriller. Whoa. That was a moment. That video revolutionized MTV. It is still the best video ever made. It was when videos moved into the realm of art. Besides the videos, think of all the songs on Thriller, (Beat it, billie Jean) not to mention his other works. Yes, Michael Jackson image has been forever tarnished. He is a shell of himself, he is a joke, he is a little mental (or a lot mental). But for me, I don't think of him as the same person. The kid that wore that red leather jacket and the white glove is not the same man whose nose is falling off. Anyhoo, I did get the chance to see him perform and let me tell you...i've never seen anything like it. You can't help yourself, before you know it you are up and screaming and freaking out all over the place. When he starts moonwalking, it is all over.

04. Lucille Ball It is no secret that I love Lucy is one of the best comedy tv has ever known. It is no secret either that Lucille Ball was a comedic genius. She paved the way for women in comedy everywhere and was loved very much by her audience. Lucy paraphernalia (mugs, books, posters) are still selling like crazy and with so many shows going to DVD lucy can inspire a whole new batch of funny ladies.

03. Madonna: "I wanna take over the world" Madonna said that in 1983. In the past 20 years Madonna has released 16 albums. She has been a constant force in entertainment since she emerged on the scene. Her first VMA performance, where she writhed around stage singing "Like a vigin" in a wedding dress, is infamous. She left the audience speechless. She is unapologetic, stong, fierce, intense, sarcastic, and smart. She is an amazing performer--it is all about the show. She has had a constant impact on fashion (hello, remember the messy hair, mesh tops and black bras?) She demands attention and most people don't realize how much she loved the controversey that surrounded her. Remember the sex book? The pepsi commercial that was dropped when everyone flipped over the "Like a prayer" video? And then her image shifted. She became a mother and was no longer seen as a big trashy ho--she became the spirtual strong mother....gotta love her chamleon abilities eh?

02. The Beatles. Arguably the most innovative band in music history. The hysteria that followed them is legendary and their music has stood the test of time. They were an example of how artists can evolve (they were, after all a pop band). They established Liverpool as the pop music capital of the world. They taught the world that pop music could be intelligent and was worthy of serious consideration beyond the screaming hordes of teendom. Wanna talk merchandise? Beatles badges, dolls, chewing gum and even cans of Beatle breath. Perhaps most importantly of all, however, they composed their own material. Lennon and McCartney set in motion revolutionary changes in the music publishing industry. And just so that i can keep my sanity...Jason would like to make it known that the Beatles were the first to make promotional videos are responsible for music videos and without them there would be no MTV....

01. Elvis. Only one man can be king, and that's elvis. He was the first entertainer to really explode in the music business. The first that received that fanaticsm and kept it with him all his years. He caused controversey with his hip shaking--he starred in movies---he was larger than life. To me, someone who didn't experience him in his lifetime, he is a legend, more than a man. The enthrallment that fans had for elvis didnt' end with his death. We've all heard the stories that elvis is alive....we've seen how people are fascinated by his daughter to this day. Have you been to las vegas? Holy flying elvises!!!! For me, he is the number one icon because this has all gone above and beyond....the hoopla that surrounds elvis is crazy, it is almost holy. Graceland is still a thriving tourist attraction; people still want the king. I want to add that Jason's biggest problem with elvis beating out the beatles is that elvis didn't write all of his music. That doesn't bother me...at all...Regardless of if he wrote it or not, he delivered it...he was the one on stage shaking his hips, bringing a new type of music to the masses.....

What do you think? Elvis or the Beatles as the number one Icon?

3/18/03 Start Your Engines!!

2007-11-14T12:53:00.000-05:00

My my, its been quite a while since the last kt update!!! So much to tell!!! Where oh where to begin?

Hmmmm...well i'm going to go in order so i don't forget anything.

Friday i started my wonderful vacation, where i get to see 2 of my top 3 boys. Jason finally partook (is that a real word?) in a philadelphia cheesesteak and then we braved the elements so we could secure a prime location for the audioslave show. We tried to play uno (i busted out the barbie uno instead of the nsync uno because i didn't want the burly electric factory security to throw me out before the show started) but unfortunately, it was kinda cold and windy, and the ground was still kinda icy...we managed a game, and then tried to play cards (with my dale jr. cards) but again, the weather was not suitable for card games. We were on line for a while, talked to some kids behind us (who were sooooo jealous when we told them that i had seen soundgarden and we both had seen rage--poor little youngins...they were sooooooooo bitter--tee hee hee) Anycrap....

around 5 we hear some strange sounds from the inside of the electric factory and realize that it is Chris!!!! We can hear soundcheck!! OOHHIIEEE!!!! Now we are excited. After soundcheck ends, then we remember that we are freezing and have been standing outside for a few hours....KT is about to get REALLY CRANKY (which makes jason REALLY SCARED) when finally they open the doors (catastrophe averted!!) We go in, and get a sweet spot...upstairs with an amazing view of the stage. Now i'm giddy. Yadda yadda yadda, opening band, Burning Brides (who are actually from philly) are really good live...they keep jamming out and its not annoying jamming out, its WHOA that's cool jamming out.
Anyhoo, finally audioslave comes on, and this review is too long already so i'll just say that it kicked ass, it was sick how close we were (if i had binoculars i probably could've seen cornell's nose hair) Morrello is freaking amazing (i mean, you hear his stuff on the record, but then you see him do it, and then your jaw is hitting the floor), chris sounded excellent, they played everything we wanted to hear (all but 2 songs from the record)...oh, and i liked how chris was sporting some 1994 seattle style...he had long shorts on with combat boots (like from his badmotorfinger days) and he looked G-O-O-D...sleeveless too!!! Jason would like me to mention that he thinks the electric factory is a fabulous venue especially if you are going to see a band of audioslave's caliber.....and he really really likes morrello.....

Well ordinarily i would need much rest after all of this excitement..but no!!! I must leave immediately for Georgia!! So i get back to my apartment, grab my stuff, and then Beaker, Brother, Jay and I all embark on our first nascar adventure. I was a little nervous about the 4 of us being trapped in a small space for 13 hours but we arrive in Georgia without injury and when we stop for breakfast in SC we see our very first mullett (on a 5 year old)....It was pretty amusing when we walked in but it was like one of those scenes from a movie when the record scratches and everyone turns. I mean, Beaker looks like he's tony soprano's nephew, Jay is wearing a wife beater, and white sneakers, jimmy, well jimmy kinda fits in, and i'm wearing my pajamas.....

We finally get to Georgia (we stayed at Jay and Beaker's uncle's ranch) and its nice and quiet and WARM. We get up bright and early and hed out to Atlanta MotorSpeedway...luckily traffic was not bad at all and we park at 7:30 A.M. At 7:45, i opened my first bud. Let me tell you, well i can't really tell you, because you will not understand the enormity of nascar until you see a race. There are winnebgos as far as i can see.....there are bbq's blazing, people are just everywhere...oh man, it was so rad!!!! Eventually we go inside and prepare for the race. Jimmy and Beaker get little scanners so they can hear the drivers, and the nascar officials and the pit crews.....i wanted to just sit and enjoy the race my first time out....it was freaking awesome...let me tell you, when they start their engines...that shiznit is LOUD. I mean, whoa....LOUD!!! Good thing i had earplugs in, or i might have gone deaf. The day was beautiful (we all got sunburnt) the race was badass (junior finished 3rd, and even led for a little while) and all was good.

So after the race, we decide we are going to relax and let most of the 100,000 fans leave before we attempt to fight traffic...oh my lord, what comedy!!!!!! Let me tell you two little stories......
1. The Georgia state police are directing traffic. A car goes by and 3 troopers run after it, banging on the trunk. The passenger looks back (a blank look on his face)

"Whaaa? Whasssamatter officer?"
"Um, Sir, you can't drive with that beer in your hand"

Then the trooper takes the beer and dumps it. Another car pulls up beside the first car, and a woman pops out. Apparently she knows these 2 drunkards and offers to drive. The cop opens the driver side door, and helps the driver out. The driver then proceeds to fall out of the car and needs to be put into vehicle 2 by the cop. Then the cop waves them goodbye.

2. Eventually we see the driver trucks go by (the racecars are put into the trucks and moved to the next race--the trucks have the sponsor logos on them). Anyways, there is a bit of traffic...so a lot of the trucks stop in front of us for a little while. There is no way you can imagine the comedic vaule of seeing my drunk brother and my drunker boyfriend running down the side of the road in order to take a picture of a truck. Well, it gets even better. Because then we see drunk strangers running into the middle of the road to take a picture next to the Tony Stewart truck. Ahhhhh gotta love that fanaticism.

The rest of vacation was nice. It was 74 everyday and very hard to come home. I even fed some horses. Kinda liked Georgia, it wasn't too southern, (in fact it seems that Georgia is where people from the north move too) Maybe one day i'll retire there. We had a very nice time (although i tried to brawl beaker and jay's 14 year old cousin after she told me that B2K were cool and nsync were "old news") What!!! I had 3 glasses of wine and everyone knows better than to say such things to me!!! She should have respected her elders!!! Besides, i'm mentally 14 anyway.....it was rather amusing that jimmy and jay had to escort me to another room. Then i got myself all Zen and she tried to tell me i didn't know what crunk was!!! CRUNK!!!! Hello, that's justin's favorite word!!!! Of course i know what crunk is!!! It is ok though, because the next day we bonded while making fun of the boys.....oh and one last highlight, Beaker getting hit on by a drunk cake maker...tee hee hee...don't ask...but it was funny....

mrs. chasez

01/03/03-2002 Wrap Up

2007-11-14T12:45:00.000-05:00

Hello Hello Hello. Well, 2002 has gone bye-bye and since everyone is making lists and wrapping up the year, i thought i'd do the same. Oh, and at the very end, there is some tv gossip for you all.
2002 Winners

1. Eminem
Now you all know i have my problems with slim shady, but this was his year. The eminem show was more personal, more heart-felt and true than his other records (just look at Hallie's Song and Cleaning out my closet)....For a hot second i almost respected the man, that is until he threatened a hand puppet-dog and a pacifist at the mtv video music awards. Single after single topped the charts, 2 songs without video airplay were even in heavy rotation (Hallie's Song and White America). Then comes 8 mile. This movie had so much buzz--everyone was talking about it. Wanna know how good he was in this movie? The words "yeahh Eminem" came out of my mouth...yes, it hurts me to admit it, but its true, he won me over in this film. Then the soundtrack takes over....it was eminem everywhere. I suspect the man will take a break soon because even though everything he has touched this year has turned to gold, we wouldn't him to fall into the j.lo-britney category of overexposed.

2. P. Diddy
Ya know, on all the lists, and ranks i've seen for the end of the year there has been no Diddy and yet I choose to place him on the top of my winner list!! Why you ask!! Well, the man has been everywhere this year...with at least 5 hot singles (featuring collaborations with Pharrell, Busta Rhymes, B2K, Jagged Edge, Usher) P.Diddy hit hard this year, but he didn't over expose himself (like a famous ex of his)....He hosted the european music awards and rocked the vma's, and had fabulous parties all year long....so i say go Diddy...i respect someone who can have his hand in everything without being all up in your face about it...Plus, the man is just so dapper and over the top that he amuses the hell out of me!!!

3. The Neptunes-Chad Hugo & Pharrell Williams
If you don't know who they are, you know their songs. They are the hottest producing team out there right now (the neptunes) and some of the songs they've worked on include (I'm a Slave 4 U, Boys-britney, Hot in Herre-nelly, Girlfriend-nsync, U don't have to call-usher, Luv U Better-L.L.cool J, Pass the courvoisier-Busta ) And that's just in 2002 !!!! But that wasn't enough. No, then the Neptunes began their own rap group, N.E.R.D., and introduced another one, the Clipse (Grindin and When the last time). After that, the boys produced about 1/2 of Justified. Not a bad year eh?

4.Halle Berry
Well, the only woman to make the list, as well as the only non-singer. Halle picked up the academy award for her role in Monster's Ball (first african american woman to win best actress) then rocked the 007 franchise with her role as Jinx. She is in negotiations to star in her own movie as Jinx (a first for any bond girl) and is currently working on Xmen 2.

5.Nelly
This is gonna be short and sweet. Summer 2002--Hot in Herre. Fall 2002--Dilemna. 'Nuff Said.

2002 Losers

1. Michael Jackson
Its bad enough that the man can't accept the fact that no one cares anymore, but then he's got to go doing asinine things like dangling his baby over a balcony. Saddest part is, the man use to just ooze cool...now he is a mockery of himself... Do yourslef a favor MJ, go lock yourself in neverland and don't ever come out.

2. Axl Rose
I know i'm gonna get crap for this but i don't care. They sounded awful at the vma's. Correction--He sounded awful at the vma's. Then he does about 1/4 of his scheduled concerts dates--caused one full fledged riot and one semi-riot...and disrespected my city. I know all you GNR fans still want to see him, but he doesn't deserve it. He is an aged, overwieght rock star with an over-inflated ego. Ya know, if this was 1989 he might have been able to get away with this, but since he hasn't put out a new record since my HIGH SCHOOL DAYS--i say boo to you AXL!!!

3. Olympic Judges
Remember that whole fiasco with the canadian figure skating pairs?

4. Martha Stewart
Next on Martha Stewart's Living, how to liven up your jail cell.

5. Winona Ryder
Ugh. Poor you. You have a problem. I wish they would've thrown her ass in jail. That would've been cool.

KT's 2002 Tour Schedule: Nsync Celebrity (4/13); Jimmy Eat World (7/28); Sheryl Crow (9/16); Claus Fest (12/12)

Stars on the rise
Movies: Kieran Culkin
TV: Gregory Smith
Music: Ashanti & Clipse
TV/Movie: Jennifer Garner

Standout Performances:
Kristin Davis, Sex & the City
Lena Olin, Alias
James Marsters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
John C. McGinley, Scrubs

Top Movies: 8 Miles, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Bourne Identity

Best in TV: Buffy, Alias, 24

Racked up the most minutes in my cd player: Justified (Justin Timberlake), Fever (Kylie Minogue), Audioslave, Jimmy Eat World (Bleed American)

Get out of my way, i'm going to the dancefloor
Like I love you-Justin Timberlake
Addictive-Truth Hurts
Boys-Britney
When the last time-Clipse
At First Sight-Kylie Minogue
Girlfriend-Nsync

Celeb Romance
Didn't even make the 6 month mark: Lisa Marie Presley & Nic Cage
Most drawn out (and getting more bitter by the moment) Justin & Britney
I think i'm gonna have a heart attack and die from NOT surprise: Billy Bob and Angelina
EWWWWWW: Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford
Flavor of the month: J. HO and Ben

Here are some random 2002 thoughts for you:
So overexposed it hurts: J.HO

Biggest Hype: Garage Rock (The hives, the vines, the strokes, the white stripes) um, did any of those bands have a second single that went anywhere? P.S. saw the vines live---boo bah hiss

Boo Bah Hiss: Opie and Anthony gettine indefinitely suspended. Sure they were unruly, and obnoxious and disgusting, but if you can make my drive home (down the god forsaken rt 1) a little raged-i'm all for you.

Runner up: Steve Kmetko leaving E!. That was my one dream!! To be sitting next to that man exchanging barbs!! He was my favorite gay man on tv!!!

Celeb life size encounters: Jimmy Fallon outside of NBC Studios, Joey Fatone in front of RENT.
Best tour moment: Being 2 feet from nsync for 2 hours. Getting touched by JC AGAIN. Finally getting to hear For the Girl and Sailing live.

Most anticipated thing that was actually worth the wait: Audioslave live. They were on point. How i have missed hearing chris wail, and whoa, i was so close to tom and his soul power guitar!!!

You Bastards: South Park kills kenny for good.

Holy Pop Culture Invasion: The osbournes

Worst Trend: Little teenies who think they are "soo punk"

What are the "sooo punk" teenies are listening to: Avril and Good Charlotte

Stoopid fad that infected the nation: American Idol (you know i voted--Go Kelly)

Best new show on tv: Everwood

Show that will stop me from throwing myself onto Ernston Rd when buffy ends: Alias

Worst show that i spent 4 hours of my life on: Birds of Prey

Best new trend: Younger men and older women (go justin--who had janet and alyssa milano this year); heath ledger and naomi watts (there are more but i can't think of them) Its about time hollywood caught on, how long have i been saying little boys are the way to go?

Best CD Not in my cd player: Bruce Springsteen, The Rising

Best new action hero: Matt Damon

Best-Whoa did you see that: Yoda kicking some booty!!

Song that would not die: Hot in Herre

Hottest song of the year: Truth Hurts, Addictive

Best comeback by a show: South Park

Biggest wast of $8: XXX

Best Villain: Simon Cowell

Summing up nsync:
Justin: Still bitter about break up with britney, justified sold well, Like I love you hits clubs, Cry me a river is a scary stalker video, breaks foot trying to pull off walking on water gag
Joey: Stars in rent, sales go way up, parties like a..pop star...in nyc
Lance:trains for space voyage, loses seat because of funding issues, finishes basstranaut training, planning to go up april 2003
Chris: Hosts Miss Teen USA, lends voice to Nick cartoon, appears in Good Charlotte video, parties like a pop star the rest of the year
JC: After celebrity tour ends and boys go their separate ways, jc embarks on his whoring tour of america. Thankfully, dallas austin finds a hungover jc and brings him to the studio. JC makes nasty dance song for drumline soundtrack--works with fellow Mousekateer tony lucca on some songs--is seen everywhere with skank tara reid--is working on solo record as we speak.

So that's it kiddies. My wrap up of the year. Think i missed something? Well let me know!! Oh, and as i promised--your tv scoop:
Almost every show returns next week with new episodes (except Angel which is waiting for Birds of Prey to die), Friends gets renewed for a 10th season, and there is some crazy show on fox next week where a bunch of burnt out stars live in a house for a week (stars include corey feldman and emmanuel lewis!!)
ta ta for now!!
mrs. chasez

8/14/02 The War to Settle the Score

2007-11-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

OH MY GOD...I don't really care if this is true, but it is the FUNNIEST thing i think i ever heard. This story comes from US weekly.

Apparently last week when Justin and Britney were both in LA and *gasp* they ran into each other at a club. Justin was there with his one of his many girls (Jenna, the one he apparently started dating right after britney--she was his dance partner in the Girlfriend Grammy performance). Anway JuJu and Jenna where dancing mighty close as britney entered the club. Sources were reporting that Britney kept openly staring at the couple. Finally, when J-dawg hit the bar, britney made her move. She asked him if they could talk, and he said that if it was "about them getting back together, forget it". That's when the shiznit hit the fan. A 10 min brawl ensued, with britney yelling about Janet and other rumored flings, to which Justin shouted back something about britney's cheating. (whoa, that's a new twist. Britney cheating on timba-timba-timba-lake!!!! That changes everything!! You dirty ho!!! I always assumed that Justin's over inflated ego was the reason for the break up. So now I say, you go Justin!! Have Janet, Christina, Jenna and who ever the hell else you want!!!!--mabye he should join JC's whoring tour of America)
Sorry, i got a little off track. Anyways, apparently Justin said that all he had to offer the little blond hussie was friendship, and if she couldn't deal with that, so be it. Then he glided his smooth self back on over to Jenna and moved on to the dance floor. (OK HERE'S WHERE IT GETS REALLY GOOD). Rumor has it that "girlfriend" was playing and that Justin and his flavor of the week started busting out some moves from the grammy performance. At this point, britney, probably at the bar with her jaw still on the floor, realized, "hey, i'm a dancer...i put so much energy into my dancing that i can't sing and dance at the same time". So, little ms. spears headed to the dance floor for an impromptu...dance off. (hahahahah oh god, hahahha....hold on, i need to back away from the keyboard because i'm laughing so hard.... holy jesus...if that is not the BEST. what i would've given to see that. I mean right now, all i can see in my head are those movies from the 80's where there's a big dance battle.....ohhhhhhh my goooooooooddddd.......ok hold on i have a couple giggles left.)

Ok i think i'm good.
Now according to an US weekly source (and this is pretty much a direct quote) "It was very tense and dramatic..very west side story."
trying hard to hold back laughter.....oh no....too much to hold in....HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA.

Ok now someone try to tell me that that isn't a great story. And as far as if its true? Who gives a crap...its the best story i've heard in a while......hope it brightened up your day as much as it did mine.

9/10/01 The MJ Event

2007-11-14T12:41:00.000-05:00

Hello all...well jimmy and headed to NYC friday night for the big MJ event.....knowing that my boys were going to be there, i thoughtfully brought jimmy his own binoculars because we all know how i am when jc hits the stage---well we did a lot of waiting...a lot...the ticket said 7:40 sharp but the lights didn't go down until about 8:30 which left jimmy and i plenty of time for celebrity stalking with our binocs......using our skills, we saw...david hasselhoff (complete in a black leather shirt), paul shaffer, busta rhymes, nelly, jermaine dupri and the st. lunatics, corey feldman (that was so my skills) maculy culkin, liz taylor, wade robson (the little hottie choreographer for nsync and brit--he's a hottie in real life) bobby brown (i missed him but jimmy caught a glimpse) and in the big upset of the evening--jimmy spied jc and justin and i couldn't catch a glimpse (michael had a little celebrity section that some of the guests hung out in until it was time for them to go on)....OH!!!!! I almost forgot--dirk from survivor walked right by me, and i was like..DIRK! but jimmy didn't know who he was....
anyway...finally the damn show started with mya, usher and whitney they did wanna be starting something and it was pretty cool...
there were other performances/appearances by:
marlon brando (who babbled on like a crack addict about children with their legs getting blown off..and some other upbeat stuff..it was kinda funny cause the crowd started to boo him...
ray charles
liza minelli
gloria estefan
monica
jill scott
marc anthony
billy gillman
destiny's child (jimmy was all about beyonce's jelly)
shaggy
and chris tucker
i just want to take a moment to point out the crowd was pretty much asleep during most of these performances because after each one there would be like a 20 min lapse...but the trl artists got the crowd hoppin and that billy gillman can sing his little booty off....
ok, so then the jackson 5 comes out and they kick it old school with the old moves and everything...that was pretty awesome...except FOR THE BIG DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE EVENING.....
yes, i was there to see mj, but come on, let's not fool ourselves, i probably wouldn't have made such an effort to go if my boys weren't going to be there...well let me just tell you...dancing machine starts they come out...pop like 5 dance moves and that's it....they did like a verse and that was it! they came and gone so fast they i didn't even get to look at each one of them...plus, jc was wearing red leather pants...whoa momma, so that took up most of my attention and before i knew it, jc and his red leather pants were gone!!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!! it was the most horrible tease of my life...i kinda felt like a drug addict..waiting for the score only to get a taste that makes the intensity of wanting and needing more!!!!! At that point, i could have been completely happy for mj to sit back down and let nsync perform for the rest of the night, but that was it, they were gone....
so thank god britney came out next and i've never seen her live, so they got me out of my jc leather pants coma...
you couldn't really hear her too well which of course meant she was really singing, but she looked hot, and i think jimmy finally realized how i feel everytime jc hits the stage....he almost killed me and took the super binoculars so he could get a better gimpse of ms. spears (i know i havent' mentioned it before, but our seats kicked ass..better than my madonna or janet seats-you didn't need the binocs, but when you used them you could see sweat--although this was kind of a negative when looking directly at mj--his face is scareeeee!) i though jimmy might have a heart attack because britney dress almost flew up twice---she didn't dance at all--but it was cool just to see her on stage--sorry for all you guys though--cbs can't air britney's performance because of the whole hbo thing...
mj did billy jean and his new single then slash came out and they did black or white and beat it...i have to say beat it was the high point of the whole performance--slash kicked major ass and to see that famous beat it dance in real life...wow....it was also rather amusing to see my brother rockin out all mj style--it was like he was 4 years old again....
then they brought all the stars out to do a little we are the world rendition...this was quite exciting because nsync came back out and all the celebrities kinda hung out on the stage for 10 min while they were getting the set ready...well, needless to say my binocs were glued to jc for the entire 10 min...him and those red leather pants...it was cool to see the guys during an "off" time, sometimes i wonder if they are really as close as they portray themselves...but they were so cute...the whole time they werre goofing off with each other and laughing and whispering.....and here's an interesting point--i saw lance in player mode..while jc, chris and joey were off fooling around with marc anthony-lance was macking on the ladies of destiny's child....this boy aint no ellen degeneres wannabe anymore...it was funny because jimmy kept trying to pry my fingers from the binocs or push me, but he was unsuccessful..also, i thought it was kind of cute that justin didn't come out..because britney couldn't come out because she can't be in any televised portion, so he stayed backstage with his girl...
oh, so also doing the we are the world thing was dionne warwick, kenny rogers, quincy jones, and yoko ono, but as i said before i saw only thing--(all together now...red leather pants) i tried to find a pic so you could understand but so far i have been unsuccessful, but i will keep the search going....and oh yeah, at the end, jc and monica were kinda making their way towards each other, that was amusing to watch as well..
so kids that's the report from the mj show, sorry it was so long, but too bad.....
later
mrs. chasez

4/15/2002-Singing, dancing, hottie wonderfulness

2007-11-14T12:40:00.000-05:00

Well hellloooooo everybody.....
Ella and i ventured out this saturday night to see nsync at the meadowlands. I knew we had pretty decent seats, but i didn't want to get over excited and jinx myself. Well, let me tell you. HOLY FREAKING CRAP!!!! 5 rows from the stage!!!!!!
first contact with nsync 2 min into the show-mr. kirkpatrick came over and touched my hand......

I mean, our seats were better than the pop odyssey tour- i was standing RIGHT NEXT TO THE CATWALK!!!---for the first half of the concert I couldn't cheer or scream...I just stood there awestruck. Oh my lord, so much sleeveless jc action, i was speecheless....just staring with my mouth dropped open........

lance looked a little thing (maybe the russians are taking too much blood) and justin shaved his head again (ella would also like to note that justin's forehead was breaking out all over the place and suggests that it may be from all the stoopid damn hats he wears.) On the topic of justin---i'm really starting to loathe him--he's such an attention hog---

i have to say that i think this was my favorite show--yes, i understand i'm slightly biased because of how close i was--but this show was the complete opposite of pop odyssey---so much more music...i finally got to hear "for the girl" and "sailing" live ---whoa, and there was this catwalk for sailing and jc was standing directly above me, and whoa...

most of the songs were reworked--bye bye bye was slower (not slow, just not as hyper) and i liked the accompanying choreography--sailing sped up about half way through (kinda like "two of us") , it's gonna be me was the funky version, adn gone was done with a real hard rock edge--and 'I want you back" was done in a bluesy kind of style--which i might point out- was a big tease because apparently jc usually does his "jc wail" at the end of the song, but they called out the stoopid guy from smash mouth (cause it was their last show) and he stole jc's moment --boo to you smash mouth---

oh--another ella comment was that the boys pulled off the beatles/motown medley wonderfully (screw you jason)--i'm not comparing, just saying, vocally, the boys sounded great doing the songs--that was a good bonus too, cause joey, lance and chris sang a lot more solos too, and that's always fun....ohhhh and michael-- i finally got to her jc do his little whiny jc part in "drive myself crazy" that he didn't do on the NSA tour---yahoo

so all in all the show was great, there was sooo much sleeveless sweaty jc right in front of me, that a few times i almost couldn't handle it--that boy, whoa, i'm sorry but he is the sexiest man-----oh, and one last thing---he touched me again. so pretty much, in terms of jc--things couldn't have gotten much better for me (he sang what i wanted the way i did, he brought his sleeveless sweaty self right next to me a lot)

jc wins the game--three times kt has been close to nsync--three times jc has touched kt--whoa--sometimes life is good.

oh, p.s. celeb sightings---debbie gibson, stephen baldwin and joey's family (who were partying like rock stars).

mrs. chasez

10/17/01 KT's Top 100 Songs

2007-11-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

So, you all remember like 5 months ago when I had that great idea to make a list of the top 100 songs? Some of you even sent me a list of top 10 songs? Well, after months and months of going through songs, I’m finally done. My first plan was to make an unbiased list of the 100 greatest songs…but things have changed a bit. I realized it was pretty much impossible for me to make an UNBIASED list. You all know I’m not a musician. And I’m sure by now its no secret I have a soft spot for dancing singing boys and 80’s music. I don’t look at a song and think about intensity of lyrics, or depth, or multi layers of harmony or any of that. For me, a good song is one that makes my stomach jump or drop, that makes me stop what I’m doing, to remember someone, smile, cry or break out into full on dance….If one of these songs was on the radio, and you tried to change the station, I would break your wrist. So this is my list. My top 100 songs. I’m not saying that these are the greatest songs ever made…but as I look over this list, pretty much everything you need to know about me is represented. Most of these songs remind me of you guys, there’s a story lurking behind most songs. But I don’t want any type of hate mail, there are incredible songs by amazing people that are not on this list. That’s not the point. And I’m sure I’m gonna get a bunch of crap as you near the top 25…I’ve come to a horrifying realization... it seems I’m still a sappy little girl who’s a sucker for gooey love songs …I’m sure some of you will remember why I’ve put manyof these songs on here (like oh god, when buffy’s at the prom and they’re playing wild horses or listening to low rider 85 times in front of perry, or around the world during our helyar days) So if you want to start bashing me, here’s your first piece of ammo...there are 9 nsync songs on this list. And yes, i know that the fact that i actually did this means i have no life.

76-100

76. Sex Machine-James Brown
77. Ex-factor-Lauryn Hill
78. Love Shack-B-52’s
79. Miracle-Olive
80. Go-Moby
81. Just Once-James Ingram
82. Safety Dance-Men without Hats
83. Rappers Delight-Sugar Hill Gang
84. Bye Bye Bye-*NSYNC
85. Canned Heat-Jamiraquoi
86. Color Blind-Counting Crows
87. Keep Myself Awake-Black Lab
88. How Soon is Now?-The Smiths
89. Blister in the Sun-Violent Femmes
90. Groove is in the Heart-Dee Lite
91. Pushing Me Away-Linkin Park
92. Hey Man Nice Shot-Filter
93. Song No. 2-Blur
94. Maria -TKA
95. Breaking the Girll-Red Hot Chili Peppers
96. What it takes-Aerosmith
97. Low Rider
98. Sabatoge-Beastie Boys
99. More than a Feeling-Boston
100. Chewbacca (Clerks soundtrack)

51-75
51. Hyper Ballad-Bjork
52. Copa Cobanna- Barry Manilow
53. Human Nature- Madonna
54. Staying Alive- Bee Gees
55. Around the World- Daft Punk
56. Mailman- Soundgarden
57. Bullet proof…I wish I was- Radiohead
58. Imagine- John Lennon
59. Shadow Boxer- Fiona Apple
60. Two of Us- *NSYNC
61. Bust A Move- Young MC
62. You Oughta Know- Alanis Morisette
63. Sweet Jane- Cowboy Junkies
64. Devil Went Down to Georgia- Charlie Daniels Band
65. If I can’t Have You- Yvonne Elliman
66. Vogue- Madonna
67. LA Woman- The Doors
68. Pop- *NSYNC
69. Voices Carry- ‘Til Tuesday
70. Smells Like Teen Spirit- Nirvana
71. Fresh Tendrils- Soundgarden
72. Satisfaction- Britney Spears
73. Kissing You- Desree
74. Up Against the Wall- *NSYNC
75. Stand By Me- Ben E King

50-76
50.Welcome to the Jungle-Guns N Roses
49.Take on Me- Ah-ha
48.To Zion- Lauryn Hill
47.Let’s go Crazy- Prince
46. I touch myself-Divinyls
45. Only You- Portishead
44. Rhythm Nation- Janet Jackson
43. I just Wanna Be With You- *NSYNC
42. Nothing Really Matters- Madonna
41. You’re Not Alone-Olive
40. Missing-Everything But the Girl
39. More Than A Feeling- *NSYNC
38. Take Me – Little Suzy
37. Plenty- Sarah McLachlan
36. With or Without You- U2
35. My Star- Madder Rose
34. I remember You- Skid Row
33. Wild Horses- the Sundays
32. Nuthin’ But A "G" Thang-Dr. Dre
31. Beat It- Michael Jackson
30. Time After Time- Cindi Lauper
29. Fell on Black Days-Soundgarden
28. Elsewhere- Sarah McLachlan
27. High and Dry- Radiohead
26. Tainted Love- Soft Cell

k, so here it is...the top 25. Like I said in the very beginning, I was surprised to see what a sappy little girl I still am. 19 of the top 25 are love songs, or at least slower songs. I think there are maybe 2 songs in the top 25 that aren’t more than 3 years old. What can I say, I’m a cancer. We’re moody creatures who hold on to everything. I think the top 3 is quite representative of me..a little rock, a little pop and a little moodiness. Let the comments begin.

25.Never is a Promise- Fiona Apple
24. Baby, One More Time- Britney Spears
23. Nothing Compares 2 U- Sinead O’Connor
22. Wonderwall- Oasis
21. Gone- *NSYNC
20. In Your Eyes- Peter Gabriel
19. Single- Everything But the Girl
18. Seasons- Chris Cornell
17. Hazy Shade of Winter- Bangles
16. I will always love you- Whitney Houston
15. Open Arms- Journey
14. Fragile- Sting
13. Jump Around- House of Pain
12. Sailing- *NSYNC
11. Crash Into Me- Dave Matthews Band
10. If- Janet Jackson
9. Wicked Game- Chris Isaak
8. If I Ever Fall in Love- Shai
7. More Than Words –Extreme
6. 6 Underground- Sneaker Pimps
5. Save the Best For Last- Vanessa Williams
4. 2 Wicky –Hooverphonic
3. State of Love and Trust- Pearl Jam
2. I Want You Back- *NSYNC
1. Glory Box- Portishead

KT Update! Pickups & Casting

2007-10-31T16:44:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone, I hope you caught The Great Pumpkin last night. I’ve got lots of scoopage so let’s not waste any time!

Let’s start off with Cancellation Watch ’07. The first show of the season was cut last week when Viva Laughlin was cancelled after ONE SHOWING!!! Holy snikes, I think that is a new record. Most shows go at least 3 episodes. Anyhoo, most of you probably won’t even miss it since it came & went so fast. And, now that it is gone, The Amazing Race will be coming back sooner…Yay!!

Surprisingly, Viva Laughlin is the only one that’s bitten the dust so far. But, on the bright side, we do have some full season orders to talk about. Private Practice, Samantha Who? (which I’m loving by the way), Pushing Daisies, Back to You and Big Bang Theory have all received full seasons.

Additional scripts (which means we “tentatively like you”) have been ordered for Journeyman, Bionic Woman, Reaper, Carpoolers, Moonlight (seriously??), K-ville, Chuck and Dirty, Sexy Money. Still no word on Aliens in America, Big shots, Cavemen and Women’s Murder Club (although I hear it is just a matter of time for WMC as it is kicking ass over on Fridays). Actually, they are swapping Men in Trees (now 8PM Fri) and WMC (now 9PM Fri). I’m not really sure why they did this. Hopefully Men in Trees will whoop Moonlight’s ass. I can’t believe people are really watching that show. Oh, and (of course) I’m fearing the worst for FNL. It is getting beat by the aforementioned horrendous Moonlight & Women’s Murder Club. I doubt it will get another season (if it even makes it to midseason). Here’s hoping some Golden Globe love will save the show.

In other scheduling news, ABC is mixing up Mondays. Samantha Who? Is going to move to 9, followed by Notes From the Underbelly & October Road (although October Road is premiering Thurs, Nov. 22 @10)…wacky tv execs, way to confuse everyone!

In some fun casting news, two of my WB favorites will be making appearances at Seattle Grace. Seth Green will stop by as a patient and then my dear Pacey Whitter will be joining the cast as a doctor! Oh please oh please make my pacey a cast regular!

The fall tv season has pretty much settled in & I am enjoying a pretty high number of shows. I’ve really only cut Back to You & Moonlight, although I am dangerously close to cutting Bionic Woman. I feel like it has so much potential but I just can’t drum up any emotional connection to Jaime. This season there are really only 3 shows that I MUST SEE each week and even those I don’t LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I mean, I am emotionally attached to Brothers & Sisters, Greys, and FNL, but it is not attachment like the old days of Buffy, Angel & Veronica. Oh, and I just realized I left Heroes out of that list. I don’t even love that like I use too. Maybe I’ve just been burned one too many times. Anyhoo, Fall sweeps is dangerously close (hooray November) and once that is over I’ll hand out my report card for the fall season so far.

Ooohhh Ooooh and January is right around the corner. You know what that means! Lost and 24! Check out the trailer for Season 7 of 24 at http://www.24trailer.com/ (oh no soul patch tony!!) All you jack bauer haters better watch it! I’d say 2 iffy seasons out of 7 is still a pretty good track record and I’ll be tuning in. Oh no, which means I’m going to have a triple conflict with 24, Samantha Who? & Heroes!!!

Finally, continuing the comic book hero trend, Greg Berlanti has been tapped to do Green Lantern (did you know Seth Rogen is doing The Green Hornet? I can't keep all these superhero movies straight). Are you all furrowing your brows because you don’t who the crap Greg Berlanti is? Well he is the creator of Everwood and Jack & Bobby. He’s also the executive producer of Brothers & Sisters and Dirty, Sexy, Money; so I’m quite interested to see what his take on the comic book movie is.

That’s all for me folks!

KT update!-Cancellation Watch 2007!

2007-10-10T11:58:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Cancellation Watch 2007. Next week marks the 3rd episode for must shows & as we’ve seen more and more the time when networks start to make cutting decisions. This year I haven’t heard too much talk of ratings by critics or scoop givers so I’m not too sure who is in trouble. Although honestly, there is probably only one new show on the air (which I am now officially jinxing) that I would sincerely miss, even after just one showing and that is Pushing Daisies. I’ll go into more detail in the review, but suffice to say I really, really liked it. So after being burned the last few years, how do I decide what shows to keep watching? Luckily, as previously mentioned, although I do have shows that I am liking, none of them have big question that needs to be answered. I mean, yes, on Life we want to know why he was framed, and on Dirty, Sexy, Money who killed Nate’s dad? (sorry, I’m still referring to him as Nate cause I don’t remember his name on this show)…but it is not like Reunion, where I HAD to know who really killed Sam (on the plus side, I’m thinking it was good that the show got pulled because if I had invested 23 hours of my life to that show & it wasn’t one of the main characters I would have been PISSED!!!!) or The Nine, wanting to know exactly WHAT happened in the bank robbery or Kidnapped-who took Leo? So I’m feeling pretty good right now, no super pressing questions so I’m not so tense about watching shows that may be endangered.

So, who is Endangered? I’ve got some ratings info that may shine a light on that subject. As we all know Neilson provides the weekly ratings. Well our friends at the Futoncritic.com put together a list of the percentage of the audience shows have lost from week 1 to week 2. Usually when a show gets pulled fast, it is because the audience is leaving faster than frat boys at a party without alcohol. From week 1 to week 2 the show with the biggest % loss was K-ville (31%) the show with the least % loss was Moonlight (6%. Now, there are a few things to consider here. K-ville premiered vs. reruns, so of course its audience is going to drop off. It competes against Heroes & the second half of ABC monster, Dancing with the Stars; meanwhile I’m sure most of the audience that tuned in for the Moonlight premiere returned because it is a FRIDAY and it doesn’t have much competition (although this week it tied with FNL for 1st on Friday).

I would say the shows that are in the most imminent danger are K-ville, Life, Bionic Woman and Big Shots, all of which lost at least 20% from episode 1 to episode 2 (gossip girl is also on this list, but being that it is on the CW it has different criteria to live up to, in fact, this show has already been given a full season order). Just to give you a comparison, last year, the shows that lost at least 20% from ep1 to ep 2 were: Six degrees, Kidnapped, The Class, Standoff, The Nine & Daybreak. So, yeah, none of those shows made it to season 2; come to think of it I don’t think any made it to mid season. On the plus side for K-ville though, this Monday it increased 5% in the all important 18-49 demographic. Maybe those Friday night repeats are helping it out.

As far as my own personal season pass list, I have divided the new shows into 3 categories. Season pass, On the Bubble, Not looking good.

Season Pass
Chuck- I continue to enjoy this show & all the characters in it. It is light-hearted spy fun. Oh and CASTING SCOOP, The O.C.’s Rachel Bilson (Summer) will join the show as a possible new love interest for Chuck.

Dirty Sexy Money-I have to watch episode 2, but I can’t imagine not enjoying the guilty fun this show provides.

Pushing Daisies-I was a little wary of this show since it was the “most buzzed about show of 2007”. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the Burton-esque premise & look forward to the new episode. After realizing I would like it I became concerned with the show’s lifespan since most of the quirky shows I like are gone after 4 episodes. But, the premiere did very well. Here’s hoping it doesn’t lose too much of its audience this week.

Life-I’m not really a “cop show” kinda girl, so I’ll give all the credit to lead actor Damian Lewis for keeping me tuned in.

On the Bubble
Journeyman-This show is dangerously close to being on the season pass list. I just need to watch one more episode. At first I wasn’t going to watch it because I thought it was a Quantum Leap rip-off, but after a few reviews from the KT update audience, I decided to check it out. There are some differences between this guy & Scott Bakula. First off, this guy is still in his life, he just gets these pounding headaches & poof he’s sucked back into sometime else. Then he’ll bop back & forth from his life to the different spots (years) along the story he’s supposed to impact. And for some reason, his dead fiancé is his liaison with the past. I’m not too sure what that is all about, but I guess we’ll find out as the year progresses.

Private Practice-I’m still not into this show. Plus, it is not a good sign when the lead actress is annoying the hell out of me.

The Bionic Woman-Torn on this way. I really WANT to like it. I think I want to like it more than I do.

Big Shots-Guilty pleasure or just plain bad? Need a few more episodes to figure it out. Plus, in a few weeks we should start to feel Rob Thomas’ (creator of Veronica Mars) impact.

K-ville-I was interested in the premise of the show & really like the two main stars but truthfully I haven’t watched it since the premiere. We lost 1 ep because of the dvr & then it was all mixed up with Friday & Monday. We have a show taped now & we’ll give

Not looking Good
Moonlight-I’m giving the show one more shot but I don’t even think Logan Echolls can keep me tuning into this one.

Next week: Men in Trees (Friday, 10 ABC)
Samantha Who? (Monday, 9:30 ABC)

KT Update! Saying Goodbye

2007-10-02T18:56:00.000-04:00

Before I start rolling through my fall reviews, I’d like to take a second to recognize my Tivo, which I have loved every since I got it for Christmas (thanks mom) and which I now realize I will have to give up forever (or for at least 2 years when our Direct Tv contract expires)…I told you of last week’s Monday night debacle, well to make matters worse, our dvr cut off in the middle of Grey’s Anatomy!!!!! It is one thing to make me miss ½ of a brand new show, but to make me miss the premiere of a returning favorite? Unacceptable!!! After much discussion (and yelling, screaming & pouting) Jay finally gave his approval for to resurrect my Tivo! But, my friends, my happiness was fleeting as we realized that although I could use my Tivo, I would not be able to record 2 shows at once, ultimately rendering my Tivo useless. Hold on, I need a second. I know for most of you this is a silly little issue, but really, I loved my tivo. Imagine having a friend that was consistent & happy even went out of its way to make things easier & having that friend replaced with a volatile & cold. That’s how I feel. But, alas, it is time to move on, and make my peace with the dvr from hell. I can always hope that Direct Tv will upgrade or that cable will steal the Football package from Direct Tv. Here’s hoping!

Let’s get back to some reviews!

Tuesday
House (Tues, 9PM Fox) I use to watch House. As much as I love Hugh Laurie I think the show is way too formulaic and it gets boring after a while. Fast forward to this year, me with nothing to watch on Tuesdays & House without his staff. That’s something new. So I watched last week’s premiere & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Should be fun to watch House pick a new staff, reality show style. ***

Wednesday
Back to You Second Viewing-As I mentioned earlier all new shows get 2 views and although I though this episode had some amusing moments, I don’t think it is the show for me (I’m super picky about sitcoms). **

Private Practice (9PM ABC)-First off, I’m not sure why Audra McDonald replaced Merrian Dungey. I didn’t like the character any more, actually, I liked her a bit less. To tell you the truth, the only character I really did like was the Pediatrician. Maybe it is because I enjoy seeing him smile, last year he was so cranky & mean on Prison Break. This show better take it up a notch if it wants to make it into my season pass list. I have high expectations because of Greys & this show is not living up to it. On the plus side, I have heard from multiple sources that the show is much better in upcoming episodes.
** ½

Dirty Sexy Money (10PM ABC)-I love it. It is trashy, fun & thrilling. P.S. The cast is to die for too! Peter Krause (NARM!!!), Donald Sutherland, Billy Baldwin, and Samaire Armstrong (Anna, The O.C.). I was cracking up about the ring tones Nick’s secretary assigned to each of the Darling’s. Love it! *** ½ (yeah that’s right, already made the season pass list, even without the second viewing)

The Bionic Woman (9PM NBC)-I wasn’t going to watch this originally because I loved the original and there is no way this show will live up to Lindsay Wagner. But, it got some good reviews & who I am to turn away from a show. I thought it showed a lot of promise. The way I measure a good show is how attached I get to the characters. Do I care about their story? Do I want to invest my time to find out about them? Although Jaime lacked charisma, and paled in comparison to the evil, first bionic woman, I did find myself caring about her; and that might be just because she reminds me of the girl from Wonderfalls. Anyhoo, for now I’m sticking with it. ***

Life (10PM NBC)-Another show I wasn’t going to watch, but those marketers at NBC suckered me in. I found myself completely compelled by the main character, a cop who spent 12 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. New evidence released him & he’s back on the force—and also trying to find out who set him up. I think it is an interesting twist on the basic cop show—to show a character that went through something so traumatic, (a cop locked up, losing his family) and how you would make it through that. So far, so good. ***

Thursday
Survivor, Second Watch
As of now, I’m still on board, but that is thanks to Todd, the gay, Mormon flight attendant. If he goes, I may as well, because everybody else Stinks! ***

Grey’s Anatomy (9PM ABC)-As previously mentioned, I highly enjoyed most of the first 29 minutes & then had to watch the remaining 30 mins on ABC.com. Thank God for the internet. I thought it was MOSTLY good. I still hate George & Izzy. They have zero chemistry & totally ruined an awesome platonic relationship. I’m sick of Meredith & Derek. Plus, what man stays with a woman who takes off to Hawaii for 17 days without a word? There is a word for what Derek is and I can’t say it here. In the words of our NJ friends, Naughty by Nature, it is another word for cat or kitten. But yeah, that’s what Derek is. And who wants to date one of those? Be a man for the love of God! ***

Big Shots (10PM ABC)-This show got decimated in the reviews, but I still wanted to check it out for myself because I like the cast. Dylan McDermott, Michael “Vaughn” Vartan & Christopher Titus. It was fun to watch these “big shot men” get taken down a few notches, whether it be with a cheating wife, a crazy mistress, an ultra demanding wife or a transsexual prostitute. Fun times everybody. I’m not saying it is Emmy worthy, but I thought it was pretty fun. Guilty Pleasure!!! And, Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars) has joined the team as has Charisma Carpenter. ** ½

The Office (9PM NBC)-I’m not really going to get into this episode because if you love this show, you love it & if you don’t—you don’t. But I thought the premiere was highly enjoyable. ***

My Name is Earl (8PM NBC) Earl is in prison, which is pretty crazy. Hopefully he won’t be in the slammer for too long, but I thought the premiere episode was pretty strong. ***

Friday
Moonlight (9PM CBS) I pretty much turned into this show for the 7 minutes that Jason Dohring (Logan) was on screen. It was kinda worth it. His character is pretty much vampire Logan, but I enjoyed having his face on the screen. Oh, and surprise! Marshall from Alias is part of the cast too. Other than that, the show still felt like an Angel rip off to me. Vampire detective, drives a black convertible, keeps disappearing in the middle of conversations, in love with a blond. The story was pretty weak (I figured out both plot twists by the second commercial break) and I didn’t really become attached to the leads. Plus, there is no reason for him to like humans, he is not tortured with a soul, so what? Why does he rebel against his vampire ways? A comment I read earlier sums it up best, this is a show that would feel right at home Saturday afternoon on fox. Despite that, I will give the show its second viewing. * ½

Sunday
Desperate Housewives (9PM ABC)-Just like Grey’s, mostly good. Hooray for Nathan Fillion & Bree & Lynette. Boooo to the Edie storyline. Edie use to be a strong, sexual, bitchy woman. And now she’s just a psycho. Don’t like it! ***

Brothers & Sisters (10PM ABC)-I love this show & I’ve missed the Walker clan & all their bickering. I know what happens to Justin, so I wasn’t as emotional as I’m sure some of you were—but I thought the show was great. ****

Up Next:
Journeyman (Monday, 10PM NBC) (I’ve heard from a few people that I should give this show a chance)
Pushing Daisies (Wed, 8PM ABC)
30 Rock (Thurs, 8:30 NBC)
Friday Night Lights (Fri, 9PM, NBC)

Before I depart, just wanted to chime in for Friday Night Lights. I’ve recently netflixed the show and am hooked. Loving it. A lot. I’ve got to get through the last 2 dvd’s so I can watch the premiere. I highly recommend giving this show a shot.

I’ll be back next week with second thoughts and cancellation watch 2007!

KT Update-I Spit On Direct TV!!!

2007-09-25T17:41:00.001-04:00

I spit on Direct TV! I hate it with the fire of 1000 suns. I hate that they have the monopoly on all the sports & since I am a nice wife I will be tortured with this wretched provider for the rest of my life, or at least the rest of my married life (I kid, I kid. But seriously, you don’t even want to know how many fights Jay & I have had about Direct TV since we made the switch). To make a long story short, they stink & I don’t like them. Mainly because their DVR is wretched compared to Tivo…but it all came to a boiling point last night…Yes, in the midst of the biggest premiere week of September, my “new” Direct TV box (which had been plugged in for all of 35 minutes) decided to implode right smack in the middle of Chuck. Now because I am a dvr owner I rarely watch things live. So when this piece of crap imploded it did not simply ruin one show for me. No, no. I also lost K-ville & the beginning of Heroes! Bah! 3 shows ruined! Unacceptable! Direct TV must die! I have been threatening for months to plug my Tivo back in but I don’t think Jay takes me seriously. Bah! My mean husband won’t let his wife have one lil tivo. Booooooooooo! Wouldn’t a Tivo subscription be an awesome 1st Anniversary gift? I sure do.

Ok, let me take a few deep breaths & then we can proceed into the review portion of the KT Update.

Alrighty, I think I am able to proceed.

Just in case you forgot, here is my rating scale.
Here’s my rating scale:
* One Tree Hill (I do not endorse this show)
** House (I’ll watch it, but it hasn’t made it to my season pass list)
*** Desperate Housewives (One of my tivo shows)
**** Brothers & Sisters (Nothing will keep me from watching this show!!)

Last week a few new shows premiered but this week is the big week. All new shows will get a 2 episode try out. Here are my reviews thus far:

Prison Break—So now everyone is in Panama in jail (except Lincoln) while Sarah & LJ are in trouble…snnnoooore. I just can’t handle this show. It is sooooo over the top & ridiculous. I find myself rolling my eyes every 15 min. And now that I’ve seen (40 minutes) of Chuck, Prison Break is OUT. **

K-ville-This show is dependent on the two leads, who I happen to adore. Anthony Anderson (who was in The Departed last year as well as many tv appearances including Veronica Mars) & Cole Hauser (one of Damon’s & Affleck’s buddies, you can see him in many of their movies but he was also the villain in 2Fast2Furious) are definitely deserving of a hit show, which is why I tuned in to the dreaded “cop show”. The first episode was decent enough. Anderson’s partner deserted him during Katrina, which means he has partner issues while Hauser has a secret past (which I think is a little far-fetched). New Orleans is a character within the show & I’m interested to see how they explore it. I tried to watch episode 2 last night, but you all know how well that went. I think Fox is putting them up on itunes, so I’ll try to get a hold of it & get back to you.
** ½

Back to You-Most of the sitcoms I watch are not traditional (AD, The office, Scrubs) but I do watch “How I met your mother” which one could categorize as “traditional” so I thought I’d give this Kelsey Grammer - Particia Heaton news room show a try. It was ehhh for me. I didn’t have too many laughs & although I like Grammer despite myself, I found Heaton getting on my nerves a bit. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow but it will have to improve quite a bit to stay on the schedule. **

Survivor-This edition takes place in China which is super exciting, new location, yay! I’m finding myself teetering between annoyance & loathing for most of the contestants. I did like Chicken who was promptly voted off. With the tv overload of Thurs, if I don’t find someone halfway likable next week, it may be demoted into a show I just flip on during commercials ( I know Tobins, it is horrible, but true!!!)**

How I met your mother-I love this show. I think it is in my top three right now. It came back strong this week with the aftermath of the Ted-Robin breakup. I laughed out loud quite a few times and loved the last scene between Ted & Robin (boys are so easy to please) and Barney/Marshall (check out http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/slapbet_countdown/) Thank Jesus the Direct TV had the good sense to let me finish this show before imploding. Otherwise, it would have gotten UGLY in this house. ****

Chuck-I thoroughly enjoyed the first 40 minutes of this show & luckily NBC has the premiere online, so I’ll check out the rest online momentarily. The lead is as endearing as you’ve heard (well if you listen to tv critics); plus 2 favorites from long, lost, loved shows are on board. Madison, the Ephram deflowering babysitter from Everwood is Chuck’s sister, and Adam Baldwin (Jane from Firefly or Hamilton from Angel—pick your whedon fave) is an NSA agent after Chuck. I think it will be more scrubs than Alias, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and am deeming it a Tivo Show based on 40 minutes!!! ***

Heroes-Again, thanks to super Direct TV, I missed the first 10 minutes. But it was a just-ok episode for me. The highlight of course was the return of Sark-a-liscous as Hiro’s hero. I’m interested in where Sylar is, what happened to Peter & what the heck that mark of death is (and why is Peter wearing it?) So hopefully the episodes will improve as the weeks go on, plus Kristen Bell! Yahooey! ***

Coming up next:

If I’m bored tonight I might watch House.

Wednesday, September 26
Back to You (Fox 8PM for try number 2)
Private Practice (ABC 9PM)
The Bionic Woman (NBC 9PM)
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC 10PM)
Life (NBC 10PM)

Thursday, September 27
Survivor (CBS, 8PM)
My Name is Earl (NBC 8PM)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC 9PM)
The Office (NBC 9PM)

Friday, September 28
Moonlight (CBS, 9PM)

Sunday, September 30
Desperate Housewives (ABC, 9PM)
Brothers & Sisters (ABC, 10PM)

Before I run off, I do have some more scoopage for you.

In an unforeseen turn of events, it seems that Jack Bauer will again once again see Soul Patch Tony. According to 24, they never definitively said if Tony was dead & the clock ticking was an indication of that. I think this is a step in the right direction. I think one of the reasons last year blew was because Jack didn’t have anyone working with him that we cared about.

Prison Break ratings were down 20% from the premiere last year—and K-ville did a respectable 8.96 million (although this was last week when it had no new competition). Last night ratings show Prison Break ranked in 4th (Dancing with the Stars was 1st, while How I met Your Mother tied with Chuck). For the 9PM hour, Dancing with the Stars continued to dominate, 2nd was Heroes, 3rd Two & a Half Men and finally K-ville. So, I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if Fox every does well, aside from Idol. Maybe I won’t get too attached to K-ville.

We will finally got some closure on the Libby backstory on Lost, as the character will re-appear in a few more back stories.

Molly Shannon joins Paul Reubens as a guest star on the much buzzed but not yet viewed, Pushing Daisies.

Alrighty, that’s all folks. Be back with more reviews soon!

KT Update! Fall Premiere's!

2007-09-14T14:12:00.000-04:00

With all of the Britney Brou-ha-ha I nearly forgot that the tv season kicks off next week. Before I get into that, I just want to make 1 comment about the VMA's. I watched them in fast forward and I thank the Lord for that because the show was wretched!!!!! Besides the obvious, the whole different room thing was DUMB. Justin didn't even perform, Rihanna lip synched (and did not dance) and it is just ridiculous for a channel that doesn't show videos to host an award show about them. The only time my finger left the fast forward button was for Alicia Keys (who kicked ass), the Foo Fighters & Linkin Park. Oh and that Chris Brown kid. I slowed down to watch his MJ impersonation. Other than that, STOOOOOPID. I wish they would've shown the Kid Rock/Tommy Lee brawl. MTV stinks & I don't like it!!!

This Sunday, another awards show that I love, love, love (it is the internet, so you are probably missing my sarcasm) the emmy's are on. Why the crap is Ryan Seacrest hosting? Do we get to call in & vote? Cause that would be cool. Suffice it so say that I'm going in with low expectations and the only thing that could make me happy is if Neil Patrick Harris walks away with an emmy.

Now on to premieres!

I've added a few shows to my "check out list" either because their previews have brainwashed me or because a source I respect says I should check it out. Here is what I'll be checking out the week of Sept. 17

Monday, Sept 17
Prison Break Fox 8PM
This is a Jay show & as soon as my other Monday night shows premiere, I'll most likely knock this one off of my list.

Kville Fox 9PM
Your typical cop drama that sets it self apart because it is set in post Katrina New Orleans. I probably won't make it to far along with this show either, but I really like the two leads, so I'm willing to give it a shot.

Wed, Sept 19
Back to You Fox 8PM
EW talked pretty highly of this show, so I'm going to give it a try. I go back & forth between liking Kelsey Grammer & getting annoyed by him, so we'll see how long I last on this one (Wow, this week is looking like a lot of high expectations eh?)

Thurs, Sept 20
Survivor CBS 8PM
Hopefully we'll get a nice exciting group this year that likes to shake things up!!

I'll shoot you guys my thoughts as the week goes on! Happy potato-ing!!

KT Update-VMA Musings

2007-09-10T23:19:00.000-04:00

I have to make a confession. I didn't get to watch the VMA's. My hotel in San Fran did not give me my MTV & I was left without the show. I was upset for 5.3 seconds, but then my wonderful husband called me to give me the play by play of the Britney Comeback Performance! I have to say, I did get a little butterfly in my belly. Despite what's gone on in her life, Brit has always been an amazing performer & been able to BRING it to the VMA's. I still say that the Oops performance was the best of any VMA ever. So, you can imagine my surprise when Jay was silent during the performance. "Is anything exciting going on?" "No." "Is there any effects?" "No" "Is the dancing good?" "Ummm, she's not really dancing. She's kinda lip synching & walking around." "oh"

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Then I logged on to my trusty Perez Hilton site & he said it sucked! What happened to Criss Angel? The big comeback performance?

I saw some snippets on the Today Show (I love how real news covers Brit) and wow, I'm so glad I didn't watch it live. I suppose some small part of me was hoping that Brit would return to form and make all of us pay for leaving her, but no, she just fell further down the "has been" hole. Her performance was lackluster, she looked completely drugged, there was absolutely no trace of the old briteny that I knew & loved. For me, this is the final straw. I'm kind of insulted actually. It is like she didn't have the decency to come to work prepared & she wasted every one's time. Again, I'm glad I missed it. If or when Jive releases her new record I won't be buying it, no matter how catchy the producer makes the songs.

Oh & don't believe the Spears camp spin that Britney was distraught before her performance because she found out that Sarah Silverman was going to talk about her kids. Number 1, you are a professional, go out there and dance your ass off and no one will care what silverman says and 2, Silverman's camp is saying that no one, not even MTV, knew what she was going to say before she hit the stage.

Finally, I heard that Kid Rock & Tommy Lee got into a brawl at the show. That's awesome. I wish they'd show that. Probably the best part of the show. If I actually watch the show when I go home on Wednesday I'll post my thoughts. In the meantime you should check out VH1 on Tuesday night for Perez Hilton's wrap up of the VMA's (CAN'T WAIT!!!)

So, did you watch the VMA's? What were your thoughts?

KT Update-Some Quick Tidbits

2007-08-31T10:52:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! This weekend Jay & I will be in Atlanta (hopefully the Mets will remember how to win a game) and then Wednesday I’m off to California for a week; so I wanted to peak my head in for a quick update. I’ve got some tv news & also thoughts on Britney’s new music.

The casting news keeps rolling in! Danica McKellar (an all grown up Winnie Cooper) and Busy Phillips (Dawson’s Creek, Freaks & Geeks) will be fighting it over Ted on How I Met Your Mother.

The next season of Dancing with the Stars will include: Marie Osmond, Jennie Garth, Jane Seymour, Mark Cuban, Wayne Newton & Scary Spice!!

Hooray! Matt & Trey have signed on to do 3 more seasons of South Park for a ridiculous amount of money.

If you’ve been reading my updates for a while then you should know who Tim Minear is. No? Can’t remember. Well he’s the fella that was responsible for Drive, The Inside and Wonderfalls and collaborated with The Whedon on Firefly & Angel. As you can see, Fox put a stake through all of Minear’s tv projects, most of them lasting about 5 episodes. (booo Fox) Anyhoo, Minear has a new project & he is taking it to ABC (yaaaay!). Miracle Man revolves around "a disgraced former televangelist, a man of no faith, who finds that God is using him to perform real miracles and change lives, starting with his own." That sounds like a Tim Minear project. Anyhoo, it is all in early development but I’m pretty excited to see that someone who continues to product quirky television I enjoy (even if I am in the minority) will not let stupid television networks (yeah fox) & viewers keep him down. Here’s hoping Minear casts fan favorite Nathan Fillion in the project and that it will be a successful show (keeping my fingers crossed but not holding my breath) .

In other buffyverse related news, Fox has just signed Eliza Dushku to a television deal. If I was Eliza I’d tell Fox to go scratch after the way they handled Tru Calling, but I guess a girl’s gotta work. The deal pretty much means that Fox will create projects for Dushku. Hopefully she’ll get a great tv show that I can enjoy for a few years. I just realized that there is no show on tv right now that I am fully emotionally involved in. No Buffy, no Angel, no Everwood, no Alias, no Sex & the City, no Veronica Mars (wahhhhh). This is depressing! My two favorite shows right now are How I Met Your Mother and Brothers & Sisters. Both of which I really enjoy, neither of which really has me emotionally involved (although I am dangerously close on B&S). I just looked over my tv schedule and Tuesday is completely open for me—which is fitting since Tuesday is the day of Buffy & Veronica (and Angel did a stint there too). Perhaps I will proclaim Tuesday DVD TV night & I will watch some of my dearly departed favorites. I do have quite a few, of course the Whedon collection, but also Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, Roswell & Alias. Moving on………

Reports are still running rampant that Britney will be performing at the VMA’s (which by the way, MTV is planning on airing only once in hopes of bringing up viewership). Supposedly illusionist Criss Angel is going to be in the performance as well and…actually, I’ll keep that to myself. I don’t want to ruin the surprise in case she does perform. Also, Perez Hilton has gotten a hold of 2 new Britney tracks (you can check them out at Perez.hilton.com). The first track, Gimme More, is allegedly her big comeback single. It is not bad. I listened to it twice and I found my toe tapping during the second listen. But, ehhh. I don’t know. It didn’t make me want to get up and dance. Perhaps all of this cartoonish living has affected how I feel about Brit’s music? Possibly, cause I frikkin hated Cold as Ice. The sound of her voice sent chills down my spine and it took quite a bit of self control to actually let the entire song play. So, check out the VMA’s next Sunday. If Britney shows, either her performance will be kick ass & she will quiet all the naysayers or she will be a complete & total mess which might be even more entertaining! Either way, I’m sure it will be worth your time to check it out! I’ll chime in with my thoughts after the show!!!

KT Update-Casting Scoop!

2007-08-22T19:20:00.000-04:00

Hello!

Wow. August has been dragging on. It is hot, hot, hot, (did I mention frakkin HOT) in NC. For 24 consecutive days it has been over 90 and usually hitting 100. I need a pool! Anyhoo, you haven’t come here to hear me bitch! You've come for scoop and lucky you, I have some.

Let's starting with casting scoop. A couple weeks back rumors were floating around that Kristen Bell of the now defunct Veronica Mars (screw you CW!) was up for a guest stint on Lost. Then, just as quickly as the news came, was new word that Kristen had passed up Lost. I was pretty bummed until I heard this week that Kristen would join Heroes in October! Yay! This is excellent news since: 1) I won't have to wait until January for my current favorite tv actress to hit the screen; and 2) she's gonna be bad! Or sorta bad at least, I guess we won't know for certain until her episodes air. Fun times!

Another favorite of mine, James Marsters, will join Without a Trace for a few episodes. Too bad I hate procedural dramas & I won't see him. But I'm glad he's working!

In other casting news, Janeane Garefalo (I'm sure I destroyed her name) will join the cast of 24 and Paul Reubans a.k.a Pee Wee Herman will guest on the most buzzed about fall show, Pushing Daisies.

So have you guys been watching VH-1 this summer? I frikkin love VH-1. I've been watching Rock of Love all summer & it just gets trashier and trashier. I love every minute! In case you haven't been watching, the women have divided themselves into 2 groups, the bitches and the sluts and then Brett Michaels proceeds to make out with all of them. It is so awesome, you definitely need to tune in!

And, I just found Man Band. Holy crap, how did I miss this show? I've only missed two episodes, but that's two episodes too much! Don't know what the heck I'm talking about? Vh-1 put Chris Kirkpatrick (*Nsync), Bryan Abrams (Color Me Badd), Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) and Rich Cronin (LFO) into a house & tried to squeeze some music out of them. I only saw one episode, but Bryan was all fat & drunk. Actually, they all look a wee bit out of shape (except for the 98 degrees dude). They were learning a new song & were going to perform at the Orlando Magic half time show even though they only learned the song 2 days prior! It is hilarious! Although at times, it is a little upsetting because you see just how badly these boys want music careers back (damn you timberlake!!!) But so far I'm enjoying it. Check it out on VH1, Mondays at 10.

Speaking of timberlake, I've heard through the grapevine that JuJu was not getting a warm reception on the european leg of his tour. Apparently JT was being a big ass and being were reporting that he was a rude jerk. In addition, my favorite celeb blogger, Perez, is reporting that Lance is a big jerk too! Nooo! What is this world coming to, Lance was always the sweet one. I guess since he came out he is letting his inner diva loose. Apparently, some girls saw Lance in a bar in LA and went up to say hi and Lancey-poo was very rude to the young ladies. My heart is breaking! What's happened to my boys? JC's record is still on hold, Joey has been reduced to game show host, Chris is on a sad (yet hilarious) reality show and Lance & Justin are dicks? Booooooo. I'm started to make myself depressed. Let's talk about something a little more cheery?

Ever since I broke up with Britney I've started enjoying her downward spiral. In case you haven't heard (if you've been living under a rock) K-Fed has started the war for the kids! His lawyer has been serving all of Britney's friends/nannies/assistants with subpoena's. Oh and supposedly to escape all of the backlash Brit has run off to Europe!!! Oh goodness, it just gets better & better. Love it. Oh and there are rumors that Britney will be performing at the VMA's. I can't tell if it is a trick by MTV so that people will tune in to see the train wreck that once was Britney or if it is true. Timbaland is maestro or something (I told you, I'm old, I don't watch MTV anymore, didn't you read? I'm a VH1 girl now) and he said that as far as he knows, there will be no Britney. I did hear however that Juju will be taking the stage with Madonna. Madonna needs to come out and rock the VMA stage. Who cares if she is 49? She is a living legend and I think she can work it still. The VMA's are Sept 9. I'll try to watch the show & report back, but honestly, I probably won't know 1/2 of the nominees.

And lastly, I'm doomed to hate this year's emmy's as Ryan Secrest has been named the host. Really? Ugh. I'm dreading watching this, not only will no one I like win, I have to deal with Secrest. BAH!

That’s all I got for today. I’ll be back next time I’ve got scoop or post-VMA’s.
kt

KT Update-I'm oozing with comic con scoop!

2007-07-29T22:54:00.000-04:00

I’m oozing with Comic Con Scoop!!! Before I get to that, I have attached the Fall 07 schedule including premiere dates. Next month I’ll give you the full scoop on what shows are buzzing and which ones will be lucky to make it to episode 3.

What you don’t know what Comic con is? Even if you are not an entertainment obsessed “fan boy” or “fan girl” you should have a bit of an idea of what Comic Con is if you watch Entourage. Anyhoo, for those of you who are completely unaware, Comic Con is held in San Diego and directors, actors & other Hollywood folk come to “premiere” fun secrets of upcoming tv & movies to dedicated fans (i.e. over the top freaks) so that they can spread the word of their approval or loathing to the public via the internet. Don’t kid yourself, I would have given my right arm to be there, especially after I found out that the Whedon was there and that there was a raffle to have dinner with him! EEEEEE
Panels included tv shows (Lost, Heroes and upcoming movies Iron Man, Star Trek & Indy IV)….I’ve scored some scoopage below, check it out.

The big movie news, as far as I’m concerned, is that during the Indy V panel Spielberg and Ford introduced Indy’s leading lady, Karen Allen, who if you watched Raiders of the Lost Arc, you will know as Indy’s original female counterpart. I saw a little snippet on youtube, and everyone looked very excited to be part of this movie—even though Harrison looks a little old in his Indy get up. You can check it out here. http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33487

-Edward Norton discussed his involvement & excitement on working on the Hulk. Apparently he re-wrote the scripts (not known if he re-wrote all of it or just pieces). But the fan boys seemed to like him because he ran through his history of being a hulk fan since childhood.

-Apparently JJ Abrams is working on some super secret disaster movie, I went to the website and couldn’t figure out what the hell was going out. It was just a bunch of polaroids that moved around. 1-18-08.com site. Too much work for a movie that doesn’t even have a title! I’ll just wait for the trailer. In more tangible JJ news, at the Star Trek panel he announced that Sylar from Heroes will be Spock in the movie and that old Spock (Leonard Nimoy) will make an appearance in the film.

From the Lost panel:
-Season four will feature both flashbacks and flash-forward
-At least one whole episode will follow Jack and Kate’s adventures away from Dharma Island.
-Michael will return to the Island (no word if that would be in the present or flash forward/backward style)
-We will finally find out Libby’s story.
-Rousseau will likely get a flashback in seasons four or five.

From the “Heroes” panel:
-Kevin Smith will write and direct an episode of the spin-off miniseries “Heroes: Origins”
It looks as if Nathan, Ando, Sylar, Peter & Parkman will all be alive and well for season 2..

From the “24” panel:
-In case you haven’t heard, there will be a female president.
-Season 7 will be based in DC, with Jack Bauer in hot water, facing the U.S. Senate over perceived crimes.
-The first plotline for season 7 had Jack in Africa and would have broken the traditional 24 mold, as they would have had to skip ahead 12 hours so viewers wouldn’t have to watch 12 episodes of Jack on a plane. Anyhoo, that idea was scrapped because apparently it wasn’t very good.

From the Whedon panel:

- The Whedon just finished writing "the horror film to end all horror films -- literally" with fellow Drew Goddard (who also worked on Buffy & Angel). It's called “Cabin in the Woods.” Yikes, I’m scared of a real Joss horror movie!! But how could I not go!!!

* The Whedon will write two issues of "Buffy: Season Eight" (which returns this month eh!!) He later added that while he doesn't know how long Season 8 will be ("I can't stop writing the Buffy comic. It's like a drug."), he "definitely knows how it ends and he knows how Season 9 begins."

* Oz will return. Faith the Vampire Slayer won’t be the only old character reintroduced in issue six of the “Buffy: Season Eight” comic.

* The Whedon says there will be more Fray. (yay!!)

* Whedon has a new web comic called “Sugarshock” at myspace.com/darkhorsepresents

*“Ripper,” a Rupert Giles-centric BBC project Joss Whedon has been talking about since the fifth season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” may come to fruition in 2008. (double yay!)

*Goners - Joss is in the process of rewriting the fantasy/thriller and is his primary focus.

*Serenity - A new comic is launching in late Winter from Dark Horse. When someone shouted out for a sequel to the film, Joss responded by saying the new DVD edition of was coming out because "people keep buying the damn thing," implying that it's a possibility.

*He's also composing the score for a short ballet he's doing with Summer Glau (River). The crowd dug the idea prompting Joss to state in surprise, "Boy, was I expecting silence." Entitled The Serving Girl, he's already found a choreographer and will film it once he's finished the score.

*Angel: After The Fall - The comic he's working on with Brian Lynch, who will be the writer. It will be a twelve-issue maxi-series from IDW that shows what happens after the series finale battle with the evil law firm known as "Wolfram and Hart. " "What happens is very bad.”

A fan brought up the possibility of Joss directing the seventh and last Harry Potter film when the time comes. Whedon expressed his interest in his usual understated manner - "Yeah, I could probably find a weekend for that." EEEEE have Frikkin Fantastic would that be!!! Holy Crap, I know it won’t happen but it gives me goose bumps just to consider it!!

The two shows that got the most buzz where Chuck (Mondays, 8 NBC) & Pushing Daisies (Wed. 8, ABC). And also there is a show that I won’t mention from the shunned network.

I heard that the Bionic Woman & the Sarah Connor Chronicles were eh-eh. I doubt I’ll watch either of those anyway.

I think that was the most of the news that I got from comic con. I’m patrolling the net because apparently Jon Faverau debuted some new Iron Man footage (a new Marvel comic super hero movie starring Robert Downy Jr & Gwyneth Paltrow) and all the fan boys went yahooey over it.

In other non, comic con news, I reported last week that I was going to give the Angel-look-alike show Moonlight a try because David Greenwalt (who worked on buffy and angel) was in charge & also because Logan from VM had been cast. Well now David Greenwalt is out (due to alleged health reasons) so I’m a bit worried for the show. Word is that they’ve completely reworked the script and that can never be good news! Finally, Rob Thomas (creator of VM) has left ABC’s Miss/Guided. Good, now he can focus on the important things, like bringing me a Veronica Movie!!!

So that about wraps it up for today. I finished Potter Book 7 which I won’t discuss here because I know some of you haven’t read it yet, wait for the movies or are just way, way behind. But if you need someone to discuss it with, you know how to find me.

I’ll be back next week with some movie reviews!

KT Update-It is July and we're already talking fall tv!!

2007-07-21T07:55:00.001-04:00

Well I started writing a KT update a few weeks back with a whole tirade about how I’m breaking up with Britney. But, now I have too much scoopage to go into all that, so suffice it to say that I could handle britney’s time with K-Fed, her drunken mess of a self after, even the head shaving and multiple trips to rehab, all that time I still had hope of a comeback. But after seeing all this business about giving her mom Lynne, (who could possibly be the best show business mom ever) documents prohibiting her from seeing her grandchildren (and to add insult to injury, Britney tipped off the paparazzi to capture the event) I am so done with her. She is trash, trash, trash and I hope all of her future stuff bombs (that’s not to say I won’t partake & enjoy in pre-trash musical fun)…moving on.

Lots & Lots of tv news:

Let’s start off with casting scoop.
I’m very happy to report that Jason Dohring (Logan from VM) has been cast in Moonlight. Now, if you will recall from a previous KT update, this is the synopsis for Moonlight:
“ Dude, you’ve got to BE KIDDING ME!!! I just read the synopsis for this show and I am flabbergasted. Check it out and let me know if it sounds vaguely familiar. A vampire for 60 years, Mick St. James works as a private investigator, dealing with the difficulties of immortality, a slew of undead adversaries and his love for a mortal woman. !!!!!!!! So, pretty much this show is Angel, without David Boreanz, SMG, and Joss Whedon. So, why should I watch it?”

Well, I’m at least going to check it out because Jason Dohring is going to be a vampire and second David Greenwalt is the exec producer. His past credits include producing kidnapped, Buffy, Angel & the X-Files. But this is what he had to say at the Television Critics Association Tour last week:
“Moonlight is not Angel, his last show about a Los Angeles-based vampire detective. There are no other demons, no other monsters," he says. "It's a sleek modern world. The whole look and feel of the show is different." He adds that it nonetheless has all of his favorite things: "Deep heart, big love and funny."

So we’ll see. I’m willing to give it a chance, if only just to see my Jason Dohring on the tube again.

Everyone’s favorite PR nightmare Isaiah Washington has signed on to join The Bionic Woman. I think he is an exceptional actor who just needs to keep his mouth shut, it will be interesting to see how he gets along with the cast.

Nathan Fillion, who I adore but can’t seem to catch a break, will be on Desperate Housewives this year play the husband of Dana Delaney.

Danny Glover will join Brothers & Sisters as a love interest for Nora.

Fall TV Tidbits

I had every intention of getting Friday Night Lights on dvd this summer & catching up before the fall season starts, but now I’m feeling like the show’s outlook is not so good and the season hasn’t started yet. The NBC big wig that most supported the show and since his departure his tag team replacement has shelved FNL re-runs (which is how you get people interested in a show if they missed it last fall) and added The Apprentice back to the schedule. Ummm, who hires these people! I wish there was a reality show where contestants battled it out to be the President of a network for a year. I would kill on that show and my network would rock!! Rock I tell you!!! Anyhoo, I’m holding off on renting those FNL dvds until I see how long it lasts this year.

I just want to reiterate that even though 3 of the 4 shows with the most buzz this year are coming from the CW, my ban on the network will continue. I will not support the network that took my Everwood & Veronica Mars and kept One Tree Hill. So I’m not even going to tell you which shows are buzzing! Only that Pushing Daisies, which will be on ABC is the other one.

I’m compiling the premiere dates for the fall schedule, just waiting on ABC to announce theirs.

Emmy nominations came out the other day and truth be told, I didn’t even know till the Mozz emailed me. Really, I’m so over the emmy’s. Tony Shaloub again? Snore. I will say though, that I was happily surprised to see Neil Patrick Harris & Kevin Dillion get recognized for best supporting actor. And the scrubs musical episode was nominated for best direction and best song. Other than that…..ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz. Next week I’ll send out my annual outstanding performances list which recognizes the people and the storylines that rocked this year.

Switching gears for a moment, Michael & I saw Waitress last week and I highly recommend it. Kerri Russell was awesome and I was happy to see that Nathan Fillion was in the cast. Hooray! This movie was quirky, sweet and in the end, happy. Good times!

I’ve also caught Potter 5 and liked it a lot. I think it might be my favorite movie. The book was so miserable and the movie moved it along very well. I’m so scared to read 7!!!

The last bit of news I want to end on is that it looks as if the Sex & the City movie is going to happen. I’m trying to think happy thoughts, but I feel like this could be a tricky movie to pull off. I felt like everything ended so happy & tidy, why ruin it? Why not invest in an Arrested Development or Veronica Mars movie instead?

That’s all for now folks. I’m going to spend the rest of the day waiting by my mailbox for Potter. I’m very, very scared of this book and I’m going to lock myself in my room until I finish it.
I’ll be back next week to chime in with the performances that moved me the most this year, a broadway update and also to give my two cents on all the young Hollywood hoochies (so over them all).

Until then—KT out.

KT Update-Sark-a-licious!

2007-06-21T22:13:00.000-04:00

Hello!!! Happy summer to everyone. So, not too much is going on, but I did hear some tv scoopage today that made my heart flutter. My favorite british baddie (non-vampire of course) Sark-a-liscious is going to be on Heroes next year! Yay! I hope they give him an accent because he wasn’t as excited on Grey’s Anatomy when he was accent-less.

So yes, that made me happy and I had to share. Also, there is some interesting movement on the Veronica Mars front. Creator Rob Thomas has not been shy about saying that he has more Veronica stories to tell and his first instinct was to go to movies. Now it looks like VM might be headed the way of Buffy, to a comic book store near you. Obviously, I would be pleased with any re-incarnation of the VM crew, but I feel like a comic book would not satisfy me. With buffy it is different, the show had 7 seasons, and we all knew it was coming to a close; plus we had closure with the finale. With VM, I think the comics might just make me more sad that this is not on tv. But again, anything is better than nothing. Oh, and I want to reiterate my banishment of the CW. I’ve heard from some of you that you may actually watch the network again next year because there are some shows that look good. Um, why? So I get sucked in only for them to be canceled? I say bah to you CW! I shan’t watch channel no matter what you do!!!!

While we are on the subject of TV, I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that Isaiah Washington’s contract with Grey’s has not been renewed. I have some mixed feelings about this. Obviously there was still some tension on the set and I’m sure for the vibe of the cast it is a good move, but, is it what’s best for the show? Despite how I feel for the man playing the role, I really enjoyed the character of Dr. Burke. I’m a newbie to this show. I’ve watched all three seasons this year & I have to say that most of the characters that I’ve really connected with in the past have gotten on my nerves. You know how I feel about the George-Izzy thing. Meredith is pathetic and they have got to stop making her life so depressing. When did Bailey get all soft? Wait, didn’t I have this rant already? Well, you get the point, I liked Burke and I’m sad to see him leave. Especially since it seems that Washington won’t be around to tie up any loose ends. We’re just supposed to believe that Preston Burke leaves all of his friends, family & patients behind so easily? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Since summer is here & I only have 2 summer tv shows (The 4400 & Rescue Me); Jay & I have been netflix-ing it up (in between Jay’s new nightly ritual of screaming obscenities at his beloved TV because the Mets are in one hell of a slump). Anyhoo, here are some little reviews brought to you by netflix:

Roll Bouce-This movie is awesome. I’ve been wanting to see it for a long time and I finally got around to it. I could say a lot about this movie, but let’s just leave it at “Rollerskating” and “disco”. Hello!

The Family Stone- Generally I enjoy those “wacky family comedies” and at first I was enjoying this one, but blech! The ending completely ruined it for me. I mean, really? Are we serious? I know you have to suspend reality to watch certain movies but this was a little too much for me.

DreamGirls-Enjoyable. I didn’t love it, but I thought it was good. Jennifer Hudson did do an outstanding job. I would like to see the performances of the other supporting actress nominees to see how I feel about her win.

An Inconvenient Truth-I was one of those students who knew what I wanted to be involved in when I grew up. From about 7th grade on, I wanted to be involved with the environment. Then, when I got to college, two things pulled from that path. 1) Bio is frikkin hard at Rutgers (and at 8am on Friday) and 2) The environmental policy is frustrating. You could have all the evidence in the world that something is happening and the world is just going to ignore you until it slaps them in the face. That’s pretty much the theme of this movie. It is pretty ridiculous how much evidence there is of global warming, how much we contribute to it, and how devastating the consequences will be. Yet we continue to drive around in our fuel deficient vehicles completely oblivious to what is going on around us.

Kidnapped-I hate you NBC! This show was on the air last year and pulled after 4 or 5 eps. The good news is, NBC kept telling them they’d have enough episodes to finish the season, which they did-although the network never aired the eps, but—at least there will be a resolution. I’m enjoying it immensely on DVD and will update you after we have finished the series.

Next up from Netflix:
Kidnapped Disc 2
Breach
Transamerica

Summer Movie Mania
Poor Jay. He is in over his head. He has been forced to be more summer movie buddy. I think he said that usually he sees 2 or 3 summer movies a year. We’ve seen 2 already & I’m dragging him to Fantastic Four next week. Here’s what I thought of the 2 we’ve seen already:

Knocked Up: Hilarious. Loved the cast, loved seeing all the familiar faces from F&G. I can’t believe the shoebomber was Bill Haverchuck!

Oceans 13. I thought it had the same vibe as the first one, but was a little more confusing. Overall I enjoyed it.

Ok kiddies, that’s all for now. I’ll be back in a few weeks with some more netflix updates.

KT Update-Essential Movies

2007-06-02T21:22:00.000-04:00

I’m sure it happens in every relationship, the moment you look at your spouse and think, I married you? Don’t get me wrong, I love Jay, but something happened the other day that made me wonder what I had gotten myself into. What could happen, 7 months in, that would make me think this way? Well, it was when my beloved told me he had never seen Star Wars !!!! Now, I know you think I’m overreacting, but Star Wars is my favorite movie of all time. I’m obsessed with it! How can you be a 28 year old American male and never seen Star Wars? That is a completely foreign concept to me. I mean, I know Jay is serious lacking in the movie watching department, but never seen Star Wars?

So that got me thinking. Of course, there are some movies that I haven’t seen that people gasp at (most often Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, The Godfather & Pulp Fiction) but for the most part, I’ve seen the movies that defined a time, have changed the landscape of moviemaking or live in on forever in pop culture.

I asked a few friends about the movies that thought everyone should see and I received a few interesting answers. Everything ranging from Top Gun to The Shawshank Redemption. I myself am amazed that there are people who haven’t seen movies that I have revered, like Say Anything, The Goonies and Real Genius. So here, I present to you, my list of the 6 (sorry, I couldn’t get it to 5) movies that everyone should see. Now, I’m not suggesting that my 80 year old grandfather would enjoy these flicks, but as far as I’m concerned, if you are between the ages of 21-45 there is no excuse for not seeing these movies. For the record, I’m not suggesting that these are the greatest of American movies classics (Lord knows I love The Sound of Music & West Side Story, but these are not movies that everyone can watch) but these are the films that when someone says to me (Yes, you Marianne) that she hasn’t seen them, my jaw drops and I run home immediately to get said movies so this person can be a part of the Americana they have been ignorant of for so long!!! (Yes, I know I’m a loser because I think about these things entirely too long). Therefore I present to you:

KT’s Six Essential Movies:

Star Wars-No matter how anyone tries no trilogy will ever grip the masses as Star Wars. I admit, I did have high hopes for the Matrix, and LOTR was stellar, but they are just in a different league from the saga of the Skywalkers. Darth Vader is one of the scariest and most badass villains (still) ever to grace a movie screen and you don’t see any facial expressions until the last 5 minutes of the 3rd movies. Han Solo was my very first bad boy crush, and I believe that Return of the Jedi is one of my very first movie theater memories (plus I think it was the only movie my father ever took me to). I can still remember the excitement of seeing that film on the big screen for the very first time. And more than 10 years later, I felt that emotion again when Lucas re-released the films in the theater and I got to see all 3 on the big screen. That’s what makes this a classic, a movie that everyone should see, because the story is soo good, it pulls you right inside. I’ve seen Empire like 100 times and I’m still heartbroken when they put Han in the carbonite! If you need anymore proof, go to your local post office and check out the new Star Wars stamps.

The Wizard of Oz-It is astonishing to me that Michael just saw this movie a few years back. The Wizard of Oz was a family event every year on CBS. I’ve seen this film countless times and I’m still terrified of the Wicked Witch of the West. If you weren’t completely taken with OZ then you at least had to check out the movie to find the suicidal munchkin. This, more than the others, is the movie that everyone should see in their lifetime, it was a childhood right of passage.

Grease-Ahhh Grease. How I love thee. Another movie that is more than 30 years old and continues to spur extreme devotion by its fans. I know every single word in this movie and every time it is on the television, I stop and watch it. Come on! Olivia Newton John & John Travolta, singing and dancing their way through Rydell High? I love it, I love every single syllable spoken, I love every note sung. Grease is a musical even a guy can love!

The Breakfast Club- A brain, an athlete, a princess, a basket case and a criminal. This is the quintessential 80’s movie. John Hughes made a number of outstanding 80’s movies (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off—all of which, in truth should be seen) but the Breakfast Club has an element of complete truth to it that the other Hughes films lack. It is almost as if his other movies were teen fairy tales, while this fundamentally captured the feelings of being a teenager (of course with some amazing dialogue thrown in). “Does Barry Manilow know you raided his closet?”

Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory-Gene Wilder is a genius and you can see it in every scene he is in. Besides Wilder’s stellar acting you’ve also got obnoxious children who get what’s coming to them, you’ve got life lesson singing Oompa-Loompas, you’ve got Veruca Salt, you’ve got schnozzberries & you’ve got chocolate. This was a movie I loved as a child, but in college it was a late night staple as well. Sometimes when you get older, you find that a movie once cherished as a child doesn’t hold up anymore. This will never be the case with Wonka.

E.T.-I don’t know if E.T. holds up on the small screen. I think it is an entirely different experience in the theater, still it is an emotional journey that everyone should take. E.T. is not a movie that you can watch over & over (at least I can’t) but when I watch it, I feel like I’m six years old again (which was Speilberg’s intention). Actually, since it was 1982, I’m betting that either this or Annie was the first movie I ever saw in the theater, which may explain my love for both films. Funny story. My cousin took me to see this in the theater and in a particular scene (which I won’t ruin for those of you that haven’t seen it) Eliott starts screaming and I became so upset that I started screaming too. I was so distraught that they had to actually take me out of the theater (sobbing) until I could control myself. See, even then, I became emotionally attached to characters & stories.

So there it is. My top six essential movies. Now of course I could go on and on. As I mentioned, how could you skip an 80’s John Hughes film? Or Dirty Dancing? Or Top Gun? I do believe that Raiders of the Lost Ark should be on that list too (making it 7) but since I haven’t seen it, I can’t really throw stones. But! I will put that movie on the top of my netflix queue right now and report back after I see it!

So, kiddies, what movies do you deem classics? What movie pulls at your heartstrings, made you sob, scream or get up and dance?

KT Update-Season Finale Report Card

2007-05-30T18:27:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,

Well the season is over and as another one ends, I see another show I love go off into the sunset. No, actually this time is worse. At least with Angel & Everwood (two cancellations that broke my heart) I was offered closure. Veronica Mars just ended. Did Keith lose the sheriff race..again (I’m thinking yes). Did V realize that Piz is just too boring for words and that she should just get back with Logan already? What about the FBI? Clearly, I have some issues to deal with this summer and thankfully I’ll have netflix to keep me busy. I’ve just upgraded my membership to the 3 at a time plan and I’m ready to crank out some movies! But first, a look back on the season finales of 2007.

Finale Report Card

Lost -Wow. Now that’s how you end a season. Too many shows this year were cliffhanger-less. I love a good cliffhanger, something to drive me crazy all summer until the show comes back. I mean, I don’t know if you would technically call this a cliffhanger, ehh, I’m going to go ahead and say it was. Will Desmond get back in time to tell the Losties that the boat is not Penelope’s? What will happen when the boat gets there? Really, this episode was all about the infamous “game-changer” that I’ve been hearing about for months. I think it is an interesting move that could make the show awesome next year or completely kill it. I gave up on trying to figure out Lost a long time ago and now I’m just a long for the ride, hopefully, next year’s 16 episodes will be as good as this year’s. Anyhoo, some things I especially liked about this episode:
-Everything with Charlie. He took his destiny like a man.
-The asskicking Jack bestowed on Ben.
-Rousseau finally meeting her daughter—I’m still confused, do we think Ben is Alex’s biological father? Wasn’t Rousseau already pregnant when they landed on the island?
-Hurley coming to the rescue.
-Sayid’s neck breaking move.
-Sawyer shooting down Tom.
-Walt reappearing and saving Locke.

Some followup questions:
Do you think the “him” Kate referred to is Sawyer? Do you think the dead guy is someone we already know? I’m thinking both men are people we have yet to meet.
Does Jack need to go back to the island because he is “lost” when he has nothing to save or no one to lead? Or is there a bigger reason for returning?
Wouldn’t Kate still be a fugitive? Why is she so easily accessible to Jack?
Grade A

Brothers & Sisters-This is one of my favorite shows right now. I thought the finale had the right mix of laughter (McAllister’s crazy family, plus Kevin making out in the kitchen) and tears (Justin’s tearful goodbye at the airport). Sometimes simple is better.
Grade A-

How I met your mother- I would have missed this show if CBS didn’t renew it. The finale set the season in motion for next year, Ted knows that he & Robin would never work and we may be in for a whole bunch more “suiting up” now that’s he single. And I love Barney. He was hysterical “Tell us what? Tell us what? Tell us what?” And the Price Is Right episode a few weeks back was fantastic.
Grade B+

The Office-Everything that happened at Dunder Mifflin while Michael was in NYC was hysterical. Dwight, Andy, Pam, so frikkin funny. I don’t like that Jan is a shell of her former self. I liked her more when she was badass. So, Pam & Jim finally have a date. That’s sweet, but I’m not so sure I’d be jumping for joy to date a guy that left his current girlfriend in NYC without a way home. Best part was the last 4 seconds when Ryan got the job.
Grade B+

Scrubs-The finale was entertaining (as always) –I especially liked when Dr. Cox started his little “long list bit” and Dr. Kelso cut him off. But I’m not too excited about the whole JD/Eliott thing. They’ve explored that, a lot. And I really like their friendship now. It doesn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth like George/Izzie but I still don’t like it.
Grade B

Desperate Housewives-The easiest way to do this is to make 2 lists. What I liked: Susan & Mike finally getting married, the return of Bree, Gabby & Carlos, Lynette’s fight with her mom, the cliffhanger.
What I didn’t like: Why is Gabby such a weakling? Old gabby never would have married that turd. Same goes for Edie…she use to be badass. Now she’s all soft in the middle and depressed enough to kill herself over Carlos? Plus, the best way to ruin a cliffhanger is when you know a castmember is not leaving the show.
Grade B

Dancing with the Stars-I know you are all going to say I’m biased but Joey totally should have won! He kicked major ass on that show! Plus, there were random JC sightings throughout the season (boy’s hair needs some help!!) Although the only person who could have beat Joey without me throwing things at the tv was Apollo so at least the tv didn’t have to suffer.
Grade B

Heroes-I know I’m going to get some flack about this, because when I watched it I thought it was awesome. But then I thought about it. I thought about other shows that build all season to a big finale and how it is all concluded. When Buffy had to fight the Master, Angel, Faith or Adam the fight didn’t end anti-climatically in 30 seconds. I looked on the clock when Sylar and Peter finally faced it each other and it was like 9:54. Bah! I was ready for the fight. I was ready for the knock out brawl. But Hiro just shows up, stabs Sylar, and Nathan flies Peter away. Bah I say! That’s why this show will never be one of my absolute favorites, it is so close, but just can’t get there. Maybe the writers should rent some Buffy Dvds to see how a year long battle should look.
Grade B-

My Name is Earl-This episode had some funny moments, but it ended on such a downer. Earl in jail? All alone? That’s sad. Karma was supposed to make it all better.
Grade B-

Grey’s Anatomy- Sick, sick, sick of Derek-Meredith drama. And a note to the writers of the show: Can Meredith’s life not suck, just for like 15 seconds? This year was ridiculous. Her mom, her step mom, her dad slapping her. It is all terrible. There is only so much one woman can take. And I am completely opposed to this whole George-Izzie thing. I don’t like it one bit. I like both characters tremendously, but together, BAH! Same thing with Karev and smashed face lady? Could I care any less? And since when is Bailey all wussy and losing Chief Resident to Callie? And how the hell did George fail his intern exam? The only good part was Sandra Oh’s breakdown at the end. I don’t know, I hope this show didn’t peak already.
Grade C

Survivor-I’ll never understand why the jury is so bitter. I mean, unless you were backstabbed by your one true confidant, you really have no reason to be bitter. It just means someone else’s alliance was better than yours. Anywhoo, once Yau was gone it was obvious that Earl was going to take it. This season was kind of eh-eh.
Grade C

24-This is pretty depressing. You know something is wrong with the world when I have the final 3 episodes of the season tivo’d and I couldn’t care less. Don’t care about Milo or Nadia or Jack (well of course I care about Jack) but I don’t care about anyone else. The issue with this season is that there were too many new characters. It is not the same without those old faces that have been through thick and thin with Jack. I’m not too concerned for the series though because it seems that every 3 years they stink. So hopefully next year will kick ass again and I’ll have my Power Hour back.
Grade F

Veronica Mars-I actually wasn’t a fan of the self contained episodes. But I didn’t realize until the last ep when V was all the rage trying to track down who taped her & piz at their most intimate that the issue is she needs to be invested in the central mystery. If it is just a job then her heart is not as much into it. And I’ll tell you, I loved the beating Logan gave Piz. Sure Piz didn’t deserve it, but I think he stinks and Logan was defending V’s honor. If my new boyfriend taped us and my old boyfriend broke 3 ribs of said new boyfriend I’d be impressed. That’s love. And even though V was pissed, she realized that when Piz didn’t respond when they were being taunted and when Logan went after the real culprit. He didn’t care, he did it for her. Because she is everything to him. So all of that was fun. It was fun to see V at her most bitchiness (season 1 style) and to see Dick actually have some feelings. But, it definitely did not compare to the previous 2 season finales of this show. At the same time it is bittersweet for all the reasons listed in my opening paragraph. Although there are rumblings that Rob Thomas wants to take V to the big screen *crossing fingers*.

Season Finale B
Series Finale D

That’s all for now friends. I’ll be in movie review overdrive the next couple of weeks. I just watched The Queen and have The Departed & Half Nelson to watch next.

KT Update-News from the Upfronts

2007-05-21T17:19:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, it is me, and as I'm sure most of you know I'm heartbroken over the network that shall not be named's decision to cancel Veronica Mars. I'm completely at a loss when a network decides to keep a show like One Tree Hill and to ax Veronica. That is why my friends, I am breaking up with the CW. It is kind of sad since this network is the child of the WB and UPN, networks that housed some of my favorites, like Buffy, Angel and Roswell, but that time is over and now I think the CW stinks and I don't like it. I'll continue to include it in my schedule updates, but besides that, I shall speak of it no more.

In happier news, How I met your Mother and Scrubs were both picked up. As was Friday Night Lights. I'm going to try to watch that this summer as so many of you have spoken so highly of it. Studio 60 did not get picked up and will show its remaining episodes starting this week I believe. I'm not really going to get into too much of the season finales, I'll send out a season finale and overall season report card next week after I've seen everything and have recovered from next season's schedule (which was attached to your email).

Please see below for a sneak peak at the network's new shows for the fall. I didn't include "Heroes:Origins" which is basically a spinoff of Heroes that will air when the original is in repeats. Oh and big news is that I haven't heard where they are officially putting Lost next year, but I do know (as do most of you) that we have 3 seasons of 16 episodes ea left, and they will most likely start in February.

Overall the new shows look eh-eh. At this point I'm scared to watch anything, I don't want to get invested and then be sad when my show is pulled. Maybe I'll just watch the shows that I already like, and wait til the end of the season to see what survived. Then I can get up to date with dvds or repeats and watch the second, I'll call it my Friday Night Lights strategy.

NBC

JOURNEYMAN-a romantic mystery-drama about a San Francisco newspaper reporter and family man who inexplicably begins to travel through time and change people's lives. Along the way, he also must deal with the difficulties and strife at work and home brought on by his sudden disappearances.

CHUCK - From Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.") and McG (Charlie’s Angels) comes a one-hour, comedic spy thriller about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") - a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. Hey guess what? Adam Baldwin (“Jayne” Firefly or “Hamilton” Angel) and Sarah Lancaster (“Madison” Everwood or “Marjorie” What About Brian) are on this show. Neat.

BIONIC WOMAN – I don’t know if you should be messing around with the Bionic Woman. I mean Jaimie Summers was kick ass. I’m a little scared of this one. Plus, how hard up for creative ideas do you have to be to remake a tv show? BAH!

LIFE-- A detective who was wrongly imprisoned for a crime returns to the force after his release.

LIPSTICK JUNGLE Remember Sex & the City? This is the network version, and there are only 3 women, not 4. Audrey from 24 is an editor-in-chief of a hot fashion magazine (Carrie Bradshaw much?), Brooke Shields finds is trying balance career and family (Miranda??). And some chick that use to be on 90210 but wasn’t one of the major cast members longs to make her dreams come true, and maybe find Mr. Right along the way (paging Charlotte York).

ABC

Big Shots- Four top executives lean on one another for help in their personal and professional lives. Cast looks interesting as the “4 top execs” are Michael Vartan (Alias), Dylan McDermott (The Practice), Christopher Titus (Titus) and some other dude. (Thursdays, 10)

Cashmere Mafia-What! Yet another Sex & the City rip off? This one stars
Lucy Liu and is produced by SATC producer Darren Star!!!

Dirty Sexy Money- An idealistic lawyer inherits his late father's practice -- representing a wealthy, ne'er-do-well family with a closet full of skeletons. Notable castmembers: Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), Donald Sutherland and Billy Baldwin. Could be interesting as it is produced by Greg Berlanti (Everwood, Brothers & Sisters) and Bryan Singer (Superman Returns). (Wed, 10)

Eli Stone-Shut up!!! I frikkin love Jonny Lee Miller! Ever since frikkin Hackers I’ve been waiting for him to do something! Yay! Booo, now this means I’m going to have to watch this show. Well, I guess I better see who else is in it and what it is about. A lawyer becomes convinced he's a modern-day prophet. Hmm. Ok, unique premise. Who else is in it? Victor Garber, I like him. Natasha Henstridge, Loretta Devine (ooh I like her, that’s the Chief’s wife from Grey’s). And, it is brought to us by Greg Berlanti and Ken Olin (Brothers & Sisters!) Excited I am!!

Private Practice-Looks like Addison is leaving Seattle Grace after being passed over for chief and heading to LA. I like the cast a lot, but between them they have like 7 failed series under their belts. I thought the introduction was terrible (from the episode of Grey’s) but hopefully it will get better. Check out the cast and see if you can pass it up.
Tim Daly (The Nine, Eyes)
Taye Diggs (Day Break, Kevin Hill)
Paul Adelstein (Prison Break)
Merrin Dungey (Alias)
Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars, Life as We Know it)
Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy)

Pushing Daisies-We all know what happened to the show that cried “big hit” from 2006 (poor Matthew Perry, I really liked him in Studio 60), but that’s what this show is for 07. A man discovers his touch can bring the dead back to life -- but they die again if he touches them a second time. Notable Cast: Lee Pace ( the brother on Wonderfalls), Kristin Chenoweth (The West Wing, but mostly known broadway, she was the Glenda in Wicked ), Chi McBride (The Nine, Boston Public), Swoosie Kurtz (most recently seen as Locke’s mother on Lost, I remember most fondly from Sisters).

Women's Murder Club-Imaging if Sex and the City were set in San Francisco and instead of talking about men, the girls solve murder cases. Notable cast: Remember Season 2 of 24? The blond girl who was actually a terrorist, she is one of our crime stoppers.

Carpoolers-Four very different men use their daily commute to bond and vent about their lives. Jerry O’Connell is one of the aforementioned commuters. (Tues, 8:30)

Cavemen-Are you frikkin kidding me? Veronica Mars gets cancelled and crap like this gets picked up? I am picking up and moving to Canada immediately if this show becomes a hit. Inspired by the Geico commercials, three modern cavemen try to make it in the moder world. (Tues, 8)

Miss/Guided-Judy Greer (who you might remember as George Sr. assistant from Arrested Development or Violet from “jawbreaker” or I’m pretty sure she was Jennifer Garner’s best friend in “13 Going on 30”) who was unpopular in high school returns to her alma mater as a guidance counselor.

Sam I Am-Christina Applegate awakens from an 8-day coma with complete amnesia about who she was before an accident. Starting over, she learns that she while she's much nicer now, she may have enjoyed herself more then. Oh look! And Barry Watson has a job now that What About Brian has been canceled! And also here is the wacky ex-first lady from 24! This cast is pretty likable, I may have to check this one out. (Mon, 9:30)

CBS

Big Bang Theory-Imagine if Beauty & the Geek were a sitcom. This is pretty much how it would look. It stars Johnny Galecki (Roseanne) and the blond daughter from 8 Simple Rules.

Cane-A South Florida family runs their successful rum and sugar business while dealing with both professional and personal turmoil.ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz. Oh sorry. This one stars Jimmy Smits.

Kid Nation-Forty kids between the ages of 8 and 15 are given 40 days to build a new community -- complete with their own cooking, businesses and government -- in the ghost town of Bonanza City, New Mexico.

Moonlight- Dude, you’ve got to BE KIDDING ME!!! I just read the synopsis for this show and I am flabbergasted. Check it out and let me know if it sounds vaguely familiar. A vampire for 60 years, Mick St. James works as a private investigator, dealing with the difficulties of immortality, a slew of undead adversaries and his love for a mortal woman. !!!!!!!! So, pretty much this show is Angel, without David Boreanz, SMG, and Joss Whedon. So, why should I watch it?

Viva Laughlin; Based on the BBC format "Viva Blackpool," a man's dream of opening a casino in Laughlin, Nevada is compromised by his family, his rivals and his involvement in a murder investigation. Musical numbers unexpectedly ensue. Wait, what? I may have to check this out just because it sounds so insane. Musical numbers and gambling? Plus you have Hugh Jackman popping in every now and again, along with Melanie Griffith, D.B. Woodside (aka the Pres on 24 or the principal on buffy), and Shelly from twin peaks.

Swingtown-Residents of a Chicago suburb in the '70s are into couple swapping, open marriages and key parties, but they soon come to realize that their alternative lifestyle comes with its own complications. Notable Casting: Grant Show from Melrose Place!!
Fox

Back to You-After an embarrassing incident, a big city news anchor (Kelsey Grammer) has to head back to his old market, where he has to reteam with his former co-anchor, who also happens to be his ex (Patricia Heaton)

K-ville-Two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is far from rebuilt, a city full of criminals with an under-manned and unprepared police force. Two partners patrol the streets of the Big Easy, doing their part to save the city. I probably won’t watch this since I hate cop shows, but for those of you that like cop shows, you should give it a try since I like Cole Hauser and he is in this. You’ve probably seen him before, he’s one of Affleck’s and Damon’s best friends. He’s had bit parts in Good Will Hunting and School Ties and he was the bad guy in 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Kitchen Nightmares-Gordon Ramsay travels the country visiting restaurants in crisis and helping them get their kitchens back in order. That’s funny, the food network has a show just like this except it is Bobby Flay who is helping to save the restaurants. I like Bobby Flay better than this guy, so I give this show a big boo bah hiss!

Nashville-A reality show featured in Nashville. Wow’s sounds exciting.

New Amsterdam-Another Angel Ripoff! John Amsterdam in the 17th century and served as a Dutch solider in the colony of New Amsterdam. That makes it really strange that in 2007, he's still working as a New York City homicide detective. Funny what a little immortality will do. Bah! All this does is make me miss Joss more. Booooo.

KT side note, Joss, I implore you, although I LOVE the Buffy comics surely you can write a tv show or a movie AND a buffy comic can’t you? PUH-LEASE!!!!!

Canterbury's Law-A rebellious female defense attorney (Julianna Marguiles), in a strained marriage to a law professor, is willing to do whatever it takes to protect the wrongfully accused. Blah, blah, blah.

The Return of Jezebel James-busy book editor has to turn to her estranged younger sister to carry her baby. Interesting concept, and I do like Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under).

The Sarah Connor Chronicles-Filling in the gaps between the second and third "Terminator" films, Sarah Connor and her son John, humanity's future savior, must fight to stay alive in a dangerous world full of threats both from the present and the future. Hey, River from Firefly is in this and allegedly she is kicking ass. That might be enough for me to tune in. Although if anything on fox’s schedule screams short lived it is this.

That's all folks, I'll be back next week with finale thoughts!!

CW- Or As I like to refer to it, the channel that no longer resides on my tv. But since I am an information giver, I will tell you of their new shows that I hope all tank. I put a curse on the whole CW! I HOPE NEXT YEAR YOU GO OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!

Aliens in America-Sixteen-year-old Justin Tolchuk is just another awkward teen trying to keep a low profile when his mother decides to take in a foreign exchange student. When Raja Musharaff, a Pakistani Muslim, arrives, he and Justin find common ground in trying to survive high school in America

Gossip Girl-Don’t try to trick me CW! Just because Kristen Bell is narrating this show doesn’t mean I’ll watch. Well, not unless Logan and Papa Mars decide to show up too. Based on the books of the same name that revolve around the lives of privileged Manhattan prep school teens whose scandalous lives are revealed online by the mysterious blogger known only as Gossip Girl.

Life is Wild- Remember Everwood? Well, pretend the dad moved the family to South Africa instead of Colorado, and that the mom didn’t die.

Reaper-EEEEEEEEEEE! Even if I hadn’t already shunned the CW there would be no way I’d watch this show! Laura Palmer’s father is in it and I’m still scarred from Twin Peaks!!! Sam's parents never asked much of him, allowing him to become the best slacker he could be. It turns out, they didn't expect any future for him because they had already sold his soul to the devil, who wants Sam as his new bounty hunter.

KT Update!-The Status of your shows!

2007-04-18T15:02:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I’ve got a bit of gossip and news, so I figured I’d give a shout out pre-May sweeps and upfronts.

In case you’ve forgotten, network upfronts are when networks announce their lineups for the fall season (it is also a time for freaking out, if you are waiting to hear about the fate of your favorite show). Here is the schedule for the 2007 Network Upfronts:
5/14 NBC
5/15 ABC
5/16 CBS
5/17 Fox & CW

There are a few shows I’m waiting patiently (i.e. biting my fingernails) to hear about. First and foremost, Veronica Mars (which finally returns May 1). Chatter a few weeks back was fairly positive, but these days I’m not hearing good things. If the CW cancels VM after not picking up Everwood last year, I’m done with it. It will be banished from my tv FOREVER. Especially after I heard that V is going to be super duper mean to my man Logan in the finally. I don’t think I will be able to get over that heartbreak, if the show ends with them on bad terms.
Surprisingly, another favorite of mine, How I met Your Mother, has not been picked up either. Hello, CBS? What in the crap are you waiting for? That show is Swar-tastic! It is my favorite sitcom (especially since NBC cancelled Andy Barker, P.I. after only TWO, TWO frikkin episodes!!!!! I liked that show too, I liked that Buster from AD was in it and I love Andy Richter. Stoopid NBC.)

In other tv news, I finally watched an episode of 30 Rock, which I very much enjoyed. Although truthfully a big part of it was that Gob from AD was a guest star last week, but it has now officially made it to my season pass list.

I’m sure all the survivor fanatics already know, but it was announced that the next season will take place on mainland China.

The Soap Network is now airing Season 1 of The O.C. It plays at 3 & 6. Check out the old OC gang back when the show was fun.

Men In Trees Fans do not despair! Even though the show has not been on for weeks and will most likely not return until the fall everything is A-OK. The show has already been picked up for next season and the remaining episodes for this season will most likely get tacked onto next season, which means we will have an extended season next year! Hooray!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Lost is kicking ass again. I’m just so excited I don’t know what to do with myself. Hopefully I can stay up long enough to watch it tonight. I’ve heard that the May 2nd episode is “game changing” (which is a locke centric episode) that no less than 5 people will get killed before the end of the season and that the finale will finally promise us the Locke-Jack showdown we’ve been waiting for since season 1. Wanna know who the final episodes center on?
4/18 Desmond
4/25 Jin & Sun
5/2 Locke
5/9 Ben
5/16 Charlie (are we betting that Charlie will bite it?)
5/23 Jack (2 hour finale)

The potential Grey’s Anatomy spin-off (Private Practice) will have its pseudo-premiere (the whole episode will not focus on Addison & her possible departure) on May 3. Check out all of these familiar faces: Taye Diggs, Tim Daly (Wings, Eyes, The Nine), Merrin Dungey (Francie-Alias), Paul Adelstien (Agent Kellerman-Prison Break), Amy Brennemen (Judging Amy) and Chris Lowell (Piz-Veronica Mars).

A lil bit of movies scoopage for you: Ed Norton will star in the next Incredible Hulk movie. I’ll reserve my comment to: Interesting.

I love when I can give some Buffy News. So, the 8th season of Buffy is now available a la comic book. So far the story looks pretty promising and it is fun to see the gang. Although it makes me a little depressed because I’d rather read a buffy comic than watch 75% of what’s on the television. For my buffy fans, you can find the comics (which are written by Joss) in your local comic book store, or you can order them from Dark Horse.com although then you have to pay shipping.

I guess that’s all for now kiddies. May is dangerously close, sweeps is upon us. Yikes!!!

KT Updates-Couples and Cancellations

2007-04-03T17:35:00.000-04:00

I don't have too much today, but I did hear about some tv cancellations and I thought I'd share the scoopage. 7th Heaven, The Black Donnelly's and Six Degrees have all been axed. Six Degrees is not a surprise and 7th Heaven should not have returned this year (stoopid CW-that's what you get for not picking up Everwood!). On the plus side, the CW announced a cancellation and it WASN'T Veronica Mars, so that's all good. I have heard many a rumor that the cast has been released from their contracts, but creator Rob Thomas has confirmed that Veronica, Keith & Logan are still signed on for another year, if there is one (what about Wallace? *tear*).

I'm sad about The Black Donnelly's although truth be told I haven't watched an episode yet. I have them all tivo'd but I might as well erase them now anyway--my friend Jackie was supposed to debut in episode 8, which, if NBC doesn't pull it, will air April 16.

There is no word from NBC what the demise of Black Donnelly's means for Studio 60.

On a completely different topic, I was reading my US Weekly this morning when I realized there are all sorts of couples out there I didn't know about. Did you know that Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd from Grey's Anatomy is going out with Justin from Brothers & Sisters (or the side-mouth talker from Reunion). That's awesome! He's like 10 years younger than her. Rock on sister!

Also, Denny from Grey's is going out with Mary Louise Parker! I was completely surprised but that news.

On the new coupling front, it looks like Reese has rebounded from Ryan with Jake Gyllenhaal. I think they make a cute couple.

Finally, to go back to tv for a hot second. I don't watch educational tv very often, but I want to endorse the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series. It is frikkin fraktastic (especially on a 52' HD TV). It took 5 years to make and it is all this footage of the earth & animals and things that have never been caught on footage before. It is really awesome and you should totally check it out. It airs Sunday nights on the Discovery channel through April. Any episode you may have missed you can catch as they re-air these things a zillion times.

That's all for now folks. I'll be back next month with scoopage from the network upfronts (when they release their schedule for next fall) and to discuss fall finales.

P.S. Is everyone loving lost as much as me?

KT Update: TV Tidbits

2007-03-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

Moving stinks. I’m sure most of you know my feelings on moving as I sent out an angry email last week about how much I hate moving and especially Direct-TV; I still disdain the pseudo-tivo and I want to cry because I’m giving my beloved Tivo away next week. And for all of you that say a “dvr” is the same thing as a Tivo, that’s like saying Coke is the same as RC Cola. Boooooo. Anyhoo, let’s get into some pop culture scoopage.

The CW is dangerously close to being blacklisted from my tv. How, how are they considering cancelling Veronica Mars? Didn’t they learn anything from the vex I put on their Monday night schedule for not picking up Everwood? I know this year hasn’t been super stellar but I still love the show (although I do get a bit cranky that Wallace has had about 20 minutes of airtime the whole season) and I will be very sad if the show is not on my schedule next year. Oh, but wait, the show may not get cancelled, they may start season 4 fast forwarded 5 years and Veronica will be an FBI agent! What! Boo, I think this idea stinks and I don’t like it. What about Logan? Pappa Mars? Mac? Wallace? Weevil? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I have stupid networks they always meddle in my shows and make them stink. Remember season 3 of Alias? Boo Bah Hiss!

Can I tell you how much I’m loving Brothers & Sisters? I love that Emily Van Kamp (that’s Amy Abbott for you Everwood fans) is now on the cast. I love the whole Walker clan (although-and I’m sorry Balthazaar—I wouldn’t mind if Tommy and his boring wife went on a long, long, vacation). Are you still not watching? You are missing one of the best shows of the year!!!

I almost vomited last Thursday. George and Izzy? BLECH. Nevermind the fact that they’ve now made George an adulterer, but they’ve ruined a really good friendship. I don’t like it, I don’t like it one bit! And, it gets worse. I’ve heard rumors that they are planning on having George & Izzy fall in love! Double BLECH. Anyone else think this means Isaiah Washington is on his way out? We can’t have 3 fully functioning relationships on the show can we? Then things get boring? Plus, Cristina SO does not want to marry Burke. That’s my guess George+Izzy=No More Burke.

Yeaaah Joey Fatone! Kicking ass on Dancing with the Stars last night! Man I was so proud of him, like the good ol days (it is amazing how much I still love those boys—plus Lance is so cute, he sent out a message to all of his my space friends to watch last night and vote for Joey!) Anyhoo, if you missed you, you need to tune in. Looking like the real competition will be between Joey, Ian Ziering and Lailia Ali, but I gots my money on Joey. Plus it is rather amusing to see how wretched some of these people are!

And I’m done. I started watching American Idol a little too early this year and actually picked an underdog favorite only for her not to make the top 12. Wha, wha wha? Sabrina didn’t make the Top 12? And that boring girl did? And don’t even get me started on the horrendous Sanjaya. So yup, I was in early and I’m out. No more idol for me.

(You like how I’m going back & forth with my tv rants and raves?) I’m really liking Lost these days. I want to know what’s up with Locke, why he’s acting so shady these days? What the heck? Jack’s playing football with the Others? Craziness. Our Charlie’s days really numbered (I’m hearing yes). Plus, we’re finally gonna find out how Locke got into that frikkin wheelchair. I haven’t been this excited for this show since season 1.

One show I’m a little disappointed in this year is 24. I think they’ve killed off too many people and now the show is all about people we don’t really care about. I mean, I like to see Chloe every now and again, but she’s like the only one I’m even remotely emotionally invested in (especially now----Mozz skip this line---------------)
That we know Audrey is dead (is this the 24 movie? Jack’s vengeance for Audrey?)

Mozz—you can come back now.
But yeah. I’m not really feeling it. There are some exciting/fun moments but I think it is an off year for the 24 gang (although not nearly on the level of Season 3’s god awfulness).

I can’t believe I have to wait another month for Heroes to return! It is killing me!

If you were one of the 15 people that watched Kidnapped, you can rent the dvds from netflix as of April 24 to see how it ends (I’m assuming they wrapped things up).

Romber already voted off The Amazing Race! Boo. Boston Rob was the only reason I was watching. Well, at least that is one show I can cut out of my lineup.

I have all of the Black Donnelly episodes tivo'd. I'll discuss after I watch. I caught a bit of October Road, I'll be sure not to catch anymore. I'm not sure when Drive debuts on Fox, but when it does, I'll be watching.

PopStar Update!
So as we all know Brit is in rehab. Hopefully she will get her crap together and have a killer comeback (Timbaland is already saying he wants to work with her and help her with a comeback (and a possible JT reunion). I just hope it is not too late for her.

What’s this? JC gay? Some of you may not be surprised by that statement. Last week gossip was circulating that JC had a member of his entourage ask a guy at a bar back to his room for him. Is Jc gay? My guess is bicurious, like Michael said to me, there have been many moments over the years where we’ve looked at each other and said, that boy has to be gay. Either way, I love the man and I’m still waiting for his damn record.

My other man, Chris Cornell, is heading on the road Han style (that’s Solo—hehe, get it. I stole that joke from How I met Your Mother). Too bad he’s not coming to Charlotte (booo) and even though I’ll actually be in NJ while he’s in NY, I’ll be at the Mets-Phillies game! At least I’ll have my boyfriend Jose Reyes to take my mind off the concert. He’s record comes out in May and here’s hoping it is infinitely better than his last solo record.

Hey, if you want to see the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 trailer it is now online. I don’t know what to think. As much as I liked the first one, I really, really hated the second one. Although I suppose I’ll be a good wife and see it for Jay.

That’s all folks. April is pretty quiet (which means I’ll be netflixing a lot) but I’ll be back to discuss the new fall pilots that make it to the network’s schedule.

KT UPDATE-WATCH THIS SHOW!!!

2007-02-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hello my pop culture junkies,

Often when I implore you to watch a show it is because I have seen it & I think it is excellent and I want to you experience great tv. I'm about to tell you to watch another show for a completely different reason. Some of you know that I have a childhood friend who is an actress. She's been on Broadway, had a guest spot on Law & Order and has tried out for many tv pilots. Jackie has a role on The Black Donnelly's which debuts on NBC at 10pm on Monday Feb 26 (the old Studio 60 slot). Jackie is a recurring character and I'm pretty sure she won't show up until episode 7 or 8, but I'm hoping the show is good & gets better ratings than Studio 60. Of course the "NBC Machine" isn't really promoting the show too much (I think they spend all of their ad $$ on Heroes) so, do me a favor & check out the first episode. If you hate it, never watch it again, but at least check it out. Of course if you hate it and it bombs I'll be nagging you about another show next year as Jackie is currently in LA auditioning for pilot season.

Let's start off with some disappointing Joss Whedon news. I'm very sad to report that he is no longer attached to WonderWoman. According to Joss himself, "I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked." I'm pretty bitter about this actually. The man needs to be putting out some work for me to enjoy! Bah!
In better Whedon news, he is directing tomorrow's (or tonight's depending on when you are reading this) episode of The Office. I'm kinda interested to see the Whedon direct a sitcom, I'm half expecting some vampires to break into Dunder Miflin and make Dwight & Michael into creatures of the night. Then next week, JJ Abrams will be directing an episode, so I half expect Jim & Pam to be going undercover on some super secret spy mission.

In other tv news, the creator of Scrubs announced that there will be a season 7 next year, hopefully on NBC, but if not then definitely on ABC. I'm pretty sure season 7 is supposed to be the final season. Also look out for Kerri Russell to guest soon.

Anyone watching "What About Brian" or is that just me? Anyhoo next week Tiffani Amber Theissen joins the cast. And ya know what, I'm actually starting to like Adam. I hated him with Majorie, but he is definitely growing on me.

Oooh Oooh. HUGE DVD news. HUGE. Finally, on March 13, Bosom Buddies Season 1 will be released! How frikkin awesome is that! What? You are not as excited as I am? You do not even remember this piece of american sitcom genius? Well I am beyond excited as Bosom Buddies was the first show I was ever fanatical about. I remember being 7 and not going out to play with the kids in the neighborhood because Bosom Buddies was on. Come on, Tom Hanks, comic genius!
Also in the "finally getting released" category is Twin Peaks Season 2. Two or three years ago my friend Dave decided he wanted to watch Twin Peaks. So Brother Jimmy, Dave, Jay & I watched Season 1. Ahhh, Season 1. So creepy and quirky. How I'll always love you. But Season 2. Yikes! I'm still traumatized by Bob and that one scene in the Palmer living room. Anyhoo, we bought season 2 on VHS to watch, but then Jimmy & I chickened out for fear that we might accidentally get a glimpse of Bob & be traumatized for another 15 years. You think I'm joking? Ella ordered the VHS's out of her house because of the Bob vibes. I can't remember if Dave ever watched those videos, but here you go, now you can Netflix them.

Movie Reviews sponsored by Netflix:

Cars-Another notch in the Pixar belt, but definitely not as good as previous efforts. That's not saying the movie isn't enjoyable, it is, just not the best of the Pixar films. I thought it was a cute movie and of course I have to come out in support of any film with a Dale Jr cameo (oh did I mention Jay & I went stalking a few weeks ago? No actual person sightings, although we did do a few house drive by's. Fun times!!)***

Little Miss Sunshine-Quite enjoyable. I liked that no matter how f'd up each individual was, they came together as a really strong family that supported and loved each other. ****

United 93-This was hard to watch. I was unbelievably tense throughout the movie and definitely lost it a few times. It is an amazing movie done very well, but I'll never watch it again. If you watch, be ready for a very emotional experience. ****

Invincible-I love movies about Philly. Now that I'm so far away I get all nostalgic when I see it on the big screen. But I enjoyed this movie beyond that. Marky Mark stars as a down on his luck South Philly guy who gets to try out for the Eagles. It is basically Rocky plays football. There is a scene when wahlberg is running through Philly and I half expected him to run up the museum stairs to the Rocky Theme. But still, this movie was enjoyable. ***

Coming up next, "Hollywoodland" and "The Departed".

Grammy's Review. I've said once & I'll say it again. I love watching awards shows with my tivo. I'm actually a little bummed that I'll have to watch the Oscars tivo-less as I'll be in NJ. That means I have to watch the whole show. The Grammy's crack me up because it is not even an awards show anymore. It is a musical exhibition with 6 awards given out. But I've known that for a while so it doesn't really bother me anymore. And as most of my favorite artists were nominated, I really didn't care about the winners. I will say that I'm glad the Dixie Chicks won. I'm sure a lot of their win was because everyone likes controversy, but truth be told, I really like that song & I've heard that the record is quite good. I also thought their performance was excellent. Actually, I thought most of the performances were good. Usually there are several performances that either put me to sleep or make me cringe but I thought it was a pretty good showcase of music. Did you catch my girl Corrine Bailey Rae?

Oh and for everyone that weighed in on the "Great TV Debate of 07", thank you. Jay has purchased his 52' inch Sharp Aquos (LCD) along with a playstation 3 so we can watch those super high quality movies (although I think Jay may have just manipulated me into buying a $600 gaming system!)

Ok kiddies, that's all for now. I'll be back around Oscar time!

KT Update-I didn't forget about the award shows!

2007-02-02T11:02:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! Much to dish on, SAG awards, Golden Globes Oscar nominations, tv!!! Let’s get started shall we?

I want to start off with tv today. So, I have this thing. I don’t think it is really intentional, but I’m usually in front of the masses or way, way behind. I don’t like jumping on the boat after something has been deemed “the next big thing”. If I didn’t catch it before, then I’m waiting until things die down to get on. As I mentioned in my last blog I’ve started watching Grey’s Anatomy. When I came back from NJ in Jan I had Season 2 in hand which I just finished and wow. I’m sorry to Sandra Oh, who I disparaged when she won the Golden Globe. I love Christina and Bailey and George and even Burke. I just really like everyone, although Meredith & McDreamy get on my nerves a bit. I didn't see the beginning of this season so I don't know why she picked him over McVet-man Chris O'Donnell looked hot all scruffy like that! Thank God I knew that Denny was going to die because I probably would have had a nervous breakdown when that happened, I mean for the love of God I was hysterical anyway. So yeah, finished Season 2 yesterday, and hey it was Thursday! I can’t wait until the summer to get caught up on Season 3! So I just called Brother Jimmy for a season 3 update and jumped right into Season 3 last night. Nice!!! So yeah, I’m officially on the Grey’s bandwagon.

In other tv news. 24 has premiered & I couldn’t be happier. I love how broken Jack is. But, I do have to say, they need to add some more likable characters. I hate everyone in the White House (now that Karen Hayes is gone, and bah! How could she cave to that weasel!) Chad Lowe was on screen for 25 seconds and I already hope he gets killed. Plus, last week was a little, blaaah. Which I guess is ok, 24 can’t be AWESOME every week, you have to save some of the awesome so it doesn’t run out. So on the whole, I’m very happy with 24 and I’m calling it right now, that nephew is Jack’s son!!!

Originally I was going to tell you to start watching “The Knight’s of Prosperity”. It is a really funny, quirky show about 6 people who decide that their lives are crap so they are going to rob Mick Jagger to make all of their dreams come true. But, alas, another fun, quirky show bites the dust as ABC has told the writers that they will not get any more episodes (which means as soon as it finishes this run it is done). BOOOOO! Of course the show is gonna get trampled, it is up vs. Idol!!! ABC should really give this show another chance in a new timeslot.

Hey Everwood fans! Emily Van Camp (Amy Abbott) has been cast as Holly’s daughter on Brothers & Sisters! Yay! And hello, are you all watching this show yet? It has quickly become one of my favorites!

Here are some more tv start dates for you:
Sarah Silverman Project (Comedy Central) Debuted yesterday but will re-air about 8 times before the next episode
Lost February 7
Survivor February 9
The Amazing Race All Stars (featuring Rob & Amber) Feb 18
The Sopranos/Entourage April 8

Movie Reviews Sponsored by Netflix
Rating Scale (* Eh, ** Good, but I don’t need to watch it again, *** Great, ****One of my favorites)

Mission Impossible III
I hate Tom Cruise. I tried to get through this movie without thinking about how much I hate him but then he went and let Felicity die!!! This movie was alright. I’m glad I didn’t shell out $8 for it. **

EEEEE! The Buffy comic comes out next month! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Double EEEEEEEEE! Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows will be out July 21, one week after Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix debuts in theaters!

Alright, award season. All this house stuff has got me preoccupied and I haven’t been able to comment on award show fashion & winners. I promise I’ll be on the ball for the Oscars.

Golden Globes-I’m going to restrict my comments to TV since I haven’t seen any movies & the same people won at the Globes that won at the SAG’s.
Given my new found Grey’s love, I’m sure it is surprising that I’m upset the show took the globe for best drama. I do think the show was kick ass in season 2, but no way was it better than Jack Bauer! That last season of 24 was legendary. I might not have minded so much if the Globes would have give Kiefer the best actor award, but instead that went to Hugh Laurie. Don’t get me wrong, he is awesome as House, but not a single smidgen as awesome as Jack Bauer!!!! The Globes like to be all, look at us, we’re soooo ahead of everyone else, so I wasn’t surprised that America Ferrera won for best comedic actress for Ugly Betty, but the show itself winning? That might be a tad much. Entourage was way on top of its game this year.

SAG’s-All of the movie awards went to the exact people who won Globes, except that Little Miss Sunshine took best ensemble cast. Bah! Why does everyone love Hugh Laurie! Jack Bauer avenged all of his friend’s deaths & caught the President of the United States red handed! What more does the man need to do!
Chandra Wilson, who plays Bailey on Grey’s won for Best Actress, drama which I’m down with because Bailey rules. And Grey’s won for best drama, which, you can see my comments above concerning the Globes to see how I feel.

Oscar Nominations. In the words of bad girl slayer Faith, “Look who’s all dressed up in big sister’s clothes.” That pretty sums up the Oscar nominations this year. Have the Oscars finally gotten it right? Did they finally take some chances? Oh hells yeah they did.
First big surprise comes for Best Male Actor. Ryan Gosling (who you probably know from The Notebook) gets a nod for Half Nelson. Half Nelson is a little movie that had a lot of buzz. I didn’t think it had a polar bear’s chance in hell of getting a nomination for Gosling. Nice. Marky Mark got a nomination for his supporting role in The Departed. This is also a nice surprise. Wahlberg was getting a lot of buzz, but a lot of times the Oscar’s completely ignore buzz. My feeling is, that if there is going to be a surprise at the show, it will be in this category. I can see someone stealing the gold from Murphy.
For best supporting actress, Abigail Bresnen (the little girl from Little Miss Sunshine) sneaks in. Finally, the biggest surprise is that DreamGirls got shutout of the Best Picture race. I’m putting my money on “Letters from Iwo Jima”. Eastwood has been getting a lot of praise for this film, and if the Academy gives Scorcese an award for Best Director, I expect Iwo Jima to take best film. Definitely an interesting race with no clear leader.

So the nominations held some surprises, will the show? I fear not as the top four (actress, actor, supporting actor, actress) have been the same at the SAGs and the Globes. I’ll be holding out for some sort of action. Although, my tivo makes awards show viewing a much happier experience. I get through it in about 30 min. Love my tivo!

So that’s all for now folks. I think the Grammy’s are coming up soon. I have no idea when, I’ve always hated the Grammy’s and I think the performances never live up to the hype. But I’ll probably watch it and report back.

kt

KT Update-He Met Who???

2007-01-12T08:50:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello. I’m sorry it has been a while since my last update, but there hasn’t really been too much going on. But now I feel like I have sufficient information to share with you. So let’s begin, shall we?

Let’s start off with the best thing I’ve heard in quite a while. My friend Shannon, who lives in California, reported to me that her boyfriend saw THE WHEDON in the grocery store! EEEEE! That’s enough to make a girl piddle. That’s why I can’t live in LA. I would have a heart attack with all the famous people I would see (or I’d be arrested for being a stalker). But how awesome is that? Frankie didn’t talk to the Whedon but promises that if he sees him again will talk about Firefly. EEE! In related Whedon news, the Whedon has just confirmed that he will be directing an episode of The Office. That’s all very nice & fun, but where is the Buffy comic?? And for the love of god what about Wonderwoman? Let’s get on it!!!

In other tv news, as many of you know, The O.C. has been cancelled, the final episode will air on Feb. 22. I was a casual fan of the show, I flirted with fandom there in Season 2 for a bit but the show lost my attention pretty quickly. But I do feel for all of the devoted fans who will lose their show.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dangerously close to the new 24! Can’t wait for Jack Bauer Power Hour!! I heard the 2 day 4 hour premiere is awesome and that something super jaw dropping will take place in the 4th hour. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out when your favorite show returns:
MONDAY 1/8
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) at 8 p.m.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) at 9:30 p.m.
What About Brian? (ABC) at 10 p.m.

TUESDAY 1/9
House (FOX) at 9 p.m.
Boston Legal (ABC) at 10 p.m.

THURSDAY 1/11
Smallville (CW) at 8 p.m.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC) at 9 p.m.
Supernatural (CW) at 9 p.m.
Men in Trees (ABC) at 10 p.m.

SUNDAY 1/14
7th Heaven (CW) at 8 p.m.
24 (FOX) at 8 p.m. (2-hour premiere)
Rome (HBO) at 9 p.m.
Extras (HBO) at 10 p.m.
Crossing Jordan (NBC) at 10 p.m.

MONDAY 1/15
Everybody Hates Chris (CW) at 8 p.m.
The Hills (MTV) at 10 p.m.

TUESDAY 1/16
American Idol (FOX) at 8 p.m. (2-hour premiere)
The Unit (CBS) at 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 1/17
One Tree Hill (CW) at 9 p.m.

FRIDAY 1/19
Monk (USA) at 9 p.m.
Psych (USA) at 10 p.m.

SUNDAY 1/21
Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi) at 10 p.m.

MONDAY 1/22
Prison Break (FOX) at 8 p.m.
Heroes (NBC) at 9 p.m.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) at 10 p.m.

TUESDAY 1/23
Gilmore Girls (CW) at 8 p.m.
Veronica Mars (CW) at 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 1/24
Bones (FOX) at 8 p.m.
The George Lopez Show (ABC) at 8 p.m.

SUNDAY 1/28
King of the Hill (FOX) at 8:30 p.m.

So, I tried really, really hard to fight the power. I refused to get sucked in to the hysteria that has most of you, but damn Lifetime started airing the first season of Grey’s Anatomy and I couldn’t help myself, I watched. And I liked. Man, Patrick Dempsey is such a hottie! So, I’m going to get myself all caught up on Seasons 1 & 2 and maybe next year I’ll be able to watch Season 3 before the new season premieres. Bah! I hate getting sucked in.

New Music!
Wow, it has been a long time since I’ve talked about new music. This year for Christmas Santa brought me the new Killers cd, which I am enjoying. I also purchased the latest OKGO cd, which I like a lot and is much more than just “the treadmill song”. Truthfully though, the artist that has been owning my IPOD as of late is Corrine Bailey Rae. Who the heck is Corrine Bailey Rae you might ask? Well, she is a British singer that is starting to break out in the U.S.
She was the musical guest a few weeks back on Studio 60 and I really liked her music. Her music has kind of an old school vibe. It is very sensual & smooth. Anyhoo, I think you should check her out on Itunes or myspace.

Reviews Sponsored by Netflix
Rating Scale (* Eh, ** Good, but I don’t need to watch it again, *** Great, ****One of my favorites)
Well, A History Of Violence has been sitting on my entertainment center since March! Yikes can you believe that? I finally got around to watching it and definitely enjoyed it. Things moved pretty quickly and wow, there was a wee bit of violence (and a CRAZY sex scene) but definitely an interesting movie. **1/2

By the way, did I ever mention that I finally watched The Squid and The Whale? One word for that movie, uncomfortable. *

Weeds-Look at Showtime, all grows up! Actually, I’m kinda of bitter because I’m getting Showtime for free right now & Weeds isn’t on! This show is spectacular. It follows a suburban house wife that becomes a pot dealer after her husband dies ( so she can make ends meet). Mary Louise Parker is outstanding and deserves all the accolades she’s been getting. Other stand out performances include Kevin Nealon and Elizabeth Perkins (who you know as Tom Hanks girlfriend in Big). Season 1 is out on dvd right now and I can’t recommend it enough. ****

In Theaters
One of the groups I joined in NC often has free movie screenings (that’s how I got to see Rocky Balboa). Last week Jay & I ventured out to see Freedom Writers. This is not a movie that I had any interest in seeing, but hey, its free right? It is pretty much exactly like it looks, just like Dangerous Minds. I thought the kids had a lot of heart and I felt for many of them, but Hilary Swank was annoying. The movie was pretty good, but I wouldn’t recommend paying $8 to see it and I probably won’t ever watch it again. **

Award season is upon us. The Golden Globes are next Monday and the SAG nominations have been announced, which means that Oscar noms are not too far behind. Honestly, I’m not very excited about it this year. Maybe it is because I haven’t seen any of the movies, but I don’t know. I find myself very blah about it all this year. What’s wrong with me??

Anyhoo, that’s all for me today. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me next week after the Golden Globes and the 2 night premiere of Jack Bauer!

KT Update! Golden Globes!!

2006-12-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Golden Globe nominations were this morning but I have a few other stories & tidbits to go through first.

Today Jay & I went for our NC license. I’ve been driving for 13 years so I think it is a bit ridiculous that a state that allows people to sit in the bed of a pick up truck makes me take a written test, but that’s the way it goes. Anyhoo, I felt very confident going into the test & even got a little excited when I saw that the test is on a computer a la the excellent Corey Haim movie, License to Drive. There are 25 questions, you have to get 20 right to pass. You can skip questions as long as you end up with 20 right. So I was moving right along, flying through the test with one wrong and 19 right when I got 4 in a row wrong!!!!!! Suddently I’m sweating and all I can think of is that stupid Corey Haim movie and how it said it big ugly letters across the screen YOU FAIL!!!!!!! So it comes down to the final question and really, it is a toss up. Here is the question. You you’re your brakes. Do you: A. shift into neutral & use the emergency brake or B. shift into a lower gear & use the emergency brake. (the third option was definitely wrong)…Thank God I looked through the manual, because I remember thinking, wow, if you shifted into another gear you’d mess up your transmission! And praise Jesus I passed the exam. I seriously would have crawled into a hole if I had failed.

In other news, my new friend Jules invited me to a sneak preview of the new Rocky movie. Honestly, I really wasn’t interested in seeing the movie (at all) but I like Jules & there were going to be some other people for the Go Charlotte Social Club there so I figured, what the heck. Plus it was free. So the lights go down, the music starts, 5 minutes later, I’m completely sucked in. I don’t know how much everyone knows about the storyline, so I won’t speak specifics, but the first hour & a half are pretty depressing. Poor Rocko. I mean, they go so far with the beaten down dog scenario that Rocky even adopts a pitiful, beaten down dog. Of course when he starts training and the music starts it is insane. You get all excited…I couldn’t help myself!! And of course the obligatory running up of the museum steps….awww philly I miss you!!! And then the fight and the cheering and before you know it I’m on the edge of my seat, “Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!” So yeah, there it is, a glowing review & endorsement for the sixth Rocky movie. Who woulda thunk it?

TV news! Here are a few return dates for you all:
Lost, Feb. 7; Grey's Anatomy, Jan. 4; Heroes, Jan. 22; Desperate Housewives, Jan. 7; Ugly Betty, Jan. 4; Gilmore Girls, Jan. 23; Veronica Mars, Jan. 23; Prison Break, Jan. 29; Smallville, Jan. 11; 24, Jan. 14 eeeeeeee! Jack Bauer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you guys hear that Prince will be performing at the Superbowl halftime show? Honestly, I haven’t been impressed by a halftime show for a while, hopefully Prince can kick it up a notch.

So today was the Golden Globe nominations. As has been the case in recent years, I haven’t seen many of these movies so I can’t comment. Although I did think it was interesting that Matt Damon didn’t get nominated (for the Departed or The Good Shepard) and George Clooney didn’t get nominated for his new flick. Also, no James Gandolfini. See below for nominations & the KT comments.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

BABEL
BOBBY
THE DEPARTED
LITTLE CHILDREN
THE QUEEN

Babel is supposedly depressing, Bobby got destroyed by critics (I’m a little surprised it got nominated), The Queen is all about Diana’s death and all I know about Little Children is that my favorite actress, Kate Winslet is in it. The Departed is the favorite I would say, and if I can get the guts to watch it (a wee bit violent I heard) then I’ll let you know.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

PENÉLOPE CRUZ -VOLVER
JUDI DENCH - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL - SHERRYBABY
HELEN MIRREN-THE QUEEN
KATE WINSLET -LITTLE CHILDREN
Here’s a shocker, I haven’t seen any of these, but thanks to my EW subscription I know that Helen Mirren, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kate Winslet have lots of buzz. I’m saying Helen Mirren takes it unless Gyllenhaal can stage an upset.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

LEONARDO DICAPRIO-BLOOD DIAMOND
LEONARDO DICAPRIO-THE DEPARTED
PETER O’TOOLE -VENUS
WILL SMITH -THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
FOREST WHITAKER-THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
I don’t like when an actor is nominated for two roles in the same category. I don’t mind so much if it is different categories, but you mean to tell me that out of all the performances of the whole year you think Leo had two of the best? Doubtful. That being said I am rooting for him for The Departed, although I’m going to see The Pursuit of Happiness tomorrow and that could change my mind (since ya know, I haven’t seen the Departed)

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

BORAT
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
DREAMGIRLS
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
I’ve only seen The Devil Wears Prada and I’m not going to endorse it as the winner (although I did enjoy it). I think this race should come down to Borat vs. DreamGirls. Everyone I know who saw Borat absolutely loved it. It depends if DreamGirls goes the way of Chicago or Rent.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
ANNETTE BENING-RUNNING WITH SCISSORS
TONI COLLETTE-LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
BEYONCÉ KNOWLES-DREAMGIRLS
MERYL STREEP-THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
RENEE ZELLWEGER -MISS POTTER
Annette Benning & Toni Collette are two of my favorites but I have to go with Meryl Streep in this one, she was phenomenal in Prada. Oh and I hate Beyonce.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

SACHA BARON COHEN-BORAT
JOHNNY DEPP-PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
AARON ECKHART - THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR - KINKY BOOTS
WILL FERRELL-STRANGER THAN FICTION

Wow, I’m starting to think this was a really bad year for movies. Johnny Depp? Really? And the worse part is that I can’t even think of anyone to put in his place because I don’t think I saw 5 movies in the theater this year .Pirates of the Carribean, Rocky Balboa, The Da Vinci Code, Devil Wears Prada, Talladega Nights---now that was a comedy. Dang it Sacha Baron Cohen was already nominated in this category as was Will Ferrell!--- ok so I saw 5 movies in the theater!! What is happening to me!! What happened to the days of 5 movies in a month!!! Wow, ok so that’s why the nominations are not impressing me, this year STANK!!!

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

CARS
HAPPY FEET
MONSTER HOUSE
Didn’t see any of these but I heard that Happy Feet was awesome.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

APOCALYPTO (USA)
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (USA/JAPAN)
THE LIVES OF OTHERS (GERMANY)
PAN’S LABYRINTH (MEXICO)
VOLVER (SPAIN)
Ummmmm.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

ADRIANA BARRAZA-BABEL
CATE BLANCHETT-NOTES ON A SCANDAL
EMILY BLUNT- THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
JENNIFER HUDSON-DREAMGIRLS
RINKO KIKUCHI- BABEL
The next two are probably the most hotly contested categories. I think I’ve heard buzz on everyone in this one, though I’m going Jennifer Hudson. I want her to ROCK the Oscars baby. She was robbed on American Idol (I think that was the moment I stopped watching Idol)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

BEN AFFLECK- HOLLYWOODLAND
EDDIE MURPHY- DREAMGIRLS
JACK NICHOLSON-THE DEPARTED
BRAD PITT-BABEL
MARK WAHLBERG-THE DEPARTED
Yikes! This is a hard one! Barring performances, (cause I haven’t seen any!) I’m still torn because you all know I love a comeback (Affleck, Murphy) but I also love when someone finally gets some acclaim (Pitt, Wahlberg). Pretty much I will be happy so long as it is not Nicholoson. I don’t know how you become an acclaimed actor by playing the same personality type over and over. So let’s break this down. I’m a little mad at Eddie Murphy for saying that Scary Spice’s baby isn’t his (although maybe she is just a slut) but I think it comes down to Wahlberg vs. Affleck. I mean can you beat Calvin Klein boxer briefs vs. Gigli? I don’t care which of these two win.

Alrighty, let’s get into some categories where I can make real judgements!!

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

24 (FOX)
BIG LOVE (HBO)
GREY’S ANATOMY (ABC)
HEROES (NBC)
LOST (ABC)

Overall I’m not too upset, although I am surprised by the absence of Studio 60 and Brothers & Sisters. For me, this has to be 24. Frikkin unbelievable last year (although I wouldn’t throw anything at the tv if Heroes won).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

PATRICIA ARQUETTE-MEDIUM
EDIE FALCO-THE SOPRANOS
EVANGELINE LILLY- LOST
ELLEN POMPEO-GREY’S ANATOMY
KYRA SEDGWICK-THE CLOSER
As I’ve said before, Falco was stellar last year on The Sopranos and Sedgwick is The Closer. I’m a little eh-eh about Evangeline Lilly & Ellen Pompeo. I’m not a Grey’s fan, but from what I’ve heard from those that are, is that Pompeo’s character is annoying. So yeah, Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) could have taken either spot. Oh yeah and what about Sally Field? I can’t believe she was ignored!! She is one of my favorite parts of Brothers & Sisters!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

PATRICK DEMPSEY- GREY’S ANATOMY
MICHAEL C. HALL- DEXTER
HUGH LAURIE-HOUSE
BILL PAXTON-BIG LOVE
KIEFER SUTHERLAND-24
I’m all about Kiefer baby. I’m over House, soooo over House. I wouldn’t Patrick Dempsey (being a comeback and all) and I still love Michael C. Hall even though he’s moved to showtime to a show I can’t watch because it is about being a serial killer!!!

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
UGLY BETTY (ABC)
WEEDS (SHOWTIME)
It is quite a shame that Scrubs was denied this year because I really thought last year was FRIKKIN HYSTERICAL (Donald Faison is so overdue for a nomination somewhere!!!) That being said, I’m going to say that Ugly Betty will take it because the Hollywood Foreign Press is wacky like that. I would pick Entourage although truthfully, I’ve only heard good things about Weeds and everyone loves The Office.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL

MARCIA CROSS-DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
AMERICA FERRERA-UGLY BETTY
FELICITY HUFFMAN-DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS-THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
MARY-LOUISE PARKER-WEEDS
So I’m going to guess that between Weeds & Ugly Betty, whoever didn’t win the previous award will take this one. I though I’m hoping for Marcia Cross, she hasn’t won anything yet and is so deserving! Actually, this race could go anywhere, any one of these ladies could take it.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

ALEC BALDWIN-30 ROCK
ZACH BRAFF-SCRUBS
STEVE CARRELL-THE OFFICE
JASON LEE -MY NAME IS EARL
TONY SHALHOUB-MONK
Hmm, is Alec Baldwin really a lead on 30 Rock? I thought he was more of a supporting. And hey, do you think Studio 60 got put into comedy or drama? Cause I can’t believe Matthew Perry & Bradley Whitford were denied!! WTF!! No more Tony Shalhoub! I want Baldwin to take it because I think it would be a funny acceptance speech (although you know I’m secretly praying for Braff to win).

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

EMILY BLUNT-GIDEON’S DAUGHTER
TONI COLLETTE- TSUNAMI, THE AFTERMATH
KATHERINE HEIGL-GREY’S ANATOMY
SARAH PAULSON-STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
ELIZABETH PERKINS- WEEDS
Once again I will voice my disdain at grouping series tv with made for tv movies. Not fair!! Again, not speaking as someone who actually watches the show, but I’m surprised that Katherine Heigl is here instead of Sandra Oh. Uh, I guess I’ll go with Sarah Paulson as she is the lone Studio 60 nomination.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

THOMAS HADEN CHURCH-BROKEN TRAIL
JEREMY IRONS- ELIZABETH I
JUSTIN KIRK- WEEDS
MASI OKA-HEROES
JEREMY PIVEN-ENTOURAGE
Booo no Donald Faison (Scrubs)! Boooo no Neil Patrick Harris!!! This is a tough one. Well, The Piv has won before so let’s go with fan favorite Masi Oka.

So that’s the Golden Globes everyone. They air in January the week before the Oscar nominations get announced! I’ll be around when more scoop emerges! Til then, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

KT! Update-Britney, Please!!

2006-12-11T16:51:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

NC is going well. For those of you that haven’t heard I’m getting to stay on at Verispan, which is great because: 1. I like the work 2. I get to keep all my vacation 3. They’ll fly me home 4x a year for quarterly meetings! Fun Times!
In other news, Jay & I made our first friends this weekend. I’ve joined all kinds of groups and Saturday night we finally went out to meet up with a couple I met through an online social club. They were awesome! To sum up: They are British, they like cheese, sports, & cocktails!! Yay! So now jay has a friend to talk sports and I have a friend to eat cheese & drink wine with!

Ok so let’s get into some gossip.

First, it is time for a Britney intervention. For the love of God, I’ve been waiting patiently for her to get rid of K-Fed and when she finally does she decides to go our whoring with Paris Hilton? Then she gets photographed going commando and is allegedly already dating someone new! BRITNEY!!! Get into the studio and cut all this other crap out. Go to the studio during the day & then go home to your kids at night. Stop ruining yourself! I keep hoping & hoping that you straighten yourself out but you are killing me! Anyhoo, the other day on her website Brit posted that she had been “locked away for 2 years and was finally cutting loose.” She said that she probably (um, probably) went a little too crazy but that she was fine. Whatever, personally I think it is a bit tacky to be making out with a guy in public when you’ve been separated for less than a month but that’s just me. And check this out. All of Britney’s men are connected. K-Fed was a dancer in one of Juju’s videos. Her new man, some producer named Jr, produced K-Fed’s record!!!

This Thursday is the Golden Globe nominations! This pretty much marks the beginning of award season. I tend to get most upset at the Golden Globes because they are supposed to be the less severe of the award shows. If Kristen Bell is going to get nominated, it is at this show. So I’ll watch the nominations and see if I am pleasantly surprised or throwing things at the TV at 8:45 am.

Netflix Movie Reviews
With reruns in high gear Jay & I have getting back into the Netflix swing.

Superman. Ok so, I thought the film was great visually, but eh, I just couldn’t get into the movie. I really didn’t hate Kate Bosworth as much as I though I would, but I didn’t love anyone either. I know part of it is that I immediately think of Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder & Gene Hackman….but I also feel like the movie was lacking. It was lacking the chemistry, charisma and magic of the earlier supermans. So yeah, not a terrible movie, but not an especially good one either.

X-Men 3. I liked this movie a lot. I’m not an original X-Men fan, so I don’t have all that comic book baggage. But I liked that some of the main characters got killed off, and that some of them decided to use the cure. Plus I thought the action was good. And finally, the last 25 seconds (and the last 20 seconds of the credits) were awesome. Made me all excited for another X-Men movie.

Celeb Couple news!
Did you guys know that Scary Spice & Eddie Murphy were dating? Wow, I didn’t. Actually they aren’t dating anymore but Spice is knocked up & she’s claiming that Murphy is the baby’s daddy. Murphy said that he wouldn’t take responsibility for anything until he saw a blood test. Wow, either Eddie Murphy is a dick, or Spicey is really Slutty.

Apparently Lance & his boyfriend Reichen are breaking up & making up. They officially broke up last week, but I’ve heard rumors that they are trying to work through it. My two cents, Lance is better off without him. Remember the Tobin sisters reported that at the Survivor event in July Reichen was all over other boys. Lance doesn’t need that! Lance should go hook up with Doogie!

Jence or Vennifer or Vaguhnastin or whatever stoopid name they were calling them, Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn have officially called it quits.

TV Scoop

When Lost returns in January it will move to the 10PM slot. Thank god for tivo because this is entirely too late for me to stay up. In addition, ABC is grouping Lost with 2 comedies; an odd match if you ask me. The two new comedies are “In Case of Emergency” and “The Knights of Prosperity”. Remember way back in the beginning of the year, I mentioned The Knights of Prosperity. This show has potential; it is about a bunch of thieves making a plan to rob Mick Jagger. In Case of Emergency sounds a little sketchy. Interesting cast though, it includes: David Arquette, Jason Silverman, Kelly Hu, Greg Germann and Lori Loughlin. The show is about of bunch of people who meet while at an Emergency Room. Uhhh, ok.

In other news, 80’s favorite Rick Schroeder will join the cast of 24 this year. He’ll be a bad ass CTU agent. NICE! Catch the 2 night premiere of 24 on Jan 14 & 15.

That’s all for now folks! I’ll be back Thursday with thoughts on the Golden Globe nominations!!!