|
Spaces home  MSN TV BlogPhotosProfileFriendsMore |  Tools   |
MSN TV BlogJuly 23 Ebert & Roper Out of 'At the Movies'Disney, the company behind "At the Movies," refused to extend Richard Roeper's contract, which led Roger Ebert to quit.
In their place are a pair of Bens: Lyons of E! and Mankiewicz of Turner Classic Movies.
It seems like the company treated the two veteran critics a little shabbily to get themselves some up-and-comers.
But part of me wonders if it's worth it.
Back when Ebert and the late Gene Siskel started the whole televised criticism idea, there were relatively few ways to find out about the movies.
In this Internet age, every movie has its own web site as a must.
Plus there are a ton of resources available, from sites like Rotten Tomatoes to bloggers like our sibling blog for movies.
What do you think? Has the idea of a "At the Movies" program passed its prime?
- posted by Raoul I Want to Believe...the 'X-Files' Movie Won't SuckSeems to me that the "X-Files" movie coming out Friday is just going to run into a certain Dark Knight and get destroyed at the box office.
That'd be alright, if the movie were as good as the series at its best.
It has a tough road ahead of it. It needs to be accessible to people who've never heard of the show as well as people who viewed every episode obssessively.
Seems like there's been relatively little publicity for it, a sign that the studio doesn't have the greatest of confidence in it.
Also, there's the question of whether the old magic just dried up.
Toward the end of the series, the old Mulder-Scully chemistry seemed to be mostly gone. Now it could have regenerated, having lain fallow for a half-dozen years.
Right now, with the down time from a slower TV season, I'm watching the entire "X-Files" series on DVD. And I really, really want to believe that it's going to be worth the wait.
We'll see this weekend.
- posted by Raoul
Shayne and Matt: Did They Actually Break Up?
Page Six says that "The Bachelor's" Matt Grant and Shayne Lamas are dunzo. This is at least the third time this news has been reported since the show wrapped this spring. Every other time it's turned out not to be true. In fact, I've been sitting on this little item for a whole day so I could post it and a retraction at the same time.Well...no one's saying they're still together yet, so we'll call it a break up (for now). - Posted by Kate Rosie Perez Is Headed To the 'Jungle'
"Lipstick Jungle" sure is racking up the guest stars! First we get Mary Tyler Moore and now Rosie Perez! Perez will play Dahlia, Victory's publicist. It looks like Victory's line is about to take off, eh? I might as well tell you guys that "Lipstick Jungle" is filming in my neighborhood pretty much all the time lately. I've been taking my camera with me when I go out, hoping I'll see something cool...but it's not happening. I see the usual catering trucks, limos, and once a surly pack of extras. I'll keep trying, though. - Posted by Kate Goodbye, Estelle Getty
"'I always told her she should be a standup comic. She was so funny in person,' McClanahan recalled. 'She would always say, 'Why couldn't we make these characters Jewish? Why am I Sicilian?'" - Posted by Kate Thank You, '60 Minutes!'So I just got back from a pub trivia contest, and things were pretty close. The last category: TV and history. So me and my teammates are like, "We've got this" and wagered all our points.
The question: During which president's administration did "60 Minutes" debut?
We struggled with the answer for a little bit, but in the end, got it.
Lyndon B. Johnson.
And with that, the sweet, sweet taste of victory and some cold hard cash. Not to mention avoiding the agony of flubbing that one, given what I blog about.
- posted by Raoul July 22 'Date My Ex'...Please!Kate comes from a very different place than I do when it comes to the new Bravo series "Date My Ex," so I thought I would toss my two cents in the ring.
To me, about the only thing that made the original season of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" was the trainwrecky goodness of the Jo-Slade dysfunctional relationship. He was a super-rich perfectionist who wanted his trophy for his success and a live-in nanny for his kids and had a semi-creepy, possessive vibe. She was a young, gold-digging hottie who was torn between getting the mostly free ride Slade was offering her and actually having to do the work of looking after his kids and cleaning and being there to do Slade's bidding 24-7.
It was something that seemed doomed on the face of it.
And yet, the two did seem to have more chemistry than the rest of the housewives and their husbands rolled together. You could see why they'd always feud and make up, make up then feud.
So with that background, I was looking forward to seeing how they would interact on the new show. The premise is that Slade is going to host a bunch of guys who want to date Jo and possibly give them advice on how to do so, and possibly totally box them out.
Why anyone involved would agree to this is unclear. I mean, does Jo really think she's going to get the best advice or be best served through this screening arrangement? Does Slade think he can really keep Jo from dating people he doesn't want her to date? Don't the potential new guys feel used? One explanation for Jo and Slade's involvement is to extend her 15 minutes of fame and to help her music career. (During last night's show, they played a little of one of her songs, and I have to say it wasn't completely horrible.)
Anyway, the first four suitors included a guy who for some reason thought that it would be a good idea to take Jo fishing and show her how to gut a fish. C'mon, dude! Even if I had never seen "Real Housewives" and known that Jo is completely averse to any form of work, even if I had beamed here from the planet Betazoid and just read a book or two on Earth dating rituals, I would have known that would have been a horrible idea.
One of them monopolized the conversation completely, but he cooked for her and took her dancing.
Another she seemed to get along with during a rock climbing trip but didn't show her much in the way of bling.
And then one of them was some sort of Hollywood hotshot who took her on a helicopter tour of L.A.
Guess which one gets to go on a second date with her? And guess which one seems closest to a mini-Slade? And guess which one Slade apparently disapproves of?
Oh, another great thing is that Slade can apparently watch Jo's dates in secret in what I'm hereby dubbing "StalkerVision."
I was an easy sell for the show, so I'm not surprised that it met my expectations.
- posted by Raoul Bravo vs. Lifetime vs. Bravolifetime?
We've seen "The Real Housewives of Orange County" and "The Real Housewives of New York," and we've heard about "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Well guess what? Bravo is planning a fourth wave of conspicuous consumption with "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" and, even scarier, "The Rachel Zoe Project." Between all the new housewives, SJP's fashion show, Rachel freakin' Zoe as a reality star and that Jo and Slade dating show I have to wonder, no, strike that, I couldn't help but wonder: Is Bravo trying to become Lifetime for my generation? Only "Top Chef" can save us now! - Posted by Kate Deja Vu All Over Again: 'Dollhouse' to Get a New PilotSome of you fellow Joss Whedon fans may remember how his last TV series, "Firefly," had network complaints about its pilot being too dark prompt Whedon and crew to write a new pilot late in the game. The original pilot got shelved and "The Train Job" became the world's introduction to the series. Some fans blame that decision for the show's failure to build enough of an audience, or at least as a symbol of network interference/foolishness that they feel contributed to the show's cancellation.
So when Whedon announced he was going back to FOX for his new series, "Dollhouse," some fans were concerned that he would likely be the victim of the network's itchy cancellation finger again.
Now comes a development where Whedon's announcing he's putting together another pilot after the original one was completed. The original one is going to be tweaked and made the second episode.
Whedon says, with his signature humor, that this is all his idea and hints that panic is premature.
Is this spin? Or should we just relax and enjoy the notion that the show will have co-ed showers?
- posted by Raoul 'Wanna Bet' Not the Worst WagerLast night saw the premiere of "Wanna Bet?"
The ABC game show has B-, C- and D-List celebs gambling on whether various contestants can perform tricks they say they can.
If you tuned in last night, you got to see George Takei (he must be using the Enterprise's teleporters because he's everywhere), Tom Green (who looked really, really bad), Harland Williams (a character actor you may have seen in "Men in Black") and Sherri Shepherd from "The View" laying odds.
They had to guess whether the guy in the picture could use a 50-pound tractor tire as a hula hoop for 45 seconds (he couldn't), a man could identify one of 30 CDs by licking it, a group of women race fans could do a pit stop in twice the time it took half a professional pit crew, and a group of movers could fit a bunch of sofas into a truck (all of them could).
Then the celebs decided how much to bet, with the winner getting to donate to a charity of his choice.
The acts were mildly entertaining, although it seemed pretty obvious to me who would be able to succeed and who would likely fail. I kept wondering, "How did someone decide to develop a talent like CD-discerning through licking, anyway?" Did a guy say, "Gee, I wish I had a hula hoop, but all I've got are these spare tractor tires. Guess I'll have to make do."?
Maybe I'm giving the show more credit than it deserves because of the affable hosts, Ant and Dec.
One thing was a little icky: Sherri and George flirting with the contestants. Sherri was saying something about how the CD licker should have better things to do with his tongue, and George said something like the movers could fill his van up any time. (Sorry, I may have repressed the memory and gotten some of the details mixed up.)
It seemed pretty incredible that the show took up an entire hour, given how little happened.
Also, the celebs seemed to have trouble with the newfangled technology they were using. A couple of times, they thought they entered different wagers than they did.
It's not something that I would go out of my way to watch, but there are worse ways to pass some time.
- posted by Raoul 'American Idol' Auditions: San Francisco
Our coalition buddy Buzz Sugar took some time out of her schedule last week to attend the San Fran "American Idol" auditions: "As I approached the line to talk to some of the auditioners, I thought I might have to pry them to sing for me — not so! Turns out, wielding a microphone and a camera around thousands of people hoping to be famous is like holding a magical singing wand. They saw my mic as I wandered by and just started belting away! It was. . . amazing, and their enthusiasm was contagious." Ha! Magical singing wand. She's got video of the auditions, too, if you don't happen to be at work just now. For even more pithy observations, check out the MyIdol forums. Keep in mind, there's still plenty of time to try out. "American Idol" is headed to Louisville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Kansas City (Missouri), Jacksonville, East Rutherford (New Jersey) and San Juan this summer. If any of you guys do follow your bliss and try out for the show we'd love to hear about it. - Posted by Kate Who Is the Mole?We are down to our last four players on "The Mole," and while I can't claim any specialized insight as to the Mole's secret identity, I do have some quick thoughts:
Nicole -- It seemed from their on-screen comments that both Clay and Mark had fixated on the possibility that she was the Mole. That there was a tie in the quiz and that Clay got executed suggests she indeed is not the Mole. I'm not sure if it's part of her game to rouse suspicion as to her motives and get people to wrongly focus on her as the Mole or if she really is "Dr. Diva," as she claims to be, and yet a little scatter-brained. But I would say 100-1 odds against her being the Mole.
Mark -- If he's the Mole, he's done a really poor job of sabotaging the team. On the mission last week where he was on the treadmill, he could have not supplied most of the correct answers at a minimum, let alone keeping up the pace long enough to earn some cash. His detailed journal-keeping combined with his honest-seeming anger when the journals got burned makes him in my view the second least-suspicious of the contestants. I'd put the odds at like 10-1.
Paul -- He does a lot to get under people's skin, which is a good attribute for the Mole to have. And it was kind of strange how little he seemed to know about his loved one. But I just don't see that much evidence of manipulation by him. Or to be blunt, he just doesn't seem smart enough to be a good Mole. I'd say his Mole odds are 3-1.
Which leaves....
Craig -- I would say from day one he was one of the people who had me going, "Could he be the Mole? Nah, too obvious. But maybe that's what they WANT you to think." He strikes me as crafty. While I can't really come up with blatant sabotage by him, by process of elimination, he seems the most likely candidate. I'd put the odds of his being the Mole at 2-1. Who's gotten your attention as Mole candidates?
- posted by Raoul 'The Next Food Network Star:' Ummmm, Yeah, We're Not Trying to Be 'Top Chef'
First the contestants had to do these weird videos that were too boring for me to even talk about. Seriously. Each of the remaining three chefs partnered up with one of the ousted chefs to prepare a buffet. Lisa ran out of fish and burned her pork roast. Adam smoked everything. Aaron wasn't ambitious enough. All three of them had to make pithy little speeches to an assembled crowd of show girls, drag queens and Spamalot extras - Wouldn't it be great if I was kidding about that part? I'm not. Vegas, baby! - and that was a trainwreck. Lisa sang a song about her "beautiful basics buffet. Aaron did a "comedy" routine in which he pretended he was at an Anorexics Anonymous (I think) meeting and Adam was all smug and schticky. Boozie Flay liked Aaron's video. They called him out for his fake eating disorder routine and said his food wasn't big and bold enough. Duuude, your culinary point of view is whatever Boozie decides it is, remember? Boozie liked Lisa's singing. They scare me. Boozie just looooved Adam's video but called his presentation boring. That's their favorite word, in case you didn't notice. Adam's pork chops were the crowd favorite. He cried when Boozie told him. Guess what happened? Boozie decided to go with a "Top Chef" finale. All three finalists will move on.(Can I point out that I totally called this?) In years past we've been able to vote for the winner, but right now FoodNetwork.com has a "Fan Favorite" ballot up (Cough: "Top Chef") and that's it! Are Boozie Flay going to pick the winner themselves? Stay tuned. - Posted by Kate Amy Poehler Won't Be Working for Dunder-Mifflin After All
"In other news, NBC cochairman Ben Silverman confirmed that Greg Daniels ('The Office') is developing a new comedy — not a spinoff of 'The Office' — for 'SNL' vet Amy Poehler that'll bow this spring. That means the coveted time slot after the Super Bowl — which Silverman said in May would serve as the launching pad for the planned 'Office' spinoff — is now open; NBC has no plans, for now, on how to fill it. 'Amy is pregnant, so it'll be tough for her to turn a show around,' Silverman said. 'It's much more likely that the show will launch in March. Stylistically, it will look like 'The Office' but it's a different concept.' Silverman added, however, that he still hopes to pursue an 'Office' spinoff with Daniels." Darn. I really would have liked to see Amy Poehler as a Dunder-Mifflin big wig. What new show could top that? Hmmm, maybe Greg Daniels is writing a sitcom treatment of "The Needlers: The Couple That Should Be Divorced." That would rock. - Posted by Kate July 21 Tonight: 'Date My Ex: Jo and Slade'
I place myself firmly in the "hate her" camp as far as Jo is concerned, so I think there should be a cash prize to go along with crazy high-maintenance Jo. I guess becoming a "television personality" will have to be prize enough for Jo's chosen stud. It's probably not an accident that "Date My Ex" airs Mondays nights. "The Bachelorette" just ended, so Bravo's giving us the bizarro version. The real question: will you guys watch? "Date My Ex" premieres tonight at 10:00 on Bravo. - Posted by Kate Court Tosses 'Wardrobe Malfunction' FineYes, a panel of judges has cleared the way for boobies to be "accidentally" revealed on primetime by rejecting the half-mil FCC fine that was going to be levied against CBS for the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake Super Bowl stunt.
It's a good day for free speech when a network doesn't have to face punishment for broadcasting something so fleeting and something over which it had so little direct control as a scheme by two performers to show a chest for a second.
- posted by Raoul
Generation BuzzkillI can't be alone in watching HBO's "Generation Kill" and thinking to myself, "What the heck is going on here?" Right?
I really was looking forward to the miniseries, since it's from the team that brought us "The Wire," and it had the potential to shine a light on how things were going in the early stages of the most recent Iraq War.
But with two installments down out of seven, I really am getting pretty tired of the macho, racist attitudes the characters seem to have.
I'm kind of sick of people being called "hajis."
I feel pretty much in the dark as to what the company we're following is supposed to be doing.
The complexity that served "The Wire" well doesn't seem to work for me here. At a minimum, in "The Wire," you knew the base objective: to put away drug dealers, or to expand territory, or what have you. And you could get the basics of how the characters were doing that, and when they messed up and so forth. Here, not so much.
It seems more like a bunch of random statements by soldiers sewn together, like in last night's episode where a Marine says that CNN would pay good money for footage another marine shot because "that s--- was extreme."
Maybe those are realistic portrayals of our fighting men. Maybe it's the point that you really don't know what is going on.
Maybe I should be patient and let things continue to unfold. Or maybe the mini deserves the "John From Cincinnati" bailout before I spend too much of my precious time.
- posted by Raoul L Yes: 'L Word' to Have a SpinoffOne of the bits of info out of the TCAs is that after the upcoming final season of "The L Word" one of the characters will spin off into her own show.
The idea is so new, not even the actress who may get the spinoff knows.
So it's too soon to do anything but guess whether this new show will be any good, or who will be starring.
But why let that stop us from a little idle speculation?
Here's a few thoughts on who might get the nod:
"Shane's World": I could definitely see a show based on Shane's hooking up with half the lesbian population of L.A. (or wherever the show gets set up). It would kind of have a "Californication" vibe to it.
"Go Ask Alice": Another person who could carry a show would be Alice, the show's leading lipstick. She had just gotten a high-profile job with a "View" clone, and that plus her being one step away from crazy could generate some plots.
"Bette": While I love me some Jennifer Beals, "The L Word" showcases her a heckuva lot already.
"Tina Time": Nope. Tina's boring, boring, boring. I also think her sexuality flipflop wouldn't win an audience for her.
"Jenny": God, I hate her character. I really, really hope this isn't a possibility. But Mia Kirschner is one of the more high-profile actresses on the show.
Any thoughts on who you'd like to see? - posted by Raoul Fashion Is Out, Art Is In Over at Bravo
"Aspiring artists compete to produce various styles of artwork (painting, sculpting, etc.), which is then judged by a panel of experts. The network declined to comment." Sarah Jessica Parker is the star power behind this new venture. Her production company, Pretty Matches, has been shopping the idea around since January. Bravo seems like a good fit for the show. I think they can make us love whiny painters and sculptors as much as we love whiny chefs and fashion designers. - Posted by Kate July 20 Link TimeWith the Emmy nominations out, Buzz (not surprisingly) had a few rants and raves. (BuzzSugar) GMMR's summer obsession, "So You Think You Can Dance," just went from the Top 10 dancers to the Top 8, but not without a little scandal and drama. Listen to what GMMR & Ducky have to say about it in the latest TV Talk Podcast: SYTYCD Edition. (Give Me My Remote) Marcia celebrated the return of "Project Runway" with a thorough look at the first episode -- adult diapers, Oompa Loompas and all. (Pop Vultures) Infatuation is the only word to describe Rae's feelings about Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and is trying to decide whether she likes Act I or II better while eagerly awaiting the third. (RTVW) All Scooter could think about after watching the season premiere of "The Closer" was, "Who doesn't do their business in the shower?" (Scooter McGavin's 9th Green) With the Emmy nominations finally out, Vance got his butt in gear and put out his Best of TV for the 2007-2008 TV Season. (Tapeworthy) This week, Jace reviewed the laughably bad BBC drama series "Bonekickers," from the typically brilliant creators of "Life on Mars" and "Ashes to Ashes," and was shocked and horrified by just how truly awful it was. (Televisionary) Watch "Design Star"? Well, Dan wrote a little letter to his favorite contestant -- the bald, bearded Colorado native Matt Locke. (TiFaux) It's TCA Madness on theTVaddict.com, featuring interviews with Wentworth Miller, Joss Whedon, Sarah Wayne Callies and more! [The TV Addict]
|
| |||
