Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Friday, January 6th, 2012
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Filed in MUSIC, TV
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Tags: Carrie Brownstein, comic, Eddie Vedder, Fred Armisen, IFC, Pearl Jam, Portlandia, premiere, Sleater-Kinney, Trenchmouth, Wild Flag
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
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Filed in TV
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Tags: chicken, Dean McDermott, GLAAD Awards, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee, Liam McDermott, Lisa Vanderpump, Oxygen, pregnancy, Stella McDermott, The Today Show, Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, Tori Spelling, Wilma Flintstone
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
Who watched the premiere of Oprah’s Next Chapter last night? Oprah visited Steven Tyler at his Sunapee, New Hampshire home and more often than not it was awkward and uncomfortable. First, Oprah showed up with two huge buckets full of hydrangeas “she cut herself from her garden,” as a totally random gift for the singer. Without their personal assistants to wrangle the flowers, Oprah and Steven dithered indecisively over where to set them down until eventually plopping them down next to a tree.
In case you didn’t know, Steven Tyler randomly bursts into song without provocation. Regular Oprah Winfrey Show watchers remember how embarrassing Oprah gets in the midst of live music. The two of them together made for some weird moments over the first hour. Tyler intermittently released guttural screeches, and in response Oprah froze in an uncomfortable smile, not sure of whether to do her usual pretend lip synch routine, laugh, or gaze on in admiration.
Even though it was laced with uneasiness, we learned a few things about Steven Tyler from the interview. He believes the rest of Aerosmith envies him – a phenomenon his describes as LSD – Lead Singer Disorder. Tyler literally thinks he’s magic and proclaims he always knew he would be a famous rockstar, informing his mother of the fact as a child. In a nutshell, he totally buys into his own delusions of grandeur. As Steven pontificated on his many gifts, a wash of recognition came over Oprah as she realized he sounded like a self-aggrandizing asshole. Did the queen of self-reflection consider whether she came off equally as pompous when talking about herself? This remains to be seen.
Later in the interview, during a ride in his antique car, Steven clasped Oprah’s hand and said, “I’m so lonely in life. I have no friends like you. I’m alone. I’m alone.” Oprah responded, “Now you’re not, cause now we will be friends.” How can you be friends with a self-important, insufferable asshole who believes musical talent and a lot of good luck makes you a superior species? And I say that with a total fondness for the delightful kooky genius that is Steven Tyler.
During the last twenty minutes of the 2 hour program, Tyler’s new fiancé Erin Brady joined the interview. In an unexpected turn, I kinda like her.
Industry gossips say Oprah and the pockets behind the struggling network were hoping Next Chapter would improve the ratings and begin to turn things around at OWN. While the interviews may perform decently in the ratings, this is not Oprah at her best. And I don’t think I’m the first to wonder if much like Madonna, her best days are done. 
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
Now I’m not even trying to front like this hugely popular show hasn’t been all over everyone’s top list for the last year, but I just got around to it, so now I’m going to throw some shine on Downton Abbey too. Why risk redundancy? Because it is just that fucking excellent.
Obviously Maggie Smith rules, and she is in top form here as a domineering Countess. She’s just one yummy morsel of an all around delicious ensemble cast. Truthfully, there isn’t a bad actor in the bunch.
So you are thinking period drama = snoozy, right? Wrong bitches. Academy Award-winning writer Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) propels the story forward using death, love, accusations, and swirling intrigue to keep the viewer super engaged.
There’s even a little Edwardian style man-on-man fun for those queens that need further convincing.
Downton Abbey is everything. Obtain, devour, and enjoy seasons 1 & 2 now.
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Filed in TV
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Tags: Amy Nuttall, Anglophilia, Brendan Coyle, Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Laura Carmichael, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, PBS, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Rob James-Collier, Rose Leslie, Sophie McShera, Thomas Howes
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Tori and Dean made it through the Ann Curry portion of their appearance on the Today Show without having to field any pregnancy questions.
During the 4th hour, the couple wasn’t so lucky. Without a hint of irony after just bragging about how honesty is the cornerstone to their reality show’s popularity, Tori denied the pregnancy to an overly inquisitive Kathy Lee. Is she under an obligation to inform the public of the status of her baby farm? Of course not, but is she insulting us all by appearing on live television with what looks like a 5 month pregnancy bump and denying what is obviously and apparently true? Yes. Wanna keep your pregnancy a secret? Then reschedule your press junket fame whore.
Tori turned to Dean for support, but he just stammered. The consummate professional, Tori fibbed that they weren’t currently expecting, but they were working on it. After an awkward beat or two, Kathy Lee wrapped the segment and Tori stumbled off set looking extra nauseous.
After the Today Show appearance, Tori and Mehran hit up a string of meetings. First up, the two met with a potential new manufacturer for Little Maven. The current manufacturer filed for bankruptcy, so this meeting was a last ditch effort to save the Tori-plays-kids-designer project.
Next came the purse conference, because the world needs another purse line like the world needs another McDermott child. While Tori did business, Dean, Patsy, and the kids did the natural history museum. 
During a meeting with Gallery Books, Tori presented her vision to the team and confessed she planned to dedicate the party planning book to her Mom. The publishers got big book boners over Coco the blue-beaked chicken, indicating that the publication of Celebratori was a foregone conclusion. A preliminary Amazon search reveals the book is due for release early April, 2012. 
A trip to New York wouldn’t be complete without a frozen hot chocolate moment at Serendipity, so that’s where the whole gang followed up a sickly sweet visit to Dylan’s Candy Bar. In public, Tori can’t help loudly discussing her poorly concealed pregnancy. Not only did she inhale her frozen hot chocolate, she kept hunching over in an obvious attempt to overcompensate. She’s acting like she’s Angelina Jolie or something. Nobody really cares that much. Plus the McDermotts are self-proclaimed baby farmers, so anticipating a third pregnancy isn’t a wild stretch. Less than a week away from her second trimester, Tori’s obviously just stirring up unnecessary drama for this tired-ass reality show. Girl never tires of the hustle. 
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Filed in TV
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Tags: Ann Curry, Candy Spelling, Dean McDermott, Gallery Books, Hoda Kotb, Kathy Lee Gifford, Mehran, Stella McDermott, The Today Show, Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, Tori Spelling
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011