Recap: American Idol - Birmingham

My random musings from the home of Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, etc...

The ones that really surprised me once they started singing:

• Katie Bernard - Has a squeaky, youngish talking voice, but actually has a very different, deep, mostly pleasant singing voice. After some pleading, Paula and Randy reluctantly send her to Hollywood.
• Bernard Williams - I thought he was going to be another delusional singer. And I became more worried when he announced he was going to sing Michael Jackson's "Rock With You". But you know? I thought he was really good! Simon liked him immediately and thought he had a lot of potential. Paula, however, thought he was completely off key. Randy decided to send him through.
• Jamie Lynn (the Kelly Pickler of season 6) - Sang "Reflection". First one where Simon agreed with Paula - good when she sings softly, but is nasal on the "power" parts. She also had the most interesting sob story - she's been taking care of her father who is paralyzed after he shot himself when he caught his wife (her step-mother) cheating on him. Yikes!
• Chris (Jack Osborne-ish) - I thought this one was another joke singer, especially after he mentions how people compare him to Osborne or Jack Black but he really saw himself as more of a Christina Aguilera. He had a lot of other little funny quips. Example, when asked why he was there, his response was, "I really want to make David Hasselhoff cry." The judges got a kick out of that. He shocked me with his voice - he sang Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and he might be one of my favorites!
• 17 yr old Nichole of "Team Nichole" - I was so sure she was going to be a disaster. I really liked her rendition of "Something to Talk About". She had a very rich, deep voice and I thought for sure she was in. But, alas, Simon thought she was too old-fashioned and sang through her nose. Randy told her to keep working on it and come back.
  

The bad singers whose friends and family convince them they are good singers:

• Erika Skye (sort of looks like Jane Krakowski) - Belted (screamed?) "Unchained Melody". Simon's response "It was like a neverending torture."
• Diana - Sang "Saving All My Love for You". Did Randy really ask her if she had a Michael Jackson thing going on? Simon just couldn't get over her outfit.

Good but just not good enough:

• Victoria Watson with the 6 ft long hair - "Sang You Lift Me Up" by Josh Groban... She didn't get a ticket to Hollywood, but Randy called the hair "hot". Was he for real?
  

The "oh, dear..." category:

• The chicken lady, Margaret - Seriously, what was up with that? Loved Simon's facial expression when she walked in with her big furry yellow dress with matching headgear.

Loved the montage of Southern manners, even when they were insulted by the judges:

• Judge: "It was possibly the worst version I've ever heard." Singer: "Thank You."
• Judge: "That was absolutely useless". Singer: "OK, thanks for your time."
• Judge: "That was a complete and utter mess." Singer: "I appreciate your honesty."

And finally, it was nice to see Simon struggle with the audition room doors as well.

Next stop: Los Angeles!

Recap: The Hills - Oh, snap!!!

Heehee... Lauren refers to Jason as her "relationship from hell". This week, the gang gets ready for Heidi's birthday - which unfortunately includes toolbox Spencer. Audrina, however, is still in the doghouse.

Lauren goes on a lunch date with Brody. This one wasn't as awkward as their first date, but not by much. Brody's conversation opener - "How's your love life? Do you talk to Jason?" We then learn Brody had about a two week break between Kristen (Cavallari) and Nicole (Richie). Lauren tells him he needs to take a break between girls. (Oh... the mixed signals we girls love to send...) Brody confesses he's a cuddler so he's still looking for someone to cuddle with.

On to Audrina... who, by the way, has day-glo teeth. Audrina fills in her co-worker on the whole Heidi drama. She refers to Spencer as a "dirtbag" and a "pig". OK, she's all good in my book. We also learn interns never get in trouble at Epic Records.

So for Heidi's birthday, she decides to go for a Audrey Hepburn look complete with up-do plus crown and a black tutu. Um... OK... it's her birthday so let's go with it.

Oh, cool - Lauren got Heidi one of those photo cakes. And then there's Spencer - UGH! I get annoyed everytime I see him on the screen. Uh oh... trouble!!! Here comes Audrina and her posse. This is such a common occurence on both this show and LB. Why do these girls insist on attending events of other girls who clearly do not like them??? Regardless, Audrina tries her best to make amends with Heidi and while Heidi thanks her for coming, you could see the pain in her eyes that she did not want to deal with Audrina on her birthday. Unfortunately, Audrina persisted, until finally Heidi replied with an "Oh, snap!" and then runs away. (Which I sort of enjoyed because I like when anyone can incorporate "Snap!" in conversation. I never seem to have the opportunity myself...) Audrina complains to her friend that Heidi keeps blowing her off which Lauren's friend, Jen, interprets as trash-talking Heidi. Jen then seeks out Audrina and makes her feel like crap, which I didn't think Audrina really deserved. Personally, I find Jen annoying - even back in the LB days. Anyway, there's so much miscommunication going on there. I really don't think Audrina was trying to ruin Heidi's birthday - but maybe she shouldn't have picked that time to address their situation.

After giving up on Heidi, Audrina then arranges an awkward lunch meeting between herself and Lauren (who brings Whitney for support - or buffer?). They chat about the birthday night and the discussion doesn't really go anywhere. Whitney pipes in that maybe some girls are not meant to be friends. Well, that's a shame! Audrina closes the lunch by telling Lauren, "Well, just because Heidi and I can't be friends, it doesn't mean we still can't be." And Lauren's reaction pretty much clearly said, NOT!!!

On a separate nght, Lauren and Heidi go out to some club to meet up with Spencer and Brody. And what a coincidence, Audrina and her posse are there as well. This time she keeps her distance. One of her friends had one of the best quotes of the night, "Spencer is the ultimate cheese." Another funny moment of the night is when Spencer orders Jen off the couch so that Brody could "cuddle" with Lauren there. Obviously annoyed, Jen whines how that's OK because she just loves standing, yet the two lovey-dovey couples don't seem to notice. Eventually, Spencer and Heidi notice Lauren and Brody are gone...

Ooh... they're gone alright - back to Brody's condo!!! Man, he's smooth. He takes her out on his balcony and lays a big wet one on Lauren. I'm assuming this is their first kiss. How sweet! Oh, yeah, Brody, "you are a cheesyball!" Especially with lines like, "I love seeing you smile." He lays another one on her, but judging by the way Lauren kept backing away after each kiss, I don't think he got very far that night.

EWWW! Spencer and Heidi smooched, too. Ick - wish they didn't have to end it with that shot.

Next week, it looks like Heidi and Audrina will finally have a sit down AND Heidi will wise up to the sleazy behavior of her icky beau.

My American Idol Question Answered!

In an earlier post, I had wondered why there were all these montages of the audition kids singing the same song. In Minneapolis, it was "Kiss" by Prince. Seattle had "Doncha" by the Pussycat Dolls and I remember an "All Night Long" (Lionel Richie) montage as well.

Well, I just stumbled across my answer in TVweek.com's interview with executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe (familiar to us as the Simon-esque judge from So You Think You Can Dance).

Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Mr. Ross: I loved the montage about "All Night Long," I thought that was wonderful.

Mr. Lythgoe: What we does is we say, when you come along to the audition, you're going to do the song you've chosen to sing, but we'd also like you to sing this song. And on this occasion it was "All Night Long," because we want to test out your memory, because on the day after, on the results show, you will be singing a song that you will learn overnight. …So we want to make sure-they're going on live television-that they've got a good memory, and are able to master the lyrics of any song. So we give them the lyrics, and they sit there all morning or all afternoon and they learn the lyrics and they come and sing us a little bit of the song. But what happens in that, is their memories do go, and we do have the funniest moments ever, which is why we do that. But they do that, in truth, before the judges judge them, so that does not come into their audition.

Complete interview can be found here.

American Idol the Bulldozer

Wow - with 30+ million viewers, American Idol is really shaking things up in the worlds of network program schedulers!

It seemed that only ABC was running scared from American Idol. First, they announced it was pushing Lost back one h0ur to 10PM on Wednesdays. Then they moved the Dancing with the Stars performance show from Tuesdays to Mondays. Last week, they announced they were moving Knights of Prosperity up to 8:30PM from 9PM on Wednesdays. All these changes were made purely to save these shows from getting clobbered in the ratings by Simon and company.

But it looks like ABC is not alone. Variety magazine is reporting that CBS has pulled Armed and Famous from its schedule completely to save it from AI with plans to air the episodes in the summer.

SAG Award Winners

I like this award show... since it only focuses on actors, it moved pretty quickly. Plus it was only two hours vs. the normal three. Here are the final results! (plus some of my random comments)

13TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® WINNERS

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Forest Whitaker / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND – Idi Amin - Fox Searchlight Pictures

No surprise here - Forest has been cleaning up in this category. Nice to see the other nominees (Leo, Ryan) give him a standing ovation.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Helen Mirren / THE QUEEN – The Queen - Miramax Films.

Another GG win repeat. This is her year! Funny moment in her acceptance speech when she mentions first seeing her wardrobe for this film, "I can't play a person who chooses to wear these clothes."

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Eddie Murphy / DREAMGIRLS – James “Thunder” Early Paramount Pictures

Yay for Eddie - another win and he had some tough competition here. I loved the way he started off his speech, all sophisticated and official sounding - then he broke and teased how he was just envious of how polished the British actors sound when they accept.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Hudson / DREAMGIRLS – Effie White - Paramount Pictures

First GGs and now this one - things are looking golden for Jennifer come Oscar night! And don't worry, Abigail, you'll have many more chances to win a SAG award!

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Fox Searchlight Pictures

Big surprise here! Good for them and yay, Abigail didn't have to wait long to get her SAG award. Loved Greg Kinnear thanking the makers of the VW bus.

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Jeremy Irons / ELIZABETH I – Earl of Leicester - HBO

The presentation by Forest Whitaker and America Ferrera was really cute - "So you're Ugly Betty? More like America the Beautiful." And she genuinely seemed really honored and nervous to be up there giving out an award. Another win for Jeremy Irons - and he again delivered a speech that I would have liked to fast forward through.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Helen Mirren / ELIZABETH I – Elizabeth I - HBO

Golden Globe repeat - another win for Helen.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Hugh Laurie / HOUSE – Dr. Gregory House - FOX

Funny presenter chit chat between Steve Carell and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss. Julia said she liked the British version of The Office better and Steve said he liked Julia's show better back in the 70's when it was called One Day at a Time. Hugh Laurie wins again just like in the GGs.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Chandra Wilson / GREY’S ANATOMY – Dr. Miranda Bailey - ABC

SHUT UP!!! OK, there are sooooooo many awesome things about this moment. 1) They picked the "O'Malley - stop looking at my va-jay-jay!" moment for her acting clip, 2) SHE WINS!!!, and 3) her very rushed, flustered, endearing acceptance speech. She first thanks her peers referencing "the 10 cast members at that table and the other one over in rehab" (which literally made me laugh and clap with the way she said it) and she mentions how she can't wait to show her award to her girls to show how you can succeed even "...with this skin, this nose, this height, these arms..." Everything about her win was so amazing. So happy for her!

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin / 30 ROCK – Jack Donaghy - NBC

Alec wins again! I'm surprised this is his first SAG win, since it seems like he's been around forever.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera / UGLY BETTY – Betty Suarez - ABC

Aww... America is so sweet - another endearing acceptance speech. Also, Jaime Pressly looks like she is wearing her pregnancy well.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
GREY’S ANATOMY - ABC

YES! Yet another win for this wonderful cast! (Hopefully no more mishaps in the press room this time around.) And I'm not sure who picked Ellen Pompeo to speak on behalf of the cast, but they might want to pick someone else next time around. Did she really struggle to remember Isaiah Washington's name when she wanted to mention members of the ensemble that were not present??? On a side note, I loved the clip they showed for GA which is where the five interns stand side by side before the chief and one by one, they admit to cutting Denny's LVAD wire. Until we get to the last intern, Alex, and he denies having anything to do with it which is followed by the other four interns yelling at him. )

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
THE OFFICE - NBC

This was one of the major highlights of the night. First, they managed to get the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore show (including Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore - duh!, Valerie Harper, Betty White, Lou Asner) to present this award - and was honored with the first standing ovation of the night. I wonder how they managed to get all these people together! And the next special part - The Office won! YAY for them!

Screen Actors Guild Awards 43rd Annual Life Achievement Award
Julie Andrews

Second ovation for the night. Good for Julie - I'm a big fan. :) Nice to see her and her Mary Poppins buddy Dick Van Dyke back together. On a side note, Anne Hathaway looked very pretty and "regal" when she presented this award - just like a real princess (heehee).


All in all, it was a pretty decent award show. Mostly repeats of the Golden Globes, save for the surprise wins for Little Miss Sunshine, Chandra Wilson, and The Office.

SAG Awards - Early Red Carpet Report

OK - the show hasn't aired on the west coast yet, but here are my early thoughts on red carpet arrivals...

Nudes seemed to be a popular color:

As was charcoal grey:

My WOW picks!!!

And finally, the ones I wasn't loving:

SAG Awards Air This Weekend

The Screen Actors Guild awards airs this Sunday, January 28th at 8PM on both TBS and TNT. I'll probably check it out since Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters are both repeats that night.

Here are the nominations:

13TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® NOMINATIONS

THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio / BLOOD DIAMOND – Archer - Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Gosling / HALF NELSON – Dan Dunne - THINKFilm
Peter O’Toole / VENUS – Maurice - Miramax Films
Will Smith / THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS – Chris Gardner - Sony Pictures
Forest Whitaker / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND – Idi Amin - Fox Searchlight Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Penelope Cruz / VOLVER – Raimunda - Sony Pictures Classics
Judi Dench / NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Barbara Covett - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Helen Mirren / THE QUEEN – The Queen - Miramax Films.
Meryl Streep / THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA – Miranda Priestly - 20th Century Fox
Kate Winslet / LITTLE CHILDREN – Sarah Pierce - New Line Cinema

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Grandpa Fox Searchlight Pictures
Leonardo DiCaprio / THE DEPARTED – Billy Warner Bros. Pictures
Jackie Earle Haley / LITTLE CHILDREN – Ronnie J. McGorvey New Line Cinema
Djimon Hounsou / BLOOD DIAMOND – Solomon Warner Bros. Pictures
Eddie Murphy / DREAMGIRLS – James “Thunder” Early Paramount Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza / BABEL – Amelia - Paramount Vantage
Cate Blanchett / NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Sheba Hart - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Abigail Breslin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Olive - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Jennifer Hudson / DREAMGIRLS – Effie White - Paramount Pictures
Rinko Kikuchi / BABEL – Chieko - Paramount Vantage

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
BABEL - Paramount Vantage
BOBBY - MGM/The Weinstein
THE DEPARTED - Warner Bros. Pictures
DREAMGIRLS - Paramount Pictures
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Fox Searchlight Pictures

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Thomas Haden Church / BROKEN TRAIL – Tom Harte - AMC
Robert Duvall / BROKEN TRAIL – Print Ritter - AMC
Jeremy Irons / ELIZABETH I – Earl of Leicester - HBO
William H. Macy / NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES – Clyde Umney - TNT
Matthew Perry / THE RON CLARK STORY – Ron Clark - TNT

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Annette Bening / MRS. HARRIS – Jean Harris - HBO
Shirley Jones / HIDDEN PLACES – Aunt Batty - Hallmark Channel
Cloris Leachman / MRS. HARRIS – Tarnower’s Sister - HBO
Helen Mirren / ELIZABETH I – Elizabeth I - HBO
Greta Scacchi / BROKEN TRAIL – Nola Johns - AMC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini / THE SOPRANOS – Tony Soprano - HBO
Michael C. Hall / DEXTER – Dexter Morgan - Showtime
Hugh Laurie / HOUSE – Dr. Gregory House - FOX
James Spader / BOSTON LEGAL – Alan Shore - ABC
Kiefer Sutherland / 24 – Jack Bauer - FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette / MEDIUM – Allison Dubois - NBC
Edie Falco / THE SOPRANOS – Carmela Soprano - HBO
Mariska Hargitay / LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT – Det. Olivia Benson - NBC
Kyra Sedgwick / THE CLOSER – Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson - TNT
Chandra Wilson / GREY’S ANATOMY – Dr. Miranda Bailey - ABC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin / 30 ROCK – Jack Donaghy - NBC
Steve Carell / THE OFFICE – Michael Scott - NBC
Jason Lee / MY NAME IS EARL – Earl Hicke - NBC
Jeremy Piven / ENTOURAGE – Ari Gold - HBO
Tony Shalhoub / MONK – Adrian Monk - USA

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera / UGLY BETTY – Betty Suarez - ABC
Felicity Huffman / DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES – Lynette - ABC
Julia Louis-Dreyfus / THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE – Christine Campbell - CBS
Megan Mullally / WILL & GRACE – Karen Walker - NBC
Mary-Louise Parker / WEEDS – Nancy Botwin - Showtime
Jaime Pressly / MY NAME IS EARL – Joy - NBC

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
24 - FOX
BOSTON LEGAL - ABC
DEADWOOD - HBO
GREY’S ANATOMY - ABC
THE SOPRANOS - HBO

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - ABC
ENTOURAGE - HBO
THE OFFICE - NBC
UGLY BETTY - ABC
WEEDS - SHOWTIME

Screen Actors Guild Awards 43rd Annual Life Achievement Award
Julie Andrews

Secrets from Desperate Housewives Revealed *Spoiler Alert!*

TV Guide's Matt Webb Mitovich highlighted a great Desperate Housewives article from mediaVillage.com...

DH's creator, Marc Cherry, had lots of interesting scoop on upcoming episodes. Some of the highlights:

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

• Two Wisteria Lane weddings! "One is a quickie wedding. The other will be a big legendary soap opera wedding, the kind that folks are hopefully going to tune in for."
• "Tom's back is going to give out and Lynette will have to run their restaurant all by herself."
• "Edie will have a new romance with someone on the street. " (Highlight here to see with whom: Carlos)
• "Disaster will loom in the triangle between [Edie's nephew] Austin, [Bree's daughter] Danielle and [Susan's daughter] Julie."
• Rex will return to narrate an episode in a similar manner as Mary Alice.
• To accommodate Marcia Cross's pregnancy, a story line was written that would cause Bree to leave town.

And here's an interesting bit of DH trivia. Originally, Marc Cherry did not want Marcia Cross for the role of Bree because he felt she didn't understand the joke. His first choice was Dana Delaney who kept turning them down. Eventually, he grew to admire Marcia's portrayal of Bree.


MediaVillage's exclusive interview with Marc Cherry:
Part 1
Part 2

My Top Five Pranks from The Office

I discovered a hilarious listing of Jim's office pranks via Pop Candy.

Here are five of my favorites:

1) Jim stole some stationary from Dwight before he left Scranton and now he faxes Dwight "messages from future" with warnings about what's going to happen. He Faxes Dwight: "Dwight, At 8 AM today someone poisons the coffee. Do NOT drink the Coffee. More instructions to follow. Cordially, Future Dwight" Dwight receives this and then tackles Stanley who is about to sip his coffee.

2) Jim put all of Dwight's desk supplies inside the vending machine. Things like his name plate, stapler, pen cup and of course his wallet. Dwight goes to get a snack and notices this. Pam walks in and decides what she really wants is a pen cup. So she buys it. Without his wallet, Dwight can't buy back his supplies. Helpful Jim gives him a bag full of nickles.

3) Jim has Dwight's badge read "Security Threat". He also has Dwight's middle name as "Fart" instead of "Kurt". When Dwight has his badge redone, Jim suggests they get their picture taken together. That way, they could meet in the parking lot every morning and come through the door together.

4) He slowly placed a bunch of nickles in Dwight's phone headset over a period of time so that Dwight would get used to increased weight. After a few days he took them all out so when Dwight lifted the receiver using more force then required, expecting it to be heavier, he hit himself in the head with it.

5) In classic form, Jim moved Dwight's desk an inch every time he went to the bathroom, so that at the end of the day it was two feet closer to the door.

Complete list can be found at this awesome fansite for The Office: The Office TV Show.

Quotes from Triple Serving of The Office

Happy Friday! Hope to deliver some giggles with a sampling of funny quotes from last night's repeats of The Office.


Dwight: "Reject a woman and she will never let it go. One of the many defects of their kind. Also weak arms."

Pam (upon hearing the fake news that Dwight was taking over Michael's position): "I have this old vaccum that is broken. If Dwight doesn't work out, maybe that can be manager."

Michael: "'Hug it out bitch.' That is what men say to each other after a fight... Not a good idea to say that to a women I have found. It doesn't translate."

Michael (during the group grief counseling session when learning Michael's former boss was decapitated): "There are five stages to grief, which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance... And it is my job to try to get them all the way through to acceptance. And if not acceptance, then just depression. If I can get them depressed, then I’ll have done my job."

Michael: "Never ever ever sleep with your boss. I’m so lucky that Jan and I only got to second base."

Dwight: "Not everything’s a lesson, Ryan. Sometimes you just fail. "

Recap: Grey's Anatomy - In for the Long Haul

Funny opening scene with Burke throwing a dinner party for Derek and Meredith while Christina sat in the kitchen eating cereal out of the box (ah... a treat I often enjoy myself). But I thought they would be talking by now ever since Burke gave in and revealed he didn't have any tremors anymore. But no, still not talking... I hope someone says uncle soon because this is already beyond annoying.

It's interesting that Addison and Callie have become confidantes... I guess they really can't be caught confiding with the interns (even if they are hooking up with them). Today's confessions - Addison kissed Karev (yeah she did!!! heehee) and George has turned into a sex machine to numb the pain from his father's death.

Speaking of Addison, she was sporting some nice, va-va-voom hair in this episode... is this really typical of surgeons?

Loved when Callie told Christina, "I don't like you" after Christina didn't want to hear about her situation with George.

I didn't know the Amish speak in a different language... my bad.

LOL moment - as Addison continues to hide from Karev post-kiss, the frustrated Karev finally yells in the middle of the hallway, "When you've got a minute, I'd like to talk to you about the kissing!"

So Christina and Burke aren't talking at work either? I would have thought cut-throat Christina would break the silence to scrub in on a good surgery.

Interesting twist... Alex finally corners Addison and drags her into a supply closet (love the hospital cliches) . Alex wants Addison to stop avoiding him. Even though he's not interested in pursuing the smooching ("You think I just want to be another intern sleeping with an attending?"), he still wants to be able to scrub in on her surgeries (since Sloan sucks) which he can't do if she keeps avoiding him b/c of the kiss. "It happened - but it doesn't have to happen again." You know, I really like this Alex character - I never know what to expect from him.

A very amusing sub-plot of the night - Chief Webber is finally retiring and Derek, Preston, Addison, and Mark are all competing for the top spot. Watching them squabble like little kids was a funny change and I loved seeing them sit side by side on the floor of the hallway, looking all defeated. It was cute how it mirrored the brick hallway that the interns used to frequent in early episodes. It was also cool to see the big dogs be funny, too:

Mark: "One of us could be chief."
Preston: "No, one of us (referring to Derek, Addison, and himself) could be chief. You? I don't think so."
Addison: "Mark Sloan, chief of surgery - that makes me vomit a little in my mouth."

Snoozer sub-plot of the night - Bailey wants to open a free clinic at Seattle Grace. She gets all the attendings to sign on (Nazi is back, indeed), however she still needs the funding. Yes, we all know where this is going. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that we now have the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic.

Finally, we have the three big shockers teased in the promos:

1) Poor adorable Richard. He's finally stepped down as Chief and comes home to reunite with estranged wife, the original Dreamgirl Adele. He even has flowers and a Tiffany bag! But oh no... Adele is not happy to see him - and she's wearing a silky robe!!! Apparently, Adele was serious when she said she wasn't going to wait around... Oy...

2) Christina finally starts talking - Burke's response? "Marry me."

3) George visits Callie in her hotel room (she's still living in the hotel? Are there no available apartments in Seattle???) and it seems he just wants more booty, but in reality, he has the same idea and asks Callie to marry him

Personally, I don't think either of these yahoo couples are ready to get married yet... On a side note, it was nice to see Derek and Meredith continue as a happy couple as they work out the usual relationship problems.

And the teaser's for next week's episode look super intense!!!

Thank Goodness for Grey's Anatomy!

So it looks like almost all of my favorite must-see TV shows are repeats tonight. But not Grey's! We get a new one tonight and I'm so excited for it. Here's the episode description: Bailey proposes the creation of a free clinic; a Seattle Grace doctor receives a proposal. Ooh... sounds like a good one!

And even if it the rest are repeats - they're still goodies!

On Ugly Betty, we get to see Betty in her adorable Halloween costume (and don't forget Marc's mean-spirited, but still kinda funny one) plus we get to see Betty's lunch date with Henry (!!!).

Give Me My Remote has a nice round up of the triple decker treat for us Office fans. That's right - three episodes! WWhheeeeee! :) Showing tonight are the following:

• The Coup
• Grief Counseling
• Initiation

American Idol - NYC!

Did anyone else confuse Carole Bayer Sager with Joan Collins?

Ian Benardo! I thought he looked familiar! He was just as kwa-zee in this audition as he was in the one for So You Think You Can Dance. His rendition of Laura Branagan's "Gloria" was definitely... um... inspired. (?) At first, I thought he was singing something out of West Side Story or something. And he provided a wealth of memorable quotes ... here are some of my favorites:

• "Taylor Who? Carrie Under-where? Fantasia When?"
• "I am a superstar... You can ask one of my therapists."
• "Three syllables... Hol-ly-wood."
• "I'm calling National Geographic to tell them the do-do bird is not extinct - it's in there."

I liked Sarah Burgess's unique version of Blondie's "Call Me" - although I do find it a little odd that people turn their auditions into therapy / counseling sessions - it's like a Kleenex commercial. I do feel bad for her dad, though - he made his daughter cry in front of millions!

Loved Randy's expression during the high pitched part of Ashanti's audition. I was starting to feel bad for her during her desperate pleading when they turned her down - until the producers decided to meld it into a "Days of Our Idols" piece complete with soap opera sappy music and awkward reaction shots of all the judges. A little cruel, sure, but Ashanti was being a bit dramatic (and that's an understatement).

Jersey girls - love them! Antonella and Amanda are best friends and audition together. Simon's skeezy comment: "God, I bet you're popular - you two." I'm not sure how they called their first audition song a duet - it sounded like two different songs and they were just taking turns. Amanda's performance of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" was OK, but it sort of sounded like the way I write it (i.e. kwa-zee). Simon's response: "I could care less either way - so I'll say yes." I'm telling ya - if you look good, but sing decent, it's OK - you're in! And luckily, Antonella is good to go as well. The judges even told her she did a better job, despite Amanda being the "trained" one. But Antonella was a true friend, she further defended her friend saying that wasn't her best audition and that she is an awesome singer. Of course, Simon responds with his advice for show business: "When someone's down, kick them." Oh, Simon.

Day 2 had no Simon? That's a shame...

First one... I had high hopes for Jenry, he seems like a nice mama's boy. Plus, he could be a model! Or as Paula says, he's "easy on the eyes". Careful there, Paula... the Corey Clark incident wasn't that long ago. So he's off to Hollywood... I still can't believe he's only 16!

Sara was kooky! She can't sing and knows she can't sing but she still wants to be the next American Idol, which she believes is possible if they train her. Well, at least she was passionate about this theory. But I really think there are a few screws loose in that one.

Oh, yay, Simon is back!

How did the 47 yr old Sinatra wannabe get in?

Jory from Canada - they all thought she did really well. I actually thought she was just OK, but she was nice looking - so off she went to Hollywood!

Wow - Christopher Henry (supposed lookalike for George Michael/Simon Cowell) does sound like a chick. Simon's nasty comment: "You should be singing in a dress and stilettos." Simon - I agree with Paula on this one, you are an a--hole.

Wow again - I was not expecting the first female rocker voice to come from the 18 yr old opera singer with the braces. It seemed like the judges weren't feeling it at first- but they did send her on. It'll be interesting to see which style she goes with in Hollywood.

The best was not saved for last this time. Isadora was frightening.

And that's it for NYC - next week, back to Birmingham!

Random musings from American Idol - Memphis

First of all, it was so nice to have just one hour tonight - I enjoy AI, really I do - but it's tough to dedicate a whole night to it. (Although I can't speak too soon, I think tomorrow is another 2 hours)

Some random comments:

• Timika - the really blah girl that thinks she sounds like Ashanti - her interview with seacrest was hilarious. But the colored contacts were a little creepy...
• Sundance is good - can't wait to see what they stylists do with him :)
• I knew the blonde girl with the angular bob that sang Baby I Love You would get in... if you have a decent voice, but you're nice looking - you seem to go through
• More scary tinted contacts!
• How funny was the Footloose guy when he took that extended pause during his audition?
• The girl that almost popped out of her black dress - did she really use the words "innocent" and "conservative" to describe herself?
• Melinda Doolittle ("For Once in My Life") - loved her! Can't believe she was surprised by how much they praised her
• Bald new daddy - I totally agree with Simon... he does start off his songs weird (as in not good). Nice wife to let him miss the childbirth of his second baby in order to audition

That's it for Memphis... on to NYC!

Recap: Veronica Mars - The Case of the Missing Lab Monkey

Yay - the whole gang is back! Only 10 minutes in and we've already seen Veronica and her pals, Mac, Parker, Weevil, Dick, and Logan. Just need to see Wallace and Piz and then we're all set. I once read an interview with the producer, Rob Thomas (not as in Matchbox 20), and he was discussing the logistics of running a show, such as budget and stuff, and how they could only hire the supporting players for a certain number of episodes each which is why some characters are involved in some episodes and some aren't. So when everyone is there - it's party time!

This episode's mystery involved Veronica and Mac trying to find a missing lab monkey. Eh, that story line was OK. But at least it introduced a love interest for Mac - more on that later. The on-going mystery arc is solving Dean O'Dell's suicide/murder - and it's very interesting that if it was a murder, the culprit modeled it after Veronica's "How to Commit the Perfect Murder" paper - I think for her criminology class? And who is the professor of that class? The guy having the affair with Dean O'Dell's wife! Then again, the TA of that class is kind of creepy, too, so I'm sure that will factor in as well.

Ooh... Mac has a crush! Too bad his initial kiss attempt didn't work out. I forgot that Mac's last relationship was with Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas, aka - the psychotic villain of the season 2 bus murder mystery! No wonder she's a little gun-shy... Loved that Parker got the scoop on crush-boy's lady friend - you can always count on your girlfriends! :)

Nooo... please tell me Logan didn't hook up with skanky surfer girl!

Funny moments:

• Veronica, Parker, and Mac posing as Zeta Theta Beta sorority chicks - especially Mac, you could tell she was cringing inside
• Well, this wasn't really funny but worth noting - did Dick really take a Polaroid of his bare goods and throw it off Logan's hotel balcony??? I guess that would be amusing. (?) And who still uses Polaroid cameras?
• In regards to the Around the World dorm party - "What about this room is Canada?" "Our accents - ay?" And then watching Veronica and Mac rock out to Barenaked Ladies
• Parker stealing the ID of Mac's crush (already forgot his name) to give Mac a reason to see the guy again
• "You're all dressed up. Where you guys headed to?" "Club.... Club. It's new."
• Seeing Oscar play with lab boy
• Bronson's (crush boy) expression as Mac struggled with asking him out - so cute! And they kissed - yay!

And FINALLY - Logan and Veronica reunited! Oy, the way he looked at her when she showed up at his door - this is why I tune in :) (And I'm glad I taped this episode so that I can enjoy this scene again - heehee...) Although it was interesting that their reunion was a result of Veronica's talk with Piz - I think Piz was trying to reveal his feelings for her... And yep, this was definitely confirmed by his reaction the next morning when we saw Veronica and Logan together. I know a lot of people want to see Piz and Veronica together... but I'm just not one of them! I love Veronica with Logan, despite the teaser for next week's episode... (skanky surfer girl was a hooker??? egads!)

And unfortunately, no Wallace this time... maybe he'll turn up next week!

If you missed this episode, it should appear on www.cwtv.com.

Oscar nominees announced!

Nominees for the Academy Awards were announced this morning. Here are some of the highlights:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
Peter O'Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Yay for Ryan Gosling! I heard his performance is this movie was really good - he didn't score a Golden Globe nod but at least he got the big one. Forest Whitaker has been cleaning up in this category so I think he's got the lead here.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED

As before, I would love to see Eddie Murphy win in this category. I'm surprised to see Mark Wahlberg get recognized here - there were so many good performances in The Departed that he didn't really stick out that much to me.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN

Cool that Meryl Streep got nominated for a role in a comedy film. I'm guessing Helen Mirren will win here?

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Yay! Jennifer Hudson went from American Idol finalist to Oscar nominated actress - dreams do come true! Hope she wins...

Achievement in directing
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

I think people want Martin Scorcese to win here since this is his sixth best director nomination but no wins.

Best motion picture of the year
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

What??? No Dreamgirls??? This was the big shocker for me. Chicago just won the Best Picture Oscar four years ago so I would have thought Dreamgirls would at least get nominated. Well, they did score the most nominations with 8 total, I just wish Best Picture was one of them.

Full list of nominees is available here. The show airs on February 25th.

Recap: The Hills

So this is fascinating... Brody Jenner and Lauren hooked up because Brody is one of Spencer's best friends! I was just thinking this Brody Jenner dude was kinda cute and now I discover he is friends with one of the biggest tools of LB/The Hills history.

So about Spencer... seriously, he is so icky! Ugh, he just had this annoying, stupid smile on his face when Heidi told him that she was worried she might be pregnant (which she's not, thank goodness). And Audrina redeemed herself this week! After the pregnancy scare, Spencer calls up Audrina to ask her out to dinner and she flat out said no and pretty much hung up on him. Good girl, Audrina - maybe you and Heidi will become friends again (although judging from next week's teaser, it doesn't look like that will be happening soon).

Good for Lauren... Lisa Love (Lauren's boss/Teen Vogue West Coast editor) finally had something nice to say to her. Lauren got a good review from this kooky designer, Ashley Page, whose fashion show Lauren helped out with. And she was a tough cookie - Ashley was making all sorts of insulting comments to Lauren. Man, I would never last as an intern in that world. Plus I think one of the reasons Lauren got a good review was because she was able to dig out the wick to light Ashley's "magic candle".

Not only did Lauren do good at work but she also got a date! Although, it was kind of weird and awkward watching the first date between her and Brody (I guess because we've all been there) ... and Brody was laying it on pretty thick. Was he seriously crushing on her or did he just want a guest starring appearance on the MTV show?

Channel Surfing: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip & What about Brian

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

OK, so Danny has a crush on his boss and he acts on it by calling her non-stop while she is on holiday vacation? Granted, I've only seen bits and pieces of this show but when did he go full force goo-goo-ga-ga for her? It didn't seem that Jordan ever reciprocated his feelings. And Jordan keeps people in a "state of suspended terror"? If that's the case, then I was right and Amanda Peet doesn't live up to this role. Oooh... and the biggest slam of the night? "Uh oh, there's another pretty girl at the dance and this one's not pregnant." SNAP! Does she report to Jordan? Cuz if so, I don't think that was a smart move, even if Jordan's boss likes her ideas.

Sarah Paulson and Matthew Perry are cute... nice chemistry. I like Sarah Paulson, I loved Jack and Jill (which I just realized also starred Amanda Peet - what a coinkydink!) and I also *love love loved* her role in Down with Love with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor (super cute chick flick - I highly recommend).

And it was soooo cute when cast player Tom asked out writer Lucy (formerly UK's "Pam" from the British The Office) ...

And Danny - she said no! Deal with it...


What About Brian

I'm with Brian on this one - I don't think it's ever acceptable to use someone else's toothbrush. Yeah, yeah, I understand you're already swapping spit when playing tonsil hockey but I still think it's a totally different thing to share toothbrushes. Just use your finger with toothpaste!

Nice to see Marjorie back - not that I think she should end up with either Adam or Brian, but I think she's cool. And I like her with the dark hair... I remember her as a typical California blonde on Saved by the Bell and I think the dark hair is a better look for her.

Speaking of Marjorie... OK, I can understand being upset that your ex married a stripper three months after you broke up BUT you broke up because you left him at the altar after smooching his best man the night before!!! Kwa-zi-ness...

I don't regularly watch this show so I have a snap judgement comment - I think Ivy and Jimmy are one of the most unbelievable couples in TV history. Looks, personalities, everything - they make no sense to me. From what I can tell, JJ Abrams loves casting his people in shows that he is associated with so maybe he just wanted to throw a bone to Amanda Foreman (Megan on Felicity, Marshall's wife on Alias).

And what's this??? Adam's wife, Heather (aka the stripper), runs out of the birthday party because she catches him giving his ex, Marjorie, a longing gaze. Adam runs out after her but she's already gone, so he decides to leave, too, but then asks Marjorie to leave with him??? Turns out Marjorie wants another chance and Adam is considering.... uh oh... trouble to come...

Side note: I get a real kick out of the Verizon commercial showing a family of four trying to have dinner but the dad keeps text messaging the kids to ask them to pass him stuff on the table. He's just so giddy about it and it cracks me up!

Some interesting American Idol links

Someone's been busy... deathbycamera.com has been hunting down myspace profiles of those appearing on American Idol - both Minneapolis and Seattle kids have been hunted down!

Entertainment Weekly ranks the kids to date that have been granted tickets to Hollywood.

And yes, the judges (well, Simon, really) are mean this year, but I honestly don't think they are any meaner than they have been in the past. Not that it makes it right, but in my opinion, this is how it's always been... (Maybe I'm just annoyed with Rosie complaining about everything!)

The Office - Producer's Cut

I was so happy to see that NBC posted a producer's cut (i.e. extended version) of last week's episode of The Office, which can be found here.

I loved that we got to see more of the gang in action. Specifically, there is this one quick shot of Creed, Meredith and others at Oscar's "Welcome Back/Mexican-nity" party wearing these ... uh, let's call them facial decorations that just had me laughing out loud.

Also, there was a closing credit scene where we got to see the fate of Andy. I can't believe they cut that for some stoopid Heroes promo.

So there's only one Stamford employee left at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin - big question is how long will Karen stay now that she knows Jim's true feelings???

Overall, an awesome episode... and I needed it because for some sick reason I decided to watch last week's Grey's Anatomy again! As the family gathered around Daddy O'Malley to shut down the life support, the waterworks started up yet again. And then when George said to Christina, "I don't know how to exist in a world where my father doesn't." ... oy - the tears! I guess sometimes we all enjoy a good cry. Or maybe that's just me.

Veronica Mars back tomorrow night!

Yay - the last of my favorites is back!

If you're not familiar with the show, Veronica Mars is a sassy college freshman who also doubles as quite the clever detective. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as her dad (with whom she has an adorable father-daughter relationship) is also a private investigator.

Last time we saw her, she had just solved the mystery of the college campus serial rapist. The cliffhanger was the discovery of the murdered Dean of the college. He had just caught his wife having an affair with one of the professors so probably they will be the intial suspects.

More importantly, in the "fall finale", we saw bad boy with the big 'ole heart/trust fund baby Logan break up with Veronica in the most heart-breaking way... I can still hear him say, "I'm always here if you need anything, but you never need anything." *sigh* I hope these kids work out in the end - I adore "LoVe" (as they are known to the die hards) together!

If you want to join in the fun, more info can be found on the show website - including links to full previous episodes.

Superbowl Match up: Colts vs Bears!

And what does that exactly mean to me? Ehh... nothing, but just though it would be worth noting. I guess my only other comment is... yay, midwest! (???)

Update on Grey's Anatomy

I just found out that George's storyline was based on the real-life experience of the writer of this episode. Same situation... her father went behind the family's back and told the surgeons to take the tumor out and that he would fight it. The surgeons agreed despite the already poor health of the father with his existing heart and liver conditions. He passed away days later. The writer still hasn't completely forgiven the surgeons for this and she describes the scene with George yelling at Webber and Bailey ("He didn't know any better!" You knew better!") as "wish fulfillment" because she never communicated that herself.

No wonder the episode was so moving and so true to life...

P.S. The farting thing was part of the real-life experience, too :P

Mini Recap: Scrubs

Sorry, this musical episode didn't work for me. I love musicals, but not forced musicals. I mean, they had a song about poop!!! (???)

And poor Sarah Chalke (Elliot) ... she really struggled with pulling off her singing parts. JD joked about his theatre camp experience, but I wouldn't be surprised if Zach Braff did have a theater background - he wasn't bad.

Recap: The Office

Oscar's back! I never really noticed him much before - but he's funny. I like him and I'm glad he's back. Dwight's now at Staples and his absence is felt by all and Andy's being more annoying than usual (and has turned into a Michael stalker!)

Wow, I was not expecting that scene with Jim and Karen! When Karen asked him if he still had feelings for Pam, I was expecting some pensive look from Jim, not that he would immediately nod yes!!! Yay, there's still some hope for our little "Jam" :)

My LOL moments (just the ones where I literally laughed out loud b/c let's face it, every moment is hysterical):

• Jim's "I miss Dwight" after suffering through Andy's singing rendition of "Andy and the Tuna"
• Oscar being amused by Kevin's "How was your gay-cation?" especially after Kevin was so proud of how quickly he thought that up
• Kevin: "Can I join, too?"
  Angela: "Never."
• Michael to Oscar: "Your gayness does not define you. Your Mexican-ness defines you." Then what follows is a string of party suggestions that is both offensive but also so ridiculously hysterical in Michael's cluelessness.
• Andy trying to reel in tuna fish Jim.
• Pam and Jim's prank on Andy with his cell phone (so nice to see them conspiring again!)
• The preparation of Oscar's Mexican party (Ryan putting the ~ on the lemonade bottle)

And no good-bye scene over the closing credits??? So sad...

Recap: Grey's Anatomy

Man, I don't know if I've ever cried this much from a TV show. I feel like calling my parents right now except it's 1AM there and I don't think they'd really appreciate that. *sniff, sniff* Stoopid TV show...

Sappingess aside, I'm putting my bet on TR Knight for best supporting actor next year ... it killed me to watch his scenes dealing with his father's condition (and I am so heartbroken to lose Daddy O'Malley - he was soooo lovable!!!) This was definitely TR's episode. But another reason I think he is such a great actor? Having to appear as friends with Isaiah Washington... I'm guessing this episode filmed after the now infamous outburst by "Dr. Burke" - the first one. I'll save my thoughts about the latest off-set drama for another post.

Sucks for Izzie that she got shut out of the spinal surgery. But Bailey was right on... her motivation should have been to scrub in, not in the happiness of the patient - as cold and harsh as that is. By the way, it was only after I read recaps of last week's episode that I realized the patient is Mae Whitman - back in the day, she was this adorable child actress in movies like Hope Floats , One Fine Day, Independence Day, Bye Bye Love...

And oh boy... Alex and Addison? More squirminess for me...

Funny moments:

• Christina and Izzie breaking the news to Meredith that she really is like her bumbling/messy father (But I still don't get how the brilliant Ellis Grey would fall for him!)
• George's brother inadvertently breaking the tense silence by letting them rip out of nervousness due to Mr. O'Malley's health
• Christina asking Alex "What are you plotting and how can I get in on it?" when he started acting all shady when asked about Addison
• The nurse asking Burke "Do you want me to call security?" when Christina tried to badger him about his hand
• Meredith getting comfort from "I snore. I snore like a trucker."

And I can't wait to see what happens next week! Good things are to come... word is out that their February sweeps episode will put Code Black to shame!

Recap: Ugly Betty (Note: Recap means Spoiler!!!)

Well how about that - my off-the-wall spoiler ended up being right on! And it looks like another spoiler I read appears to be true... I would hide it but it was just so obvious in this episode that it doesn't seem like a secret anymore. I had read somewhere that Betty would be involved in a love triangle, but not the one you think. And sure enough... the show started going in a direction that I am not comfortable with. Which means this was a *very* squirmy episode for me to watch! Betty, you can't have a romantic all night date (don't be in denial, that's what it was) with your boss! On a side note, America Ferrera really is adorable... loved her silly smile during the karaoke bit.

And I'm sorry, but did Daniel actually say to Betty about Henry, "He's totally into you." Do high power editor-in-chief/playboys actually talk like that? (I mean, I know I would say something like that, but still... )

Wonder what's in the envelope???

TGITh?

Yay... it's finally Thursday! (Huh???) Thursday is definitely must see TV night for me... yes, I watch a lot of TV (as evidenced by this blog) but none of the other nights of TV come even close to the wonderful line-up held tonight. If you're curious, I start off at ABC with Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, during which I faux-TIVO (i.e. VCR) NBC's The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock. I look forward to it every week! :)

I'm not sure, but I think Ugly Betty is supposed to introduce Rebecca Romijn tonight as the lady under all the bandages. The big mystery is who the heck she is, if she isn't Fey Sommers. I heard one interesting theory since there was a spoiler that she plays someone we already know. Highlight here to read one theory: Supposedly, the masked lady is Daniel's brother who was supposed to have passed away or something? Well, at least that would explain all the bandages.

Grey's Anatomy will show part 2 from last week's episode. Apparently, it was supposed to be one episode but they ended up with over 60 minutes of final footage instead of ~40 so they decided to split it in two and add more scenes (like Callie staring down George last week but just ended up scaring him instead). Hopefully we get to find out what the heck happened between Addison and McSteamy (hello, did they tease at them having a baby together last week???)

And then there's The Office. What's to become of our dear beloved Dwight??? I read a spoiler about where he ends up (Highlight here to read: he works at Staples) and I hope he returns soon! The scenes between him and both Andy and Jim are priceless. And are we getting any closer to a Jim and Pam reunion??? No, I think they'll still drag it out for awhile but I for one think they've done a great job with this storyline. (I still want to see Jim and Pam together by the end of the season though.)

Can't wait for tonight! Who's with me???


Update: One more thing - tonight is the long-awaited musical episode of Scrubs!

Seattle - Day 2

I guess the fun isn't over yet for Seattle...

• The bug-eyed guy did sort of resemble a monkey - decent effort with his N Sync dance moves, though
• His buddy with the Ed Grimley pants was a little bit better at singing... but no go there... at least they now have each other
• The Taylor Hicks wanna-be was so weird! Why would he style up his hair *after* the audition? Nice to know security won't let hair product anywhere near Simon.
• Seriously? There is a girl who's 6'4" flat footed??? I like how they introduced her by highlighting Ryan's height insecurities. Oh and that growling thing that Paula and Randy did to Simon when he started to criticize the amazon lady? Hilarious.
• I liked Jordin Sparks immediately even before she started singing. And then she did an amazing job of Celine Dion's "Because of You" - especially at 16!
• Seattle's music montage was Doncha by the PussyCat Dolls - they must make all these kids sing this song during their auditions - at least all the bad ones anyway

And now Seattle is over... next stop Memphis!

American Idol: Seattle

Seattle:

• I don't want to be rude, but Jennifer (one of the early singers that wouldn't take no for an answer) was one of the most unattractive females I've ever seen! Yikes...
• Poor Amy (the Asian girl) - her husband didn't want her to audition and no wonder, she was horrible! But it was so sad b/c she really thought she could sing except that she was sick. Luckily, her son still thinks she sounds awesome. Oh another thing... ease up on the eyebrows!!! She's like that LeeAnne chick from Top Chef Season 1 - guilty of over-plucking!!!
• I love how so many singers seem to think water will solve their bad singing - haven't seen it make a difference yet
• Scratch my earlier comment about unattractive females, they just introduced the "blonde bombshell"... self-describes her style as "sexy" - represented by a huge button down blouse, black skirt, tights, and sneakers. Here's a tip I learned, if you have really horrible teeth, do NOT wear bright red lipstick. Or in her case, smear bright red lipstick all over your lips and then some.
• HOLY CRAP! I can't blame this girl anymore, she adopted her style from her mom! Momma did not teach that girl right.
• Why would you wear pink stockings on your arms and legs? I don't think that would do anything for anyone's figure!
• I like the beatbox guy - sort of has a Justin Timberlake sound...
• I also like the Indian girl with her brother at the auditions... the voice is sort of thin but pretty and she is really pretty, too.
• Wow - her 17yr old brother really surprised me! He seemed all shy and geeky and awkward and then as soon as he started singing a little Stevie Wonder, he just lit up and shined! And nice class when he didn't 'fess up to who was the better singer.
• Oy - the Zitzman dude... loved the silent interview with Seacrest afterward
• I liked the Rudy guy that sang Journey's "Open Arms" - I was surprised when Simon immediately shot him down. Luckily, Randy and Paula sent him through

And so ends Seattle!

Channel Surfing...

The Real Housewives of Orange County

If you're not familiar with this one, it's another reality show, this time on Bravo (so you know, that means it a little classier than others - haha). I think this was conceived as some hybrid of Desperate Housewives/LB/The OC, etc. So I guess Jo would be the "Gabrielle" of the show since she's the young one. Apparently she's in her mid-20's (all the other housewives are older with older kids and stuff) which really surprised me b/c I actually would have guessed Jo was in her early 30's or something. Oh well. And her on/off boyfriend Slade (seriously, it's some weird name like that) is totally creepy to me.

But in the bit of this episode that I happened to catch, Jo was getting ready to go to the annual Midsummer Night's Dream party at the Playboy mansion - how exciting! But listen to how this works - since naturally only the "elite" can attend Playboy parties, I guess you have to submit photos of yourself in your skivvies to gain an invite. And apparently Hugh normally only likes the blondes (of course) so if you're a brunette, it's even tougher to get in. Unless as Jo says, "you're really good looking" which I guess Jo must be since she's a brunette and still managed to win a lucky ticket! So off she went in the classic Playboy outfit of corset, thong, and sheer robe. What a world they live in...


Law and Order: SVU

Normally, I'm happy to see the star duo from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle - you know, good to see the underrepresented races get out there and stuff. But not this time. Last night's episode feature Kumar as a super-creepy serial rapist/murderer. Ack! He's ruined for me.

American Idol - Season 6 Premieres

Ok, our old friends are back... AI6 kicked off with auditions in Minneapolis (hometown of Prince, which apparently is a well-known fact - not to me, but oh well) and Jewel joined as a guest judge.

Laugh out loud moments:

• The dude that claimed to have an amazing vocal range who left in mid-audition to get water as he choked through a Celine Dion song. He later tried again with this Michael Jackson song but it just got worse... how are people this delusional???
• The chick with the tie that could not remember the lyrics to the Kiss song by Prince but darn it, she would not give up as she kept tripping up her words
• Simon's "stunned"expression while everyone else openly giggles during the audition of the girl that sings like the lion from the Wizard of Oz
• Superfan's rendition of Under Pressure - I love that song and I had no idea where she was going with that intro... high pitch wailing! I do feel bad though b/c she claims to have 10 yrs training and a degree in vocal performance - what a waste.
• The *rocker* singing Abba's "Dancing Queen" in that scruffy voice of his... I mean, was that really singing? And then he did Copacabana the same way! I agree with Jewel, he's probably killing his voice right now.

Trying to be funny but not:

• Urban Amish dude
• Guy dressed up like Apollo Creed trying to sing opera

Worth noting:

• 16 yr old self-described "crack baby" who sang "And I Am Telling You..." - it wasn't J Hud but still very respectable
• "Somewhere over the rainbow" girl with the long curly brown hair - nice voice

Awkward:

• The girl whose boss flew her out from Cali to Minneapolis for her audition. After she bombs her initial song, she then gets a second chance by singing "Fever" (which she sings all breathy and lusty) while gazing at her boss (who's um, rather stocky and what I like to call slightly huggable)

I'm so confused by the Prince - Kiss montage. They showed all these singers doing the Kiss song - but a lot of them were singers that we've already seen and that wasn't their audition song. But we see them come in, sing, get rejected, then leave - so where does the Kiss song come in?

Overall, it seemed like a lot of the people that did go through fell in the "not the greatest singer, but America might like you" category. So I'm really hoping that means the good ones are being saved for later, otherwise, this is going to be a dull season. In which case, I wouldn't actually be surprised since last season churned out so many good ones. And Jewel, like most guest judges, didn't add much - I hope future guest judges are more opinionated and tough cookies. They need a Janice Dickinson for the music world!

New Shows: The Hills and Dancelife

The Hills

The Hills is back for season two - time to get re-united with our old friend and Laguna Beach grad LC/Lauren and her cohorts. Last time we saw her, she had given up a Teen Vogue internship in Paris to spend her summer in a Malibu beach house with dud-BF Jason and what happens? They fight everyday and break up. Nice. And it only gets worse! Her editor boss tells her that she "will always be known as the girl that didn't go to Paris" PLUS she has to listen to fellow intern Whitney (who ended up doing the Paris internship instead) brag about her amazing experience there and hanging out with Coco Chanel, blah blah blah. You know, usually I like Whitney b/c she seems to be the only normal girl but sometimes she seems to be in her old world and, as Jennifer Aniston would put it, she seems to be missing a "sensitivity chip".

But what's MORE interesting is the dilemma facing Heidi, Lauren's roommate. She's dating this tool, Spencer, who apparently is also dating Heidi's former friend, Audrina (what a goofy name! heehee). So now Heidi isn't talking to Audrina. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on in this triangle b/c someone is not being upfront. Audrina makes it sound like Spencer likes her but she would never be into him. Yet she goes on these lunch dates with him where he gives her flowers. She must know that's not right! Spencer seems to act like he's not into Audrina but yet he brings her to this club opening where Heidi is working the front door! PLUS he openly flirts with Audrina in front of Heidi! What the heck? Obviously, he's familiar with the show, he must know he's gonna get caught being such a sleazoid. I don't get how people on these shows act like such idiots. And he's not even cute!!! What do either of them see in him? And the worst part? Heidi thinks she's preggers!!! Uh oh...


Dancelife

I also caught the premiere of MTV's new dance show. I didn't know what it was about except that it was a bunch of dancers and J Lo was involved. It's actually another reality-drama show like Laguna Beach (henceforth to be referred to as LB on this site) and The Hills. There's about six different dancers whose lives are documented as they try to make it big in LA. The cool thing is that they are all in different stages, some who don't have any professional experience and some that have already appeared in videos and concert tours but still need to keep auditioning because that's the dancer's life. The funny thing is that the cattiness shows up with the boy dancers while the girl dancers bond when they all get cut from a J Lo audition. Catty boys, cool girls - what a refreshing change! We'll see how long that lasts...


Summary:
I don't think either of these will make my must-see TV list (like Grey's and The Office) but I'll check in from time to time. These new breed of "scripted reality" shows or whatever you call them are pretty interesting. Some scenes just seem so staged but I still watch anyway. At least both of these are way better than the lame 24/7.

Golden Globes Recap: Show Time

More random musings...

• YAY! J Hud won! And has a cute boyfriend...
• Jack Nicholson has an adorable daughter (don't see the resemblance at all)
• It still sort of breaks my heart to see Brad Pitt so loving with Angelina (poor Jen...)
• OK, so Ellen Pompeo didn't win, but Kyra was my second choice... I like The Closer and her character is kind of kooky. plus she's so cute with her hubby!
• Hugh Laurie is pretty funny! Maybe I'll check out his show one of these days...
• Meryl Streep gives the sweetest, funniest acceptance speeches - glad she won
• Sacha Baron Cohen is not bad looking... I only knew him as Borat
• So Prince was in attendance! Why didn't he accept his award? Was he in the bathroom or something? It was only the second award of the night!
• Double YAY! Eddie Murphy wins!
• Loved Zach Braff's serious, pondering expression when they announced him as a nominee for best actor (on a side note, I had a feeling they would pick Alec Baldwin)
• Yay for Ugly Betty! Two funny moments - 1) watching those with the good seats reunite on stage with cast members who I guess had the nosebleed seats? and 2) vanessa williams running on stage to join the cast, hysterically interrupting the acceptance speech already in progress
• Oh... Prince was stuck in traffic... that sucks
• How sweet was America Ferrera's win? I was so happy for her and it seemed like everyone else was, t00. First I saw people from the Lost table start to give her a standing ovation when she first won, and then to see all the teary eyes from women in the audience during her speech.
• I love Warren Beatty's digs at Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood during his speech (Clint is such a cute old dude, by the way!)
• Wow, Sacha won... didn't see that coming. The crowd loved his acceptance speech, I personally didn't need the reminder of *the scene* from the movie. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything as disturbing as that!
• YAY for Dreamgirls!!! Why couldn't the cast rush the stage when they won?
• YAY for Grey's Anatomy! I was worried Heroes or Lost might steal the award. And by the way, Dr. Bailey looked gorgeous in her gold gown.
• Man, this is Helen Mirren's night! Two best actress awards... good for her.

Golden Globes Recap: Red Carpet Time

My random musings...

• Goddess/grecian look seemed to be the popular theme - some of my favorites: Kyra Sedgwick, Teri Hatcher, Hayden Pana-something-or-other from Heroes
• Impressive display for "womenly assets" (hee hee): Beyonce (did not like her dress all- this isn't Solid Gold!), Salma Hayek
• What were they thinking?: Vanessa Williams (so not Wilhemina!)
• Also not digging Cameron Diaz's look - don't like the hair, the red lips, or the dress (although I think the dress might have looked nice on someone else)
• Not digging the fishtail style: Nicolette Sheridan, Katherine Heigl
• I loved seeing some of my fave girls like Reese and Jennifer Garner - they both looked gorgeous!
• Did anyone else confuse Eric Dane for Leo???
• Awkward: Ryan Seacrest commenting how brave Ellen Pompeo was for wearing a white dress on a cold day, followed by the "glam cam" shot of her headlights
• Funny: Seacrest giving up the microphone to Patrick Dempsey to conduct interview with co-star Katherine Heigl
• Although it seemed kind of annoying to see Seacrest shove his microphone in private conversations between celebrities, but c'mon, it is fun to hear what they're saying! (although the ones I heard weren't actually that interesting at all...)
• Was Angelina pissed or what?

Golden Globe awards tonight!

Here's who I would like to see win (Link to full nomination list) :

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
THE DEPARTED
Well, it's the only one I saw but I really did enjoy it. And I normally don't like mob/shoot em up kind of movies.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL - SHERRYBABY
I didn't see any of the performances by the nominees, I just think Maggie is cool. Plus I like her brother. :)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
LEONARDO DICAPRIO — BLOOD DIAMOND
LEONARDO DICAPRIO — THE DEPARTED
In my opinion, Leo is one of the most underrated actors today, probably b/c of his pretty face. I saw both performances, so I think Blood Diamond should win it just for the accent alone - heehee.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
DREAMGIRLS
This is actually a category where I saw all the nominees. Dreamgirls has to win - it was a masterpiece!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
MERYL STREEP — THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Sorry Beyonce, I loved you too but Meryl Streep ruled in the Prada movie.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
JOHNNY DEPP — PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
I totally didn't follow the plot, but it was OK b/c of Johnny's entertaining performance!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
JENNIFER HUDSON — DREAMGIRLS
I'll be crushed (and shocked!) if she doesn't win for her amazing performance.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
EDDIE MURPHY — DREAMGIRLS
He was the surprise treat in this movie. Everyone knew J-Hud would rock it, but I thought Eddie did an awesome job, especially with his performance numbers.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
GREY'S ANATOMY
Hello - Code Black, anyone? That and the following episodes were some of the best TV EVER.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
ELLEN POMPEO — GREY'S ANATOMY
OK, she can be annoying at times, but the show wouldn't be the same without her. And she was awesome in that aforementioned Code Black episode.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
PATRICK DEMPSEY — GREY'S ANATOMY
Not that I think his acting is spectacular or anything, but he is the only one of the nominees I watch.

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
THE OFFICE
Tough one between this and Ugly Betty but I'm going with the Office. The show just kills me! Although I think Ugly Betty is really funny in an over-the-top way, I think Office is funny in its subtleties (sp?) which would seem a lot harder to master. And Desperate Housewives? I don't think so.

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
AMERICA FERRERA — UGLY BETTY
Golden Globes loves the new "It" girl (previous winners were Keri Russell and Jennifer Garner when Felicity/Alias debuted) so I hope this is a lock. Plus she's adorable on the show that calls her Ugly!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
STEVE CARELL — THE OFFICE
Another tough one! I would be happy with either Steve Carrell, Zach Braff, or Alec Baldwin with my preference being Steve since his last acceptance speech was so funny. I will be really pissed off if Tony Shalhoub wins!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
KATHERINE HEIGL — GREY'S ANATOMY
OK, the whole Denny storyline annoyed me... but still, this pretty lady deserves to win. Plus I bet she'll look really glamorous for the event so it would be great to see her on stage to accept!

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
JEREMY PIVEN — ENTOURAGE
I don't have HBO, I just think he's funny. And I hope the rumors aren't true about him and John Cusack.