Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch Blog | PopWatch

PopWatch Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch Blog

Feb 10 2010 12:01 AM ET

'Survivor': Jeff Probst gives you a personal tour of the 'Heroes vs. Villains' Tribal Council set

The Tribal Council set in Samoa for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is up in the air…literally. Perched Swiss Family Robinson style 40 feet off the ground, the set is one of the most unique in the history of the show. The only thing that would make it any cooler is if Jeff Probst would snuff someone’s torch and then simply push them off the edge into the abyss. (If Jonny Fairplay were around this season, Probst just might.) But you don’t have to wait until Thursday night to see it: As a special treat, the host is going to conduct a private Tribal Council set tour just for you, dear EW.com readers. And watch out, because someone is getting voted off at the very end. To get an advance sneak peak at the new Tribal Council, as presented by Probst himself, click on the video below. (And if you missed some of our other exclusive behind-the-scenes videos, make sure to check out Jeff’s discussion on players who DIDN’T make the cut for Heroes vs. Villains, and also watch the Survivors themselves talk about who is overrated and doesn’t deserve to be there.) Also, for Survivor scoop sent right to your virtual doorstep, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.

Feb 9 2010 10:05 PM ET

Snap Judgment: Tonight's Episode of 'Lost'! (Needless to say... SPOILER ALERT!)

by Jeff Jensen

Categories: Lost, Television, Uncategorized

SPOILER ALERT! THIS POST CONTAINS MUCHO INFO ABOUT TONIGHT’S LOST. IF YOU HAVEN’T YET WATCHED — AND WEST COASTERS, I’M TALKING TO YOU — YOU REALLY SHOULDN’T READ THIS. YET. JUST WAIT AND WATCH THE EPISODE FIRST. THEN COME BACK. DON’T WORRY. WE’LL BE HERE. (Read full post)

Feb 9 2010 09:53 PM ET

Ellen DeGeneres joins the 'American Idol' judges' table: First-timer teaches old dawgs new tricks!

by Michael Slezak

Categories: American Idol, Reality TV

Ellen DeGeneres may not have years of experience in the music industry, but who cares? Her ability to sit still, be quiet, and (oh. em. gee.) actually pay attention to what’s happening on the stage in front of her could set an exciting new precedent for American Idol’s generally frustrating judges’ panel: Yes indeed, the show is actually about discovering the next generation of music superstars, not watching four nimrods at a table drawing mustaches on each other, misstating pertinent facts about music history, and finding new and annoying ways to make the phrase “you gave it 100 percent” their own.

So yes, despite my early fears that Ellen would be too focused on punch lines to give legitimate critiques, I’m exiting her first hour of Idol feeling relieved, hopeful, and maybe just a little psyched. Not only did the comedian/talk-show host treat the Paula Abdul Memorial Chair with a level of dignity and purpose that it had never before experienced, but she wasn’t afraid to dole out tough criticism when necessary. Tonight, with just a few minutes of screen time, we heard Ellen telling Idol wannabes (Read full post)

Feb 9 2010 06:45 PM ET

What celebrity controversy would you like Jackie Collins to adapt into a novel?

by Kate Ward

Categories: Books, Celebrity Scandals

Today, best-selling author Jackie Collins stopped by Good Morning America not only to plug her new book, Poor Little Bitch Girl, but also to speak with George Stephanopoulos about which celebrity scandals she could transform into a compelling read. (In fact, she says she’s already brought us novels with plotlines that resemble the Chandra Levy case, and could easily turn John Edwards’ and Mark Sanford’s respective scandals into books.)

Now, it makes perfect sense that an author like Collins — who often focuses on the salacious — would be able to adapt a controversy. So the question is, which celebrity scandal would you like to see Collins adapt into a best-seller? It’s a tough call, especially when there is so much drama to choose from: Tiger Woods, Jon & Kate, Kardashian relationships, Lindsay Lohan’s hoarder tendencies… (Kidding on that last one, of course.)

So what do you think, PopWatchers? What scandal should Collins write about? And would you read a Collins-penned book novelizing the Edwards and Sanford controversies? Or would you prefer to keep bad celebrity behavior separate from “literature”?

Feb 9 2010 06:30 PM ET

Countdown to Lost: 'What Kate Does' and 'What Doc Missed'

by Jeff Jensen

Categories: Lost, Television

We are hours away from the arrival of the third episode of Lost’s last season, a Kate-centric affair entitled “What Kate Does.” That’s right, you heard me: third episode. Even though this is only week two, last week’s two-hour premiere counted as two episodes. Which means that after tonight, we will already be finished with 1/6th of the season. Holy Smokey! And it feels like the season only began last week. Wait…what?!

My mind is still reeling — in a good way — from what we got out of “LA X.” The premiere inspired a wide range of reactions — mostly positive, but with varying degrees of confusion (from severe frustration to just-rolling-with-it) or interest in the parallel world storyline the show has introduced this season, tracking the lives of a group of familiar characters who are actually profoundly different than the castaways we know, alterna-world people who landed safely in Los Angeles instead of crashing on an Island which, in their world, is actually sunk. One of my fave Lost bloggers, a very astute and very creative fellow who goes by the handle Fishbiscuit, has posted an insightful, well-researched and somewhat mixed assessment of “LA X.” I encourage you to read it. I don’t share his opinion, but I respect — and am greatly entertained — by his engagement.

Here within the halls of EW, our contingent of Lost fans had a variety of different reactions, too. Periodically through the season, I’m going to be sharing their thoughts with you, so that together, we might be able to reflect back the Lost community’s varied responses to the final year of the show. Perhaps one of these fine folk speak for you. Consider: (Read full post)

Feb 9 2010 06:13 PM ET

Ellen DeGeneres on 'American Idol' tonight: What are your expectations?

by Michael Slezak

Categories: American Idol, News, Reality TV

There’s been a lot of ink spilled about Ellen DeGeneres’ American Idol debut tonight, where, as part of the Hollywood Week proceedings, she’ll take over the Chair Formerly Occupied by America’s Wackiest Twitterer. Admittedly, I was resistant to the idea of Ellen as Idol judge when the news was first announced back in September, but a lot of my opinion was based on her painful guest-judging stint on So You Think You Can Dance last summer. Since then, the comedian/talk-show host has repeatedly stated that she’ll take her Idol role more seriously. In fact, here’s what she had to say about criticism of her SYTYCD performance in an EW cover story last month written by my colleague Dave ‘Oscar Watch’ Karger:

“I just wanted to go see the show, and suddenly I was asked if I want to be a judge. And I’m like, ‘Well, those are better seats — I’ll be a judge.’ I just thought it would be interesting, and then I thought, ‘Oh, I have to actually critique them.’ I don’t know anything about dance, so I just really did focus on making it funny. But it’s a totally different thing [from] singing. And I will be funny [on Idol] — if something’s obnoxious or stupid and there’s a joke to be made, that’s what I do first and foremost. But I’ll have more to say about a singer — with singing, it’ll be funny, but there will also be true, honest critiquing.”

So maybe there’s reason to be a little hopeful about Ellen on Idol. Because while she might not have the music-industry background of Kara or Randy, she does have two things in common with Simon that Table Banger and One-Zillion Percent do not: (Read full post)

Feb 9 2010 05:55 PM ET

K-Fed strips down for 'Celebrity Fit Club'

by Ben Spier

Categories: EWWWWWWWWWW.com, Have You Seen This?, Reality TV, Snap Judgment, Television, The Bad Man Scares Me!, Things That Make Me Die Inside

Leave it to Kevin Federline to let it all hang out — literally. Last night on VH1’s weight-loss realityfest Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp, the former Mr. Britney Spears/rap wannabe furnished shirtless “before” pics of his 232-lb. self, gamely cracking to the judges, “I look like a pregnant man.” (One is tempted to ask, a la Paulie Walnuts, whether the snaps are “before” or “way before.”) Weigh in, PopWatchers (no pun intended): Is this TMI? Are you reeling from mammal toe — or mammary overload? Does the well-fed K-Fed’s choice of camo underpants render a disservice to our men and women in uniform, or out of it? Can fellow Boot Camp-ers Sebastian Bach and Bobby Brown possibly top this feat of show-too-muchmanship? And, most terrifying to contemplate, should such exhibitionism from Britney’s ex earn a “Malibu Gas Station”-style tribute from those pop-fixated noise-rockers Sonic Youth?

Feb 9 2010 05:53 PM ET

'Lost' ephemera is awesome

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: I'm Just a Geek, Jimmy Fallon, Lost, Viral Video!!!, Weblogs

The best part about Lost being back is all the wonderful other stuff that goes with it. Well, that’s the second-best part. The best part is overhearing people badly explain their theories to each other. Tell me more about “brown-haired lady” and “time bombs,” guy who was talking on the subway!

Anyway, today came with lots of Lost treats, like the 10 kinds of cupcakes we tweeted about earlier. Or this intriguing video from Jorge “Hurley” Garcia’s blog:

Or this, from [Eff] Yeah, Lost: (Read full post)

Feb 9 2010 04:59 PM ET

Google Buzz: Buzzworthy?

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: Gadgets, News, Tech

Google unveiled its next foray into social media today: Google Buzz. It’s a sharing functionality built right into Gmail, and it looks pretty.

And pretty darn familiar. Gee, what is that other thing that matches up with my Gmail contacts, where we…share stuff…not just with friends but with everyone… hm… Oh right: The whole Internet Twitter and Facebook.

That said, e-mail existed before Gmail, I used AIM and iChat before Gchat launched — hell, I used Yahoo! before I used Google in the first place. Google doesn’t need to be first, it just needs to be better, easier, more intuitive, and more useful. Er…easy peasy?

I’m most pleased that I will now have some way to keep track of all my dorked-out status messages from Gmail. I change mine several times a day, as an incredibly lame point of pride (I’m def going to die alone), so at least now when I’m searching for that stupid letter-dropping game that I know I linked to somehow, it’ll actually show up. (It was that, btw).

Are you a-buzz, PopWatchers?

Feb 9 2010 04:46 PM ET

Funnyordie's 'Twilight' parody, 'Dark Moon': It's so sensitive!

by Kate Ward

Categories: Twilight, Vampires, Viral Video!!!

I’m biting my lip in approval for this Twilight parody, which stars singer/rapper/actress Eve as Becca, and Tropic Thunder’s Brandon T. Jackson as Eddie, a sensitive, poorly coiffed dude who “cries more than any other man.” (Best line in the video: “Go away! You don’t know how sensitive I am!”)

What did you think of this parody? How does it rank amongst all the other clips that spoof Twilight?

Older Posts