Archive: February 2009 (221-230 of 448)

Feb 14 2009 08:52 PM ET

Heidi Klum is a superhero, as if that weren't obvious

Heidi_main2Times are tough. There’s a death ray pointed at Fashion Week, and no one can stop it! People will be hurt — and not just models. Real people, too. Good thing Heidi Klum’s had some free time lately, because if anyone can save designer fashion by brandishing a hairdryer while lookin’ hot, it’s The Kluminator. Now please indulge me as I paste part of the best press release ever. (It has a DATELINE that says "THE INTERNET")

(The Internet) – New style-centric site Modelinia announces a four-part web series called SPIKED HEEL: Supermodels Battle the Forces of Evil, starring cat walkers Heidi Klum and Coco Rocha. The series will premiere at Midnight on February 16, 2009 and post the following webisodes consecutively for the next three days on www.modelinia.com.

After the jump, watch the trailer for Spiked Heel and check out a few more teaser stills, including Gossip Girl‘s Blair (Leighton Meester) and a seductive closeup of the liquid gold-encased Kluminator in which she appears to be sipping a liquid gold martini. Drink it up.

READ FULL STORY »

Feb 14 2009 05:00 PM ET

'Battlestar Galactica': Hey, Apollo, get a haircut!

Apollohair_lThere’s no denying that this season of our beloved Battlestar Galactica has been pretty fantastic. But, PopWatchers, something’s been bugging me, and I can’t hold it in any longer: Ever since burning hunk of man Apollo left Galactica, his hair has slowly grown into an approximation of Patrick Swayze’s ‘do circa Dirty Dancing. And during last week’s battle aboard Galactica, that image was so dominant all I could think when he was onscreen was: "ADAMA. HAIRCUT. GET ONE." (Yes, in all-caps. That’s just how I think, sometimes.) I know, I know, blah blah "symbolic break with the military" blah.

Of course, this isn’t the first time thoughts of hair have ruined a scene for me. During Cordelia’s ascension into higher-power land at the end of Angel‘s third season, I completely ignored the fact that she was floating into another dimension and instead concentrated on her massacred, blonde-dyed locks. And Chuck’s floppy, windswept coiffure left no room in my head for dialogue in that "climactic" roof scene a few weeks ago on Gossip Girl.

So tell me, PopWatchers: Am I alone in my horrific shallowness, or do little things like that also bring you down as well?

Feb 14 2009 03:00 PM ET

Valentine's Day: How to say I love you the '30 Rock' and 'Lost' way

Happy Valentine’s Day, PopWatchers! Remember, nothing says "I heartyou" like sharing a little of your favorite show with your specialsomeone. Me? I’d swoon over a "choo-choo-choose you" card, but thereare plenty of other TV-geared ways to show you care.

For the Lemonheads — is there a term for us? — out there, these 30 Rock cards. (More here.)

Vday30rock_l

READ FULL STORY »

Feb 14 2009 02:00 PM ET

Valentine's Day playlist: 10 great love songs

Categories: Music

It’s next to impossible to draw up a definitive playlist of lovesongs for Valentine’s Day. For one thing, there’s just too much material to choose from. Aren’t nearly all the billions of tunes sung by humankind over the centuries songs about love, more or less? At the same time, there are too few true love songs out there, as opposed to heartbreak songs, infatuation songs, or songs about any of the other infinitely more complicated shades of romance-related emotion — and the songs that are about pure untangled love can be, well, kinda boring.

So the list that follows — one all-time great love song below, nine more after the jump — is nothing like an authoritative V-Day selection. Consider it a humbly offered prompt to help you get started on making your own, more personal playlist today. Forfurther inspiration, check out EW’s gallery of the 25 Best Love Songs Ever, or our 2007 post about unlikely Valentine’s Day mixtape options. Then post up 10 of your own favorite love songs in the comments section below. If you start now, you can get a perfect playlist ready by date time tonight…

THE BEATLES, "AND I LOVE HER" (1964)

READ FULL STORY »

Feb 14 2009 09:21 AM ET

'The Sarah Connor Chronicles' returns to the air. Does anybody care?

Categories: Television

Sarahconnorchronicles_lIs anybody out there still watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? Any reason why this show is still on the air? I visited the set while they were shooting the first season—I got to watch Summer Glau, in the flesh, punch her fist through a Styrofoam wall—and had high hopes for the series. But then the writers strike in the fall of 2007 seemed to strangle it in its cradle, with the series running out of scripts after only nine episodes. The second season didn’t get underway until last September, but before you could say, "I’ll be back," it was gone again, leaving for a two-month hiatus in December. Just figuring out when new episodes would be on the air has been a time-travel paradox so perplexing it would drive John Connor crazy.  At a certain point, I stopped trying.

Last night, however, I finally caught up with the show on its new night. Fox kicked off the second part of Season 2 with an episode in which Sarah (Lena Headey) holds a doctor at gunpoint while a bullet is removed from her leg. I don’t know who put the slug in her thigh or why—I missed that cliffhanger—but clearly a lot has changed in Terminator world since I last checked in. John Connor (Thomas Dekker) has a new girlfriend (Leven Rambin); a T2-style liquid metal Terminator (Shirley Manson) has beamed in from the future and is passing herself off as the CEO of a high-tech A.I. research company; and the old-fashioned Arnold-style Terminator sent back in time to kill John Connor in the first season (Garret Dillahunt) has apparently been captured and reprogrammed into a highly-functional, six-foot-tall Speak & Spell. The only comforting consistency: Glau’s robot still hasn’t figured out the algorithm for smiling.

Personally, I’m having a hard time falling back into the show. The program’s on-again-off-again scheduling has made it all but impossible to build any traction with its increasingly complex plotlines. Also, the tone has grown so dark and despairing, I want to give the series a stimulus package. Anything to pick up its spirits a little bit. But maybe that’s just me. What do you think, PopWatchers?

Feb 14 2009 07:00 AM ET

Snap Judgment: 'Dollhouse' -- Barbie or bad-ass?

Dollhouse_pilot_lWell, boys and girls, the moment we’ve all been waiting for — the premiere of a new Joss Whedon TV show — has come and gone. Dollhouse has reared its not-at-all-ugly head; what do We think of it? Did the mindbending adventures of Echo (Eliza Dushku) tickle your geek fancy, or were you left as blank as an Active’s brain after an "engagement"?

You can read Ken Tucker’s official take here, but I’ve got a few SPOILERY thoughts of my own…after the jump.

READ FULL STORY »

Feb 14 2009 06:00 AM ET

'Friday Night Lights': Zach Gilford blogs last night's show

Categories: Friday Night Lights

Zachgilford_lDrama in Dillon. After Smash road off into the sunset of College Station, Tex. (and he will be greatly missed), everyone’s lives kept going. Tami is all up in everyone’s business, trying to keep Tyra from dating a pill-popping cowboy, and freaking out that Julie got, in my opinion, an extremely tacky rope-heart tattoo. Watching this story unfold was extremely special for my parents and me, because at the young age of 13 the words "pip 33" were inked into my flesh (still there today). These scenes with the Taylor family were so similar to the "discussions" (me being yelled at) that took place in my house; it felt like I was watching home movies.

In other Panther news, Street is back. He’s teamed up with a lovable band of idiots (Herc and the brothers Riggins) and trying to flip Buddy’s house to raise a "nest egg" for his new born, Noah (a "nest egg" is actually the act of putting a pseudo egg in a hen’s nest to encourage it to lay more; the connection between this and financial savings is not entirely clear to me, but oh well). And after, heroically, coming in as a sophomore, stepping into the huge shadow of Jason Street, after valiantly leading the team to a Texas state title, after almost three, I may say, courageous seasons as the starter, young Matt Saracen has been benched for the younger, and apparently better, J.D.

McCoy? Really? C’mon coach, he’s a freshman…and he’s not even cool. (Everyone is thinking it, I just said it.) Seriously, though, his name is Joe Doyle and he likes to brag about the fact that his parents bronzed his first diaper. Lame.

Bring Voodoo back, fine, he was kinda intimidating and nefarious. A good Goliath to Matt’s David. Even his name was scary, "Voodoo," petty creepy. But Joe Doyle? The kid has a trust fund, what’s unnerving about that? Of course he’s good, his daddy hired a private coach who used to play QB for USC or some fancy school like that, but Matt has heart. Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player ever because he made the players around him better. Matt Saracen makes his team better. This McCoy kid is a question mark. Eric Taylor said it himself, "I know Matt Saracen, I don’t know your son." Well where’s that mentality now coach? Funny how quickly one loss can make you forget the little people that helped you get that pretty ring on your finger (not the wedding ring, the state championship ring).

READ FULL STORY »

Feb 14 2009 02:23 AM ET

Enter the Fray: Joaquin, the Grammys, and reality TV

Thefray_lIt’s Friday the 13th, but nothing spooky has happened yet (other than the fact that Tatiana Del Toro will continue on in the hopes of becoming America’s Next Top Model the next American Idol). I think I’ve dodged a bullet on the whole bad-luck day thing — until next month, that is. I hope you’ve all had good luck today, too. If not, ancient legend has it that reading this week’s top PopWatch posts will improve your fortune tenfold. Enter the Fray:

10. Annie Barrett will sleep happily with dreams of sequins and Maks now that ABC has announced the newest cast of Dancing With the Stars.

9. For those who worry that Joaquin Phoenix has gone off the deep end, fret not. The actor-turned-rapper has a history of befuddling behavior on late-night TV.

8. Finishing second in the Reality TV Show Host-turned-EW.com Blogger Comment-Off ’09 Round 1 is main Survivor guy Jeff Probst. Don’t worry buddy, you’ll get it next time!

7. Lynette Rice doesn’t think the Friday time slot Fox assigned to Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse bodes well for the new series (which premieres tonight).

6. The judges have spoken, and the American Idol top 36 are in. You know, until Hollywood week, I was totally okay with Tatiana. But it will be completely unacceptable, America, if I have to hear that shrill giggle come from my TV set for any reason other than her elimination next week.

5. Joaquin Phoenix’s barely-there Letterman appearance on Wednesday had Mike Bruno entertained regardless of whether it’s all an act or not.

4. Hip hop goddess M.I.A. performed ”Swagga Like Us” with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and T.I. at the Grammys while simultaneously balancing the responsibilities of being super awesome and being ready to give birth at any moment, but Mike Bruno was bummed she didn’t get to sing ”Paper Planes,” which ”Swagga” samples, instead.

3. And the Reality TV Show Host-turned-EW.com-Blogger Comment-Off ’09 Round 1 Champion is…Chris Harrison of The Bachelor! Come on down and collect your trophy bragging rights!

2. Chris Brown turned himself in to L.A. police Sunday night for questioning in connection with a police investigation into charges of a felony battery.

1. Intrepid EW music experts Simon Vozick-Levinson and Leah Greenblatt live blogged the Grammys ceremony.

Feb 14 2009 01:44 AM ET

Cheeta the Chimp: The latest celebrity scandal?

Cheetah_lBack in October, EW ran a profile of Cheeta the chimpanzee, the legendary simian sidekick from the classic Tarzan films of the 1930s and 1940s, now a 76-year-old showbiz retiree quietly living out his remaining days in Palm Springs, Calif. We spent a day with this renowned chimp, observing him as he went about his business: snacking on corn chips, kicking back by the swimming pool, flopping on the couch and watching TV. A fine time was had by all, man and beast.

Today, however, the Los Angeles Times published a story that has rocked the celebrity-animal world, suggesting that this particular chimpanzee, who has earned legions of fans around the world and whose "ape-stract" paintings sell online for $135 a pop, may not be who everyone believes he is. In fact, according to an author whose research the Times cites, he’s most likely a roughly 50-year-old chimp who has never been in any movies whatsoever. Cheeta’s trainer, Dan Westfall, has refused to comment on the allegation — and, whatever the truth may be, it should be said that Westfall is a nice man who has selflessly devoted himself to caring for elderly primates.

Still, we’re left to wonder: Have Cheeta’s fans been misled all these years? We know stars like to lie about their age, but does that go for chimps, too? Do you believe this is, indeed, the real Cheeta? Do you care?

Feb 14 2009 01:21 AM ET

Pilot season: 'Hot Girls in Scary Places'

Categories: Pilot Season, Television

Airplanepilot_l Just catching up on the latest orders and I see this headline on HollywoodReporter.com: E! looking for ‘Hot Girls in Scary Places.’ The show, which will premiere as a special and serve as a pilot for a reality series, "stars three University of Southern California cheer squad friends challenged to spend the night in a supposedly haunted abandoned hospital and compete for a $10,000 cash prize." This concept is not new; the honesty in the title is. TAG (Totally Arbitrary Grade): B

Among the pilot orders at the broadcast networks…

Good Girls: Ashton Kutcher’s company is behind this CBS comedy, which Variety says revolves around "two childhood friends who try to reinvent themselves after making some youthful mistakes." Without knowing what kind of "mistakes" we’re talking about, it’s hard to judge whether this is Romy and Michele or Thelma and Louise. Technically, I enjoyed both. TAG: B

Cop House: Per Variety, this Fox show centers on a halfway house for "troubled cops." While changing the title would mean EW couldn’t do a charticle comparing Cop House to Cop Rock, I think they should do it. TAG: B-

More on pilot season:
ABC in business with Courteney Cox, Kelsey Grammer, Cedric the Entertainer
Cybill Shepherd on Lifetime? Yes!
More CBS procedurals, more slackers
Twilight for television: The CW orders pilot for Vampire Diaries
Kristen Johnston: The scoop on her Absolutely Fabulous return to TV
CBS orders more than procedurals after all
CBS plans arranged-marriage reality show. Discuss.
Bruckheimer, star-crossed lovers, and ‘Fame’ comparisons
CBS plans arranged-marriage reality show. Discuss.
ABC likes Lauren Graham, CBS more procedurals!
Grade the latest orders, including ‘Parenthood’
Grade the latest orders, including one from Shonda Rhimes and a detective show with an 11-year-old genius 
V and Lost in the ’80s a go
Ab Fab import and Witches of Eastwick-based drama a go
Grade Fox’s latest orders

 

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP