Archive: March 2009 (291-300 of 518)

Mar 13 2009 11:30 PM ET

Enter the Fray: 'American Idol,' Chris and Rihanna, and David Boreanaz

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Categories: American Idol, The L Word, Twilight

Gayidol_lHappy Friday the 13th (again), PopWatchers! I hope your day has been filled with lots of luck and smiley faces. In the spirit of luck, don’t forget that St. Patty’s day is coming up this Tuesday — so be sure to run out and get your plastic green hats and Kiss Me, I’m Irish shirts. But before you head out to your local party store, let’s Enter the Fray. This week we have a veritable grab bag of topics — some Chris Brown and Rihanna, a dash of Twilight, and, of course, lots of American Idol for good measure. Sounds delicious, does it not?

10. We speculated on whether Lost and American Idol can peacefully coexist in the same timeslot.

9. Michael Slezak offered his Michael Jackson song suggestions for the top 13. 

8. Ken Tucker wondered if Watchmen‘s politics will stir up debate from Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly.

7. Now that Dakota Fanning is playing Jane, you weighed in (emphatically) on who should be Alec in Twilight’s sequel New Moon.

6. Kerrie Mitchell shared the results of a Boston survey that found that teenagers blame Rihanna for Chris Brown’s assault on her. Really, people? Really?

5. Jennifer Armstrong wondered if Chris Brown should be nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award.

4. You shared your thoughts on Oprah’s plan to dedicate an episode to Rihanna and victims of domestic abuse.

3. Mandi Bierly asked you for questions to ask Bones star David Boreanaz – and boy, did you comply! Oh, and he (sorta) answered them too!

2.  Nicholas Fonseca shared his thoughts on The L Word finale’s unresolved murder mystery, and whether it even mattered.

1. Racking up the most comments of the week — all from today (!) — Tanner Stransky wondered  why American Idol won’t just come out of the closet already.

addCredit(“The L Word: Paul Michaud”)

Mar 13 2009 10:35 PM ET

Matt Lauer: Where in the world will he be this year? At home

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Categories: Ridiculata, Television

Unpack your bags, Matt Lauer, change your money back to dollars, and put your passport back in the "important stuff" drawer where it lives the rest of the year. The Today show is skipping its annual "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" event because a flashy trip "sen[ds] the wrong message" during the recession, according to the Associated Press.

Fair enough, but, since when are we looking at Today to hold up the mirror? Matt Lauer makes a reported $13 million a year, Kathie Lee is nuttier than a squirrel’s cheeks in October, and calling a cancer survivor whose husband and son died within six months of each other "lucky" because she got an ambush makeover would be a stretch anywhere else. But it’s fine! That’s what makes Today…Today. Rarely a dull moment, etc, etc. Embrace it, Today show. Be your sensational self.

All this "where in the world" thinking has, predictably, made me very nostalgic for Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, not just my favorite computer game when I was a kid but also a preeeeetty infotaining TV show. I remember this episode excerpted below because — SPOILER — the kid won on AFRICA! That never happened! Go, Eric!

Mar 13 2009 07:38 PM ET

Robert Pattinson GQ cover story read along!

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Categories: Inappropriate Crushes, News You Can Use, Twilight

Gqcoverpattinson_lBelieve it or not from the amount of Twilight items I’ve been asked to write for PopWatch (because I enjoyed the books and saw the movie), I’ve never felt the need to know more about Robert Pattinson. But then I was sent the link to his revealing GQ cover story, and the profile of a young star incapable of lying — and prone to panic attacks — clearly intrigued me….

• Being smart, GQ put a link that reads "CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF ROBERT PATTINSON" at the top of the story. Obviously, I clicked. First shot is the cover photo of Rob (already, I know him!) in a $2,500 wool suit. Nice, but a little underwhelming compared to that naked Jennifer Aniston cover. Next, a shot of him smoking a cigarette. Brave or bound to get him letters from angry moms? The third pic must be viewed, for it is the finest black-and-white art shot of his hair ever taken. The fourth is the only one I’d consider supersmokin’. This could be because he’s lying down, in a black T-shirt and torn jeans, clasping his hands over his manbits. He’s like one of the Outsiders…bathed.

• The piece, written by Alex Pappademas, opens with Pattinson’s Twilight costar Kristen Stewart saying that Rob cannot lie. It’s her favorite thing about him — and Pappademas’, too. (You’ll understand why when you’ve read the story.) Pattinson says silences in conversation make him nervous. "During interviews I’m literally s—ting my pants. I don’t want there to be a silence, because I’ll start crying." Wait, I don’t think he’s joking.

• Hmmm, maybe my bathed theory is wrong. "His clothes smell like he has recently purchased them off the back of someone less fortunate than he."

• The place he’s staying at in L.A. has the first microwave he’s ever had. (Do they not have modern appliances in the U.K.?) He reports that he spends a lot of time looking for new things to nuke: frozen cheeseburgers. A carrot. Who microwaves a carrot? Suddenly, I’m intrigued.

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Mar 13 2009 07:17 PM ET

Mischa Barton or AnnaLynne McCord: Who has Top CW Beast potential?

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Categories: 90210, Hell to the No!, Is This a Rhetorical Question?, Pilot Season, Sexytimes, Television

Bartonmccord_lLet’s be honest: No one missed Mischa Barton (left) when she exited Fox’s The O.C. in a tragic, fiery fashion back in 2006. The girl can hardly act and she talks funny, too. (Maybe it’s the fact that she grew up in London?) But this spring pilot season, there’d been much buzz about her possibly splashing back onto the TV scene — on The CW’s buzzy Melrose Place, no less. Which, truly, made the possibility of what’s sure to be another heinous remake totally awesome. Because, we watch — okay, maybe it’s just me — someone like Mischa Barton explicitly for total trainwreck factor: How ridiculous is she going to be? Can she actually shed a real tear? Is it possible that she could purse her lips any further? There is little else that is redeeming about her besides answering these queries while watching her on screen. [Ed. note: There was that one time Marissa wore a sweatshirt in season 3. --Annie]

But now, just as the news comes out that Barton’s been cast in a different CW pilot, A Beautiful Life, I couldn’t care less. (Total zzzzz.) Why? Because I’ve just recently moved on to another beast on The CW: The delectable, delightful, delovely AnnaLynne McCord (right). The diva rules all the beeyotches over at 90210 and is approximately 10 times more beastly than Mischa Barton ever was.

 

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Mar 13 2009 06:30 PM ET

'Bones' recap: Bananas, but in a good way

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Categories: About Last Night, Animals, Bones, PopWatch Dance Party, Television

Bones1_lWhen I first saw that this episode, directed by David Boreanaz, involved a dead car salesman…who used to work for a man named Jungle Jim…who walks around with a monkey on his back…I was nervous. (That circus episode really did a number on me.) But, if the show insists upon giving us a steady stream of goofy cases, then this is what I want to see: Foaming bones, multiple lockdowns, and everyone (even Angela, who acknowledged that she’s never asked to do anything) working.

The episode began with everyone’s favorite TV rating, TV-14-DLS — oh, you love the ‘S’, too — and one of the grossest put-your-dinner-down corpse shots we’ve seen on the show. (Protruding bones, not my thing. But apparently, Boreanaz’s. We got a lot of close-ups.) A just-married wedding couple took a bungee-plunge and came face-to-face with Alex Newcomb, a car salesman we’d find out was murdered by his sister-in-law after he caught her having sex with her husband’s boss to save his job. (This economy is tough.) Brennan’s intern for this episode was the fact-happy Mr. Nigel-Murray, who has now grown on me. Turns out he’s not arrogant, he just needs to spout something he knows so he doesn’t freak out about something he doesn’t know. Which in this episode was why the bones were dissolving and what murder weapon was used. I was a little annoyed that the team kept pushing Cam to release the remains to them before she was satisfied that they weren’t toxic — considering the woman almost died when Booth rushed her to crack open that skull in the Howard Epps case. Also perplexing (but not as potentially lethal) was Brennan having to ask Booth "What’s the sensitive way of saying ‘murdered’?" when they went to Jungle Jim’s to question Alex’s brother, Chet. It’s a funny line, yes. (As funny as Brennan pointing to Booth’s badge with a banana when he showed his ID to Mighty Mo.) But as the woman herself pointed out later in the episode, she’s been involved in 74 interrogations. That much she could’ve picked up by now.

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Mar 13 2009 06:06 PM ET

'Survivor: Tocantins': Spencer speaks!

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Categories: Survivor

Did freshly ousted Survivor contestant Spencer Duhm make a mistake in not telling his tribe he was gay? Did he, in fact, suck in the immunity challenge? And is it true that he’s now dating Survivor: China champ Todd Herzog? We asked the 18-year-old about all of that in the new episode of Survivor Talk. Also along for the ride is Survivor: Amazon winner Jenna Morasca, who stopped by to explain her new foray into professional wrestling. Note: The interview is broken up into two clips so keep watching after the first one ends to hear what Spencer has to say for himself.

Mar 13 2009 05:36 PM ET

'30 Rock': Time for the Funcooker!

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Categories: 30 Rock, Star Wars, Television

Holy normalsauce, did I ever love this episode. These were my favorite lines (well, #4 is a gag), in order of appearance.

1. "Decorganizing"

2. "It has a ham button — you used my idea!"

3. The pamphlet Dr. Spaceman gave Jenna, "So You’re Simultaneously Doing a Movie and a TV Show!," pictured Katherine Heigl, Frankie Muniz and Raven Simone

4. "I’m sorry, Miss Larouche Vanderhoot."

5.  "Attention everyone! All menstruating women go home immediately!"

6. "Hey, is your vision steadily narrowing down to a pinpoint, as if the darkness is closing in on you?"
"No, ma’am!"
"Growls"

My only complaint: Where the fart is Pete? I miss Scott Adsit.

Okay, dropitlikeitsPopWatchers, can you be part of this jury, even though you’re a hologram?

Mar 13 2009 04:54 PM ET

George Clooney tofu: Are you effin' kidding me?

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Categories: Food and Drink, Things That Make Me Die Inside

Georgeclooneytofu_l_2Um, come again? PETA, the animal-rights group best known for throwing blood-red paint on the fur-encased Anna Wintours of the world, would like to make a George Clooney-flavored tofu. The name? CloFu. In a letter addressed to the dashing star (who, yesterday, made my Thursday night TV a lot more exciting), PETA explained that they’d got their hands on a gym towel soaked with Clooney’s sweat, and that thanks to some wacky technology, they could harvest said perspiration into something akin to the meat flavoring that turns up in instant gravy. “Of course your fans would swoon at the idea of eating CloFu,” the letter explained. “But what interests us most is that we would attract many people who don’t try tofu because they worry that it would be bland or that they wouldn’t know how to cook it.” Now, I am a vegan-ish vegetarian going on 20-plus years of a meat-free diet, but even I can’t deny that this is a) nothing more than PETA’s latest attempt to grab headlines (mission accomplished!); and b) GROSS! I do not want to eat tofu that is infused with Clooney’s, or for that matter, anyone else’s sweat! I am perfectly happy to keep my tofu in the fridge and my Clooney on the screen. If ne’er the twain shall meet, a happy herbivore shall I be. Thank god Clooney seems to agree. “As a mammal, I am offended,” he said. (Leave it to him to be funny when responding to such ridiculousness.)

What’s your take? Are you as grossed out by PETA’s latest publicity stunt as I am? Or does the idea of throwing a CloFu steak on the grill have you all hot and bothered? If the latter, are there other celebrities whose essence you’d like to see infused into tofu or other forms of mock meat? A little Viggo Tempeh for lunch? How about some Jackman Seitan?

More food and drink:
Fields of Red: Would you drink Sting’s wine?
Site of the Day: ShamrockShake.com
Bacon Explosion guys get a book deal. Wait, I thought bacon was over?
Padma Lakshmi pitches burgers: Do you buy it?

Mar 13 2009 04:15 PM ET

Boston survey finds that many teens blame Rihanna

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Categories: Celebrity Scandals, Current Affairs

Rihanna_lUgh. Oprah and Tyra might want to schedule a few more "teachable moments." The Boston Herald reports that a recent survey by the Boston Public Heath Commission found that almost half of the 200 teenagers surveyed thought Rihanna was responsible for her alleged beating at the hands of Chris Brown. Among the other depressing results: Only 51 percent thought Brown was responsible for the incident, 44 percent thought that fighting was a normal part of a relationship, and a "significant number said ‘Rihanna was destroying Chris Brown’s career.’" For years public heath advocates have been trying to flip the narrative on domestic violence: That it isn’t like other relationship issues, that it’s not something that can be worked out, that it’s the ultimate, absolute, never-look-back deal-breaker. But now, as one anti-violence advocate said in the Herald piece, "Somehow young people have gotten the message that this is just part of a relationship." This news, coupled with People.com’s report that Rihanna and Brown have recorded a "sweet and sentimental" duet, leaves me more than a little depressed this morning. What do you think PopWatchers? Is this survey just a blip? Or has the Chris Brown and Rihanna saga seriously damaged the fight against domestic violence?

Mar 13 2009 04:09 PM ET

'Hell's Kitchen' recap: The claws are out!!

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Categories: About Last Night, Reality TV, Television

Hellskitchen_lLet’s get ready to ruuuuuumble! Ya’ll ready for this? In one corner we have Andrea — the pint-size line cook from Philadelphia, and in the other we have Carol — the equally petite sous chef from Tennessee. Who will win the Hell’s Kitchen Catfight? Well, that remains to be seen but tonight we certainly got an unhealthy dose of hostility from pretty much everyone on the red team (although the word “team” doesn’t really fit; they’re more like a group of feral cats thrown together in a small space and expected to…make hamburgers). Aside from the hissing and scratching, there were plenty of other reality show staples this evening: staged conflicts, misplaced confidence, and backstabbing.

The show started off with Andrea admitting that she screwed up during the previous dinner service and that she probably should have been on the chopping block. Now I am sure there will be plenty who will disagree with me – and be sure to voice your dismay in the comments – but I’m totally in Andrea’s corner if only for the fact that I like a gal who can ‘fess up to failure. She’s got spunk. I appreciate spunk. Anyway, J. continued the trend by telling himself (and a picture of his son) that he would do better during this dinner service after his disastrous attempts on last week’s show. The fact that this week we found out that J. has a son and last week heard about Robert’s daddy issues makes me think that the producers are slipping little personal tidbits of info about the contestants into the show to give each chef a little more identity and back story. Tonight we also learned that Carol has two kids and Ben is Jewish.

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