Archive: March 2009 (331-340 of 518)

Mar 11 2009 11:21 PM ET

'American Idol': Predict tonight's elimination!

by
Categories: American Idol

Idolpreditction_lTo quote the great Tyra Banks (in full America’s Next Top Model mode): "WHO!!! Will be eliminated tonight?" That’s the question we want you to answer about tonight’s American Idol telecast in the EW.com Idol Prediction Challenge. But in order for you to play, you’ve got to sign up, yo! If you’ve got 60 seconds to spare, head over to ew.com/idolpredict, register, log in, and pick which member of the top 13 will get Das Boot-ed tonight. (If two folks get sent packing, then two sets of happy players will score points.) Fun fact: Every state in the union is picking Jasmine to go home — except for Mississippi, which is favoring Jorge Nuñez. (This is a big change from voting patterns prior to Tuesday’s performance show, when the majority of players — myself included — expected Michael Sarver would be the weakest link.) We’ve also got hot bonus questions focusing on Randy and Paula’s vocabularies, so answer them, too, and prove you’re the ultimate Idol expert against yours truly, season 6 superstar Melinda Doolittle, PopWatch "On the Scene at Idol" correspondent Adam B. Vary, and my Idolatry cohosts Kristen Baldwin, Annie Barrett, Jessica Shaw, and Missy Schwartz. I promise it’ll be more fun than listening to Jasmine Murray sing "Ave Maria." Oh snap!

More on ‘American Idol’
‘American Idol’ recap: This Is Thriller Night!
Carrie Underwood’s ‘American Idol’ exit song: A vast improvement on ‘Celebrate Me Home’
‘American Idol’ Power List: Vote for your favorite from the top…14?
‘America Idol’ sex-line snafu: And you thought Bikini Girl was racy!
 ‘American Idol’: Our Advice for the Top 13
‘American Idol’: Tracking the Top 13 Finalists with our Idol Tote Board
‘American Idol’: Q&As With the Top 13!
 EW’s ‘Idol’ Headquarters

Mar 11 2009 10:53 PM ET

'Great American Road Trip,' 'Mental': Points for originality?

by
Categories: Television

Chrisvance_l It wasn’t too long ago that we were celebrating a second Golden Age of television. But lately, network television seems intent on driving off a creative cliff. Take, for example, Tuesday’s Hollywood Reporter story that NBC is revving up a cross-country reality show called Great American Road Trip. What’s the problem? Well, ABC had recently announced their own road-rage reality series, Crash Course (in which contestants navigate an obstacle course in cars), and CBS has the McG-produced Thunder Road on the reality assembly line. Three car-driven reality shows?! Is this part of Detroit’s bailout package?

The dearth of originality is seeping into the networks’ scripted shows as well. While upstart AMC has filled a void with two of the most daring and riveting programs around (Breaking Bad and Mad Men), Fox just announced Mental, a new hour-long medical drama whose title and concept couldn’t be more derivative. Chris Vance (Prison Break) plays "a dynamic, young psychiatrist" who uses "unorthodox methods" to treat "misunderstood and often misdiagnosed conditions," andAnnabella Sciorra (The Sopranos) plays his conservative boss. The Mentalist + House = Mental. I’ve yet to see any episodes, so, to be fair, perhaps it will completely reinvent the medical mystery drama genre when it premiers this summer. But I have my doubts. And I’m concerned about the apparent departure of creativity from network TV. I mean, could an innovative show like Lost have been launched in the present environment? I’m not so sure. Maybe if the Oceanic 6 drive a Hummer from the Washington Monument to the Grand Canyon, armed only with a thermos of coffee and 20 gallons of gas.

How about you, PopWatchers? Have the networks become even more tentative of late, or has this always been the case? Does a reality show about cars make you excited or car-sick? And who, besides AMC, is coming up with imaginative programming these days?

Mar 11 2009 10:06 PM ET

Economic woes hit another street: 'Sesame Street'

by
Categories: Current Affairs, Television, Things That Make Me Die Inside

Sesamestreet_lThe headlines these days can make you want to crawl back into bed with wine milk and cookies, and a new episode of Ghost Whisperer (hello, my Friday night), but this one on Variety.com just hit me especially hard:

Sesame Workshop cuts staff by 20%
‘Sesame Street’ producer announces layoffs

Really? Can’t the people who bring us Sesame Street go untouched? (Not if they’re a nonprofit, apparently.) I wonder if they’ll incorporate the layoffs into the show: Hey kids, if your production company needs to trim 20 percent of its 355 staff positions, how many people get let go? You gotta do, what you gotta do. It’s just sad….

Mar 11 2009 08:31 PM ET

Sit down, shut up, and watch Will Arnett and Jason Bateman totally rip on each other

by
Categories: Animation, Arrested Development, Sexytimes, Television, Things That Are Awesome!

The following clip is officially (and yet…barely) a teaser for Fox’s new series Sit Down, Shut Up, but honestly we’d post it even if it had nothing to do with anything at all. Thanks to THR’s The Live Feed for the tip. Press play below.

Sit Down, Shut Up premieres April 19 — it’s an animated series about the dysfunctional faculty of Knob Haven High, created by Arrested Development overlord Mitch Hurwitz. Along with Arnett (who teaches Health) and Bateman (ha — P.E.!), the Bluth extended-family reunion also stars Mr. Barry Zuckerkorn himself, Henry Winkler, as the German teacher. (An imaginary Knob Haven student just assured me via a little voice in my head: "He’s very good.") SNL peeps Will Forte, Kenan Thompson (who plays a lady), and Cheri Oteri costar. To get a better idea of the show, check out a more extensive promo for Sit Down, Shut Up here.

Anyone else pumped? I think I just blue myself.

Mar 11 2009 07:03 PM ET

U2's 'No Line on the Horizon': Sales don't live up to the hype

by
Categories: Music

U21_l They pulled pretty much every conceivable marketing and publicity stunt to hawk their new CD, No Line on the Horizon. But U2′s 12th studio disc, which was released March 3, still sold only 484,000 copies in its first week. These days, not many acts would consider that number a disappointment. Still, U2 aren’t just any act: The Irish quartet’s last disc, 2004′s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, shifted 840,000 units in week 1. What’s more, the ostensible heir to their biggest-band-in-the-world throne, Coldplay, moved 721,000 copies of last year’s Viva La Vida in the first seven days of its release.

So what caused U2′s middling sales? It wasn’t economics; fans could buy it digitally on Amazon.com for the ridiculously low price of $3.99. Nor was it due to a lack of promotional savvy. U2 opened this year’s Grammy ceremony and took up residence for five consecutive nights on Late Show With David Letterman. (The appearances did little to goose Letterman‘s ratings, perhaps indicating lukewarm interest in the album.) No, the villain seems to be lead single "Get On Your Boots," which peaked — if that’s the word — at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. "They didn’t have a clear radio hit," says Jay Beau Jones, program director of Boston’s WBMX-FM. "When I first heard ‘Boots,’ I thought, It’s a good song. But when I first heard [Coldplay's] ‘Viva La Vida,’ I thought, Wow!" Second single "Magnificent," which sounds far more like classic ’80s-era U2 than "Boots" does, may provide renewed hope for Horizon, though. Says Amazon exec Craig Pape, "I was anxious for them to get that on the roster as a single. That stands out. I think the record will have long legs as people get exposed to more and more of the tracks."

Mar 11 2009 06:43 PM ET

'American Idol' contender Matt Giraud = Taylor Hanson?

by
Categories: American Idol, Snap Judgment

Mattgiraud_lAmerican Idol finalist Matt Giraud might bear an uncanny resemblance to Justin Timberlake, but last night’s performance of Michael Jackson’s ”Human Nature” channeled another late-’90s pop star: Taylor Hanson. If you haven’t listened to Hanson since ”MMMBop” you might be taken aback by the comparison, but if you’ve heard the JoBros predecessors live any time in the past five years, you know it’s totally apt: the perch behind the piano, the growly edge to his soulful voice, the riffing at the end of each line, and even the phrasing. Plus, they both know how to rock a scarf.

Check out Matt’s performance below, then YouTube any number of live Hanson clips and judge for yourself. Are you with me, PopWatchers? Or do you think Randy’s JT/Robin Thicke comparison is more accurate?

addCredit(“Hanson: Sasha Haagensen/Getty Images; Idol: Ray Mickshaw/Fox”)

Mar 11 2009 06:26 PM ET

'Glee': Count me in for Fox's new show

by
Categories: Television

Dudes, Glee looks awesome. And not just because I may or may not have participated in numerous high school productions, not just because I enjoy choral music the way other people enjoy normal things, and not just because I think I’ve listened to the Spring Awakening soundtrack eleventy billion times. Also because it actually looks great!

Who doesn’t love a good hepatitis joke? God knows I do. That said, the show’s weird scheduling is rubbing me the wrong way. It’s going to premiere May 19 after American Idol, but it won’t air another new episode until the fall, which…sadface.

Are we going to sing when the spirit says sing, PopWatchers? Or does Glee look like it’s off pitch?

Mar 11 2009 06:10 PM ET

What's on your Must List (The Next Generation) this week?

by
Categories: Camp Classics, Must List, Ridiculata, Strange Bedfellows, Things That Are Awesome!

After watching the trailer commercial for Degrassi: The Next Generation‘s ”feature-length movie event,” I have no idea why the gang’s headed to Hollywood or what they’re going to do there, but (a) I’m psyched because old cast members are in it (Craig! Swoon!) (b) Paige trips and falls (bitch had it coming!) and (c) Manny’s hair isn’t hideous (thank goodness!). If you’re asking what this is and why it’s on my Must List this week, you’re clearly uninvited to my sleepover party. But for the uninitiated, check out Jennifer Armstrong’s behind-the-scenes set visit and then get back to me.

I appreciate the teaser and cannot wait until this show airs. But it brings up a host of questions: What will happen if the ‘grassi gang runs into Shenae Grimes (a.k.a. 90210‘s Annie Wilson  a.k.a. Degrassi‘s good Christian girl Darcy Edwards, who’s supposed to be spreading the Word in Africa)? How will Perez Hilton’s attempt at ”acting” stack up against the skills of the show’s actual actors? Will former guest star Kevin Smith drop by? And what issues-packed plot lines will they jam into the supersize episode?

Appreciate the restraint it took not to include an ”aboot” or ”soory” jab at the plucky Canadian teens, then tell me what’s on your Must List this week. List up to three items from current TV/movies/music/books/games/online. Don’t forget your e-mail address, in case we decide to use your submission in the magazine. Deadline is Thursday, Mar. 12 at noon ET.

Mar 11 2009 05:28 PM ET

New iPod shuffle: Too small for buttons

by
Categories: Tech

Ipodshuffle_lJust when you thought your iPod shuffle was already too easy to lose, Apple has released an even smaller mp3 player, so tiny it should come with a choking warning for mouth-eager toddlers.* The new shuffle, tipping the wallet scales at $79, holds 4GB (about 1,000 songs), and has a battery life of about 10 hours. The second-generation models, which are still available, only hold 240 songs, but have a longer battery life.

The biggest change — smallest? heyo! — is that the body of the gizmo doesn’t have any buttons. All the controls are now on the headphone wire, which makes it tough if you, like me, luh-huh-huh-loathe those earbuds. Music isn’t supposed to hurt! Also, the new shuffle has "VoiceOver," which means the tiny robots that live in your iPod can now tell you the track information and battery life of your too-small-for-a-screen player.

Okay, PopWatchers, does this get your gadget-lovin’ juices flowing? Or does your hulking peasant of a regular old iPod still get the job done?

*BYO "your iPod’s so small" yo mama–style joke.

Mar 11 2009 04:38 PM ET

'Real Housewives of NYC': Chin Chin to Retouched Chins

by
Categories: Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Mini TV Watch, Real Housewives, Reality TV

Bethennyfrankel_lThe Countess put together a charity event for the American Cancer Society. The Housewives would prepare an elaborately healthy meal for visiting patients at New York’s Hope Lodge. What could go wrong at an event that should so clearly only concentrate on men and women in real need, right? Well, as the women ripped apart a head of romaine lettuce, LuAnn questioned the elegance of Ramona’s Man Magnet prescription for single Bethenny. So Ramona, eyes bugging as LuAnn alluded to the vulnerability of a girl’s reputation, accused LuAnn of knowing nothing about men as she married one twice her age. LuAnn, looking like Glenn Close at her wobbliest in Fatal Attraction, got royally pissed. They snipped back and forth as a pale, bald woman in a baseball cap walked in and out of the shot preparing the food — you know, for the meal to honor cancer patients. LuAnn whined to the camera about how this was supposed to be her night and bitchy Ramona went and ruined it. Way to give it up for charity, ladies.

Meanwhile, Bethenny (pictured) was the cover model for a bi-weekly called Social Life magazine. This was supposed to be her moment and bitchy LuAnn went and ruined it by bringing up the necessity of retouching. I’m not sure what else to say here, other than if Bravo ever gives that awful editor-in-chief Devorah ("Oh my God, kitten, just shut up and be pretty!") any more air time I will be forced to boycott all of their shows.

In the ‘burbs (and that was a cruelly delicious cut from Ramona’s oceanic Hamptons pool to Alex and Simon’s 10-foot inflatable), the couple finally met with a contractor to talk about their ramshackle of a house. They want built-in bookshelves for the collections of Shakespeare and Dickens so Francois can pluck whatever classic down from the shelf whenever the spirit moves him. Fast-forward to a picture of Francois gumming page 38 of Oliver Twist as he makes funny shapes out of Mummy’s bras.

To explain the unique ridiculousness of Alex and Simon to someone unacquainted with this show, I’d present this snippet of dialogue from the scene of them packing for their Caribbean vacation:

ALEX: I probably don’t need the denim ball gown, as much as I love it.
SIMON: I’m going to take these pink jeans.
ALEX: Are you taking your pink loafers too?

How about it, PopWatchers? Last night, with Jill in woefully short supply, was a drag. Is a Real Housewives of New York worth watching without Jill? Who would you rather be stuck in an elevator with — Ramona or Devorah? Did you know they made denim ball gowns?

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP