Archive: October 2011 (341-350 of 382)

Oct 4 2011 03:54 PM ET

'The No Doctor Cop Lawyer Show': How 'Fringe' evolved into a great TV show

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Categories: Fringe, The No Doctor Cop Lawyer Show
fringe

Image Credit: Liane Hentscher/Fox

Even the most die-hard TV fans have their blind spots. Until a couple weeks ago, mine was Fringe. I had watched the series premiere way back in 2008, thought it felt like warmed-over X-Files with a dash of The Nutty Professor, and immediately checked out. While I was off falling victim to the short-lived charms of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Kings, Fringe was slowly but surely transforming into an exciting, wholly unique TV show. (EW’s TV critic Ken Tucker named it the second-best series of 2010.) In preparation for the new season of Fringe, I marathoned through the show’s first three seasons — a Fringe binge. I’m a better person now, and I’m also working on a new romance self-help book, Olivia or Fauxlivia?: How To Make Sure Your Lover Hasn’t Been Replaced By an Alternate Universe Duplicate.

In the newest episode of our series The No Doctor Cop Lawyer Show, longtime Fringe fan Keith Staskiewicz and I talk about how Fringe found its footing by embracing its inner weirdness. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 03:12 PM ET

Apple's big announcement: Meet the iPhone 4S

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Categories: iPhone, Tech
iphone-4s

Image Credit: Paul Sakuma/AP Images

Apple has officially announced the arrival of the iPhone 4S, which is definitively not the iPhone 5. The 4S does come with two big new changes. The first is an improved camera, which some are already calling a point-and-shoot killer. The second, and possible more epoch-defining, is the voice control system called “Siri,” which allows you to (among other things) ask your iPhone for the weather instead of tapping a few buttons or just looking outside. (Huzzah for the modern age!) Siri can be used in many different ways, and Apple was pretty confident in showing off the voice-recognition system — could be a gamechanger, could be incredibly annoying.

The other big news: The iPhone 4S will be available on Sprint, along with AT&T and Verizon. There was no announcement about the iPhone 5, which means the blogosphere has at least another six months to a year of passing around false rumors about the iPhone 5. Today’s iPhone summit was not streamed, but check out our play-by-play of the somewhat-underwhelming presentation below:  READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 02:05 PM ET

'Too Much Moneyball': The true story of how the New York Yankees finally solved the big-market blues

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Categories: Brad Pitt, Movies, Sports

Critics and moviegoers alike seem to be enamored with Moneyball, the Brad Pitt movie about the small-market Oakland Athletics and the outside-the-box thinking that allowed them to compete with the sport’s Goliath, the New York Yankees. But like The Blind Side, another Michael Lewis work of nonfiction that was turned into a streamlined cinematic confection, rough edges had to be sanded, inconvenient details had to be discarded. As a result, critics can accuse filmmakers of ignoring the other side of the story. Fortunately, there are independent filmmakers willing to shine a light on those inconvenient details, in this case, those damn Yankees. In Too Much Moneyball, the team at Jest.com investigated the “system” that has helped the Bronx Bombers win 27 World Series championships. Many have tried to emulate the secret to New York’s success, but no team has been able to replicate their winning formula. Take a look inside the Yankees braintrust, and see how they reinvented the way baseball works. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 01:32 PM ET

Alicia Keys composing original music for Broadway's 'Stick Fly'

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Categories: Music, Stage/Theater
BET-Awards-Alicia-Keys

Image Credit: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images

Stick Fly was originally going to be Alicia Keys’ Broadway debut as a producer. Now it will also be her first show as a Broadway composer. (Too bad it’s already cast, or the triple threat songstress-producer-actress could be in it, as well.)

The show’s reps announced today that Keys is composing original music for Lydia R. Diamond’s family comedy, which has Kenny Leon at the helm. “It’s honestly been a dream come true,” says Keys in a statement. “I love the humor and humanity of Stick Fly, and I’m so excited to be a part of the emotional journey.” The play, about a well-to-do clan’s tumultuous summer gathering at their Martha’s Vineyard home, stars Dulé Hill, Mekhi Phifer, Tracie Thoms, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson and opens December 8.

Oct 4 2011 01:24 PM ET

CBS wins Monday night ratings again, but is it your go-to line-up of TV this fall?

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Categories: About Last Night, Burning Questions, Fall TV, TV Ratings
2-broke-girls

Image Credit: Darren Michaels/CBS

What do Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, and Hawaii Five-O add up to? A whole lot of ratings. (Not nine, but nice try, nerd!) We’re just three weeks into the new fall season, and it seems CBS’ Monday night line-up may be the strongest contender yet for must-watch TV.

The numbers are in and the network managed to edge out Fox, which had the return of House; ABC, lead by Dancing with the Stars; and NBC, which came in fourth, despite a boost from the on-the-ratings-rise The Sing-Off. Interest is only slightly waning for Two and a Half Men and its newcomer Ashton Kutcher (ratings were down 18 percent from last week, but the sitcom still had a staggering 17.2 million, 6.1), as well as Mike & Molly (a slight 11 percent drop with 13.2 million, 4.3, and right off the heels of star Melissa McCarthy’s Saturday Night Live success), and freshman series 2 Broke Girls continue to rake it in. The rest of their Monday night line-up did just as well, including fan favorites How I Met Your Mother and Hawaii Five-O.

But will these impressive numbers continue for CBS? Has the Ashton factor on Two and a Half Men already started to wear off, or will the endless chatter about his possible split from Demi Moore prompt folks to watch his every move? Can 2 Broke Girls keep their momentum if the quality of the show doesn’t live up to its once-promising potential? Or is Monday night on CBS, plain and simple, the strongest line-up currently on television? READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 12:51 PM ET

Herman Cain grilled by the ladies of 'The View' on N-word, gay rights, and economy -- VIDEO

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Categories: Morning Madness, Politics as Entertainment, Television, The View

Conservative presidential hopeful Herman Cain’s appearance this morning on The View was far less uncomfortable than the hosts’ discussion yesterday about the use of the N-word when discussing the West Texas hunting camp used by Gov. Rick Perry that used to be known as “[N-word]head.” Watch that here if you missed it. Perry claims the name, written on a rock at the gate, was changed and painted out in 1983 or 1984, soon after Perry’s father joined the lease. “I still stand by my statement that it was insensitive for it to be there up until 1983,” Cain said on The View. “And the statement that has been issued by Gov. Perry’s campaign, I accept that. I do not believe that that represents how Gov. Rick Perry feels about black people in America. It was insensitive to leave it there as long as they left it.”  READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 12:35 PM ET

Rhapsody buys Napster, 2004 buys 1999

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Categories:

It’s understandable if the news that Rhapsody is purchasing Napster is giving you a slight touch of chronal vertigo. Both companies were digital pioneers who brilliantly predicted and forced major changes in the music industry. Both brands struggled to actually monetize that brilliance: Rhapsody arguably arrived at the subscription-music-service party too early; Napster was inarguably illegal. Their union is an intriguing hail-mary play by Rhapsody to remain relevant, as digital heavyweights Google and Amazon are launching their own services (not to mention that Spotify all your European friends have been talking about.) Like, do you remember The Wild Bunch, the movie in which a bunch of formerly-badass old cowboys come together to make one last stand against the oncoming wave of modernity? Well, it didn’t end well. Good luck, Rhapsody-Napster! (Rhapster?)

Follow Darren on Twitter: @EWDarrenFranich

Oct 4 2011 12:10 PM ET

'House' season premiere: A solid season opener... but was it enough to keep you watching?

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Categories: House, Mini TV Watch, Television
House-premiere

Image Credit: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

I’ve always enjoyed the episodes of House that take him out of his element. The pair of episodes that took place in the psych ward were, in my humble opinion, some of the best of the series. And the episode last season where House picked up Thirteen from prison was also a favorite of mine. So when I found out the season 8 premiere episode was going to take place in prison, it was an easy sell. I was going to love it.

But was it enough to set the tone for the season? That, I’m not entirely sure. Beware SPOILERS… READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 11:42 AM ET

The first 'Mike & Molly' episode post-'SNL': The particular badness of lemon cake

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Categories: About Last Night, Bridesmaids, Everyone's a Critic, TV Recap
Mike-Molly

Image Credit: Michael Ansell/Warner Bros.

Confession time, PopWatchers. Before last night I’d never actually watched an episode of Mike & Molly. I know, I know, it’s inexcusable, especially considering I have been singing the praises of Bridesmaids and Saturday Night Live scene-stealer Melissa McCarthy all week. But after the banner past couple of weeks McCarthy has been having, I decided it was time to check out the show that earned the actress an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy.

Turns out, it’s a pretty sitcommy sitcom, complete with a laugh track, stereotypical characters, and problems that get resolved nicely within a half an hour. Still the show has one major redeeming factor. I think you can all pretty much guess what — or rather, who — that is. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 4 2011 11:09 AM ET

Robert Pattinson named Glamour's sexiest man for the third consecutive year

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Categories: and give me a kiss, Everyone's a Critic, I Want to Please You Secularly, Lists-o-rama!, Not Jon Hamm, Robert Pattinson, Sexytimes, You Go Glen Coco!
Teen-Choice-Pattinson

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

You did it, guys! For the third year in a row, Robert Pattinson has been voted the sexiest male by the readers of Glamour magazine. Sure, the title has technically been outsourced to a foreigner, but still, democracy worked! So congrats, Occupy Wall Street-ers! (Wait, that’s what they’re protesting, right? I’m sure at least one of them was.)

Okay, so it might not interest the protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement, but anyone who likes oggling sexy male celebrities certainly took notice, especially those highly opinionated and vocal Twihards. Pattinson’s Breaking Dawn co-star, Taylor Lautner, wound up as runner-up. How very Jacob of him. READ FULL STORY »

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