I can't be the only guy who wants to like Heroes again. I loved this show from the very beginning, when Peter Petrelli thought he could fly. Over the last couple of seasons, it seems as if Heroes has lost its way. Our senior writer Jeff Jensen has also been wrestling with both his feelings about the show and what, as a fan, he thinks Heroes needs to do to get back on track.
Me, I've been watching the show closely for the past two years in my role as Heroes TV Watch writer, and I've got two recommendations: Thin the cast and focus. There are too many characters bouncing around Heroes-ville, and not enough time to service them all. As a result, we don't get to know them. Hiro, Peter, Nathan, Claire, Sylar, Angela, Tracy, Ando, Noah, Micah, Daphne, Arthur, Maya, Mohinder, Elle, and Matt — all mere ciphers where real characters should be. And if you thinned that cast, you could spend time getting to know the ones who remain, instead of just visiting with them for a few minutes each episode.
What about you? Do you think Heroes is fine the way it is, or does it need an overhaul? What's on your fix-it list?
On last night's Heroes (read Marc Bernardin's episode recap here), we found out a surprising fact about the origin of Ali Larter's tightly wound political animal, Tracy. Now the ice princess has a season's worth of exploring to do. We caught up with Larter yesterday to try to pry some secrets out of her cold dead...er, find out what she likes about her new direction on the show. Read all about it -- after the jump!
Last week, Media Life Magazine reported on a new study from Marketing Evaluations, The Q Scores Company, which measured and ranked viewers' emotional attachment to broadcast TV shows during the '07-'08 season. ("Emotional attachment" was defined as how committed you are to continuing to watch a show.) This list of the 20 series that garnered the greatest devotion (I've included it after the jump) definitely got EW's TV department talking.
And that conversation got me thinking: Let's do our own informal poll for the '08-'09 season: Name the five broadcast TV shows you are most committed to watching this fall. (I know we all love our cable, so this may hurt a little.)
My list:
1. Fox's Bones (for those of you wondering where the PopWatch love has been, Abby West will be bringing it back starting this week)
2. ABC's Brothers & Sisters (I would happily marry into the Walker clan, if only for the wine; pictured, David Annable and Emily VanCamp) (Also: Slezak is recapping later today in PopWatch, fear not)
3. ABC's Desperate Housewives (for as long as Gale Harold is on, anyway; bonus pic of him with Teri Hatcher, after the jump!)
4. The CW's Privileged (it's like an ABC Family Channel original movie, only well-written!)
5. I was gonna say CBS' Ghost Whisperer — I've got to see where they're headed with David Conrad's character — but really, it's ABC's Boston Legal. They know it's their last season, which should give them plenty of time to plot an appropriately insane, verbose, and (above all) affectionate exit for Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader). In the season premiere, Alan took on Big Tobacco and Denny thought his penis had Alzheimer's — very promising.
Today, EW.com launched its 2008 Emmys Prediction Game (pictured, with a shout-out to Monk's Tony Shalhoub, who celebrates his 100th episode tonight). Submit your picks in 13 major categories, and see how they stack up against those of EW TV expert Michael Ausiello. Come back after the Emmys (Sept. 21, ABC), and find out what position they earned you on the leaderboard. There are prizes — Amazon gift certificates — but we all know the real reward is bragging rights.
Tip: If, in a feeble attempt to speed up the game, you repeatedly click on a nominee and it somehow registers your selection for the next category as well, know you will have an opportunity to switch picks. (No one should have to bet on Dancing With the Stars, other than Annie.)
I say that as if I really care about Band From TV, which you might recall (unless you've been fortunate enough to block out that Idol Gives Back "Before He Cheats" performance) features actors James Denton, Greg Grunberg, Jesse Spencer, Bob Guiney, Bonnie Somerville, and Teri Hatcher. But here's the thing, I just watched this crappy clip (below) from a recent Netflix LIVE! On Location event in Los Angeles, where Chuck's Zachary Levi joined the group to duet with The Bachelor's Guiney on "The Letter," and I found myself actually wishing the sound quality was better.
Apparently, Hayden Panettiere, Adrian Pasdar (even hotter holding a guitar!), and Jorge Garcia also jam with the band. Watch Garcia take on "Mustang Sally" after the jump. Is he decent, or is that just a song it's impossible to screw up? (Note: Turn your volume down. Hayden's a screamer.)
Panel....or pep rally? Thousands of Heroes fans packed Comic-Con's largest venue to get the first look at season three before it returns to NBC — after a nine-month-hiatus — on Sept. 22. And when we say first look, we mean a complete 44-minute look: Executive Producer Tim Kring told the 6,000-plus crowd that he not only wants them to be among the first to see the start of Volume III (titled "The Second Coming"), but that he'd also like them to spread the word once they leave San Diego. "Go back and talk about it and say it's better than ever," Kring said. Spoilers begin after the jump:
Today, I shall not speak of Hayden Panettiere's new single and video for "Wake Up Call." Yes, I know we could all share a laugh about the Heroes star's goat bleat "whoa-oh-oh-ohs" and the song's Paris Hilton-lite "reggae" beat. Or we could talk about our common discomfort at watching the 18-year-old actress seductively swivel her hips, writhe her jeans over her visible red undies, and pull off an oddly accurate resemblance to Ashlee Simpson when she slips on that baggy black hoodie. But then we'd just be succumbing to the same bi-coastal media cabal that has given us a depressing baseline awareness of the "singing" careers of Heidi Montag, the sisters Simpson, and El Lohan Diablo.
So instead, let's turn our attention to Little Jackie's "The World Should Revolve Around Me," the hip, happening new single from the act's terrific recent release The Stoop. No surprise that I'm loving this track, since I'm a long-time fan of the solo work of Little Jackie lead singer/songwriter Imani Coppola, but seriously, I think if you take a moment and press play, you'll find you love it, too. (How can you not love a song with lyrics like, "I bide my time with philosophical questions/ Not for nothing/ But what came first/ The chicken nugget or the Egg McMuffin"?)
What say you, PopWatchers? How about we collectively decide that today is the day we take back the airwaves, and the conversation, to focus on music that moves and excites us, instead of gumming the latest gruel served lukewarm and tasteless off the celebu-powered assembly line? Let the revolution begin right here, right now!
The mailman featured in the Heroes teaser below must have superpowers; for one thing, he's running instead of ambling at a leisurely pace. Also, says the postman, he can make powerful sounds with his voice (he bears the unlikely name of Echo De Mille) and may even have killed someone. Beyond that, I'm not really sure what's going on in this preview for "Going Postal" (heh heh), the summer webisode series from NBC that premieres on July 14. I'm also not sure how it ties into the "Villains" storyline of season 3, debuting this fall on NBC, except for the enigmatic appearance of Mrs. Petrelli in the clip. Still, I'm hooked. You?
New York City's Bowery Hotel was the place to be last night, especially for TV stars who needed a break after a rigorous few days spent promoting their new and renewed series at their respective networks' upfront presentations. And who better to host a TV soirée than Entertainment Weekly? I snagged the only designer item in my closet and camped out for nearly two hours on the packed red carpet, which featured a parade of stars both random (Jaslene and Saleisha from Americas Next Top Model) and hotly anticipated (hello, casts of 30 Rock and Gossip Girl!). After the jump, my rundown of the night's festivities...
There must be a little-known proviso in the Writers Guild rules that permits striking TV writers to pen scenarios for shows other than their own in snarky magazine articles. So it is with New York magazine, which cross-assigned teams of writers from various strike-afflicted shows to dream up season-ending arcs for other strike-afflicted shows. (Hat tip to TV Barn and TV Tattle for the link.) The results aren't as funny as I'd have hoped, though I did enjoy the Simpsons crew's apocalyptic take on The Office. I'd still like to see what, say, Tina Fey's 30 Rock-ers could do with House or Heroes. How about you, PopWatchers? What TV writer swaps would you like to see?
Hey, strike-afflicted Heroes fans! Can't wait until the next episode of your show airs, whenever that may be? Now you can create your own adventures with Mezco's Heroes dolls! There's Claire, Sylar, Hiro, Mohinder, and two Peters (one flying, one earthbound)! And just like on the show, the Mohinder doll is totally useless and doesn't do anything! Sadly, there's no Molly doll to help you find the others if you lose them.
Help me out, PopWatchers; these jokes won't write themselves. Actually, they kinda do...
The Golden Globe nominations are in, and while we await expert analysis from EW's Ken Tucker and Dave Karger (keep an eye on our Golden Globes hub), tell us: Which snub hit you the hardest? There's a lot to choose from. For starters:
• Keri Russell (pictured) for Waitress: Would it have been too much to include her alongside Juno's Ellen Page? No room for two quirky indie pregnancy comedies at the HFPA inn?
• Into the Wild: The only love the film got was for Original Score and Song. Sorry, Emile Hirsch and Sean Penn.
• Ugly Betty: Only America Ferrera got a nod. Somewhere, a vacationing Michael Slezak is weeping for Vanessa Williams.
• The Sopranos: Edie Falco was the sole nominee. At least the network dramas — Lost, Heroes, Desperate Housewives,24 — weren't the only ones missing from the top TV category. Which leads us to another question:
Which snubs were actually warranted?
Last week, Yahoo announced that Britney Spears topped the portal's 2007 list of its users' top 10 search queries. Other individuals in the top 10: Paris Hilton (No. 3), Beyoncé (No. 5), Lindsay Lohan (No. 6), Fergie (No. 9), and Jessica Alba (No. 10). Which made me wonder: what would the list look like for EW.com's search engine this year? According to our internal tracking, these were the 10 most popular searches this year on EW.com:
1.Lost (pictured) 2.
Heroes 3.
The Office
4. Stephen King 5.
Sopranos
6. "Doc Jensen" 7.
24
8. Harry Potter 9.
American Idol 10.
The Hills
Britney doesn't appear until No. 49.
What does this mean? First, that you guys really, really like Lost. (No. 6, of course, refers to EW.com essayist Jeff Jensen's Lost-centric "Doc Jensen" columns.) Second, you really like TV, more than movies (only Harry Potter — and maybe, Stephen King — count in that direction) and more than music (only Idol qualifies there). Third, you're much more interested in projects than in celebrities; the only real-life individuals in the top 10 are both EW columnists. Finally, you're not much interested in gossip.
Tell us, who or what have you searched for this year on EW.com? What pop culture searches do you find yourself conducting most often, here or elsewhere?
I need a castle, preferably someplace in Eastern Europe. Nice living quarters, natch. Central air is a must. But it absolutely needs a spiffy Frankensteinian electric rig in the attic — because I want to bring stuff back to life. (And I'd love it if said castle were in black and white. I'm a purist, what can I say?)
Specifically, I want to bring some long-dead TV shows back from the dead. But the electric mojo will only work on programs that were taken before their time, snuffed just as they were revealing their true potential. In a world where there's no TCA press tour because there aren't really gonna be any new shows, reaching into the abyss and yanking back some gems is a perfectly valid dream.
And, since it's my dream, here are the shows I want back:
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read this if you haven’t seen Monday’s Heroes. Seriously!
Okay, so it's already been four days since it aired, but I still can’t stop thinking about the improved but still somewhat irksome mid-season finale of Heroes. Though killing off two long-running heroes—Niki and Nathan—was an interesting way to detour from a path of predictability (seriously, don’t make Maya cry, people!), I was actually more shocked by the characters that remained alive and kicking at episode's end. Namely, the “M”s: Maya, Mohinder, and Monica (pictured, l. to r.), as well as Molly and Micah. Is it a coincidence that these folks not only share the same first letter of their monikers, but also an ability to annoy and offend even the most devoted viewers with their consistent and utter stupidity?
Really, when the show's writers reconvene after the strike ends, they ought to consider a "Moldavian Massacre"-style story arc to wipe out the dreaded M crowd--except, of course, for Matt; spare the mind-reader, save the show!--don't you think? Or am I just a sadistic person for calling for the deaths of precious pre-teen characters?
SPOILER ALERT! Don't read this if you didn't see last night's Heroes mid-season finale. Seriously.
If you did catch it, I'm awarding the trophy for most played-out plot device to...the miraculous healing of characters who've suffered gunshot wounds. In the past three episodes, including last night's finale, four characters have benefited from the shot-then-not treatment.
Granted, we knew that Peter and Adam would heal from the bullets fired by Victoria Pratt, but c'mon writers, don't revive Maya (who should've stayed dead) from a blast to the chest, two episodes after HRG rallied from a bullet in the eye. It's just cheap, especially considering we already saw Kensei/Adam heal from his arrow wounds early in the season, and DL and Matt Parkman survive their respective shootings at the end of season one. Does Tim Kring feel like he can temporarily kill off anybody, since there's the safety net of Claire's regenerative blood? (Hey, remember when she got shot, then bounced back, in season one?) At this rate, maybe gunned-down Nathan (seeing a trend yet?) will return in new episodes having been healed by Peter, Claire, or some really good off-screen surgery.
Are you ready for this plot device to go the way of Eden McCain? And what other cheap tactics have you pulling your hair out?
Heroes bids an indefinite, strike-mandated adieu when ''Volume 2: Generations" comes to a close tonight. NBC promises in their promo (watch it below) that "two heroes will fall." If this actually means death (and I think it does), I'm pretty sure that Sylar will be dining on Maya's brains (with some squid-ink pasta and a nice chianti?). I mean, it might just be wishful thinking on my part, but the wonder-twin's death would bring quick resolution to an unpopular storyline.
I love everything about ABC's Brothers & Sisters. Actually, that's a lie. I love everything about ABC's Brothers & Sisters except for the heinous new bangs they've slapped on Emily VanCamp's moody half-sister Rebecca this season. Every time she takes the screen, I'm so disoriented/distraught that I have to use my DVR "seven-second jumpback button" (the one with the swirly arrow — if you haven't discovered it, it's downright miraculous)to get myself back into the action.
Meanwhile, I'd agree with 99 percent of the world (including series creator Tim Kring) that season two of Heroes has been hella jank. That said, there's been one positive development lost in all the kvetching: Milo Ventimiglia's shorter haircut. Out are the floppy, emo-boy locks that obscured Peter's eyes throughout season one. In: a sudden and unfeasible case of sexy.
In fact, I feel so strongly about Peter and Rebecca's 'dos, I nominate them respectively as the best and worst new hairstyles of the current TV season. But, by all means, if you think other updated coifs deserve recognition, list 'em in the comments section below. After all, winning first prize doesn't mean anything unless there's a first-runner-up in tears.
Jessica Alba in The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Jessica Simpson in that Macy's holiday ad. Squid-ink eyes and Micah's cousin on Heroes. Tyra Banks on today's vajay-jay themed episode of The Tyra Banks Show. And Julianne Moore pretending to enjoy making chicken strips on Rachael Ray.
And the winner is…
Heroes: Origins, the much-anticipated until recently, anyway spin-off has been put on hold at NBC. According to the trades, you can blame the threat of the writers strike and not — we repeat not — the original series taking a hit in the ratings and with critics in its sophomore season
Is this a relief? (Presumably the Heroes masterminds can now focus on fixing their flagship.) Or is this is an opportunity lost?
Brace yourselves, Veronica Mars fans. The late, great show's much-discussed season 4 mini-pilot -- which finds our heroine kicking off her career with the FBI -- has made its way to the Internet. Getting a glimpse at the season that might have been (but, alas, never will be) prompted a long, nostalgic email chat with my fellow EW staffer (and Mars addict) Tanner Stransky. Check the pilot out for yourself (part 1 below, and part 2, after the jump), then join our discussion in the comments section below.
From: Jennifer To: Tanner Re: Veronica Mars season 4 mini-pilot So I just caught the Veronica Mars fourth-season mini-pilot. I looooved seeing our girl doing anything, especially after sitting through another dismal Heroes last week just to get glimpses of Kristen Bell. And here she is, being all genuinely awesome and genuinely witty, instead of a Heroes-ed up imitation of such! "There's lesbians to fend off and hazing rituals to be endured ... I'm on a schedule." Oh, man, there's nobody I love this much on the fall schedule.
From: Tanner To: Jennifer My thoughts exactly: Is there any current freshman series with this much wit and such a likable main character? I also felt like this short presentation towed the line nicely between rebooting the old series and introducing new aspects of the character. She’s obviously got some baggage with her faux-Logan lover who pops up at the FBI, too. One of my main questions, though: Where’s Keith Mars? I’d be happy if he popped up at the FBI, too.
From: Jennifer To: Tanner OMG, Keith Mars!!! We need him around, for sure. I mean, we need him in the pretend pilot that isn't happening. But a girl can still dream, right? (Heck, CBS is the CW's big-sister network, and they could use some youth on the sched, right?) What I loved about this, too, was that it was a little--just a little--like having Alias back. Even better, Alias sans Rambaldi. And what would make it even more Alias-like? Having the spy daddy around, too. And I gotta admit, I would be aching for a Logan return. Veronica is even better with him as her foil, no doubt about it. I do hope they would get into solving more complex and--dare I say it?--multi-episode, maybe even whole-season-long, mysteries. Or am I just setting our imaginary show up to have all the ratings power of classic Veronica Mars and Alias...which is to say, the ability to virtually make viewers evaporate into thin air?
Recently, I told you why I was sticking with Heroes,
despite its sophomore slump (EW's Gillian Flynn spanks the show with a C+ review in our latest issue). I haven't changed my mind yet, but last week's
episode left me feeling a little woeful. Raise your hand if (spoiler alert!) you saw the "Parkman's dad is the nightmare-man" twist a mile away. Yet while I can deal with this
latest reveal being a little too easy and way too convenient, what's with the worse-than-Sylar
baddie looking about as threatening as my high school drama teacher?
What I really want to see on Heroes this week are some loose ends getting tied up. It's the fifth episode of the season already, and if you remember,
it was this same time last year that Future Hiro appeared to Peter on the subway and declared, "Save the
cheerleader, save the world." In other words, I think the show's writers really need to find a single earth-saving mission to pull these disparate characters together.
But that's just me. Well, me, plus a gajillion other crabby Heroes fans. What do you think the show needs to return to must-see status? Which story arcs are working, and which need retooling? Is the Parkman storyline leading somewhere fantastic, or
is it just a dead end? Have your say PopWatchers, then come back Tuesday morning to read
Marc Bernardin's TV Watch. And while you're waiting, you can add to our Heroes wiki.
For the past three weeks, I've been having a serious internal debate: will I, or won't I continue to watch Heroes on Monday nights? The cons started to pile up as each week passed — lovesick Hiro again?, that awful promo two weeks ago featuring "the box," boredom with the Dominican twins, frustration with Claire's flyboy,
West, and their budding romance — but I've decided to stick with it and you should too. The
show has offered up some tantalizing incentives to keep tuning in each
week. The murder of Kaito Nakamura, Isaac's painting of a Godfather-style executed Noah (the daddy formerly known as HRG), Kensei's healing power, and my favorite tidbit: Angela Petrelli's
chilling/silent command for Parkman to get out of her head during her
interrogation. Aside from these delicious plot points, I'm hopelessly devoted to my favorite Heroes: Nathan (Adrian Pasdar, pictured), whose storyline
will hopefully expand soon, and Claire, whose search for identity as an adpotee and hero is irresistible.
So, folks, that's why I'm leaving my Monday nights open, at
least until the end of "Volume 2: Generations." Yes, it's been a
little slow and disjointed, and yes, some of our beloved characters are
in painfully dull situations, but c'mon people! Who doesn't love a good
old-fashioned murder-mystery, especially one that promises to reveal
more dirt on the older generation of heroes and the sinister Company?
What are your likes and gripes with
Volume 2 so far? Will you stand by your show or jump ship? Who are you favorite Heroes? Defend your ideas below, and if you've a yen for more Heroes, help
build our wiki, EW's Ultimate Heroes Fan Guide. Plus, remember to check out Missy Schwartz's HeroesTV Watch Tuesday morning for a full recap and commentary on tonight's episode.
Look, I've
never missed an episode of Heroes.
It's good escapist fun. But that doesn't mean the show doesn't have its
problems. I've been mulling it over all week, and my nominees for worst performance
on the Heroes season premiere are...
• James Kyson Lee (Ando, pictured left): I've
seen more nuanced performances on Scooby-Doo (yeah, the animated series) than
his cartoon/awful reaction shot to the assassination of Hiro's father Kaito (George
Takei).
• Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder, center):
As I've noted before, somebody's Mo-hindering my enjoyment of Heroes. And while
Ramamurthy was marginally less unconvincing on Monday than he was for most of
season one, he still managed to get upstaged by a spoon. Okay, a gold spoon, but still...
• Adair Tishler
(Molly, right) Yes, she's a child actor, but I bet she makes more money than you and
me put together. Which makes her fair game. So let's not pretend her
precocious-precious performance isn't grating as hell.
And the award
goes to... well, I leave it up to you, Heroes fans. Declare the winner recipient in the comments section below. Or else tell me why I'm an idiot. Readers' choice!
Save the cheerleader... and earn valuable prizes! Still scratching your head over the fates of Sylar (Zachary Quinto, pictured), Peter, Nathan, Claire, Hiro, and the rest after last season's baffling Heroes finale? Can't wait for tonight's season premiere to see if other fans agree with your pet theory? Have at it below, then come back here after tonight's episode to discuss. And don't forget to look for EW.com's analysis Tuesday morning in Missy Schwartz's TV Watch column.
8:00 p.m. Slow clap: L-Yeah! L-Yeah! Oh wait, sorry, gonna try to be neutral here for at least five minutes. Em-my! Em-my! Em-my!
8:01 p.m. Seeing that this Family Guy medley isn't actually live, you think they could've come up with funnier stuff than a Charlie Sheen pedophilia joke and a bit about the age of the Desperate Housewives ladies. That said, rhyming Zach Braff with "doesn't have to make you laugh" made me chuckle. A little.
8:02 p.m. Oh Fox, so classy with that closeup of T.R. Knight during the Isaiah Washington Joke.
8:05 p.m. Uh-oh. Ryan's trying to be funny. And the audience is trying to be nice and pretending to laugh. But seriously, my dream of a shtick-free Emmys -- where every acting nominee gets a 30-second pre-awards highlight clip is about six minutes away from flatlining.
8:07 p.m. Tell me I did not just hear a Hayden Panettiere age-of-consent joke in the first 10 minutes of the telecast.
8:10 p.m. Maybe Ray Romano said something funny during that technical glitch where they cut to the ceiling? 'Cause I'm not really laughing at any of this mess.
8:11 p.m. Okay, that bit about Romano's sexual encounters ending the
same way as The Sopranos' final episode…that was kinda priceless.
8:13 p.m. I liked Jeremy Piven better when he was on Cupid. And I'm not just saying that because he beat Rainn Wilson.
Yes, yes, you don't need me to tell you how cool it is that they keep casting actors from Star Trek: Original Flava on Heroes. Still: first Sulu, now Uhura. (Warning: some mild spoilers in this TV Guide story about the character Nichelle Nichols, pictured, will play on Heroes.) As my wife says, "Now, if they would just cast William Shatner, I could be happy and go to heaven." What say you, Bill? Surely walking around saying "Denny Crane!" all day has lost its novelty, yes? It's time for you to return to NBC and acquire some superpowers. All hailing frequencies are open, Captain.
Who knew Ricky Gervais was a Heroes fan? Or that he could paint? (Well, okay, as a painter of doomy Manhattan cityscapes, he's no Isaac Mendez.) Thanks to Men.Style.com for this very dry, very tongue-in-cheek (we hope) clip.
Only 10 days left till this year's Emmy nominations are announced — which means two things: My left kidney will soon be deposited on a shrine dedicated to Vanessa L. Williams' very necessary nod, and the good folks at Gold Derby are getting their leak on. Last week, while I was on vacation, the site reported the rumored list of 10 finalists still in the running in the Best Drama and Best Comedy Series categories, and on Friday, a pair of judges who'd attended screenings of various nominated episodes spilled the beans about which series are most likely to hear their names called when nominations are announced July 19. (Click here to read the full scoop.) According to that duo, Best Drama Series nominees are likely to include The Sopranos, House, Grey's Anatomy (pictured), 24, and Heroes, while the Best Comedy Series race could come down to Two and a Half Men, Entourage, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, and The Office. If Gold Derby's sources predicted correctly, that would mean snubs for the remaining five drama (Boston Legal, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Lost, and Rome) and comedy finalists (Desperate Housewives, Extras, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, and Weeds).
Considering how many Grey's Anatomy and 24 fans feel those respective series are coming off weak seasons, their inclusion among TV's five best drama series seems a little surprising. And if a sci-fi show is destined for Emmy recognition, shouldn't Lost (or Battlestar Galactica, which apparently didn't even crack the top 10) get Heroes' slot? On the flip side, if 30 Rock, The Office, and Ugly Betty score Best Comedy nominations (as predicted), I'll be hard-pressed to feel my usual brand of post-nominations outrage. Unless, of course, L. Yeah doesn't get her due. Then I'll be hellaciously upset.
What do you think of Gold Derby's list of predicted nominees? Should the Emmy judges have read the PopWatch Fantasy Emmy Nominees Gallery before going to work? Holla back!
Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls, Ugly Betty, Battlestar Galactica. We all know which shows and casts deeply deserve (but probably won't get) Emmy nods this year. Heck, we've filled up our message boards the last two Fridays discussing the issue. But for every Connie Britton or Michael Emerson or Becki Newton who lands a nomination, another hopeful will be denied.
The good news is that scads of last year's nominated shows — including The West Wing, Will & Grace, Six Feet Under, Huff, and Malcolm in the Middle — are no longer around, which should free up space for a fresh batch of contenders. But it's still hard to have much faith in the folks at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, so why not let them know which old warhorses and popular newcomers are not quite Emmy-worthy?
If I had to DQ a series or actor from scoring a nomination, I'd go with NBC's enjoyable but inconsistent Heroes. Sure, I've never missed an episode. And yes, the freshman series had share of enthralling moments (particularly the "Save the Cheerleader" story arc). But Heroes also suffers from some of the clunkiest dialogue on television, not to mention the fact that its trio of pretty-haired male cast members (Sendhil Ramamurthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Santiago Cabrera) all display the kind of limited emotional range that would make them great candidates for The Bachelor but certainly not for television's most coveted acting prize. Are there any other shows or actors you're hoping will be denied come July 19? Unleash your inner "bad cop" in the comments section below!
As a professional TV pundit, I guess I'm supposed to join my colleagues in wringing my hands over the turmoil in NBC's executive suite and to profess shock that entertainment chief Kevin Reilly was fired so soon after presenting his handcrafted fall schedule. Yet I think would have been a shock if the network hadn't fired him, given NBC's basement-dwelling ratings over the last couple of years.
Similarly, I can't get agitated over his replacement by hotshot producer Ben Silverman; in terms of taste, they're really not that different. Reilly is known for greenlighting quality scripted shows (such as The Office, Heroes, and My Name Is Earl) and lowbrow unscripted fare (Deal or No Deal), while Silverman's company Reveille is known for producing quality scripted shows (The Office, Ugly Betty, The Tudors) and lowbrow unscripted fare (The Biggest Loser). Plus, things won't be changing much under Silverman, at least not at first; before his ouster, Reilly committed NBC to second seasons of such struggling shows as 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights (shown), so Silverman won't have a lot of room to make radical shifts in direction.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Heroes star and current EW cover boy Milo Ventimiglia will be directing a "Web comedy series" called It's a Mall World for American Eagle Outfitters. The series, 12 five-minute webisodes to premiere on the clothing company's website (and as ads on MTV) in August, "explores the lives and relationships of a greeter/salesgirl at an American Eagle store, two employees at a fictitious independent record store, a 'slightly psychotic' girl who works in a similarly ersatz lingerie store called Glorious Chest, and a 'bad-boy poseur from the requisite mall juice bar.'"
This sounds so, what's the word we're looking for— lame?— that it's endearing. You can just feel how much he wants to direct, and how willing he is to do whatever it takes to learn the craft. You gotta respect that. EW readers already know Ventimiglia is comfortable behind a camera. A budding photographer, he chatted with me late last year about the photos he'd taken on the set of Rocky Balboa (two of which then appeared in our Holiday Movie Preview issue). He said he'd been watching how director Sylvester Stallone set up his shots, and that having a ringside seat to "the process" was one of the reasons he took the role.
Ventimiglia also told me he's been taking pictures since he was in high school: "I was always the guy who would have a camera and document the event, to the point where my friends would be like, 'Dude, stop taking pictures.'" He got serious about it a few years ago, and has been shooting behind-the-scenes of whatever project he's worked on, including Heroes, ever since. Who'd happily sit through an album of those photos?
Adrian Pasdar turns 42 today, and I've been trying to come up with the perfect way to celebrate the occasion. A group rendition of "Happy Birthday" won't cut it, since he's married to Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, and our version will come up short by comparison. We could all tune in to Heroes tonight, but weren't you planning on doing that anyway? So instead, let's watch some old YouTube clips (here, here, and below) from Pasdar's terrific 1996 Fox drama, Profit, a series that was pulled before its time, but lives on thanks to the magic of DVD. Or, in my case, via VCR. Yeah, I'm one of the sad sacks who bought the entire (super expensive) series run off eBay long before it got an official DVD release. Not that I'm bitter or anything. Um, it was totally worth shelling out $100 for a tape of a tape of somebody's grainy, pre-digital-cable recording — mid-'90s commercials and all. If that's not enough to make the birthday boy's day, then he could always get an ego-boost re-reading Mandi Bierly's PopWatch item about how one of our colleagues plans to make a test-tube baby using some of Pasdar's saved saliva. Would I make this stuff up?
So a few months back, EW.com tried out a nifty new feature in which O.C. fans got their questions answered by series creator Josh Schwartz -- and that got us thinking of approaching other pop-culture favorites in the same way. It's a win-win, if you'll excuse the expression: It turns out you PopWatchers have some mad interviewing skillz, and by putting you to work, it allows me to take the occasional two-hour lunch break…spend more time reenacting cherished Arrested Development scenes with Annie "plate or platter" Barrett…brainstorm new adjectives with which to describe the current crop of American Idol finalists.
So anyhow, we're hoping your next interview subject will be Heroes' Masi Oka, whose winning portrayal of Hiro Nakamura has made him one of the biggest breakout stars of the current TV season. Try to be as specific as possible with your questions, and keep in mind we'll be choosing career-related questions over personal ones. (In other words, we're not subjecting him to the old "are you single?" routine.) So go ahead and post your best questions for Masi Oka about his career, his work on Heroes, and the burden of saving the planet -- though don't expect to ask a spoiler-y question and get an answer!
I'm barkin' mad this morning, PopWatchers! Over the weekend, I caught up on a small backlog of Heroes episodes — in particular, Chapter 17 ("Company Man") — and was struck by the Emmy-worthiness of one performance in particular: the Bennet family's prized pooch, Mr. Muggles. Yes, I realize Mr. Muggles is a Pomeranian, but even Heroes' producers know they've got the equivalent of a young De Niro on their hands. Take that scene where the Bennet residence goes up in flames, and the family huddles together for comfort and safety. Which cast member gets the loving closeup and the stirring (albeit concise) dialogue? Yes... Mr. Muggles! Didn't his little "Arf!" cut to the heart of the Bennett family's grief? Didn't his dark, expressive eyes tell the tale of the American dream exploding in a radioactive blast? (Or is it, as one Heroes conspiracy theorist surmises, that Muggles is the most powerful, sinister hero of all?)
Now, however, it looks like Emmy is changing its rules to derail the inevitable Mr. Muggles Emmy train. Starting this year, nominees in major categories will be asked to submit a 250-word essay explaining their work to voters. Isn't this counterintuitive to the entire process? Shouldn't nominated thespians' finest moments speak for themselves? My colleague Gary Susman suggests that perhaps Mr. Muggles can get a friend to write his essay, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, perhaps? "The Emmy is a fine award... for me to poop on!" Either that or he'll just have to fill up a page with his delicate, evocative paw prints. Let's not let this potential injustice go without protest. All together now (as you watch the Muggles tribute video)... slow clap. "Mug-gles! Mug-gles! Mug-gles!"
With great power comes great responsibility... to market the bejesus out of your superhero movie. On Monday, you can catch the new trailer for Spider-Man 3 (out May 4) on NBC during Heroes. But until then, whet your appetite with our exclusive look at Diamond Select's Spidey 3 toys. The Minimates to your left go on sale in late March. And the detailed Sandman and Venom sculpture-bust-thingies pictured after the jump are all yours come late April. (There are also sculpture-bust thingie versions of red-suited Spidey, black-suited Spidey, and the new Goblin, but we think you get the gist.)
(WARNING: This item contains possible spoilers from recent episodes of Heroes and Desperate Housewives.)
What is with the cliffhangers — literally — on ABC shows this past week?
First onGrey's Anatomy, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo, pictured) got pushed over the edge of a dock by the convulsing man she was trying to treat at the scene of the ferry boat accident. And of course, we're all left wondering if she's going to drown to death or be saved by McDreamy and his hair.
Then, on Desperate Housewives, Mike and Orson threw fists at each other in a hospital parking garage, and their rumble eventually ended in Orson free falling out of what looked like the fifth level of the building. Cut to the end of the episode.
Finally on a random note, on Heroes (okay, so not an ABC show, but still), Matt was thrust through a window by Jessica — but luckily, we know he survived.
Which show do you think will be next to follow in this pattern? And are there any characters on TV (or even a reality show cast member) you wish would be sent for a flying lesson of their own? I know I'd like to see Cecille on Beauty and The Geek be thrown off the balcony by Jennylee!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm going through a bout of self-loathing today, but instead of turning to the cilice (ouch!), I've decided to take a listen to new singles from three songbirds whom I'd typically avoid at all costs. (I'm not being snobby when I say that, BTW; regular PopWatch readers know I'm down with Fergie Ferg and Kylie, plus a whole bunch of divas who are probably working for change this very minute.) Anyhow, let's all have a listen and see if any of 'em will be securing a spot on my iPod, shall we?
- Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend": Okay, yeah, so the chorus has a foot-tappingly cute beat, but does this song (streaming over at Idolator) have anything else to recommend it? I mean, even if the ghost of Janis Joplin
descended directly from rock & roll heaven into Avril's body, she'd
still have a hard time breathing life into lyrics like "She's, like, so
whatever/ You can do so much better/ I think we should get together."
Of course, then at least we'd be spared Avril's affected pronunciations
of words like "bettah" and "othah." I dunno, I'll take Kelly's vastly
superior "Text Message Breakup" if I want an angry white chick screaming over a danceable beat.
Don't you just hate people who wait for your favorite TV show/band/book/movie to be embraced by the masses, then start pointing out everything that's wrong with it? Yeah, I kinda hate those people too. Of course, right now, I'm going to be one of those people, and therefore, by the time I finish writing this blog item, I will officially hate myself. But that's what a therapist is for, PopWatchers. And so, despite the rising urge to betch-slap myself the way invisi-guy Claude thwacked waffle-boy Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, pictured) during last night's episode of Heroes, please allow me to point out the growing list of questions and inconsistencies that are detracting from my enjoyment of NBC's Monday-night hit.
- Since turning herself in to the police (for a series of violent murders in which she tore her victims to shreds), Niki/Jessica has snapped a wooden baton in half and beaten the bejesus out of at least one guard. So how come her shrink was left alone in a room with her with only a taser?
- No one knows better than HRG that Sylar is a vicious murderer with unrivaled powers of escape. So how come he left that doctor dude all alone to treat Sylar? Why weren't at least two or three armed guards stationed around the clock outside his glass cell, just in case the dude returned to consciousness and tried to bust loose? And how did Sylar get out of the paper factory without triggering an alarm system that would've alerted the Haitian or some other HRG cohorts?
In TV Guide's latest story on Heroes, series creator and executive producer Tim Kring reveals that a regular character, "someone who has been with the show from the very beginning," will pay the ultimate price during February sweeps. And while I'll be shocked (and shaken) if he's planning to off one of my favorites (like Hiro or Nathan or Micah), there's one player in particular whose death would be cause for celebration -- the waffling, whiny Mohinder Suresh (he of the ludicrous dream sequences), who is coincidentally portrayed by the cast's most wooden actor, Sendhil Ramamurthy (pictured)
Every time the guy pops up on my screen, I recall the words of my colleague Dawnie Walton: "Someone is Mo-hindering my ability to enjoy the show!" Seriously, one minute Mohinder is dropping everything to head to America and complete his father's work, the next he's decided it's all a bunch of bunk. He's supposedly paranoid about keeping the heroes' identities out of the wrong hands, and yet he keeps a list of their names and a map of their whereabouts in an apartment that might as well be dubbed Break-in Central. The only constant is his droning, insipid voice-over narration. Plus, with the way Ramamurthy delivers his lines like he's the third banana in a bad high-school production, I always find myself drifting off to the happy place during Mohinder's scenes. So yes, in the Heroes' death pool, the man has got my vote. Are you with me? Or if you were Tim Kring, would you choose to exterminate a different character?
Like they are in Washington, D.C., apologies in Hollywood are a dime a dozen, but true remorse is hard to come by. Which is why it was so pleasing to see Mandy Moore (pictured) genuinely own up to her shortcomings in a new Jane magazine interview, as quoted in this morning's New York Daily News. We refer to the part where, in reference to her own hit songs, Moore reportedly said, "I feel bad that people wasted their money on such trite, blah pop music."
Mandy, we salute you. We can only hope that such a frank confession will result in further Hollywood/entertainment industry apologies. For example: Hey, NBC ad people, you need to apologize for putting us loyal Heroes fans through that whole, "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" nonsense only to replace it with the infinitely less catchy "Are you on the list?" slogan. Also, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu? You definitely need to say sorry for making me want to crawl into bed and cry after watching each of your films. Your movies are symphonies of pain.
Okay, PopWatchers, your turn. What would you like to see Hollywood apologize for?
...and neither can we. I was lucky enough to see an early screener of tonight's fall finale episode (the show returns on Jan. 22) and I can easily say that it will rock you like a hurricane. Indeed, as the ads have promised, a Hero will fall. But, even better, to hold your mind and your nervous system hostage until it comes back, tonight's episode features not one, but FOUR cliffhangers. Catch my last TV Watch of the year tomorrow morning.
Not as exciting, however, is the news that, in another sign of Studio 60 sinking deeper and deeper into its increasingly meta-tastic rabbit hole, the show has recruited Heroes' Masi Oka (pictured) -- who plays the hit show's lovable time/space traveler Hiro -- to appear as himself as host of the terminally unfunny show within the show. Seems to me to be a cynical attempt to keep even a small fragment of the approximately five million viewers that change their channels come 10 p.m. every Monday night.
Still, after listening to Oka talk in subtitled Japanese and jabber
in pidgin American for 11 episodes, I would like to see him speak in
the stone-cold, Brown University-educated
English that is his everyday voice. I sorta hope he plays himself as a
jerk, which would be funny and completely antithetical to what we've
come to expect from his geeky persona. What this news really instilled
in me, however, is a nostalgia for the days of character crossovers,
like those couple of ones they did way back when with Law & Order and Homicide, or when Hanna-Barbera made that Flintstones/Jetsons movie. Studio 60 and Heroes, however, might not be the best pair of NBC shows to experiment with (I would rather see The Office take a field trip up to the city and run into some 30 Rock people on a tour). Are any of you Heroes fans actually going to watch this particular episode of Studio 60?
It's a little early on a Monday for what my colleague Scott Brown so winningly refers to as a "geekgasm." Then again, I know a lot of you are (like me) still nursing Battlestar Galactica hangovers, so let's dole out a little hair of the sci-fi dog, shall we? Will a Heroes-Lost cocktail do the trick?
Regarding everyone's favorite Monday-night adventure, TV Guide is expected to report that Star Trek's George Takei has been cast as Hiro's father. The erstwhile Mr. Sulu will travel to the U.S., intent on abducting Hiro (played by Masi Oka, pictured) and bringing him back to Japan -- a rather challenging task, considering junior's teleportation skillz. (Thanks to TV Tattle for the link.)
The rumor coming off the Lost set is about 140 times more sensitive, though, so for those of you who like to avoid spoilers, let's discuss it after the jump.
Look, I don't mean to kvetch mightily about Heroes (which I totally heart), but if Tim Kring and his staff are going to throw little nuggets our way, they should do it subtly. And by subtly, I don't mean flashing messages like the "Are You Sure You Want to Quit?" on Mohinder's computer so big and so often that even casual viewers balancing their checkbooks mid-episode will stop and go, "Ohhh! Mohinder must be questioning his decision not to continue his father's work!" Don't even trip because you know I'm right, people. Also, would you let a total stranger shave you with a straight razor, even if she had a cute pixie hairstyle? I didn't think so. That's all.
That ruminative gaze, that delicate bone structure, the ever-errant hank of dark hair covering one eye... If we never see indie rock icon Conor Oberst, a.k.a. Bright Eyes (pictured, left), and Milo Ventimiglia (right), currently playing the supernaturally gifted dark-horse brother Peter Petrelli on NBC's Heroes -- in the same room, we'll know why.
I can't be the only guy who wants to like Heroes again. I loved this show from the very beginning, when Peter Petrelli thought he could fly. Over the last couple of seasons, it seems as if Heroes has lost its way. Our senior writer Jeff Jensen has also been wrestling with both his feelings about the show and what, as a fan, he thinks Heroes needs to do to get back on track.
On last night's Heroes (
Last week, 
Today, EW.com launched its 
Panel....or pep rally? Thousands of 
New York City's Bowery Hotel was the place to be last night, especially for TV stars who needed a break after a rigorous few days spent promoting their new and renewed series at their respective networks' upfront presentations. And who better to host a TV soirée than Entertainment Weekly? I snagged the only designer item in my closet and camped out for nearly two hours on the packed red carpet, which featured a parade of stars both random (Jaslene and Saleisha from Americas Next Top Model) and hotly anticipated (hello, casts of 30 Rock and Gossip Girl!). After the jump, my rundown of the night's festivities...
There must be a little-known proviso in the Writers Guild rules that permits striking TV writers to pen scenarios for shows other than their own in snarky magazine articles. So it is with 
Hey, strike-afflicted 
The 
Last week, 
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read this if you haven’t seen Monday’s Heroes. Seriously!
SPOILER ALERT! Don't read this if you didn't see last night's Heroes mid-season finale. Seriously.
I love everything about ABC's Brothers & Sisters. Actually, that's a lie. I love everything about ABC's Brothers & Sisters except for the heinous new bangs they've slapped on Emily VanCamp's moody half-sister Rebecca this season. Every time she takes the screen, I'm so disoriented/distraught that I have to use my DVR "seven-second jumpback button" (the one with the swirly arrow — if you haven't discovered it, it's downright miraculous)to get myself back into the action.
Heroes: Origins, the much-anticipated 
Recently, I told you why I was 
For the past three weeks, I've been having a serious internal debate: will I, or won't I continue to watch Heroes on Monday nights? The cons started to pile up as each week passed — lovesick Hiro again?, that awful promo two weeks ago featuring "the box," boredom with the Dominican twins, frustration with Claire's flyboy,
West, and their budding romance — but I've decided to stick with it and you should too. The
show has offered up some tantalizing incentives to keep tuning in each
week. The murder of Kaito Nakamura, Isaac's painting of a Godfather-style executed Noah (the daddy formerly known as HRG), Kensei's healing power, and my favorite tidbit: Angela Petrelli's
chilling/silent command for Parkman to get out of her head during her
interrogation. Aside from these delicious plot points, I'm hopelessly devoted to my favorite Heroes: Nathan (Adrian Pasdar, pictured), whose storyline
will hopefully expand soon, and Claire, whose search for identity as an adpotee and hero is irresistible.
Look, I've
never missed an episode of Heroes.
It's good escapist fun. But that doesn't mean the show doesn't have its
problems. I've been mulling it over all week, and my nominees for worst performance
on 
Save the cheerleader... and earn valuable prizes! Still scratching your head over the fates of Sylar (Zachary Quinto, pictured), Peter, Nathan, Claire, Hiro, and the rest after last season's baffling 
8:00 p.m. Slow clap: L-Yeah! L-Yeah! Oh wait, sorry, gonna try to be neutral here for at least five minutes. Em-my! Em-my! Em-my!
Yes, yes, you don't need me to tell you how cool it is that they keep casting actors from Star Trek: Original Flava on Heroes. Still: first Sulu, now Uhura. (Warning: some mild spoilers in 
Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls, Ugly Betty, Battlestar Galactica. We all know which shows and casts deeply deserve (but probably won't get) Emmy nods this year. Heck, 
As a professional TV pundit, I guess I'm supposed to join my colleagues in wringing my hands over the turmoil in NBC's executive suite and to profess shock that entertainment chief Kevin Reilly was fired so soon after presenting his handcrafted fall schedule. Yet I think would have been a shock if the network hadn't fired him, given NBC's 
According to 
Adrian Pasdar turns 42 today, and I've been trying to come up with the perfect way to celebrate the occasion. A group rendition of "Happy Birthday" won't cut it, since he's married to Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, and our version will come up short by comparison. We could all tune in to Heroes tonight, but weren't you planning on doing that anyway? So instead, let's watch some old YouTube clips (
So a few months back, EW.com tried out a nifty new feature in which 
With great power comes great responsibility... to market the bejesus out of your superhero movie. On Monday, you can catch the new trailer for 
(WARNING: This item contains possible spoilers from recent episodes of Heroes and Desperate Housewives.)
Don't you just hate people who wait for your favorite TV show/band/book/movie to be embraced by the masses, then start pointing out everything that's wrong with it? Yeah, I kinda hate those people too. Of course, right now, I'm going to be one of those people, and therefore, by the time I finish writing this blog item, I will officially hate myself. But that's what a therapist is for, PopWatchers. And so, despite the rising urge to betch-slap myself the way invisi-guy Claude thwacked waffle-boy Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, pictured) during 
In 
Like they are in Washington, D.C., apologies in Hollywood are a dime a dozen, but true remorse is hard to come by. Which is why it was so pleasing to see Mandy Moore (pictured) genuinely own up to her shortcomings in a new Jane magazine interview, as quoted in this morning's 
...and neither can we. I was lucky enough to see an early screener of tonight's fall finale episode (the show returns on Jan. 22) and I can easily say that it will rock you like a hurricane. Indeed, as the ads have promised, a Hero will fall. But, even better, to hold your mind and your nervous system hostage until it comes back, tonight's episode features not one, but FOUR cliffhangers. Catch my last 
It's a little early on a Monday for what my colleague Scott Brown so winningly refers to as a "geekgasm." Then again, I know a lot of you are (like me) still nursing 
Look, I don't mean to kvetch mightily about 
That ruminative gaze, that delicate bone structure, the ever-errant hank of dark hair covering one eye... If we never see indie rock icon Conor Oberst, a.k.a. Bright Eyes (pictured, left), and Milo Ventimiglia (right), currently playing the supernaturally gifted dark-horse brother Peter Petrelli on NBC's Heroes -- in the same room, we'll know why.