I know. I'm obsessed. I couldn't help myself. When Cat Deeley announced on last Thursday's So You Think You Can Dance results show that American Idol would re-run an episode for the first time in eight seasons, I couldn't help but set my DVR right away. Sure, I had already seen the season 8 Top 13 telecast, featuring songs from Michael Jackson's catalog, but like any Idol-obsessed TV watcher, I had to see it again. Not just because re-running the show was a fitting way to remember the King of Pop (it was). But also because this was a landmark in American Idol history, and I'm just fanatic enough to force myself to follow through and celebrate it.
And before I get to the episode itself, I should mention something: Like any Idol fan will tell you, it is an incredibly stressful experience to follow the show. You constantly root for your favorites, hoping that they won't get knocked out by some lark (think Scott Savol besting Constantine Maroulis back in season four). When a contestant you don't care for garners praise from the judges, your heart knots up a little in fear for whatever non-pimped underdog you're hoping makes it past the week. That's what made watching last night's top 13 show so interesting. Knowing that my favorites (Kris Allen, Anoop Desai) had made it into the top 11, I was able to actually enjoy contestants that I loathed the first time around. Most notably, Michael Sarver, whose "You Are Not Alone" I found to be boring, average and not worthy of the praise he received the first time around. But since I went into last night's viewing knowing full well that Anoop made it past the travesty that was "Beat It"—and two deserving contestants went home—I decided to put my bias aside and actually listen. And you know what? When I closed my eyes (I still can't tolerate the boy band hand movements, sorry), Michael was really good. He actually delivered a sincere, above average performance (embedded below).
My newfound respect for Michael made me wish that Idol would choose to re-run other episodes. Would I change my poor opinion about Syesha Mercado? Nikki McKibbin? John Stevens? (Okay, probably not). But some performance shows were so stellar, I'd love to see them again in their entirety. (Especially since some performances are still not on YouTube.) A few of my favorites: season one's big band night (see Kelly's awesome performance after the jump), season two's movie soundtracks night, season three's movie soundtracks night (with Quentin Tarantino as judge!), and season seven's first Beatles night.
Tell me, PopWatchers: Did you watch last night's Idol re-run? Who was better on the second listen? Worse? And which performance night would you want to see Idol re-run?
So, yes, I'm still watching CBS' banished-to-Saturdays thriller Harper's Island because
I'm (choose one) stubborn/masochistic/loyal like that.
Yet while the beauty (and frustration) of Harper's Island has been that I haven't really gotten attached to any of its numerous vaguely sketched, about-to-be-butchered characters -- and therefore don't have my Saturday night ruined when said butchery occurs -- all that changed late in the June 27 episode. (DVR users: There are spoilers ahead!) You see, ever since the engagement-ring bar-brawl scene
a few weeks back, I've kind of started falling for vacuous Chloe and foppish Cal.
And I kinda thought they were going to make it off the island alive, where their gooey-eyed love could blossom and grow until something wealthier/hotter came along forever. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. And when John Wakefield ran that sword straight through Cal's torso, and sobbing Chloe responded by declaring "You can't have me," right before plunging herself to a watery grave alongside her betrothed, I felt thisclose to teary-eyed. Or maybe it was just the red-pepper flakes I had shaken onto my pizza. Tell me I wasn't alone in mourning Chloe and Cal, PopWatchers. And with the dynamic duo now dead, is there anyone else left on the island who's worth caring about? Holla back in the comments section below!
Last night, Lou Diamond Phillips won the inaugural season of NBC's trashtacular I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here (nearly as annoying to type as it was to watch). In lieu of a treasure chest of wampum or a bug spray sponsorship, the La Bamba star arranged for a donation to be made to his charity of choice: the Art Has Heart Foundation, which helps low-income high school students. Awww. Good (aka Phillips) finally triumphed over Evil (aka Speidi, Janice Dickinson). And thousands (or dozens, or however many people were still watching) cheered.
But let's get real. The actual winner of this show was never going to be the person who "won." That's like saying bikini mud wrestling is really about pinning the opponent, or pretending the MTV Movie Awards are about celebrating the actor's craft. The series was all about exposure, about how far a gaggle of half-forgotten celebs would be willing to go for a moment of last-gasp fame. And by those rules, the clear winner was Team Speidi. From their first-episode meltdowns to their post-show publicity tour, Spencer and Heidi made sure all eyes were on them. And it worked. They used the show to get a 30-second extension on their 15 minutes and walked away from it with the victory, if not the actual prize.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Were Spencer and Heidi the real champs of the show, or does LDP deserve more respect for being a diamond in the rough? If they do this show again next summer, are you watching?
Everyone's favorite couple, Spencer and Heidi Pratt, visited The Today Showthis morning for a brief chat with Al Roker and, true to form, they were able to mine some controversy out of it. In the tame clip below, Roker asked Speidi a few pointed but valid questions about their despicable/delicious behavior onI'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here -- like whether they were proud of the actions, and whether they actually thought they were tortured on the set of the show. Again: valid questions. Roker was calm, if a bit antagonistic, but certainly, it was nothing extraordinary.
Well, poor Heidi subsequently responded to the "abuse" by speaking out on Ryan Seacrest's radio show: "To be honest, I would never be interviewed by that man again....I
really would advise women especially to be careful around him, because
I feel like he definitely came and attacked me, and I did not
appreciate that at all." Can we all just pause and reflect how ridiculous that statement is? Roker, essentially a walking, talking fuzzy teddy bear, is apparently a danger to women. Come on!
Anyhow, Roker responded via Twitter with the following: "Heidi and Spencer are an interesting couple. famous for...being
infamous. Bad and vacuous behavior. I think we're at minute 11 of their
15." Amen! Personally, I was hoping we were at minute 14:59 instead of 11.
Who else has had more than enough of the sad phenomenon that is Spencer and Heidi Pratt? Or do you think Roker was a little too harsh on the couple?
After weeks of buzz and excitement, Nurse Jackie finally premiered last night, and as expected, star Edie Falco was, you know, excellent, and the show clearly has the balls to make her character interesting. She's a no-nonsense ER nurse with a pill-popping problem. Somewhat unfortunately, everyone else on the show could be swapped in from an episode of ER, Grey's, St. Elsewhere, Nurses, Chicago Hope, Green Wing, or the upcoming Mercy: the hotshot doctor is an incompetent jerk, and the new nurse is super naive. How totally unlike other hospital shows!
Showtime is touting Jackie as a "dark comedy," but I didn't get that aspect of it at all; it played more like House or Dexter to me than anything humorous. Yeah, there are some shenanigans -- an inappropriate boob-grab, a casual Heimlich maneuvering -- but I'd call the show a stylized drama before I'd call it a comedy.
Complaints aside, I can't wait to see more episodes. There's a lot of potential here, and as the show grows into its voice a bit more, it could be great, especially with Falco getting so much screen time. EW TV critic Ken Tucker seems to agree with me: "With Falco front and center, you don't really care if Nurse Jackie gets silly, as with the patient whose cat attacked his scrotum (er, eek). You just want to keep on watching Jackie snort and snicker her way through another day and make it home with a tired smile." (Check out the rest of Ken's review.)
Did you watch last night? What'd you think? Did it feel like a "dark comedy" or more like a drama? Or maybe we've just had enough hospital dramas for one lifetime?
The New York Daily News reported today that Shia LaBeouf has signed on to star in The Associate, the adaptation of John Grisham's latest best seller. So is the author happy with this news? Of course, considering he hand-picked LaBeouf himself! "I think he'll be wonderful!" Grisham has told reporters. "He's a very talented actor, and he's hot. He's the hottest 22-year-old actor in America."
First of all, I have to say, that is one very specific, very definitive, very creepy statement, Mr. Grisham. But is the author a secret Even Stevens fan, or is he correct in thinking that LaBeouf could easily fill the shoes of actors like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, and Matthew McConaughey, all of whom have starred in Grisham adaptations in the past? LaBeouf has been riding that "next big thing" wave for a few years now, and he has earned enough acting accolades from critics to balance out his tween heartthrob image that comes from starring in films like Transformers. Plus, he has raked in a pretty penny for studios, between that robot movie, Disturbia, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I, however, just can't see it. Maybe it's impossible for me to look at this 22-year-old actor and not think of him as a slightly stretched-out version of his 12-year-old Disney self, but I've had a hard time enjoying LaBeouf in anything but Holes and his SNL MacGruber sketches. Let alone considering him "hot."
I'm sure I'll eat my words eventually -- after all, this is coming from someone who claimed that people would tire of Britney Spears after she released her "Sometimes" sequel. But do you think LaBeouf could maintain a career like Cruise, Damon, and McConaughey have (or, at least, did for so long)? And if he does, in which direction would he go? Blockbuster star-turned-couch jumper, thoughtful award-winning actor-turned-action star, or perpetual shirtless star-turned-...perpetual shirtless star? Finally, is LaBeouf indeed the hottest 22-year-old actor in America?
I never miss a chance to catch up with my New York ladies. (Especially now that I'm marooned in Jersey with bat woman Danielle.) But last night's hour of unseen footage was for the most part a yawn. Highlights included my beloved Gloria going pale in the face as she read Simon's slam against her Long Island-born and bred daughter; a scene of Jill -- I miss you, I've become a fan on Facebook! -- nagging Bobby to teach Ali how to bowl; meeting Alex and Simon's most excellent gay friends who were visiting with their adopted son ("My gaydar does not go off at all with Simon," said one. "No," said his husband, "but I would kill for his shoes"); and a long scene of Bethenny dancing with the gays on Fire Island. Never is our tightly wound girl more loose and relaxed than when on a dance floor, unless Brad is there, in a kerchief and farmer shirt, trying to grind her from behind. I had to turn on the overhead fan after watching the scene of schoolgirl/photographer mischief at Phillipe's studio. Hubbita hubba, I know Bethenny and our lovely Frenchman are no longer together, but I hope she made some lovely memories.
As for lowlights, well, where to start? Jill badgered a mystified headmaster for an orphans school in a Kenyan village about whether they had horses or television in Africa. Kelly talked about how it's really important to her to be in the trenches when it comes to charity -- as in, lying on a giant stuffed dog in her closet and decreeing which of her clothes she was willing to let a stylist friend donate to those affected by the recession. LuAnn's pretty nieces invented magnet bibs. Ramona told us her business head was 10 times more impressive than her beauty. Snooze.
I will say that Alex, who shined brightest in the reunion specials, had a great moment of responding to the ongoing questions about her husband's sexuality. She pointed out, quite persuasively, that if Simon were in fact gay he would own it with such force that he'd have a rainbow tattoo smack dab on his forehead.
I will say that it was nice to see another glimpse of Ramona's sane and smoking hot friend Joni, who I still think should replace Kelly next season.
I will say that Andy should never again use the term "Bravo-lebrity."
What did you all think? A lost hour from your lives that you'll never get back, or a fun extra helping of the New Yorkers? Did anything about those magnet bibs make sense to you? Have you ever, as Bethenny so succinctly put it, danced until your "tits fell off?"
What could Jon Gosselin buy with five dollars? --Few more seconds of screen time --A clue from a man on the street --Chauffeur's cap (after three days) --Five Dolluh Foot-Long --Laminated "Mommy" nametag for Kate so the kids can better distinguish between her and the babysitter --Laminated card that says "My dignity" so he could play pretend. Maybe with his kids? --Oh god. There are eight kids. These poor kids. Oh no. What are we doing???
Owwww. My (albeit rapidly deteriorating) conscience hurts right now. Every time I read or write something about this show, there's an inevitable flick of the switch from bemused intrigue to all-out horror. I know, I know, these people have "asked for it" by going on TV...but still. It's not about the family dynamics anymore. We're basically watching the play-by-play of an impending divorce. The horror's rushing in sooner as of late. Are you there yet, PopWatchers? Putting the season premiere's record-shattering 9.8 million viewers aside...has Jon & Kate doom begun to settle in?
Who needs that Da Vinci Code sequel, anyway? Following in the footsteps of Nicole Kidman — who starred in a dazzling, Baz Luhrmann-directed Chanel No. 5 commercial with Rodrigo Santoro five years ago — Audrey Tautou has lent her face to the fragrance's newest ad, which hit the Internets today. Now, maybe I'm too much of a fan of Tautou's perky Amélie to watch the actress look all contemplative and forlorn, but I was a bit disappointed with Chanel's latest showing, directed by Amélie's Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Sure, the scenery is gorgeous, but watching Tautou silently writhe naked in a train bed loses its charm after 30 long seconds. Or maybe I'm being grumpy because I feel like I've seen this ad several years ago, for Britney Spears' Curious. Or because it's impossible to match the hotness that is Rodrigo Santoro. Sigh.
Thoughts PopWatchers? Do you find the short film magnifique? Or meh?
The winners of the 13th annual Webby Awards -- 13th? God, I feel old -- were announced today, with Sarah Silverman, Seth MacFarlane, Jimmy Fallon, and Trent Reznor all picking up "special achievement" awards. Thank God for the Internet, otherwise all these people with their own TV shows and platinum-selling albums would not have a voice.
I'm kidding. Sort of. The Webbies hand out, like, 9,000 awards a year, and many go to very deserving websites -- the fantastic Big Picture was definitely the new must-visit site this year, for example, and I was completely obsessed with Children's Hospital. But "Webby winner" is a pretty diffuse honor, given that there are categories for best insurance website and best "environmental and experience marketing" alongside best long-form comedy series or best use of typography. I get why there are so many categories -- because entrants pay a fee be considered, and the Webby Awards are a business, like most everything else -- but prestige and rarity tend to go hand in hand.
I don't know, PopWatchers, do we need (well, "need") a more rigorous award for Internet content? Or are popularity and respect their own reward in the great digital age?
After weeks of buzz and excitement, 
Another day, another few rounds of the Jon & Kate Plus 8 media circus. Amidst ominous headlines like 
The winners of the 13th annual Webby Awards -- 13th? God, I feel old -- 
