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The Real Housewives of New York: Sixth-Graders with Checkbooks?

Posted on April 8th, 2011 by Katie Hoos

Photo courtesy of Bravo

The Real Housewives of New York women are back, chugging Pinot Grigio with their claws out. Last night’s opener promised a fourth season filled with drama, drama, drama and oh yeah, a trip to Morocco. With the exception of newbie Housewife Cindy Barshop (whom I am not at liberty to judge just yet) this middle aged Prada wearing posse seemed no more mature than last season and forces me to ask the question: Are they nothing more than sixth graders with checkbooks? Let’s recap.

Ramona: Oh, Ramona. Have you not yet learned that trash talking in front of a church when the victim’s sister is within earshot is a mortal sin of Housewifery? From all your years of gossip training, I figured you would have picked up on that by now. And maybe someone should consult HR after you shamelessly ridiculed potential employees for their taste in clothing and skin care habits. Ouch…

Jill: Ms. Zarin, quit crying over your destroyed friendship with ex-Housewife Bethenny Frankel and shove your pedicured foot in your mouth. After just meeting Cindy, asking questions about her IVF and baby daddy drama does not seem appropriate. But I applaud you for backing down when Alex berates you with questions. Emily Post would approve.

Alex: Where did this mean-streak even come from? Not only did you arrogantly comment on your modeling ability and natural beauty, but you hammered Jill with question after question about why she wasn’t attending a marriage equality event at your friend’s wedding. Where has your level-headedness gone and why are you stooping to this level? You’re above this, remember? You live in Brooklyn.

Kelly: Your one-liners in this episode are killer. My personal favorite, “Being a model is defined by being photogenic, period. It doesn’t mean that you’re pretty,” can only be directed at Alex, thus proving Kelly to be the cattiest Housewife of the night (and maybe jealous that another Housewife is into modeling?)

LuAnn, Sonja, and Cindy: Even though you barely appeared in this episode, I’d like to see more of you (and LuAnn and Sonja’s hunky boyfriends) in the future.

Despite the disgusting amounts of money and drama the Real Housewives of New York bring to every episode, viewers are eating it up. With new Real Housewives shows popping up left and right (Beverly Hills, Miami) the media attention and viewer ratings are soaring. But why? My only deduction is that we need a break from reality. Instead of worrying about the state of the economy, I find myself forgetting there is even a problem when I watch the RHONY drop $2,000 on cocktail dresses. Instead of watching Congress battle over budgets, I’d rather see Jill and Alex duke it out in the Hamptons. They might act like pre-teens with unlimited bank accounts but these mid-life Mean Girls provide comic relief to millions of obsessed viewers. So bring on the drama, start up the cat fights, and keep pouring the wine, because we are in for an interesting season. Watch the Real Housewives of New York Thursday nights at 10pm on Bravo (Dish Channel 129.)

Tags: alex mccord, bethenny frankel, bravo, cindy barshop, jil zarin, kelly killoren bensimon, luann de lesseps, mean girls, ramona singer, real housewives of new york, sonja morgan
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Katie Couric Leaves “CBS Evening News”

Posted on April 8th, 2011 by Katie Hoos

Katie Couric Leaves “CBS Evening News”

After five years anchoring CBS Evening News, Katie Couric has decided to step down from the news desk and start a syndicated talk show. Couric, who made a name for herself on NBC’s morning broadcast The Today Show joined CBS in 2006 as the first female solo news anchor for an evening news program. Now, she’s joining the ranks of Tyra and Wendy Williams to host another forgotten daytime TV talk show. Couric has stood as an inspiration to female journalism for years, paving the way for young women in the news industry to work among the Brain Williamses and Tom Brokaws, but now she’s giving up her anchor chair (and credibility) to discuss book clubs and dish out relationship advice.

Katie Couric’s contract with CBS ends on June 4th of this year, but no departure date has been set and the network seems to be pretty hush-hush about the whole ordeal. When Couric began in 2006, ratings soared since she incorporated her interviewing abilities into the program and broke free of the standard evening news format. However, viewers have returned to the more traditional newscast and Couric has now settled in third place behind Brian Williams at NBC’s Nightly News and Diane Sawyer at ABC’s World News for quite some time. Could her departure be a result of the broadcast’s poor rankings? And are the poor rankings due to Couric’s image as “America’s Sweetheart” and not “Stone-cold Emotionless Robot?” I’d prefer not to believe that Couric is succumbing to patriarchal pressures by hosting a show that is more “appropriate” for a charismatic and likeable woman, but then again why else would Katie step down from such an honored and groundbreaking role?

Playing devil’s advocate, are Couric and other female reporters suitable for this line of work, which can sometimes be very dangerous? Take for example the recent events in Egypt and CBS foreign correspondent Lara Logan’s attack. After being separated from her news crew and security team, Logan was sexually assaulted and attacked by a group of Egyptian men for nearly 30 minutes. Many people have called into question the risk female journalists take while reporting in dangerous areas and whether or not it is a field where women belong. Personally, I think that any journalist, no matter their sex, can face trouble while reporting in tumultuous places, but that is a risk they take with their career choice. For women, like Logan, maybe higher security coverage and protection should be in place in order for them to safely and efficiently do their jobs.

I’d like to pay homage to Ms. Couric and all the other female journalists out there by saying thanks. Thank you Meredith Vieira for holding it down after Katie left Today, thank you Lisa Ling for risking your life reporting gang rape in the Congo, and thank you Barbara Walters for never leaving TV. Most of all, thank you Katie Couric for breaking the mold and proving that women can hold their own in evening news telecasts. But I still won’t watch your talk show.

Tags: cbs, Evening News, Katie Couric, nbc, Nightly News, The Today Show, World News
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Five TV Couples Who Solve Crimes Instead of Kissing

Posted on April 8th, 2011 by admin

"Bones" star Emily Deschanel (via Wikimedia Commons)

Oh my God, you guys, are Bones and Booth going to sleep together in the season finale of Bones? Here’s a better question: Why the hell haven’t they already? There are a lot of tired TV tropes out there – elevator births, sitcom pratfalls, doctors on whom you are not dying! Not today! – but perhaps the tiredest of them all is the couple who have the hots for each other from day one, but refrain from, say, grabbing dinner and a movie for years and years – often until the show gets canceled, unless the actress gets pregnant, forcing the TV version of a shotgun wedding.

However little this might resemble the way actual humans behave towards people they’re attracted to, TV’s fondness for these kinds of drawn-out courtships never weakens. They’re especially popular in light-hearted crime-solving dramas, and it’s easy to see why: For the price of around 90 seconds of lingering gazes and innuendo per episode, you get audience investment, the appearance of character development, and a chance for the actors to look at something other than rotten corpses.

I tend to steer clear of such shows, as I’m pretty sick of the whole thing. But a little Wikipedia-ing suggests that TV is anything but. Here are five TV couples who need to stop solving murders long enough to solve the mystery of why two attractive, sexually active, non-brain-damaged adults wouldn’t just do it already.

Bones and Booth, Bones

FOX’s Bones is one of its most popular shows, despite being monumentally dumb. Presumably this has to do with the leaden banter and clunky, forced chemistry between leads David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. Of course, they do have verisimilitude on their side: Boreanaz once checked into rehab for sex addiction, so he probably has, at some point, tried to nail her.

Jane and Lisbon, The Mentalist

If I were a detective like Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and a man like Jane (Simon Baker) showed up at my workplace, wormed his way into my job despite having no qualifications except being a damn television psychic, and proceeded to tag along on all my cases, my response would not be some faux-hostile banter that thinly concealed my smouldering attraction. It would be faux-polite banter that did nothing to conceal my smouldering hostility.

Castle and Beckett, Castle

See above, except replace “television psychic” with “mystery novelist.” Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic actually have decent chemistry, but that doesn’t make their relationship any more plausible. And side note: Why is it always the dudes who are brilliant eccentrics in these shows, while the women are by the book and smart, but not quite as smart? Ugh. As a good feminist, I refuse to have sexual tension with someone who is better than me at solving crimes.

Peter and Olivia, Fringe

Supernatural procedural Fringe has a bit more leeway to shake things up than most of these shows. No, Peter and Olivia haven’t gotten down, but that’s because she spent most of this season in an alternate dimension while Peter sexed up her double who he thought was her. Which is a plotline Bones should really consider, except the twist would be that they both go to alternate dimensions and never come back.

Benson and Stabler, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

Aww, rape cops in love! You know what, these guys get a pass for leaving their sexual tension unresolved. If I had their job, I would never want anyone to touch me again.

Tags: benson and stabler, bones, bones and booth, castle, castle and beckett, David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, fringe, jane and lisbon, law and order: special victims unit, moonlighting, Nathan Fillion, peter and olivia, Robin Tunney, Simon Baker, Stana Katic, the mentalist, the x-files, unresolved sexual tension
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Paris Hilton Returns to Television

Posted on April 7th, 2011 by admin

Paris Hilton

The face the launched a thousand reality shows is returning to television. Paris Hilton’s new reality show, The World According To Paris, will debut on Oxygen in June.

The interesting thing about this is not that she’s back on TV, but that she was gone for so long. Remember how people used to be like “I wish Paris Hilton would just GO AWAY”? Well, she kind of did. When’s the last time you thought about her?

Presumably it’s the competition that brought her down. Paris used to be the only purposeless fameball on TV; now, the likes of the Kardashians have out-Parised Paris. But I’m kind of excited to see where her new show goes, because I’m sure she’s hell-bent on using it to reclaim her crown. The preview clip consists of a secret admirer leaving a pink-ribboned mini horse on Paris’s doorstep, which suggests an impressive level of commitment to Paris’s core brand: pink-wearing, cute, useless, will probably ruin your carpet.

Tags: kardashians, miniature horse, oxygen, paris hilton
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Kurt Cobain – dead for 17 years, but long forgotten?

Posted on April 5th, 2011 by Kathy Hulak

On April 5, 1994, one of the biggest names in alternative rock/grunge history died. Nirvana’s lead singer Kurt Cobain got high on drugs (typical for many rockstars, especially in that time period), and he put a bullet in his head while looking out the window of his greenhouse in Seattle. Cobain’s death crushed many people who loved his music, as well as his family and friends. Nirvana’s lead singer has been gone for 17 years already, but it will take much longer to forget his talent, memory and music. Or will it?

I was only six years old when this tragic event happened, but I own every Nirvana CD. When I was 15, I wished that Kurt Cobain and Layne Stanley (Alice in Chains) were still alive so I could go see them live in concert. Today, when I decided to write about Cobain, I wanted to post TV listings for any programs dedicated to his memory. I was sure that channels such as MTV or VH1 would have some 17th anniversary specials scheduled. Nothing. They do have ‘Britney Spears – I’m a femme fatale’, and Teen Mom marathons. You have to be kidding.

Seeing the TV schedules not only made me disappointed, but also worried. Where is the new generation’s knowledge about music heading? I can still catch an occasional “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the radio, but it is becoming less and less frequent. In 20 years, will people know about names like Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, or any other who changed the music as we know it? Or will these legends be replaced by Britney Spears, or Lil’ Wayne? The future of music does not seem too bright to me right now, but I can still hope to see at least a 20th anniversary special.

Tags: Alice in Chains, Britney Spears, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Layne Stanley, Lil' Wayne, Michael Jackson, MTV, Nirvana, Teen Mom, VH1
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Is Jonathan Groff back on 'Glee' to break Rachel's heart again?

Posted on April 4th, 2011 by Kathy Hulak

Glee 300x167 Is Jonathan Groff back on 'Glee' to break Rachel's heart again?

Remember that Glee episode when Rachel (Lea Michele) got egged in the parking lot and humiliated in front of many people? If you do, you also know that it was all a part of her boyfriend Jesse’s (Jonathan Groff) plan to put down our heroes’ Glee Club, New Directions. We haven’t seen Jesse since that episode, but he is returning to the show for the final three episodes, and he will try to win Rachel’s heart back.

So, does Jesse feel sorry for his actions, because he realized that Rachel was the best thing that ever happened to him, and that he is deeply in love with her and will crawl to her feet like a little puppy begging for her forgiveness? Or does he have another devious plan formulated in his head to get him ahead in Nationals? And whatever his intentions are, is Rachel stupid enough to fall for him again? We have to wait and see.

My prediction is that Rachel will pretend to give Jesse another chance to get revenge for her humiliation, and to make Finn (Cory Monteith) jealous. Finn is now dating his first girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron) but he still seems pretty confused about where his heart is. I think using Jesse to get under Finn’s skin could possibly work to her advantage. I mean, who is not cheering for Finn and Rachel to get back together? Let’s face it, they are good together, and Quinn is not-so-nice (I would use a “B” word but I have to watch my language), so who cares about her?

We will have to wait until the new episode to see how the love triangle (or square?) drama unravels. Will Jesse break Rachel’s heart again, or is she smart enough to break his? “A Night of Neglect” will air on April 19 on Fox.

Tags: cory monteith, Dianna Agron, finn hudson, fox, glee, jesse st james, jonathan groff, Lea Michele, quinn fabray, rachel berry
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Sondheim Meets Syndication: An Exploration of TV’s Greatest Musical Episodes

Posted on April 1st, 2011 by Katie Hoos

Grey’s Anatomy celebrated its 100th episode last night in a special way, adding to the emotion and drama of the series through music. “Song Beneath the Song” honored songs that were popularized by previous Grey’s episodes including “How to Save A Life” by The Fray (how appropriate for a medical drama), “The Story” by Brandi Carlile, and “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, while showcasing stars like Sara Ramirez’s (Callie) vocal talent.

Along with Grey’s, other popular television shows have featured full length episodes filled with Broadway-banging song and dance numbers. A logical step for a supernatural fantasy series, Xena: Warrior Princess “Lyre, Lyre Pants on Fire” (1999) featured songs like “War” and “Always Something There To Remind Me” while Xena and her sidekick participate in a battle of the bands showdown in Greece in its musical episode. (Of course it’s a little known fact that Edwin Starr and Naked Eyes were producing pop music hits in ancient times.) Scrubs aired their comedic musical/medical episode “My Musical” in 2007, which explored a patient’s strange side effect of a brain aneurysm where she hears everything through song. Some other popular television shows with musical episodes include Gilligan’s Island, The Simpsons, 7th Heaven, How I Met Your Mother, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But why have these already popular series entered the realm of musical television? For one, it allows the characters to express their emotions more easily and freely. In Grey’s case, Callie can step outside herself and watch her friends and coworkers repair her mangled body after flying through the windshield of her girlfriend’s car. Naturally, she would do this while singing Snow Patrol, since talking to her dying self would just be too strange. With Scrubs, JD and Turk can more openly express their heterosexual bromance through the song “Guy Love” and in Buffy, it’s only right to reveal your deepest secrets through spontaneous song break simply because a demon compelled them to.

These episodes attract the attention of viewers who can sit at home for musical entertainment, rather than venturing to the theatre. The singing and dancing in these episodes also provide an escape from the serious emotion found in shows like Grey’s and only add to the humor of Scrubs. It is not every day that we get to see people spontaneously belting ballads in the street (or emergency room), so when our favorite TV shows partake in this guilty pleasure, it’s a real treat. Personally, I’d love to see the cast of The Jersey Shore fist pumping and lip-synching to David Guetta, but until that happens, I’ll stick with Glee.

Tags: 7th heaven, buffy the vampire slayer, gilligan's island, glee, grey's anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, scrubs, the jersey shore, the simpsons, xena: warrior princess
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Four Shows John Stamos Could Star In

Posted on April 1st, 2011 by admin

John Stamos

John Stamos is reportedly looking for a star vehicle. “I’m meeting with a lot of people,” he told Extra. “Luckily, I’ve been around for a long time. I’m able to meet with some really nice people to try and find something good to do. I think it’s time to settle down pretty soon and find a show.”

Say no more, John. We’ve been Stamos fans ever since your TGIF days (which were our footie pajama days), and we’re all for more Uncle Jesse on our TV. We’ve got some pitches for Stamos star vehicles tailored just for you.

Dentist!

John Stamos’s character on Glee obviously won’t be sticking around. His love interest is fated to end up with dopey teacher Will, and since he’s not a teacher or a student, he doesn’t have a long term role. But isn’t TV ready for a singing dentist? It seems to be ready for singing everything else, so.

The Portrait of Dorian Stamos

John Stamos stars in this supernatural thriller about a charming playboy actor whose smile gets whiter and whiter and whose eyes twinkle more and more roguishly as the years go by until the twin girls who were babies on his early-90s sitcom look older than he is. Do his eerie, age-defying looks have something to do with the sinister portrait in his closet of a man who appears to be a contemporary of Bob Saget’s?

Chasing the Beach Boys

A reality show that follows the Beach Boys as they travel throughout the country trying to avoid John Stamos’s inexplicable, decades-long stalking. “We came on Full House twice, John! What else do you want from us? For the love of God, what?!”

The John Stamos Show

Just like a really gritty, gory crime drama starring John Stamos as an alcoholic corrupt detective who drinks because he can’t make one damn bit of difference in this world. It has a laugh track.

Tags: extra, full house, glee, John Stamos, olsen twins, uncle jesse, why doesn't john stamos age
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Did Matthew Weiner Get Fired From Mad Men?

Posted on March 30th, 2011 by Melinda Taub

Is Mad Men losing its Don Draper?

Matthew Weiner, the showrunner and creative force behind Mad Men’s aesthetically pleasing Sixties despair, has been in talks for some time with AMC (Dish Network channel 130) to renew the show for a fifth season. But negotiations have ground to a halt over sticking points that allegedly include the network’s demands for more product placement, the firing of two regular cast members, and cutting two minutes per episode to make room for more commercials.

Amid fears that the show would be grounded for good, AMC hastened to reassure fans that a fifth season will happen. “AMC has officially authorized production of Season 5 of Mad Men, triggering our option with Lionsgate,” AMC said in a statement today. “While we are getting a later start than in years past due to ongoing, key non-cast negotiations, Mad Men will be back for a fifth season in early 2012.”

Conspicuously absent from that statement? Matthew Weiner, who ditched negotiations to go skiing. Not exactly the move of a man invested in keeping his job. So will AMC replace him with another showrunner? If so, I hope it’s Joss Whedon. “Joan the Vampire Slayer”, is all I’m saying.

Source: TV Line

Tags: amc, don draper, joss whedon, mad men, mad men fifth season, matthew weiner
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Jackie's Back: "Nurse Jackie" returns for a drugged-out third season

Posted on March 30th, 2011 by Kathy Hulak

Image via Wikimedia

Nurse Jackie is back for another season of pill-popping, straight-talking, drug-whoring goodness. After premiering on Showtime (Dish Network Premium Channels 318-323) in 2009, Nurse Jackie became an instant hit. The show is a dark-humor-filled comedy drama about Jackie Peyton (played by Emmy award winner Edie Falco) who is dedicated to saving people’s lives in her work life, but slowly destroying her own. Jackie is addicted to pain pills, and she is hiding that fact from her family, coworkers, and friends, trying to cover her addiction with supposed “back pains”. The only person that knows about Jackie’s dirty little secret is Eddie (Paul Schulze), who is a hospital’s pharmacist, her drug supplier, and the man that Jackie is cheating on her husband with (I guess we can call that prostitution in return for drugs).

At the end of last season, Jackie’s husband Kevin (Dominic Fumusa) and her best friend Dr. Eleanor O’Hara (Eve Best) found out about Jackie’s addiction and confronted her about it. Before that happened, Jackie showed Dr. O’Hara an MRI of somebody else’s back and claimed it to be hers, so Dr. O’Hara prescribed her some percocet. That is just a glimpse of what Jackie does to satisfy her cravings. So, what will happen in Nurse Jackie’s third season?

Well, so far in the new season Jackie was able to wiggle her way out of this sticky situation by counterattacking her husband about not being a good father and not being able to manage money. She said she couldn’t sleep well and her body was falling apart, but she still denies being an addict. She put doubt and guilt into Kevin’s mind, which means he already lost this battle. At work, Dr. O’Hara couldn’t give up her friend, but requested to work separate shifts. So it seems that Jackie’s web of lies will continue for a little bit longer.

Edie Falco herself has a history of alcohol abuse, and although she put that behind her 20 years ago, I think that past is what makes her so brilliant in playing Jackie Peyton. Nurse Jackie is the kind of character that drives you crazy, and you want her to get caught in her lies, but in the same time you can’t help but enjoy her sneaky ways and sarcastic remarks. So although I can’t stand what she is doing ethically, I find myself cheering for her sometimes. And I definitely can’t help but come back for more.

Tags: Dominic Fumusa, Edie Falco, Eve Best, Nurse Jackie, Paul Schulze, showtime
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