The Tudors

I love my cable TV!! For a long time we never had cable. No reason, we just seldom watched TV, but since moving into our new place in October we decided it was time to invest in having good television. And what an eye opening experience. I love Showtime! Between Dexter and Tudors, I'm not sure what I love the best. But the real reason I love these shows besides the great acting talents of the stars, the mind blowing plots and the expansive sets and fabulous cinematography are their stars!! Of course the male stars.

We have JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS who stars as the lead, Henry the VIII in The Tudors. Albeit he is hot and there is just something very sexual about him, but MICHAEL C. HALL as the serial killer/crime scene blood expert Dexter is just hotter. It may be due to the locale of the story, but he is much hotter in this show than he was on HBO's Six Feet Under! But the main reason Tudors win me over is this guy!!

Yes, Henry Cavill...Mercy me!! I first became aware of this hot actor in The Count of Monte Cristo, but my how he has grown up!

And if season one is any indication on how we will get to experience life in the King's Court through his escapades... well tune in next Sunday at 9:00 p.m. for the first episode of the Second Season and see what I'm talking about!

Moment of Truth

I just watched the new FOX show The Moment Of Truth. I had hoped that this show would have lived up to all it's hype and looking forward to being entertained by the contestants spilling their guts in embarrassing fashion. After about 5 minutes of the way through, the novelty had faded, and I grew weary of the same old reality show ploys. The long pauses. The dramatic music. The clunky editing. The contestants and their family visibly being dragged along. And just when you manage to overlook all those flaws and get engrossed in what’s happening, they stop everything and cut to commercial.
They did ask some pretty bold questions. Sure, there are several ridiculously easy ones that are of no consequence to the contestants, but there some delving relationship questions that remind us of the nature of the human behavior. But then again, this is all contrived and rigged and the family knows the same. However when the first contestant got beat by "lying" he went to his wife to share a kiss and she visibly pushed him away. Was it the fact that he lied about touching some of his female clients a "little more" than what was required? Or was it due to the fact he doesn't want to have children with her because he is not sure she is his "lifelong partner"?

I doubt that i’ll tune in again . It would work much better with a faster pace in a half hour format. So my moment of truth is, just give me American Idol!

A Classic Revisted

I am a freak fan of the Wizard of Oz. I have a collection of dolls, plates and other memorabilia relating to this ultimate classic film. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr are totally brilliant, and Victor Fleming (among others) did a fantastic job at directing this timeless film. So when I heard, way back in October that the SciFi Channel was doing a new mini-series based on the famous L. Frank Baum novel, I was full of anticipation, to say the least.

TINMAN, is a whole new look at the story, and after two nights of watching it, I am enthralled in the story. The acting leaves a lot to be desired, but then who can compare the greats from the original? But this is not the story that we all know and love. At first I thought it was just a retelling of the same story, but now I am beginning to think that this is possibly a continuation of the original. A young woman named DG is drawn to this magical world known as the Outer Zone (OZ) through her dreams. She then is pulled into this world through a magical tornado. Sound familiar?, well guess again. At this point in the series, without giving away too much of the plot, I think that DG's mother is Glinda, the Good Witch years later after Dorothy left and went back to Kansas. She has named one of her daughters DG in Dorothy's memory. Who is her father? Well, my guess is the Wizard of OZ, who came back to OZ after leaving in his balloon. Now this is all just my own assumptions, but I will find out tonight in the final airing of the three part mini-series.

The Tin Man is actually a former police officer that was placed in a metal suit and forced to watch the holographic images of his family's torture over and over until DG comes along and releases him. Glitch (the Scarecrow type character) was actually an adviser to the Queen (who is now in exile), who had part of his brain removed to extract information that only he was privy to. Raw (the Lion) is half man and half lion who has the ability to read minds. And Toto? Oh, he is actually a shape shifter. A very imaginative story... and it has me hooked.

But regardless of how entertaining this show is, it will never take the place of the classic. But then again can anything take the place of the classics?

This Was Her Now

As I had hoped and expected, Jordin Sparks walked away as the newest and the youngest American Idol last night. Even though I felt that there were other singers that were better than she was this year (Melinda, Lakeisha, Stephanie, Gina) Jordin stole my heart, and between her and Blake, she was the best choice. Her rendition of This is My Now was fantastic. But nothing could beat her version of Martina McBride's Broken Wing.

Overall my first year of being an Idol fan was okay, however I think the entire program is a farce. I mean Sanjanya? Come on... The producers pick who is going and who isn't. It was funny that as soon as the ratings started to drop off, Sanjaya was voted out. And be honest, was Jordin really the best singer that they had this year? No, not by a long shot. But good for her and hopefully she and the others can have a career as sweet as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

Will I watch it next year? Yeah , you bet!

Viva Laughlin

I received an e-mail today from Kare Bear that the new series, Viva Laughlin is being picked up for the fall season. Viva is considered to be a favorite for the fall, and is based on a BBC show that has had great success in Britain. Here, Viva Laughlin is the story of a young man that wants to start up a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. The show is a comedy, drama, musical...well just a little bit of everything.

You ask, Why are you interested in a new TV show for the fall?

Well the reason is Kare-Bear's sister in law and good friend, Missy Doty will be starring in the show, as Diane! If you recall Missy was Cammie in the Oscar Nominated film Sideways. She has also starred in Ally McBeal, and several other TV shows. This is another great break for our Missy, so watch Viva this fall and support the hometown girl!

It's Not Over...

Some say it's a done deal, and was decided by the producers months ago. But then that was what they said last week before Melinda Doolittle was voted off. She was to be the New American Idol.

Who knows, but who ever wins, be it Jordin or Blake, they will be stars. As well as Melinda.

As for my vote? I'd like to see Jordin win, but Blake is hot.

Sooner Rather Than Later

It had to happen sooner or later. I'm just glad it happened sooner rather than later. I mean if it would have lasted longer I would have been even more upset when he said goodbye.

Bye Chris.

Drafted, or How I Became a Browns Fan

Over the past two years my involvement in sports has grown. Not that I have suddenly become athletically inclined at 46, but watching it is soon becoming one of my favorite past-times. Take for instance all afternoon today on ESPN. There I sat, glued to the TV watching the 2007 NFL Draft, seeing which team would draft the top players. Of course my own home team Cincinnati Bengals drafted a Leon Hall in their first round. A Corner Back. Hopefully they did a background check on him.

Speculation was that Notre Dame's Golden Boy, Brady Quinn would go quick, like third or fourth, maybe even first pick. However he didn't go until 22nd pick. He was drafted by my hometown teams rival, Cleveland Browns. Brady will soon become the most famous thing that has come out of Notre Dame, since the Hunchback. With this pick I may soon become a Browns fan.

Now don't get me wrong, Cincinnati has a great quarterback and who knows maybe, just maybe they may get to the Superbowl before this decade is over. Carson Palmer is good, and somewhat attractive. But Brady? Now that the Cleveland Browns have, hopefully, a star quarterback that is not only a great athlete, but very good-looking as well. Watch out for the advertising sponsorships, soon Brady Quinn and Cleveland Browns will be all over the TV screen. And if he turns out to be the star everyone believes he is, we will be seeing Brady so much we will get sick of seeing him...

Well, not really. How could you ever get sick of seeing him?

It's not like he is Peyton Manning. Now, that I got sick of seeing.

Goodbye Sanjaya

I was never an Idol Watcher until this year. Why?, because according to what I have heard this is the worst year since it's debut. The talent is all poor caliber compared to previous years, or at least that is what I have been hearing from Idol devotees. Irregardless of the talent or the lack thereof and irregardless of the supposedly 38 million votes that were tabulated last night (a record per Ryan Seacrest) Sanjaya Maylakar was still there last night until the announcement was made that FINALLY he was gone.

As I have watched this program I realize that this is not a talent competition as it is advertised. If that was the case Sanjaya would have NEVER even got to Hollywood. It is also not a program where the winner and losers are voted by the audience. If that was the case Sanjaya would have been gone after the first week. Instead the producers have "rigged" this program so that people will continue to watch. Sanjaya was this years American Idol lackey. He brought in the audience not by his talent but by his antics and the fact he was the one to hate. I realized this was the case with American Idol a few years ago, I mean even I heard of William Hung. Unfortunately contestants like, Brandon, Jared, Chris Sligh, and Stephanie suffered because of it. I think Chris Sligh realized it and you could tell his attitude changed drastically when he saw the true American Idol.

Producers and the "BIG WIGS" of American Idol have already made their choice, and all the choices up to this point, and their choice is $$. Not talent, not competition but advertising dollars and a marketable product. For a few weeks it was Sanjaya, but when I heard after last weeks show that ratings dropped by 28%, I knew Sanjaya would be saying goodbye.

Will I continue to watch? Sure. Will I watch next year? Not likely.

And I Said It Would Never Happen...

But it did.

I am hooked on Idol. No, not Billy Idol. Ewwww

American Idol. Every week, three nights a week I have been glued to the TV watching Fox. Watching the girls sing their hearts out, well some of them. And watching the guys, try to sing.

The guys have not impressed me, at least not with their singing. Except Chris Sligh. That boy can sing. And Blake. He can sing too, and he's hot.

Then there is Chris Richardson...I love his smile and his voice. But that's about it as for the good singers, well Jared Cotter is pretty good. Sundance? Not really. Phil Stacy? Again, not Idol material. Then there is Sanjaya. I think his sister should have made it through. He will be going home Thursday night, no question. But as for the other guy going? It's a toss up, but Chris, Blake, Jared and the hot Chris are going to stay.

Now the girls...that's totally different story. They are great. Well except for that Antonella chick. She made reference back a few shows ago about Jennifer Hudson, saying that Simon axed Jennifer Hudson. Back that up girl, Simon didn't axe Jennifer, the public did (why who knows?) But girl you AIN'T NO EFFIE! You don't even come close. How you are still on the show is just amazing to me. DJ's mom sings better than you. Most of the girls that auditioned sing better than you. BE GONE! Please!

Yep, I'm hooked. Reality TV. And I said it would never happen. But I also said I'd never like Sci-Fi, but Stargate SG1 and Michael Shanks changed all that.

Six Feet Under

My best friend Silver got me hooked a few years ago on the HBO series, Six Feet Under. We bought the first season for him for Christmas, and then after he watched it we borrowed it and viewed it. It was pretty good, that first year. But not good enough for us to go out and spend $99 for each season for ourselves. (unlike Star Trek, The Next Generation). So we discontinued watching it.

Then a few weeks ago DJ went to our local library and brought the 2nd Season home. Still good, but not quite as entertaining as I remember the first season being. Then last week we went back to the library and got the third season. OMG! It was so depressing! It was the season that Nate,(played by Peter Strauss...hot!) the eldest son was dealing with all of his issues and then the loss of his wife, Lisa, played by Lily Taylor. After watching the entire third season, I had a melt down! Maybe watching such a deep show is not a good thing when you are depressed and unemployed. So I decided to slow down on Six Feet Under and starting watching Smallville again.

Today I ventured back to the dark world of the Fisher Family of Six Feet Under. Thankfully Season 4 was not quite as dark and depressing as season three. They added some more upbeat storylines and added a little more humor. But really how upbeat can a TV show be that starts every week with someone's death? And to think I considered applying for a job at the county coroner's office. Maybe I should just stick with Disney movies. At least until I get back to work.