Immunity Idols, Blackmail And Product Placement, Oh My!

this week's episode of survivor was really good and i just have a few things to say.

alex voting for mookie: i wonder if he knew the other six were going to split up the vote? because otherwise that vote wouldn't have meant anything if the other six were all voting for mookie or for him. maybe he was hoping to show them that he is 'on their side' - which is doubtful cause they would never buy it, i don't think. it was a desperate move but at this point i think that if alex were to make it to the final 2 that he would still have mookie's vote (in his bye-bye speech to the camera mookie made no mention of alex's vote being the one that sent him home. maybe he hadn't put 2 and 2 together yet?).

the idol in the pants: while the players were getting all shocked about mookie and alex having gone through yau-man's pants to find the idol, i was wondering if they could have taken it? is there a rule in place that says that it belongs to whoever digs it up and that if someone else finds it in their bag or in a hiding place they can't take it? cause i was thinking why don't alex and mookie just take it.... - i wonder if the fact that there is a new idol in play (because alex played on a couple weeks ago) if the fake one yau-man made and buried will now come into play? and i also wonder if the producers hid the real one close to where yau-man buried the fake one so that it will have a better chance of coming into play?

mookie and alex couldn't get anyone: i was a little surprised that mookie and alex couldn't get a couple of people from the other six to vote with them. especially after the announcement that yau-man had the idol. usually around this time in the game a move like that would work, because a couple of the six would realize that they are at the bottom of the six list and will be the first to go after alex and mookie are gone. either the six weren't thinking that way or they are all confident they aren't the bottom ones of the six group.

earl is leading well: it looks like earl is the leader of the six-pack (hey, i like that), but he is doing a good job of it for the most part. being the alliance leader can be dangerous but he seems to be playing it cool and not being to domineering (like with the whole 3/3 vote split that he wasn't fond of but went with anyways because it made the other members of the alliance happy).

great editing: Survivor might be a 'reality' show but that doesn't mean that editing doesn't matter. in fact editing, it could be argued, is even more important in reality television and Survivor does it so well throughout the show. especially during tribal council when they cut back and forth between the people talking and the reactions by the other players. some of that stuff is priceless. and who knows really if the reaction we are seeing is actually a reaction to what was just said or something else entirely?

Survivor: Fiji Is Fijitastic

wow, this is turning into one of the best seasons of Survivor in a while. the episode two weeks ago with all double-crossing and vote-switching and dreamz screwing over the other three horseman was great tv. and then this week with alex and mookie finding the immunity idol in yau-man's pants and trying to blackmail him and then with alex voting for mookie in the end. that's great stuff. this is what makes survivor the best reality show out there: strategy, human-nature and a great game.

grade: while it has been hanging around a B for the last few seasons, i got to give fiji an A-

Drive Gets Canceled

well i didn't know it at the time, but i was dead on when i called the show Drive a guilty pleasure, but commented that "if the poor ratings for last nights premier are any indication, it might be a short lived guilty pleasure", because Drive has been canned. after airing only three times fox has said 'enough' and ended it.

look, i'm not going to claim that Drive was a great show, i mean i gave it a B-, but this constant canceling of shows after only a couple airings is really starting to piss me off. i will be ok without knowing how drive ends, but there have been some really good shows that have suffered the same fate this season and those i am not ok with: Daybreak, The Knights Of Prosperity, The Nine and The Black Donnelly's to name a few.

why can't a show, especially a quality one (and the networks know which ones are quality and which ones aren't) get a chance to build an audience. Seinfeld, Cheers and Friends weren't huge hits when they premiered, but look what they turned into (huge hits and huge moneymakers for the networks).

yes, i understand that in a 1000 channel world the audience has so many options that the networks feel they need to grab an audience fast if they want the advertisers to stick around and they also want certain demographics and such and all television shows are really (at least on free tv), are things to kill time between commercials. i get all that, but that doesn't make it right, and a lot of the time that is a network just being really nearsighted.

look at Criminal Minds as a very modern example. that show took a little while to get going, but it did, and this year is actually beat Lost in the ratings a few times when they were on at the same time. also, the ratings for The Office have improved over its first season, so it can happen and it isn't a crazy notion either.

that's why i appreciate what nbc is doing with 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights, assuming they renew the latter like it looks as if they are leaning towards doing. these are two high-quality shows that deserve a chance at building an audience.

sure sometimes it just doesn't happen, look at Arrested Development. they got a couple extra seasons more then their ratings would have suggested, but it just never caught on (too bad cause it was a great show), but at least it had a shot. canceling a show after 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 episodes just isn't fair to the show or the audience that is getting into it or that might have gotten into it had they given them a chance.

back to Drive: fox hasn't said what they will do with the remaining episodes they have in the can, but putting them online seems to be the thing to do these days so i wouldn;t be surprised if that is what they do.

Rosie Leaving The View

well, it's official: rosie o'donnell will be leaving the View in june after only one year on the show. you can read all about it here, but i do have a few thoughts on the matter. i should preface these comments by saying that because of my schedule i haven't watched the show much at all since her first week as the new host (and was only watching it sporadically before that).

1) it seemed to me that joy felt a little threatened by having another comedian on the show and in the head-host position none the less. in the episodes i did watch she seemed to always be trying to get the last word/joke in to top rosie

2) donald trump is a big baby: neither one of them is innocent in the whole thing, but trump just came off looking like a real vindictive jerk.

3) walters seemed like she just didn't know how to handle her or the controversies that she arose.

4) overall, i like rosie as a host. i thought that she reinvigorated a show that had been getting kind of stale. not that i agreed with everything she said, but the show is all about opinions/'views' so what do you expect? i will now be very curious to see who they bring in to replace her. any ideas??

- again, i haven't watched the show much, so a lot of this is based on bits and clips i saw as well as what i read in the press. feel free to let me know what you think, and if you feel like i have misjudged/misinterpreted the ladies and the show.

Watching American Idol Right Now

- that 'crazy little thing called love' video that the idols did was another corny/cheezy thing that reminded me of the early seasons when they used to do one of those every couple weeks it seemed.

- that 'staying alive' video with all the celebrities was actually really fun.

- josh grobin's number with the african childrens choir was great and the one with kelly clarkson and jeff beck was beautiful.

- the Simpson's bit was hysterical. lisa as paula abdul, marge as randy jackson and homer as simon were so funny. bart's dunkleman quip at the end was great also.

- annie lennox - yet another great performance: man, seeing all these great performances really puts the idols in their place as far as how much work they have to do.

- no one goes home, that was the big frickin' surprise? what a lame surprise. hey, i'm all for keeping everyone around on a night of charity and giving, but to hype it up with the intensity that they did was just lame.

No Ragging On these Riches

i finally got around to watching the pilot episode of fx's new show, The Riches (i know it is late, but there is a lot of tv to watch people). anyway, needless to say i really liked it.

the show stars eddie izzard and minnie driver as a husband and wife who, with their kids, have spent their lives as con artitsts/moden gypsies. However, izzard has started to have a change of heart/midlife and spiritual crisis and decides that things need to change. this leads to the family taking over the identity of another couple and trying to live their lives: as izzard's character says, and it is a great line, "we are going to steal the american dream."

this is a dark comedy/dramady with strong writing an original concept, wit, interlligence and a very engaging cast - especially izzard who is wonderful. the opening scene at a high school reunion is a great way to jump into the show.

it is only the pilot, but it was a good one and one that seems to bode well for another smart and interesting show on fx, which is becoming quite a strong player in the quality-cable-tv wars with shows like The Shield, Rescue Me, Nip Tuck and now this. hbo better watch out - and showtime isn't looking to shabby either these days with the likes of Dexter, The Tudors and Weeds.

this is another show that i will definitely be checking out more episodes to see if it continues to live up to the promise of the pilot.

grade: A

Lame Apprentice Finale

The Apprentice - The Complete First Season


first off i want to say that trump made the right choice. stefani was my pick from a while back, and although that new puffy hair look she was sporting during the finale was a bit disconcerting (go back to the sexy lawyer with the glasses look) she was great during the episode and talked her way perfectly into the winners seat. she also proved herself more then capable on many a task throughout the show. that being said i do have some things to say about the finale episode, which you have to admit was pretty dull...

1) what happened to the big-final-task thing that they do every season? sure the movie theater commercial was something, but it wasn't any bigger then many of the other tasks and it wasn't a finale type task, that's for sure. were the rating for the show that poor that they couldn't give us two big events for the final two to run like they have always done in the past? - lame

2) the entire final episode was a pretty average boardroom, some questions for the fired players and a short little about-the-final-two videos. - boring

on another note

3) firing frank because the commercial wasn't very good is fine and understandable, but when trump also claimed he was doing it because he picked surya to be on his team, that seemed a bit much. frank's point about surya having a lot of integrity and knowing he would not do anything to hurt that seemed good to me. when trump jr. said that if he had been surya he wouldn't have done anything to help frank's team that just seemed childish and i wonder what his dad would have said if one of the contestants had said soemthing to that affect at some point during the season

4) the same goes for nicole. ya, the commercial wasn't great so she should have been fired, but i didn't think bringing tim back was a bad move. tim is a good player and you knew he would be loyal and hard working for her. and i mean, it's not like she didn't do her editing because she was making out with tim on the couch or something like that.

5) the whole living in tents thing was great but the candidates were such big babies about it. i mean, of course one would rather be in the gorgeous mansion, but it isn't that big a deal to have to live in tents for a little while. even the way trump talked about it, like it was a season of such hardships because of the tents, cracked me up. i mean haven't they seen Survivor (they are both mark burnett shows)? now that's a little rough.

6) speaking of Survivor: i enjoyed the parallels between the two shows this season with the disparities in living conditions. The Apprentice had the mansion and the tents while Survivor had a camp with nothing and a camp with an outhouse, hammocks, food, a bed, etc....

overall i do enjoy the show, but the finale was not impressive. whoever decided that that was a good way to excite people about the show and get people to watch should be 'fired'.

Mr. President, You Owe Me!

i know it's a little late, but i thought that line from the episode of 24 a couple weeks ago was frickin' awesome and i had to mention it.

next bit of 24 talk is the relationship between acting president daniels and his hot blonde assistant lisa. normally this show is great in the casting department and i thought powers boothe was a perfect v.p. daniels. however, the love affair between him and lisa looks so uncomfortable (did you see that kiss at the end of this weeks episode).

speaking of lisa: is it just me or does anyone else think that there is more to this chick then meets the eye? she has got something going on and i'm pretty sure it ain't gonna be good.

24 Hours Of Great Television

Get 24 on DVD

i am an old time 24 fan. from the moment i heard about the show many months before it premiered i thought it sounded like an original and interesting premise. it lived up to my high-expectations back then and has continued to do so through each subsiquent intense and edge-of-your-seat season.

i have never watched a more intense show then 24. the show provides lots of action and intrigue, but yet it also manages to create strong attachments to the characters. the crisis doesn't just bring the characters together, but it also brings them closer to us and we feel a real sense of loss when anyone, even a minor character, gets killed off, which happens quite a bit (i would name off a few, but i don't want to fuin it for anyone who is still a few seasons behind and catching up on dvd).

and you do want to catch up on dvd if at all possible. sure you could watch any season individually, but there are a lot of recurring characters and references to prior seasons that makes it much more exciting and worthwhile to go through them in order (it is always a great moment when some charcter from a past season appears unexpectidly to help or hurt the situation)

at first i was a little worried/curious as to how they were going to make this into anything more then a one or two season show. but they have managed to do so, and just when you think a season itself is getting old or has nowhere to go they throw a wrench in the works and take you off in another direction. for example: the whole audrey raines thing this season.

although there are complaints about the show focusing on the middle east for its bad guys, anyone who has watched the show knows that they have had bad guys from all over the world, including: china, mexico, ex-american agents, russia and the american government itself. there is even a rumour that the bad guys in season 7 will be quebec seperatists (a faction of quebecers that advocate for the province to seperate from canada and become a sovreign nation) - it's about time the show 'came to canada': kieffer sutherland is canadian and one of the producers of the show, jon casser, is from montreal.

whatever they decide to do i will be there watching every second of the next 24 hours and of course there are still five hours left this season.

grade: A+

Battlestar Galactica Is Fracking Great

Battlestar Galactica - Season One
Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 (Episodes 1-10)
Battlestar Galactica (2004): Seasons 2.0 & 2.5

i have to admit i came to this show pretty late. as of about six months ago i hadn't seen one episode of Battlestar Galactica. then a listener of my podcast, 'Watch It' wrote to me complaining about how i never mentioned the show when i talked about the best shows on television and how it was such a great show that had won many awards, etc... so i decided to check it out. i started at the beginning with the pilot/tv movie and a few days ago i finished the last episode of season three and am now totally caught up. having seen the whole series to date i have just one thing to say... Battlestar Galactica is one of the best shows on television.

the show may be science fiction but the writers ground the story very much into todays political and social climate. the parallels to the government, the war in iraq and the general war on terror are obvious and well explored. issues cover multiple side of an issue without being preachy. the situations are written so that picking a side isn't always easy to do and sometimes the side you find yourself on may not be the same as the character you think of as 'the good guy'.

the issues are complex and so is the show, and i was happy to read that they have renewed it and asked for a complete fourth season worth of episodes (talked about it briefly on the Watch It podcast episode #34)

i am not a huge science fiction fan and maybe that is what is keeping some people from tuning into the show. however, you shouldn't let any preconceived notions you have about science fiction shows keep you from checking it out. if you haven't seen the show then you should really start from the beginning and enjoy it as it was meant to be seen.

grade: A

Watch It Episode #36

The 'WATCH IT' podcast is a fun and informative (sometimes more so then others) audio podcast discussing television shows, news, opinions and whatever else comes up in the course of our humorous, combative and fun to listen to conversations...

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Listen to the Watch It podcast Episode #36

NEWS: The Simon Cowell eye-roll, Baldwin's phone message to his daughter, Replacing Imus, Survivor hitting the mainland, Laugh n' Sniff Earl, Law & Order renewal still undecided, New America's Got Talent judge...

Show & Blog Talk: The Shield, Drive, Tudors, Thank God You're Here, The Price Is Right...

EMAIL: watchitpodcast at gmail.com

Plus:
- Chrystina's word this week: benoit/benoit balls

CHECK OUT THE LAST 5 EPISODES ON THE SIDEBAR OR HEAD ON OVER TO WATCHIT.LIBSYN.COM TO ENJOY EVERY EPISODE PAST AND PRESENT(or just subscribe and get them all right when they come out - it is all free of course)

Shields Up

The Shield on DVD

with all the hype surrounding the start of the final nine episodes of The Sopranos, the 6th season premier of The Shield on fx might have been missed by many out there. or at least it hasn't gotten the hype it deserves.

the show, about a team of corrupt l.a. cops is one of the best shows on tv and it has been consistently good throughout its 5 seasons already. in case you aren't completely caught up i don't want to give away how season five ended, but needless to say it was intense and season six has picked right up where it left off last year.

forest whitaker is back this season, playing the internal affairs detective determined to bring down michael chiklis' character, vic makay, if it is the last thing he does. while the main characters, makay and his crew, are bad and corrupt the show manages to make you root for them (and this is a guy, makay, who we saw murder another cop in the pilot episode).

a lot of that has to do with the idea that they are doing bad things to bad people (except for the cop of course): they might take money from drug dealers to let them ply their trade and they might kill and forgo the law in order to cover up their misdoings, but if someone is dealing drugs to kids or importing a mass amount of weapons into the country, etc... they are right there knocking down doors and knocking in faces to get the bad guy. and you don't want to mess with their families - they have a strong moral code (albeit a very selfish one most of the time) but it works to complete the picture of who these guys are. things aren't black and white and playing in that gray area is one reason the show is so good. (the characters are based on actual l.a. cops who were convicted on many charges years ago, and i have heard that the the cops on The Shield are not as bad as the real ones they are based on)

of course there is also the great acting, writing, directing and the hand held camera work that adds to the intensity of the show.

if you are a fan of the show then i'm sure you were right there when season six started a few weeks ago, and if you haven't been watching it then get yourself all the past seasons on dvd and catch up before you start watching season six. enjoy!!!

grade: A+

David Allen Grier Had Grey Hair Right?

is it just me or was David Allen Grier's hair gray on the premier episode of Thank God You're Here and then not gray on the last one?

i remember noticing the gray hair, but not in a bad way at all. then last episode... poof! it was gone? i wonder if that was his decision, or if he had one of those meetings with the higher-ups at nbc who said something to the effect of..."david man, we love you. we think you are doing a great job with the show. but we were looking at the numbers and we noticed that you are skewing low in the all important 18-34 demographic. so, to get those numbers up we want you to dye your hair and get rid of the gray! thanks. hey man, we loved you on In Living Color."

Simon Cowell Is A Big Baby

simon can dish it out but he can't take it. he can be mean, sorry i mean 'be honest'(imagine a british accent and chest rubbing) all day long with the contestants, but the minute seacrest needles him a little or questions him a bit (often legitimately) he gets so defensive, bitchy and pouty :( - there he is doing it right now as i type this.

i don't dislike the guy. i think he is often right about what he says to the singers (sanjya did suck this week with the bonnie raitt song), but he (and the other judges) have at this point become way too interested in themselves and their fame rather then the idols. they are becoming caricatures of themselves.

Getting Tutored On The Tudors

The Tudors premiered on showtime a little over two weeks ago to good ratings for the network. the show, starring johnathan rhys meyers as king henry VIII is an historical drama/soap opera ala hbo's Rome, but set in a different time period.

needless to say i quite enjoyed the first episode. this was a pretty crazy time historically and the show is taking full advantage of it. you got kings, queens, sex, murder, deceit, politics and of course anne boleyn. of course they take liberties with certain aspects, but overall there is no need to when the truth is as juicy as this.

i have only seem the pilot episode so far (i have a lot of tv to keep up with people) but i am already hooked and looking forward to getting to the next ones. the show plays like hip masterpiece theatre, but without dumbing itself down to appeal to a mass audience that might be turned off by the historical nature of the drama. i am also pretty sure that many who might at first have been turned off by that will actually end up being drawn in in the end anyway.

grade: A-

Wanna Go For A Drive?

last night fox premiered the show Drive. the show, about an illegal cross-country road race has been in the works and re-works for over a year now and has finally made it to air. so what do we get for all that waiting and fixing and such? we get a corny, stereotypical, poorly written, fun and kind of exciting show - think of it as the movie Rat Race meets the tv show Fastlane with a Prsion Break mystery of unknown forces thrown in.

so ya, i kind of liked it, but in a guilty pleasure sort of way. some of the dialogue made me groan and the characters all felt like cookie cutter 'screen writing for dummies' creations, but i wanted to see what would happen next.

Now, i try not to judge a show based on the pilot episode because usually they get to wrapped up in giving us information and introducing characters and their characteristics and the episode tends to feel a little forced. as it is now though, i think it is, like i said, an medium range show that i will follow. However, if the poor ratings for last nights premier are any indication, it might be a short lived guilty pleasure. we shall see.

the premise is original at least (meaning it isn't about cops and doesn't take place in a hospital or law firm) and they did set up plenty of mystery and unknowns that will be revealed as the race goes along. all that being said, Drive doesn't yet appear to be more then that. they didn't take this actually could-be-exciting premise and turn it into something smart and really interesting like Lost (i am a little surprised given that one of the show's creators is tim minear, who was one of the guys behind the short lived, but excellent, show Wonderfalls that was on fox a few years back).

instead they created a guilty pleasure and didn't really go beyond that. is that a bad thing? not necessarily. it is what it is, and while it isn't as good as Prison Break or 24 (the two other monday night adrenaline rushes) so far it is a fun enough ride that has intrigued me enough to make me keep watching for now.

p.s. one of my biggest pet peeves in movies and tv is during driving scenes when the character driving is talking to the passenger and spends more time looking at the other person then actually watching the road. given that Drive spends most of its time in cars, that is something they really have to watch out for, cause there have been a few times where it was laughable.

grade: B-

And Then There Were Three

we all know that mr. Price Is Right bob barker will be ending his 35-year-run on the show in june. what we don't know is who will be his successor.

i had a few ideas, but i guess they didn't like them because they have narrowed it down to these three men


1) Entertainment Tonight host mark steines
2) las vegas 'Price Is Right' host todd newton
3) the man with the tan george hamilton

personally they all seem alright, but none of them are WOW-what-a-great-choice. but i guess we wil have to watch them do their thing on the show before judging. if i had to guess at this point i'm thinking mark steines, although newton may have the inside track having done the game-show-hosting thing before and the Price Is Right in vegas. hamilton might have a chance because he is just...well, he's george hamilton

so what do ya think? who do you want to get it? who do you think will get it?

Thank God You're Here Sorta

so who watched the 2 episode premier of nbc's much hyped improv comedy show Thank God You're Here last monday? i did, i did!

if you will remember one of my earlier posts from a few weeks ago, i said that i was very much looking forward to this show, being that i am a big fan of improv comedy and the commercials made it look really funny.

so what did i think you ask? well i'll tell ya. i thought it was okay. there were some funny moments for sure, but it wasn't as great as i had hoped it would be. then again we have been spoiled by the master of all improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyways? which was very funny 80-90% of the time and TGYH just isn't going to live up to that.

i was trying to figure out why i didn't like the show more and this is what i came up with (feel free to comment with your own ideas and/or if you really love the show)

1) it moves a little slow: first there is the little chat with david allen grier before they go through the door. then after the scene there is the judging by ex Kids In The Hall member dave foley (he is great, but here is job is just trying to come up with something funny yet nice about the actors performance). it just doesn't move as fast as WLIIA, which means that there is more time between the skits and more time between funny moments.

2) the performers aren't all improv actors. on 'Whose Line' those guys were talented improv performers. whereas on 'Thank God' they are mostly funny actors but not necessarily skilled in the art of improv comedy (and there is a big difference).

3) the other actors in the scene are good, but they are often times obviously playing the straight man, by delivering set-ups that give the 'star' a chance to improv something. often times the 'star' will say something or take the scene somewhere that it isn't supposed to go and the other actors will deliver a line or statement that corrects them and brings them back to where the scene is supposed to go. this felt forced and awkward sometimes and not really in tune with pure improv.

having said all that, it wasn't a bad show, it was good for some laughs and i will watch it again. Whose Line Is It Anyways is still the king.

Lost Is Really Good

Lost - The Complete First Season

Lost - The Complete Second Season

i have read a bunch of articles over the last few months about the decline in the ratings for Lost, and about how fans are not as interested/or happy with the show this season, and to be honest, i don't get it. i have been following the show from episode one and i think this season has been really good.

the back stories have been intriguing, and the on-the-island action has been interesting and slowly piecing together the mystery (although i will admit i still have lots of questions). however, what i really like about the show is that while they are always giving you pieces of information and moving the story along, they are also constantly keeping you intrigued by new developments and questions that come up - unlike Desperate Housewives that basically solved the whole initial mystery at the end of the first season and then went way downhill with an anti-climactic season 2 (season 3 has been better).

the Lost producers said recently that they know exactly where the story is going and they plan on setting an end date to the show. as long as the writing stays strong i am completely interested and willing to go along and see where it all ends up.

if there are any Lost fans out there who are part of that disappointed-in-season-3 crowd leave a comment and let me know where the show lost you (pun intended).

grade: A

Things Looking A Little Better For Friday Night Lights

the headline says it all. Friday Night Lights (one of my favorite shows this season) has got an order for six additional episodes from nbc. this is the same six-script order that Medium got earlier this week, and while it's not as strong an endorsement as the second-season order the gave to 30 Rock, it does make it look like the odds are a little more in favor of the show coming back next year - and i really hope it does.

Pop Dynasty: 3 Jacksons Help Look For The Next Jackson 5?

if you were tossing and turning at night, worried about what was happening with tito, jermaine and latoya jackson then tonight you can finally get some rest.

cbs as announced plans to team up with three non-janet-or-micheal jackson siblings to bring us a new singing talent show called Pop Dynasty. like American Idol the show will focus on finding singing talent, but unlike the 'Idol', Pop Dynasty will be looking for a family of stars like the jackson 5, hanson, the carpenters, etc... you get the idea.

according to variety, jermaine is a principle partner in the project and will also be a judge along with his brother and sister.

although many have tried to replicate the success of American Idol, none of the other singing competitions have really gone anywhere - do you remember the 2 or 3 episodes of The One, or how about the new Star Search? however, i will watch and you know you will too, at least for the first few episodes.

i do have a question though?
with all these three judge shows we know the break down

1) the 'paula abdul': kinder and gentler and attempts to lessen the pain with positive comments about at least one thing(usually how the person looks)

2) the 'simmon cowell': blunt and honest, but also a bit of a jerk and more interested in his own image and witty comments then the actual person he is talking to.

3) the 'randy jackson': kind of inbetween the 'paula' and the 'simon' sometimes mean and sometimes nice depending on the day.

my question is who do we think will play those roles between latoya, tito and jermaine?

here is my guess.

1) latoya will be the 'paula', not because she is the female, but because i saw her on Armed And Famous and she looked just as out of it as paula does

2) jermaine is going to be the 'randy'

3) and tito will put all that anger built up from years and years of tito jokes to good use and be the 'simon'.

P.S. what about marlon and jackie?

Selleck Going To Vegas... Maybe

Las Vegas - Season One Uncut & Uncensored

i should start off by saying that i don't watch the show Las Vegas. i have seen it a few times, but i haven't followed it for the four seasons it has been on the air (i know, has it really been four seasons of it already?)

that being said, there is some Las Vegas news i wanted to mention, and that was the possibility that Tom Selleck would be joining the cast next season. james caan left at the end of this last season and selleck would be coming in as the new owner of the montecito hotel.

i'm thinking that might be a good move for selleck. although i am not a huge fan of the show, it has managed to go into a fifth season all while being moved around the schedule and spending a few seasons on friday nights - which as we all know, is where networks send tv shows to die.

selleck is also a bigger name then caan and could draw in some viewers. for Boston Legal fans you will remember selleck from his most recent, awesome guest appearances on that brilliant show.
nikki cox also left last season, but i haven't heard anything about who would be coming in to replace her and her breasts.

Boston Legal: It Was 50 Years Ago Today

Boston Legal - Season One

Boston Legal - Season 2

i am a little behind on some of my tv watching (actually just got up to date with 24 today after watching 3 episodes back to back) so i just got to last week's episode of Boston Legal today, but i had to talk about it.

Boston Legal is one of, maybe even, my favorite show on tv. this is david e. kelly's masterwork. the writing is so strong with its ability to be hysterically funny and touching and dramatic and political all in the same hour without missing a beat. and don't forget the great performances week after week by spader and shatner and the rest of the cast.

well if you missed last weeks episode, then go find it and watch it, because it was great. the main storyline involved a man holding the law office hostage while they re-enacted the trail from 1957 that had found a man (who he brought with him at gun point) not guilty of killing his mother. the lawyers for the man had been a very young denny crane and his father.

what made the episode even more interesting was the flashback scenes with denny crane and his father. for those scenes they actually took footage from an appearance shatner made on the tv show The Defender back in 1957. the integration of the footage was powerful and worked within the context of the story and the situation. it kind of made me think about that movie with terrance stamp, The Limey in which they use footage from an older terrance stamp film, Poor Cow.

great show, great episode!!

Watch It Episode #35: The Bizzaro Episode

The 'WATCH IT' podcast is a fun and informative (sometimes more so then others) audio podcast discussing television shows, news, opinions and whatever else comes up in the course of our humorous, combative and fun to listen to conversations...

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Listen to Watch It Episode #35

BIZZARO EPISODE: for this, the 35th episode of Watch It, we switched things up and Chrystina took over the main hosting duties and... well you will just have to listen to see how that went.

WATCH IT NEWS: The end of Punk'd, Bye King Of Queens, Dream Vote is done, Miss USA has a home at NBC, Miss America has no network, Jason Alexander trying again, Goodbye Donnelly's hello Wedding Crashers, Atlanta: Paul Reiser writer and Harold Ramis director, The Peabody Awards, Handler talkshow on E!, Ferrell producing tv show on HBO, The Hills gets season three this summer...

SHOW TALK: 30 Rock, Scare Tactics...

EMAIL: watchitpodcast at gmail.com

Plus:
- Chrystina's word this week: argyle

CHECK OUT THE LAST 5 EPISODES ON THE SIDEBAR OR HEAD ON OVER TO WATCHIT.LIBSYN.COM TO ENJOY EVERY EPISODE PAST AND PRESENT(or just subscribe and get them all right when they come out)

Saturday Night Live In The 90's

the first one focused on the first five years of SNL, the second one took us through the 80's and on may 6th nbc will air a third documentary about Saturday Night Live, this one looking at the 1990's, called 'Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation'

i thought the first two were really good. they were very informative and well put together. all the interviews with the cast members, writers, the history of the show and the behind the scenes goings-on were great. however, for me the 90's is the SNL i remember best, and the one that i grew up on and has a special place in my heart - from dana carvey, phil hartman, kevin nealon, and jon lovitz continuing with mike meyers, adam sandler, david spade, chris rock and chris farley thru to will ferrell, molly shannon, tina fey, darrell hammond, rachel dratch and jimmy fallon.

30 Rock Gets The Greenlight

while i am still pissed at nbc for canceling The Black Donnelly's i am very happy that they have given the greenlight to 30 Rock on a second season. while the ratings haven't been great, they are hoping that the show can build like The Office did going into its second season. nbc thursday night is not only the funniest night on tv currently, but is one of the funniest blocks on tv ever, with: My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock (come on people, that is some great comedy action right there).

also, Friday Night Lights hasn't got the greenlight yet, but here's hoping.

Last Week Of Donnelly's On Television

so as i told you a couple days ago, The Black Donnelly's is getting canned. while that was initially supposed to happen in a couple weeks, nbc has announced that it will happen a week early. which means that two nights ago was the last airing on tv. i say it like that because the remaining six or so episodes will be streamed on nbc.com - that's at least something, but it doesn't make me less angry at nbc for canceling a quality show.

i was thinking that it would be great if fx or hbo or showtime picked it up, as it is the kind of show that feels like it should be on one of those networks. alas, i don't see it happening though.

Prison Break: Panama

Prison Break - Season One

i like it! Prison Break season 2 ends with scofield in a panamanian prison from which he will obviously have to escape from in season 3. also, with mahone in there and i think i saw bellick there as well. and don't forget his brother and girlfriend on the outside and the ever nefarious 'company' doing their thing (which we still aren't sure what their master plan is). that is some good stuff.

Yao-Man Faking It

Survivor On DVD

i just watched last weeks episode of Survivor (i've been busy and i have a lot of stuff to get through on my DVR). anyway, so i just watched rocky get kicked off, but whatever. what i wanted to mention was yao-man making that fake immunity idol and burying it. i thought that was brilliant. obviously we don't know how it will play out, and if anyone will find it and think it is real and then try to use it and find out it isn't real - but i sure hope that happens.