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September, 2006 Archives | Homepage
Ugly Betty Is Fabulous  ABC has another winner on its hands with Salma Hayek's new show, Ugly Betty. The show is the English adaptation of a hit tv show from South America, which is puzzling, because it has a very similar plot to The Devil Wears Prada. In any event, we love it!
In the premiere, we meet the homely Betty Suarez, an intelligent young woman from Queens who takes care of her aging father and younger brother. She keeps up with art, music and literature, and tries to land a job at a major magazine publisher. She's not hired, of course, because of her looks. But when the owner of the publishing empire, Bradford Meade, overhears her talking with the rude assistant who blows her off, he hires her to be his son Daniel's assistant. The Miranda Priestly-ish editor of Mode magazine, Fay Sommers, has mysteriously died so Bradford passes over diva Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) and makes his son Daniel the editor in chief. Daniel is a womanizer and knows nothing about fashion. And his father would like him to stop having affairs with his assistants. Therefore, Betty is the perfect assistant. The casting is brilliant: America Ferrera is perfect as Betty, the girl with a big heart and a dress size to match. Vanessa Williams looks fabulous as a scheming editor Wilhelmina who wants to take down Daniel and Betty, and take over the magazine herself. Salma Hayek appears in the background as an actress in the hilarious soap opera Passions which is always playing in the background at the Suarez household. The writing is crisp and the dialogue is very funny. Fashion, wit and fun are the order of the day. But there is also a dark side: what really happened to Fay Somners, anyway? We'll keep tuning in to find out. If you missed the excellent premiere, you can watch it for free online at the ABC.com. Posted on September 29, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati  Jericho improved in episode #2 even though the overall premise
got more depressing. We watched as Jericho residents took refuge from
an incoming storm. Did the rain in the storm contain radiation as the
town's residents feared? We won't find out until next week but we
watched as some of them used duct tape and plastic sheeting to board
their windows -- Chertoff would be so proud!
We checked the Homeland Security website's page about nuclear explosions. We didn't see anything about radiation being contained in rain, but the website does have some tips for how to protect yourself. It says there are three protective factors: distance, shielding, and time. Distance - the more distance between you and the fallout particles, the better. An underground area such as a home or office building basement offers more protection than the first floor of a building. A floor near the middle of a high-rise may be better, depending on what is nearby at that level on which significant fallout particles would collect. Flat roofs collect fallout particles so the top floor is not a good choice, nor is a floor adjacent to a neighboring flat roof.It sounds like the residents of Jericho are doing the right thing by going down into the shelters for protection. Collapsing the entrance to the mine should also offer radiation protection. Even so, two weeks will be a long time to stay buried in the mine field. We hope they have enough to eat and drink. We were glad to see Robert Hawkins featured more prominently in episode #2. Once again he had all the answers. His wife even said aloud, "you always know what's going on." Of course he knew. It did get depressing there in the end when Hawkins was pressing red thumbtacks onto a map of the United States to indicate the cities that had been hit. Apparently, the message he received using the ham radio was very informative. Overall, Jericho was much better this week. The pace was much quicker and there were some great action sequences. We will tune in again. The website includes a webisode, called Beyond Jericho, of some survivors in an urban area that is not Jericho. The webisode features two kidnappers and their slightly annoying blonde victim. We won't spoil it for you except to say it is clear that the relationship between kidnapper and kidnappee can change very quickly. In the TV.com forums some people are saying they have removed the Beyond Jericho webisode. Hopefully, it will return later. Our review of the premiere episode can be found here. Posted on September 28, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Law and Order Inspired by Mel Gibson The writers for Law and Order have been inspired by Mel Gibson's drunken ravings. While Mel Gibson secretly roams the United States testing reaction to his latest movie, "Apocalypto," one of television's longest running shows has decided to incorporate his recent legal troubles into an episode. Staying true to its "ripped from the headlines" style, "Law & Order," says it will air an episode on November 3 starring comedian Chevy Chase as a celebrity who is pulled over for drunk driving and then delivers an anti-Semitic rant at the arresting officers.Law and Order begins its seventeenth season on Friday night. Posted on September 27, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati  It has to be said: NBC's Heroes is by far the best pilot of the Fall 2006 season so far. In fact, it's what Six Degrees should have been.
The premise is that human evolution has just taken a big leap forward. All over the world, ordinary people are suddenly finding out that they have special powers. Claire Bennet, a blond Texas cheerleader played by Hayden Panettiere is virtually indestructible: she can leap from a tower or walk through fires and heal within seconds. Pete (Milo Ventimiglia), a hospice nurse, dreams he can fly. A brilliant artist who is addicted to drugs (Santiago Cabrera)thinks he's going crazy because he's a precong and can paint disasters before they happen. Down on her luck single mom Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) has a mysterious doppleganger that she sees in the mirror and who can really get violent if Niki is threatened. Japanese uber-geek Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is the only character who immediately realizes what's happening to him: he can manipulate space and time and teleport himself wherever he wants. An avid Star Trek and comics fan, he immediately knows that he must use his power for good and not for personal gain. His friend wants to know what good are superpowers if you can't use them for personal gain? But Hiro knows better. He's absolutely hilarious and is clearly destined to be a favorite character. The only other people who know about this evolutionary jump are a brilliant Indian geneticist Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and a mysterious group of people who apparently killed Monhinder's equally brilliant father and stole his research. Next week, we'll meet telepathic cop Matt Parkman, played by Alias' Greg Grunberg. The premise is exciting, the dialogue is snappy and the casting is excellent. We were just about to despair over this boring new fall season until searies creator/executive producer Tim Kring stepped up to the plate. He's our new Hero. Posted on September 26, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati A Nation of Jackasses Proving that our society is indeed on the decline into anarchy, Jackass: Number Two was tops at the box office this past weekend with an estimated weekend take of $28,106,000. Jet Li's Fearless came in second with $10,564,000 and Gridiron Gang came in third with $9,700,000. It was a pretty slow movie weekend, all things considered. But that still doesn't explain how Jackass is now officially the top movie in the nation. MGM's Flyboys had a very soft opening, coming in fourth with an estimated take of $6,012,000. The Black Dahlia can now be officially referred to as a dud: in it's second week it's made a total of $17,259,000, and cost $50 million to make. Sony's All the King's Men made $3,800,000 in it's opener: it's in 1,514 theaters nationwide. Little Miss Sunshine is officially a hit: it's now made $50,340,000, and has now playing in a decent number of theaters. Don't be a Jackass: go see it. Posted on September 25, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati  TV Guide reports that Oscar-winner Russell Crowe is already in talks to play Steve Irwin in a proposed biopic.
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, touched by Steve Irwin's enthusiasm for his job and for life, wants to pay tribute to the fellow Aussie and late wildlife expert by portraying him in a feature film, reports the London Sun. Crowe, who spoke (via videotape) at Irwin's recent memorial service, is rumored to already be in talks with a studio about making the biopic.We think Crowe would do a great job in the role. Crowe has spoken repeatedly of his friendship for the Crocodile Hunter. So, who will play Terri? Posted on September 23, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Six Degrees Worth a Second Look  We're big J.J. Abrams fans around here, so we were excited to tune into the premiere of his new show, Six Degrees. The premise of the show is to follow the lives of six people in Manhattan whose lives are all interconnected.
Hope Davis plays a widowed mother who hires a young woman (Erika Christenson) who is on the run from an unknown threat. She also has a mytserious box she keeps with her and has a public defender who is crazy about her but who can't find her. The public defender meets up with a young limo driver who has a gambling problem and is trying not to join his brother's budding crime syndicate. Then he's handed the young woman's photo and told to kill her. The most interesting characters so far are a beautiful ad executive played by Bridget Moynahan who tries to hire a washed out brilliant photographer for a new ad campaign and who has a seriously creepy fiance. The problem with Six Degrees is that none of the stories are compelling enough -- so far, anyways -- to engender the kind of rabid fanship of Lost or Alias. Still, it was mildly entertaining and the dialogue was snappy. We'll tune in next week to see if it will magically turn into must-see TV. Posted on September 22, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Jericho Depresses Everyone  Jericho is a new series from CBS about people living in a small town in Kansas who see a nuclear explosion off in the distance. In the first episode we learn that the nuclear explosion occured in Denver. We watch as traffic accidents unfold from people staring at the mushroom cloud. We see the citizens of Jericho start to panic just a few hours into their new post-apocalyptic world. Next week, Jericho residents dig into their stock of duct tape to protect themselves from radioactive fallout.
Reviewers are comparing Jericho to Lost, but most say Jericho falls far short of Lost's appeal. The Boston Globe accuses Jericho of having Lost-envy. Unfortunately, there is no twist here. There is no alternative reality. There is no Truman Show being pulled on the residents of Jericho. And there are certainly no actors who look as good as a shirtless Josh Holloway or a bikini-clad Evangeline Lilly. They are just ordinary folks from a small town being led into a horrible, depressing apocalyptic nightmare. If only they would have included some of the fantastical themes in Lost instead of this depressing and hopeless backdrop. The characters in Lost have a civilization they hope to return to. The characters in Jericho have little hope at all -- civilization as they knew it is probably gone and things are going to be getting worse every day. The grocery trucks aren't going to be showing up anymore with food. The lights aren't working. There will be no more medicine. The only character that has the potential to save the town (and the show) is Robert Hawkins, played by Lennie James. Hawkins is a savvy cop from Saint Louis who appears to have the screenplay in his back pocket as he foreshadows bad things before they happen. Unfortunately, we may not get to see much more of Robert Hawkins or Jericho. TV critics here and here are already forecasting that Jericho will be canceled. The Brilliant but Cancelled website is taking a poll to see which shows will be terminated in 2006. Maybe a Save Jericho website or two will pop up, but don't hold your breath. We'd write more about Jericho, but we're feeling kind of down in the dumps. You know, filled with ennui and sort of overcome by the hopelessness of it all. We can't wait until next week's show! Posted on September 20, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Tom Cruise may no longer be the star of the Mission Impossible franchise. A report today claims that he's been replaced by Brad Pitt. Tom was recently dropped by Paramount Studios dropped because of his "unacceptable conduct" in public and the bombing box office results of his third movie in the franchise. Now it seems the studio bosses are set to turn to Brad to rescue the ailing franchise. One industry insider told Britain's London Light newspaper, " 'Mission: Impossible IV' will not include Tom's character, agent Ethan Hunt. They're considering a brief mention, saying Hunt retired to live a safe life with his new wife.They're set on Brad taking over as a gutsy new head operative who puts together his own unique team of specialists."That would be a real blow to Cruise. We just hope they bring back director J.J. Abrams -- he did a fantastic job on the last film. Posted on September 19, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Gridiron Gang Scores at the Box Office  The Gridiron Gang won the box office this past weekend, making an estimated $15 million.
Football drama "Gridiron Gang" scored a touchdown at the North American box office, while the thriller "The Black Dahlia" withered, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.Audiences were apparently less than thrilled with Brian de Palma's Black Dahlia, as were critics. It was a slow weekend at the movies, that's for sure. Posted on September 18, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Dalai Lama Approves of Movie About Buddha The news has been full of anger in the Middle East when a film maker or cartoonist shows an image of Mohammed. But the Dalai Lama takes a different view about Buddhism and movies. His Holiness would like to see Hollywood make a movie about the life of Buddha. Ending his five-day visit to California on Friday, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled leader has suggested Hollywood film producers make a movie about the life of Buddha. To a crowd of 6,000 people the spiritual leader said, "From Buddha's life story, maybe you'll get inspiration." The Dalai Lama addressed the crowd attending the screening of "Milarepa", a movie about Tibet's mysteries directed by Buddhist Lama Neten Chkling Rinpoche.We could swear that Kenau Reeves played Buddha in a film years ago. Aha -- a quick search of IMDB turns up Little Buddha, which was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. We think the Dalai Lama had in mind a more linear treatment of Siddartha's early life before he became known as the Buddha. We like the idea of a new film. And, as for Little Buddha: it's an interesting, funky and very unusual film. Keanu does a good job -- obviously, since we actually remembered a film from 1993. Posted on September 15, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Ed Speleers Ponders Eragon 
Sci Fi Wire reports that production on the film version of Eragon nearly shut down because they couldn't find the right actor to portray the lead. Eventually, the producers found 18 year-old Ed Speleers.
"I heard about that well into the production, and I'm glad I didn't hear about it right away," Speleers said at a private lunch during the Toronto Film Festival. "It certainly would have added a lot more pressure."Eragon opens in wide release on December 15, 2006. Posted on September 13, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Steve Jobs Unveils New Movie Download Service 
Apple unveiled a new movie-downloading service today, as well as a retooled iPod and the next generation iPod Shuffle.
The new offerings include an iPod capable of playing video games and storing more full-length movies and a new, half-inch-square iPod shuffle, which the company described as the world's smallest digital player. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs also unveiled a new deal to sell 75 films from Walt Disney Co. through its iTunes online store. The films — which include those made through Disney's Pixar, Touchstone and Miramax divisions — will be sold for $12.99 on the same day they become available in the DVD format.The new service will offer will offer consumers movies from studios in the Walt Disney family. Apple is selling films from Disney, Pixar, Touchstone, and Miramax, each studio owned by Walt Disney. Movies will become available on iTunes the same day they're out on DVD. Apple plans to offer over 75 films available online Tuesday, downloadable through an upgraded iTunes 7. Among the movie offerings is the Disney blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean."Engadget liveblogged the Steve Jobs show and has photos and detailed descriptions of all the new Apple goodies. Posted on September 12, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati The Covenant Tops Box Office  The Covenant was number one at the
box office this past weekend, with an estimated take of $9,000,000. In second place was Focus Films' Hollywoodland with $6,008,000. Hollywoodland is playing in over 1,000 less theaters than The Convenant, and had a higher per theater take of $3,881 per theater.
Hollywoodland's box office may get a bump from Ben Affleck's surprise win as Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his portrayal of actor George Reeves. Invincible was in third place with $5,784,000, for a total take so far of $45,654,000. The Protector opened in fourth place with an estimated take of $5,032,000. Posted on September 11, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Trump Creating Reality TV Show Based on Monopoly  Variety recently reported that Donald Trump and R.J. Cutler are developing a reality tv show based on the popular Monopoly board game.
While details of the Monopoly reality show are being kept under wraps, it seems logical that the skein will involve a game element in which contestants try to gather and improve properties in order to increase their ultimate net worth. Trump's numerous real estate holdings would provide plenty of potential platforms for the show.You would need Trump involved to get good ratings for the Monopoly show. The concept is a good fit with Trump's image as high roller in real estate. Meanwhile, Trump's Apprentice realty tv show continues in 2007 with Season 6 even though ratings are down from the show's early years. Posted on September 10, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Will Hollywoodland Charm Viewers?  Hollywoodland opens today in wide release, starring Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins. The film has two story tracks: the life of George Reeves (Affleck), the man who played Superman on Tv and who either committed suicide or was murdered, and the life of an aggressive reporter (Brody) who is investigating the death while his own family life falls apart. The word is that Ben Affleck has been dropped from all the ads after a negative reaction from a test audience. Apparently, Ben is still a bit overexposed from his Bennifer days.
Hollywoodland is going up against The Covenant, about a bunch of young men (the Sons of Ipswich) who are students at the elite Spencer Academy. They are bound by a vow of silence about their sacred ancestry, but when a student turns up dead it appears that another long-lost sorcerer is still alive. A power struggle ensues. We're thinking The Covenant may edge ahead, as the flick of choice for the younger, moviegoing audience. Correction: updated to change Steve Reeves to George Reeves. Thanks to alert reader Steven for catching the error and for pointing out that Steve Reeves "was the lead in numerous sword-and-sandal movies of the same period." Posted on September 8, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Battlestar Galactica Teases Fans With Webisodes  As fans eagerly await the season premiere of Sci Fi's hit show Battlestar Galactica, they can catch up with what's happening on New Caprica with a set of free webisodes that set the stage for the upcoming season.
Sci Fi will air a new webisode every Tuesday and Thursday: there are 10 episodes in all. The production values are good; they look just like a regular TV episode. The second webisode was uploaded today. And if you miss one, you can watch them all on demand at SciFi.com. We really hope the crew of the Galactica a) gets off New Caprica soon b) finds more supplies (we're really sick of the "we're out of fuel/water/food" storylines) and c) finds a planet where they can get some hi-tech replacement parts. Because if this keeps up, the Galactica is going to need a Richard Dean Anderson/McGyver infusion to keep the ship running with chewing gum and paper clips. The season premiere is on Friday, October 6, 2006 on Sci Fi Channel. And yes, we're still so angry at Sci Fi for cancelling Stargate-SG1 that it's taking some of the anticipation out of Galactica Season 3. How can you have Sci Fi Friday without Stargate? Posted on September 7, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin Dies  By now, everyone has heard the tragic news of Steve Irwin's death. Steve Irwin will be missed not only for his exciting documentaries but for his enormous contributions to conservation. Irwin referred to himself as a wild-life warrior: "I consider myself a wild-life warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species." You can see some clips from the Crocodile Hunter's documentaries here.
Steve Irwin also made a movie in 2002 called, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. The film also starred his wife, Terri Irwin. Roger & Ebert gave the film two thumbs up. You can read Ebert's review here. Forget the plot. The movie is really about Steve and Terri taking us on a guided tour of the crocs, snakes, deadly insects and other stars of the outback fauna. Steve's act is simplicity itself. He holds a deadly cobra, say, by its tail and looks straight at the camera and explains that the cobra has enough venom to kill him 100 times over. The cobra twists and tries to strike at Steve's bare leg. He jerks it away. Crikey! Steve's monologues about the incredible danger he's in do sometimes run a bit long, but he has the grace to interrupt them to slap at flies that are biting him.We also thought the film was fun to watch. More about the film can be found on the offical website, IMDB and Amazon.com. Irwin's passion for animals and conservation was part of his everday life. He put a lot of the money he made back into conservation efforts including purchasing land around the world for national parks and his Australian effort, the Australia Zoo. You can read more about the Australia Zoo here on the Animal Planet website. The official websites for the Crocodile Hunter and the Australia Zoo are currently overloaded but when they return they can be found at crocodilehunter.com and www.australiazoo.com.au. Posted on September 5, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati Original Star Trek Gets Digitally Remastered 
Sci Fi Wire reports some good news for Star Trek fans: the original series with Captain Kirk, Spock and all the crew is returning to CBS with a new look. The series will be digitally remastered and have all new special effects.
The original 1960s Star Trek series will receive a high-tech makeover and return to broadcast syndication for the first time in 16 years, with digitally remastered episodes, Paramount announced. In honor of the show's 40th anniversary, CBS Domestic Television is releasing all 79 episodes with new special effects and music on 200 stations, beginning Sept. 16. The first batch of episodes will be chosen from a list of fan favorites.September 16th, got it. Beam us up, Scotty! Posted on September 2, 2006 Permalink | Digg this | Blogs linking to this post: Google | Technorati |
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