Friday, October 31, 2008

Pushing Daisies - Dim Sum Lose Some

Pushing Daisies can not possible get any better. This week`s episode was so quick and witty that I have the feeling I need to watch it again to catch all those little details that I missed the first time around. I am still kind of disappointed that the ratings are not higher for the show and am still crossing my fingers that it sticks around for a few seasons.

If you haven't checked it out yet (and I highly recommend that you do, the episode is available on line), some of the little treasures that you missed this week in Dim Sum Lose Some are:

Emerson and the "Help Me" note in his fortune cookie from the Chinese Restaurant under his office, I loved how things in this series are tied together and even though we had seen the Chinese letters in Emerson's office window forever, it was the first time that things were really referenced in the series. I love me some good dumplings too and the unfortunate demise of our master chef made up for a pretty comédie noire scene of our resurrected chef running around with a pipe through his head. Death by exploding steamer is a pretty funny thing if done right, and I loved the Matrix feel of the explosion.

The whole den of inequity feeling that they were going for with the camouflaged poker (cards replaced by Dim Sum instead) was brilliant and the little twists and turns in the story were great. It was not as predictable as first glance and the undercover stuff was all very funny. Ned and Emerson were hilarious as their 1970s inspired Undercover Brother and some incarnation that reminded me of Burt Reynolds. It must have been the pornstache.

Chuck is a continual surprise with her ability to translate (almost fluently) for the gang. The flashback sequence was hilarious as Chuck wasn't quite sure if it was milk or something else that the gamblers were drinking and it added another flavor to the scene. Chuck and Olive are turning into a great undercover team and as usual, the costumes and makeup were incredible. The design crew does amazing work in this show. The street scenes look astounding and the decor in the Dim Sum restaurant was as kitschy as you can get and it had to be a real restaurant, in fact it reminded me of a restaurant that I had Dim Sum in Vancouver.

The return of Simone (click click and her clicker) was another boost for Emerson. Simone killed me in her first appearance and I am happy she is back in the picture. Emerson seems to be getting some nice plot and character development this year, and the scenes with them were great. Simone knows how to click a guy insane.

Ned got some great development with the appearance of a mystery man looking for his father, Ned getting all tangled up in his emotions and Chuck discovering that Ned has twin half brothers (or one whole brother as Ned likes to say) who are Magicians. Ned has many issues with dear old Dad and the more flashbacks we see of his youth, the more it becomes clear that he is angry and feels that he was pretty much discarded years ago. Dad has yet to prove otherwise ... and it appears our mystery man is after more than we think. Watching Ned freak out over these emotions that he has locked away forever is almost painful to watch, but you know over the long term there will be some important growth. That is definitely one of the things I love about the series and how the overall plot is developing with each episode. More please!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

So you think you can dance Canada - Top 14

The competition continued last night with more great numbers by our dancers and choreographers, and the Americans were invading the studio last night with guest Judge Mary Murphy, her boy toy Dmitri and our friend Benji Schwimmer from the US version were all in the house helping with the competition. Too bad Mary missed last week when more of the boys were shirtless... it would have been insane.

I love Mary and always happy to see her. She seemed slightly more muted than her appearances during the auditions, and it was nice to see her giving up a bit of space for the local Judges. It`s great to see Rex Harrington joining the Judges, and he balanced things out nicely last night.

The competition was great for the most part, out of all the teams that danced last night I think that it will be Caroline & Jesse leaving tonight after their lackluster Hustle. I am not sure if part of the problem was the choreography (sorry Benji), but I didn`t like their number and the Judges were not fans either. The other number that I found weak was Miles & Lara and their West Coast Swing. I didn`t like the transitions between the acrobatics and expect to see them in the bottom 3 tonight. I don`t think that they will be going home, just that they didn`t do the best number. Is it just me or was Benji off a bit last night with his choreography?

Vincent & Lisa did a great Samba that had a few slips at the end, but their energy and chemistry made up for any errors. They got a ton of votes from home, I really like them and hope to see them until the end.
Arassay & Nico did the best number of the night with their Hip-Hop choreography by Luther Brown. They have such amazing chemistry and presence (not to mention technique) and can handle pretty much anything that is thrown at them. They are definitely the couple to watch and to beat in the competition. As usual they got a ton of votes from home.

Allie & Danny got to perform Paul Becker's emotional Contemporary routine, and I was really impressed with their lines and ability to emote. I am still convinced that Paul is a vampire (seriously-- check those teeth out), but he put together a great number that pulled from his own life. I had goose bumps watching them.

Natalli & Francis got to do Sean Cheesman's theatre number from Chicago, and they were fantastic. Natalli is so intense and Francis is hotter than ever. I really liked their interpretation and Sean did a great job with them. They may have been in the bottom 3 last week but I hope not this week, I voted for them until my fingers bled. (Well maybe not that much but lots.)

The biggest surprise of the evening was Izaak & Kaitlyn doing an aggressive jazz-funk number choreographed Blake McGrath. I have not been Izaak`s biggest fan, but last night both of them impressed the hell out of me and they closed the show off with a bang. I usually don`t vote for more than 2 couples, but they were so fantastic that I sent a ton of votes their way. I was happy to see Izaak get out of his shell.

Here`s hoping people voted for the best dancers -- I am really hoping that there are no nasty surprises tonight.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Weekend Rant - Reality Madness

This week was full of some great stuff, some boring stuff and unfortunately some heart breaking stuff. My love affair with Paris Hilton's My New BFF took a nasty turn with the girls pulling out all the stops (and their claws) and deciding on who was the "fakest" with help of guest gossip queen Perez Hilton. Unfortunately it meant that Onch and Corrie were put up on the chopping block (I could not understand why that bitchy and nasty Natasha was not there instead after her huge freak out at the commercial challenge) and then Paris decided that Onch was too fake and had to go.

I am pretty much sure that I am way over this series now... there is no one interesting left to see except for a bunch of bitchy girls that I could care less about, but in a strange twist the girls seemed upset that Onch left. Stupid decision Paris ---seriously, it was a really stupid decision. At least she didn't give him a TTYN so maybe there is a silver lining somewhere in this whole debacle.

Stylista started this week, and if the first episode is any indication of how things will play out I am a bit disappointed but a couple of things were interesting enough that I will be completely hooked with in a couple of weeks. Anne Slowey is all that I expected and more, and the way she had the contestants shaking in their boots (literally and figuratively) at their first challenge was priceless. Anne knows her business and has a "Do not fuck with me" vibe that makes me wonder why she didn't eliminate more than one contestant this week. If there was ever a tougher or bitchier boss out there I have yet to see her. All of the stuff with her and her interactions with the contestants was interesting enough, but I am disappointed with the Layout challenge of the first episode and I wonder about the level of talent with some of these contestants. The 2 teams that blew it (and they did big time) showed a high school level layout scheme with poor colour choices and bad design ideas. I am not sure that some of these contestants were chosen by talent level or by personality.

I could care less about names at this moment, but Rich Spoiled Girl is a complete bitch that will either win or be pushed under a bus by one of the other contestants. I find the contestants pretty juvenile and their lack of professionalism is a tad tiresome. All the drama around the one with the huge rack was over done and little geeky gay guy better watch his ass before he says another inappropriate thing and gets it handed to him. I was not surprised that Scarecrow and the Big Girl were put up for elimination, and although Anne was gentle with our Big Girl this week but her time is limited. Image counts in this industry and as much as she wants to be there it isn't a sitcom and she will be shown the door soon. Bye Scarecrow, we never even had the chance to get to know you.

Top Design is still boring me to tears, and little Mr Martha Stewart was such a knob this week that I hope he gets booted next week. Preston is still rehashing the same things over and over (everything seems to be designed for a hotel lobby), Nathan is still blowing my mind each week with his out of the box and organic design sensibilities (and he is still my favorite to win), but this week I really loved the room put together by Ondine that appealed to my own personal style. I loved how she put all the knick knacks from traveling and gave the room an earthy feel and I felt that she incorporated the lighting fixture well into her room. The judges didn't feel that way and hated her room and she would have left if Mrs. Shroeder wasn't homesick and decided to leave the competition.

What???

I don't understand how silly people can be sometimes, but I have been waiting weeks for her to leave as she was really just so out of her element. She did a decent job with the challenge but she still needs more confidence, training and practice to go further along this career path. It was too much of a cop out for me and I was really disappointed that the judges gave her the choice (which she had to hum and haw about for a good commercial break) to stay or go. She wants to go? Fine, just let her go and that's it.

Thank god there are only 2 episodes left. I am not sure if I am interested in a season 3 at this point.

The Amazing Race had more outstanding visual moments again this week with their arrival in New Zealand (complete with Phil's dad -- meeting him was a cute moment) and more conflict between our bitchy divorcees Kelly & Christy and the brother and sister team of Nick & Star. All this drama is a waste of energy and maybe the teams don't realize it, but they are falling behind and need to concentrate on the Race and not on the other teams.

There are still lots of teams and the Race gets more exciting for me when we get down to the last 6 Teams and the stakes get higher. I did like that the first Fast Forward of the season was played, as it starts to divide the pack (although there do seem to be a lot of equalizer flights -- it doesn't matter if you show up early you all leave on the same flight). There does seem to be a lot of tension with some of the teams so I am expecting more meltdowns at a faster pace this season and we'll have to see how far this tension will push some of the teams. The teams that I like and am cheering for are: Toni & Dallas, Nick & Starr and Ken & Tina. The teams that I don't think will go far and I don't really care are : Andrew & Dan and Aja & Ty. The teams that I hope lose ( yes I know it sounds harsh but I don't like them) are: Terence & Sarah ( get out Sarah while you can -- Terence is way too needy and you are just enabling him) and Kelly & Christy. Yes ladies, I know that you both had bad relationships that ended in divorce but you can stop punishing the world for that. Very bad energy those two.

The tattoos on the Maori warriors was a trip of a challenge (wild stuff) and I laughed as the poor blonde Southern Belles got frightened silly trying to do the challenge and unfortunately were eliminated at the end of this leg of the Race. They did manage to get a hug out of Phil's Dad so I guess things weren't a complete loss.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

So you think you can dance Canada - Top 16

I still can not get over the level of dance in this competition, the dancers are quite incredible and there was even some drastic improvement with a couple of the guys that seemed out of their element last week.

Miles & Lara opened the evening with a Krump number by Lil`C that was pretty hot, and I had no idea that Miles was hiding those killer abs -- good lord -- they almost got my vote. It`s nice to see names that we know from the American version showing up across the border. Lara is so cute and she keeps crafting signs and banners to get the public to vote for them. I think with Mile`s abs they won`t have that problem this week.

Kaitlyn & Izaak did a Cha Cha Cha that was choreographed by none other than SYTYCD season 2 winner Benji Schwimmer, and Benji actually got Izaak out of his shell and he gave a much better performance this week. I think that Tré said it best when she said that if Izaak needs to think that he is dancing with Benji to do a good performance then to do what ever it takes.


Vincent & Lisa did an amazing African-Jazz performance choreographed by Sean Cheesman and it was beautiful. They dance so beautifully together and I can`t believe that they were in the bottom 3 last week. They really brought the dance to life and all the judges were in awe.

Francis & Natalli did the sexiest Rumba choreographed by Gustavo Vargas. It was a hot number and they have incredible chemistry together. I have to limit myself to how many favorites I have on this show or I will end up voting for everyone and not getting anywhere. I think the Judges are going to have a damn hard time again this week.

Allie & Danny did a Quickstep that blew the roof off . Pierre Allaire did an amazing job with this number and for a dance that is usually the kiss of death, they killed it.

Joey & Tamina stepped it up with a Luther Brown's Hip-Hop number and I was pleasantly surprised with Joey. He tried to butch it up and go all gangsta and actually got a bit of a thug vibe going. I was surprised. I am not sure if it will save him from being put up for elimination but he did improve.
Nico & Arassay were lucky again this week and this time it was a Contemporary number by Blake McGrath. The chemistry between these 2 is amazing and it was a very powerful number. They were definitely in the top performers again. Once again the Judges were astounded by the passion and technique.

Jesse & Caroline finished things off with a Rock-jazz number choreographed by Melissa Williams. It was the weakest performance (for me) and I think that these 2 are probably the ones leaving tonight.

It was a bit strange having a couple of new Judges last night, Paul Becker and Kenny Ortega, but it was a great chance for a couple of the Judges to choreograph some numbers. I am completely convince that Paul is a vampire -- did you see those teeth? I think I have been watching a bit too much True Blood .. but damn those fangs are something. Kenny was a great guest judge and it was interesting to hear about him being mentored by the great Gene Kelly.

Most of the dancing just blew my mind last night, and I have to confess that I voted for Vincent & Lisa so many times that I lost count and then voted for Nico & Arassay a ton more. If CTV says the voting is free and unlimited I wanted to try to make sure that my favorites are around for next week. Here`s hoping that it is truly the weakest that leave this week instead of someone that is great but who didn`t get any votes. Vote !!!!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Weekend Rant - The Week in Review

It's still damn busy with the viewing schedule (for all my complaining last year dealing with the strike I really can't complain this year about having nothing to watch) and slowly but surely I have been catching up with my favorite shows. We just went through Election season here in Canada and that helped make it an even busier than usual week.

The bad news is that there hasn't been that many new shows added to the Watch List. So far Fringe and Knight Rider have fallen to the wayside (honestly, it was another case of tried it and didn't like it) and there are still a couple of shows that feel on the bubble (Sanctuary is borderline at this point and I can hardly wait until Stargate Atlantis ends and I am even running behind on the episodes right now, I will catch up when we hit some repeats later this fall). I was glad that this season of Project Runway finally wrapped things up (congrats to Leanne -- at least Kenley didn't win) but even the 2 part finale sucked. I still can't believe that JLo dropped out at the last minute as guest Judge of the Finale due to a foot injury ( I heard that she ran a marathon after the episode) and it was probably another case of rats deserting a sinking ship. The rumor mill is non stop about the legal problems with the show moving to the Lifetime Network and who knows when or if we will see another season. Time will tell, things don't seem to be advancing that quickly on this side of the border either and no launch date mentioned for the Canadian version either.

The good news is that I am completely addicted to a couple of new series such as True Blood and I am ecstatic that it has already been picked up for another season. This is a vampire series that I can sink my teeth into, and Jason Stackhouse played by Ryab Kwanten is the sexiest redneck living in the Bayou that I have ever seen. Seriously. Not only is this is the best vampire series on TV since Angel and Buffy, it is definitively the most adult. I know you Moonlight fans are still lamenting the demise of the series, but I really suggest checking this series out if you like a dark and sexy show. If anything, I find some interesting similarities between the Vampire Universe that Sookie and her friends live in and that of the the Vampire Universe created by Anne Rice.Louisiana seems to be a very hospitable environment for these beasts and there is something sensual and sexy about things being hot and steamy all the time. It certainly brings out the sexual vibe from the characters and linking sex and blood seems to be a natural fit with the nature of things. It certainly hits a nerve as well as the similitude's between being a minority (vampire) is on the same level as being gay in today's society, and having to deal with being out but not accepted by the mainstream population. It's an interesting reflection on society.

and damn sexy watching.

On a polar opposite and bordering the realm of the ridiculous is the addictive Paris Hilton's My New BFF. I can not stop myself from watching this train wreck of a "reality" show and it was hysterical so see boy-girl Onch have a complete meltdown during the "Always look Hot Challenge" as the contestants had to look good while being on roller coasters. I have never been in such a state of complete awe and shock after seeing someone have a meltdown like that and being so over the top. Onch is such an over the top drama Queen that I was just laughing my ass off as s(he) was sticking his head in sideways to puke into the garbage can while carefully holding his cigarette off to the side. Later we had the big on knees and begging to be released from this challenge moment that was so pathetic that it was priceless. In other circumstances I would tell Onch to grow a pair.. but I think he already wants to hide the ones he has so no pressure there.

All drama aside, I love the girly-boy and think he would make a fabulous addition to Paris' Posse. Everyone needs a fabulous bitchy-girly boy as a pet and it would certainly keep some of her fans occupied. Besides, the girls are pretty fake for the most part, but I imagine that Paris wants someone as scripted and fake as her for company with no real personality that could be a challenge or take any attention away from her so it may go to the fakest of them all. God help the virgin if it's her.

It's all very entertaining and a highlight of the week.

My other favorite moments of the week were the return of Samantha Who?, still as funny as ever with our amnesiac good/bad girl. Jean Smart is so fricking hilarious as Sam's mother that she is a huge scene stealer and I love the chemistry between all of them.

Pushing Daisies is the greatest and most wonderful adult fairy tale that I have ever seen. This past episode with the Nuns and the truffles was too hilarious. Pigby is a great addition to the crew and I can hardly wait to see what happens this week with Olive going back home. It's nice to see some closure but the bomb that will be dropped on Chuck will be huge... just wait until she finds out that Lily is her mother! I can't believe the MADtv alumni that guest starred as the Truffle expert Sister Larue (Mo Collins, one of my long time faves) and the very funny Father at the Nunnery (Michael Hitchcock who had played Simeon on The Lillian Verner Game Show). Both of them were hilarious and it's a shame that we don't see more of them on TV.

Smallville has been keeping me very happy with all the gratuitous Green Arrow shirtless scenes, some decent stories and a ton of Lois and Clark. Erica is starting to become my favorite Lois out of all the series and I wonder if they can get her to do the jump to the big screen, she really has the character down and does a great interpretation. I am still unhappy that Chloe has ditched the reporter angle (too close to Lois I think) and it's getting interesting with her going into Oracle mode and helping to coordinate things (channeling the former Batgirl from Birds of Prey), but her intelligence is going to hit the fan when they do the return of Brainiac. The viewing is better and I hope that they continue in the adventure vein that they have started.

Supernatural has been great this season and this week's black and white adventure was fantastic as a "gimmick" episode. I loved all the old style credits and themes, and it was too funny with Dracula, the Wolf Man and then the Mummy. I called the mummy before it happened, and was hoping for either a Frankenstein or Creature from the Black Lagoon but they were only mentioned. I love how they did their own homage to the old classic monster thrillers. The boys were as hot as usual (black and white can be very flattering) and I loved Dean's idea that he was now a virgin again due to his rebirth. Oh those naughty boys. Still it was a great, light episode and felt like old times, just like it was supposed to.

The last and best thing of the whole week was the continuing competition on So you think you can dance Canada. The level of competition is incredible and most of the couples are dancing way harder than I have seen in the American version. Nico & Arassay are the most amazing couple so far and their Dark Angel dance was phenomenal.

I didn't agree with who was voted into the bottom group, I could see why the judges chose Dario and Romina to leave. I didn't understand why either Joey nor Izaak were in the bottom group as they clearly didn't seem comfortable dancing with their partners. Maybe the boys should dance together instead... it seems more up their alley.

I think the most frustrating thing is the Results Show, CTV has only given them 30 minutes and so all you hear is " we don't have much time so I'll get right to it" as the dancers are let go. It might be nice to have a tad more time to do their walk of shame before exiting the stage.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Dancing with the Stars - Week 4

As hot as the competition was this week, it was really no surprise that Rocco was sent back to the kitchen. The guy can't dance and I have to say his puffy sleeves didn't help out that much. It was a little strange how he really, really wanted Bruno to show him how to move his hips at the end of the episode and I am wondering if that says more about Rocco than I might have previously known.

As for our guest stars on the Elimination show last night...Los Vivancos is a very hot Flamenco group but I kept thinking that it was either a very gay version of River dance or a very gay version of Tap Dogs. It seemed to be a nice balance between the 2 of them and yup, the boys are pretty hot. I don't quite believe that they are brothers (unless Mom was with a lot of different men) but if that is their shtick I am willing to play along.

I absolutely loved the faux political commercials that they put together, as usual Cloris Leachman is stealing the show and having a ton of fun doing it at the same time.

Before getting to the actual competition, just a side note on the Ballroom Kids and the Band. I do love the kids, and I am really impressed with the winners of last night who managed to do a great dance with amazing energy that didn't go into that creepy too sexy for their age zone. Kudos to the Judges who manage to always say that the kids are great and to give them some great encouragement. The Band has been doing a pretty good job this year with covering most of the songs but I wait with anticipation each episode for my view of them to see what kind of forehead furniture that one singer is wearing. It gets a little out of control sometimes (is she a Princess?) but it is always interesting...

Susan & Tony did a great Tango and Susan finally channeled her ­­­acting abilities to pull of a great number. She still looks like a stick with boobs but is doing better. Someone needs to talk to some of these women about the breast implants.

Lance & Lacey kicked some serious butt and got into the top ranks with their great Tango. While I wasn't completely digging the Band's version of Rihanna's hit Disturbia, but our dancers did a great job and it was very impressive. I was happy that they got the encore performance and did even better the second time around. Watch these 2 I am pretty sure they will be going to the finale. I am wondering though, is there some competition between the 2 of them to see who can wear the most eyeliner?

Brooke & Derek did the hottest Samba that we have seen in quite awhile and you have to say that Brooke is definitely a force to be reckoned with. I can not get over the sheer hotness of the number and there is a reason they are number one, even if Brooke looks a bit like a cougar with your young prey. None the less, it's still great stuff and I can hardly wait to see them next week.

Cody & Julianne had to get a bit more serious with their Tango and they did okay. Cody is still too green for my taste, but at least he didn't look like Ellen this week. I am still not convinced that the young will win this competition.

Toni & Alec did a pretty nice Samba, but I kept getting the impression that Toni was a bit like Bambi caught in the headlights of a giant SUV and she wasn't always sure of where to go. They look great together (probably the sexiest couple) and more work will make them better.

Warren & Kym played it a bit too safe with their Samba and got a lower score as a result. The big guy knows how to move and I enjoy them more when Warren is letting go and dancing his heart out. The big guy is always surprising and you can see how much he loves dancing with Kym.

Maurice & Cheryl did a pretty mediocre job with their Samba and I was actually surprised that they weren't in the bottom 2. Cheryl is really starting to get on my nerves and I am hoping that they will leave soon (sorry Maurice).

Cloris & Corky should not have been in the bottom 2 after their great Tango. Cloris is really doing much better than expected and she is such a breath of fresh air on this show. There has not been one week that she has not made me crack up and she is always a surprise.

Rocco & Karina were warned last week that if Misty hadn't dropped out due to injury that they would have been eliminated and the writing was pretty much on the wall. Back to the kitchen for you Rocco.

Next week they will be introducing 4 new dance styles, here's hoping that Len won't be too cranky about the whole thing.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Reality Round Up - Crossing the Finish Line

Project Runway has been limping it's way to the finish line this season, and after last week's elimination of Jerrel (and my increasing dislike for Kenley), I am not left with many options for a winner that I actually want to win this season. Sure, I have loved some of the stuff done by Korto, but she has been missing the boat the last couple of weeks and has lost some of my interest. Leanne has been okay and probably has the best chance to win out of the girls just as long as she knows how to edit things down and doesn't get too carried away with all the detailing.I think that this is the first time they have had 3 female designers at the end round and while the variety is interesting, I have not enjoyed that much of this current and probably last season. This is Project Runway and I expect to see no less that one fierce gay guy there at the end.
The point is moot though as it will all be ending this week and after such a tepid season I have the feeling this show will be going the way of the dinosaur unless they get some fresh energy back.

There was just something missing all this season and while I still can't put my finger on exactly what it was, I just know that this season felt off in so many ways.

Top Design has been slightly better this time around and while the competition seems kind of tilted towards a couple of the guys, I was still a little pissed that Nathan didn't get the credit for his design ideas after that wacky Eco-Office switcheroo. I was not sad to see Wizit hit the road, his aesthetic was too bland for this boy and he really didn't take the challenge to heart. The best part of his appearance was his opera singing on the way out but I shed no tears over his departure. Eddie better watch his ass because Nathan is on his way to win the competition. Hopefully Mrs. Shroeder will be leaving soon as she is probably the least talented left in the gang and is continually riding on the coat tails of the other designers.

Paris Hilton's My BFF is turning into the best Guilty Pleasure that I have seen in ages.. and it is due more to those wacky antics of boy-girl Onch than anything else. Onch has got to be the winner because most of those contestants have no personality and as much as I hate Paris, I really think that our dear Onch could fit into her gang and for the love of whatever, I can not stop watching this show. The other girls (and that one terribly bland boy) that are trying to cosy up to Paris are really willing to do almost anything to please their girl (that thought there should be scary enough), but Paris wants them to have blind faith and so far has confronted them with a make over (done by some gay friends and just for Paris, it's her way of seeing how much of a friend you really are and if you trust her) and made the gang go out to party all night to see their endurance level. It has all been too fricking funny so far and you have to wonder what is next, I just know that I almost lost it when Shelly announced that she was *gasp* -- a virgin. Is Paris really the right role model for a girl like this? tsk tsk to be followed for sure.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Weekend Rant - The Week in Review

Dancing with the Stars broke my heart this week with the sudden departure of Misty May-Treanor due to an injury... Rocco got to stay for another week due to the tragedy, but I can't believe that Maks is already gone, I really hoped it was his year to go to the finale. The dancing was good and at least there are a few other "Stars" that help make the show fun, and I am always hyped to see what kind of wacky antics Cloris will get into (the woman is sheer entertainment), but I am still a little shell shocked over the whole incident and to make matters worse, I had seen Misty & Maks make a guest appearance on The Soup hours before the mishap.

Damn.

If Toni Braxton can stop being such a drama queen about the competition I would put my support behind her, but at this time I am rooting for the big guy, Warren & Kym and of course, my other favorites Lance & Lacey. Me thinks the chef will be disposed of next week unless he gets some rhythm real fast.

Chuck VS the Seduction was the perfect return to the regular feel and flow of the show. Chuck is trained by Seduction expert Super Spy Roan (played brilliantly by John Larroquette) to seduce the ultra sexy bad Spy Sasha Banacek (played by the ultra hot Melinda Clarke who plays those bad girls so well) and in the process we get a very hot kiss between him and Sarah. There was so many things about the episode that I loved that it felt just like last season, but even better.

Some of my favorite parts included:
--The great new top secret HQ under Orange Orange. Yogurt is way sexier than wieners.
-- Roan lived up to his reputation with his martini swilling and his uncanny ability to get our tough as nails General Beckman to let her hair down. Chuck's comment that Roan's liver must look like camouflage had me snickering.
-- The training session, the obvious tension and affection between Sarah and Chuck is getting even more obvious and I loved how Roan goaded them on to kiss ... and wow ! what a kiss that was.
-- The Nerd Herd is going insane and revolting at the Buy More after Lester becomes the new Assistant Manager and is trying to be El Jefe the supreme dictator. Big Mike gives Lester advice from Animal Planet on how to deal with the staff : "Find the wounded gazelle and pounce!" Which of course was totally nerd worthy and it was another of those Priceless Moments on this show. When Lester pulled out the Wheel of Misfortune, which assigns the worst jobs to do around the store and wanted the staff to play it I almost lost it. The whole storyline at work was hilarious and I am happy to see the same chemistry and shenanigans with the gang at work.
-- Roan coaching Chuck during the assignment and pulling out all the stops. I loved his "be a bastard" phase that seemed to catch our sexy bad spy's attention, well at least enough for her to want to do the wild thing with Chuck.
-- The tension between Casey and Roan was great until he was told that Roan had failed him more than once because Casey's old partner was too hot, and that was the reason he had to repeat the seduction course more than once. That soothed our tough guy's ego.
-- Chuck's leap of faith off the building to save the day, and once he lands he says "and the Russian judge gives it a 9.4", which gets even funnier as it has changed Lester's "Under New Assistant Manager" banner in to " New Ass Man" banner which gets Big Mike to stop and pause and then make the comment that he isn't new.
-- Captain Awesome making the mistake of taking advice from Morgan on how to romance Ellie but making up for it in a way more awesome way.

These are just a few of the examples of why I love this show so much.Nice to see that things are back to normal and even better.... except now Bryce is back and that means nothing good for Chuck.

Heroes has me hooked with the current Villains storyline. Good writing, some great acting and action but why do so many shows have to use flash forward or flashback sequences constantly? It seems like we spend less time in the NOW but the stuff that is/will/has happening is interesting, I just get confused with the apparent time paradoxes that are all over the place, but I have a ton of other questions such as:

Where the hell is Monica? At this point I am not convinced that Tracy is the only other sister (triplets?) from the house of Niki or is there even more manufacturing going on? When is Suresh going to turn into the Fly?

Even though I don't like some of the plot development, I thought it was very clever that Matt is following his totem (the Turtle) to find the Speedster... slow and steady wins the race. The revelation that Sylar (Gabriel) is also a Petrelli has me spinning a bit, I am not sure if that is truth or more manipulation by Mother Dearest. Mrs.Petrelli has turned into the coldest and most fascinating character on the show and grabs my attention each time she is on screen.

Pushing Daisies gave me another moment of sheer pleasure this week with Circus Circus, and it was a visually stunning, hilarious and incredible as I expect in an episode of this series. The whole dead Mime thing could only have been topped by the hilarious Clown Car in the water... complete with 15 drowned clowns in it... yup, they had to do one of those sight gags of body after body being brought up from the tiny car( I loved that one clown that had those long,long legs) and you have to have a pretty dark sense of humour to really appreciate some of the nuances of this show. Of course it hits all of the right notes with me. The startling visual difference between the Circus world and then the Nunnery was another gleaming example of the incredible art direction in this series, both are very colourful but you get such a difference sense and feeling and even texture from each of the worlds. Olive and Aunt Lily in the Chapel has got to be some of the funniest stuff about Nuns that I have seen in quite a while, the liquor bottle in the bible and Lily's coordinating eye patch had me in hysterics. Olive has an epiphany about love and keeping memories alive that she shares with Lily, she also reveals that she is still in love with Ned and that Ned loves someone else. It looks like things might be colliding soon in trying to keep these universes apart.
So you think you can Dance ? Canada went through the first week of competition and elimination and I was really impressed with the quality of dance for the first week of competition. Breanne and Kevin got cut (I was surprised that it was Kevin, he did a great job but Dario is an incredible soloist and I think that saved his ass this week). I was surprised that Izaak wasn't shown the door as I felt he was the weakest.

Vincent and Lisa pulled out probably the best performance of the evening with their contemporary number (it was beautiful), but I am disappointed that we don't know much about the choreographers or their background and I hope that will be be explored more. We have such a vibrant dance community in Canada that I hope we get to see all the different genres and hopefully some of the big names like Margie Gillis or Edouard Locke showing up. Arassay and Nico are my choice of the hottest couple at the moment -- those 2 are smoking hot together. The competition is great and I am really enjoying the show.


Survivor Gabon bounced back this week with a tribal shuffle, and I was probably as happy as Charlie that he and Marcus got to stick together. I find their little bromance too cute for words and disappointed that we haven't been seeing enough of these two.

The new status quo has changed the standings of a few of the players, and it looks like Sugar is not that respected and she was not chosen for one of the teams, but instead got to lounge at the Exile Hut that is not really quite Exile Island(she already found the Idol) while the new tribes eliminated one of their players after competition. The competition was completely dominated by the new Kota tribe and in the end it was too late for Jacquie and she was ousted. You can tell that some of the players are starting to play harder but a few of them just seem like dolts and I have the impression that GC and Ken are on their way out.

This season still seems kind of dull and I am hoping the shake up will help things but it probably won't be until after the merge that things get really fun.

CSI came back and alas, it meant the end of Warrick. It was a shame as he was always one of my favorite characters but I also know that actors don't always stay on a series for an indefinite period of time. The story was handled well and the emotions were completely palpable for the entire episode, and although I have the distinct feeling that this may be the event that precipitates the departure of Grissom, it was great to see Sara come back and help out the gang. It's never easy to say good bye to a friend and it's a shame that Warrick is gone. I always felt that could have done more with the character and I always hoped for him and Catherine to hook up.Unfortunately I think it's the beginning of the end for the series, we'll have to see how it works once Grissom has left as well.

Monday, October 06, 2008

The Week in Review - Bringing Sexy Back

Last week was a busy one but there was still plenty of time to catch up on some shows and I was more than pleased with the fare from the last episode of Supernatural. In fact, it was my favorite TV show of the week as I loved the story and surprises.

I did not expect that it was Dean and Sam's mom (and her family) that were the Hunters ... I always assumed (like most of the fans) that it was always their father. I was slightly thrown off at the beginning of the story and seeing the younger version of Dad who wasn't really up to speed on the whole Hunter vibe, but as soon as Mom (Mary) went all Buffy on Dean I knew that I was in for a pleasant surprise. The similarities between the 2 characters was really interesting,and not only can I see where Dean got his sexy vibe from (Mom was pretty damn hot) but we got a better understanding of the Yellow Eyed Demon and his plan ( as well as the way he made all his deals) involving psychic children but not much more about his scheme. I loved seeing his grandparents and how they were such bad ass Hunters especially Grandpa. It's always nice to see more history but it was kind of heartbreaking to see Mom willing to sacrifice herself 10 years later to bring Dad back to life, but with the time travel and now that the Yellow Eyed Demon knows about the future it may change things.

While I am not sure exactly why Dean needed this walk down memory lane (except maybe to influence his Dad in to buying that car) but as our Angel friend Castiel says that is all that they know and at least Dean is up to speed on what is going on, but I am sure that there is more to the story than we know and it all involves Sam, his psychic abilities and his strange activities.

Smallville had a Green Arrow centered story that danced over and around his origin story with out too much detail other than he was on the Island for a couple of years, learned archery and decided to do better with his life after playing the spoiled playboy. It also appears that he became an expert hair stylist and body waxer with all that flesh that was showing in this episode. Poor Oliver (Justin) was shirtless and sweating for most of the episode but I am willing to tolerate this as sacrifices have to be made in the name of art. (hot bod-- OMG)

I don't know why they had to have Tesswhatchmacallit included in the flashback/origin sequence except to make some background for her character (not really loving it but will have to make do with Lex gone) and potential love triangle with Ollie/Dinah/Lois. Ollie is always portrayed as the Casanova and they don't make any exceptions in the series. It's just too bad that they didn't let him go a bit more wild with his look on the Island and have long hair and a beard. Seriously... the guy is so waxed and tanned that he looks to be in Dancing with the Stars territory but in pinch it will do.

Clark and Lois are starting to get some chemistry (about time), and you have to say that Lois really knows how to dress a guy, Clark hasn't looked this good in all the previous seasons and I like how they keep to his primary colour palette. The long term developments with Chloe and Brainiac in her head (not to mention the change in abilities) will probably be some of the impetus of this season. Our new Paramedic friend is interesting but I am still not sold on the whole love triangle with Chloe, Jimmy (curiously absent again) and new dude. Let's get back to some more adventure and super heroics instead of the drama and angst.

Chuck came back for the season opener and this time it was Chuck vs the First Date. I love all the "versus"titles and while the first episode didn't thrill me to death (it felt like a transitional episode) it still had all of the nerdy goodness that I expect in this show. There was only a bit of screen time with Captain Awesome (Ryan McPartlin) but any screen time is better than no screen time and once again the poor guy spends most of his air time either naked or shirtless. Awesome is almost too good to be true and Chuck's sister is one damn lucky girl...

Following up from the cliff hanger of last season, the new Intersect is almost ready to go making our reluctant hero redundant. Chuck asks Sarah out on a date since they will no longer be working together. Things have changed since last time, and Sarah's cover is now at Orange Orange selling yogurt, instead of being a wiener girl like last season. The intro sequence was too much, with all the flowing hair and sexy presentation. Her interest seems to be actually interested in dating Chuck and not playing handler and it's nice to see as you know they actually do have some chemistry. Casey was even more hilarious with his mission to take Chuck out when the new Intersect becomes active (and his target practice sequence was too much) and I was in hysterics with his inability to actually pull the trigger on Chuck. Casey is a big softie but he will never admit that, and Adam Baldwin is my favorite (and only) Republican. The guy plays the perfect tough G Man who secretly has a heart of gold and I am hoping for the big guy to get in some romancing in this season and that we get to see another side of him.

Of course the new Intersect turned out to be a Trojan horse and ended up taking out some property and agents, and Chuck is still tied to the agency and the BuyMore, so in a sense things didn't really change but became more complicated.The gang at work is still as wacky as ever and the whole decision making process for the Assistant Manager position was hilarious. It almost makes me want to work there.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Weekend Rant - Out of Sync

Things have been off schedule most of the week due to the upcoming Federal election. Yup, we are in full election mode and 2 nights this week were taken up with the big debates in French and English here in the Great White North (GWN). For me it has become clear that we need to go in a new direction and I openly favour the Liberal Party and their Green Shift platform. We need to change direction and look at alternative sources of energy as well as reducing our consumption.I could not bear to live with the horror of a Conservative Majority government and their disdain for not only the Arts community but their antique attitudes towards women and the gay community. I, for one, have no interest in going backwards in time nor risking to lose gains already made. The Conservatives are completely out of sync with what the people actually want, yet they try to manipulate the media and the news and govern as though they have the will of the people when i reality they are a minority government (not to mention that their leader called this election because he said he couldn't govern with the current status quo and he had put a law in place calling for fixed election times) and they have been bullying their way around.

End of political speech --- but it is my rant and all this politics has affected my regular TV viewing this week quite a bit as real issues took over the airwaves instead of my usual chill out, relax and get entertained mode that the tube is usually for.

This was a great week for Canadian TV as the Rick Mercer Report , This Hour has 22 Minutes and Air Farce Live (all CBC shows), came back to the airwaves at a crucial time. The media has been inundated with propaganda from the current minority government and the usual voices of reason have been off (the TV season has just been getting started here in the GWN) and I have been in desperate need of sum laughs and good scathing political humour a la Daily Show. Things did not disappoint and I am ecstatic that the "liberal media" is all over the election and wasting no time with blasting the candidates. It's all good stuff, and helping to get things back in sync.

So you think you can Dance ? Canada returned this week with the second part of the competition and the selection of the Top 20 Dancers. 10 guys and 10 girls were chosen out of the pool of dancers and I was a bit surprised that 5 of the guys are from Québec but none of the girls.The competitions were interesting and I liked seeing the Judges do different styles with the dancers as they slowly cut them down to 20, but I hated the whole "fake out" style of telling the dancers who was in or out at the end. It seems kind of cruel to be playing practical jokes at such a pivotal point and it felt mean spirited, which is surprising because in general I find the competition to be kinder and gentler here than in the USA.

With the quantity of shows being followed, I am playing catch up over the weekend and will do another posting with some feedback on some of the regular shows, but in stuff that I absolutely had to follow, I was in sheer heaven with the long awaited return of Pushing Daisies. There is no other show like this one on TV, and it's is such candy for the senses it's hard to choose favorite parts of an episode as I usually so enthralled by all of it's elements. The art design and visual look and feel of the series blends so well with the characters and story lines that it is almost too much, but at the same time each episode makes me feel like there wasn't enough and I can hardly wait until the next one.

The season opener, Bzzzzzzzzz, was as sweet as honey and after a quick catch up on the first abbreviated season we get to Ned & Chuck getting ready to bring Chuck's bees back to life. Not only did we get an nice look at our couple that can never touch (Ned looks quite fine in his boxers), but we got some great special effects as the bees are poured over Ned and come back to life. The quality of this show is always such a pleasant surprise.
As things advance we get a visit from Chuck's Aunts (including dear old mom) at the Pie Hole and Olive having a breakdown as she is overwhelmed with being a "homeopathic drug mule" (the writing was phenomenal this episode) and keeping all the secrets that are going on around her. Later we see that she has been taken away by Aunt/Mom Lily to the Convent where Chuck was born and we get a great almost Sound of Music moment with Olive on the hill top. I was just waiting for the music before they cut to the next part and left me in wonder. Olive and the Poor (I thought you meant porter) was just too funny for words, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that our Mother Superior is none other than Diana Scarwid, who played Jaye's mom on the show Wonderfalls also written by the brilliant Bryan Fuller and also starred Lee Pace. It's great how some actors get to work with same writers over and over and the little communities that it creates.

Our mystery this week was all about Honey based Cosmetics, Bee Girls and Bees. The look was great, all honey comb influenced and there is always a 50's vibe floating around in the art direction. The story was fun but it was more all the other stuff going on that I loved. More mystery about Chuck and her mom, Olive learns that Chuck's father (oh no! another secret!) was sister Vivian's boyfriend. I like how Olive left her matchy match apartment and Chuck moved in, to be next to Ned and how Ned got all of Chuck's old stuff that Vivian had kept to furnish the apartment. Olive may have had the best lines of the evening, but Emerson got me wondering what is going on with his pop-up book titled " Lil' Gum Shoe - The tale of a little girl who's father couldn't find her " that had a working lamp in it ( very cool) but had me more fascinated with the title than the way it popped up. JUst some more mystery to be revealed over the season I imagine. I can hardly wait, but I am concerned that the ratings are lower than last year and hope it will be around for a couple of seasons.

Survivor: Gabon showed that when your team is out of sync that things don't go so well. After being the dominant team last week, Kota looses it's edge and starts bickering amongst themselves. Fang manages to win the reward Challenge and gets some nice bedding and comfort and some much needed confidence. Things aren't completely coming up roses as they are already running low on rice ( I was in shock when I heard that they had thrown out rice after cooking too much) and are starting to panic when thinking about rationing and cutting their meals to 2 per day.There is much trouble in paradise and I don't think that one Immunity Challenge win will necessarily be a huge turn around for them.

Sugar gets sent off to Exile Island (where she manages to follow the clues and find the hidden Immunity Idol -- great work and almost unexpected with all the yammering she was doing) and it all hits the fan at Kota where Paloma and Ace are butting heads like crazy. There is a ton of back and forth with different strategies but in the end Paloma is sent home and hopefully things will look better next week for the team as their biggest negative energy seems to be gone. It's still kind of early in the game but it looks like Ace better watch his ass, people are starting to see him as a threat but I think that Corinne is looking like a real smart player. Not enough Charlie this episode.. hopefully more with him and Marcus next week.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Dancing with the Stars - Week 2

Things zipped along on the second week of competition on Dancing with the Stars, and I am already getting a little pissed off at our cranky judges. I can not, for the life of me, understand how Lance Bass & Lacey Schwimmer got a lower score than some of the other dancers with their very hot I kissed a Girl inspired Paso Doble. They had great footwork, a kick ass performance and the 2 of them have some great chemistry. The kiss was a complete surprise and it was cute stuff. Len gets a little too stuck in his groove, but you have to give him the point that they need to be more conventional in the competition or they may be leaving sooner than later. Ya gotta give props to those two though... it was a fantastic number.


I was so relieved when Kim Kardashian & Mark Ballas were given the boot for their sad Rumba instead of Cloris Leachman & Corky Ballas with their pretty good Paso Doble. Cloris and Corky didn't deserve to have the lowest score this week (she did a serious dance and then they chided her for not being funny -- this show is a tad confusing to follow at times) as she out danced both Rocco and Kim by miles. Thank god Kim is gone as the only I can think when she is on stage is that "She can't sing, She can't dance... why's she famous?". Now we know that just because you have a huge ass and rack (not to mention having done a sex tape) do not make you a celebrity or even show any talent that can be displayed in public. Bye bye Kim, don't let the door hit you on the huge ass on your way out. It was so boring and I am so over it.

But overall I am still really impressed with the level of dance with some of the competitors and here is the rundown of how it looked at home.

Toni Braxton & Alec Mazo did the Rumba and did a nice steamy job with it. They have some great chemistry and got a pretty decent score. Alex is looking pretty good this year and it may be time for him to take back the trophy.

Brooke Burke & Derek Hough did the Paso Doble , it was a nice routine but too much cape work for my taste and Derek just looks too young to be her partner. Brooke moves well across the floor but I don`t think she is as much the natural dancer as they would like to say. She needs to bring out her inner cougar to sell it better. Derek needs to watch his mouth though... do not piss of the judges my friend as you may regret it later.

Rocco DiSpirito & Karina Smirnoff attempted to do the Rumba and failed terribly. Len even tried using cooking analogies to make things clear for Rocco but the guy has no rhythm or natural dance movement and I expect him to be gone soon. I can see how he is hot on the Food network but this is way out of his comfort zone.

Misty May-Treanor & Maksim Chmerkovskiy hit it hard with a great Paso Doble. Maks is working Misty hard (not that she seems to mind), and they really did a great number. I was disappointed with their score and thought that they deserved better. Maks is always teamed up with very intense women.

Maurice Green & Cheryl Burke did an okay Rumba, but I just wasn't feeling it last night and in all honesty I am pretty much over Cheryl. She isn't doing it for me anymore.

Susan Lucci & Tony Dovolani did a much better job with their Rumba, and even if Susan seems dangerously skinny at times she moved much better than I expected. She is definitely less stick like as she was the first night and has some potential. She just looks too fragile at times and that may be her biggest weakness.

Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson did the best Paso Doble of the evening that was hot, intense and covered in pleather. Warren is really surprising me (and most of the public) by his great foot work and ease on the dance floor. The big guy is really surprising and Kym is certainly working it for all it's worth to go to the finale this season. She seems a bit top heavy to me but Warren doesn't seem to mind.

Cody Linley & Julianne Hough did their Rumba and people will think I am cruel, but I thought he looked like Ellen Degeneres dancing. It`s probably not a good thing that you look like a lesbian dancing with Julianne (although I am pretty sure that Ellen would enjoy herself, and is it just a coincidence that Julianne is from Australia just like Ellen's partner Portia? hmmmm...) and I didn't think they were that great. Cody is just too green and I don't expect to see him around in a few weeks, unless all those screaming girls know how to vote as well as they scream. The show is still as entrancing as ever and a great way to start off the week.