Wednesday, January 30, 2008

TV Newsy Bits - Wednesday, January 30, 2008

I think it's enough to keep me out. Well, maybe the tall fence topped with barbwire does it for me, too. This sign is near the Bridgewater (NJ) Train Station surrounding an abandoned parking lot. But it looks radioactive, doesn't it?

Today was rainy then blustery here with high wind warnings, but so far we've escaped much of the bad winter weather to date this season. My bad knee is thankful. On the knee topic, I have an orthopedic surgeon appointment set up for the day before the start of Big Brother 9. Not to worry, though. Rather severe surgery may be ahead, but since it's not an emergency I'll be covering the feeds reports and schedule things for between seasons. Of course, if the doctor has a miracle up his sleeve, I'll go for that rather than scary surgery and a hospital stay.

In today's TV Newsy Bits:
  • I'll be putting up a live blogging post of tonight's Miami American Idol auditions if the scheduled outage for Blogger ends as expected. I'm not sure if the outage for maintenance will affect viewing the blog, but as long as it's out I can't post. It should end before the show starts, but I'd rather mention it now just in case it goes kerflooey. Plus it gives me a chance to use the word kerflooey in a sentence.
  • If you're not a fan of football (I'm not), TNT is having a The Closer marathon all day for Super Bowl Sunday. While I don't watch football, I say "win it, Big Blue" for the sake of territorial fanship.
  • The Celebrity Apprentice has been renewed for a second season. I personally don't think the plain old show needs to ever air again, but I'm finding the celeb version entertaining enough. Yeah, I wrote the linked article for TV Squad, but I'm totally not understanding the one commenter. Odd.
Today's random observation:
While crows fly from point A to point B in a straight line (as the crow flies), geese circle about incessantly honking and acting like crazed tourists in Manhattan.

Today's musical non-sequitur:
When it's late
And it's hot
And a date with the Late Show is all that you've got
Don't give out
Don't give up
One of these nights
You might find someone to love
-- "Someone to Love" by Fountains of Wayne

6 comments:

Sydney said...

Hi Jackie -- SO glad you will be seeing someone about the knee and at least getting current on whatever is going on in there. I have to get my stuff checked every couple of years. My joints ache a lot less being in a little warmer climes than NYC, so that's something I can say for the move...

I don't know if anyone has caught the brand new show called IN TREATMENT on HBO. Just started Monday night and is on for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Dreamy Gabriel Burne is a therapist and he sees a different patient each night. You see the entire session and that's it. If you want to keep checking in on Monday's patient, you watch next Monday.. kind of like you keep the appointment for the session yourself.

I've seen both Monday, a young woman, and Tuesday, a Marine, and was highly impressed with the content and acting in both... both had greatly different dynamics between patient and therapist, as well as very different stories to tell. Can't wait til tonight. Highly recommend it. Don't know if they will eventually filter out into the lives of the ppl or the therapist but I'd love to hear what others are thinking.

If you don't get HBO they advertise that you can watch the eps online.

Anonymous said...

Testing

joy n said...

Good luck with your surgeon appt. and great luck with the knee surgery, whenever that will be.

I'm looking forward to the LOST recap tonight. I need to watch just to jolt the old gray matter into remembering what the hay was going on waaaay back then.

I'll be taping CA on the slim chance that someone will remember what a nasty biotch that Omarosa is and get her mean old butt fired. (Which would make about 99% of America happy.) The Donald seems to have made a pet of her this season. Oh well, "birds of a feather" and all that.

For my hubby,.....GO GIANTS!!!!!

Sydney said...

Delee-- THis is a comment to one of yours from way back... I watch the Tudors, and have been re-watching while stuck in bed with the flu, because I don't know the history at all.. I am learning about the reformation and obviously recognize all the names -- I assume Thomas is Sir T. Aquinas (sp), but boy do I wish I had you there to explain to me who Anne Bolyn's father is that he's pushing her to do this for a movement (I assume the reformation???) and if that's how it happened for real. You said they changed some facts... I'd love to know which of the major things you feel they've taken license with.


And Nana -- For some reason, my husband does not want to watch all the Tivo'd Friday Night Lights we have stored up from when we were gone on Honeymoon. We saw only one show of the new season and I have the rest of those tivo'd as well... maybe I ought to quit waiting for him and get with it so I can go to the FNL comment area .

I have been watching Dance Wars but it really is bad. Started out so promising with great production values and good choreography -- they sunk a lot of $$ into sets, wardrobe, costume (Boy could American Idol benefit from more of that) -- but their talent is just not there. It's hard to dance and sing and those kids are executing hard dance numbers really almost flawlessly, But it's not going with the singing. And the songs they choose are often in a key that doesn't make the singers shine.
But I do comment in the discussion area about it... think I'm not going to be able to give it another week. HURRY SURVIVOR!!!

Arlene said...

Jackie good luck at the doctors. I was waiting for you to post this article on Survivor, but I guess you have not seen it. So here it is.

Survivor: Micronesia Preview! Meet the Players
by Shawna Malcom

Survivor: Micronesia
Check out the stats for Survivor: Micronesia's (premieres Thursday, Feb. 7, at 8 pm/ET on CBS) competitors, and hear what host Jeff Probst has to say about each one!
First, a few faves meet their matches...

The Flirts

Parvati Shallow and Mary Sartain
If out-flirting were part of the Survivor creed, Parvati Shallow, 25, would've walked away from the Cook Islands a million bucks richer. And as far as real estate company owner Mary Sartain, 29, is concerned, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. "Parvati's probably my favorite Survivor player," Sartain says. "I admire the way she worked the guys. I'm a pretty big flirt myself." Still, this time around, Shallow claims she's got a less shallow strategy in mind — sort of. "I've grown up a lot," she claims. "I want to make smart alliances. Some that might surprise you. But James is cute...."

The Snakes

Jonny Fairplay and Chet Welch
Who could forget Jonny Fairplay's despicable "Dead Grandma" ploy in the Pearl Islands? "That was the greatest moment in Survivor his­tory, if not all of reality television," boasts the new dad, 33. If anyone could sink lower this season, it just might be Chet Welch, a 48-year-old Miss America beauty pageant coach. "One of our casting directors was like, 'He sabotaged me as a kid!'" Probst says. "Chet goes, 'Yep, that was me, and yep, I did it.'" But does either evil genius have a real shot at the mil? "Chet's gonna last a few episodes at best," Probst predicts. "And Fairplay has no chance of winning."

Gentle Giants

James Clement and Joel Anderson
Even though China's James Clement, 30, didn't play either of his two Immunity Idols and wound up voted out, his brute strength and infectious grin made him a fan fave. Clement may meet his match in another gentle giant, firefighter Joel Anderson, 32. "I'm here to pro­vide a better life for my family," says the dedicated father of two sons, who has his wife's name tattooed on his ring finger. Probst says: "Joel's likable. He's big, but he's not a meathead. He gets it." Maybe this time, James will, too. "I gotta step up my game," he admits. "I made some mistakes last time I don't wanna make again." Amen!

The Fish

Ozzy Lusth and Jason Siska
Cook Islands' runner-up Ozzy Lusth, 26, dazzled viewers with his agility and near-superhuman water skills. (He won five individual immunity challenges.) Could Jason Siska be Ozzy 2.0? Raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the 22-year-old student teacher is a trained scuba diver who couldn't stop gushing about — or comparing himself to — his favorite Survivor. "I love Ozzy," Siska said before the game. "I'm a fish, like he is." Probst's take? "Comparing yourself to Ozzy is a big comparison. Ozzy has proven how for real he is. It's gonna be interesting to see if Jason is as good as he says."

And the rest...

The Fans

Name: Michael Bortone
Age: 34
Occupation: Los Angeles-based writer/actor
Behind the Game: The Boston-born Bortone –– aka "Mikey B" –– was originally passed over by CBS, but host Jeff Probst went to bat for him and ultimately changed the suits' minds. "I saw a live wire," Probst says. "He's interesting when he talks. I'm glad he's here."

Name: Tracy Hughes-Wolf
Age: 43
Occupation: Fredericksburg, Virginia-based commercial builder
Behind the Game: Though she admits winning the million would be "very nice," Hughes-Wolf insists she became a Survivor to prove she could, well, survive. "I've always been a thrill-seeker," she says. "And what bigger thrill is there than actually living the show you love?"

Name: Alexis Jones
Age: 24
Occupation: Beverly Hills-based motivational speaker
Behind the Game: Warning, fellow Survivors: It would be a mistake to buy into Jones' sweet demeanor.
Probst says: "When I first met her, she came in all excited [with] her little sundress on, and I did this whole impassioned speech [about] you gotta start focusing on how to play this game because there are 19 other people already out there playing. And she said, "Let me tell you how it really is." It was like a black widow turning. She proceeded to tell me how everybody thought she was this cute little girl and how she was gonna pull her claws out and pull people to shreds. She turned so fast, I went, 'F--k, I would be dead with you.'"

Name: Kathleen Sleckman
Age: 45
Occupation: Glen Ellyn, Illinois-based golf course vendor
Probst says: "Just to get it out of the way, I think Kathy is the first person out. Bless her heart, she just doesn't fit with this group. And she has no idea that she doesn't fit. Sometimes casting choices [are] beyond my understanding. I don't think Kathy should be out here. I think we had better people."

Name: Natalie Bolton
Age: 32
Occupation: Bartender/personal trainer from Los Angeles
Probst says: "Troubled. Natalie seems, on the surface, like she'd had a lot go on in her life. She's gonna tell you how it is, like it or not. I kind of respect that in an odd way. She can't help herself."

Name: Erik Reichenbach
Age: 22
Occupation: Ice cream scooper in — wait for it — Hell, Michigan
Behind the Game: With his bright green running shoes and Leif Garrettesque hair, the small-town Reichenbach could be out of his element. "Erik's never been anywhere," says Probst. "He's so excitable. I don't think he has any idea what's gonna happen out there. I hope he focuses on the game, making sure it's not him that's voted out."

The Favorites

Name: Yau-Man Chan
Age: 55
Previous season: Fiji
Known as: The lovable old man with mad survival skills who misplaced his trust
Probst says: "Yau-Man's an underdog. He doesn't appear like he could win this time, but you want him to."

Name: Ami Cusack
Age: 34
Previous season: Vanuatu
Known as: The conniver intent on building an all-female alliance
Probst says: "Ami's a little bit of a villain. She's also a [major] game-player. Ami will change the game."

Name: Cirie Fields
Age: 37
Previous season: Panama: Exile Island
Known as: The everywoman turned fan favorite
Behind the Game: When Fields learned that China's James Clement would also be returning, she got excited. Perhaps a little too excited. Fanning herself, she said with a laugh, "Oh my lord! James is fine. Why are they doing this to me? I am a married woman!"

Name: Amanda Kimmel
Age: 23
Previous season: China
Known as: The sidekick; she knew the game as well as winner Todd but she couldn't pull the trigger.
Behind the Game: After episodes of Survivor: China began airing and the budding fashion designer started getting recognized, she darkened her hair and chopped her bangs in an effort to go incognito.

Name: Eliza Orlins
Age: 25
Previous season: Vanuatu
Known as: The annoying girl who never shut up.
Behind the Game: Along with Parvati Shallow, Orlins may be the biggest "Huh?" to be invited back. But Probst swears she's worthy of a second chance. "Eliza was on our list from the beginning," he says. "She said controversial things, and she pushed a lot of buttons. Eliza will be in an alliance and she'll break it in the 11th hour. We want people like that. I think Eliza will prove why we invited her back."

Name: Jonathan Penner
Age: 45
Previous season: Cook Islands
Known as: The double-crosser who couldn't get along with Parvati
Behind the Game: Before starting Survivor: Micronesia, Penner seemed almost remorseful for his previous behavior. "I made some mistakes," he said. "I don't think you'll see me play the same game this time around." Says Probst, with a dimpled grin, "I don't buy it."

joy n said...

Jackie, I read your TVSquad post on TV Judges. I used to love Judge Judy, but all those "expressions" became too boring for me. Plus, it seems that she doesn't always listen to all the evidence. She seems crotchety and much too impatient nowadays.

Judge Marylin Milian is by far, my favorite. I love her sense of humor. I love her intolerance of fools who think they can fool her. I think she's the fairest of all of them. She's the only one I would want to stand before if I had to stand before a judge, which I hope never happens.