Monday, March 06, 2006

Today's TV Newsy Bits - March 6, 2006


Newsy bits! Naughty bits! Naughty newsy bits! Okay, not so naughty at all. Newsy, though.


Here are the entertainment and television related newsy bits links I found out on the web today:


And, a special note for Dawn -- I watched Lost last week, but also had to tape American Idol for a friend, then watch that before I gave her the tape on Thursday. I took notes during the show, but between time restraints and sloppy notes, didn't blog about it. Interesting episode, though! Hopefully, timing will be better this week.

'Apprentice 5' - Ep. 2 or "I'm a Star! I Don't Get No Respect!"

So, here it is ... the second episode. Let me just say right up front that I don't know how Brent could have beat other folks out to be on the show. Or more precisely, the 15 week long interview. There had to be thousands of others more qualified than Brent. Fire the hiring manager! Oh? That would be Donald Trump? Eh. Fire him anyway. At the very least, give him a written warning and dock his pay. Brent acts like a nutcase. I can't see how he passed as a normal person during the pre-show interview process.

In the recap, I noticed that Lee said that Tarek possessed a "lack of mismanagement." Okay. How did that get by me last week? Tarek must be better than I thought he was.

This week's task was another so-so not exciting one. The teams worked with Gillette promoting the Fusion 5 blade razor. They had to come up with a keyword and get folks to text message it. Thrilling, huh? What may be thrilling for Trumpsters is that instead of Carolyn and George, it would be Ivanka Trump (Donald's daughter) and Bill Rancik (winner of the first season) involved in the show this week. Now, I've seen Bill every now and then, but I haven't seen Ivanka much. She's very pretty, but she seemed almost too poised, too polished, too Barbie-looking for reality. Give me Carolyn back.

Pepi volunteered to be the project manager for Synergy while Lee stepped up to the managerial plate for Gold Rush. And, then it all fell apart, more for one team than the other. But I think neither team really had a handle on this task. The teams were too busy self-imploding to really get their game on and a solid plan.

Lee was not a good project manager. He was wishy-washy and then became almost defiantly wishy-washy. Meanwhile, Lenny freaked out a bit too much at Lee, but at least he had a good idea - go to the TKTS line at Times Square to get people to text message the keyword they chose. Yes! A perfect location! Times Square, if you've never been there, has crowded streets even in the middle of the night, hence "the city that never sleeps." But these folks are moving along. About the only place they just stand in large quantities is at the TKTS line where Broadway play tickets and other event tickets are sold. Thankfully, Lee checked his ego just in time and realized Lenny was spot on with the location.

Oh, but over at Synergy, things were an absolute mess! Pepi had a difficult team, but he handled things almost as poorly as he could. He showed no managerial skills at all. Brent, well ... look at my opening paragraph. He needs to be gone and should never have been selected. Stacy overreacted to Brent and she really did interrupt him a lot. He had a point there. A bunch o' whackos, I say! Michael decided they would wear bathrobes. And, yes, I'm rolling my eyes just reflecting back on it all. They overslept, thus giving Gold Rush a huge lead. Brent danced in a sandwich sign while wearing a robe and declaring himself a star. "Give him a red nose and some big-ass shoes!" From what they aired tonight, the only member of Synergy who seems to have her act together is Roxanne. At least she woke up, panicked at the hour and got everyone going. They had no solid plan. Stacy, who claims to know the city, stuck them in Times Square where all is bustling, not at a location like TKTS. Sheesh, Central Park would have been better!

The results were no huge surprise. Gold Rush sold 683 text messages while Synergy sold a dismal 458. The reward for Gold Rush was to get to suit up three guys down on their luck. Now, if Trump wanted to help them, he'd give them suits and a job. Suits are nice and they might open a door, but jobs are nicer and put food on the table.

Pre-boardroom, everyone on Synergy wants Brent out, although a few mentioned both Stacy (who exaggerated her confrontation with Brent and then backed down) and Pepi (poor leadership). Brent's prediction: "Brent is not going home this evening."

Sigh. And, he didn't. Trump could see the majority of the team was a train wreck and told Pepi he could bring three into the boardroom. He would fire two people tonight. Pepi chose Michael (bathrobes), Stacy (location) and Brent (nutcase). Trump decided that the team failed due to location, BAM - Stacy was fired. He thought Michael deserved another chance as he took responsibility for his bad judgment. Then, the kicker ... "If you can't handle Brent, you can't handle a job working for me. Pepi, you're fired!" Trump pretty much told Brent he'd be gone soon enough as he's a total disaster. Brent had an almost maniacal grin pasted to his face as he got on the elevator. Eep.

We really didn't get to know much of the other candidates tonight. Perhaps a closer look at Roxanne and Michael. Too much Brent, way too much. Get him gone. What do you think?

Dollar bills, y'all...

Sunday, March 05, 2006

TV Newsy Bits Weekend Edition - March 4-5, 2006


Here they are! Bits for the soul! Or, maybe they're bits for inquiring minds who want to know!


Yep, it's the television/entertainment related newsy bits links I found over the weekend. Of course, the big story is the Oscars and I only have a wee bit on that.

Guilty Pleasure TV Viewing

C'mon, I know you have some shows that you watch when company is unexpected; shows you might not talk about at the office watercooler. After all, someone has to be watching Jerry Springer or Maury. No, those two aren't on my list, but I know they're someone's guilty pleasure. Okay, perhaps one is Connie Chung's guilty pleasure and that carries the Nielsen ranking.

What? My guilty pleasure shows? Hmmm ... I'm not sure if I'm ready to reveal my television viewing quirks to the world. Oh, okay. I'll spill the beans. Just promise not to laugh at me. Well, you can snicker at me; but no guffawing, please. I'm sensitive, y'know.

COPS: "Bad boys, bad boys. Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" Yep, that's the first show which comes to mind when I think guilty pleasure TV viewing. Old episodes, new episodes - I'm there. I can't understand my fascination with this show other than I'm a bit of a crime/police buff at heart. In 1989 Bertram Van Munster, the same person behind The Amazing Race, was on the production staff. Heck, even the tune is catchy. Older episodes airing on Court TV have the entire song by Inner Circle at the beginning of the show. As for the people appearing on the show who aren't cops? Yikes! What is going through their minds? Not only are they out there doing stupid criminal nefarious doings and all, but they sign releases to let the show air their ne'er-do-well ways!

Leave it to Beaver: Thank the heavens for TV Land network! The Beaver was one of my favorite shows when I was a small child and, now as an adult, I know the episodes by heart. Watching them brings me back to more innocent days. No, my Mom wasn't anything like June Cleaver although, if memory serves, she did have a strand of pearls - she just didn't wear them around the house. My Dad looked a bit like Hugh Beaumont, but certainly didn't wear a tie much. Then again, my older brother had a friend reminiscent of Lumpy Rutherford and I've known a lot of Eddie Haskells over the years.

When I want blood, gore, veins in my teeth (um, wait ... that's Arlo Guthrie), I can watch a myriad of shows on the Discovery Health Channel. From Medical Incredible to the goings-on in trauma centers and emergency rooms, they have it all. They have a Medical Examiner show, as well. But that's all recreated drama. I want real blood, gore and veins in my teeth.

The People's Court: I tend to peep at the various court shows. Perhaps one day I'll write something up about the genre. But, my favorite? I'm so over Judge Judy after so many years! It's Marilyn Milian who's my choice of outspoken judge these days. I started watching this back in the days of Judge Wapner, then Koch, then Judge Judy's husband whose name is slipping my mind at the moment. Well, not really slipping it, but I'm too lazy to look up how to spell the last name. Judge Milian rocks.

On a bit of a regional level, another guilty pleasure is watching CBS2 Crew early mornings as I get ready to go to work. It's an early morning news/weather/traffic and such show out of Manhattan, NY. Yes, it will let me know if my train is running late and whether I should bring an umbrella or not. However, I watch it just as much for the smiles and the giggles as I watch Dave Price on Dance Fridays and the interaction between the crew.

A really late night guilty pleasure is watching the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Now, that show isn't anything to be embarrassed about watching, mind you. It's just the hour that it's on that's the problem. No way can I tell folks at work that I watch it when I'm often into the office by around 7 AM! I know when I hear that Cow of Time, it's way past my bedtime and I must be a crazy person to stay up that late!

So, there are a few of my guilty pleasure shows. Now it's your turn. What do you watch behind drawn curtains? And, why?

Saturday, March 04, 2006

'Survivor's' Bobby Mason on 'The Early Show'

Oh, this one is priceless! Bobby Mason spoke his mind on 'The Early Show' - you can read the whole interview at this link.

An excerpt:

Bobby didn't mince words when it came to his feelings about Courtney. "One of her personalities is cool," he said. "She's got like three or four that she tucks away and every now and then a nice one will come out and you'll make a deal with her. And then, the next day, that nice one won't wake up. She's a lunatic."

He had equally harsh words for Shane. "Shane is a smart guy," he said. "If he's going to talk about me, he better do it behind my back. He doesn't want to end up smashed somewhere in the ocean with his acid-washed jeans and that mullet."

Now, that would have been interesting. Is mullet a kind of shellfish? ;-)
(I know what it is, but it does sound like a shellfish, doesn't it?)