Tonight's one of those nights during which I like TV more than my bed. I always like TV more than my job even on the most boring of programming days, so that's not an apt comparison.Oh, but, tonight...! The 8 PM ET/PT hour doesn't hold a lot of competition for me as Bones on FOX wins the slot without a second thought. CBS is airing a Criminal Minds repeat while NBC has a new Friday Night Lights on. ABC is running with new episodes of George Lopez and The Knights of Prosperity. CW has a new Beauty and the Geek. I didn't realize how much I missed Bones until I saw the new episode last week, so I'm there. None of the others hold enough interest for me to bother recording them as I probably won't watch the tapes.It's the 9 PM ET/PT time slot which throws me into a minor quandary. Oh, I'll handle it, Analog Gal that I am. I'll crank up both working VCRs (no, I don't have a DVR or Tivo). I'll "live watch" American Idol on FOX while taping the Lost recap special on ABC and Criminal Minds on CBS. NBC has a new Deal or No Deal (blech for me) and CW has a new One Tree Hill. I have to watch Criminal Minds as I saw the cliffhanger leading into it this past Sunday after the Superbowl. As for Lost, I have to watch anything Lost. I just must. Sometime after the fact, I'll post my review/recap on the American Idol show. That may be way late tonight because...Lost (ABC) returns at 10 PM ET/PT! Woohoo! Even though I'm not as enamored with the series as I once was, it's a must-see on my calendar. In the hour, CBS has a new C.S.I.: NY which I may or may not tape dependent on mood. ABC has a new episode of Medium. It's a Lost win for me.What wins in your TV time slots?
If you had to make a snap judgment about the San Antonio auditions based on this photo alone, you'd think it was more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
You'd be wrong.
Although we saw some decent talent and they finally addressed the ongoing "wrong door" issue we've seen at all the audition locations, this installment came off as just so-so for me. I enjoyed the door segment. I just don't know why they've locked all of the left doors of the double doors instead of just leaving both unlocked. It has added a bit of entertainment value, I'll admit. I'll know which door to use when I audition. As if! (No, I'm never going to audition. I know I can't sing.)
Once again, we saw some tears. We saw some outright "what the hell are you doing here" folks, some folks who seriously seemed to think they could sing but can't, and some shining stars. As for the Odd, not as Odd as some weeks.
The show started off with the Rawhide theme song. Now, I remember it, but I would lay odds that the whole stadium full of hopefuls had no idea what they were singing. "Rollin', rollin', rollin', keep those doggies movin'... Rawhide!" It fit the scene, though. There's also a bit of Oddness about it all. The series ran from 1959 to 1966 and the person who sang the theme song, Frankie Laine, died today at the age of 93.
Tonight's Most Notable of the Odd
No, he's not giving the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Faux Terror gesture. Brian thinks he's comparable to Billy Idol and sang "Rebel Yell."
With a rebel yell, he sunk, sunk, sunk.
He started off the show and probably had the judges a bit leery of what the day would bring. I personally found him sort of scary. I liked Billy Idol with his patented sneer. I have the record on vinyl. Now if I chance to throw it on the turntable, I'll have flashbacks to Brian Kyrish.
William Green, unemployed, sings baritone... not all that well. He arrived with his cousin and I get the feeling he was more moral support for his cousin Akron Watson than a serious contender. Although he sang "Amazing Grace" in an off-key baritone, William didn't frighten me as did Brian (above).
William was funny. Humor is a good thing. When turned down, he warned the judges that he was going to ham it up and he surely did. "You don't know nuthin'!" He told them that Akron sang much better than he did and that was definitely the case. More about Akron later.
When I see a singer messing with her ear, I know it's not going to be a good performance. Plus, it looks so unprofessional! This woman claimed she sang for the Mayor of Houston and he enjoyed it. I think he must just be a good politician.
She sang "Black Velvet" and, like the Simon said, I couldn't understand not a word and I know the lyrics to the song. Eep. The sad part is that she seriously thinks she can sing.
We had a panther last week. This week we got Jake "The Snake" Tutor. I'll take the Eccentric Panther any day over this Snake. He was just bad. At least Martik (Panther) was quasi-entertaining in his oddness.
There was one other Odd which should be mentioned. There was a young lady who really sang poorly (but her family thinks she sings well), Jasmine Holland. At first, I felt sorry for her as the judges were laughing and she thought she was a serious singer. But when she acted like a nasty jerk upon leaving, she blew all pity I may have held. Her mother wants Simon to move back to British. Um, okay. Normally I don't put those who seem to think they can sing and have their dreams crushed in with my Odd. But I made an exception in this case.
There Was Some Talent Tonight
Now, how scared and serious does Akron look? He's William's cousin and did an acceptable take on Sam Cooke's "Change Gonna Come." Simon and the others thought he didn't shine with enough personality, so he sang "Let's Get It On."
I think I like this guy. I don't think he'll win, but I loved the pre-audition clips of him and William. Both came across as "nice" people and both have a sense of humor. And, he can sing.
No, Ashlyn's not one of the Most Notable of the Odd. She just tends towards odd expressions and affectations.
The faces she made when she sang brought to mind an exaggerated Lena Horne. She had the facial thing going to a lesser extent. But her mugging to the cameras certainly didn't come off as blatant as Ashlyn's actions.
I thought that, facial expressions aside, Ashlyn did very well with her first song. The judges dismissed her. But then in an unprecedented move, they called her back. I actually thought her second song didn't really hit the mark, but she's on to Hollywood. She's actually a cute girl with a good voice. I hope she can work out the kinks.
Many others made it through, 22 in all from what I believe was a one-day audition. Hayley Scarnato, Baylie Brown, and Jimmy McNeil are headed to Hollywood. It's a mix of talent, but no one really blew me away. Of course, they didn't show all of the contestants who made it through. Hopefully, there's some Texas tea in there.
Tomorrow's show is a round-up (Rawhide!) of the auditions. It's called "The Best of the Rest." It's supposed to have the Worst of the Worst and the Best of the Best. We'll see. I'll be on the lookout for new Notable Odds. Remember, we're laughing with you, not at you. Or not.
It's cold. I'm cold. I'm going to wrap a throw over me and be a couch potato for the evening. So, how does that differ from most other nights?Um... I don't usually have a throw over me.Thankfully, I have hot chocolate a'plenty and there are some shows I want to watch tonight on the TV. The evening is good. I scoff at the cold. Scoff!In the 8 PM ET/PT hour, I'm sure to be watching (taking notes, taking photos, writing about it later) the American Idol San Antonio audition show on FOX. There is a new NCIS on CBS and a new Dateline on NBC. ABC is showing a repeat of America's Funniest Home Videos. The CW has a new episode of The Gilmore Girls.Come 9 PM ET/PT, I'm planning on catching Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC - a new Goren episode. House fans can cheer as they have a new episode on FOX tonight. The Unit is new on CBS while ABC is airing a new Primetime and CW has a new Veronica Mars. Lotsa new, eh?At 10 PM, CBS is airing another new episode of The Unit. New episodes of Law and Order: SVU (NBC) and Boston Legal (ABC) are scheduled. TLC has a new Miami Ink. L&O gets my vote.What are you watching?
I'll say it right now. This dog needs to be nominated for an Emmy. My personal theory is that Mr. Muggles, the Pomeranian, is secretly Mr. Linderman and possesses superpowers beyond the wildest limits of the imagination.
Or not.
Hey, you have to realize that one of my own graphic novel escapades was "Cats in Capes." How anthropomorphic of me, eh?It was Chapter 14, "Distractions," on Heroes tonight. The happenings in this BulletPoint Report aren't necessarily in order of the appearance on tonight's show, some are by character storylines.- In the Niki/Jessica storyline, the shrink was trying to convince Jessica to come out. And, though Niki didn't want to do it, let's just say, "Dead shrink." In a surprising turn of events, Niki got released from jail. A death row inmate confessed to her crimes and that DNA matched. She went home to Micah (didn't see D.L. tonight) and Jessica locked Niki in a mirror. Cue scary music now.
- In the Sylar/Mr. Bennet happenings, Sylar locked Bennet in his own cell. He threw him against the wall with a flip of his hand, taunted him about Claire once again and escaped. Sylar took Bennet's wallet and used his license to obtain his home address. More later.
- Isaac and Simone talked. He's jealous of Peter. He doesn't want Simone looking for him, but agreed he would as he must stop "the bomb." He's painting wildly. Simone told him that he makes the future, he doesn't just paint it.
- Claire and Zach got permission from her mother to skip school for "manatee research" in Lubbock. Instead, they headed to Kermit so Claire could meet her mother. Her mother lives in a trailer park and they shared their secrets -- Claire with her regeneration, Mommy is a firestarter. At the end of the show, it was revealed in a phone call from Mommy to Nathan Petrelli that he's indeed her father. (Okay, I was wrong with my Linderman guess.)
- Meanwhile, Sylar broke into the Bennets' home and scared Mr. Muggles. It certainly looked like he was one dead doggie.
- Mrs. Bennet returned home and got the flip of the hand from Sylar. Ouch. Mr. Bennet and the Haitian arrived to save the doggie... er, the day. Sylar escaped once again and the Haitian made Mrs. Bennet forget once again.
- In the Hiro/Ando storyline, Hiro's father tried to bribe him into being VP, then CEO of his company. Hiro's sister told him that he brought shame upon the family. Hiro is determined that his destiny must go by his own path. He turns the tables on it all and his sister, more worthy of the company slot, takes over. So much for George Takei. I believe he's heading back to Tokyo.
- The Invisible Man chided Peter for acting like a kid -- posters on the wall, his hair (good point!). He told him that he has the power he gathers and can use it at anytime. He wants Peter to stop being dependent on people and, they sneak to the roof... well, walk because they're invisible, spy on Simone and Isaac and crush Peter's heart.
- The Invisible Man threw Peter off the roof to force him to fly. But he didn't fly. He fell thirty stories onto a cab and regenerated by thinking of Claire.
- Peter told I.G. that he can't forget people as he needs that to harness his power.
- Isaac had already painted Peter falling on the cab before it happened (of course). While looking at his painting, he realized that the legs were vanishing. He called Mr. Bennet and told him they can't find Peter because he's invisible.
Those are the major happenings. No Mohinder Suresh this week, no mind-reading cop, either.
I haven't heard anything new from my Primatech Paper application this week.
Is it time for Chapter 15 yet?
No, I didn't watch the Superbowl. My upstairs and downstairs neighbors both invited me to their Superbowl parties. Oh, not because I'm really popular, I don't think. I believe they invited me because they were planning on being noisy. I avoided the game itself, but through the miracle of that good ol' Internet, I've seen most of the commercials! For me, this one with Oprah and David Letterman is the best. It was a well-kept secret leading into the game when most of the other ads were already publicized. And, if you're a Dave fan, you know the history behind these two. To see the commercial and other Late Show with David Letterman video clips, check out the CBS website.In other TV Newsy Bits:- Tonight's programming on all the major networks is all new, no repeats. Plan your TV watching accordingly. For me, it's How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Heroes and whatever I feel like at 10 PM. Tonight we should find out who Claire's father is. Uh-oh. (My bet is on Linderman although I shouldn't encourage wagering in this blog.)
- Remember the Kelly Pickler clone (Jamie Lynn Ward) on last week's American Idol with the sob story about her "Daddy shootin' her stepma, then himself..." -- well, it's just not so according to the stepmother. I'm getting tired of sob stories on the show and trumped-up ones irk me even more. UPDATE - the story linked above isn't the one I meant to link. Oops. This article has the skinny.
- Keeping with the American Idol theme, last season's Elliott Yamin not only recently went through a makeover, but his new single is due out on February 13th. I enjoyed his voice a lot, the sob story (though legit) not so much.
- Keep in mind that Lost returns this Wednesday evening at 10 PM ET/PT. At 9 PM there will be a one hour recap kind of show.
- I know you're not about to forget that Survivor 14: Fiji premieres this Thursday at 8 PM. I know that.
- Jericho returns February 21, but there will be a special recap kind of show on February 14th. How's that for a Valentine's Day date activity? "Oh, let's watch the world blow up!"
- Celebrity Spider has the goods on the models selected for the next America's Next Top Model.
Tonight's one of those nights during which I like TV more than my bed. I always like TV more than my job even on the most boring of programming days, so that's not an apt comparison.
