Whatever Will I Watch Tonight? - Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Of course, I'll be watching the American Idol 6 results show at 9 PM EDT tonight, then posting a quick East Coast Update entry with that oh-so-vital information about who gets voted off. So, if you're in another time zone and just have got to know -- check back here about 9:30 PM EDT. Hitting the American Idol label at the bottom of this entry will bring you to the latest entry.

Ah, but there's a lot of good stuff on the tube tonight besides American Idol!

At 8 PM ET/PT, there are all new episodes of Jericho (CBS), Friday Night Lights (NBC), Bones (FOX), The Great American Dream Vote (ABC), and America's Next Top Model (CW).

At 9 PM ET/PT: A Criminal Minds repeat on CBS, a new Crossing Jordan episode on NBC, the American Idol results show followed by a new 'Til Death on FOX, new episodes of According to Jim and Rules of Engagement on ABC, and a repeat Pussycat Dolls on CW.

Come 10 PM ET/PT, my choice for watching and blogging is the new Lost episode on ABC. CBS has a repeat C.S.I.:NY while NBC has a new episode of Medium.

What will you be watching tonight?

As Per the Letterman Mention

If you were watching David Letterman last night, you heard him mention that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey elephants walk through the city. Alas, last night was the night and I still felt sick, so I didn't go. I usually try to go as, unlike Letterman's reference, it's a big event.

After all, how often do elephants walk from the Queens-Midtown Tunnel up 34th Street in the middle of Manhattan? (Um, okay... twice a year -- coming and going.) The arrival of the elephants is a fantastic evening and last night's weather was perfect! I really wish I had felt better and had gone.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of folks line the route of the elephants as they parade through the city. Y'see, the circus train can't make it into town, so they march the elephants and horses (and tons of circus stuff) through the streets at an hour which doesn't interfere so much with traffic in the city. It usually goes down around midnight or so.

It's always a hoot to see confused motorists roll their windows down and ask, "What's going on?" When the crowd yells back, "The elephants are coming!" or just "ELEPHANTS!" -- well, those cars just tend to get the heck out of there thinking how crazy New York City is!

I know this isn't quite a television entry, but blame it on Letterman. He was wrong. It's perhaps a much cooler event than the circus itself -- watching the elephants take over the streets of Manhattan amidst the skyscrapers. Their exit at the end of the circus run follows the same path, but that one is met with little enthusiasm. It's the arrival that's the party!

I took the photo above the year before last and now haven't been for the past few years. Last year the knee and weather were bad, this year my tummy. Next year, I swear I'll be there again!

'American Idol 6' - The Top Ten Perform Mentored by Gwen Stefani

I didn't find tonight's show as entertaining as last week's, but it could be just me. The stomach virus I've been avoiding caught me this morning and I'm way under the weather.

I thought Gwen Stefani had sage advice for all of the contestants. I loved how blown away she was by Melinda Doolittle.

She was impressed by LaKisha Jones, the first up to the stage this week. LaKisha belted out the Donna Summers song "Let's Dance." It wasn't my favorite performance of hers, but I'm measuring it against her own performances, not those of others. She did fine vocally, but it didn't move me the way I know she is able to move me. All of the judges enjoyed it.

Chris Sligh sang "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by the Police. That's one of my least favorite Police songs. I wish he had done "Driven to Tears" or "Murder by Numbers." Gwen warned him to watch the tempo and that was indeed the problem with his performance. Randy and Paula talked about the tempo while Simon declared it was a mess, all over the place. I like Chris Sligh, but it wasn't good.

Next up was Gina Glocksen going for yet another Pretenders song, this one "I'll Stand by You." I'm not a huge GG fan, but I thought that her performance may have been her best yet on the show. Simon agreed with me about it being the best while Randy and Paula were also very positive. Simon also said something confusing about chalk and cheese, so I had to look up the saying. Ah, interesting... from that site: "As different as chalk and cheese is an old proverbial phrase to suggest that two things, superficially alike, are totally different in their qualities." Huh. I never heard the phrase before and it dates to the 1500s.

Then there was Sanjaya Fauxhawk Malakar. Like Randy, I'm a bit speechless. It's like Sanjaya knows that he'll get the vote -- he's gone bizarre, plays up like he's all that (and remember how shy he was in auditions), and does weird stuff with his hair. He sang "Bath Water" by No Doubt and I was so agog at his hair that I couldn't tell you how bad he was. He told Simon that he was just jealous (the typical juvenile response) because he couldn't pull it off. I'm assuming he meant the hairstyle. He didn't seem to forget the words, but Gwen Stefani was indeed right to worry about him.

Haley Scarnato was next, singing Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors." Eh. I wasn't impressed. I think she might have bought her ticket home with that one. Simon was right -- it was forgettable.

Phil Stacey, who kind of creeps me out to begin with, sang the perfect controlling man, stalker song -- "Every Breath You Take" by the Police.

I'm scared now.

He actually sang it pretty well, perhaps one of his best vocal performances on the show. The judges were favorable.

My personal favorite, Melinda Doolittle, sang "Heaven Knows" by Donna Summer. Gwen Stefani is amazed by her and so am I. It wasn't my favorite performance of hers, but she is so darn good. Simon hated her outfit, I thought she looked good.

Blake Lewis was warned by Gwen to watch the beatbox and not to lose the melody. She didn't have much to worry about. He sang The Cure's "Love Song." It was tender, it was touching. Paula thinks he'll make the finale and Simon called him the front-runner of the guys. Although I actually like Chris Sligh's voice more, I do enjoy Blake's Take.

Then there was Jordin Sparks. Gwen seemed as impressed as I am that she's just seventeen years old and has such control. She didn't let me down as she sang No Doubt's "Hey, Baby." The judges were happy except for Simon who loved the vocals, called her most improved, then said it was copy-cat-ish.

I think she did very well, once again!

Ending the show was Chris Richardson. Not sounding as nasal as some past weeks, he sang No Doubt's "Don't Speak." Eh, okay. This guy will never be my favorite. I just don't enjoy his voice all that much. Randy said it wasn't his best vocal. Paula loved it. (Um, okay.) Simon told him it was a better song choice, but he needs to pay more attention to his vocals.

So, who's going home this week? I always put Sanjaya on my I Want Him To Go Away List, but I bet he's safe again. I think Haley might be gone or... heaven forbid... Chris Sligh. Who do you think will be leaving?

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, March 26, 2007

Remember, folks -- there is now a Dancing With the Stars blog discussion post for those who wish to discuss the show, just head here. I'll be reading the comments and you never know... you just might get me watching the show!

In actual TV Newsy Bits I found out there:

• BuddyTV has an exclusive interview with last night's losing team from The Amazing Race 11: All Stars, Teri and Ian.
• Celebrity Spider has an in-depth promo peek at next week's two-hour episode of The Amazing Race. Location and a bit of brouhaha mild spoilers, but not finish order or anything huge.
• Apolo Anton Ohno, now on Dancing With the Stars, announced his 2010 Winter Olympic plans to ET Online.
• The Los Angeles Times has an intriguing article about the John Locke character on Lost. Remember, I said long ago that Locke was the key to the island!
• Looking for unusual television and entertainment related bits, as well as viral videos? The relatively new This Just In website (a Time Warner joint venture between HBO and AOL) always has the odd. And, I enjoy odd, don't you?

'The Apprentice: L.A.' - East Coast Update - 3/25

Kinetic lost again and Angela, the Project Manager and Olympic athlete... was fired. I only caught the tail end of the show.