Live-Blogging 'On The Lot' - June 5, 2007

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this show, but I've gotten myself hooked.

It's starting here on the East Coast as I type this. I'll be updating the entry as the show goes along. The guest judge this week is Michael Bay, the director of Transformers.

Only five directors will be showing their movies this week. No more than three minutes in length, five days to make it.

Sam is the first contestant up. He talks about Internet success. His film tonight is Broken Pipe Dreams. Oops... a diamond ring in the toilet! Some other guy dumped his fish in the toilet, no explanation, back to the ring in the toilet. Broom falls, it flushes. I'm not feeling this one. Now he's tangled in thread from a towel as the toilet flushes. Following the pipe, breaking it with a shovel. The water flows the ring into his hand, his fish in the other. Audience goes wild.

Carrie likes it, very cute, very surreal. Michael told him he could have tightened it up -made a two-minute film into three minutes. Garry Marshall wants another topic other than toilets, but said he did well.

Trever James is up next with a blind date comedy. He's the small-town guy from Montana. His film is named Teri, about a man named Ben. Okay. He's confident that he's not going home. Ben reads a note from his blind date and makes a practice run on what to say. A woman appears. (The guy actor is cute.) Now Lala wants to dance. These girls keep changing. Now a scary Goth Gal - "we're all going to die here." Now a neurotic. Heh, now a guy named Terry. The doorbell rings and it's a perfectly normal gal named Teri. Okay, it was cute. I liked it better than the toilet one.

Carrie likes it, acting over the top since they were acting his fears, good overall, cute. Michael - good comic pacing with editing, did good work, more on photography and style. Garry Marshall liked his golf film more. He thinks he can do better.

Hilary Green, the one who did the "pee on the bus" film I so didn't like last week will be next up. The First Time I Met the Finklesteins is her film. A couple is preparing to meet the man's parent. "Good in bed like his old man," the dad says. Oh, this is roughly as bad as her film last week. Te parents are being stereotypical Jewish parents to the max. Bad taste. The mother keeps wanting Kelly to talk with her in the kitchen. Blech. Not entertaining and mostly in bad taste. Send Hilary home this week... please.

Carrie says the direction is claustrophobic. She likes the writing. Michael says it's a groaner, uncomfortable dialogue and not funny. Garry says she was too tight with the shot. He also thinks her writing is good, but she needs to do better.

Adam, the one who left Harvard Law School for his film career is up next. He feels the competition is his big break. He set his romantic comedy, Dough the Musical,in his girlfriend's parents' bakery. Quality-wise, it's good, a young man in a bakery and a woman in her apartment dreaming of love... in a musical. She wants a job, he's in love with his baking. She doesn't eat carbs. Turns out they know each other from childhood in Tennessee. Very well done! This was the most professional of the lot so far.

Carrie - incredibly original. Really good job. Michael - very good for five days, lyrics great, work a bit more on photography. Garry - loves the story, so theatrical, work out the chemistry with the actors more, very good.

Next up is the woman who did the speed-dating film last week. Laughing Out Loud is her film. Shalini is her name. The film is about a gay comedian from India. She's not sure how folks will relate. He's trying on outfits. He's in a comedy club in NYC. It's a bit of a narrative from the comedian about his fears and the need to believe in himself. Hmmm... it's interesting, but I wouldn't call the film a comedy. I believe their objective tonight was to make a funny film, not a serious film about a funny guy.

Carrie - well-made like a bio pic. You could do better than the advice "be yourself." Michael - Most visual style of all so far, you gave me a chill. Garry - Doesn't have to be linear, must engage you.

Huh... I thought the premise was comedy, maybe I was wrong.

Carrie liked the toilet film, Michael liked the gay Indian comic film, Garry liked the bakery. The contestants liked Shalini's movie best, least favorite was Hilary's movie. I agree on the one they don't like -- of the films, it was Hilary's I liked the least. I thought Dough The Musical might be the best.

Your thoughts?

'Hell's Kitchen' - Season Premiere

He's back! In all his fury, it's Chef Gordon Ramsay!

Tonight's season premiere seems to indicate it's going to be another hellish season in Hell's Kitchen. The new crop of top chef wannabes seem to be even more inept than last season's contestants. And, I thought their qualities were more lacking than not.

No one shined tonight. Not a one contestant seemed professional, knowledgeable, skilled, and able to work with others.

The Blue Team, the guys, had many weakest links, and no real leaders... at least none who emerged in tonight's show. Aaron, a 48-year-old overweight emotional Asian man prone to wearing cowboy hats, would probably have been cut had the team not won. Oh, mind you... not one patron was really served a whole dinner and even the appetizers didn't make the rounds. The team won more by default as the Red Team was even worse.

The cooking on the Red Team wasn't worse than the Blue (both teams were horrible), but it was the fighting amongst the team which did them in. In my opinion, the instigator of it all was Joanna. But when they lost, the one who had to name names decided that Joanna and Tiffany would be chosen to stand before Ramsay. A girl named Julia (?) was the more obvious choice for going home -- she works in a waffle house, has no real "big time" restaurant experience, and broke down in tears.

Gordon Ramsay made the wrong choice. He sent Tiffany home. Joanna's behavior was obnoxious and will probably only grow worse the longer she stays.

It's going to take me a few weeks to get a handle on the names, but I think the show is off to a good start. Your thoughts?

TV Newsy Bits - Monday, June 4, 2007

Tonight's biggest newsy bit isn't really a TV Newsy Bit. I broke down and bought a new computer. My other one was starting to flake out a bit (freezing up, starting up really s-l-o-w-l-y). With Big Brother just around the corner, I didn't want it to go kaput on me.

The new one has tons of storage space, is much faster, runs Windows Vista (not necessarily my choice - XP has been fine with me), and has lots of bells and whistles, so to speak. Right now, I have my KVM switch hooking up both computers to the same monitor (new one came without monitor) and keyboard. I have a flash drive to transfer needed files. I've brought the new one online, but need to install my Google stuff, my Firefox browser, gmail, and stuff. So, for the moment, I'm on the old one again.

In TV Newsy Bits:

• I have Creature Comforts (CBS 8 PM ET/PT) on in the background as I write this. It's cute.
• At 9 PM ET/PT, it's the season three premiere of Hell's Kitchen on FOX. Oh, I'll be watching! And, posting about it later, too.
• AOL Television has an interview with Cat Deeley, the host of So You Think You Can Dance.
• Paris Hilton entered jail today, so I don't think she's going to be on Letterman as scheduled this week.

Persnickety Pants - This Week on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' - June 4-8, 2007

Last week's repeats are a thing of the past. Wait, they were a thing of the past before they re-aired them!

Oh, well. It's onto fresh new pants this week on The Late Show with David Letterman. Woohoo! The website has skimpy information as I post this, but here you go:

• Monday, June 4: Matt Damon promoting Ocean's 13, Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, and musical guest Bright Eyes.
• Tuesday, June 5: Chevy Chase, Amanda Beard, and musical guest Satellite Party. Huh? Chevy Chase is still around? Don't tell me there's another Fletch movie on the horizon!
• Wednesday, June 6: Paris Hilton and Nichole Ritchie (um, isn't one of them in jail?), Artie Lange, and Chrisette Michele. Well, I'm not a big Paris Hilton fan for sure, but the segment should be interesting. Dave's not one to mince words.
• Thursday, June 7: Amy Sedaris, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, and Jordan Zevon. Yes, Amy is finally on! She was bumped for Toby Maguire a few weeks back. I enjoy her appearances on the show. She's a kook -- but that's a good thing! And, Jordan is the son of Warren Zevon.
• Friday, June 8: Ellen Barkin and comedian Brian Regan. There's got to be more to the show than just that, I would think. But that's all the web site has listed right now.

'So You Think You Can Dance' - Blog Discussion Post

Um... no. I don't think I can dance. At least not now. As a child I took tap dancing classes for several years. I could kind of sort of dance back then. These days I'm better off sticking to jazz hands.

But the contestants on FOX television's So You Think You Can Dance range from amazing to "no, you can't." While I'm not a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars, I really enjoy this dancing show. As I write this, it's in the audition stages and it's the poppers and break-dancers I enjoy the most. Now, you don't see that on DWTS!

Right now I'm cheering on the break-dancing Asian guy who was sent home last season due to his lack of a work visa. What's really horrible is that I'm forgetting his name. Oy! But I think he's a dazzling entertainer and I'd love to see him go far in the show.

I see Nigel has promised to be nicer this season. I also see he's chomping at the bit sometimes. Heh. If I were to go on the show, I bet I could make him be cruel!

Although I'm sure to be posting on the show on occasion, I'm opening this post for general show discussion and invite y'all to join in with your comments. The official FOX website for the show is here --> So You Think You Can Dance. Right now, of course, the contestants for this season aren't up... because we don't know who's going to make it through the Las Vegas cuts next week. But you can relive the memories of the past two seasons and return once the competition is in full swing.

Are you watching?