Kevin: comedian of the week

Kevin was king of the diary room on tonight's episode of Big Brother. While the good guys (Russell, Jeff and Jordan) celebrated as Michelle declared her allegiance to them (and plans to evict Chima), and the crazies (Lydia, Natalie and Chima) mourned Jessie's departure (hands down the funniest thing I've seen on Big Brother since Amy fell over while wearing a giant sponge suit and couldn't get up) with toasts and tears, Kevin provided a hilarious soundtrack of deadpan sarcasm, revealing that while he may be situationally clumped in with the bad side of the house, he's by no means a part of the crazy. Other highlights included his debriefing of Lydia's "Dae Yum Yum" obsession (Dae Yum Yum being her little stuffed unicorn) and his declaration that he was expecting the house to wholly fail the food competition.

PS: because my recording cut out early and I didn't see the nominations, I just did something I never do- check the feed spoilers. All I have to say is buckle up kids, it's gonna be an AMAZING week.

Kelly Watches 60 Minutes

In a PVR mishap that left me with an incomplete episode of Big Brother, I ended up watching the end of a 60 minutes segment on Coldplay. I've always liked Coldplay, sort of, enjoying a song here and there but never really caring about them either way. I was impressed when Chris Martin made fun of himself on Extras and his choice in women is, of course, impeccable. But it wasn't until I saw about 15 minutes of this segment that I realized how cool a dude he is. He's a crazy neurotic nerd, it's awesome. The band as a whole is super humble and low key and just in it for the love of music. The Bob Dylan-quoting, frantic note-scribbling, super private family man is my favourite person of the moment... thanks to 60 Minutes.

TV News: happiness edition

More Baby Bumps
Sarah Chalke (Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother), Judy Reyes (Scrubs) and Amy Ryan (The Office) are all pregnant! That bring How I Met Your Mother's count to 3 babies in little more than a year. More new and expecting parents in the TV world include Elizabeth Hasselbeck (The View), Jennifer Hudson (American Idol), Tom Colicchio (Top Chef), Kourtney Kardashian (Keeping Up With the Kardashians), Kendra Wilkinson (Kendra), Rob and Amber Mariano (Survivor, The Amazing Race), Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty, Extras), Molly Ringwald (Secret Life of the American Teenager), Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty), Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters, Six Feet Under), Heidi Klum (Project Runway), Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl), Holly Marie Combs (Charmed), Parminder Nagra (ER), Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine), Julie Bowen (Boston Legal), Chyler Leigh (Grey's Anatomy), Jill Scott (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency), Josh Holloway (Lost), Alyson Hannigan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, How I Met Your Mother) and Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210), Freddie Prinze Jr. (24) and Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Nicole Richie (The Simple Life), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), and David Boreanaz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Bones)

Super Excellent Casting News

My TV's favourite person in the world, Kate Winslet, is attached to a miniseries that is currently being pitched to all the cable heavy hitters like HBO. I wonder if Ricky Gervais has any tips for Emmy winning!

The Daily Show's Lewis Black is set to appear on The Big Bang Theory in the fall.

Evan Rachel Wood's True Blood guest arc starts August 30. From the pictures, it looks pretty freaking awesome.

The man Felicity should have picked, Scott Foley, will guest star on Law & Order: SVU.

Scheduled guest star Virginia Madsen is planning on bringing some life to Monk's final season.
Ugly Betty's signed a post-idol Paula Abdul for a high-profile guest spot.

and

Matt Saracen lives in Dillon a little bit longer: Zach Gilford signs on to extend his character arc in Friday Night Lights' 4th season from 5 to 7 episodes.

Yet Another Unfair Big Brother Twist: but this time it's a happy one!

Normally I would be quite annoyed that Jessie was evicted. This season he turned out to be a pretty good player, and fun entertainment in all his ridiculous narcissism, forced sarcastic tone and amazing love triangles. I can't stand it when Big Brother, desperate for a clever twist, makes the game even less fair (mysterious powers, secret allies from outside the house, the surprise return of an evictee, etc...), particularly considering that it was a similar twist that put Jessie out last season (America's player was the swing vote).

But, though I liked Jessie this year (I know, how weird is that?!), and it was entirely unfair, it couldn't have made me happier to see low drama Jeff stand up and risk making serious enemies by defying the vile HOH Chima and using the power of Coup D'Etat (which was awarded to him because the editors have been particularly nice to him so America loves him). In taking (crazy but amusing) Lydia and (my favourite/Jeff's secret ally/ticking time bomb) Russell off the block and replacing them with Chima's closest allies Natalie and Jessie, Jeff turned the house upside down and gave hope to my favourite players (the otherwise-evicted Russell, and Jeff himself). Unfortunately, the vote came down 3-2 in (coattail riding/ super annoying) Natalie's favour, but it was still a win for the good side of the house.

Left significantly weakened by Jessie's departure, Chima stood a very good chance of finally being banished from my TV screen in the week to come. Annoyingly, however, Michelle's HOH win means that it's next to impossible to predict what's coming next. She could fall back into the Russell/Jeff alliance and put up Chima vs. Natalie; she could fall for Chima's "girl power" manipulations and put up Jeff vs. Russell; she could play it safe and put up weak and inconsequential players Kevin vs. Lydia; or she could try and break up the house's most loyal alliance and nominate Jordan vs. Jeff... who knows.

At the very least, it shouldn't be a monotonous week (like this one, in which absolutely nothing that happened had anything to do with the coming eviction, and the audience knew it).

My Take on True Blood

I think I’m in love with this season of True Blood. I’ve mostly let Tim take over reviewing duties, because I’ve been crazy busy and watching it on a crappy site, and because Tim does a kick ass job recapping and highlighting what has been so awesome about this season of True Blood, but don’t confuse my silence for lack of enthusiasm. Although I loved the first season (helped mostly by watching it over a one week period that kept it from getting boring), I have to say that this season is what True Blood should always have been: sex scenes, awkward accents, gratuitous blood and violence, minor social commentary, and a whole bunch of witty goofiness.

After last night’s explosive (hardy har) culmination of all the awesome Fellowship of the Sun stuff, I feel compelled to at least add my two cents, even if they completely agree with Tim’s two cents, in that True Blood is giving us a whole lot of bang for our buck and is worth a million dollars and a bunch of other money related metaphors.

So here’s the top five reasons why True Blood Season Two is even better than True Blood Season One:

5. The camp- both the literal and figurative camp. First, the literal. The Fellow ship of the Sun. Hilarious. But more importantly, the figurative. The Campy aspect of the show, hiding just behind the melodrama of the first season, has really come to the forefront this season. “Sookie is mine,” was one of my favorite instances where the show let slip the serious vampire melodrama veneer in the first season, but this season has been ridiculously full of these moments. Sookie, in particular, seems more aware this season of her role: SHE’S ABSURD. She spends all her time trying to continue banging her undead boyfriend. She’s not a Buffy or Veronica style heroine. She’s the absurd beating heart in the middle of our absurd bloody favorite.

4. Jason- first of all, football matches and wife-banging? Hot. Second of all, punching people in defense of his sister? SUPER HOT. I love that his storyline has been so alone this season, because watching dummy Jason getting continually manipulated by only-slightly smarter people in his life never fails to amuse me, and damn if Ryan Kwanten doesn’t make every dumb-but-pretty look Jason shoots us intriguing, interesting and unique.

3. The Pace- The first season seemed to take forever to tell us anything, and then blurted out everything in one episode word vomit piles. This season, every episode has been consistently hilarious, interesting, and action-packed, with murders, and monsters, and gratuitous orgies to boot.

2. Jessica-When Bill first vampified a young girl last season, I groaned. The last thing the saccharine mess of Bill/Sookie (Bookie?) needed was an annoying teenage girl. But… wow. I was wrong. Jessica is great. She’s given us a unique insight into what it means to be a vampire (and whose heart didn’t break when she realized that no matter what she was going to be a perpetual virgin?) and what it means to be a human (she’s trying to be good, even though she can’t cry because ‘it’s really gross.). Her and Hoyt’s relationship is the most compelling on the show. Besides, maybe, number one -->

1. Eric- He was a periphery character in the first season, a tantalizing glimpse into the world of vampires that Bill was trying so hard to give up. But this season, Eric is a force of nature, whether it’s pursuing Sookie for dubious reasons, worshipping at the altar of Vampire-Jesus Godric, torturing LaFayette, or faking a hillbilly accent (although, really, at well over six feet and ghostly pale with that absurd hotness, Eric is never anything but conspicuous), Eric’s increasing role on the show has only meant increasing awesome.

Now if you had asked me after last season if Tara and Sam would be on this list, I would have answered strongly yes. Even though I hate the whole alcoholic/demonic mother storyline, Tara was indubitably my favorite character. And Sam - boy did I love Sam. But this season, despite heart-eating, almost-dying, neither character has been my favorite. Partially this is a testament to the power of the supporting characters, but partially it shows how far these two characters have been removed from the most interesting storyline (the vampire, as opposed to Mayaenadeeaeae storyline). Here’s hoping it all comes together soon, and not in some lame demon-pregnancy way (this is a common theory on the interwebs).

Obsessions of the Week: August 13th

A Chorus Line: the movie- After watching this ridiculously outdated movie musical for the first time a couple days ago, I find myself wondering if perhaps we're giving the So You Think You Can Dancers too much credit. Watch the dancers in this movie take on the intricate choreography and you'll never accept a mediocre pirouette again. (Fun side note: watch for future-Javert, Terrence Mann, and his impressive moves in a really sympathetic role)

Julie & Julia- yum. The whole movie was a million calories of happy. AND I learned the proper way to brown a mushroom.

Lost in Austen- this adorably strange British import follows a modern Pride & Prejudice fan as she mysteriously gets trapped in the world of the beloved novel. Currently airing on TVO in Canada, Lost in Austen is pure delight for any P&P fan.

Seth Rogen in Funny People- one of the few films in the Apatow comedy genre that I really enjoyed, Funny People was a pleasant surprise (even if it was almost a full hour too long and a bit narcissistic at times). The most pleasant thing about the movie, however, was not so much of a surprise. Seth Rogen (who, when given the right character, can be incredibly charming) has made this list before (for being the best thing about Undeclared) and has done it again this week for his role as Ira, the sweetly loyal struggling comedian who pulls a pathetic Adam Sandler through the uneven story.

Rachael Ray- lots of people hate her, but I jumped on the 30 Minute Meal bandwagon this week and find Ms. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) entertaining. She talks too loud and too much, she's always including unnecessary personal details, she drops things and looses things and laughs at her own jokes...it's great. Who wants to follow the instructions of someone flawless anyway?

Sean Cheesman on SYTYCD Canada- the second episode of the Canadian series aired tonight and though there were some promising dancers and Leah Miller has finally started to grow on me (though she'll never measure up to Cat Deeley), the judges continued to annoy. By the end of last fall's season 1, I was so tired of Jean-Marc's weak metaphors and Tre's hyperbolic blather that I came to actually appreciate the nutjobs on the American version. Small glimmers of hope, however, appeared with guest judges like Stacey Tookey, Blake McGrath and Rex Harrington. The best of these guests (and choreographers) was always the calm and insightful Sean Cheesman. Cheesman made his first appearance of season 2 tonight and his influence made all the difference. He was quick to the point, was never over the top and made a point of looking for the potential in all the dancers. Add a sexy voice, a snazzy wardrobe, mad choreographic skill and oodles of charm and you've got 1 very good reason to watch So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

And finally,

The Stratford Festival of Canada. I wrapped up my 7 show summer with a weekend excursion that saw me and and a friend ecstatically applauding The Importance of Being Earnest, Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Earlier in the season I'd seen the festival's colourful West Side Story, beautiful Cyrano de Bergerac, poignant Macbeth and idiotic A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (the only thing I really didn't like all season). Highlights included: the incomparable Colm Feore (known to TV fans from Slings & Arrows and 24) as the season's notable guest star, leading a perfect production of Cyrano de Bergerac (under the direction of his wife Donna Feore, who you might remember as one of Triple Sensation's toughest choreographers) and a daring Macbeth that included artistic director Des McAnuff's insightful vision of the Scottish tragedy as set in 20th century Africa with a semi-insulting forced parallel between an (unimpressively played) Lady Macbeth and first lady Michelle Obama; former Hairspray star Tom Rooney showed off his chameleon-like talents in the polar opposite roles of Cassius (the weasely mastermind behind Caesar's assassination) and Puck (the charming, trouble-making fairy in Midsummer); Ben Carlson redeemed himself for last year's horrible Hamlet by playing a pitch-perfect Jack Worthing in Earnest then a chilling multi-dimensional Brutus in Caesar; Mike Shara made me laugh hysterically and fall for his charming characters in Cyrano and Earnest; Relative unknowns Laura Condlln, Jennifer Rias and Andrea Runge stood out in wonderfully vibrant productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, West Side Story and The Importance of Being Earnest, respectively. I finally got to see Slings & Arrows star Stephen Ouimette onstage in the lovely Earnest and the detestable farce A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Another notable Slings alum, Geraint Wyn Davies (who played season 2's delightful villain Henry Breedlove) brought serious gravitas to his roles as the murdered kings Duncan and Caesar and then serious joy to the (often overplayed) role of Bottom, which he mastered. James MacDonald stood out among the directors for elements of sheer genius that permeated his interpretation of Julius Caesar. Ultimately, however, my true Stratford obsession of the year is a young actor named Bruce Godfrey, who is only in his second season with the festival. An alum of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a highlight of last season's dismal Hamlet (he played Laertes, other highlights included the aforementioned Wyn Davies' Polonius, Rooney's Horatio and Adrienne Gould's Ophelia), Godfrey went into the Dream with the bar set very high (having replaced last year's Romeo, Garreth Potter, who was supposed to take the role). Armed with incomparable energy, daring, commitment and solid classical technique, Godfrey soared as the best thing about the excellent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, effectively making the (often boring) character of Lysander the most interesting on stage. He also kills himself in Caesar and kills other people in Macbeth, but Midsummer is where he truly shines. If you're able to get to Stratford, ON this season I seriously suggest 6 of these 7 plays (avoid Forum at all costs!): start with the Dream and make sure to see Cyrano, Earnest and Caesar along the way, you won't regret it. Oh Stratford, how do I love thee, let me count the ways!

Season Wrap Up: Better Off Ted

Usually when I have high expectations nothing can ever meet them. Yet somehow, Better off Ted never disappoints me, and it certainly didn't with tonight's season 1 finale.

The world of Veridian Dynamics is a ridiculous fun-house mirror reflection of our own ridiculous world. From kooky scientist Phil and his deadpan counterpoint Lem to the adorable and well-intentioned rebel Linda (played by Andrea Anders, an old TV favourite of mine), the cast of characters is consistently funny and engaging.

As charismatic and competitive leading man Ted, Jay Harrington does a complete 180 from his horrible role as Dr. Lockhart on Private Practice. In the hands of lesser writers, Harrington seemed weasel-y, pompous and unengaging. So imagine my surprise when he turns out to be none of those things when given material like that coming from creator Victor Fresco and his team (which includes writers of such underrated gems as Aliens in America, Samantha Who, Less than Perfect and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). As the fourth wall-breaking anchor of the show, Ted is the perfect mix of sanity and quirk.

Predictably, however, the highlight of the show is stern and ironic boss Veronica (played to perfection by the incomparable Portia de Rossi). In interviews, the down-to-earth Aussie seems shy, sweet and private. But given an extreme character (like Veronica or her unforgettable role as Lindsay in Arrested Development) de Rossi shines. I'm sorry Tina Fey, but I think you may have some competition for "funniest woman on TV".

Other highlights include Ted's hilariously mature daughter Rose (I know that doesn't sound very funny, but trust me, it is, in the finale she's grounded from the internet for having bought a boat online), the absurd dialogue ("another time, another place, two other people: it could have been magniflorious") and the strange, delightful and ironically socially relevant stunts "the company" pulls: like freezing Phil, developing pumpkin weapons, growing meat and decorating the cubicles of the office "drones" in one of four designated themes (cats, space, the green bay packers and cars). The latter causes absurd office cliques while the new security system they install causes problems when it doesn't acknowledge black people. The Veridian Dynamics ads near the top of each episode are always hilarious and wrap up the satirical themes of every episode in a neat little package that eerily resembles most actual TV ads.

If you didn't watch this show, I suggest you make that right before their unexpected second season begins, because with TV this smart it's always just a matter of time before it gets taken away from us.

FINALE GRADE: A
SEASON GRADE: A+

The Star Darling Gallery: A "Dirty Sexy Money" Farewell Tribute to My Favourite Characters

Thanks For Listening

Dear True Blood,

I had no idea you read our blog! I'm so excited to see you've finally taken my advice. It was just over a week ago when I asked that you not spoil the ending of your cliffhangers through previews for next weeks episode. Just when I was about to stop the DVR short I decided to give you another chance and went ahead with the dangerous preview watching. To my shock and aw you actually listened to me and there wasn't even a hint of a spoiler!

[Stop reading here if you don't want me to spoil anything] And this week you really would have screwed things up if you did spoil something. You don't disappoint again with an eye-opening cliffhanger as the vampire party ends up in smokes, literally, with some of the most pivotal characters' lives held in question (Sookie, Jason, Eric, Godric, and a slew of familiar vampire faces). In one of the greatest episodes this season (I think I say that every week) several amazing plot elements unfolded and new plot lines were developed, including:

*The Stackhouse siblings finally reunite!
*Godric surprisingly demonstrates his kindhearted nature (apparently not the big bad sheriff we expected).
*Andy continues to the be craziest sane person in the series.
*Tara and Eggs have more Maryann inspired sex...and share a human heart pie.
*The show pushes the violence envelope again showing Maryann cut up and cook said heart (RIP Daphne).
*Sam is framed for Daphne's murder!
*Eric shows his softer side as he offers himself for Godric and Sookie's safety.
*Jessica loses her virginity only to discover her hymen grows back...damn vampire healing abilities (really? who thinks of this stuff).
*THAT FREAKING FINAL BOMB!!!!!!

Oh True Blood, thank you for being the most consistently good show this summer. You were robbed out of Emmy nominations but with a killer sophomore season, I don't see this happening next year.

Your eternal watching fan,
Tim

Kathy Gets Serious

The DVR is an amazing device. It allows us to record multiple shows to watch on our own time and convenience. Now, as great as the DVR is, sometimes it has it's flaws. For instance, inexplicably it decided not to record an episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Luckily Bravo loves to replay it's shows a million times each week (trust me, I'm not complaining) and I finally caught up on my favorite summer series!

To my surprise Kathy did something which she hasn't succeeded in doing since the episode where she releases her father's ashes: she made me cry....a lot.

In "Norma Gay" Kathy takes on Proposition 8 (you know that famous CA prop which made gay marriage illegal). Kathy managed to maintain a bit of her comic nature but the entire episode was directed at activism. She visits a local GLBT shelter in California and finds a group of youths who she educates and rallies together. Most shocking was the fact that the vast majority of these youths had never heard of Matthew Shepard (the gay teen who was brutally beaten to death). Kathy shows the kids a video depicting Matthew's story and the clear effect it has on the group is immediately showcased. She takes them to Sacramento and partakes in a march against Prop 8.

In another segment, Kathy goes door-to-door in Pasadena to try and gain support for gay marriage. Another crazy revelation is discovered when several of the Prop 8 voters express their confusion over whether yes on 8 meant yes or no on gay marriage. It's mind blowing to discover that the tricky wording of the proposition is still confusing people to this day (a yes on 8 is actually a no on gay marriage and vice versa).

The water works really started when Kathy and the youth meet a couple who have been together for nine years. One man is losing his ability to walk but does not have health insurance and his partner's company refuses to allow coverage. Kathy manages to bring a current and important issue to light by showing that this couple is the prime example for why a union is not enough. In a witty comparison to Sally Field's Norma Ray, Kathy explains that unions were good enough for Rae, but Norma Gay wants marriage.

Episodes like these make you realize why Kathy keeps getting Emmy nods (and wins) for her amazing series. Not only does she continue to bring the laughs week after week but occasionally she takes a break from comedy and kills the audience with her serious issues.

Kathy inspired the 8 teens who were living in the shelter to lead a life of activism, and sadly she kind of inspired me to. It shouldn't take a celebrity to be the voice of reason and stir people to action, but it sure as hell doesn't hurt.

My Newest Obsession: a cure for my stupider obsessions

If you are, like me, a low life who can think of no better way to occupy their summer than to watch hours and hours of mindless TV, may I recommend that you try and take in a little reality check each week.

The Soup is the perfect foil to the hours of reality TV and soapy summer dramas that I watch a week. Host Joel McHale is more than happy to point out the ridiculousness of this brand of summer TV, and in doing so pokes fun at his own audience (after all, to get the comedy in his references you have to be not just someone who enjoys making fun of low brow entertainment but someone who watches it in the first place).

Watch, laugh, and feel a little better about your entertainment choices. At least now you're in on the joke.

America Makes 2 Good Decisions in 1 Week

Not only did someone great win So You Think You Can Dance, but America also got it right on Big Brother this week when they awarded the Coup D'Etat power to Jeff (who, in all fairness, has been edited in the best possible light, which explains how he has 5000 more fans than everyone else on the cbs website).

Let's start at the beginning of the week, leading up to Jeff's new power.

Russell gets HOH and finally flips the house by aligning himself with Jeff and Jordan, officially giving them a chance in the game even though their entire alliance had been evicted. Even though I'm liking Jessie so far this year, I think Russell was right in joining the other side of the house, simply because Jessie's team has Chima, Natalie and (sometimes, maybe? Lydia), who are my least favourite players. Russell also maintained a secret allegiance to Jessie though, an excellent idea to cover all his bases.

So with Russell and Jeff aligned (a promising duo of athleticism, determination and surprising strategic gameplay from Russell), it came time for indecisive Michele to pick a side; and she too picked the right one. Michele on their side and a secret deal between her and Russell (giving him secret deals with all three of the house's best players: Jessie, Jeff and Michele) put team Jeff/Jordan/Russell/Michele in a grand old position (especially considering Kevin and Lydia are very likely to swing to their side over the others because of Lydia's Natalie issues).

A bizarro blowup in which Russell's paranoia got the better of him saw Michele fall from grace a bit in my books. While generally I'd been respecting her low key gameplay to this point, her inability to talk her way around what she said to Russell was pretty unimpressive. Chima being a lunatic, however, got most of the heat off Michele's back and diverted the attention away from her stupid mistake. Notice I'm not faulting Russell for the ordeal, it was an understandable misunderstanding (he inferred something about Chima from a true statement Michele gave in confidence and then reacted emotionally when Chima denied it and Michele couldn't explain the difference between what she said and what he heard- not the best move, but not a crime of stupidity either) and it only blew up because Chima belongs in a mental ward (and can someone please get that girl a hair tie?). Besides, if I were to fault Russell for every emotional fight he got in, I couldn't like him, and I think he's too good a player not to like.

Which brings me to... Chima wins HOH. There could be nothing worse, since she's my least favourite houseguest and is going to nominate my favourites for eviction. But while I'm annoyed that we'll have to sit through extra footage of the rampaging princess this week, I take comfort in the fact that America likes Jeff enough to give him the power to override her nominations. I can see no scenario in which Jeff doesn't use his power to adios one of Chima's allies, and that makes me very, very happy. Well done America.

After tonight's fight, eviction and HOH competition, my house guest rankings are as such:

1. Russell (favourite)
2. Jeff
3. Jessie
4. Michele
5. Jordan
6. Kevin
7. Natalie
8. Lydia
9. Chima (least favourite)

And The Winner Is...

Click on the itty bitty picture to see the results of tonight's SYTYCD season 5 finale.



Officially my favourite So You Think You Can Dance winner to date!

So who's ready for the premiere of SYTYCD Canada next week?