Hotch is back - yay!

It took a long while, but Thomas Gibson is back for another two years on Criminal Minds.

Phew.

I guess for "mid-to-high seven figures, plus a signing bonus, ...doubling his previous salary", I would rather keep fans in suspense too as to whether I was going to go back again on a show fraught with casting issues.

Kuchi-paku Dancing Lion Speaker Giveaway

Well, I'm not giving one away PERSONALLY - but the site 100milligrams.com is giving one away to celebrate their 1,000 Facebook fan milestone on Facebook.

If you don't know what it is, it's that animal speaker that was last seen on The Good Wife. You can find videos on YouTube.

Like the poster says: Become a fan to find out how to win.

I believe it's a global contest, so there's no harm in trying out for it where ever on the planet you may be.

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• Kuchi-paku Dancing Animal Speakers (lifeasacynic.blogspot.com)

Fishburne not going back to CSI

Laurence Fishburne is not renewing his CSI contract, according to the TVLine.com piece here.

Frankly, I didn't really think he'd last very long on the small screen anyway, being a movies guy and all. 

Plus, not a lot of people took to his character like we all did with penguin-shuffle Grissom. I personally don't care one way or the other as it's still just a TV show after all. Almost every character on the show has had it rough in some way or another throughout the years, but losing a kidney to a psychopath is pretty tough too.

I just can't wait to see how Dr Ray Langston gets written out once the Nate Haskell arc is done with and Dr Ray leaves the Vegas crime lab one kidney less than when he came in. Will they promote one of the other characters, or will they bring back a recurring character to fill out the cast? I can't wait.

2011 MTV Movie Awards

I watch the MTV Movie Awards out of habit and because it's the award show to watch for people with short attention spans, and also for awards like Best Kiss and Best Line in a Movie.

The opening Hangover parody went a little over my head as I'm not stupid enough to ever want to watch The Hangover on purpose. But the point of these things are to remind us what the year's nominated movies are. Sudeikis and Lautner watching the girl-on-girl action scene from Black Swan? Heh.

I have no idea why they got Jason Sudeikis to host the MTV Movie Awards - I personally never thought of him as MTV hip, but what do I know? I think the guy was still in SNL mode as he spent half his monologue on making fun of Schwarzenegger to a crowd of mostly under 40. But the crack he made about Ashton Kutcher replacing older celebs personally and professionally? HILARIOUS... but that's because I also can't stand Ashton Kutcher.

I won't go in too much about the highlights because that's not hard to find on the interwebs.

While I'm sad that neither Inception or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 didn't win more popcorn trophies, but I also have to remind myself that I'm not exactly their target audience, and it's still a popularity contest in the end.

I don't know about anyone else, but I think the Twilight movies should just take themselves out of the running next year. If Oprah can do it, so should they. Or perhaps I should just stop watching the MTV Movie Awards until 2014 because I'm just going to get myself all tweaked and annoyed for the next couple of years.

Jamie's 30 Minute Meals - Realistic, or no?

Been watching episodes of Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, and all I could think of was Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals (I know). I just can't believe it took him this long to get on the 30 minute meal bandwagon. It's also jarring to hear him suggest store-bought, prepacked alternatives after years of him going on about using fresh and natural ingredients.

What I like about the series

• Some of the tips, techniques and shortcuts that seriously didn't occur to me *D'OH!*
• His salad and dessert recipes

But seriously...

• The ingredients - NOT CHEAP and not just because I'm on the other side of the planet.
• Who has the time and money to equip their kitchen in a similar fashion? Seriously?
• The cleanup will take more than 30 minutes, I reckon :P
• Serving a dish on the same chopping board that you've chopped everything else on it? Really?

I read an article somewhere where several home cooks tried to pull off different 30 minute meal from Jamie's companion book to the series, only to fail miserably and take longer than 30 minutes.

I've come to several conclusions about Jamie Oliver's version of 30 Minute Meals - possible only if...

1. You're Jamie Oliver and/or have the crazy chef-y knife skills 
2. You really have the prep work done, which can't be fast :P
3. You got someone else to do the extra washing up - and the food processor and the other appliances he uses on the show need extra cleaning and care, like the garlic press :P

So I won't be crazy enough to buy the book, but goodness knows I already have several Jamie cookbooks that I may never cook out of.

Paget Brewster also back on board the Criminal Minds ship

Who's happy that BOTH Paget Brewster and AJ Cook are going to be back for the seventh season of Criminal Minds? I'm just curious as to how they'll be written back into the show as AJ Cook made a guest appearance in (literally) the last minute of the recent season finale, telling Rossi that she's coming back to the BAU. But as Prentiss is still presumably on the run (and also presumably dead) from the crazy Irishman... how is that going to work out?

If that's the case, it really means that Rachel Nichol's character Seaver is definitely not coming back for the new season. I hope that Seaver gets a nice exit and isn't just killed off willy nilly because her character happens to be a serial killer's daughter and also a rookie. Even a casual mention of her working in a different department is fine by me.

Good news aside, there's still no sign of Thomas Gibson coming back as his contract's not been ironed out yet. Here's hoping.

Related articles

• Paget Brewster Returning to 'Criminal Minds': Report (aoltv.com)

Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza

After Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, there's now Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza on the Game Show Network (GSN).

It's mostly pretty much the same crew (Stiles, Mochrie, Esten, Sherwood, Proops, et al), save for a few faces that I don't recognise personally like Heather Anne Campbell and Jonathan Mangum (but I kind of remembered him from his brief stint on NCIS ).

At least in this one, everyone else gets a turn to host a game and even Drew gets to participate in more games than usual. 

Games I don't care for: Greatest Hits, Sound Effects, Moving People, Forward/Reverse - anything that involves actual audience members on stage or pointless singing.

Games I do like: Whose Line, Freeze Tag, Improv Jeopardy, First Date and Mousetrap

After watching about 20 episodes of Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza on the interwebs, I only have THIS to say: Drew Carey might be addicted to improv, but it's a little painful watching him do it on TV - he's not the fastest mind on the stage. 

But that alone shouldn't deter you from watching the show if you can or remember to.

CSI: NY renewed, yay!

It's old news, but bears repeating - CSI: NY is renewed another season.

It would be sad that it didn't get renewed just as Sela Ward was settling into her role as Jo Danville.

I still stand by that it's still a better CSI spinoff than CSI: Miami.

Related articles

• CSI: NY Renewed; Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior Canceled By CBS (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)

No more Cuddy

I give Lisa Edelstein props for leaving instead of taking the pay cut for the next season of House.

Which begs the question: why is the show's budget getting cut after so many years anyway?

It also shouldn't be hard for the writers to write Cuddy out of the show - I'm hoping it won't be as drastic as how they wrote Kal Penn out.

Related articles

• Lisa Edelstein leaves 'House' (insidetv.ew.com)

First Look: ABC's Charlie's Angels and Once Upon a Time (VIDEO)

Here's a first look at ABC's new offerings for the fall: Charlie's Angels and Once Upon a Time.

The gist: 

Get ready for the knockout hit of the year.  Charlie's Angels is back and hotter than ever.  Meet three ex-bad girls who are earning their wings by busting the really bad guys.  Together with legendary producer Leonard Goldberg and Drew Barrymore, Smallville's Alfred Gough and Miles Millar re-imagine the popular 1970's series with more action, more eye candy and more heart than ever before. 

The premise:

Everyone deserves a second chance.  Even a thief, a street racer and a cop who got in a little too deep.  After all, the three women who solve cases for their elusive boss Charlie Townsend are no saints - they're angels... Charlie's Angels.

This big, loud, fun take on the 1970's smash hit series introduces us to three new angels, all fearless operatives, head-turning beauties and close friends.  There's Abby (Rachael Taylor) a Park Avenue Princess who became a world-class thief.  Then there's Kate (Annie Ilonzeh), a Miami cop who fell from grace, losing both her career and her fiance.  Finally there's Gloria, a disgraced army lieutenant who has a way with explosives.  When one of the angels' missions ends in Gloria's tragic death, Charlie persuades them to partner with Gloria's childhood friend, Eve (Minka Kelly), a street racer with a mysterious past.  They may not know each other yet, but one thing's for sure--Abby, Kate and Eve will always have each other's backs.

Leonard Goldberg (the original Charlie's Angels) and Drew Barrymore (the Charlie's Angels movies) join forces with Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville) to deliver the adrenaline rush of the season.  Set in scorching-hot Miami, Charlie's Angelsdelivers nonstop big screen action.  With the help of Bosley 2.0 (Ramon Rodriguez), their hot, young technical expert, and the guidance of their enigmatic boss Charlie (Robert Wagner), these angels are an unstoppable crime fighting force.

CAST

Annie Ilonzeh - Kate Prince
Minka Kelly - Eve
Rachel Taylor - Abby Sampson
Ramon Rodriguez - Bosley
Robert Wagner - Voice of Charlie

CREDITS
Production Company - ABC Studios
Executive Producer - Edward Kitsis
Executive Producer - Adam Horowitz
Executive Producer - Steve Pearlman
Executive Producer/Director - Mark Mylod

I'm not sure if I'll have time for this - I know the fresh young blood is to attract the young people (who were most likely not even alive when the original TV series was around), but I really don't know who these girls are prior to this and have no name recognition with me personally. Even the younger, hotter Bosley doesn't help much. But with Drew Barrymore producing, who knows?

Connect with the show before it airs:
http://abc.go.com/shows/charlies-angels
http://www.Facebook.com/CharliesAngelsABC
http://www.twitter.com/AngelsABC

CBS Cancellations

CBS has cancelled Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, as well as Mad Love, The Defenders (another Jerry O' Connell show canned - D'OH), $#*! My Dad Says and CHAOS.

I couldn't get into $#*! My Dad Says cos it hits a little too close to (I don't think) just me, but also other unemployed young people who have to move back into their parents' house. Who wants to watch that?

I gave Suspect Behavior a shot, even though I didn't think it had a ghost of a chance in getting renewed because of the other procedural spinoffs. Now it just means that everyone has to move on to the next gig; Forest Whitaker included.

And I didn't bother with the rest because there's only so much TV one can watch.

Related articles

• CBS Cancels 'Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior'; Renews 'CSI: NY' (tvsquad.com)
• CBS Cancels '$#*! My Dad Says,' 'Mad Love,' 'The Defenders' (tvsquad.com)

Hugh Laurie: One More Season of House?

Image via Wikipedia

There's reports in the media that Hugh Laurie thinks that he has got one more season of House in him before calling it quits.

Related articles

• Hugh Laurie: House's Eighth Season May Be My Last (omg.yahoo.com)

Quite frankly, I wouldn't be too upset if it's true: the show jumped its shark several seasons ago. The writing is not as great as it was in its first few seasons and there are many TV characters since that also bear the surly genius archetype. 

Maybe the quote is taken out of context. Who knows.

I watch the show merely out of habit now.

Of course one can also say that it's just a ploy for a long-overdue Emmy.

I don't think I'll miss it as much as I might Lie to Me. Just saying.

Is CSI:NY over?

Just when I was getting used to watching Sela Ward on CSI: NY, now you hear that it might not even be renewed for next year. WTF.

CSI: NY is still a step above CSI: Miami even though the latter came before. But screw Caruso and his sunglasses.

FOX Cancellations :(

FOX cancelled a whole load of shows to make room for news ones (and sodding American Idol). So far they've cancelled The Chicago Code, Traffic Light, Human Target, Breaking In... and sadly, Lie to Me didn't survive the cut, either. 

Those sons of bitches.

Related articles

• Fox Cancels 'Breaking In' and 'Human Target' (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
• Fox Cancels 'Lie to Me' Amid Flurry of Pickups and Cancellations (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)

Why I don't give a crap about GLEE

I get that people like it and find the show entertaining, but it's also literally not my cup of tea. Besides, I already have a buttload of shows I would rather catch up on if I am not already following diligently on a weekly basis. I don't have the time and the energy. I also notice that people who watch and like GLEE don't really have much else to watch. 'Nuff said. :P

While I like my TV, but I have my limits - one of them being that I refuse to watch young 20 to 30-something adults play teenagers on the screen. That's just not realistic, even though most white people look older than they actually are. That's why I don't watch shows set in schools. I don't need watch other people's fake on-screen high school experience for the sake of entertainment.

I get Ryan Murphy wanting to do a light, cheery show after nip/tuck, which was the polar opposite of GLEE, but STILL..

And I don't do well with anything where people spontaneously burst into song, either. It just annoys the shit out of me after awhile.

I swear, if I have to hear that damn Journey cover just ONE MORE TIME... *shake fist*

I also have to give Dave Grohl props for hating on the show as well as not giving them permission to do their songs on the show.

Related articles

• Dave Grohl Burns Ryan Murphy: Not Everyone Loves 'Glee' (tvsquad.com)

Kuchipaku Animal Speakers on The Good Wife

Anyone who saw a recent episode of The Good Wife would recall this scene with Cary and his investigator Andrew Wiley at the latter's home about some missing interview pages.

I don't know about anyone else, but hearing the voice of Glenn Childs coming out of a dancing lion speaker gives me the giggles. So I give everyone in the scene props for keeping their faces straight.

Now I kind of want one of these. Anyone know where to get a reasonably-priced one? Never mind that it uses 3 AA batteries to move like that, but they're pretty cute.

Reaction: America's Next Great Restaurant

I was personally a little disappointed that Spice Coast didn't win America's Next Great Restaurant, but he turned it into the Indian Chipotle, which must give Steve Ells a boner thinking about it. So disappointing. The guy shouldn't have become Steve Ells's bitch. Curtis was so disappointed that Sudhir basically sold out his Indian culture. I think he would've won if he didn't.

Did anyone noticed that there wasn't even a dramatic pause for when Bobby Flay announced the winner? I think I watch way too many of these shows to notice these things. 

I probably should've seen it coming as the Soul Daddy dude's been under the radar as well as not being in the hot seat as much as some of the other contestants on the show. At the same time, I'm also glad that Brooklyn Meatball Company didn't win as well just because.

I have no idea whether there will be another season of America's Next Great Restaurant, but I kind of hope there won't be - it was a pretty rough season to watch.

Random thoughts while watching the royal wedding on TV

I was one of millions of suckers around the planet who saw Friday's royal wedding on TV... well, on the cable news channels anyway. I'm just glad that I don't have to wake up early to watch (like in the US), or stay up too late to watch it - it was on sometime in the evening in my time zone, which wasn't too bad really.

I had my pick of channels to watch the pre-wedding banter/coverage from but I stuck with CNN's coverage, where Anderson Cooper was the odd American on the panel besides Piers Morgan (CNN's token Brit) and Cat Deeley (why? so that Piers wouldn't be the only Brit there?) and also the occasional special guest. CNN also had Vera Wang on standby in New York as someone known for her wedding gowns. I mostly stuck with CNN because of Piers Morgan's snark: he was making fun of Anderson Cooper's choice of suit, etc - it was like having Simon Cowell cover the wedding. It was funny.

• Philip Treacy must be making a killing on the hats that a lot of the women were wearing to Westminster Abbey, including Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice.
• Some of the women's hats are really ridiculous.
• David Beckham and his hair slicked back like that reminded me of Ricky Gervais. Shit you not - same smile, even. Are there pictures of Beckham wearing his top hat before he got there? It'd be a shame if he brought the top hat for nuts.
• Give the British PM's wife props for not being in a stupid hat.
• You can't help but feel bad for the people whose view was blocked by the damn trees in the Abbey.
• I did like the bride's dress - remind me to get lace sleeves like that for hiding the sausage arms :P
• Saw E!'s coverage (with Giuliana Rancic as the lone American on THAT panel) - pretty meh, even though they got Facebook in on the game with them.
•  So's everyone else's royal wedding coverage, really - like TLC and the lot.

Iron Chef America

Started catching up on Iron Chef America (ICA) this week after a couple of missed seasons. I didn't know there were TWO new Iron Chefs now - Iron Chefs Garges and Forgione, who won their respective seasons of The Next Iron Chef (which I've also not seen since its first season). 

What can I say - after missing a few seasons of ICA, I still think it's pretty damn entertaining and hilarious, like the sound effects used, particularly during the challenger's entrance and whenever the Chairman moves his head. You know the ones. Hearing those sounds always cracks me up.

I've gotten over the common-ness of the "secret" ingredient and the behind the scenes stuff - it's still a fun show to watch and still one of my favourite Food Network shows after Good Eats.

AJ Cook back on Criminal Minds

Read it here that AJ Cook is coming back to Criminal Minds for two years as series regular, which apparently first came out via Twitter here. All thanks to the fans, apparently. After all the hoopla about her being fired from the show not too long ago, I guess this would count as a hurrah if you're a fan of her character, JJ. As I'm not (really), all I can say is good on her.

It should be interesting to see how they'll squeeze her back into the show after all that; the most ridiculous thing I could think of is that she comes back to the BAU as liaison between them and the Pentagon (as her character was ordered to take the Pentagon job), or she pulled some string high up in the Pentagon hierarchy to come back to the BAU. If I'm right, it either means that I watch way too much TV (which I can't deny), or the writers ran out of ideas, too.

While we're on the subject of the show, I don't understand the hate on Rachel Nichols (as Seaver), with the show's history of cast comings and goings: In case no one remembered, Mantegna was brought in to replace Mandy Patinkin and Paget Brewster replaced Lola Glaudini (who only lasted ONE season). Did anyone complained about that then? Sometimes you need to change things up. People should just deal with it.

Am I the only person that wondered how Seaver got into the FBI academy with her serial killer dad? We all knew that she changed her last name to her mother's maiden name, but still - you would think that the FBI has the resources to do a deep enough background check on candidates. Or perhaps there was an interview component that she passed with flying colours? 

Anyway, it can't be that hard to work her back into the opening credits and into the huge group shot in the end, no? It's just one of the things I like to watch out for whenever there's news about the cast.

Related articles

• A.J. Cook Officially Returning to 'Criminal Minds' As Series Regular (tvsquad.com)

Comments about this week's Top Chef Masters

"Everything Old Is New Again"

1. Did anyone else knew Kelis was a "trained chef"? Neither did I.
2. I should be glad that it wasn't a MILKSHAKE quickfire challenge - that would be groan- and cringe-worthy.
3. Having never seen Body of Proof or Mad Men.... holy shit, he's married to her?! REALLY? The lucky schmuck. Okay, okay - I know I'm not the first person to say or think it, but it bears repeating.

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• Top Chef Masters: Christina Hendricks, Kelis and Not Enough Duck à l'Orange (eonline.com)

No more Hetty? *GASP*

The NCIS: LA fandom was abuzz when the news broke that Claire Forlani will be joining the show in the near future as their new operations manager, where some fans have speculated (perhaps), to possibly replace Linda Hunt. 

I don't how they'll write this one - is Linda Hunt's contract up, or wants out, or getting written out? Will Claire Forlani be keeping her English accent, or be American? So many questions.


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• Claire Forlani cast as 'NCIS: LA' operations manager: Is Hetty heading out? - EXCLUSIVE (insidetv.ew.com)

Top Chef Masters, Revamped

Image via Wikipedia

Caught the latest season of Top Chef Masters (TCM), with the format revamped from previous seasons. It's now more like Top Chef and Top Chef: Just Desserts, where one chef is eliminated on a weekly basis with the usual Top Chef-esque challenges. 

Frankly, I didn't really find anything wrong with the old TCM format; I just thought that it was differently refreshing from the rest of the Top Chef franchise. But if they want to standardise the format, then fine.

As part of the revamp, Curtis Stone took over hosting duties from Kelly Choi (who? heh heh). I guess this is NBC Universal (who owns the Bravo)'s way of addressing the issue :P But also in line with Bravo's thing of having non-American (born) minor celebrities host their reality-competition shows. When I first heard that Curtis Stone is hosting this season of TCM, my only question was "Why?" Never mind that I liked the guy from before he was on American TV screens, but now with his judgvestor gig on America's Next Great Restaurant (also an NBC Universal thing) and between his previous shows like Surfing the Menu, My Restaurant Rules and the occasional episode of Take Home Chef, it's Curtis Stone overload for me.

Not being an American foodie, I didn't recognise most of the contestants this season - if I'm not wrong, Traci Des Jardins was a contestant back in the first season, but got the boot pretty early, so it was nice that they brought her back for a another shot at this. I'm gonna take a guess and say that these are the chefs that don't have to the time to appear as judges on Top Chef? Am I the only one that's glad Wylie Dusfrene is not back a THIRD time? Oy.

One of the things I like about the first Quickfire is to see who didn't finish in time. Crappy ingredients like marshmallow, licorice, canned corn beef were the mystery box ingredients. Three unfortunate cheftestants got disqualified for not done plating on time, which was a bit anticlimatic as they were competing in pairs and it means that the other person won by default.

Since it is TCM after all, it's only fitting that they get Restaurant Wars as their first elimination challenge - which I don't think it's that big a deal since most of them have opened restaurants before, so it wasn't terribly chaotic until service started. I think the only reason why diners preferred Leela over Mosaic was because they didn't have to wait too long to be seated. To wait too long for food is one thing, to be standing there waiting to be seated is another.

Critic-wise, the only constant since the first season is James Oseland, the guy from Saveur.

Related articles

• Who Is Curtis Stone Anyway? (huffingtonpost.com)

Prentiss's Departure (Spoiler)

If you've not seen this week's episode of Criminal Minds where Paget Brewster's character Emily Prentiss got written out of the show for this season, go watch it someplace and then come back. Really.

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Google Person Finder

Just thought I'd put this up - spread the word!

America's Next Great Restaurant

Saw the pilot of America's Next Great Restaurant. Twenty semifinalists fly to LA to pitch their concepts to the judgvestors (I'm calling dibs on this portmanteau - it's faster than typing judges/investors) and also to cook samples from their menus for a place in the Top 10. 

The top prize is not too shabby - financial backing from the judgvestors to open restaurants in LA, New York and Minneapolis in several weeks, which is two more restaurants than usual. If the show feels familiar, it's produced by the same people behind Top Chef, except this show is on NBC and primarily hosted by Bobby Flay.

• Didn't know the founder of Chipotle is a skinny white dude. You learn something new each day.
• Some of the finalists' ideas are admittedly pretty stupid, so much so I totally forgot what they were even though I just saw it. Were those seriously the best ideas the producers found in the auditions?
• They had the racist wing dude in for the drama - he wasn't going to go that far.
• Minneapolis for the Midwestern market? Chicago would've been TOO obvious, I suppose.
• Having the judgvestors use their own money is a great incentive for them to pick the right winner. I'm sure they won't give a damn if it wasn't their money. 
• I didn't know Curtis Stone had money to invest in someone's restaurant :P
• I have no idea why Curtis Stone is a judgvestor on this show. Apparently, neither does he. HAHA.
• The Soupz lady was hilarious, and the cartoon voice helped that along its way.

I'd keep watching just because I'm such a reality show junkie.

Bieber dies... on CSI (VIDEO)

I know it happened awhile ago and the moment's over, but I cannot be the only one that was happy to watch Justin Bieber gunned down on CSI a couple of weeks back, even if it didn't happen for real (oh, the rest of us can only dream). The good news is that there are more likes than dislikes on the videos posted on YouTube, haha. 

To be fair, he was playing a baddie on the show, so he got what he deserved (on the small screen).

Two and a Half Men spoof on House (VIDEO)

It wasn't the first time I saw this before I saw this week's episode of House - I don't know if it's bad timing on their part with the Charlie Sheen meltdown, or they really intended to poke fun at that whole situation.

While I'm not a huge fan of Two and a Half Men, but a spoof starring Hilson (House + Wilson) is hilarious - the straight man (Wilson), the not-so straight man (House) and kid (in this case, Cuddy's kid Rachel), even down to House in the bowling shirt (haha). It's hard to miss.

Oscars and STAR Movies - Really?!

Watching the STAR MOVIES pre-show with Lisa S and Jason Godfrey was annoying; mostly because it's a huge time suck. The Academy Awards are already long enough without the hour-long preshow where both hosts and special guests go on about their predictions and what not. Huge waste of time.

I've been wondering why James Franco and Anne Hathaway were picked as hosts for the Oscars, cos if they wanted to "appeal to a younger audience" they might as well had Miley and Bieber host the show :P But I'm a fan of Anne Hathaway, so no real complaints from me.

• The mandatory "host(s)-digitally-inserted-into-nominated-movies" opening is a little stale, but you didn't expect them to include Back to the Future and also Grease.
• A lot of the winners also happened to be first-time nominees. I'd hate to be the ones that have been snubbed time and again.*coughScorsesecough*
• Justin Timberlake announcing that he was Banksy fell flat BIG time. Wrong show to "announce" that, perhaps?
• James Franco just seems stoned the entire show.
• I want what Anne Hathaway was on - she was totally the total opposite of Franco.
• I never want to see James Franco in drag ever again - who's with me?
• When Inception was winning the technical awards like sound mixing, etc, that is when I know that they won't be winning the big one (Best Picture). But good on the people that worked on the movie that won.
• Some hilarious and amusing acceptance speeches, F-bomb excluded.
• Has Oprah ever presented at the Oscars?
• Nothing against Firth and Portman for winning Best Actor and Actress, respectively.
• The closing with the singing kids was endearing, but having the night's winners all come out carrying their statues seem a tad obnoxious and the cute moment died right there. 
• I thought Inception might win Best Motion Picture, but I'm okay with The King's Speech too. Just as long as it's not The Social-freaking-Network.
• What happened to the ushers that would help the ladies up the stairs in their gowns? I only noticed because Natalie Portman's baby daddy had to help her up when she won the best actress award.

I thought the Oscars wasn't too bad, it's the STARWORLD preamble that I really don't care for.

Two and a Half Men Cancelled... no shit, Sherlock :P

Image via WikipediaAfter all that shit Charlie Sheen has done lately; all he had to do to shut down production of Two and a Half Men was to threaten Chuck Lorre. It really was a matter of time before something like this happened; hope Jon Cryer and the kid had other stuff lined up.

Carrying on with the show without Charlie would be nearly impossible; not to mention changing the title of the show to One and a Half Men or Two Men and Surly Housekeeper wouldn't be as hilarious.

I'm not the only one that feels bad about the cast and crew who are now unemployed because of one jack ass.

I'll be surprised if the show came back for another season. If they did, maybe they could write Charlie off...

But really - meh. Never got terribly attached to the show.

Understanding TV spouses piss me off

If you've watch enough TV, you'd notice that there are some shows where one or more lead characters are married/otherwise committed to spouses/partner/significant others that are pretty understanding as to what they do for a living and are pretty much okay with their quirks and idiosyncrasies. I watch these shows with incredulity when it comes to their home life aspect, thinking "that's not for real!" - I know it's not, just bear with me.

Here's a list of characters that comes to mind:

• Tiffani Thiessen's character Elizabeth Burke on White Collar
• David Conrad's character on The Ghost Whisperer (as Jennifer Love-Hewitt's uber understanding husband)
• At least one of the women on Army Wives... and maybe that guy who's wife is in the army.
• Jon Tenney on The Closer - so much so that he doesn't even wear the pants in their marriage anymore :P But it's good to see him exasperated with the wife on occasion.
• Kelli Williams on Lie to Me - while technically not romantically involved with Tim Roth's Dr Cal Lightman, but she seems to be okay with his crazy shenanigans and is about as good as a TV spouse can get.

The rare exception that I could think of would be Meredith Monroe's character Haley on Criminal Minds, who divorced from Hotch because of his job.

First Impressions of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior pilot

It's months since the back door pilot of the Criminal Minds (CM) spinoff; and finally Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (as it's now known) starts this week with a child abduction case. 

First impressions so far: 

1. The opening narration (to explain the function and difference of this team) brings back memories of The A-Team; I wonder if it's one-off or will it be a regular feature?
2. Theme song not as memorable (or creepy) as the original, which is just as well because I can't imagine anyone using the original CM tune for a ringtone. 
3. Good to see some of the characters from the back door pilot made it, like the English guy.
4. The Red Cell team is the CM version of the Five-O team (that they work outside the bureaucracy,  and answer directly to the director of the FBI, too casually dressed for their jobs, etc) with a run down gym for an office. The bad-der ass version of the original CM team, perhaps?
5. Obviously, the only common link between the two is Kirsten Vangsness, who's character Penelope Garcia also serves as their tech analyst too. Garcia is one busy lady - I wonder if she ever get her shit mixed up? Plus she doesn't seem to be in the same office as on CM. Also very grim on this pilot and not as sassy as anyone knows the character to be.
6. The other common feature between the two is the use of the word "unsub" - if they didn't, then no one would guess that this was the CM spinoff.
7. Actors need a regular paycheque too - that must be what Forest Whitaker was thinking when he signed on to do the show - he kinda seems to be phoning it in.
8. I have no comment about Janeane Garofalo in this.
9. The case is a bit blah.

We'll see where this goes, but high hopes is what I don't have for this spinoff.

NBC's Prime Suspect

I hate it sometimes when Americans can't seem to leave the British shows bloody well alone and make the American version of everything, like Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars), Top Gear, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, The Office, etc etc. Word on the street is that NBC has finally found their lead for the American reboot/remake of Prime Suspect, and it's Maria Bello.

Admittedly, I've never seen the original English Prime Suspect (with Dame Helen Mirren), but I think it must be pretty bad ass simply because it's Dame Helen Mirren. Yes, I'm biased like that. I'll get back to everyone on this when I'm all caught up.

There's gonna be the usual questions, like the format of the show - is it going to be the typical "case solved in 42 minutes", or would it be closer to the format of the original, with cases shown in multiple parts?

There aren't too many crime procedural shows with a female lead, except maybe The Closer, which they've admitted was inspired a little by Prime Suspect.

Anyone else watching NBC's Prime Suspect this fall?

NCIS renewed for another season

Who was worried that NCIS wouldn't be renewed for a ninth season?

Exactly.

I'm a fan, but I wasn't exactly worried that it wouldn't be renewed. I mean, it's doing pretty well in the ratings for itself and the fandom is pretty fanatic about the show.

It was a definite shoo-in for renewal since just about everyone on the cast has renewed their contracts and there hasn't been a lot of departure news.

Save Lie to Me!!!!

Admittedly, the direction of Lie to Me is a little iffy (in my opinion) since they don't have the FBI case of the week angle or the Clara Musso arc anymore, but I'm eager to see where it's going. And since it hasn't been picked up for a back nine (leaving the current season at 13 episodes), fans are worried that it's a sign that it won't be renewed for Season 4, which is a valid concern, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm worried too, because Tim Roth is fun to watch on a weekly basis on the small screen and I can't be arsed to watch some of the films I've not already seen he's been in that he's not wearing prosthetic makeup (Hulk, Planet of the Apes) or not.

Why Lie to Me should be renewed

1. Tim Roth - 'nuff said.
2. I'm a Cal-lian 'shipper, so shoot me.
3. Dr Paul Ekman (who's work the show is very loosely based on) is also a consultant and has a blog where he comments on each episode (if applicable) - worth a read if you're into these things.
4. The father-daughter relationship is similar to the one on Castle (yes, I said it), just with more snark - LOVE IT!!
5. Because it's not a cop and/or procedural show - it is still a drama series.

Twitter users should check out the Twitter-based petitions here and here; and if there are other petitions online, please sign them and spread the word.

Random thoughts about the Golden Globes

Apart from finding most of the Golden Globe winners a little meh, I thought it was just alright.

• Saw some ugly dresses/outfits - yes, I'm talking about Tilda Swinton, but that's an easy target; that's like poking fun at some other badly dressed famous person.
• Ricky Gervais's scathing opening monologue (by American standards, anyway) - makes me wonder who's gonna get the hosting gig next year, haha. Anyone noticed that his refreshment vessel was getting smaller as the evening went on? (He started with a beer mug and ended with a wine glass on the podium). Also love the rest of the hosting gig. 
• The only people who loved Ricky Gervais's hosting was the people Gervais did not poke fun at during the show.
• There's no way in heck that Robert Downey Jr should host an awards show, no matter how raunchy he gets doing it, like he did when he was presenting an award in the show. If that was him sober, imagine  if he wasn't :P
• Always love the Globes, knowing that at least some of the acceptance speeches are tinged with slight inebriation (allegedly) and people would fuck up a little.
• Call me weird, but I also like to see who the Miss/Mr Golden Globe (actor offspring; the young men and women that guide people off stage, etc) is because some of them would come to their own down the road - this year it's Gia Mantegna, daughter of Joe Mantegna.
• How the heck is Scott Caan the only one nominated from Hawaii Five-O?
• Yes, am a little sad that Inception didn't win anything, it got beat by The Social Network in all their nominated categories.
• Why is Matt Bomer the only one out of White Collar presenting? Pretty boy role? If I hadn't seen the guy in a tux on the show before I'd be amazed, but I'm not.

The Ricky Gervais Show

I'm watching episodes of HBO's The Ricky Gervais Show, which is essentially the animated, edited version of his popular podcast, The Ricky Gervais Podcast. But on premium cable.

Thankfully they're only about half an hour long, so it's not that bad - but are Americans such a visual people that you have to come up with a visual interpretation of an audio broadcast? Really? If nothing else, I like the Hanna-Barbera look of the show.

I can't be the only one that wonders how Karl (Pilkington, the show's idiot-in-residence) came to be a PRODUCER before his current infamy as Britain's most famous idiot. Well to be fair, I also know some professionals who can be pretty ditzy...

There's nothing like feeling smarter compared to Karl Pilkington.

Things I will miss about The Closer

Image via WikipediaFirst Lie to Me doesn't get a full season, now there was an announcement that The Closer will come to an end in 2011 with its seventh season. I know I'm not the only one who reacted this way when the news first broke - but just to let you know, it's NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.............!!!

I suppose the show has come a really long way - The Closer started off with Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson who was single, new to the job and LA, hated by the subordinates to being married and respected by everyone she works with.

Ain't it odd that this came out not long after Kyra Sedgwick won that Emmy? Coincidence? It's not like they work all year round on the show, they only work six bloody months out of the year because Kyra's a New Yorker. Maybe she got tired of the show, because wanting to end the show "on a good note" is the oldest excuse in the book, but waiting for the show to go south (no pun intended) and cancelled is just that much worse.

If it has to end, I hope it goes out well; I hope she settles that beef with that rapist lawyer at least. Now I wonder if she and Fritz will have a kid.... waitaminute, by the time the show end, it would've been over 100 episodes already - won't The Closer qualify for syndication? It'll be on FOREVER...

Things I will miss about The Closer

• Brenda's wardrobe - the candy cotton pink trenchcoat, anyone?
• The antics of "Flovenza" - Lieutenants Provenza and Flynn - those guys crack me up
• Her home life with Fritz and Joel the cat
• The cat(s), dearly departed Kitty and Joel
• Watch Fritz not wear the pants first in their relationship, then marriage... Oh Fritzy, REALLY?!

Related articles

• 'The Closer' to End After Season 7 (buddytv.com)
• 'The Closer's' Kyra Sedgwick: 'Brenda Likes To Do Things On Her Own' (tvsquad.com)

No back nine for Lie to Me? What does it mean?

I just saw the news that Lie to Me won't be getting their back nine for the season, my heart sank a little bit.

I love watching Tim Roth on the show, not playing an American character for once. Admittedly the writing's gone in a different direction this season, but I'm still waiting for it to work out by season's end.

Then I remembered that the first season was also only 13 episodes. Hmm.

I really hope that it gets renewed in the end.

Related articles

• Fox Passes on 'Lie to Me' Full Season Order (tvsquad.com)