Fashion Star

Saw the first two episodes of Fashion Star, with Elle Macpherson serving as host, and with Jessica Simpson, John Varvatos and Nicole Richie as mentors to the designers. You know it's produced by the same team behind Top Chef because while Elle Macpherson is a natural choice to host, she also still has her Australian accent. I don't think it's fair for this show to be compared to Project Runway because fashion on Project Runway is supposed to be more avant garde, and not necessarily more commercial and accessible to the average Jane in a department store.

In theory, it sounds like a viable concept. It's just that...

• The music used for the runway segments was too loud, commercial (mostly recognisable Top 40 hits), and a bit distracting from the outfits on display. 
• The buyers from Saks, Macy's and H&M are (allegedly) not actual buyers. I wonder what their respective budgets are (if any) per episode.
• Tiny Oscar is annoying, to say the least. Glad he didn't make it. And, I know I've seen the dresses that he's sent down before somewhere else. 
• I thought that Elle and the contestants would be standing on a lazy Susan so that they don't have to actually turn around when it came time to face the buyers. I guess they don't have the budget after splashing out money on the music...

The show must have been shot earlier in Jessica Simpson's pregnancy as she still looks (Jessica Simpson) svelte. That, and there's no way they could expedite the winning designs to the stores if it was done in real time.

I'm okay with having multiple designers showing their designs simultaneously at this stage of the game - it's only a few pieces each.

As much as sadistic me enjoys seeing "NO OFFER" flash across the buyer's big screens for some of the puzzling designs down the runway, but a bidding war is fun to watch too.

I did check out the winning designs online... they look nice, but the cheapskate in me is not about to spend 3 digits. It's just how it is. And some of the designs are already sold out! Who's buying these and how many  pieces were made available?

All that aside, it won't stop me from watching this journey unfold.

CBS Show Renewals

Been getting Google Alert emails all day about the long list of shows being renewed by CBS, so here's who made the cut.

Shows not getting cancelled anytime soon: CSI, Criminal Minds, NCIS, NCIS:LA, The Mentalist

Like there was ever any doubt.

Comedies I don't watch, but good on them: Mike & Molly, 2 Broke Girls (really?)

Shows I was unnecessarily worried that would not get renewed: The Good Wife, Hawaii Five-0 

New-ish shows I've not seen before entire episodes of before: Blue Bloods, Person of Interest

Non-scripted shows: The Amazing Race (yay!), Undercover Boss, 60 Minutes (Why would anyone not renew this?), 48 Hours Mystery

Shows still on that bubble: CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Unforgettable, A Gifted Man, Rob, Rules of Engagement, Two and a Half Men (huh)

I am a little worried about CSI: Miami and CSI: NY still being on the bubble, but if the worst-case scenario does happen... I hope they come to a good end. Never seen Unforgettable or A Gifted Man, so no comment. The comedies still on the bubble I can go without. 

Elementary with Miller and Liu

Because Americans can't seem to leave a good thing alone, word is that CBS is doing their own contemporary Sherlock series called Elementary with Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as (Joan) Watson, set in New York City. That's all everyone knows about this, not whether the pilot is already picked up, or anything else.

Some things to point out:

1. The word "Elementary" was never uttered in original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle canon. 
2. That said, I hope that deerstalker cap never makes a appearance - it already did in the BBC one.
3. Gender swapping Watson is a way out of the homoerotic undercurrent between Holmes and (John) Watson.

The only good thing about this is that we might finally get to hear Jonny Lee Miller use his own English accent... will he? I hope he's not playing an American.

I think if they got someone else, this show would be DOA. Some people might give the pilot a shot because of Lucy Liu. But I don't know about its long term chances of survival. But it might fill in tiny void left by the three, 90 minute episodes that is BBC's Sherlock, which appears to take forever to shoot.

That is, if the pilot gets picked up...

Thoughts about the Oscars

• Saw a bit of both E!'s and also ABC's coverage of the red carpet. Definitely waited for Seacrest's "ashing" by Sacha Baron Cohen. How hard can it be to remove ash from a tux we never found out because Seacrest definitely changed into another tux during a commercial break. 
• Billy Crystal was okay for a last minute replacement. Now I have to find his musical number online because I missed the second half.
• Cracked up when the winners of the category Angelina Jolie presented also stuck their right legs out like she did while she was presenting moments before. I hope it doesn't become a weird meme... or a Tumblr blog. (Too late - found a Twitter account)
• While it's sad that Deathly Hallows Part 2 did not win anything on its last legs, but as long as the Twilight movies aren't nominated AT ALL, I can live with that. 
• At the risk of sounding crass, but I wish I did not have to hear covers of What a Wonderful World or Somewhere Over the Rainbow particularly during the In Memoriam montage at award shows.
• Nothing against the winners, especially The Artist, Ms Meryl Streep and Christopher Plummer. 
• I only got Best Makeup right when I said The Iron Lady would take it. 
• Wasn't surprised The Artist won Best Picture - I've been hearing buzz about it for months now. Is it weird that I want to see it now for the dog?

Paget Brewster off Criminal Minds... for real

Image via Wikipedia

Aaaannnnd... Paget Brewster is leaving the Criminal Minds mothership, on her own terms.

Or rather, she's not renewing her contract with the show, which will (inevitably) be picked up for another season. I hope her character doesn't actually get killed off, but I do wonder how she'll get written off. It can't be that hard - between the entire BAU unit, they've enough PTSD to go around  and leave en masse :P

I don't understand the overreaction of the fans with regards to the lineup change - it's not the first time it's happened. THESE THINGS HAPPEN. Deal with it, it's only a TV show. In case you can't tell, I am pretty blase about it. 

Word is still out on whether Matthew Gray Gubler will be returning next season.

I can't wait to see the cast picture they flash in the end of the opening montage next season... 

Related articles

• 'Criminal Minds': Paget Brewster to Leave After Season 7 (buddytv.com)

Finally - the end of House MD is upon us!

Here for the details.

It's getting to the point where it's painful to watch the show (well okay, it has been that way for the last few seasons now). I've always said that it should've ended sooner. I'm just glad they're not going another season.

Now everyone will want to know how the show will end. As always, I'm hoping for a not-shitty ending. But I wonder if Stephen Fry could drop in...

Oh well - drop your ideas :)

Napoleon Dynamite's back... in cartoon form

Image via Wikipedia

Does anyone still have a "Vote for Pedro" tee shirt anymore, or have they been turned to dish rags by now?

That's what I was thinking watching the first few episodes of Napoleon Dynamite, the animated series on FOX. Like FOX needs another animated series in its roster. 

It's been compared to King of the Hill, which I can't vouch for because I will admit that I have never seen it nor am I likely to now. 

I only saw the movie on TV about a year or two after it's been out in cinemas and have not sat through it since, so I'm not one to remember the movie's nuances. Everyone is back (in voice, thankfully), and then some new characters for the show. Which is just as well because I am not the only one who wants to see Jon Heder in his Napoleon getup so long after the fact. Or even the guy that played Pedro be Pedro again in person.

For all the grief I'm giving this show, it has its funny moments, like how Napoleon finally gets to meet his dream animal the liger and crushed when he sees the very domesticated and docile ligers in a compound.

I'm not sure how long the show will run for (probably not very), but I'll be along for the ride.

Related articles

• Jon Heder brings Napoleon Dynamite to TV (canada.com)

The Finder

So I saw the backdoor pilot of The Finder on Bones just like everyone else. I totally forgot about it because one is never sure if shows like this will get picked up or not in the end - that is the entire point of the backdoor pilots. I would've streamed the proper pilot episode online but saw it on a television unit anyway, thanks to FOX Asia. 

• Pity Saffron Burrows didn't make it past the backdoor pilot. Oh well - her accent there was ridiculous: the woman's already English, there's no need for her (of all people) to put on such a hick English accent.
• The sight of Jaime Murray as the crazy monokini-wearing drug lord was hilariously ridiculous. Her character's name also not easy to say. She should be a recurring guest star or something.
• They added two more ladies to the show to balance out Michael Clarke Duncan and that other guy. Not sure how the young parolee fits into the scheme of things, but we'll wait and see.

I suppose if you like The Mentalist or some other quirky-character driven show (like say, House), you might want to give this a shot. I like it enough to keep watching if it's on TV, but I won't bother streaming it or what. 

[VIDEO] Juggling Kristen Schaal

Kirsten Schaal is back yet again for another funny video playing the new Sony Xperia Play! This time she's shooting goals in Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, while juggling on the couch. Check out this short and humorous video below:

The Sony Xperia Play is a gaming oriented smartphone that features a 1Ghz Snapdragon Processor, Android operating system, and intuitive touchpad with buttons. This makes playing games like Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 a breeze, all the while being able to text your friends, or even browse Facebook.

I don't know if those really are her actual, (very) hirsute legs juggling the ball like a boss, but it still cracked me up all the same.

A proper NCIS:LA/H50 crossover! Yay!

Finally, a sweeps stunt I could live with - a PROPER NCIS: LA/Hawaii Five-0 crossover! Not the "Kensi-on-Hawaii-Five-0-for-3-minutes" crossover bullshit from last year.

According to this, it starts with Callen and Sam appearing on Hawaii Five-0 one night, and McGarrett and Danny on NCIS: LA the following night. Since it has been established on that previous episode that McGarrett knew Sam from way back when (during the SEAL days?), this is the only "in" that we know of.

Now I'm wondering whether H50 will crossover with Gibbs and co at some point in the future since they supposedly exist in the same universe together... Stiva, anyone?

Martha not renewed

Is anyone that surprised The Martha Stewart Show is not getting renewed?

I personally haven't seen the show for ages, so it's just as well.

Besides, doing things from scratch is NOT on most people's minds, okay. I like watching it, but only in the aspirational sense. Learnt some things over the years, but that's just about it. 

Related articles

• 'The Martha Stewart Show' Canceled By Hallmark (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
• Why The Martha Stewart Show Had to Go (ideas.time.com)

Alton Brown at Google

It's been around awhile, but while there are repeats running, why not catch up on some Authors@Google events. Finally saw Alton Brown's recent trip to the Google campus for his Good Eats: The Later Years book tour. Those Googlers sure have some interesting questions. 

Which reminds me, I only have the first Good Eats book - I got to add the others on the "to buy" list at some point.

The Closer leak... who could it be?

Just saw the winter finale of The Closer. Not a bad episode. Don't really remember how the FBI have a claim to the (literally) shot-calling rich guy that Fritz arrested. I probably should've seen that coming - that a) she wouldn't be so dumb to go by herself, and b) but also not with her team or at least Raydor (who seems to be on her side and also looking into the leak situation).

If you've been watching, you would know that Chief Johnson has a new nemesis this season in the form of skeezy lawyer Goldman, who's taking her down at first for the death of the gangbanger from the previous season to (now) the grey area confessions that we've all seen over the years in a federal suit.

I like how The Closer is going out with a bang, not with a whimper. Viewers are hit with the "leak in the division" and the "retribution" plot twists to keep us watching and speculating as to how it will all pan out. The long hiatus until NEXT summer for the last 6 episodes will kill fans (not literally, but you know what I mean) who are dying to find out who the leak is. When that happens and we watch the entire season again, it would probably make more sense then.

I know I'm not the first person to speculate about this on the Interwebs, but here's a summary of what I've read:

• Most to gain: Pope and Taylor, particularly Taylor as his career has gotten a little stagnant since she came in. Pope - to solidify his post as Chief of Police. But that's too easy and obvious, even as per Occam's Razor.
• Left field guesses: Fritz, Buzz and Gabriel - Fritz, in order to protect her as her husband; Buzz and Gabriel from their discomfort about the way she got those confessions over the years. 
• Rest of the squad (Tao, Sanchez, et al) - not likely, but you never know..

I'm not sure if anyone else had put this forward, but these would be my hats in that ring:

• Flovenza: Based on what they would do for a little more money on the side...
• Raydor: I know she's being all nice and supportive towards Brenda and all, but wouldn't it ruin Major Crimes, the spinoff?

Then there's the matter of how the show would end - if she survived the federal lawsuit, would she quit or retire to take care of her sick father (as she had mentioned already having plans to go back to Atlanta if that were to happen)? I don't know.

I hope that my mind is blown when they finally expose the leak, or I would be seriously disappointed that we've been kept in suspense for so many months for such a shitty payoff.

Theories in the comments section please, and thank you :)

Daniel Radcliffe on SNL? HOLY COW!

Daniel Radcliffe is hosting SNL! Holy shit!

It's already borderline creepy that I have a thing for the guy even though he's younger than yours truly (not that  much okay, 5 years is nothing compared to other celebrity age gaps). Him doing SNL after Potter is not a bad move to make... I'm pretty sure there has been Potter-related SNL sketches that I'm forgetting about.

While I usually don't sit through entire episodes of SNL (it depends on who's hosting) and would read the recaps afterwards, but I'll find a way to watch this one after January 14th. 

I'm hoping for at least ONE Potter joke in there somewhere, or I would be a little disappointed. Or a "surprise" appearance from one of the Potter castmates. I don't know. One can only guess. 

*Makes note in calendar*

Related articles

• Daniel Radcliffe to host 'SNL' (insidetv.ew.com)

Originals the Webseries (TRAILER)

[From the inbox] 

From a writer of “The Office” comes “Originals,” a new web series about two young, wannabe television producers who are struggling to think of an original comedy show concept. Created by Anthony Farrell (The Office) and Brett Heard (Fresh Baked) and sponsored by McDonald’s Canada, the mini-sitcom is fresh and definitely original.

Here's the trailer...

I can understand the struggle to come up with an original comedy sitcom concept - Why do you think there are so many crime busting shows on TV?

If there's one thing I know now is that Canada has McCafe. And the bespectacled guy sorta kinda reminds me of Michael Rosenbaum whenever he's not on Smallville.

New episodes are available every Tuesday and Thursday through December on the “Originals” Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/OriginalsTheSeries

Coldplay at The X Factor 2011 Live Final

I don't always remember to watch every single time Coldplay performs on TV (made much easier thanks to YouTube), but I try to when I remember. Once you've seen the first few, you pretty much have seen them all. And they've hit most of the major places on both sides of the Atlantic to plug their album - talk shows (Letterman, Kimmel...), SNL, Colbert Report, The Jonathan Ross Show, etc etc. Take your pick.

Here's a video of them doing both current singles (Paradise and Charlie Brown) from Mylo Xyloto on The X-Factor (UK)'s finale show. What I found mind blowing was all the lights in the audience blinking along to the music. 

Reminders to self:

1. At least learn the lyrics to Charlie Brown before I attempt to sing along like a maniac.
2. Bring HUGE garbage bag to collect as many of those paper butterflies as I possibly can next time I see them on tour.

A Krampus Carol by Anthony Bourdain

Apparently this little short did not make it on the No Reservations holiday special, which in the past would mean that we, the hoi polloi, would never see it unless it's a DVD extra or something like that. Thanks to the interwebs, it will be there until kingdom come. I won't be the first to say that it is a little creepy. Watch at your peril.

Apart from that, saw the rest of the holiday special. Worth watching, there's even a Samantha Brown (who I don't watch as she's too bubbly for my liking) appearance towards the end.

"Little Bad Guy" featuring Rubik's Cube

I've never solved a Rubik's Cube, like ever. It is not something I pick up to play with for any reason. I don't even understand why was it a hot thing back in its day. But I will give props to people who do it with ease. That said, here's a Funny or Die video featuring a Rubik's Cube, which I thought was stupid hilarious. Enjoy!

Detectives Tanner and McGloin have gotten themselves into big trouble with a little package. Will they be able to foil a puzzling scheme by their arch nemesis Little Bad Guy? “Little Bad Guy” by Funny or Die features the world famous Rubik's Cube, the world's top-selling puzzle game. Check out the video below:

Think you have what it takes to solve the Rubik’s Cube? join the Rubik’s community on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/YouCanDoTheRubiksCube

Kristen Schaal plays the Sony Xperia PLAY

While I don't hate Kristen Schaal, but I can't call myself a huge fan either. But I didn't know she has geek cred..

Kristen Schaal is back again to show you the new Sony Xperia PLAY! Last time she asked you to create a Minecraft shrine, and now she's here to show you Lady Cop Kristen, and thinks she can face off against Major League Gamer, Tsquared. Kristen also attempts to be a Sniper, which doesn't end so smoothly.. you'll just have to watch the videos to find out!

The Sony Xperia PLAY is a smartphone that offers a 1Ghz SnapDragon processor and gaming keypad optimized for all of your mobile gaming needs. Play Battlefield: Bad Company 2, 9mm, or any of the other 150+ games available on the go, from the tips of your thumbs. Check out the official Xperia PLAY site for more information: http://bit.ly/gZNmlE

Prime Suspect cancelled? :(

NBC is such a fickle-minded mistress - after only 8 aired episodes, production on Prime Suspect has come to a halt after a 13 (14?) episode season. They say this is a precursor to cancellation. 

If that does happen, I am sad to see it go. I didn't hate it or anything. Damn Americans that refuse to watch it.

PS. For the record, I have nothing against the hat.

Related articles

• NBC Halts Production on 'Prime Suspect'; No Return In Sight (screenrant.com)