Archive for August, 2011
Quick Take: America’s Got Talent – The Semi Finals Part 2
Aug 31st
12 performers, 5 slots. Who will complete the lineup for this year’s America’s Got Talent finals?
Whereas last week’s Semi Finals installment – heralded as the best ever by Piers Morgan – was fairly easy to predict, this week’s choices are a lot tougher. The fact is every act last night by and large delivered with some minor slip-ups but no total disasters. Put it this way, there were no Russian Bar Trio singing badly on an upside down piano…
So who goes and who stays? Perhaps this week it’s easiest to run through the acts most likely to head home first…
True Blood: Why Andy Bellefleur Has To Go!
Aug 30th
Okay, I’ve bitten my tongue for as long as I can… and I just can’t contain myself anymore!
Can we all finally agree that it’s high time that the truly tiresome Andy Bellefleur met the true death on True Blood?
I’ve stuck with my favorite vampire saga for 4 full seasons – through the highs (Maryann, King Russell, Alcide) and the lows (a good chunk of Season 3) – so as a true fan I’m totally in my rights to name paunchy local cop Andy the series most unnecessary and uninteresting character. Ever!
Through all the time that we’ve known him Andy has never once risen to the level of a 3 dimensional character. He’s True Blood’s resident oaf, a cartoonish clown who can always be relied upon to screw up and get the facts wrong. So basically he’s Jason. Except Sookie’s brother at least has his sex appeal to fall back on.
The New Dancing With The Stars Cast: Cue The Complaining!
Aug 30th
So as you probably heard, last night ABC unveiled the latest cast competing for a tacky mirrorball trophy on Dancing With The Stars, season 13.
And the response was… well completely predictable!
As usual when these kind of announcements are made, bloggers and commentators across the web are weighing in today with their usual ‘where are the stars’ sniping. Nikki Finke is as sneering as ever, proving once again that while she’s a great industry reporter she’s pretty out of touch when it comes to pop culture.
I’ll be totally honest – I’m not a Dancing With The Stars fan. I’ve tried to get into the show many times in the past but I find it corny, silly and frankly rather dull. For me there are no stakes or real jeopardy and I honestly don’t understand the show’s appeal.
Before They Were Big: Octavia Spencer in Ugly Betty
Aug 29th
Chance are if you’ve been to see The Help at the movies you’ve become a fan of Octavia Spencer!
As put upon maid Minny in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel, Octavia steals almost every scene she’s in – and this in a movie that’s full of big characters and performances.
I’d been wondering for a while where I’d seen Octavia before and turns out it wasn’t that long ago that she was gracing the small screen with another memorable role…
Yep, back in 2008, Octavia had a guest arc on Ugly Betty, playing Constance, an INS caseworker who became obsessed with Ignacio and tried to blackmail him into marriage. As you’ll see from the clip below – the part displays more of Octavia’s trademark ‘sass’, a stereotype she’s going to have to work hard to break in future performances.
2011 Fall TV Preview: 2 Broke Girls
Aug 29th
When Does It Start: Monday September 19th at 9.30pm EST on CBS (before moving to its regular Monday at 8.30pm timeslot)
In A Nutshell: Two broke girls – one working class, the other a rich girl fallen on hard times – bicker and bond while working as waitresses as a Brooklyn restaurant.
What’s It About: Max (Kat Dennings) is a poor girl with a smart mouth trying to make ends meet as a waitress. Caroline (Beth Behrs) is a rich heiress whose father is a Bernie Madoff style fraud. Together the two become friends and roommates while waiting tables and dream of opening their own cupcake show – if they can ever save enough money!
Are LED TV’s Worth The Money?
Aug 29th
So, I’ve been hearing so much over the last couple of years about “LED TVs,” “HD Viewing,” and “LCD TV’s” and I finally had to ask myself: Are high definition televisions really that great? Is there anything that actually sets them apart from each other or from regular television sites, besides the facts that they are big and flat?
Nowadays people seem to be caring more and more about the so-called quality of their televisions. Some head to the shops to buy LED TVs from stores like Marks & Spencer, others order in massive flat screens from online electronics companies. And boy do people like to boast about their new TV’s! ‘Who wants to come over and watch the new episode of True Blood on my flat screen?”
Ratings Roundup: 27th August 2011
Aug 27th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
TRUE BLOOD: It feels as though True Blood – along with Jersey Shore – is permanently in our Winners’ circle here at Remote Patrolled. But there’s just no arguing with the figures.
True Blood Season 4 has been remarkably consistent on the ratings front, aside from a week 2 dip (mainly due to HBO making the show available ahead of time for eager fans). For the first time ever, each episode this season has rated above the 5 million mark, with this week’s installment pulling in the show’s highest ever viewing figures – 5.52 million and a 3.1 18-49 share.
That’s a better demo rating than EVERY show on the broadcast networks this week – aside from Tuesday’s America’s Got Talent which also pulled in a 3.1. Not the highest demo socore of the week though… that honor goes to – you guessed it – Jersey Shore, which on Thursday pulled in a stonking 8.47 million viewers and a terrific 4.5 demo score (plus a further 3.27 million and a 1.7 for its encore showing!)
Vamps and guidos. It’s what summer TV is all about these days!
Richard Recommends: Ton Of Cash
Aug 26th
It’s guilty pleasure time again!
Yep, now that The Glee Project has ended on Oxygen – with a bit of a muddled outcome it must be said – I need a new reality addiction to tide me over until The X Factor starts in a few weeks time. And I’ve found it in the form of Vh1’s latest reality competition show, Ton Of Cash.
Now before I start telling you WHY I’m enjoying this show I’m going to urge you to leave your brain cells at the door! I’m not making any lofty claims for Ton Of Cash which is pure bubblegum TV. But you know what, I like a bit of tasty trash here and there and I’d far rather watch a fast paced contest like Cash than yet another ‘rich people are so fabulous’ effort on a network like E!
Chances are you’ve not heard of Ton Of Cash. It’s been given pitiful promotion and launched a couple of weeks ago with a measly 312,000 viewers – and then slipped to just 201,000 this week. Between this and Famous Food, Vh1 are clearly not out of the ratings dumpster yet (though Mafia Wives is an undeniable hit). But Ton Of Cash deserves to More >
NOT Coming To A TV Near You: The Locke And Key Trailer
Aug 25th
As you doubtless know, every year the broadcast networks shoot dozens of pilots in the first few months of the year in an effort to plan ahead for the Fall season.
Many of those shows go on to become future series. And a lot of those projects are cancelled just a few weeks later (remember last year’s Lone Star)
But every year there are also a handful of hotly anticipated series that DON’T make the cut. This time around I was surprised that the Don Johnson / Ellen Barker starrer, A Mann’s World, didn’t go to series – sounded like a lot of fun to me!
But another show that a lot of people thought would be picked up was Locke And Key, a mysterious new show for Fox that boasted quite a caliber. Locke was based on a popular series of comic books, starred hot young stars Nick Stahl and Jesse McCartney and was produced by Steven Spielberg. And yet Fox still PASSED on the show – and no other network, including The CW and ABC Family picked it up.
The full Locke And Key pilot was shown at Comic Con, doubtless to generate some interest in the project, but to no avail. The series remains unsold.
Well More >
2011 Fall TV Preview: Free Agents
Aug 25th
When Does It Start: Wednesday 14th September at 10.30pm EST on NBC (before moving to its regular slot at 8.30pm)
In A Nutshell: A newly divorced dad and a single woman mourning the death of her fiancée try to move on with their dating lives…
What’s It About: Alex (Hank Azaria) and Helen (Kathryn Hahn) work in PR, are newly single and just can’t help falling into bed with one another. But while their friends encourage them to re-enter the dating world and they try to keep it professional in the workplace, their relationship continues to grow.
Based on a British sitcom of the same name, Free Agents features one of the stars of the UK version – Buffy’s Anthony Head as the company boss – is produced by the UK creator and features the same dark tone of the original. Could it be the new Office?
