Posts tagged clip
Quick Take: Glee ‘Original Song’
Mar 16th
Now that’s more like it!
After weeks of up and down quality control ever since Glee’s Superbowl return, last night’s Regionals themed episode finally hit the jackpot. ‘Original Song’ was smart, classy, funny and tuneful – with plenty of surprises along the way.
The biggest surprise of the bunch? How darn good Glee’s original songs sounded…
Personally I think it was a real gamble for the series to base an episode around three entirely new tracks. It’s hard enough to strike gold once with a song (how many singers score just one hit and then disappear entirely from the charts?) – but honestly I think Glee went three for three last night. Why can’t the American Idol coronation songs be as good as these?
First there was Mercedes, belting out the instantly catchy and sassy ‘Hell To The No’, a song that doubtless had second tier R&B singers like Kelly Rowland and Keri Hilson wondering why they didn’t bag the track. Hell was a whole heap of fun – though I do wish Mercedes had been given the chance to sing the song on a big stage.
Then there was Rachel’s solo moment, the country tinged ballad Get It Right (the perfect potential Taylor Swift More >
Quick Take: Glee ‘Sexy’
Mar 9th
Another week of Glee, Gwyneth Paltrow singing again – and uh-oh, series creator Ryan Murphy is back in the director’s chair!
Normally the latter would mean disaster for everyone’s favorite high school musical but to be fair, last night’s episode wasn’t half bad. A tad heavy handed in places but given the dubious depths of some of Murphy’s previous episodes (such as Britney / Brittany) I can’t complain too much. Consider me a Gleek half satisfied.
Of course the big news last night was the return of Paltrow’s Holly Holiday, who came to shake up the school as a sex ed substitute teacher. Gwyneth was as fresh and luminous as her last appearance, a mere 8 episodes ago and it was great to see Mr Schu getting some action with someone actually sane and likeable (as opposed to toxic Terri and OCD Emma)
Richard Recommends: Season 25 – Oprah Behind The Scenes
Feb 21st
Time for another Richard Recommends – and this time we’re headed over to OWN for the fledgling network’s first official hit.
As regular Remote Patrolled readers will know, I’m a huge Oprah fan but so far I’ve been rather underwhelmed by the initial OWN line-up. Too many of the shows feels like TLC rejects from 5 years ago – and others just feel like homework such as Masterclass, a life lessons series that has suffered from dreary production and too obvious guest bookings (Sidney Poitier, Condoleeza Rice, Maya Angelou). Then there’s Your OWN Show, a pointless reality competition with low stakes and a low budget where the winner receives their own show on OWN – wow, talk about self serving. The network as a whole lacks the Oprah spark – seriously, there’s more imagination, production and surprise in your average Oprah episode then in the network as a whole.
Which is why it’s little surprise that the best show on OWN so far would be Oprah’s behind the scenes reality show, Season 25. Finally a reason to tune in to TV on a Friday night!
Richard Recommends: Face Off
Feb 16th
It’s recommendation time again here at Remote Patrolled – and this time around I’m all about Face Off, the new Syfy reality show that’s the best competition show currently on our screens.
I was always a fan of the series concept and think it’s exactly the kind of show Syfy should be programming (no wonder it’s become a hit). And since the show launched a few weeks ago I can officially now call myself a Face Off fan.
The premise will be totally familiar to anyone who’s watched any kind of competition show over the last few years. 12 make up artists ‘face off’ in a series of creative challenges against the clock – and each other. Each week, the poorest performer is sent packing by show judges and make up experts Ve Neill (Beetlejuice), Glenn Hetrick (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Patrick Tatopoulos (I Am Legend). At stake is a $100,000 grand prize and a year’s supply of make up. Hosting the whole enterprise is actress McKenzie Westmore, whose family are experts in the make up world. And that’s about it really!
Sneak Peek: Desperate Housewives ‘Flashback’
Feb 12th
It’s been a good few weeks since we last saw the wives of Wisteria Lane – so of course ABC has scheduled the latest episode directly opposite this weekend’s Grammys!
Smart move guys – that’ll be great for the ratings! (Just like the last original episode which you placed opposite the Golden Globes and which subsequently hit series lows) And to think people get paid big bucks to make these kind of decisions…
Oh well, since we’re all going to be watching the show on DVR here’s what we can expect…
Gaby’s in therapy – but not taking it too seriously, Susan finds a kidney – but with strings attached, and Bree’s web of lies regarding Keith’s secret son grows more complicated…
Check out the sneak peek below – and again shake your head at ABC’s dunderhead decisions…
HARRY POTTER LOSES HIS HEAD!
Dec 30th
It’s slim pickings on the US TV front this week – but thankfully business is back to normal next week.
But in the meantime British TV network have been pulling out all the stops to pull in the ratings over the festive period (Christmas and New Years viewing in the UK normally pulls in record ratings. Over here Univision is beating the broadcast networks!!!)
And here’s a clip that everyone is going to be sharing today. It’s from QI, a very cerebral quiz show hosted by dry Brit wit Stephen Fry. For this year’s holiday special, Stephen is joined by camp TV host Graham Norton (who had a show on We in 2009 which lasted about as long as this video!) and Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe – who for me just keeps getting more likable every year.
It’s a silly skit but basically Graham beheads Daniel live on air… leaving the denouement until the final seconds of the show.
Check it out around the 10.30 mark below… and watch how quickly it goes viral today!
DIDDY DRUNK ON CHELSEA LATELY
Dec 22nd
I’m normally not a fan of Chelsea Handler, finding her mean girl shtick more rude than funny. But I have to give Chelsea kudos for putting rap star and all round douchebag Diddy in his place this week.
Diddy arrived over an hour late for the Chelsea Lately show and you can tell Handler is not at all happy with his poor timekeeping skills. Plus the fact that he’s clearly a little intoxicated shows exactly what Diddy was up to pre-show. For me that’s just tacky and disrespectful and I love that Chelsea calls him on it. In fact it’s rather fun to see Diddy squirming a little.
The rapper and producer was appearing with his ‘band’ Diddy Dirty Money to promote their new CD, Last Train To Paris – a record that’s been delayed for over a year and has sold just 101,000 copies in its first week (his lowest first week sales ever). Hmm, maybe Diddy should be taking his promotional duties a little more seriously…?
If it sounds like I’m giving Diddy a hard time it’s because I have first hand knowledge of his bad attitude – I worked on one of his old TV shows and though I never met the More >
THE TRON CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Dec 20th
Since the TV year is coming to a close it’s slim pickings on the clips front! But this video from the Funny Or Die guys made me smile – in concept at least…
With Tron: Legacy in movie theaters (and under-performing if the first weekend grosses are any indication), FOD presents the Tron Christmas Special – obviously inspired by the infamously awful Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978.
It’s a fun idea and starts off well – but for me the clip could have been a LOT cleverer and funnier. There’s certainly no shortage of material to work with. Still I did smile at the hokey 80′s graphics and the ‘appearance’ of OJ Simpson…
But what do you think? Funny – or a missed opportunity? And have you been to see the Tron update yet? Start commenting everyone…
FIRST LOOK: COME FLY WITH ME
Dec 13th
The Little Britain Guys Are Back!
Here’s the first look at Come Fly With Me, the new comedy series from David Walliams and Matt Lucas – the guys behind the BBC smash Little Britain.
If you’re British like me, Walliams and Lucas would be household names and phrases like ‘I’m the only gay in the village’, ‘bitty’, ‘but I’m a lady!’ and ‘computer says no‘ will already have you laughing. But if you’re American you probably only know the duo from the HBO Little Britain remake, Walliams from the movie Dinner For Schmucks and Lucas from Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland…
That’s a shame – if you haven’t seen the show yet go online and check it out straight away! I’m a big Little Britain fan and when I tell my American friends the kind of material the duo get away with on a prime-time show on public service television their jaws just drop! Just take a look at the clip below and imagine the equivalent airing on CBS at 9 o’clock in the evening! Can you imagine… (btw nsfw!)
THE X FACTOR: AND THE WINNER IS… MATT CARDLE!
Dec 12th
At long last the result is here – and your X Factor champ for 2010 is ..Matt Cardle!
I must admit I’m rather pleased with myself for calling the Top 4… as I predicted Cher Lloyd came in fourth, One Direction third, Rebecca Ferguson second and Matt won the whole shebang…. It was the right result.
To be honest though all four of the finalists are going to be fine. I’m sure all will receive record contracts and will enjoy some short term success at the very least.
Cher will get a lot of promotion and with the right song probably has the most commercial ‘sound’ of the bunch. One Direction will have a few hits – just like JLS – fueled by their teen girl fan-base. Rebecca will go the Sade / Norah Jones soul route – she’s the artist of choice for the coffee shop crowd. And Matt, by virtue of being the winner, should at least be guaranteed one big album. Plus he’s the most driven and musically savvy of the group and could have a career along the lines of the original Pop Idol, Will Young.
So what did you think of the result? Are you pleased Matt won? And will More >
