Elfman's Favorite TV Shows of 2008

5) The Mentalist
Okay its not Masterpiece Theater, but I really like this show.The Mentalist is pure entertainment. It's mindless TV, but it's good Mindless TV.
Forget the dark sub plot and comparisons to USA's Psyched . The Mentalist delivers an hour of neatly wrapped crime solving suspense, but with a bit of a twist. Simon Baker (The Guardian) plays Patrick Jane, a former phony psychic who now works for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation) now using only his observational skills to assist the team in solving murder cases. The show goes a long way on the charisma of Baker and a stellar cast including Robin Tunney (Prison Break). An hour of polished crime drama. Deep but not too Deep.



4) Mad Men
No other television show in recent memory has been so critically acclaimed (if viewer hungry), then Mad Men. And it has the Emmy and Golden Globe Awards to back this up. Madmen explores the deceptive and twisted world of power advertising in the 1960's. It follows the high pressure life of Don Draper, the best rep at Sterling Cooper, and certainly one of the best on Madison Avenue. Don, among others has some dark secrets in his past however. The show is a slow moving character study of successful but misguided troubled people and it sucks you into their lives on a weekly basis. Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, John Slattery, and January Jones head up a cast that defines excellence. It is also interesting to see how many things have changed for the better since the 60's when you see all the inequality for women, blacks and gays of the period. Another sign of the times is the amount of drinking on the job, constant smoking by everyone in the cast and even littering.



3) Brothers and Sisters
Want to feel better about your own screwed up dysfunctional extended family for at least one hour a week? Then you must tune in to ABC Sunday Nights at 10 for the very entertaining Brothers and Sisters. The prime time sudser follows the lives of The Walker Clan, led by intrusive, but loving matriarch Nora Walker (Oscar and Emmy Winner Sally Field). The death of William Walker leaves the family to deal with the matter of running the family winery and the discoveries of all his extramarital affairs and indiscretions. Seems there is always a new Walker sibling showing up at the door step.
The plots are well written and finely polished for a soap covering the gambit of soap storylines including politics, addiction, gay marriage, and forbidden love..This show should be sponsored by Pepsid AC because I don't know how any of them get through a family dinner without sever indigestion.
Besides Field the cast includes seasoned professionals Rob Lowe, Colista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths.



2) Raising the Bar
I accidentally caught this show while channel surfing on Monday night and am extremely glad I did. From Emmy winning producer Steven Bochco(NYPD Blue), Raising the Bar follows a group of young public defenders in their daily lives and courtroom battles for the underdog with the powerful DA. Each week offers a gripping hard hitting drama but with a lot of heart there too. It stars Mark-Paul Gosselear (NYPD Blue, Saved by The Bell) as Jerry Kellerman, one of the most idealistic of these young attorneys who leaves no stone unturned for the rights of his clients. He has become one of the finest young actors on television today. His hair, however will remain a moot point. The superb cast is rounded out by Gloria Reuben (ER), Jane Kaczencrek (Malcom in the Middle) and Teddy Sears (One Life to Live).



1) Bravo Network
There's a new melting pot in America and it's right here on Bravo TV. No other network has ever assembled such an eclectic group of diverse interesting characters. How can you not be intrigued by the rich and powerful, sometimes back-stabbing women of the Real Housewives series, notably Nene (Atlanta) and Vicki (Orange County)? And how about Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out, who has raised OCD to an art form?
Bravo didn't invent reality TV, but they sure perfected it with shows like Millionaire Matchmaker and Top Design. But nowhere is this more evident then in the Network's two most successful shows, Project Runway and Top Chef. These shows take you behind the scenes of the competitive worlds of chefs and upcoming designers and their claw to the top. The judges are smart, tough and funny with Chef Tom Colicchio on Chef and Michael Cors doing the honors on Runway. They've got eye candy too with Top Chef's food-tasting temptress Padma and Runway's Heidi Klum, the queen of Victoria's Secret. There's also father figure and style mentor Tim Gunn, who has become a superstar in his own right from the designing show.
And how can you forget some of the contestants. There was the constant back-stabbing between Betty and Marcel on Top Chef season Two. Some of the chefs even went as far as to try to scalp Marcel during a night of drinking. And how about the knife wielding road runner Hung, from season 3?
Runway has its favorites too. There was season 4 winner Christian, who showed superstar designing talent and coined the phrase "That's Fierce". And the constant whining and underhandedness of style princess Kenley from last season. Bravo for me is Must Watch TV.

My Top 5
I don't know why I've been agonizing over this, maybe because it seems so final ... here it is ... My Top 5 TV Shows of 2008:



5. Sons of Anarchy (F/X)
This is the only "new" show to make my list, and for good reason. When I first read about it in TV Guide, it was heavily compared to the Sopranos. As a fan of the latter, I had to check SOA out. And I wasn't disappointed! Starring Brit export Charlie Hunnam (another reason I wanted to watch), Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal (in a stunning, career-reviving performance), the show centers around the lives of a close-knit motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California. The club specializes in running guns and ammo around the country and look-out if you decide to get in their way! Well-written and even more well-acted, this show easily fills the void left by my favorite Jersey gangsters. I only wish it were on HBO or another pay channel where it could get real nasty. Who knew Peg Bundy could be so tough?



4. nip/tuck (F/X)
It was early this past year when we last saw Drs. Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, but they'll always be close to my heart (and I'm sooo looking forward to the eight new episodes starting in January!). The show, originally set in Miami, moved last season to Hollywood and the already over-the-top shenanigans got even higher. Dylan Walsh's McNamara became a consultant on Hearts and Scalpels, a show loosely based on his own practice; dated a starlet with an eating disorder (doesn't everybody in H'wood?) and was stalked by his murderous agent (Sharon Gless, was that Cagney or Lacey?). While the hottest Doc on TV (McDreamy and McSteamy can't compare), with the biggest libido, Julian McMahon's Troy continued to bed everybody - oh and unintentionally (??) threw one of his problematic conquests off a roof to her death. Bye-Bye Gina! Nip/tuck is cheese at its best, I absolutely love it! Who knows ... maybe the Carver will return next season ... now that would make my New Year!



3. The Shows of Bravo
The Elfman and I totally agree on this one! Thinking about my Top 5, I realized I watch a lot of Bravo! He put it better than I ever could, but here's my rundown starting with the show that put Bravo on the map - Inside the Actors Studio. Though not in any permanent time slot, I still look for it on a regular basis and not for the guests. I find host James Lipton fascinating! Remember he made my most fascinating list last month, and for good reason. If you can, check out his book - Inside, Inside - you'll see what I mean. If you're a regular reader of this blog you already know that I love Project Runway, Top Chef and all the Real Housewives. But I also make time for Million Dollar Listing (Chad, get a real hairdo dude!), Tabitha's Salon Takeover (someone's gonna kill that woman), Sheer Genius (Kim Vo - WTH?), The Rachel Zoe Show (Brad, grow a pair) and Flipping Out (Jeff Lewis, don't ever change man). Looking to 2009, I can't wait for these shows to return, with the exception of Project Runway, of course, who's move to Lifetime is still being held up in court. So I say Bravo to Bravo, my favorite Guilty Pleasure!



2. Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction drama that deals with the machinations and activities of the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute. An anagram of Doctor Who, from which this show is spun, Torchwood delves into darker subject matter and is also sexier and adult oriented. Starring the dashing John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, a man who can't die, the team deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials and time- and universe-travel. A little cheesy, but that's how I like my Sci-Fi, Torchwood got even better in its second season. Although not currently airing on BBC America, the show can be found on DVD. Try Netflix.



1. LOST
Is anyone surprised that this made my No. 1? Ever since Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on a supposedly deserted island on September 22, 2004, my TV world has never been the same. After watching the first three episodes, I was, well, lost! And I haven't found my way back yet, although last season really pulled out all the stops. What other show could possibly end their season by moving - yes, moving - an entire island? Season 3 ended with us finding out that some castaways actually got off the island and went home, while Season 4 showed us everything that led up to that fateful day, leaving us wondering what happened to everybody else? Sun lost Jin, Claire found her dead father in Jacob's cabin (and he seemed alive), Desmond found Penny, Jack and Kate left Sawyer behind and we found out, after a year of speculating, who was in the coffin. Are you LOST reading this? If so, too bad. If you haven't been watching, it's too late now unless you go back on DVD and watch from the beginning. I can't remember a show that had me debating theories with complete strangers before. And I mean heated debates. Fans of this show are passionate and for good reason. Looking forward to its return on January 21!

Honorable Mentions: Since we limited it to 5, here's the rest I considered good TV, in no particular order. Survivor: Gabon, Big Bang Theory, Dexter, Entourage, Skins (another BBC show), Doctor Who, Californication and The Graham Norton Show.

Happy New Year Everyone - don't spend tonight watching TV - go out and enjoy!

So I watched Bromance on MTV last night – bad, bad television.
In case your were curious, here’s a rundown – I’ll try to be brief.

Nine contestants from all over the country converged on Los Angeles to meet their idol – Brody Jenner. Brody’s famous for being The Hills’ sometime, sorta, on-and-off BF of Lauren Conrad. Oh, and he’s the son of Olympic Medalist Bruce Jenner. If you know who Bruce is, you’re really dating yourself. That also makes him the stepbro of those awful Kardashian girls. Also, Brody’s incredibly handsome – I’m sure that’s exactly why he’s still on TV. Hey, I’ll admit it. I tuned in last night just to look at him for an hour. And I paid the price … this show is just plain awful!


Really, what guy wouldn't luv Brody?

Anyway, the contestants were put up in a hotel where they all talked about how they couldn’t wait to meet Brody – "he lives the most incredible life" (i.e. doesn’t work and spends his time partying with incredibly great looking chicks). You know, every guy’s dream.
Brody sent his underlings, including Spencer’s replacement Frankie, to the hotel to wake the guys up in the middle of the night for a “come as you are”-style meeting at the …. Wait for it …. BRO-MANSION!! No, I’m not kidding. One dude, Luke, was actually naked.

After cooing and oggling over Brody for most of the night, the guys were given their first task – to invite two ladies to a lingerie party (without mentioning Brody’s name, of course, cuz what girl wouldn’t want to party with him, me included) and have the girls actually show up by 9 pm.

Before getting to the task, the bros got to spend some time learning about each other. Gary’s the wild-haired geek type. Femi’s the token ethnic dude. But my fave was definitely Michael – the admittedly gay guy! WTH is he doing there? At least he fully admits he’s hot for Brody! And the rest just all blur together as the All-American looking jock types.
We get to know them thru their Real World-style confessionals, spoken to us on camera in the – no lie – Can-fessional. Yes, in a bathroom, while sitting on the toilet. I get it – just guys doing guy stuff.

While inside the lingerie party waiting for his guests to arrive, Brody asks Frankie to check on the bros. Frankie feigns being upset over Brody getting to choose a new BF – afterall, isn’t that Frankie’s “job”?

Goofy Gary’s first to get his babes to arrive and enters the party. Soft-hearted Michael gives Brody a birthday card. Luke’s chix show up next. Alex makes it in. The rest of the losers are allowed in despite the fact that their girls didn’t show up, but are forced to stay after and clean up. Whaaaa.

The next day, sensitive Michael asks to speak privately to Brody and lets him know that this isn’t for him and quits. Brody gives him a hug.

Our hero then takes the remaining contestants to his apartment and tells them that whoever wins gets the apartment as a prize – fully furnished with all the best in guy acutrements.
But wait, Brody lets them know that unfortunately someone is going home and they’ll find out who when they join Brody in the hot tub. ????? Yeah, I said in the hot tub. OK, that was just too much for me. I gotta say it – isn’t that a little, you know, gay?
– not that there’s anything wrong with that!

After much soaking and sweating in the tub, Brody decided to send poser Jason home for trying to pass off women he just met on the street outside the club as his score for the party, cussing and not holding his liquor.

Then came my fave part – after Jason leaves, Brody invites all the guys to get back in the hot tub with him. And I was wondering why MTV chose to premiere this fine show in the middle of the holiday TV glut, where it would have absoluely no competition … hmmmmm

I’ll be checking in the the Real Wives of Orange County on Bravo tonight at 10 p.m. just to cleanse myself for watching this craptastic fiesta!

Hey, and guess what – Brett Michael’s Rock of Love Bus is just around the corner, debuting on VH1 Sunday night at 9 p.m. Oh Happy New Year indeed!

Got the Elfman's Top 5 TV shows list and I'll be working on mine tonight. Look for it tomorrow!

Just a quick note, Elfman:

Noticed on the schedule that your favorite cookbook author and reality show hostess will be appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow ...

Oh yeah, you guessed it -- Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi!

Says it's part of Oprah's Sandwich Showdown, which I'm guessing is a repeat from earlier this year. Sound a little familiar to you?

Anyway, I know you'll take the luscious Padma any way you can get her so don't forget to DVR it! And keep playing the lottery, you know you'll need at least a billion to get her attention!

Oh, and here's your favorite photo again -- enjoy!

Aaaah, I love this time of year. Much as I love television, I also love the time at the holidays when there's nothing on to watch. It gives me a chance to catch up on some DVDs that have been collecting dust on the shelvs since September.

However, there are a few exceptions and here's a reminder for tonight.

NBC offers up an all-new episode of their foray into reality TV -- Momma's Boys -- at 10 p.m. This show is sooo cheesy that I can feel the cholesterol building in my veins as I watch it. It has that car-accident factor. You don't really want to watch, but you can't help yourself.
Anyway, tune in to see who JoJo's Momma is going after this week ...

And, yes, I do realize that MTV is debuting an all-new spinoff of that show I hate, but can't miss -- The Hills tonight in the same time slot. The City stars LC's bud Whitney Port as she takes Manhattan by yawn, I mean, storm ... Sorry MTV, you're not getting me on this one!


Bromance's Main Man

You will, however, have my undivided attention at 9 p.m. when ultra hot Brody Jenner's new show debuts. Bromance is shamelessly plugged as Jenner's search for a new true friend that won't stab him in the back a la Spencer Pratt. If you don't know the history between these two, it's not worth my time rehashing it here (hence to say, you won't be interested in this show either).
Anyway, I will fully admit that I'm only watching this show to look at Jenner for an hour -- *sighs*
The premise seems to be too much like the show that played this time slot earlier this season -- Paris Hilton's My New BFF. And if that's the case, I don't even think Brody's hot looks will be enough to keep me watching for long ...

I'll let you know.

OK, as promised, here's my Top 5 Films of 2008. They've already been posted over on The Mercury's Scene & Heard blog, so I'm posting them here for my readers. Please check out the other posting here http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/2008/12/top-5-movies-we-scene-heard-in-2008.html along with my fellow blogger Chris March's Top 5 Flicks. He's even added trailers for each flick.

I'm not a pro-critic, so don't expect to see all those serious Oscar hopefuls here. I'm just a movie fan like the rest of you. Besides, most of "those" movies just came out this past weekend for the general public.

I've been sidelined over the holiday with that dreaded stomach flu that won't quit, but, hopefully, before the New Year I'll have my Top 5 (maybe 10) TV Shows of 2008, as well as those of the Elfman!

Here goes:



5. WALL-E: When I first saw the preview for this one, I thought it looked like all those cute, animated kids’ movies and immediately put it in the “rental” category. It wasn’t until it started making all the critics end-of-year lists that I finally sat down, watched it, and totally loved it! The story of a lonely Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class (WALL-E), who’s only friend is a cockroach, left behind to clean up the Earth after the humans packed up and left their wasted planet, is compelling and very well done. Appealing to both children and adults alike.



4. Cloverfield: Yes, I’m prepared to take the heat for this choice. You either love or hate this monster flick from last January. And I loved it! I loved it so much that after watching it for free on the Internet, I actually paid with a bunch of coworkers to see it in the theater. Shot with a hand-held camera, a la Blair Witch Project, this film followed four friends trying to escape New York City after some sort of monster attack. Think 2000’s Godzilla, only much, much better! It was edge-of-your-seat entertainment from beginning to end.



3. Tropic Thunder: In a word, Hilarious! I saw the preview ahead of Iron Man back in May and couldn’t wait for August to arrive so I could see the rest of the film. And it didn’t disappoint. Depicting the behind-the-scenes making of a “true story” of Vietnam soldiers, Tropic Thunder was by far the funniest flick of the year. Any film that puts Robert Downey Jr. in black-face and Tom Cruise in a skull cap and fat suit is OK with me. Not to mention the hilarious fake movie trailers at the beginning … I’m still hoping they make full versions of Satan’s Alley, The Fatties: Fart 2, Scorcher I-VI and, of course, Simple Jack!



2. Iron Man: I had never heard of Tony Stark before seeing this fine flick, but the trailer was enough to hook me. The first bonafide hit of the summer, Iron Man brought back to life the career on one of my all-time fave actors. Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man along with Jon Favreau’s directing was enough to rocket this film to the top of the box office in early May. Needlesstosay I was very impressed. I highly recommend it!



1. The Dark Knight: While this film has made just about every critic’s Best Of list, none of them have the nerve to make it No. 1, opting instead for the obligatory serious films, i.e. Slumdog Millionaire, Gran Torino or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (all of which, to be fair, I haven’t seen yet). But in the words of this flick’s villain The Joker, I ask, “Why So Serious?” The second of director Chris Nolan’s Batman movies, The Dark Knight was more than just a comic book film. It was easily the most anticipated movie of the year and featured a great story, spot on special effects and some of the best performances of the year. It’s made nearly a billion dollars worldwide and tops the Box Office for 2008, with barely any competition. And, of course, it features what is possibly the best performance of the late Heath Ledger’s career. I would never have thought that anyone could best Jack Nicholson’s Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman, but he more than managed. If you see one film this year, make it The Dark Knight.



And the Best of the Worst: Speed Racer! I was sooo looking forward to this film, being a huge fan of the popular TV cartoon. And I was sooooo disappointed!! Wachowski Bros, what happened? How could you take such a great premise and turn it into an explosion of purple and pink computer generated effects, ruining my cherished memories of Speed, Trixie, Spridle, Chim Chim and Pops. Not to mention giving Sparky the Queer Eye! Awful, just awful! Be warned …

So, what do you think? Let me know what were your favorites -- or least faves! I'll be waiting to hear from you ...

Sunday night, after making many, many Christmas cookies, I psyched myself up to rewatch my Worst Christmas Movie, hit the couch, popped in the DVD and laughed myself silly.
OK, so here it is - drum roll please ....

Santa's Slay


Yeah, that's Slay as in slaying all the happy Christmas-cheering people in the Hell Township. Hell Township!

While this 2005 release is nowhere near as badly made as Elfman's Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, the cheese factor of this black comedy is pure Wisconsin Gold!
Pro-wrestler Bill Goldberg plays the devil's son (Santa ... Satan, get it?) who lost a wager with an angel and was forced to spend 1000 years playing Santa. Now the wager of that time has run out, and good old Santa isn't so joyful anymore.

The film starts out almost respectable - almost. It's Christmas Eve 2005 and the first family of Hell Township is celebrating with a yuletide feast that would make Martha Stewart jealous. I mean, when I saw James Caan sitting at the head of the table, I thought, WTH? James Caan? This movie might not be too bad afterall. Fran Drescher plays his wife, along with Chris Kattan and Rebecca Gayheart in supporting roles.
Not long after they all get into it with each other (as is a family tradition at the holidays), our devilish Santa comes crashing down the chimney, kicks the dog, stabs Caan's hands to the table with serving forks and sets Drescher's hair on fire. In a few minutes, everyone's dead, thereby setting the tone for this shlockfest!

Flash to Hell Township's quaint little village - young Nicolas Yuleson (I kid you not) is closing up the deli along with his coworker Mary "Mac" Mackenzie (Lost's Emilie de Ravin) when a surly old lady comes in for a last minute sandwich. After letting loose a string of obscenities at our youngsters, the curmudgeon drives off, only to be run off the road by Santa and his sleigh-pulling Brahma bull. That's right, no reindeer here, just one huge Brahma!

Nic's grandpa (secretly the angel from 1000 years past) fills him in on the Christmas wager, reading from - are you ready for this - The Book of Claus! This is when we learn that the wager involved a curling match - yeah - a curling match!!
(Curling, for those of you who don't know, is an Olympic sport that involves sliding heavy, polished granite stones down the ice towards a target, in this case a hole in the ice.)

Back to the story: Since this is a bad movie, it has to include gratuitous nudity, so guess where Santa ends up next? Oh yeah, the local strip joint, where he effectively makes mincemeat out of all the (topless) sinners and his Brahma eats the valet.

Oh, I forgot to mention the crappy stop motion photography (reminiscent of those Rankin & Bass specials) that illustrates the legendary curling storyline in a flashback while Grandpa and Nic sit in his - underground bunker!

Next, Santa takes on Hasidic Jews, even they're not safe from our red-suited mad man! The Chief of Police gets a taser to his nether regions (yeah, I just wrote nether regions), and the rest of the staff is unceremoniously murdered.

Back in the bunker, Nic says, "We're trapped in a closet on Christmas with Santa trying to murder us. How f---d up is that?" (It wouldn't be a bad movie without cheesy dialogue afterall.)
And if that's not enough, wait till you see the snowmobile chase with flying Brahma bull and sleigh, complete with bad Christmas music written specially for this lame flick.

Uh-oh, there just happens to be a Norman Rockwell Christmas celebration going on downtown with the townsfolk when the snowmobile chase brings Brahma Bull Santa thru the streets ...
Hey, is that Dave Thomas of Bob and Doug Mackenzie fame? Sure is Hoser! Why he's the town pastor, so nothing bad will happen to him right? Not.

One of my fave moments happens after Santa chases our heroic couple into the town library. While holding a copy of A Christmas Carol, Santa says (no lie), "Christmas can sure scare the Dickens out of people."

And it all ends up at the local hockey rink, complete with Zamboni chase - c'mon, you knew that was coming right? And yet another curling wager ... will there be a happy ending? You'll have to sit thru all 87 minutes to find out.

Santa's Slay is available for rental. I got it thru Netflix. But you can watch the opening scene with James Caan and friends here http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=santa%27s+slay&emb=0&aq=f#

And here's the trailer http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=santa%27s+slay&emb=0&aq=f#q=santa's%20slay%20trailer&emb=0

Merry Christmas!

Well, I watched Momma’s Boys on NBC Friday night. Actually I taped it and watched in Saturday morning. And I’m intrigued.
Momma’s Boys is the latest reality dating show TV’s offering up and features 32 single women living in a house with the mothers of four (I think) eligible batchelors. Yeah, you just know this one’s gonna have some great cat fights!
It’s produced by that adorable little elf Ryan Secrest, but fear not, he’s nowhere to be seen on the show!


On the first episode, there was too much swapping back-and-forth between the mothers and the female contestants and it got a little confusing. But it was all just a build-up to the big confrontation between the single ladies of color and JoJo’s mother of all mothers. Yes, one of the guys is actually named JoJo!
It seems JoJo’s mom doesn’t want any blacks, Hispanics, Chinese, Jews -- basically anything other than caucasian -- anywhere near her beloved son. And she’s not afraid to let everyone know it!
Although, based on the season’s previews, JoJo’s gonna experience it all whether Momma approves or not!

The show came to an abrupt conclusion after one of the girls (sorry, don’t remember any names yet) got all up in Momma JoJo’s face by the pool and was to be continued ….
And here’s the best part, it’s continued tonight starting at 9 p.m. and it must be a doozy, because NBC has given the show a 2-hour time slot this week.
I’ll definitely be tuning in!

Joel & cohost Lou

Elsewhere on TV tonight, Joel McHale and his motley crue of misfits offer up The Year in Soup over on E! at 10 p.m. That outta be great! I’ll definitely have to tape it.

And the season that wouldn’t end is actually ending tonight on MTV. Yes folks, it’s time to say good-bye to that awful show that I can’t stop watching – The Hills!! Why do I care about what happens to these people?? I’m totally dumbfounded, but have to find out! As of this writing Speidi is still unlegally wed, Whitney is moving to New York City for her own show (didn’t think they could get more uninteresting than The Hills, just wait for The City), Audrina’s already moved out – whatever will Lauren do?

At least now that The Hills is over MTV has awarded its time slot to a show that I'm really looking forward too -- Bromance! What, you haven't heard of this one yet? Well the only thing you really need to know it that it stars The Hills' resident Himbo Brody Jenner! Oh yeah, I'll take my Brody any way I can get him. Anyway, the description goes that the ultimate hottie puts nine dudes to the test to see if they're best-bud material. Sounds a lot like MTV's Paris Hilton BFF show.
Bromance makes it's debut next Monday night.

Hello Brody!

Oh, and I caught up on last week’s episode of The Mentalist. I’ll reserve my opinion till after another episode. I loved Simon Baker (but I did before this show). It was OK, wouldn’t call it great. But, hey, every series has an off episode. In fact, most of the final season of The Sopranos was "off."

I watched my Worst Christmas Movie Ever, look for my review shortly. Also, I’ve completed Top 5 Movies of 2008 for The Mercury’s Scene & Heard blog. Once it’s posted there, I’ll put it up here. Stay tuned …

The New York Post reports that Project Runway Style Guru Tim Gunn is getting into it with some designers over their use of fur.
In conjunction with PETA, Gunn, now the chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne, has fired off videotaped personal pleas to Giorgio Armani and Donna Karan urging them to stop using rabbit fur from China, a place with no animal rights laws.
On the video is gruesome footage of rabbits being skinned alive and foxes getting electrocuted. Way to make your point Tim!
Armani and Karan were singled out, according to PETA, because they both made pledges to be fur-free, but have gone back on their word.
PETA has even gone so far as to launch a web site, DonnaKaranBunnyButcher.com where viewers can watch such videos as "Have You Ever Heard a Bunny Scream?" Wow, and just in time for the holidays.
Needlesstosay, I won’t be logging on to that one anytime soon. Personally, I would never wear fur, but I am guilty of wearing leather shoes …
What do you think?

You should all know by now what a huge fan the Elfman is of BOC (that's Blue Oyster Cult, for those of you not in the know). Well, I received an urgent message from him this weekend and had to pass it on!

"Saw this on the BOC site

"This week's three shows have all been cancelled. In an unfortunate mishap, Blue Oyster Cult lead guitarist/vocalist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser slipped on a flight of stairs in hisFlorida home this past Sunday evening, while carrying some packages.The fall resulted in a shoulder injury, which has forced the cancellation of the band's remaining shows for 2008.A complete and full recovery is expected."

elfman



The Elfman has spoken! Let's all wish a speedy recovery and Happy Holidays to Buck!!

In the meantime, enjoy this clip of Elfman's fave Saturday Nigth Live sketch ...
http://phillyb.vox.com/library/video/6a00c2252211cc8fdb00c225230ad58e1d.html

Last night there was a rare occurance at my house -- there was absolutely nothing on TV I wanted to watch! So instead, I watched Don't Mess with the Zohan -- don't bother wasting your time watching the Zohan, either. Had some laughs, but basically stupid.

Anybody watch NBC’s new reality show Momma’s Boys Tuesday night? No, I didn’t either … but since the network is seeing fit to re-air the premiere installment again tonight and a friend at work said it was hilarious, I think I’m gonna give it a try.

Never heard of it?

Well, according to the NBC web site, Momma’s Boys, executive produced by Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol") and Andrew Glassman ("Average Joe"), centers on a group of mothers who must help choose the perfect woman for their complacent sons. Ultimately, the series poses the question: "Who is really the most important woman in every man's life?"

In Momma's Boys, love is in the air but the story is told from a new television perspective – because first, the women will have to get by mom.

Drama ensues when numerous mothers and their eligible bachelor sons are housed together with several single women. As the tension mounts, viewers will watch as possessive mothers influence their son's search for the perfect mate.

Some of the possible brides are "nice girls," while others might not be as presentable. As expected, rivalries are formed, drama mounts and emotion builds as crucial choices must be made.

Momma's Boys airs tonight at 8 p.m. Elfman -- be there!

A note to Ms. Java, who commented on yesterday's Top Chef Recap: My fave this season is definitely Fabio, although I do like Hosea and Stefan too. Ariane is proving to be an interesting chef, although the rest of the girls don't impress me. Carla gets on my last nerve, and there's just something about Melissa's serial killer stare that really scares me (that chick shouldn't be around knives).
Overall, except perhaps Fabio, none of this season's cheftestants compare to the big personalities of the past: Marcel, Sam, Elia, Trey, Ilan, CJ, Cliff, Richard, Spike (I've got a culinary b-ner) the girl who looked like Jen Aniston (sorry, can't think of her name, but I really liked her), and, of course, the man who was a danger to everyone else in the kitchen -- Hung!

CJ & Trey (don't remember guy on left)
Remember when Sam, Ilan and Cliff tried to shave Marcel's head -- best top chef moment of all time!

Marcel & Sam hard at work
Who were your faves?

Over the weekend, amid more holiday decorating and baking, I will be compiling my Top 5 Movies of 2008 list for fellow blogger Chris March's Scene & Heard. I also hope to post my own Worst Christmas Movie review, was hoping to get to it today, but didn't get a chance to watch it again last night ... it's absolutely awful, but in a good cheesy way!

Cheers!

This week’s Top Chef started out in the apartment shared by the Chestestants. The self-professed Dynamic Duo, Fabio and Stefan, were entertaining each other with witty banter while Stefan was carving a watermelon. A Bromance is definitely in the making between these two fan faves.

Hosea called his sister for an update on his father, who he let us all know had recently been diagnosed with cancer. She assured him all’s well and to keep pursuing his dream.

On to the Quick Fire Challenge: The task was to cook a holiday meal using only one pot. And, if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, the guest judge was none other than Martha Stewart! Wow, this show’s really getting some clout. There have been some interesting guests this season …
Eugene and Jamie opted for a stew; Stefan chose a veal Celtic ghoulash; Hosea went for paella; Melissa did pork and apples; Jeff made risotto with pork and potatoes; Karla chose a brined turkey breast; Ariane made a caulilflower puree with filet mignon, and Fabio cooked up mushroom polenta with duck breast.
After sampling all the dishes, Martha deemed Jeff, Eugene and Fabio most unworthy. While Hosea, Jamie and Ariane made the cut. Jamie was so ready to actually win a challenge, however, Martha was more impressed with Ariane. Ariane won immunity for the Elimination Challenge (and good thing she did). Seems Jamie’s always losing to Ariane.

For the Elimination Challenge the chefs were tasked to make hors d’ouevres for a Christmas themed AMFAR benefit (American Foundation for AIDS Research) in the Prince George Ballroom. They were given three hours to make enough treats for 250, including hostess and Tony award-winning actress Natasha Richardson. Guest just for this challenge was chef Michelle Bernstein.
Of course, there’s always a catch … and this one was each chef was given a line from the 12 Days of Christmas song and had to create their dish themed around it i.e. A Partridge in a Pair Tree, 5 Golden Rings, 3 French hens, etc.

"Once again, I picked a crappy theme," joked Fabio, who was unlucky enough to get 9 Ladies Dancing.

The rest were:
Hosea – 11 Pipers Piping
Jeff – 10 Lords a Leaping
Melissa – 8 Maids a Milking
Jamie – 7 Swans a Swimming
Ariane – 6 Geese a Laying
Eugene – 5 Golden Rings
Stefan – 4 Calling Birds
Leah – 3 French Hens
Carla – 2 Turtle Doves
Radhika – A Partridge in a Pair Tree

After shopping for ingedients, the chefs went to work in the Top Chef kitchen with Hosea smoking everyone out, while cooking his pork.

Unfortunately, the next morning when the chefs returned to complete and pack up their dishes, they found that someone had inadvertently left one of the massive refrigerator doors open and some food had spoiled. Specifically Radhika’s 40 ducks and Hosea’s 20 lbs. of pork, which left them at a severe deficit.
In the spirit of Christmas, all the chefs pulled together and helped their fellow contestants so everyone had a decent chance at the challenge. More pork was found and Radhika had saved the duck parts that she wasn’t using and made her dish with mostly leg meat.

All went well at the party, although some dishes were clearly not as well liked as others. Guests were all given red AIDS ribbons and asked to leave their ribbon at the table with their favorite dish. Despite losing his original pork, Hosea won the most ribbons and was the judges choice for best.

The bottom three were Eugene for his bad seveche, Melissa for her overpowering blue cheese and Jamie for her undercooked scallops.


Added just for fun!

Back in the waiting room, Chef Tom Colicchio stopped in to give the chefs a pep talk. Funny, how the last two seasons, the Top Chef judges kept saying that they didn’t think they could find contestants better than the season before, but they had.

Not the case this season. According to Colicchio, these folks just aren’t measuring up for a top cooking show like Top Chef. To cite an example Colicchio used Ariane’s 8 Geese/Laying dish, Deviled Eggs. "I mean, you’re never gonna win with deviled eggs," a clearly frustrated Colicchio stated. "You need to start making the dishes that got you here!"

After making his point, Colicchio let the group know that due to they’re banding together to help Hosea and Radhika and in the spirit of Christmas, no one was going home this week. All breathed a sigh of relief.

Up next (and I don’t think they mean next week, probably after the holidays), the chefs will face Gail’s replacement for the rest of the season, the obligatory snarky British judge Toby Young. And it’s clear by the preview that they’d prefer to have Gail back!

Just a quick reminder, amidst the Holiday Rerun Hell, there's an all new episode of Top Chef on Bravo tonight at 10 p.m.

This week the Cheftestants are catering a Holiday Party with special guest judge -- the Holiday Hostess from Hell -- Martha Stewart!!

Should be interesting ... stop back tomorrow for my recap!

OK, this isn't TV related, but it's so over the top I had to share.

Still searching for that elusive Christmas gift for the person who has everything? You absolutely can't go wrong with this one ...

Someone over at Mattel has clearly lost their mind and is making money off it. A Special Barbie Collector model has been tailored after Tippi Hendren's role in the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Birds. Take a gander at this ...



What makes me think this would be the perfect gift for Tim Burton this season?

For $40 a pop, grown-up doll collectors can have their favorite blonde, packaged in a box and viciously pecked by birds. Hmmmm, I think I know what I'm getting the Elfman for Xmas this year ...

And he'll love it!

"The master of suspense, gave us a tale of terror not soon forgotten in his film 'The Birds'," according to Mattel's pitch.

"Dressed in a re-creation of the stylish green skirt-suit worn by the film's ill-fated heroine in an iconic scene, Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds' Barbie Doll celebrates the 45th anniversary of the acclaimed film."

Makers of the doll warn parents that this Barbie is "rated PG-13" (Wow a doll with an MPAA rating!) and might not be suited for every little girl in New York.

Look out Todd McFarlane, Mattel's cutting into your profits!

And Elfman, if you're looking for something for your fave blogger, I'll take a Twilight Edward Cullen action figure!



Merry Christmas Chochum!

In yet another bid to take over the world, Oprah Winfrey and her Harpo Productions announced yesterday a three-year deal to make movies, documentaries and TV series for HBO.



Just call it HBOprah!

Bad news for ABC, where Oprah has worked for 15 years, with her Oprah Winfrey Presents series focusing largely on movies positive or inspirational in tone. The most recent was an adaptation from a Mitch Albom book "For One More Day," about a drunk about to commit suicide who is saved by the ghost of his mother.

Another Winfrey production, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," starring Halle Berry, was the most-watched TV movie in 6 years at the time of its 2005 airing on ABC.

ABC reportedly wanted to extend their deal, but Harpo Films believed HBO was a better fit.

Maybe Miss O wants to try some more risque material. "There are natural limitations to being on network TV .. which HBO is not concerned with," said Harpo Films president Kate Forte.

The HBO deal has nothing to do with Winfrey's huge agreement with Discovery Communications for OWN -- the Oprah Winfrey Network -- that will debut next year, replacing the Discovery Health Network.

The woman is unstoppable! Maybe next year she'll try for something even bigger, like getting the next President of the United States elected -- oh right, she's already done that too!

Kudos to you Oprah -- may you continue to use your powers for good.

We have a "new" new No. 1 show! Although CSI returned to its No. 1 spot at the top of the Nielsen list this past week with over 20 million viewers tuning in to see Laurence Fishburn’s first episode, the previous week’s prime time ratings king was CBS’ new hit The Mentalist!

I’ve heard nothing but good things about this show from its beginning in October and I’ve always enjoyed looking at its star, Australian actor Simon Baker. However, I haven’t yet watched an episode. But with 19 million viewers now tuning in, I’ve decided to give it a shot tonight at 9 p.m.

Afterall, it’s the first new-season show in recent memory to land on the top of the charts – now that’s saying something!



The Mentalist stars Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has an incredible track record for solving serious crimes by using his intense skills of observation (a former con-man-turned-cop).

On tonight’s episode the evidence in a poisoning death points to Jane’s former shrink as a suspect.

For more information or to watch visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_mentalist/

OK, sit back and relax, this is going to be a long post.
First off, if you missed it, you can watch here http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/video/?season=13/

Last night on CBS, season 17 of Survivor reached its exciting conclusion. Survivor Gabon: Earth’s Last Eden did not go out quietly, just as most of the season was played. How entertaining it was …
The show started off 30 minutes late, thanks to the NFL, and picked up on Night 36, just after Crystal was blindsided at Tribal Council. Sugar bragged about how she can’t believe she’s that powerful, using her immunity idol to protect Matty. Kenny blasted Bob for not giving him the immunity necklace, saying he was not a man of his word. Bob decided that because Ken outed him in front of the jury at Tribal Council, all bets are off.

The next morning Sugar tells Bob she wants to take him to the Final 3 and they should get rid of Susie and Ken next. She plans to get close to Ken and reassures him that Susie’s the next to go. Ken’s convinced Sugar wants him in the Final 3. (Side note: I’m not a fan of this Final 3 thing; I think it’s much better to just have 2 going into the final.)

Ken goes for treemail and finds garments, beads and makeup with instructions for each to dress themselves as warriors for the next challenge.

The Immunity Challenge involves a maze with traditional Gabonese huts placed throughout. Each castaway must dig under a wall to get in, navigate over planks, get a bag of puzzle pieces from each hut and assemble a hut-shaped puzzle. Bob wins again – 5th straight time.

Back at the Nobag camp Matty tells Ken Susie’s going and then lies to Susie, who’s becoming increasingly paranoid. However, Sugar’s on the fence and can’t quite decide who to vote for. She wants to get rid of Susie, but feels that Ken’s such a liar, he could influence Bob and Matty against her.

At Tribal Council, Jeff points out Bob’s fifth consecutive win, calling him the biggest threat. Ken starts whining about Bob backing out of their immunity deal at the last council. Bob counters Ken’s attack by making the jury aware that Ken and Crystal were planning to vote Bob out when he gave up the immunity necklace. (Backatcha Ken!!)


Kenny, the 22-year-old pro-video gamer, is blindsided 4-1 and becomes the 14th player voted out of Gabon, ending the broadcast’s first hour.

And then there were four …

The next morning, Susie’s convinced she must win the next immunity challenge or she’s gone. Duh?

Susie
The Final 4 take a hike around Gabon, in Survivor’s traditional homage to all the players voted out this season. Each is shown in the order they were voted out and the Final 4 collect a mask for each player to be burned at the site of the final Immunity Challenge.

The House of Cards: This was a new one! For the final Immunity Challenge, survivors were given 200 wooden tiles and tasked to build a House of Cards 10-feet high (anybody else thinking of The Brady Bunch?). After 30 minutes, whoever has the tallest house wins. (I think if Bob doesn’t win, he’s gone.)

Sugar shows talent in card house-building, however once she hits about 6-feet, they keep tumbling down, forcing her to start over. Susie takes the lead, then hers falls. Matty’s having the same problem. Bob, however, can’t seem to get any higher than 3 feet.

After many attempts, Matty scrambles during the last minute to try to take Susie’s approximately 8-foot lead, but just can’t get there. Sugar’s house falls again, and Susie gets immunity, effectively ruining the others’ plan.


Sugar
Sugar cries (literally) to the camera that since Susie won they have no choice but to vote Bob off. Back at camp, Matty tells Bob of his fate. Bob’s resigned to it, realizing that the others wouldn’t stand much of a chance at winning if he’s in the Final 3, and everyone hugs (more tears). Matty, surprisingly, keeps hold of himself and doesn’t cry.

Later on, Sugar tells Bob she’s thought of a way out. What if she and Bob vote for Matty, causing a tie and forcing a tie-breaker challenge. Winner stays, loser goes.

(Hint: If you’re ever going to be on Survivor, practice building a fire with flint for God’s sake. Remember, that’s how Bobby John lost.)

At Tribal Council, Sugar, crying, calls Matty a brother and Bob a father figure (Sugar’s dad passed away recently). Bob chokes up, crediting his own deceased father for making him a good man. Host Jeff relentlessly hammers away at the castaways’ emotions – great TV! Even the jury’s getting into it.

Vote time:

Susie votes for Bob.

Matty votes for Bob.

Bob votes for Matty.

And, Sugar votes for Matty.

TIE!

Guess what happens next? Yep – a fire-making challenge. First one to build a fire that burns thru a thin rope wins.

Bob gets fire first, but it goes out. Matty’s scraping away furiously, but Bob gets his fire going again and voila – Bob wins.


Bye-Bye Matty.

The Final 3 are sent back to camp for their final night in Gabon. The next morning they pack up and burn their hut to the ground.

And it’s Jury Time!! This is gonna be great! Ken’s ready to make trouble. Randy’s still VERY angry, dislikes them all, is "ready to rip Bob a new one" and says it’s about one word – REVENGE!

Oh, and Corinne’s loaded for bear as well.

First off, the Final 3 each get to make their case as to why they deserve the million dollars.

Susie: went on Survivor to teach her son and students that it’s important "to try."

Bob: played with his heart, strategy was to use his personality and survival skills to make life better for everyone. Says he "didn’t Outwit or Outplay, just Outlasted" the rest.

Sugar: thinks she played the perfect social game. Admits lying for the game. No one wrote her name down (to vote out) and thinks she played "a pretty darned good game."

Jeff hands the show over to the seven Jurors.

Charlie doesn’t have anything interesting to say, jokes about spooning with Bob. Bob calls Charlie "a hoot."

Crystal accuses Susie of riding coat tails to get where she is, and says Bob was remote-controlled by Sugar (Bob says he was riding coat tails). She demands to know why Sugar got her voted out, to which Sugar replied that she didn’t like the way Crystal talked to people or her bullying. (I don’t think Crystal’s voting for Sugar … )

Ken says Sugar really scarred him and wants to know why. Sugar said she had an alliance with Bob and Matty and truly thought he was a bigger threat. Ken doesn’t believe her.
Then, here’s a surprise, he brings up that deal with Bob and the Immunity Necklace – again! Bob replies, when "I became aware of your assassination attempt on me, I voted for you."

Corinne (worth the wait) goes after Susie first, guaranteeing her a vote if Susie will agree to have her vocal cords removed. Oh Snap!!
Then she asks Bob to make her believe he doesn’t like Sugar. He can’t.
But she saves her best for last attacking Sugar, calling her an "unemployed, uneducated leech on society" who needs antidepressants and, if that’s not bad enough, brings up her dead father, "if he even is" …. Hello – can you say be-otch?

Sugar gives Corinne the finger as she sits back down.

Marcus, unfortunately, had to follow that and didn’t really contribute much.


Next up is Randy, the Gary Busey of Gabon. Randy starts small and asks Susie to explain why she said she felt sorry for him.
Then he goes after Sugar, referring to her laughing at Tribal Council and making a jackass of him. To which Sugar replied, "I think you made a jackass of yourself." (POW!). "Is that your answer for a million dollars?" Randy retorts.
To Bob, he asks same question about the laughter at Randy’s last Tribal Council. "I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I apologize and I did tell Sugar about it," Bob sincerely replied. (I think Bob’s getting Randy’s vote.)

Matty asks Sugar to name one thing she did that was evil. "I broke Kenny’s heart, I’m sorry," she replied. Kenny roles his eyes. Then he asks Bob why Bob thinks the other two are more deserving. "I don’t think they are," Bob replied.

During the vote, Randy says loudly that "All three of you can kiss my ass." (I’m gonna miss Randy.)

Jeff takes votes and leaves, re-emerging magically at the start of the Reunion Show. Here’s how it went …

Vote 1 – Bob

Vote 2 – Susie

Vote 3 – Susie

Vote 4 – Sue (I’m freaking out at this point, thinking Susie may actually win!)

Vote 5 – Bob

Vote 6 – Bob

Vote 7 – Bob

BOB WINS! Yay! Justice! At 57, Jeff points out, Bob is the oldest winner in the history of the game.



During the reunion show we find out that had Matty made it to the Final 3, five jurors would have voted for him, thereby making the fire challenge a million dollar challenge. This is where Jeff stresses the importance of learning to build a fire if you’re ever cast on Survivor!

Jeff also announces that Randy was the deciding vote and asks why Randy picked Bob over Susie. Randy replied sarcastically, "that cookie didn’t matter much," referring to the food auction where Sugar snubbed Randy’s offer of a cookie, and I’m not sure what reference that was to Susie. But it turns out, it was a million dollar cookie as well.

We later find out that Randy’s not only got the second highest IQ of all the players (physician Marcus was highest), but he’s also a commercial pilot (think about that next time you fly), participated in Iron Man competitions and has an engineering degree. A self-described "bitter man," Randy brought six strangers to the reunion just because they were fans of the show. He applied for Survivor 15 times, and is currently a wedding videographer.

Then it was Corinne’s turn. Jeff called her comments to Sugar at Tribal Council "the worst thing ever said on the show" (Jeff, remember Sue Hawk?). To which Corinne replied, "I guess I just had a lot of anger," as the audience collectively booed her.

On the opposite end, Jeff called Charlie one of the nicest guys ever on Survivor. Crystal actually brought her gold medal to prove she is an Olympic medalist. She said the challenges were a lot harded than she expected, and her friends have been harassing her about her lack of performance on the show, saying "Crystal you suck."

Ace tried to clear up the origins of his faux British accent, saying he was born in Mississippi and raised in London (which didn’t really clean anything up at all).

And Matty’s still engaged.


The Cast of Survivor Gabon: Earth's Last Eden

Bob won an additional $100,000 from Verizon for being voted fan favorite online.

The show ended with a preview of Season 18 – Survivor Tocatinis in the Brazilian Highlands.

See you in Feburary!

OK, I know it's only December 14, but this is by far the Video of the Year. I only saw it about four hours ago, but I can't get enough of it!

Enjoy!

Sorry, my browser won't let me embed, so click on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfYBGl9q30c


BTW how pissed is this guy?

And the job of hosting The 81st Annual Academy Awards goes to ....


The Sexiest Man Alive! While watching the Soup this weekend, I almost fell off the couch when I saw scrolling at the bottom of the TV screen that Hugh Jackman was asked to host the Oscars next year (and accepted)!



Whahoooo! After a pretty dismal year at the movies ... this actually gives me something to look forward to! And I'm speaking generally, of course. Yes, I loved Iron Man and The Dark Knight. I enjoyed Cloverfield, Twilight, Sex and the City, Saw V, The Ruins and The X-Files. But overall, not an exciting year.

And though The Dark Knight actually might have a shot at a Best Picture nomination, we all know it doesn't have much chance of actually winning. And since most of the movies that will get nominated aren't even out yet -- there's not much to get excited about.

But Hugh Jackman!!! That's excitement worthy! I don't care how bad Australia was (I've heard, haven't actually seen it yet), I'm sure he'll be able to keep us entertained for the requisite 3 1/2 to 4 hours the Academy lumbers thru. That sexy Australian accent alone could get me thru the show.

Afterall, this is the man who brought us to Broadway in droves to see him star as gay icon Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.



He was so popular in the show indeed, that it had to close when his extended run ended because they literally couldn't find anyone who could compare!

Good Luck Hugh -- I'll be watching!

The 81st Annual Academy Awards airs live on ABC at 8 p.m. Feb. 22. Nominations will be announced live at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 22 on E! and network morning shows.

For Bo 2 and others who've asked -- The Golden Globe Awards will be presented live on NBC from the Beverly Hills Hilton at 8 p.m. on Jan. 11. Sorry, should have put that in last week's post.

OK, I'm a little late in posting this, but hey, it's the weekend, and I'm currently up to my ears in Xmas decorations, trying to finish up before tonight's Survivor finale!

Summit Entertainment made it official on Friday that Chris Weitz is indeed directing Twilight's anticipated sequel New Moon (which means he'll be on his way to Vancouver at this very moment to begin preproduction). In an effort to calm fans, the following was emailed to those registered at www.TwilightTheMovie.com

Subject: Message from Chris Weitz

Dear fans of Twilight, New Moon, Bella, Edward and Jacob,

In the past few days I have been involved in a whirlwind romance with Stephenie Meyers' extraordinary books.

And I am very grateful to have received her permission to protect New Moon in its translation from the page to the screen.

For fans of the books and of the film of Twilight, this may come as an unexpected twist. So I want to write briefly to try to put you at ease, and to give you reason to hope for and expect the best.

For the last decade of my career as a director, I have chosen to make adaptations of complex and involved works of literature. This has always begun with the love of a book and its characters, story, and theme; and it has always involved a respect of and responsiveness to the feelings of other people who loved those books.

When I saw the film of Twilight, I was alternately entranced and left hungry for more. I was also struck by the extraordinary passion for the characters, story and theme that was evident in the people sitting in the seats around me. My job is to live up to that devotion.

Like many of you, I am a fan of Catherine Hardwicke's work. I can't really say much about why she is not doing New Moon because I wasn't involved in those decisions. But I can say that I will devote myself to making the very best and most faithful version of New Moon that can be brought to the screen. To those who doubt that as a male director I can capture Bella's experience, I can only say that emotion is universal and that my work has often involved working with some of the most talented actresses in the world.

For the rest, the proof will have to be in the pudding. But I promise to remain responsive to your hopes and fears.

I thank you for this opportunity and for your faith.

Very best, Chris Weitz



OK, sounds sincere, let's give him a chance. While I wasn't a fan of The Golden Compass, I absolutely loved About A Boy ...

As promised, here's a little early Xmas present for all of you, a guest blog from the Elfman!
Enjoy



Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
Reviewed by the Elfman

"Something is happening to the children of Mars"
Yes the Red Planet is in a state of panic as Martian Children become increasingly despondent, watching meaningless videos telecast from Earth. Their children are growing up way too fast and must recapture their youth.
Solution: "We Need a Santa Claus on Mars"
Yes, "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" is hands down the worse holiday movie ever and possibly one of the worst movies of all time. Yet this 1964 film from Joseph E. Levine was a box office smash and even sparked the hit tune "Hooray for Santy Claus."
The chorus gleefully proclaims: You spell it S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S, Hooray for Santy Clause.(Were they worried that kids would be confused by the spelling?)
The plot of the movie revolves around a group of Martian leaders including the good Kimar and evil Volgar and their journey to earth where they kidnap St. Nick and two earth children who can't act their way out of a Christmas stocking.
Santa played by John Hall isn't much better and expresses joy with more of a drunken snarl than a jolly belly laugh.
Things really heat up when the Martians invade the North Pole and muscle Santa out of his workshop to the horror of all 3 of his elves.
"We Don't Want To Hurt You Santa Claus, So Come Along Quietly."
The film for the most part is a real treat for bad movie lovers of all ages.
However you might want to fast forward through seemingly endless Air Force stock footage when they are alerted of the invasion.
Classic dialogue includes a scene between Kimar and wife Lady Momar as they discuss their children's peril. (one of them played by a young Pia Zadora)
"They Eat Not, They Sleep Not"
"I Had To Use The Sleep Spray On Them Again"
But my favorite scene is when a group of Martian elite summon an 800-year-old wise man from the planet named Chochum(?). This guy is clearly dead, he just won't lay down.
Chochum advises them that "Children Need To Be Children Again" and "I've Seen This Coming For Centuries." (Then why didn't he tell anybody?)
Hopefully Martian paramedics are standing by because Chochum isn't likely to make 801.
If you love bad movies like I do this is a must for the holidays.
The Elfman has Spoken.

Thanks Elfman! For those of you curious enough, you can watch Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on Google Video. Follow this link
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=santa+claus+matians&emb=0&aq=f#

Before I get into last night’s awesome episode of Survivor: Gabon, I just want to give a short shout-out. I was perusing the list of Golden Globe nominations last night and LOL when I realized that up for Best Supporting Actor in a Film, along with the late Heath Ledger, are Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Cruise for their hilarious turns in Tropic Thunder!

Yes, that's Robert
Downey Jr.!
While I will be shocked if either wins over Ledger, it’s nice to see both recognized for taking what would normally be considered slapstick comedy characters into award-winning territory!
Downey Jr. famously plays an Australian actor who undergoes a controversial skin pigmentation process to play an African American sergeant. And Cruise (heavily made up in skull cap and fat suit) plays a firey studio boss very reminiscent of Harvey Weinstein.

And yes, that's
Tom Cruise between takes


If you haven’t seen Tropic Thunder yet, do yourself a favor and rent it this weekend. I highly recommend it.



OK, on to Survivor: As stated above, what an awesome episode it was!! The one I’ve been waiting for all season, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. If you haven’t watched it yet, stop reading and go watch it here http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

We start out on Night 33 with Matty confronting Kenny, demanding to know why Kenny wrote his name on the ballot to be voted out. Kenny tries to defend himself saying that Bob lied to him, and it was all strategic. Matty’s not buying it. Ken and Crystal decide that Matty’s next to go.
Ken confronts Bob demanding to know why Corinne didn’t play the immunity idol at Tribal Council (the idol is fake, remember?), saying he put his neck on the line. Bob tells him the idol was fake, to which Ken replies that Bob played him. Bob feels bad and tells Ken that if he wins the Immunity necklace, he will give it to Ken (WTH is he thinking?).

Bob
The Reward Challenge offers the opportunity for the winner to take a helicopter ride to a gorilla sanctuary for food, drinks and a shower … oh and a chance to see gorillas up close. The first to get 3 balls in the basket wins, and also gets to send someone to Exile Island.
Despite Matty’s lead and best efforts, Bob wins again! Of course, we know they won’t make him go alone, and Jeff tells him to pick two people to go along. Bob strategically picks Ken and Crystal, and opts to send Susie to Exile.

Susie, knowing Sugar has the immunity idol, chooses to stay in the Sugar Shack and load up on fruit.

At the sanctuary, Bob, Ken and Crystal enjoy lunch and drinks, and the scheming duo tell Bob that Matty’s next. Then they all take a shower (separately folks, this is prime time afterall), don dashikis, meet with the gorilla rangers and go see gorillas. Crystal is grateful for the "African experience."

Sugar
Back at camp, Matty tries to get Sugar to vote off Kenny. She’s not buying it. Matty realizes he’s on his own and if he doesn’t win immunity, he’s gone.
When everyone gets back, Matty argues with Ken over their fallen alliance. Crystal chimes in, verbally attacking Matty over his friendship with Susie. Crystal tells the camera in a side monologue, "Matty, Karma’s a bitch!"
Sugar, watching what’s going on, has a change of heart. She doesn’t like the fact that Ken and Crystal are hassling Matty when they’ve already decided that he’s next. Essentially, she sees them as kicking Matty when he’s down and starts believing what Matty told her about Ken’s scheming (remember Ken convinced Sugar to vote out her bud Ace) and Crystal’s bullying.
Sugar gets Matty along and tells him she believes him. She also says he’s not going to go home – the tide is turning … finally!
Sugar tells Matty that Crystal is going next, and she’ll tell Bob to vote for her! (Yes, I’ve wanted Crystal gone for a looooong time. She so has it coming!)

Susie
The Immunity Challenge had contestants crawling through a maze to put together pieces of a mask – blindfolded! Crysal goes completely off course, and Susie gets lost, wandering away from the maze. Matty decides to get all three bags with the puzzle pieces first, while the others work one bag at a time.
Bob wins again! That’s four challenges in a row for the 57-year-old. Go Bob!

Before Tribal Council, Sugar confesses to Bob she wants to be with the "good guys" and suggests taking out Crystal. She also tells Bob she has a really big place in her heart for him. Bob hopes she’s being truthful.
Sugar then goes back to camp and lies to everyone else, saying she thinks Bob might be willing to give the necklace to Ken. Ken’s somewhat relieved.

This is gonna be great!!

Tribal Council: When the jury entered, one thing went thru my mind – WTH happened to Randy’s hair – Dude got a mohawk!! He’s certifiable … I’m counting on crazy Randy making the finale’s jury question session worthy of the build-up (who remember’s Sue Hawk’s famous verbal thrashing of Kelly Wigglesworth in season one? … oh the humanity!)

Anyway, at Tribal Ken takes the opportunity to out Bob over their pact. Bob refuses to give Ken the necklace, saying he doesn’t believe Ken’s in danger. Ken’s sweating …

Ken
Sugar is blatantly wearing the hidden Immunity Idol, and Jeff says that it is the last opportunity for it to be put into play, if indeed it is the real idol. To which Bob replies, "I didn’t make that one!" and gets a nasty glare from Randy (who, if you remember, played Bob’s fake idol and was humiliated).

After the vote, it’s make or break time for the hidden idol. Jeff calls for anyone who has the idol that it is time to play it before the votes are read and ….. wait for it ……

Sugar takes off the idol and says, "Matty take the cursed thing away from me!" giving the idol’s protection to Matty and cancelling any votes for him. Ken’s really sweating now!

Matty

First vote, Matty, doesn’t count.

Second vote, Matty, doesn’t count.

Third vote, Crystal.

Fourth vote Crystal – she looks at Ken, he looks at her, raising eyebrows in a "tough sh-t"
kinda way.

Fifth vote, "and the 13th person voted out of Survivor Gabon is" --- CRYSTAL!!!

Crystal

The tribe has spoken – and the jury nods in agreement. You were right Crystal – Karma’s a bitch!

And then there were five:
Bob, the physics professor whose the biggest threat.
Susie, whose flown under the radar.
Sugar, the sweetheart of the game.
Ken, the professional gamer, who wickedly schemed his way to the final.
And Matty, the physical threat – just don’t make him cry.

So here we go --- Sunday night at 8 p.m. on CBS it all ends on the Survivor: Gabon Finale, followed by the Reunion Show at 10 p.m. Don’t miss it, if it’s anything like the last couple of episodes, it should be pretty exciting!
For info visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

I'm seeing red over Twilight's sequel -- New Moon.

As if I wasn’t worried enough about New Moon, Twilight’s sequel, already, EW.com is reporting that Summit Entertainment is upping the budget to $50 million – really, a whole $50 million?
Twilight’s reported budget was only $37 million and it showed. One of the biggest complaints from fans was regarding the cheap special effects.
So, after taking in $70 million in its opening weekend, and nearly $140 million in its first three weeks (more than three times its budget), Summit has seen fit to greenlight the second film for a whole $13 million more. WOW!
This is disturbing to all fans, I’m sure, since we already know what happens in the second movie (Twilight’s a VERY successful book series, afterall). This is the flick that introduces the werewolves (natural enemy of the vampire) to the story. And, as described, the humans “phase” into the werewolves, changing almost instantly. That’s going to look pretty crappy if they have to go with stop-motion or some other cheap effect.
The EW report also discloses that Summit has set a tentative release date for New Moon of Nov. 20, 2009, with word that the director replacing Catherine Hardwicke needs to be in "Vancouver by Dec. 15 to begin 12 weeks of preproduction before a mid-March start date." Date check: Monday is Dec. 15! and a director hasn't been confirmed yet, although reports state that Golden Compass director Chris Weitz has been offered the job.
It would have been a better bet to keep Hardwicke, considering she already is familiar with the storyline and has experience in what worked and didn't in the first movie. However, it might not have been Summit's decision afterall, a source close to Hardwicke disclosed to EW, "She'd love to do the sequel if she could do it better than Twilight. It became clear that Summit didn't have those same priorties." Obviously.
What director in their right mind would take the helm under these circumstances? Weitz certainly doesn't need back-to-back fantasy flops. Considering that anticipation is always greater for a sequel than the original, if New Moon stinks, word will spread quickly and fans won't come back.
Also in question is New Moon's script, as written by Melissa Rosenberg. She scripted Twilight under the gun of the looming writers' strike earlier this year, which might account for some of its short-comings. I was hoping with more time, she could present a better one for New Moon, but certainly not under these rushed circumstances. Rosenberg is also reported to be writing the script for the third movie (Eclipse), which might be made back-to-back with New Moon. How's that for a rush-job?

Jacob Black
SPOILER ALERT: skip past next photo to avoid.



There also may be plans for Summit to replace Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black. I originally thought this might be a good idea when I first heard he was cast in Twilight. Afterall, in New Moon, Black hits puberty and REALLY grows, if you know what I mean (I'm talking werewolf here). The book makes it clear that Jacob's much taller and much more muscular. But I really did enjoy Lautner in Twilight, he made a bigger impression on me than I would have thought. And New Moon would really afford him an opportunity to shine. (Calm down y'all, I'm still totally Team Edward!)





Twilight's Edward & Bella


Back to the budget -- If the stars are really getting paid the $12 million that's been alluded to on the Internet, that leaves only $26 million for special effects, a reported location shoot in Italy, salaries for the rest of the cast, crew, director, etc. WTH? Is Summit purposely sabatoging its sure-thing franchise?

What’s on tonight: In addition to Survivor: Gabon tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS, there’s a few other noteworthy shows to watch.

Welcome Lawrence
Following Survivor at 9 p.m. Lawrence Fishburne joins the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Dr. Raymond Langston, a physician and criminology professor who we know will eventually be joing their twisted little group. For those of you who don’t know, Gil Grissom (aka William Petersen) is leaving the show as a full-time cast member. However, he will be back from time to time.

Over on ABC, it’ll be another confusing episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Where is this storyline going between Izzy and Denny (dead guy walking)? And Karev for that matter? We’ll just have to wait and see …

Keanu Reeves stars on the big screen this weekend in a remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. If you’re interested in seeing the 1951 original, you’re in luck. AMC is broadcasting it at 8 p.m. tonight. The sci-fi classic centers around an alien who arrives on Earth to stop mankind’s atomic experimentation before it destroys the planet. Sound familiar?


Later tonight, Sen. John McCain pays another visit to David Letterman on The Late Show at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. It’s his first post-election appearance.

Nazi Cruise

And on The Tonight Show, Valkyrie star Tom Cruise chats up his latest with Jay Leno same time on NBC. He’ll follow that with a visit to the Today Show on Monday. This will be Cruise’s first sit down with Matt Lauer since his famous “glib” comment a few years ago …

The Golden Globe nominations were announced early this morning in Hollywood. While I don’t have enough time to list them here, you can see the entire list at www.goldenglobes.org
Multiple nominees included The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revoluntionary Road and Slumdog Millionaire (this year’s sleeper his with critics). As well as actresses Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet, who got two nominations each.
And in the television categories, big noms were True Blood, Dexter, Mad Men, House, Entourage, 30 Rock, Californication and The Office.
HBO’s John Adams is expected to easily clean-up in it’s nominations for Best Mini-Series, and star Paul Giamatti (way to go Pig Vomit!).
It’s all good for HBO at the Globes anyway, with 22 overall nominations, the cable channel will easily clean up again this year!


The late Heath Ledger was also honored with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. As much as it is deserved, I can’t help shake the sad feelings surrounding this. I was just watching The Dark Knight last night and marveling at what a spectacular film it really is. Ledger’s turn as the twisted villain is superb to say the least and leaves you feeling sad wondering what would have come of his career if things hadn’t turned out the way they did last January …
What a waste, accidental as it was, it’s still such a waste.
Hopefully, Ledger and The Dark Knight will go on to Oscar nominations as well.

What do you think?

Last night’s Top Chef challenged the cheftestants to create appetizing dishes for judge Gail Simmons’ Bridal Shower. The show started out focusing on Stefan’s growing infatuation with Jamie, who’s clearly not interested. Jamie — “Hello, does the word lesbian mean anything to you?”
The Quick Fire Challenge paired the chef up and against each other in a tasting contest. Whoever could guess the most ingredients in the sauce they were tasting went on to the next round. Hosea won easily identifying the most ingredients in a traditional mole` sauce.
For the Bridal Shower Elimination Challenge teams were chosen for the following categories — Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, with Blue being the most difficult because, as fan-fave Fabio so eloquently put it, “There is no freakin’ blue food!”
So they chose to focus on the blue ocean as their theme with Chilean seabass, a fish the judges would later call “very forgiving.”
Rhadika was on the Borrowed team, so they chose to “borrow” something from her Indian heritage. The New team consisted of Eugene, Karla and Danny and they chose to do a sushi roll, wonton salad and sorbet. Eugene’s rice didn’t turn out right, so they went with a “build your own” sushi platter. Only Eugene failed to explain this to the dining guests.
The Old team featured Hosea (who had immunity from winning the Quick Fire), Jeff and Stefan. They chose to go with the old, heirloom tomatoes, making a trio of appetizers that included an old-style turine, sorbet and gazpacho.
Gail and her friends showed up to be served along with guest judge and Gail’s boss, the editor of Food & Wine Magazine (sorry, didn’t catch her name). Prior to service, head judge Chef Tom Colicchio called the Blue team’s food “boring,” and the New team’s dishes “out there,” stating it’ll either be spectacular or horrible.
Something Old was the first to service, the sorbet went over very well. Something New was next up. Unfortunately, Danny snuck some mushrooms into the bottom of Karla’s salad and she was upset – so were the guests. They were confused by the dish and didn’t like it.
In the meantime, things were falling apart for the Borrowed team in the kitchen. They didn’t allow enough time for the lamb to be properly cooked and were afraid to serve it too rare. Luckily for them, the rest of the chefs ponied up and helped out giving them more time to cook the lamb. And good thing, because the lamb and the rest of the Borrowed dishes went over extremely well with the guests. They loved it!
The Blue team elected to have Fabio give the presentation of their food, because “They think I’ll be more charming!” (Yes, you were, Fabio!) The women at the table loved him, but the Chilean seabass fell a little flat.
At Judges’ Table, the Old & Borrowed teams were chosen as the best, with Jeff’s sorbet, Jamie’s carrot puree and Ariane’s lamb cited as the favorite dishes. Jamie was expecting a win finally and everyone was expecting that as well. But the win went to Ariane for the second week in a row. Jamie was visibly upset.
That left the New & Blue teams in the bottom, with the entire New team almost getting the axe. “Right now I wish I could send all of you home,” Colicchio said, clearly disgusted. Colicchio seemed most flabberghasted by Danny’s oblivious reaction to their dishes being considered awful. He even copped to putting the mushrooms in Karla’s salad, when the judges made it clear they didn’t like it. So it was by his own undoing that Danny was sent to pack his knives and go …

Next week Martha Stewart arrives to spice things up in the Top Chef kitchen!
Top Chef repeats tonight at 8 p.m. on Bravo or visit


Don’t forget, tonight at 8 on CBS, it’s the final episode of Survivor: Gabon leading up to Sunday night’s finale and reunion show! Check back here tomorrow for a recap.

OK, two nights of Holiday parties in a row didn’t leave me much time to watch TV this week. I was planning on watching The Dark Knight last night (came out on DVD yesterday, for those of you who didn’t know), but got home a little too late.
I can, however, highly recommend it. I saw it in the theater and, judging it’s enormous box office take, most of you probably did too.

And speaking of The Dark Knight, the late Heath Ledger received a posthumous award over the weekend from his homeland’s Australian Film Institute for his role as The Joker. Ledger’s family was on hand to accept and paid a teary tribute to their loved one. “It’s been without a dbout the most difficult year, losing such a loved family member,” said sister Kate Ledger.
Ledger’s performance in the Batman blockbuster is regarded as having a solid chance for a posthumous Academy Award for best supporting actor.


For those of you wanting to catch up, Lost: Season 4 (last season) hit the shelves on DVD yesterday.


On TV Tonight: Don’t forget, it’s another fast-paced episode of Top Chef on Bravo at 10 p.m. Tonight the cheftestants are being pimped out to cook for judge Gail Simmon’s Bridal Shower. Should be interesting …

On Fox at 8 p.m. is the second episode of Secret Millionaire. I missed the first episode, but have since caught up and believe me, watch it with a stack of tissues. If you don’t produce tears watching this show, you’d better get to your cardiologist because your heart’s obviously turned to stone.
Along the same path as ABC’s Extreme Makeover, Secret Millionaire features a different millionaire each week, spending a week living in poverty with regular folks that have fallen on hard times – i.e. Hurricane Katrina survivors. After having their life-changing moment, the millionaires choose some lucky person at the end to award $100,000 out of their own pockets to help better their situation. Sounds cheesy, but it’s truly tear-jerking. You can watch last week’s episode and get more info here http://www.fox.com/programming/shows/new/secret_millionaire.htm

On Bravo last night, on the Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo’s original Real Housewives show), Lauri decided to stop participating in the hit show. Lauri’s son, who has been battling drug addiction for the past two seasons, was sentence to 8 months in prison and Lauri decided to take time to concentrate on her family. Good luck Lauri.
Don’t fret, Bravo has already replaced her and a new “housewife” will make her debut next week.

Lauri's on far right

In other news: The stage has been set at ABC for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and this year’s show will feature co-host Ryan Seacrest with performances by Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie, Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange, Robin Thicke, and … hold on to yourselves …. THE JONAS BROTHERS!!!! (yeah, that was meant to be sarcastic)


Oprah’s back up to 200 pounds …


And Jay Leno, who will say good-bye to The Tonight Show this spring, will be back before you know it … at 10 p.m. with The Jay Leno Show – WTH? Poor luck Conan … he’s supposed to be taking the helm of Johnny Carson’s late night extravaganza after Leno exits. With Jay on at 10 p.m., doing basically the same format, why bother to stay up after the news to see Conan?
Of course, this is only good news for David Letterman … his show on CBS in the same 11:35 p.m. time slot will undoubtedly rocket to No. 1.
Anyway, Jay’s new show will air five nights a week, just like his old one. Looks like Law & Order’s numerous serials may be taking the hit.


And in movie news: Summit Entertainment has parted ways with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, thereby leaving the spot wide open to direct the already slated sequel New Moon.
(Yeah, just another excuse for me to blog about Twilight, and include a sweet photo or two.)

Anyway, no one’s saying who dumped who, but Hardwicke said, “I am sorry that due to timing I will not have the opportunity to direct ‘New Moon’.”
But those supposedly in the know seem to think that due to larger budget and increased special effects needed for the flick – this one has the werewolves, afterall, Summit might have wanted to get someone with more visual effects experience. And, if you’ve seen Twilight, you have to admit, the visual effects weren’t very good. Except for the glittering Edward in the meadow, which Summit actually ponied up the money to hire George Lucas’ special effects wizards at Industrial Light & Magic to handle.
No offense to Hardwicke, I personally think she did the best she could with the budget that was afforded her.
As of last night, director Chris Weitz had been rumored to be offered the coveted job. Weitz directed last year’s holiday flop The Golden Compass. Yeah, I saw it on DVD and wasn’t impressed by the film … however, the special effects, which featured a giant polar bear fight, were top notch.
I’m a little more worried that Summit has chosen Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg to write both New Moon and Eclipse. Personally, while the movie adaptation of Twilight did follow the book (there are always changes when adapting page-to-screen), I really don’t think it hit the same emotional mark. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see …

The good news is that both stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are both signed to reprise their roles as vampire Edward Cullen and his human paramore Bella Swan.

Elfman Alert! Due to his vast TV knowledge and rather large fanbase, I’ve asked the Elfman to do a guest blog entry on his Top 5 TV shows of 2008, and he has graciously accepted. I’ll be offering that before the end of the year, along with my own picks. What have been your faves? or even your Worsts? Let me know along with a brief reason why, and you might see it here …

Also, the Elfman will be offering up his pick for Worst Christmas Movie ever – and believe me, it’s a real stinker – Chochem has spoken …

Thanks to everyone for your comments on My 10 Most Fascinating People post. It’s great to know someone’s reading here! Sorry to have left you hanging over the weekend, I meant to post my Survivor recap sooner, but you know how things get away from you when you have time off.

Spent most of my weekend up to my elbows in Xmas decorations, climbing up and down steps from the basement to the first and second floors of the house with boxes loaded with the decor of the season. Yesterday was cool, though, I made the most of ABC Family’s Harry Potter marathon. I love it when I can put all the TVs all over the house and just go back and forth while decorating. And since it was sooooo cold out, yesterday was the perfect day for it.

I started out my weekend on the right note, however, and watched a rockin’ flick – Wanted. Totally loved it! I highly recommend. Based on a popular video game (and many video game-based movies suck), this one totally hits its mark. Great visual effects, tons of action, good story and Angelina Jolie too! Nice to see James McAvoy doing some action stuff, and Morgan Freeman is always good … nice twist in the middle that I never saw coming. Check it out.


The only new thing on TV I watched was last night’s season finale of the Amazing Race. Siblings Nick & Starr, separated couple Ken & Tina and frat boys Andrew & Dan raced from Russia to Oregon for the final leg of the race around the world and a million dollars …

It was exciting, as always, and being the last episode, I’m not going to go into much detail. In the end, as expected, Nick & Starr hit the finish line first and got the million. Ken & Tina were close on their tails, with Andrew & Dan bringing up the rear, way behind. The boys were quite gracious to their fellow competitors, admitting that even they didn’t believe they had made it to the end.

Congrats to Nick & Starr
One thing I always like about this show, when the players get to the finish line, all the other
players who’ve been eliminated are all there to cheer them on. Nice sportsmanship.
In case you missed it, you can watch it here
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/


The players of Gabon
Survivor Time: Yes, another tumultuous season of Survivor is coming to the end. There’s only Thursday’s episode before Sunday night’s 2-hour finale, followed by the reunion show at 10 p.m. Can you believe it? It seems not that long ago that we first met the competitors of Gabon, Africa. I for one, would’ve never guessed that Crystal would still be there (can't wait till they all find out at the reunion show that she's an Olympic athlete)! Or Bob, even though, Bob deserves to be there. I can’t say the same for Crystal.
But back to last week’s episode. Night 30 started off with Bob being ticked off at everyone’s laughter over the hoodwinking of Randy at Tribal Council. And he let Sugar know about it. Sugar apologized, but didn’t mean it.
Then Sugar and Corinne got into it over talking behind people’s backs.
As promo’d, the Reward Challenge featured a short video message from each players’ loved ones. Jeff, however, broke the bad news that the loved ones actually weren’t there, but the winner of the challenge would get to see their entire video over lunch as reward. Teams were chosen, and Corinne was odd person out, so had no chance of winning.
It all came down to a puzzle between Bob and Ken, with Bob easily winning. Ken decides Bob’s a threat. Bob leaves and get his reward and while enjoying some food and his video, his wife shows up to surprise him! Bob takes his wife back to camp, but not alone, he brings the rest of the players’ loved ones with him, much to their surprise! Lots of crying follows … really people, this part always gets me, it’s Survivor – it’s not like they’re never going to see them again!! It’s only been 30 days!
Actually, the contestants usually get to their host country a couple weeks early to get some “survival” training, so I guess it’s been a bit longer …
Back to the game – Ken brags to his friend that he took out five power players. Sugar’s sister brought their dad’s ashes, and Sugar spreads some out over the water in Africa. And Matty, oh Matty, crumbles into a pile of mush with his girlfriend and actually proposes!! Are you kidding me?
She says yes, of course – would have been better if she had said, “we can talk about it when you get home.” Never, never, propose on TV. Haven’t we learned anything from The Bachelor?

Shortly before the Immunity Challenge, Bob reveals another fake idol to Corinne. To which she replies, that one of them has to win immunity. The challenge had players answering Gabon-related questions via a cube with words on it (true, false, yes, no).

Favorite moment: Poisonous snakes are harmless to humans (true/false). To which Suzie and Corinne said false! Hello, ladies – poisonous? Even Jeff had to point out that one!

Physics Prof Bob, becoming quite the player
Bob won again, so he was safe from elimination. He and Corinne further schemed with the fake idol and decided to get rid of Matty. I would have gotten rid of him based on that blubbering proposal.
Corinne tells Kenny about the idol (not that it's fake) and Kenny suggests getting rid of Matty (Matty's quite the unpopular boy). Bob tells Crystal about the idol (again, not that it's fake). Crystal and Ken are thrilled about the new plan.
At Tribal Council, Bob, Ken and Corinne vote for Matty, while Crystal, Sugar, Suzie and Matty vote Corinne. Bye Corinne. Let’s see if Matty puts 2-2 together and figures out which one of his alliance voted for him!
Survivor airs Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBS. For info or to watch visit
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

Tonight we bid farewell to one of my favorite shows. Although I haven’t blogged about it before, Boston Legal is a guilty pleasure I will miss!

The antics of Denny Crane and the closing arguments of Alan Shore are legendary TV schtick. And so well done that Shore’s James Spader won 3 Emmys for his portrayal, while Crane’s William Shatner garnered himself one too. I will miss their well-humored dialogues on the balcony of Crane's office that ended each show. I hope their Bromance goes on forever ...
Say good-bye on ABC tonight with a 2-hour episode beginning at 9 p.m.

And my Christmas season wouldn’t be complete without A Christmas Carol, my favorite holiday tale of all time! I’m sure it’s because it features ghosts (and you know what a horror freak I am).
Anyway, tonight the Hallmark Channel offers up my all-time favorite melodramatic retelling of this story – the Lifetime Channel’s Ebbie! Oh yeah, it doesn’t get any cheesier than this. Featuring Soap Queen Susan Lucci as Ebbie (get it?) Scrooge, the miserly owner of some department store in New York City, it’s usually the first Xmas flick I watch every year.
It’s not scary at all, laughable at all the right parts, and even a little sentimental, but I love it, with proper cheese, of course!
Check it out tonight at 9. That means you -- Elfman!! You still haven't seen this, but I know what a Lucci-fan you are. Here's a pic just for you!

Sexy Susan
I think she's channeling a little Padma here ... what do you think?

Blogging about Barbara Walters’ Most Fascinating People of 2008 special got me thinking … so here’s my 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009. Heads up – they’re all entertainment-related, because that’s where my main interests lie. So no politicians, sports figures, big thinkers, heck, some of them aren’t even real people – just great characters. Anyway, here’s who fascinated me this year!

10. The Elfman – If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve probably already figured out that I actually know the enigma known as The Elfman. And though I’ll NEVER reveal his secret identity, he never ceases to fascinate me. (I just realized both those sentences kinda read like Austin Powers’ "Allow myself to introduce myself." Pardon me.)
Whether it’s his passion for Blue Oyster Cult and really, really bad cinema, his love of reality TV and Sally Field, or his witty comments on this blog, I’ll always consider myself lucky to know him. Thanks Elfman!

Bruce Wayne

Tony Stark
9. A tie between The Dark Night/Bruce Wayne and Ironman/Tony Stark. Though I’ve only just met Tony this year, I’ve known Bruce most of my life. What’s not to love about these guys – I mean, they’re both handsome, very intelligent, rich, powerful, mysterious and in their spare time fight crime. And they’re both dark and brooding too. It’d be the perfect relationship for me – go ahead guys, save the world, I’ll just stay here at the mansion spending your money! Yeah baby!


8. James Lipton. The host of Bravo’s Inside the Actors Studio makes this list for his fascinating autobiography "Inside, Inside," where he divulges that early on in his life, while living as a young man in Paris he was a meck – which is French slang loosely translated as pimp. Yeah, you read that right – pimp! For one prostitute in particular, who was a good friend, he would help set her up on "dates." Say it ain’t so James!
He also reveals that in addition to schooling and interviewing talent, he can pirouette, fly airplanes, compose Broadway musicals, star in Guiding Light, and produce Bob Hope TV specials. Plus he’s run away with gypsies in Greece -- a truly fascinating person indeed!


7. Dan Radcliffe. The star of Harry Potter makes my list not because of his body-baring role on Broadway in Equus, but because of the intriguing interview he gave Details magazine this past fall. In it, the 19-year-old revealed losing his virginity at 16 to his then 23-year-old girlfriend!! Yeah, that completely blew my mind … think about that the next time you watch Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire!


6. Jeff Lewis. The obsessively compulsive star of Bravo’s Flipping Out, Lewis fascinates me to no end. I could and have literally watched him for hours, usually trying to figure out those surgically enhanced lips. Well, I don’t know for sure, but they have to be right?
Jeff’s rants and hissy fits are what makes reality TV great, whether he’s scolding his Nicaraguan maid Zoila, firing then rehiring his staff or explaining exactly how hot his Starbuck’s coffee must be (120 degrees, BTW). Can’t wait for next season.


5. Stephenie Meyer. The 36-year-old Mormon mother of two who had a dream one night about a boy and girl in a meadow discussing how much he wanted to kill her, and decided to write it down. Fortunately for us, as her dream became the hugely successful vampire saga abou love and angst Twilight. Though I only discovered the books last August, they quickly consumed most of my time. Not since Harry Potter have I devoured books so fast, and I've turned many friends and coworkers on to the series. They all have the same reaction -- "I just couldn't put it down." "I told you," I reply.
Thanks Stephenie – now get back to writing the next one, Midnight Sun!


4. Capt. Jack Harkness. Who, you say? Early this year I was lucky enough to discover what was the No. 1 show on BBC America, a sci-fi thriller called Torchwood. Capt. Harkness, as played by the extremely handsome and talented John Barrowman, is the leader of this secret agency that polices aliens that come thru the rift in time in Cardiff, England. I’d liken it to Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the X-Files. Did I mention that Torchwood’s a spin-off of another hugely successful British sci-fi series – Dr. Who?
Dr. Who just narrowly missed making this list. Both series come with the appropriate amount of cheesiness, but Torchwood’s darker and more adult-oriented. If sci-fi’s your thing, check it out.


3. The cast of LOST. This is a no-brainer right? I mean, who on television has been more intriguing this year? I can’t remember another show that had me thinking so much … and not just me, I’ve had huge, in depth discussions with complete strangers over LOST theories. What other show can you think of that would pull out all the stops and make an entire island disappear. Who’s Jacob? How did Locke die? Did everyone on the ship really die? Why is Claire with Christian in that cabin -- is she dead? And what’s the deal with Richard? What do the polar bears have to do with anything? Will Ben kill Penelope? Will the Oceanic 6 go back? And where the hell’s the island? Hopefully, we’ll all get some answers on Jan. 21 when it returns to ABC.


2. Robert Pattinson. C’mon, you all had to know he’d make my list. Not since Leonardo DiCaprio went down with the Titanic have I been so captivated by a handsome, young actor. And boy is he young … only 22. Being cast as the lead in the movie adaptation of Twilight literally turned him into a overnight star. A brief mall tour of Hot Topic stores turned 14-year-old girls ravenous, showing up by the thousands. And most of their mothers were there too.
But it's not just about Twilight, he's quite the musician as well, playing piano and guitar; possesses smooth vocals; writes songs and scripts, and, of course, there's that irresistable British accent. It's no wonder most of us have no problem with his hobo-style of dress and messy, unwashed hair. I think we'd even be forgiving if we found out he really was a vampire ...
Most of the time, I'm a closet fan (those around me aren't aware of my problem), and luckily I’ve stumbled upon a wonderful support group online of other similarly-aged women who’ve become just as taken with the British wonder. Fortunately for him, we’re all content to keep it amongst ourselves and not turn stalker. It’s all led to a fun cyber-friendship with these great ladies from around the world! Thanks Rob.

So, if I think he’s so wonderful, why isn’t he No. 1 you might ask? Well, that space is reserved for the only "person" I found even more fascinating than Pattinson this year …

1. Edward Cullen. Of course, Pattinson is to Edward what Dan Radcliffe is to Harry Potter. Edward Cullen arrives on page 22 of Twilight and that's exactly when you'll forget about whatever else you were going to do that day ... that week ... that month, or however long it takes you to finish all four books!

What girl could resist a guy whose old-school gentleman, graceful, wealthy, hangs on every word she says, is totally devoted to her forever (and I do mean forever) and is described quite often as being unbearably beautiful? Yes, there's always a down-side and his is that he happens to be a 108-year-old vampire trapped in a 17-year-old's body. Or is it?
Yes, it seems that vampires and their lifestyle prove to be incredibly sexy. You know, the ultimate bad-boy, who just might slip and kill you in the heat of passion. One who could offer you eternal life as well. There is an upside to being immortal. Afterall, he's super-strong, incredibly fast, very intelligent (has had a LOT of time to study), doesn't need to eat, doesn't sleep, won't ever age, doesn't even need to use the bathroom, and to top it off, he glitters in the sunlight!
Did I mention the unbearably beautiful part? Sorry, I'm just spacing out over here ... hmmmm
To put it bluntly -- Fascinating!

Well, this post is getting waaaay too long, so wrapping-up here's a few who almost made my Top 10:
The aforementioned Dr. Who (David Tennant). Yes, I was a fan of the original, but I really enjoy the updated version. I'd love to climb in the Tardis and travel the universe with the handsome Doctor!
Big Bang Theory's Sheldon. Every now and then, I gotta get my Geek on and OCD Sheldon is my fix!
Heath Ledger's Joker. Another great bad boy, he's the fan favorite villain to Batman, and the late Ledger brought him justice. Never thought anyone would outdo Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's Batman, but he managed to.
The girls of Sex & the City. Loved the show, loved the movie. Samantha, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte will always be dear friends of mine.
The Cloverfield Monster. Fascinating because after all this time (the flick came out in January) I still haven't been able to find a decent picture of it! Enough already, WTH is it???

What are your thoughts? Hit the comments and let me know your most fascinating person of 2008. Gotta go, Survivor's coming on ...

Last night’s Top Chef was ruined for me when Kathie Lee Gifford showed up!!! AAAHHHH! I can’t stand that woman!
Fortunately it wasn’t until near the end, so I got to enjoy the first 40 minutes or so.The chefs were tasked to createa breakfrast amuse-bouche for the Quick Fire Challenge, which was judged by Padma and celebrity chef Rocci DiSpirito (Fabio’s a big fan – no, not that Fabio, the contestant on Top Chef, whose quickly become the fan fave).
Amuse-Bouche – another on of those cool terms I’ve picked up watching this show. It refers to a culinary bite-sized starter (appetizer per se). Some chefs had trouble limiting their offerings to bite-size while others hit the mark perfectly. Leah was chosen the winner, gaining immunity for the Elimination Challenge.
This week’s Elimination Challenged gave the chefs $100 and 30 minutes to shop for ingredients to come up with a 2 ½ minute television presentation creating an original dish.
Fabio went right for the tuna and asked to cut it himself. Eugene and Hosea followed suit cutting their own fish. Eugene for sushi and Hosea for a tuna dish. Melissa, Leah and Jeff went for shrimp. Jamie and Ariane went for salads (salads? Usually the kiss of death on this show). Jamie a frise salad and Ariane a beef steak salad.
Daniel conjured up a ginger soy steak. Leah chose to sear some duck, while Carla and Stefan decided to dish out some soup (tortilla and minestrone, respectively. Alex was the lone holdout for some dessert – choosing to make crème brulee. Fabio immediately thought this was a mistake, due to the time constrictions (they were only given one hour to prepare).
All chefs got an opportunity to make a live presentation for the judges, who were amused when Daniel smoked out the studio. Disappoints wer Jamie, Leah, Alex and Carla, while judges were impressed with Fabio, whom Rocco called “A dream guest,” and Ariane, whose presentation was “perfect.”
Melissa, Alex and Jamie made the bottom three, while Ariane, Fabio and Jeff were chosen to go to the Today Show and present their dishes to the female hosts. This is where Kathie Lee showed up – Ugghh! – and proceeded to spit out Jeff’s shrimp dish. Kathie Lee, as usual, always has to be the center of attention.
In the end, the Top Chef judges chose Ariane as the winner and she received Rocco’s book and some culinary tools. She also got to do a segment on this morning’s Today Show, but I forgot to watch, anybody else see it? I’m sure we can find it on Youtube.
As foretold by Fabio, Alex’s crème brulee proved to be his undoing and he was sent to pack his knives and go … now he can devote all his time to his upcoming wedding. Good luck Alex.Just wanted to add that I’m totally luvin’ Fabio!! He’s definitely the break-out star of the group so far. What do you think? Who’s your fave?
Top Chef repeats tonight on Bravo at 8 p.m.Next week the contestants get to cook for judge Gail Simmon’s bridal shower.

Tonight on CBS at 8 p.m. is an all new episode of Survivor: Gabon! And from the looks of the previews, this is the episode where the family members are brought in. It's getting pretty nasty, can't wait to watch!

And WTH is going on over at Seattle Grace? Find out tonight at 9 on ABC with a new ep of Grey’s Anatomy. According to show creator Shonda Rimes, the Izzy-Denny storyline is leading to a conclusion we’ll never see coming, and it doesn’t involve Denny being there to take Izzy to the other side (remember, Denny a ghost, he died 2 seasons ago). Personally, I hope they keep him around awhile, I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan and have really enjoyed his return, no matter how ridiculous …

JD Morgan, nice

After Grey’s, at 10 p.m. stay tuned to find out who Barbara Walters finds the Most Fascinating People of 2009. Guests will include Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey, Miley Cyrus, Thomas Beatie and Frank Langella. At the end of the show, she’ll reveal who the No. 1 Most Fascinating Person is …. I’d put my money on Barack Obama, an easy guess.



In Other News: According to today’s NY Post, Real Housewife of Atlanta and troublemaker NeNe Leakes and her husband Gregory have been evicted from the five-bedroom house they were living in when the show was being made. The couple is said to owe more than $6,200 in back rent from an owner who lived overseas, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. When asked by the paper where she was living now, NeNe replied via email: “It’s none of your business.”

Naughty NeNe

The Office has been granted that oh-so-important spot after the Superbowl on NBC Feb. 1.

Showtime has renewed David Duchovny’s hysterical Californication for a third season. You can expect it in late 2009.


And totally off the TV topic, but I have to give a shout out – J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter and the richest woman in the UK, is releasing a new book today.

“Tales of Beedle the Bard” hits the bookshelves with raving applause. It’s a book of tales from the wizarding world, including “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” which figured prominently in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the best-selling book series in the world (over 400 million copies in 67 languages).
I’ll be picking up a copy!

The Angels are Back for the Holidays
Gentlemen, buckle your seat belts and start your engines …. Tonight’s the night you’ve been waiting all year for.Yes, that’s right, Christmas is coming early – as in ABC’s 10 p.m. presentation of The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show! I don’t remember where, but I did read that demographically, this show is second only to the Superbowl in male viewership ratio.
And all your faves will be there and barely dressed – Heidi Klum, Karolina Kurkova, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosia, Miranda Kerr, etc. (honestly, where do they get these names?) with special musical guest Usher for us ladies to gawk at.
And ladies, while watching this show with your significant other tonight, keep in mind that one of the models said that those “wings” they wear are no picnic, with some weighing up to 30 lbs.! Yeah, they totally have my sympathy (not)!

Every Time A Bell Rings, An Angel Gets Its Wings!

Unfortunately for the Elfman, this happens to be the same time as Bravo’s all new Top Chef (will you choose Padma over the Angels?). Tonight the contestants take over the Today Show for a cooking challenge to be guest judged by that fancy footer from this past season of Dancing with the Stars, Rocco DiSpirito. And I’m with you Pat Pat – where is Ted? I so miss my Queer Eye guy! Elfman informs me that judge Gail Simmons won’t be finishing the season, so I guess that requisite snarky British judge will be replacing her sometime soon. What about Anthony Bourdain too? He’s got to pop up soon.
My dream episode would feature beligerant Brit Gordon Ramsay! Just imagine him at Judges’ Table!
And Elf – don’t worry, tonight’s episode repeats at 11 p.m. right after the Angels leave the runway to go back to the North Pole.

Chef Rocco

Christmas Treats: Tonight is the first airing over on TNT of that perennial holiday favorite A Christmas Story. Can you believe I actually work with someone who hasn’t seen this one? For those of you who don’t know, it is the Christmas season in Northern Indiana and Ralphie desperately wants a genuine Red Rider BB gun under the tree. The movie revolves around this pursuit and how Ralphie tries to overcome the obstacles in obtaining this gift, mainly in the form of adults who bleat "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!"

Poor Ralphie, give the kid a break!
TNT usually airs this on a 24-hour loop Christmas Day. It airs tonight at 8 p.m. and repeats at 10. And if you haven’t seen it yet, I double dog dare you to watch!

The Double Dog Dare!

On ABC, Rudolph, Hermie and Yukon Cornelius show Santa the way on another Rankin & Bass classic – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at 8 p.m.


And the Christmas tree gets lit in New York City tonight during Christmas in Rockefeller Center live on NBC at 8 p.m. Teen queen Miley Cyrus will be on hand to provide some holiday tunes.

It's Miley!
OK, so don't kill me for posting a pic of this pixie ...

Not a holiday special, The Grammy Nominations Concert fills the viod between Rudolph and Victoria’s Secret at 9 p.m. on ABC. I don’t know if they’re actually going to announce the nominees or not, but it features performances by Celine Dion, BB King, John Myer, Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters.

Yes, folks that's right, she's not quite finished yet. Today, on her 27th birthday, the trainwreck known as Britney Spears is unleashing her sixth studio CD, "Circus," with all the fanfare required. Fanfare which included a "mockumentary" on MTV Sunday night titled "Britney Spears: For The Record."
I had taped it because I was too busy watching Twilight on the Internet for the umpteenth time ... I think I'm beyond reviewing this film now, though trying to convince myself that I'm still on the fence whether I like it or not ... much like Edward, who can't keep himself away from Bella, I can't seem to stay away from the flick ...
But back to Britney - So I sat down last night to watch her self-conducted interview and was - absolutely, totally bored!! Except for the few minutes when Madonna showed up to make things interesting, I found this show nearly unwatchable. If you're curious and missed it, don't worry, MTV has a habit of playing things to death, and it was already on again when I was home over lunch yesterday.
Proving she can still draw a crowd, (the show was seen by more than 3.7 million viewers in its debut) Brit didn't provide us with any insight into what the hell happened over the last two years - i.e. the head shaving ("because everyone does it"), K-Fed, the breakdowns, rehab, partying with Paris sans panties, flashing the paparazzi or her affair with Adnan what's-his-name, a known pap.
Instead, we got to see Brit's daddy making cheese grits for her, Brit sitting in a chair at home, having her hair and make-up done, rehearsing with dancers for a video, shopping in stores that are closed just for her, and being chased by photogs everywhere she goes. (OK, I'm jealous - I'd like to experience some of those things - the shopping and hair and make-up every morning, would be very cool.) But is it any wonder that this girl's lost touch with reality? By her own admission, her life the way it is is "all I've ever known."
Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed Britney's music over the years and I enjoyed her videos too. But there was nothing more entertaining than watching her self-destruct in full view of the public ... sad, yes, and I do hope that she's back on track. Afterall, she's got two adorable little boys that need their mom.
Anyway, her new CD is getting pretty positive reviews, however, most critics concede that last year's disc "Blackout," though highly unheard, was better. The first single Womanizer debuted at No. 1 two days after its release and you can expect that Circus will do the same.

As for me, I'll stick with Madonna - she's got her stuff together and at 50 still looks incredible! Yes, I'm a child of the '80s and grew up watching the Material Girl strut her stuff as MTV's first video superstar. While I haven't agreed with everything she's done, I do admire her strength and ability to continue to reinvent herself and entertain us as well.
Madonna's appearance toward the end of Britney Spears: For the Record is the only reason I can recommend watching this show. Nearly twice her age, she looks twice as hot as Britney.

On TV Tonight: The World Music Awards in Monaco airs at 8 p.m. on MNT17 (My Network Television 17, great name, huh?). Artists scheduled to perform include Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Akon, Estelle and Kid Rock. This faux awards show is usually a snooze, but hey, get used to it - awards season it just around the corner ...


And it wouldn't be December if they're weren't some Xmas shows on tonight.
ABC kicks off at 8 p.m. with the Rankin & Bass favorite Santa Claus is Coming to Town - so "put one foot in front of the other" and visit the Burgermeister Meisterburger for heartwarming a tale of Kris Kringle, the Winter Warlock and friends.


Tom Hanks?
ABC Family presents the graphically animated Polar Express at 8:30 p.m. featuring a freaky-looking Tom Hanks-anime as the Christmas train's conductor. I have to admit, as strange at Hanks looks animated, I absolutely loved this movie. It's a great one to sit down with the whole family and watch, plus Josh Groban's "Believe" is perfect for getting in the spirit.

USA presents Will Ferrell's Elf at 8 p.m. I know lots of people love this movie, but I didn't. And, yes, I've tried watching it again and again and I just can't get into it. I've found that I'm about 50/50 on Ferrell's movies. Some make me laugh hysterically, while others just fall flat. I think it has a lot to do with the supporting players i.e. Anchorman's Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd.

New on DVD: Sexy Angelina Jolie shakes things up with James McAvoy in Wanted, a tale of assassins based on the popular videogame.

It's time for another trip to Narnia for the Pevensie siblings, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I enjoyed this one at the movies, it's not great, but entertaining. And handsome Brit Ben Barnes does more than a satisfying turn as the rightful heir to the throne. However, the film loses something with the absence of lion king Aslan, but don't worry, he shows up before the end.

Ooh-La-La, Prince Caspian
Handsome Brit Ben Barnes gives Robert Pattinson some competition!

And if you're already an X-Phile, than I don't need to remind you that X-Files: I Want to Believe hits DVD shelves today. Former FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are called back to duty when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.

Mulder & Scully in new flick
Apparently, I was one of the few who still wanted to believe and actually paid to see this flick in theaters. If you're a fan of the TV show, then this is a sure thing. Gone are all the conspiracy theories, and the film plays like a two-hour episode. It's satisfying and we get to find out exactly where Scully and Mulder's relationship lies. And, hey, it's just great to see Fox Mulder again ...

Bonus! I love this photo, had to add it here!

Congratulations everyone! We've made it thru Fall Sweeps ... now on to Christmas TV repeat time. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and went out and contributed to the failing economy on Black Friday. Once again, sorry to have left anyone hanging over the holiday weekend, just couldn't bring myself to blog when there was plenty of other stuff to do.

Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi sample some food with Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl
For those of you who missed Wednesday night's excellent episode of Top Chef, it repeats tonight on Bravo at 10 p.m. For those of you that watched or managed to catch it on the many repeats this past weekend, let's discuss!
Special guest judges the Foo Fighters made for a particularly interesting ep. The Foos were brought in for the elimination challenge which consisted of contestants breaking into 2 teams and cooking a Thanksgiving feast for the band and their entourage before their concert. The winning team got to go to the show while the losers had to do all the clean-up. The catch, no kitchen. Everything was set up outside the arena with just microwaves and toaster ovens. How fun is it to make a turkey in a toaster oven? I couldn't tell you from experience, but apparently Arianne did an excellent job.
Team Sexy Pants went on to win and had a great time at the show. Team Cougars failed miserably with dessert and got stuck with the clean-up. Danny gave the finger to the winning team after the concert. (Nice, Danny)
At Judges Table, Arianne was complimented on her supreme turkey, Eugene got congrats on his pork dish and Carla and Alex were deemed safe too. Daniel's undercooked potatoes put him on the chopping block, along with Jeff, who tried to do too much and Richard, whose s'mores were "disappointing."
Disappointing enough to get him sent home. Bye-Bye Richard.
I will miss the token gay guy who had the BIG crush on top judge Tom Colicchio. What did you think?
Top Chef offers up a new episode, featuring cooking on the Today Show, Wednesday at 10 p.m. For more info visit http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/best_of/index.php

On last night's Amazing Race, the final four teams raced for a spot in next week's finale. So we're down to separated couple Ken & Tina, mother/son Toni & Dallas, siblings Nick & Starr (who I think are a shoe-in to win it all) and Frat boys Andrew & Dan (how have they made it this far?). And, as has become the norm this season, mistakes abounded.
Dallas couldn't differentiate between Stalin and Lenin (Tina helped him out and immediately regretted it). But that was nothing compared to what he did later ... leaving his bag in the taxi with his team's money and passports! Ken & Tina ran to the Pit Stop without first getting their clue. They had seen Andrew & Dan running and just followed them, causing Phil to send them back to get their clue before they could be checked in. Toni & Dallas and Andrew & Dan raced to the woman with the Shetland pony within seconds of each other, but neither team received their clue from her.
Nick & Starr easily came in first, followed by Andrew & Dan and Ken & Tina, all solidifying their place in the finale. Having to beg for cab fare on the street cost Toni & Dallas precious time, and it must have been a LOT of time, because Phil actually went to them to let them know they had been eliminated. For more info visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/

Sorry to see Dallas & Toni go ...

I know this is long overdue, so bear with me or just skip to the next subject. Those of you who tuned in Thanksgiving night to Survivor got what was to be expected ... the oh-so-boring catch-up show. The one where CBS says you'll see never-before-seen clips, but you never learn anything new.
However, I still haven't blogged about the great episode from the week before! If you haven't seen it, it's worth it to go to the website and watch.
Day 28 started out with Bob telling Sugar he made a fake immunity idol ... WTH? Why would you tell Sugar that, she has the real idol, afterall. This episode also featured the fan-fave Reward Auction, which generally consists of contestants getting a certain amount of money and then getting to bid on various food items. Randy won a plate of cookies and gave everyone one. Sugar refused, and Randy insisted she take the last one, which she promptly gave to Matty. Randy said Sugar could kiss his ass.
Matty, Sugar, Ken and Crystal conspired to get rid of Bob first, then Randy and Corinne. Randy wants Suzie gone 'cause she flipped and voted for Marcus, saying "The hell with her."
Crystal called Randy "a troll."Amazingly, Ken won immunity at a Domino challenge. Feeling desperate, Randy schemed to get the "fake" idol from Bob to save himself. Sugar said, "Randy is an ass and I loathe him," then told Bob to give Randy the fake idol just to make even more an ass of him.
The Cookie Controversy came up at Tribal Council. Crystal is still very angry with Randy. At the vote, Corinne cast Suzie saying, "Payback's a bitch." Sugar voted Randy, saying "Randy's a disgusting old chauvenistic, alcoholic bigot." Randy said, "Suzie, this vote is not strategic, it's personal." And, as expected, Crystal voted for Randy. Before the votes were read, Randy brought the fake idol into play and was told by Jeff that it was fake and would not count, causing an uproar of laughter from his tribmates.

Bye-Bye Randy
Randy left with his tail between his legs ... saying "The Hell with these freaking people!"
An all new Survivor airs this Thursday on CBS at 8 p.m. To watch last week's episode visit http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/

Tonight, Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, stops by for a sit down with James Lipton on Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio at 8 p.m. Can't wait to see this. You have to admit, there's just something about those Brits! I mean, just the fact that this kid is still so together, after being cast as the most famous boy-wizard in literary history at the tender age of 10, and he hasn't gone all Lohan on us, is pretty amazing.

Lipton chats up Harry Potter
And as long as we're on the subject ... ABC Family will be airing the first four Harry Potter movies this coming weekend, during which there will be exclusive sneak peeks of next July's Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince. Tune in.
Sorry, I couldn't resist ...
Harry Potter, then


And now


And now on to the Christmas Shows: ABC celebrates the season tonight with Shrek the Halls at 8, followed by the original animated Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Not to be outdone, ABC Family will air the live-action, Jim Carrey-starring movie of the same name at 8 p.m.

Sorry, I find this guy creepier than any horror movie I've ever seen ... I find this film unwatchable, literally, I walked out of the theater! And that's the only film I can remember ever walking out of! I'm sure some of you like it, but I'd rather watch The English Patient on a loop than suffer thru this!
I'll take my Grinch animated, please!

And get used to it ... 'tis the season for all your favorite and not-so-favorite Christmas show repeats. If it's not your thing, use this time wisely to get caught up on all those summer movies you missed. They'll all be hitting the DVD shelves before the end of the year.
The CW's Supernatural will be back Jan. 15. And my fave sexy surgeons return to FX Jan. 6 with the remaining eight eps of last season's Nip/Tuck!

I watched Will Smith's Hancock and Vince Vaughn's Fred Claus this weekend. Fred Claus is the usual ... nothing new here, but Vaughn's entertaining. I enjoyed it.
Hancock, I have to admit was a disappointment. It's one of those movies where we already saw all the good parts in the preview. It starts out fine, then tries to become a serious, emotional flick halfway thru ... I wasn't feeling it.

Cheers!