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Yes—it’s only been about a week since the main season finales (I’m not counting the yet-to-air Apprentice finale) and I have to admit that I’m feeling a little off.  With all this time on my hands, I am faced with two major questions in my life:  Is there anything for me to watch this summer… and without TV, do I really have a life? If you are like me and are dreading answering the latter, I have some possible suggestions for you.  While there may not a plethora of offerings to keep my summer filled, I do have a few shows that will keep a few of my nights occupied.  All these shows were things that I discovered last summer, so I’m anxious to see if I can uncover a few more golden nuggets this year:

Click to continue reading Three Shows I’m Looking Forward To This Summer


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Ricki LakeIf you can’t spring for the Game Show Network on cable, your prayers have been answered as the Gameshow Marathon premiers May 31st on CBS.  The show will be hosted by TV talk show host Ricki Lake. Yeah, that’s right Ricki Lake will be the host of the show that brings TVs best game shows back from the 70s, 80s and 90s and to 2006. 

The twist on the Gameshow Marathon is that six celebrities will compete on a variety of game shows including The Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, Beat the Clock, Press Your Luck, Card Sharks, Match Game and Family Feud.  Each episode will feature just one of the game listed above as one celeb a week for the rest of the summer gets booted off.

If Ricki Lake wasn’t enough of a star for you to watch here are the celebrity contestants that will be slugging it out all summer long, including Paige Davis (“Trading Spaces”), Tim Meadows (“Saturday Night Live”), Leslie Nielsen (“Airplane”), Kathy Najimy (“Sister Act”), Lance Bass (‘N Sync), and Brande Roderick (“Baywatch”).

Gameshow Marathon, hosted by Lake, will premiere on Wednesday, May 31, at 8 p.m. and also air the following night at 8. Set your TIVO because it will then air the following week at 8 p.m on June 7 and 8, before airing once a week in its regular time period on Thursday, June 15 at 8 p.m.

You can bet Bob Barker won’t be watching.


Either she received a dose of celebrity favoritism or she is the luckiest dog on Earth.  Either way, Michelle Rodriguez is out of jail much earlier than expected.  Watch out on those roads!  Despite being ordered by a California judge to 60 days in jail for a probation violation—she was released early against prosecutors’ wishes.  Apparently she wasn’t deemed violent enough to be worthy of valuable jail space.  Hello—have they seen Girlfight?  But seriously, why would they even bother letting her spend a measly 4 hours and 20 minutes in jail only to be let go??  Well, I guess in Lost time, that would probably equate to at least a week…


Steven SpielbergNext season Burnett and Spielberg join forces “ON THE LOT” to give aspiring filmmakers the shot of a lifetime. FOX will capture it as it happens. The next big filmmaker will be born before our eyes. Out of just 16 undiscovered talents, the finalists will film their way to Hollywood and get their work produced. Each team will create a short film from the selected genre of the week. While critiqued by a live audience, they’ll have to manage crunches, overcome financial constraints, and deal with the chaos of the filmmaking business. They’ll have the usual lineup of judges, but we the public will get a shot at them too. Will this be the next big hit or will we tire of the same old reality make-it-big format? If they don’t get it right, we the public will be ready to kick them “off the lot!”

Read More | Reality TV Magazine


ApprenticeWith the Donald’s finale right around the corner the question occurred to me. How many apprentices does one man need? I realize “The Donald” heads an empire with a never ending open headcount, but seriously, how many Trumps-in-Training can one person stand? These questions began to plague my brain as I realized the theme of the show, regrettably, has begun to wear on me (though it still doesn’t stop me from tuning in each week, bowl of popcorn tableside…) This season’s finale is feeling a bit anti-climatic. Neither of the final candidates are the business equivalent of brain surgeons but it appears Sean has the charisma and the quick thinking to pull this one through with ease (and his accent doesn’t hurt either).  On the other hand Lee looks like he just popped out from the business world womb. I think that one is going to need a few more years under his belt despite an impressive education. But regardless of the waning glow of the candidates, it appears the Donald will keep churning out the Trumps-in-Training until the ratings tell him to shut the machine down. And for now, I will keep watching, popcorn in hand, anxiously awaiting the June 5th live finale…


Ryan Seacrest and his straight line smileBrangelina before ShilohFirst of all, congratulations to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.  She gave birth to a beautiful (and considering the genes, this is more than a figure of speech) bouncing baby girl - Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.  Shiloh, welcome to the beginning of a strange life.  And word of advice, when all of you get older, Maddox and Zahara will probably hate you because you’ll be the only “legit” kid and actually look like mommy and daddy, but don’t let them get to you.  Just get all M.C. Hammer on them and say that you’re 2 legit… a legit Jolie-Pitt and that they’re just adopted.  But, I’m being snarky now.

In any case, so where were you when you found out the news?  I’m sorry the BREAKING NEWS as E! likes to say.  I was watching the Chelsea Handler Show (funny and subtle compared to the in-your-face antics of most sketch comedy shows) at 12:30am on a Saturday night (I’m married now and don’t do that clubbing thing anymore), when all of a sudden the BREAKING NEWS flashed on the screen and, forgetting the channel I was watching, thought that something happened in Iraq or some natural disaster occurred or something that was legitimately BREAKING NEWS!

But what did I see as I brought my buttcheeks to the end of my chair?  Ryan Seacrest.  A natural reaction upon seeing Seacrest, my buttcheeks instantly drew itself back, far away from his visage. 

In any case, surreality came back to me, and upon regaining my bearings, listened to Seacrest “report” the birth of Brangelina’s baby girl.  I wasn’t hanging upon every word he was saying, but I was interested being a celeb-o-phile, which you shouldn’t tell anyone as I would lose ALL street cred in this admission.  Anyway, something happened at the end of this BREAKING NEWS that just made me sigh and shake my head.

Seacrest signed off as “Seacrest.”

What is wrong with this man?!?!?  Okay, I can sort of understand the third person reference for American Idol because that whole “Seacrest out” thing was catchy and millions… and I mean millions of people dug it.  But, does Seacrest really have to refer to himself in the third person for a 20 second report about Brangelina having a baby?  Yo, Mr. Straight Line Smile (Don’t lips usually curve?  Seriously.  I guess it must be the Botox), it’s not always about you.  The report is about Brangelina and the birth of their child, the same way this post is about them and you.  Geez!  What a “dropping my name” whore.  Anyway, it’s late here on the East Coast…

Velasco out.


Taylor HicksIt took a few months, but the man that Simon passed up during the auditions turned it around and made a believer out of a nation. Taylor Hicks has become your newest American Idol. In a two-hour finale that went a bit over it’s allotted time (causing me to watch the clock intently, hoping my DVR had at least caught the announcement of the winner) we saw the Idol contestants sing together, and a few of them even sang duets with the likes of Live, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, and Meatloaf. Speaking of which, we are unsure as to who we felt did worse…Meatloaf looked like he was having a seizure, while Toni Braxton looked like she wanted to sex Taylor up, and sounded absolutely dreadful. Prince even made an appearance, performing a song on his own.

Of course, the best celebrity moment happened when Clay Aiken walked out and freaked out one of the early Idol contestants. Just golden. In the end, Taylor Hicks walked away with the American Idol title, and Katharine McPhee walked away with a well-deserved second place. It will be interesting to see if Taylor follows Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood to superstardom, or if he fades into obscurity like Ruben Studdard and Fantasia. For now, congrats Taylor.  You deserve it.

(You can find all the American Idol 5 posts here.)


In the never-ending game of musical chairs, ABC announced Tuesday that Charlie Gibson will be the new solo anchor of World News Tonight.  He replaces the current anchor, Elizabeth Vargas,  who will soon be going on maternity leave and Bob Woodruff, who is still recovering from his injuries in Iraq.  Charlie will start his new evening gig this upcoming Monday while continuing his morning stint on Good Morning America through June.  Vargas will resume her 20/20 co-anchor duties upon her return.  No replacement has been named yet to fill the soon vacant seat between Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts.


Katharine McPhee and Taylor HicksDrum roll, please!  After endless weeks of competition, tonight came down to—as USA Today put it best—Gray vs. Anatomy.  The contestants were armed with three songs tonight—two from their Idol past and a original song that may eventually be recorded by the winner.  Would Taylor’s soulful style resonate with people outside the southern states and those without a touch of gray?  Would Katharine’s youthful voice and pretty face be able to branch out beyond the West Coast? For the last time this season—read on!!

Click to continue reading American Idol 5: The Final Showdown


As if dying on TV wasn’t enough, Lost’s Michelle Rodriguez has found herself in a real-life version of purgatory.  She’s found herself in jail.  Again.  Having recently completed a short stint in Hawaii for a DUI, Rodriguez will soon be returning to familiar territory—this time on the mainland.  Seems her trouble with the Hawaiian police force was in violation of her probation back in the States.  She should have realized that her high-profile arrest would make news back in California.  For breaking the terms of her previous driving-related offenses, the California courts sentenced her on Monday to another sixty days in the clink (her sentence will begin no later than May 31).  Including the 48 hours she spent in the California jail back in 2004, this will now be Rodriguez’s third time behind bars.  With any luck, maybe she can have a roll around in the hay with one of the prison guards so that she can steal his keys…


Read More |  People


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