On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

BanglesMove over, American Idol. There’s serious girl power in the room. Kathy Valentine and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos and Susanna Hoffs and Vicki Peterson of the Bangles fame are rockin’ out a new reality show for the CW’s first season. These women, members of the wildly popular—at least in the 1980s—‘girl bands’ the Go-Gos and the Bangles, are searching for women who know how to rock. And singing isn’t enough. Unlike the wusses

neophytes on American Idol, these contestants will have to know how to play an instrument, too. Now that’s reality!

The project began as a passion of Kathy Valentine’s, who lamented the lack of women rockers today. (We hear ya, Kathy!) With three more powerful gal musicians aboard, the show’s concept developed and is already promising to be a hit.

“Basically, we believe there are amazing female artists out there waiting for the opportunity to find each other,” Hoffs said. “We’re looking to find them and then be their fairy godmothers.”

Are you a rock-n-roll Cinderella in need of such a fairy godmother? Then get going! The music world needs you…and so does TV.

Read More | Variety


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Gillmore While it’s a good bet that the popular family drama Gilmore Girls will continue into a seventh season on the new CW network, it’s an absolute certainty it will be doing so without its creators and long-time writers and producers, Daniel Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Sources fear that fans will rebel, but perhaps there isn’t as much to worry about as they may think. Fans have not been pleased with the husband/wife creative team for quite a while, when it comes to their favorite blue-eyed mother and daughter. Could this sudden departure explain some things?

Is this why the show has been so…well, lousy as of late? Fans have continually protested the ridiculous storylines and character choices found on the show for the past two seasons, including such eye-rollers as Luke’s ‘long lost daughter’ and the ever-doomed ‘L&L’ love story.

Perhaps the Palladinos lost interest long ago, and have been trying to amuse themselves by manipulating the characters into some sort of grotesque facsimile of the vibrant personalities we used to know and love. Was it boredom that led this show from ‘quirky’ and ‘eccentric’ to ‘outlandish’ and ‘poorly written soap opera’ status? Will bringing in fresh blood give the show back its luster? Will this allow Gilmore Girls to go out with a bang, rather than the whimper it’s been heading for? It may seem like dark days now with this news, but there may be a glimmer of a silver lining there after all.

Read More | Hollywood Reporter


Lost

Is the island getting even roomier? This could be considered spoiler information, so the fully story continues after the jump.

Click to continue reading Is ‘Lost’ Losing Another Character?


ABC Bird FluAh, it’s almost sweeps month. Wonderful sweeps, when television throws caution and common sense to the wind, intent only on grabbing viewers anyway they can. Get ready for a month full of wild plot lines and ratings stunts.

What better way to hook viewers than by convincing them they’re going to die? ABC will launch one of the first sweeps efforts on Tuesday, May 9. The thrillingly titled thriller Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America will examine what would happen if a major outbreak were to hit America.

Although experts have proven that this would be extremely unlikely, when has logic and common sense ever stood in the way of good TV? Nip Tuck’s Joely Richardson will play a beautiful epidemiologist who travels to China to study an avian flu outbreak that has mutated into a form that can easily infect humans. Eek!

Guaranteed to make hypochondriacs of us all, Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America may be worth a look.


Read More | Zap2it


Drug YearsWith a name that intriguing, how can you resist tuning in? VH1 and the indie Sundance Channel have teamed together to produce a four-part documentary entitled Drug Years that examines the use of illegal drugs, and what that has meant for society.
The documentary reaches back to ancient times—all the way to the 1950s—to find stories and real life footage of the drug scene and its inhabitants. What do you want to bet some musicians and television stars are included along the way? The documentary will include interviews with notable celebrities and law enforcement officials including Ice-T, John Mellencamp, and Tommy Chong (he of the marijuana-loving Cheech and Chong fame.)
The documentary begins June 12 on VH1, with repeats airing on the Sundance Channel. Go here for complete details and episode listings.

Education and entertainment all in one - this definitely looks like a documentary worth your time.


BachelorABC is searching the country for the newest star of its popular reality series The Bachelor. The ‘Bachelor’ in question has the difficult but enviable task of seeking his perfect mate among 25 lovely ladies. Are you up to the challenge?
If so, be sure to go here for complete casting call information. But be wary: the show’s demands for the perfect Bachelor are quite demanding. In order to even be considered, you must be: an attractive, single 28-35 year-old accomplished CEO, architect, lawyer, entrepreneur or businessman and think you can handle twenty-five beautiful women.

Wow, and you thought women had a hard time pleasing society!


Lifetime Lifetime, Lifetime, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Women in peril, cold-hearted villains, stalkers and hauntings and crime…not to mention addictions, kinky fetishes, and hospital mix-ups resulting in getting the wrong baby. Does television get any better than this?

Lifetime has made my—and many fans’—day with its announcement that the women-targeted channel will air a brand-new movie every day in May.

The line-up boasts popular stars including Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo, the ever popular Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Charmed hottie Rose McGowan. Upcoming titles including such gems as Cradle of Lies and Murder On Pleasant Drive. May can’t get here soon enough!

Scorn the channel all you want, but Lifetime offers many valuable skills, such as: how to fake your own death, the best way to murder a cheating spouse and get away with it, and how to seek revenge on anyone who has ever wronged you. And without Lifetime, how would Tracey Gold and Tori Spelling ever get steady employment? (Because trust us, So NoTORIus is not going to last long.)


Read More | Yahoo! Biz


Alias iTunes Great news for fans of the long-running spy gal show - you can now purchase Alias episodes at the iTunes music store. Each episode (all episodes from seasons 4 and 5 are available) costs $1.99. Producers and the ABC network are hoping this decision will boost awareness—and excitement—regarding the long-awaited return of Alias tonight. This episode is a two-hour special event beginning at 8pm. Alias will then remain in this time slot in its usual hour-long format for the rest of the season.

Though crushed that this is the final season of the series, fans will no doubt rejoice at its return. Perhaps there will even be a spin-off…it is television, after all.


Read More | The Futon Critic


Rod Stewart IdolIf ya think he’s sexy, and ya want his body… then don’t miss American Idol this week! Grammy Award winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, and all-around musical sensation Rod Stewart will be the guest musician on the popular reality show this week, continuing the show’s tradition of including stars their demographic has never heard of (Just ask your mom, kids! She’ll explain.)

Rod Stewart has produced so many great hits, perhaps it will impossible for the American Idol contestants to give lackluster performances this time around. We hope. This season has had rather blah performances so far, but maybe this musical deity, armed with his Great American Songbook collection, will change that. Here’s hoping!

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

Read More | Market Wire


Saved by The BellZap2it has confirmed some shocking news today; the late eighties/early nineties cheesefest Saved By the Bell will join the Adult Swim line-up, known for its wild and eclectic programming. We’re all for originality, but…Saved By the Bell?

Seems like the show is being added simply because many Adult Swim staffers carry fond memories of Zack Morris and the gang. In case you were in a coma during the show’s heyday, it follows the adventures of a group of very well-scrubbed, over-acting teens trying to get through high school with as much silliness as possible. But it wasn’t all bad: it did launch stars Elizabeth Berkly and Mark-Paul Gosselaar into fame with Showgirls and NYPD Blue, respectively.

Even longer-time fans will remember that Saved By the Bell was a spin-off of Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which starred Hayley Mills and followed several of the characters through middle school. How sad is it that I knew that without having to look it up?

Fans of Adult Swim aren’t impressed, though, judging by the flaming comments on message boards, so it’s in doubt whether Saved By the Bell will survive its two-week trial.

Sure, TV is filled with ghosts and aliens and even scrupulous lawyers, but this has got to be the strangest thing we’ve heard in a long, long, time.


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