It's hilarious. I especially love that Lamar Odom is just played by a cardboard cut out and the kid who plays Scott.
Saturday, September 11
Friday, September 10
New Blog: A Photo And A Girl
A spin off of my blog, http://www.atvandagirl.blogspot.com, this blog will detail my adventures in semi-photojournalism. I don't promise they'll be good. They're just the photos I take.
Hope you enjoy it, and you can subscribe to the RSS feed for that blog just like you did this one.
A Look At This Year's Emmy Awards
For the most part, the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmys were exactly what you'd expect from a long-running awards show: AMC and HBO's flagship series swept the event, Jimmy Fallon told some jokes. About 13.5 million Americans watched the telecast, which was telecast live on both coasts simultaneously for the first time since 1976.
Unlike other awards shows, like perhaps the Oscars, where the same people regularly win for similar roles in many films, the Emmys almost certainly suffer from the fact that year after year, so long as a show stays good, it keeps up its nominations and wins. HBO's content perhaps deviates from this formula slightly, given their tendency to produce more miniseries and made-for-TV movies than just about anyone else, but they produce the Emmy equivalent of Oscar-bait almost unavoidably, and it works. The network won Outstanding Miniseries for The Pacific (competing only with PBS's Return to Cranford, an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's spinster stories), Outstanding Made for Television Movie for Temple Grandin, a category in which HBO had 3/5 of the nominees with that film, The Special Relationship and You Don't Know Jack. Though they didn't win Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, four of the six nominees were HBO specials. The same sort of dominance showed up in the Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Miniseries or Movie categories, where Al Pacino and Claire Danes won for You Don't Know Jack and Temple Grandin, respectively, nominated against 5 other HBO films' actors.
For its very good third season, Mad Men received many nominations and few wins, but it kept Outstanding Drama Series and won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the third year in a row, where it was competing against itself. Virtually its entire cast received nominations for their roles: Jon Hamm, January Jones, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, and Robert Morse.
NBC's comedies, both rising and in decline, went widely uncelebrated compared to past performances. The Office received a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series, as did 30 Rock, though neither won, marking 30 Rock's first loss in this category (much of both series' principal casts received nominations in their respective categories). Surprisingly, only Amy Poehler received a nomination for Parks and Recreation's vastly improved second season, and even that it didn't win. Provided that it continues to get better -- it's shaken much of the criticisms leveled against it -- perhaps this will change in the years to come. NBC's former drama -- and by this I mean Friday Night Lights -- received nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress, as well as Outstanding Writing, but won nothing.
If anything marks a breakout, then, it's the emergence of pop culture phenomenon Glee, which received 19 nominations, three of which it won, and ABC comedy Modern Family, which received almost 10. Glee took home awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series and Modern Family received awards for Outstanding Comedy Series (over Glee, NBC's comedies, Nurse Jackie and Curb Your Enthusiasm), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (where it was nominated three times), and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. 
Shut out most egregiously was Party Down, which was canceled following low ratings and Adam Scott's departure for a major role in Parks and Recreation's upcoming third season. As one of the better comedies on television, it merited at least consideration for Scott and Ken Marino, if not Jane Lynch, who moved on to the much more successful Glee after the show's first season (and won Outstanding Supporting Actress for her performance).
All in all, it was another under-watched, largely uninteresting awards show with fairly predictable results. If you missed this one, there'll conveniently be another next year.
Andrew Hall is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on online schools for Guide to Online Schools.
Unlike other awards shows, like perhaps the Oscars, where the same people regularly win for similar roles in many films, the Emmys almost certainly suffer from the fact that year after year, so long as a show stays good, it keeps up its nominations and wins. HBO's content perhaps deviates from this formula slightly, given their tendency to produce more miniseries and made-for-TV movies than just about anyone else, but they produce the Emmy equivalent of Oscar-bait almost unavoidably, and it works. The network won Outstanding Miniseries for The Pacific (competing only with PBS's Return to Cranford, an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's spinster stories), Outstanding Made for Television Movie for Temple Grandin, a category in which HBO had 3/5 of the nominees with that film, The Special Relationship and You Don't Know Jack. Though they didn't win Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, four of the six nominees were HBO specials. The same sort of dominance showed up in the Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Miniseries or Movie categories, where Al Pacino and Claire Danes won for You Don't Know Jack and Temple Grandin, respectively, nominated against 5 other HBO films' actors.
For its very good third season, Mad Men received many nominations and few wins, but it kept Outstanding Drama Series and won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the third year in a row, where it was competing against itself. Virtually its entire cast received nominations for their roles: Jon Hamm, January Jones, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, and Robert Morse.NBC's comedies, both rising and in decline, went widely uncelebrated compared to past performances. The Office received a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series, as did 30 Rock, though neither won, marking 30 Rock's first loss in this category (much of both series' principal casts received nominations in their respective categories). Surprisingly, only Amy Poehler received a nomination for Parks and Recreation's vastly improved second season, and even that it didn't win. Provided that it continues to get better -- it's shaken much of the criticisms leveled against it -- perhaps this will change in the years to come. NBC's former drama -- and by this I mean Friday Night Lights -- received nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress, as well as Outstanding Writing, but won nothing.If anything marks a breakout, then, it's the emergence of pop culture phenomenon Glee, which received 19 nominations, three of which it won, and ABC comedy Modern Family, which received almost 10. Glee took home awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series and Modern Family received awards for Outstanding Comedy Series (over Glee, NBC's comedies, Nurse Jackie and Curb Your Enthusiasm), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (where it was nominated three times), and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. Shut out most egregiously was Party Down, which was canceled following low ratings and Adam Scott's departure for a major role in Parks and Recreation's upcoming third season. As one of the better comedies on television, it merited at least consideration for Scott and Ken Marino, if not Jane Lynch, who moved on to the much more successful Glee after the show's first season (and won Outstanding Supporting Actress for her performance).
All in all, it was another under-watched, largely uninteresting awards show with fairly predictable results. If you missed this one, there'll conveniently be another next year.Andrew Hall is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on online schools for Guide to Online Schools.
Thursday, September 9
Want to Give Kristen Bell A Birthday Present?
Kristen Bell, star of Veronica Mars (as well as the upcoming comedy You Again), is asking for a birthday present from all her fans. No, she isn't greedy. She's trying to raise money in order to give clean water the billion people in this world without it and is asking her fans to donate money to the cause.
As Kristen puts it on the Donation Page:
A billion people in the world are living without clean water. EFF THAT.
Water-borne illness is the second highest cause of childhood death in the world. NOT ON MY WATCH.
45,000 people will die this week alone from contaminated water illnesses. Y'ALL, LETS GET OFF OUR HINEYS AND FIX THIS.
Please help me get to my goal of 100K and let's have a clean water toast.
Cheers,
Kristen
Even if you can only afford to give a little, it will still help the cause.
As Kristen puts it on the Donation Page:
A billion people in the world are living without clean water. EFF THAT.
Water-borne illness is the second highest cause of childhood death in the world. NOT ON MY WATCH.
45,000 people will die this week alone from contaminated water illnesses. Y'ALL, LETS GET OFF OUR HINEYS AND FIX THIS.
Please help me get to my goal of 100K and let's have a clean water toast.
Cheers,
Kristen
Even if you can only afford to give a little, it will still help the cause.
The Sarah Scoop: Bristol Palin plans on having modest outfits on DW...
A Post From Sarah Scoop!The Sarah Scoop: Bristol Palin plans on having modest outfits on DW...: "According to People, despite having a child at a young age, Bristol Palin says she’ll have the most modest outfits on this season of Danci..."
Tuesday, September 7
Guest Post: Gugu Mbatha-Raw in New TV Spy Drama “Undercovers” Gets to Kick Some Serious Butt
Another guest post brought to you by the wonderful Phylis Z. Miller:
J.J. Abrams has taken the successful formula he used for the ABC TV drama series “Alias” and used a similar template, including a comic relief character, for his new fall NBC show “Undercovers,” of which I’ve seen the pilot co-written by show co-creator Josh Reims.
This time, though, also sprinkled in are bits of the Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt film “Mrs. And Mrs. Smith,” in which the conceit is that both Angelina Jolie’s character and Brad Pitt’s character are assassins who don’t know about each other’s assassin career.
In “Undercovers” the husband and wife team (starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, playing Samantha Bloom, and Boris Kodjoe, playing Steven Bloom) are not at each other’s throats but they are too tired for sex.
Former CIA agents (they met at “The Farm” – the CIA’s training center), they’ve been out of the agency for several years and are now running their own catering business. A CIA representative comes knocking to ask them to find and rescue their former colleague because Samantha Bloom had been working with this agent when she left the agency.
Of course they say no way.
Then Samantha Bloom decides to say yes to the rescue mission before her husband says yes. He, meanwhile, says he would do the mission if his wife isn’t told. Oops, too late; she has already signed on. And, anyway, where is he going to tell his wife he is going when he leaves town, especially with a major catering commission on hand?
Now I did find it somewhat of a disconnect when, in the middle of a very tense life-and-death situation, Samantha Bloom is on her cell advising her sister regarding problems at the catering event. True, I know how much multitasking women do, but this much seems rather ridiculous.
Still, in “Undercovers” the wife gets to be as heroic as her husband, even though, when they are in Russia at the climax of their rescue mission, he does want her to remain safely behind. (Of course she doesn’t.)
Then when their adrenaline kicks in – and they get their mojo back – they sign on permanently while keeping the catering business as their cover.
“Undercovers” will definitely add a nice dimension to the recent run of TV dramas with strong action heroines. Gabrielle Anwar’s Fiona Glenanne in USA Network’s popular “Burn Notice” and Piper Perabo’s Annie Walker in USA Network’s new “Covert Affairs” also each get to kick some serious butt.
And here’s my personal CIA story:
While at Wharton getting an M.B.A., I applied to the CIA and filled out numerous copies of numerous forms on an electric typewriter. But on the day that the CIA called inviting me down to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, for a two-day interview process I had a change of heart. I just couldn’t see myself, currently married with a house in Philly, as a CIA agent stationed in some end-of-the-world country.
To this day I regret at least not going for the two-day interview process. And what really rankles me is that an episode of “Top Chef” this season takes place at Langley. Talk about national security and need-to-know!
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) writes about social media and military-related topics. Her newest book is FOUR COMEDY SCREENPLAYS at http://budurl.com/4comedyscreenplays and her company has just launched the Quick Start Social Media Track at www.millermosaicllc.com/social-media-track
J.J. Abrams has taken the successful formula he used for the ABC TV drama series “Alias” and used a similar template, including a comic relief character, for his new fall NBC show “Undercovers,” of which I’ve seen the pilot co-written by show co-creator Josh Reims. This time, though, also sprinkled in are bits of the Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt film “Mrs. And Mrs. Smith,” in which the conceit is that both Angelina Jolie’s character and Brad Pitt’s character are assassins who don’t know about each other’s assassin career.
In “Undercovers” the husband and wife team (starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, playing Samantha Bloom, and Boris Kodjoe, playing Steven Bloom) are not at each other’s throats but they are too tired for sex.
Former CIA agents (they met at “The Farm” – the CIA’s training center), they’ve been out of the agency for several years and are now running their own catering business. A CIA representative comes knocking to ask them to find and rescue their former colleague because Samantha Bloom had been working with this agent when she left the agency.
Of course they say no way.
Then Samantha Bloom decides to say yes to the rescue mission before her husband says yes. He, meanwhile, says he would do the mission if his wife isn’t told. Oops, too late; she has already signed on. And, anyway, where is he going to tell his wife he is going when he leaves town, especially with a major catering commission on hand?
Now I did find it somewhat of a disconnect when, in the middle of a very tense life-and-death situation, Samantha Bloom is on her cell advising her sister regarding problems at the catering event. True, I know how much multitasking women do, but this much seems rather ridiculous.
Still, in “Undercovers” the wife gets to be as heroic as her husband, even though, when they are in Russia at the climax of their rescue mission, he does want her to remain safely behind. (Of course she doesn’t.)
Then when their adrenaline kicks in – and they get their mojo back – they sign on permanently while keeping the catering business as their cover.
“Undercovers” will definitely add a nice dimension to the recent run of TV dramas with strong action heroines. Gabrielle Anwar’s Fiona Glenanne in USA Network’s popular “Burn Notice” and Piper Perabo’s Annie Walker in USA Network’s new “Covert Affairs” also each get to kick some serious butt.
And here’s my personal CIA story:
While at Wharton getting an M.B.A., I applied to the CIA and filled out numerous copies of numerous forms on an electric typewriter. But on the day that the CIA called inviting me down to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, for a two-day interview process I had a change of heart. I just couldn’t see myself, currently married with a house in Philly, as a CIA agent stationed in some end-of-the-world country.
To this day I regret at least not going for the two-day interview process. And what really rankles me is that an episode of “Top Chef” this season takes place at Langley. Talk about national security and need-to-know!
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) writes about social media and military-related topics. Her newest book is FOUR COMEDY SCREENPLAYS at http://budurl.com/4comedyscreenplays and her company has just launched the Quick Start Social Media Track at www.millermosaicllc.com/social-media-trackSunday, September 5
Kristen Bell Tweets To Encourage A Veronica Mars Movie
Fans of Veronica Mars
will always be clamoring for a Veronica Mars movie to be made. Now Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars herself) is helping support their effort.Over the past couple days, Kristen (@IMKristenBell) has been tweeting like crazy to try and get #VeronicaMarsMovie trending and help get support for various petitions and Facebook groups. See and go join here if you a fan of the movies:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5559438802
http://www.petitiononline.com/vmmovie/petition.html
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97750248959&ref=ts
As you know, I love Veronica Mars pretty much more than any other TV show I have ever seen, and I would die to see a movie. Unfortunately, the studio doesn't believe it'll make enough money, so it's up to fans of Veronica Mars to help make it successful by joining these causes and help make #Veronicamarsmovie a Trending Topic. So who's up to the challenge?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
