You know how sometimes the most bizarre things can come up in a family conversation? Well, I had that experience yesterday and it sent me on a mission to find the Fig Newton commercial that ran during the 70s. So, for absolutely no good reason, here it is!
“The Singing Office” is a harmless bit of TV fluff that gives viewers a chance to watch refreshingly normal reality show contestants. It’s not a show I would make a point of watching each week, but it’s a nice fallback if nothing else is on.
Each week, hosts Joey Fatone and Mel B create their own team of 5 contestants by venturing into an ordinary place of business and holding auditions with the staff. They both take a light-hearted approach to the competition which is appropriate considering that these people are probably scared enough just thinking about singing and dancing on national television. Once they have created their teams, they turn them over to a vocal coach, a choreographer and a fashion consultant for a two day “boot camp.” At the end of the process each team performs one number in front of an audience who (excluding friends, family and co-workers) decide the winner. Eventually the weekly winners will compete in a finale with a prize of $50,000 to be split by the winning team.
In the premiere, Mel creates her group from the staff of an elementary school while Joey works with a group of resort employees. There are varying levels of talent and experience on the teams and it is interesting to watch these co-workers interact in such an alien setting. I’m thinking the producers of this show could earn some good money by turning this into a weekend team-building workshop and selling it to corporate America! Mel’s team performed the Jackson 5’s ”ABC” and it really needed to be transposed into a lower key for these poor people. They managed to squeeze out the high notes while doing choreography and wearing costumes that reminded me a bit of when the Brady Bunch kids performed as The Silver Platters. It was actually quite fun and I would have declared them the winners. Instead, the audience chose Joey’s team and their rendition of “Respect”. In both cases there was a lot more choreography then I was expecting and it is quite amazing that, in two days, these teams could learn all those steps plus the vocals.
This show isn’t going to launch any new careers, but if you are looking for something to watch at 9:00pm on Sundays, switch over to TLC and have some fun imagining your own co-workers trying to do this. 
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/singing-office/singing-office.html
First off, you know there has to be something seriously wrong with a couple that would choose to get married in such a creepy and ugly church!
In this installment of the anthology horror series, James Roday and Maggie Lawson (Shawn and Juliet from “Psych”) are that couple and, indeed, there is something seriously wrong with them. Events take place on Carlos (Roday) and Sam’s (Lawson) wedding day. Minutes before the ceremony, the bride receives an anonymous note declaring “the person you are marrying is a serial killer.” Her bridesmaids (the only normal people who seem to be at this wedding) can tell something is wrong but keep having their attempts to help Sam rejected. Meanwhile, Sam deals with an increasingly hostile Carlos and his sinister family. There is a major twist at the end, which I did enjoy, but upon reflection makes what came before it seem nonsensical. I think the problem is that we needed more background on Carlos and Sam’s relationship. The first time we see them together is after Sam has received the note. I would have eliminated all the time spent with Carlos’ uncles and given more background to the main characters. If we knew more about them, then Carlos’ reactions might have made more sense.
I was really looking forward to this episode because I was anxious to see Roday and Lawson as different characters and, while that was still fun, James Roday’s character rang false to me. I think he was giving exactly the performance that was requested of him, but it wasn’t placed in the right context by the writer (Victor Salva – “Jeepers Creepers”) or the director (John Landis – “Twilight Zone: The Movie”) so that it would make sense to the viewer.
Oh well, at least I can look forward to the return of “Psych” in a few weeks and seeing James Roday back to performing on a show where everyone is on the same, albeit off-kilter, page.
If you would like to judge for yourself, the entire episode is on-line at the link below:
http://www.nbc.com/Fear_Itself/video/episodes.shtml?apl=true
At the risk of undermining my pop culture cred, I have never been a “Desperate Housewives” viewer. That might have to change with the news that one of my “Boomtown” boys has been added to the cast. And the “Boomtown” bad boy at that! TV Guide is reporting that Neal McDonough will be a love interest for one of the ‘wives but no other details are available. Hmmmm. I may just have to check in and see what those cool, blue eyes are up to this fall.
Sniff. Mikey!!!! Don’t go!
It isn’t that I’m not fond of you, Jeff. Really, I am. I watched “Raines” and thought it was pretty good but……..I love my Mikey. It’s just going to take me a while before I can move on.
Variety is reporting that when the eighth season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent returns to USA in the fall Jeff Goldblum will take over as the lead for half of the 16 episode order. Negotiations are still ongoing with Vincent D’Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Eric Bogosian and Julianne Nicholson and hopefully no other heartbreak will occur for this devoted fan. I’m telling you right now, Dick Wolfe and USA, do NOT let the team of Goren and Eames break up. Bobby needs Alex and, while she doesn’t get nearly the acclaim she deserves, CI needs Alex Eames!
I’m going to sit in a corner now and try to compose myself.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988130.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
There were several times during “The Baby Borrowers” premiere last night that I cringed on behalf of the teens taking part. Some day several, if not all, of them are going to look back on this and be mortified by some of the things they did or said. Hopefully they’ll be comforted by the knowledge that they learned an important lesson and helped some other kids and parents along the way.
Don’t get me wrong, you can tell that they chose good kids, but the circumstances they have been put in brings out the immaturity…..which was exactly the point.
NBC’s new reality show (as usual based on a British original) is a very different entry into the genre. There is no prize at the end and there are no eliminations. The teen couples spend time caring for babies, toddlers, preteens, teens and the elderly. It’s all about the teens and adults each trying to prove something and it’s pretty clear the adults are going to win. I’ll admit that the premise raises concerns. Isn’t there some risk to the children involved? As it turns out, the parents can view their child, in real time, 24 hours a day and can intervene at any point. In addition, there is a nanny shadowing the teens at all times. They aren’t there to help or give advice, but they can take over should there be an emergency. In essence, they are leaving their child with highly supervised babysitters.
In the opening episode all the couples had difficulties but to differing degrees. Three of the parents felt they had to intervene on behalf of their child and I was impressed with how composed they were. The father of the baby young couple Morgan and Daton were caring for, in particular, had a very gentle, coaching quality to the advice he was giving. Clearly a lot of care was taken in selecting the families involved as well.
I will admit, as a teenager I would have been a disaster on this show. Oh, who am I kidding? I would still be a disaster! I will say, though, that if I were the parent of a teenager (boy or girl) I’d make a point of watching this show with them. This actually is a reality show with a purpose.
It’s the second elimination episode and Wee Man is in the most jeopardy with the lowest score from the judges. Would the audience save him? The first three celebs declared safe were Stacey Dash, Christopher Knight and Rachel Hunter. They then immediately announced the 4th one safe was Wee Man. That left Antonio Sabato, Jr. and Janet Evans still at risk and I think we all knew at that point that Janet was the one going home. Indeed, in the final 15 minutes of the show Janet was sent home and she handled it very graciously.
Christopher Knight - Chris decided he was tired of choosing routines based on his arm (which was broken early on in rehearsal) and stepped it up with the acrobatic Trapeze Bungee. During the rehearsal footage, the coaches kept complimenting Chris on his work ethic. He definitely threw himself (literally) into the routine and his bungee jumps almost came down to the floor. There were a couple of times, on the trapeze, that he looked a bit awkward but, overall, it was a very impressive act. When it comes to showmanship, Chris is tough to beat. He really looked like he was having a great time through the whole thing. Judges Mitch Gaylord and Aurelia Cats loved it and gave him 9’s. Louie, on the other hand, thought they were crazy and said that Chris was nowhere near as good as Stacey Dash had been doing this routine. His score was a 6. Mitch and Aurelia might have been a little too generous but I think Louie was completely wrong with his low score. Chris ended up with an average score of 8 which I think was accurate.
Stacey Dash – After watching the rehearsal footage, I think the best thing that could happen to Stacey would be to come in second or third in the judges scores because the pressure of being in first place is stressing her out. Her routine was the Spanish Web – the same one Blu Cantrell did in week one – and Stacey was struggling with it. She was showing signs of having a meltdown but made a wise decision to get away from the gym for a bit to settle down. Stacey is very likable and is a wonderful performer but I keep getting the feeling that she isn’t actually enjoying this. As for the performance itself, I did think that Stacey was struggling through some of it but she certainly had more elements than Blu. Mitch and Aurelia also thought Stacey was off in this performance and gave her 7’s. Louie was the odd duck again and gave her a 10 after going off on a rant comparing Stacey and Chris. I’m coming down on Mitch and Aurelia’s side on this one too. I would have given Stacey 8 instead of 7, but there was no way this was a performance that deserved a perfect 10. Her average score ended up as an 8.
Wee Man - Wee Man decided that this was the week to show America a “graceful Wee Man” with a Flying Straps performance. His routine had a storyline, and a partner he had to interact with, and it did show a different side to his personality. The routine was a great response to last week’s criticism that he wasn’t working hard enough. It was the best reward he could have given the audience for keeping him in the competition. He got a 7 and two 8’s for an average of 7.7.
Rachel Hunter - Rachel performed the High Wire this week. The first time across she did some tango style steps and the second time across she stood on top of a bar held up by two men walking on the wire. They referred to it as a pyramid and referenced back to the Wallenda tragedy of 1962. They did this during the commercials as well, and I thought it was in bad taste. I am impressed with what these people are doing, but it does not compare to the Wallendas. I would think that the actual circus people involved in the show would have been bothered by it too. Anyway, that aside, Rachel did show a lot of composure and focus in staying up there. Staying completely still for the entire second trip across had to be very difficult. She got two 7’s and an 8 for an average of 7.3.
Antonio Sabato, Jr. – There is no question – this guy is strong! His act was the Chinese Poles and it was very reminiscent of a gymnastic routine. The amount of body control required was tremendous and Antonio seemed very proud of the performance. Mitch said that no one else on the show could have possibly done that routine and I agree with him. This was my favorite performance of the night and I would have given it a 9. Instead, Antonio received a 7, 8 and 9 for an average of 8.
So, we ended up with a 3 way tie for first place (Chris, Stacey and Antonio) with Rachel in last place. This is going to be a tough elimination! Rachel and Wee Man are the most at risk, but the scores are close enough that fan base is going to take over now. If it were my call, I’d eliminate Wee Man, but I wouldn’t be happy about it.
Click below to relive Antonio’s routine:
The show continued with more auditions in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York and added some real gems to the acts going to Vegas! It also looks like there might be a little controversy lurking on the horizon as well and, of course, that’s always good for ratings!
Los Angeles
Eli Mattson – Singer and keyboardist. This kid gave me the same feeling I had last year when I first saw Cas Haley. With so many unique acts on the show, it’s hard to be a show-stopping singer, but he did it. The combination of the sweet baby face with the smokey, gravelly voice really worked. He performed “Walking in Memphis” with all the soul that song demands. Plus, he’s got a nice back-story with the devoted family members who traveled to LA with him and it even looked like his big eyes were welling up during the judge’s comments. He’s the complete package for this type of show.
Miss Pussykatt – The “grinder”. First off, how on earth does someone come up with an act like this? What thought process was going on? Basically her act is using a grinder against metal plates strategically located on her body to shoot off sparks. At one point she had sparks shooting out of her ________. And yes, the word you filled in was correct. It was bizarre to say the least and yet, she was oddly kind of cute. She’s a massive long shot and I wouldn’t have put her through to Vegas but I can see why the judges did. It will be interesting to see what she does next.
Lil’ Countrie and Page 1ne – Tumblers from New Orleans. Very impressive tumbling routine especially when one of them slid across the floor on his head. They apparently were well known enough in New Orleans for the mayor of the city to make a point of asking them to return to performing after the hurricane. They have a wonderful, inspirational story and came across as very nice. Last season it seemed like the tumbling/stunt acts were voted off much earlier than I thought they should be so it will be interesting to see how far this act gets.
New York
Drumtazia – The quasi-drummer. After this guy was told no, he kept saying that his act went over the judge’s heads. If so, then it went over mine as well. All he did was crawl over the drums and bang haphazardly on them. Oh, and he also hit the button on a fog machine. Perhaps his act is an impression of how a five year old would react to being given a drum kit?
Next II None – The boy band. They performed *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.” At first I thought they were lip-syncing the song but then there were a couple of times when the vocals sounded a bit off so maybe it was them? In her comments, Sharon mentioned that she didn’t think there was a breakout lead singer in the group so maybe they were actually doing the vocals. Either way, the judges passed them along because they were very cute and danced well. I look forward to seeing another number from them to get a better idea of what they can do.
Russian Bar Trio – Holy cow! This act was amazing. How does someone live through learning how to do this? Two men hold a 4 inch wide board while the woman jumps on it like it was a trampoline. She was flipping and twisting so high in the air that she actually got above the big X’s that hang from the ceiling. This was all done over a mat that was so thin it looked pointless. It was like watching someone perform on the balance beam amped up 10 fold. This one was actually scary to watch.
The Ozzman – The Ozzy Osbourne impersonator. The act was painful to watch but I thoroughly enjoyed Piers torturing Sharon about it. Their back and forth was one of the evenings funniest moments.
The Taubl Family – The von Trappish singers. At the risk of sounding like a bad person – they really didn’t impress me. Yes, it was nice to see a family together performing a wholesome number like “The Sound of Music” but nice was all it was. They started by playing the song on a variety of string instruments and finished by standing and singing the song in harmony. I thought they did ok for a bunch of kids, but not well enough to go to Vegas. Piers hit his buzzer early on in the performance but then said he might have judged too soon. I’m thinking his first instinct was correct.
DC Cowboys – Brokeback meets Broadway. Their words, not mine. LOL! The guys weren’t the greatest dancers, and the moves were very simplistic, but they were a lot of fun. I don’t think they are on the same level as the other dance groups that have already been voted through, but I do think it will be fun to see them again.
Chicago
Kevin “Big K” Taylor – The martial artist. My mouth was hanging open during this act. He smashed 100 cement slabs (that were on fire) with his hands. Sharon was reluctant to vote him through because she was afraid he was going to get hurt. At one point during this performance it looked like his hands were on fire! I could see where Sharon was coming from on this but, she did vote through the Russian Bar Trio, and I think that act was even more dangerous. Having said that, I am actually nervous about what this guy will try to do next.
Chellena – The a cappella singer. She had a very powerful and brassy voice but she only sang for a short time and the crowd was making a lot of noise (favorable noise, they loved her) so it was difficult to tell how consistent she was. To me, she sounded like someone who could be on Broadway. She also seemed like a very lovely woman and it was sweet to see her devoted and supportive husband. I’m glad they put her through because I want to hear her do a full number.
The Pendragons – The magic duo. I don’t know much about magicians, but this name sounded familiar to me. Indeed, when I googled them, it turns out this husband and wife team is very well known in the world of magic and that’s causing some controversy with AGT fans. It’s a bit like the controversy from this past season’s American Idol – is it or isn’t it a contest for amateurs? Last year’s winner, Terry Fator, was not an amateur. He was a professional ventriloquist and made his living touring the country performing at state fairs and business events. I remember watching his marketing video on YouTube. The difference seems to be that, while he was a professional, Terry Fator wasn’t famous. The Pendragons actually are rather famous. I don’t believe that AGT has ever marketed itself as an amateur show, so I don’t have a problem with an act like The Pendragons competing on it. The bottom line for the show is that it’s supposed to be entertaining for the viewers. Given how bad the other magic acts looked (the guy who pulled off the pigeon head freaked me out) I don’t blame the show for being thrilled to get professionals.
The Dionne Warwick impersonator – whose name I didn’t catch. I thought this guy was at least as good as the Britney impersonator from last week so I don’t understand why he got buzzed off so quickly.
Joseph Hall – the Elvis impersonator. Let me be blunt. I would never go see a show with an Elvis impersonator. It’s just not my thing but, even I have to admit that this kid is good. The voice impression was pretty good, but it was his look and moves that really did it. I agree with Piers that it was nice to see someone who is actually very young, doing Elvis when he was very young. Given that he’s only 23, he’ll be able to do this act for a long time and he’ll certainly fit in with the Vegas crowd.
All in all, I think the evening’s best performers were Eli Mattson and the Russian Bar Trio so let’s revisit them:
The Hollywood Reporter is confirming that Michaela McManus will be taking Diane Neal’s place as the ADA on “Law & Order: SVU”. Her IMDB page shows a recurring role on “One Tree Hill” and two other projects I didn’t recognize. I have to admit, this one makes me nervous. L&O honcho Dick Wolfe’s track record on hiring female ADAs has been spotty over the years and I would have felt better with someone more proven. Hopefully Michaela will be a great discovery, but I’ll be watching with a skeptical eye.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i14f29033bd0549a2edffe434bf0c60bf
According to Variety.com, TNT will be presenting an 80 minute movie thriller called “Blank Slate” in 20 mini-episodes to air over 4 days in September. The segments will air during back-to-back episodes of “Law & Order” running from 8pm to 1am each night. Basically, you would see 4 minutes of the movie during each hour of L&O. That seems like an awful lot to ask of the viewer. It’s a 20 hour commitment! I love L&O tremendously but I’m not sure I could handle this – especially the staying up until 1am part.
TNT does have some alternate viewing options, thankfully. The segments will be put up as webisodes on TNT.tv and it may be offered on TNT’s on-demand platform.
“Blank Slate” stars Lisa Brenner as “an amnesiac who becomes part of an experimental FBI program dedicated to solving murders by implanting memories of the recently deceased into the living.”
I’m not really sure what that means either. Eric Stoltz and Clancy Brown also star. It’s produced by Dean Devlin who created the very successful “Librarian” movies for TNT so that bodes well.
I’ll be very curious as to how this works out.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987907.html?categoryid=14&cs=1