3 lbs Not Worth its Weight

I watched the new show 3 lbs about brain surgeons last night. Yes, how very esoteric that 3 lbs is actually the weight of the brain and those smarty pants producers actually knew that! Ugh.

Well, the show isn't all that good, which is sad because Stanley Tucci is usually great and Indira Varma rocked it hard on HBO's Rome. And we can't forget the smoking hot Mark Feuerstein (see pic). But alas, the show was high on concept and low on character development and plot. Maybe it'll get better. I'll watch a few more eps to make up my mind (and to see Mark).

Christopher and Lorelai and Luke

I'm not one of those people who are sad that Christopher and Lorelai are together now on Gilmore Girls. A) Christopher is cuter. B) It's just a nice back story that after years apart, and a child, they are finally married.

But if you don't like Christopher, you might as well rejoice. I have more than a hunch that Lorelai will be with Luke before the end of the season, even though she eloped with Christopher. Did you see her face last night when she said how happy she was? Looks like they'll get a quickie divorce or an anullment. Seems a lot of people, including Ausiello at TV Guide agree.

Stand in Defiance of Tom Cruise

A tad bit dramatic maybe, but please please please all of you promise to do one thing for me this weekend. At any point on Saturday or Sunday, I urge you to stand on your sofa, jump up and down, and plead for the Scientology gods to let poor Katie Holmes be free of Tom Cruise.

Maybe if we do that, the Scientology aliens will release their spirits into the air and free Katie from her hypnotic stupor before her wedding to the nutty, queer, lost-his-mind Cruise.

The Ruins is a Creepy Book

I'm about halfway through The Ruins by Scott Smith and I'm really loving it. I can't argue that it's literary fiction in any way, but it is well written with rounded out characters and a great sense of forboding. The setting alone is sensational.

Smith wrote A Simple Plan years ago. I never read it, and the movie wasn't my cup of tea. But The Ruins is great for anyone who likes thrillers. And as mentioned...it's CREEPY! It's alos a page-turner: I read more than 100 pages in one sitting last night.

It came out earlier this year and won't be in paperback until next spring, but if you can check it out at the library or borrow a friend's copy, you should think about it.

Monday Night TV Catch Up

Prison Break isn't a bad show. It's got hotties galore, good plots, fast pacing--but I'm not sure how high the stakes really are in the plots and that's a problem. Sure, they kill people off left and right on Prison Break. But the only characters any of us really care about are Scofield and Sarah, and we know that they won't be killed. So I watch the show every week, but I don't find it as satisfying as I did the first season.

Heroes was great again last night. Tiny little clues scattered everywhere. We meet this great new character--a waitress who can suddenly remember everything she reads or hears--and then she gets killed. Only, Hiro went back in time and there was a sense that he was able to save her. And right now it's looking like the only baddie on the show is Sylar, since HRG (horn rimmed glasses) gets more understood each episode. Of course next week is when "save the cheerleader, save the world" comes to a head! I can't wait.

Oh, and Studio 60. My dear Studio 60. It's a good show--no denying that. High quality, good acting, and the like. But again, there is some kind of spark missing. With Sorkin's The West Wing there was inherent gravitas because the weekly battles and decisions were political and we were made to see how each tiny decision can (or might not) affect America. But with Studio 60, I feel like we're just watching people who are really talented and like their jobs do their jobs. There isn't a larger resonance for me. Maybe if they dug deeper with the characters I would care more. But at least we get to see--NBC ordered a full season despite the show's pathetic ratings. So if you used to watch The West Wing, then you should probably tune in to Studio 60.

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

I can't believe I forgot to mention how great it was to see Dixie Carter back on tv. She was great last night on Desperate Housewives as Bree's new mother-in-law. She looked fantastic and was as firecracker hot as always.

Oh...and let's just remember how fierce Carter can be. Turn your volume up a bit for this clip.

Personal Life

Most everybody that reads this stuff knows me pretty well. It's not like I have legions of fans who have never met me--though I wish I did. :)

But I want to say the past three or four months have sort of flown by. I started dating someone this summer. Then my stepfater Tom was sick and then died in Savannah. My job took me to three different conferences in a row across the United States, 1, 2, 3. I closed on a new condo and moved in and bought furniture. It just seems like it has been nonstop.

But everything has worked out really well and I'm trying to remember to stop and enjoy life a tad bit more, as cliche as it sounds. Randall and I went to the Shenandoah mountains Sunday a week ago. Though we had missed the peak of the leaves changing, we still saw some great colors and it was cool and beautiful outside. It really made me think about how lucky I am to live where I do. And my mom was here this weekend really helping me fine tune my new studio. We bickered and got testy, but it was fun.

So despite the real dramas and the hard times and the craziness, be thankful about all the good things that add up in your life. For me it's a lot: a great new book I've just started, a visit (and subsequent shopping trips) with my mother, a trip to the mountains with a fantastic boyfriend, two cutie kitties that are fun to come home to every day, upcoming visits by two friends and a stepmother, tons of great friends, and a soon-to-be-arriving niece this March. Life isn't all that bad when you think about it.

Oh...and um, forgot all about the election! :)

Battlestar and Brothers and Sisters Catch Up

Battlestar Galactic rocked it again this weekend. If you had told me a few years ago that a new Battelstar would be one of my favorite shows on tv, and not in a cheesy indulgent way, I'd have thought you were nuts. But the show continues to be political and relevant--especially when our own country is at war.

And as much as I was afraid Brothers and Sisters was going to turn into a schmaltzy, teary, hug-fest, it hasn't. You really have to hand it to Greg Berlanti (of Everwood fame). He has takent a show which had all the earmarks for sacchrine melodrama and has helped it become probably my favorite show to watch right now. Not best, mind you, but favorite.

There are so many reasons to like Brothers and Sisters. A) It has a gay character who actually has a love life. And his being gay isn't his only defining character trait. B) It has the best cast on tv right now--bar none. Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, Ron Rifkin, Treat Williams, Patricia Wetting, and Sally Field (who hardly ever cries anymore on the show, unlike every appearance she's ever made on ER). C) It's well written, suprising, and heartfelt. This last episode is the first drama on tv which I've seen that used September 11th in an integral way to the show. It wasn't forced or contrived, though certainly emblematic. This show deserves heaps of praise and I can only see it getting better.

What a Difference Two Years Makes

I want to start by saying, wouldn't you have liked to hear Rove explain to Bush that the Whitehouse was sinking? Or maybe hear Bush congratulate Nancy Pelosi?

I didn't want to repeat 2004 and get all excited prematurely, then get depressed when I realized that most of America was either a) sleepwalking through any sort of political life or b) just didn't care. So last night was low key for me. I ordered a pizza and just hunkered down alone to watch the election returns (and Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars).

By 9:30 CNN was projecting the Democrats would eek out House control, but the numbers coming in looked nothing like the tidal wave I hoped for. It was a bit depressing, but I was happy that that the tide was turning--if just gradually. Then as the night wore on, more and more races started tilting Democratic. James Carville (who is crazy, I know, I know) mentioned that a lot of the earlier returns were from the South which is the only place Democrats didn't expect to do well.

I went to bed at midnight thinking, "well, at least we won the House and gained a few Senate seats." You can imagine how surprised I was to wake up and realize that the Senate was still in play. And I'm sure hoping we take it too.

I'm glad that America is finally starting to wake up to the real Bush. And I'm jubilant that Bush's finger pointing, mean spiritedness, and tyranny are finally going to be put in check. So thanks, America. I just hope in the future we can work on putting the kabosh on the anti-gay ballot initiatives.

Britney News

No...not her appearance on David Letterman, or her new album. Britney is...wait for it...divorcing K Fed. Who ever could have guessed it would happen?

By the Way...VOTE!

I don't want to jinx anything, but let's hope we wake up tomorrow in a better, saner, world--albeit one still too embroiled in politics.

But however you identify politically, whichever candidates float your boat, be sure to vote today!

Heroes Gets Better and Better

They really know what they're doing at NBC. Well, sometimes...

Heroes just gets better each week. Tighter writer, spookier mysteries. I'm loving it. But it's sad the follow-up show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is pretty much tanking. Sure, the show is basically The West Wing but set in tv instead of politics. Sure, it's self-important. But it's damn funny. My guess is we won't see a single Studio episode in 2007.

Faith Hill Shows it Like it Is

Coworker Caroline sent this link to me today, showing Carrie Underwood winning big a big Country Music Award. I don't give a rat's ass about country music, but watch Faith Hill's face when she hear's Carrie's name called. It's priceless.

***UPDATE***
Now Faith is saying it was a joke. Riiiiiight.....

Desperate Sundays

Okay, so Desperate Housewives was a bit better last night, but it felt much more like a "very special episode" than an attempt to get the show back on track. Hey, but at least Nora got killed. Because (aside from Susan's awkward daughter) Nora was the worst story and worst actress on the show. Completely grating.

Brothers and Sisters just keeps getting better and better. I'm loving it actually. Compare last night's funny, heart-felt (and just a bit too much contrived) episode with the first episode of the season and you'd think it was a completely different show. As long as showrunner Greg Berlanti can ditch the melodrama and focus on simple interactions between the main characters, I can see the show doing really really well. It's no Thirtysomething but it'll do.

Gay Doogie

Somehow I missed this last week, but you probably all heard it anyway: Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser and How I Met Your Mother fame came out last week. Just out of the blue.

With T.J. Knight the week before, and now Doogie, maybe we'll get another star coming out this week. That'd be nice, huh?

Copying Beethoven

Last night I saw a preview of what I'm sure Ed Harris thinks is the movie that will nab him an Oscar. Um, no.

It was a beautifully shot film with an interesting story about Beethoven late in his career when he is already deaf and relying on a copyist to help him write and conduct. But the writing wasn't up to snuff--it went from fairly on the mark to scenes from a bad sit com or ABC Family drama. I actually liked the copyist actress--Diane Kruger. You might know her from National Treasure and believe it or not she has acting chops. Randall said she seemed like a younger, straighter Jodie Foster with a dash of Kate Winslet. I can buy that.

But what I can't buy is truly recommending this movie to anyone. I'm glad I saw it, and it was free, but I wouldn't give it more than 5 or 6 out of 10.

Lost Letdown

While Lost is still better than 95% of what's on television, I have to say that this season is really disappointing so far. Last night's show was no exception.

Lately we've been learning some stuff: that the Others are on another island, that the polar bear had escaped from a cage the Others had, that the Others live with technology. But do you see a theme? We've learned a lot about the creepy Others, and been introduced to mysterious Juliet, but the hardcore fans of the show want two things: to know what's happenning to the original Losties and to solve some of the island's mysteries.

But this year there has been so much investment in the Others, and so much time watching Jack and Sawyer and Kate being held captive that the show just isn't fun like it used to be. We've gotten precious little Hurley or Sayid or Locke for that matter. And mysteries haven't been revealed either. Was it just me or did the black smoke look like that red valentine heart monster from that old bugs bunny cartoon.

Anyway...I hope the showrunners can pull it together, but with Lost losing so much of its ratings, I fear that it may have already become Alias--a great show that couldn't keep up with its original conceit.

Death on Lost

I'm finally back from travelling for work. No more of it for the rest of the year so blogging will be more frequent.

News is that a series regular will die on this week's Lost! My bet is Ecko. What do y'all think?

Set Your TiVO for Madonna!

If you haven't already heard...Madonna will be on Oprah this Wednesday to talk about her new adoption and all related drama. It should be worth a peek.

The Foxes of Fall TV

With the studs of summer a thing of the distant past, at least we have the handsome (and sometimes talented) foxes of fall to look forward to. Here's my (incomplete) listing of where you can find some great male eye candy on the tube this fall:

• ABC has a bevy of cuties: Dave Annable and Matthew Rhys who play brothers Justin and Kevin on Brothers and Sisters. Rhys gets extra points for playing gay. Owain Yeoman plays the baddie Lucas Dalton on The Nine and Jay Hernandez is the hunky public defender Carlos on Six Degrees. Don't leave out Shawn Pyfrom who stars as the cutie gay troublemaker Andrew on Desperate Housewives. And we can't forget the adorable dancer with the huge-ass arms on Dancing with the Stars--Mario Lopez.
• NBC has at least two hotties: Adrian Pasdar Congressman wanna-be on Heroes and security man Josh Duhamel on Las Vegas.
• Could CBS have any more procedurals? Isn't every show a whodunnit in the crime lab? But at least we get to see George Eads from the original CSI as Nick Stokes. And there's Michael Weatherly and Sean Murray on NCIS.
• SciFi has Battlestar Galactica goodness including: Jamie Bamber (Apollo), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), and Aaron Douglas (Chief).
• The CW has hottie Jason Dohring as bad boy Logan on Veronica Mars. But there may not be anyone who beats Justin Hartley (ex-Passions lover) as Green Arrow on Smallville.