Michelle Rodriquez has apparently opted for five days of jail time rather than 240 hours of community service as part of her DUI sentence (she pled guilty). It's an interesting choice, which I figure cuts less into her free time outside of shooting Lost. I suppose she can also term it research and start looking for roles where she can play a female convict.
Given that she'd previously pleaded no contest to a 2004 DUI charge in California, I hope she's not researching the role of a reckless drunk. I also hope for her sake that the Hawaii case doesn't constitute a parole violation in California. Otherwise, Ana Lucia's going to have to get kidnapped by the Others for a while.
For what it's worth, fellow Lost actor Cynthia Watros also pled guilty to her DUI (both were pulled over within 15 minutes of each other), and got a prize package of a fine, alcohol assessment, counseling, and a 90 day licence suspension.
Remember: it's OK to hang loose, but perhaps not so literally.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Halfway There
We're now down to six finalists on American Idol, going into tonight's show featuring love songs as taught by Andrea Bocelli.
There's a sentence I never expected to type.
Anyway, as we get closer to ending our annual death march, here's my pick for how the final six will go down:
6. Chris Daughtry - he's probably the contestant with the most potential to jump right into the industry, but he's not really an Idol-type performer, last week's rendition of "What a Wonderful World" notwithstanding. He's more of a Rock Star-type performer, and the show's non-rock orientation is going to be his undoing, as he has not taken the Bo Bice route of singing and appearing more like a typical show contestant.
Daughtry's been in the bottom three a few times, and I don't think he'll hang on.
5. Elliot Yamin - unlike some contestants, his difficult background (medical) hasn't been overly played-up (either by choice or by Fox wanting to build sympathy for others). He sings pretty well, but is lost a little bit in all the extra crap that surrounds this "singing contest." He has kind of a soul edge to his vocals, which I think works well for him, but only to a point.
4. Paris Bennett - Paris Bennett, meet Tamyra Gray and Latoya London. This is about the point in the competition where African-American women with powerful voices get shown the door (Fantasia notwithstanding), regardless of their actual talent. She might get past this, given how she was pretty much anointed as a finalist at her audition, but I'm going to go with history here.
3. Kellie Pickler - proof that pathos, peroxide, and pulchritude can make up where the singing drops off. There's no reason why she should still be in this competition, other than voters who sympathize with her heavily-hyped backstory and those who think she's purty. There's always one contestant who goes much farther than talent suggests, and this time around it's Pickler.
2. Katherine McPhee - she's attractive and can sing, which probably explains some of Simon Cowell's very positive comments the last few weeks. I think he'd much rather have to promote Katherine than...
1. Taylor Hicks - he seems like he's going to win. He's not been in the bottom grouping, and he tends to lead the DialIdol rankings (a web-based autodialer that measures the busy signals for each contestant, assuming that busy=lots of votes). I'd originally wanted him to win, thinking that there was no way he'd win. Now I'm almost hoping he doesn't win, as I don't know if I can stand future performances full of his spasmodic jerking. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose.
There's a sentence I never expected to type.
Anyway, as we get closer to ending our annual death march, here's my pick for how the final six will go down:
6. Chris Daughtry - he's probably the contestant with the most potential to jump right into the industry, but he's not really an Idol-type performer, last week's rendition of "What a Wonderful World" notwithstanding. He's more of a Rock Star-type performer, and the show's non-rock orientation is going to be his undoing, as he has not taken the Bo Bice route of singing and appearing more like a typical show contestant.
Daughtry's been in the bottom three a few times, and I don't think he'll hang on.
5. Elliot Yamin - unlike some contestants, his difficult background (medical) hasn't been overly played-up (either by choice or by Fox wanting to build sympathy for others). He sings pretty well, but is lost a little bit in all the extra crap that surrounds this "singing contest." He has kind of a soul edge to his vocals, which I think works well for him, but only to a point.
4. Paris Bennett - Paris Bennett, meet Tamyra Gray and Latoya London. This is about the point in the competition where African-American women with powerful voices get shown the door (Fantasia notwithstanding), regardless of their actual talent. She might get past this, given how she was pretty much anointed as a finalist at her audition, but I'm going to go with history here.
3. Kellie Pickler - proof that pathos, peroxide, and pulchritude can make up where the singing drops off. There's no reason why she should still be in this competition, other than voters who sympathize with her heavily-hyped backstory and those who think she's purty. There's always one contestant who goes much farther than talent suggests, and this time around it's Pickler.
2. Katherine McPhee - she's attractive and can sing, which probably explains some of Simon Cowell's very positive comments the last few weeks. I think he'd much rather have to promote Katherine than...
1. Taylor Hicks - he seems like he's going to win. He's not been in the bottom grouping, and he tends to lead the DialIdol rankings (a web-based autodialer that measures the busy signals for each contestant, assuming that busy=lots of votes). I'd originally wanted him to win, thinking that there was no way he'd win. Now I'm almost hoping he doesn't win, as I don't know if I can stand future performances full of his spasmodic jerking. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose.
Mutilation!
Last week's episode of America's Next Top Model featured a trip to the dentist to get the contestants some teeth whitening. It is likely not a coincidence that this trip took place in the same season where two of the contestants have noticable dental appearances: one "snaggletooth" and one Lettermanesque gap. Both women had the opportunity to "correct" their problem.
Joanie, the contestant with the snaggletooth, took the offer. Ten hours, four extractions, and a bunch of filing later, she was fitted with veneers that give her a "perfect" smile. Danielle, who has the gap, passed on making a change.
Not surprisingly, Tyra and co. approved Joanie's change, and pretty much told Danielle she'd not win if she didn't get her gap fixed. Apparently, there's never been a top model with gapped teeth (I suppose this woman doesn't count).
Also not surprisingly, Danielle makes a return trip to the dentist in this week's episode.
I'm not sure what I dislike more about this turn of events - the Extreme Makeover vibe, or the push to alter physical appearance. The show usually does a decent job on topics like plastic surgery and the like, and I suppose cosmetic dentistry isn't on the same level as a boob job, but I'm still not comfortable.
Joanie, the contestant with the snaggletooth, took the offer. Ten hours, four extractions, and a bunch of filing later, she was fitted with veneers that give her a "perfect" smile. Danielle, who has the gap, passed on making a change.
Not surprisingly, Tyra and co. approved Joanie's change, and pretty much told Danielle she'd not win if she didn't get her gap fixed. Apparently, there's never been a top model with gapped teeth (I suppose this woman doesn't count).
Also not surprisingly, Danielle makes a return trip to the dentist in this week's episode.
I'm not sure what I dislike more about this turn of events - the Extreme Makeover vibe, or the push to alter physical appearance. The show usually does a decent job on topics like plastic surgery and the like, and I suppose cosmetic dentistry isn't on the same level as a boob job, but I'm still not comfortable.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Lost Weekend
After spending a fair amount of time this weekend catching up on stuff on the DVR, I have to say I was mostly underwhelmed. The lineup:
* The National Geographic Channel special on the Gospel of Judas, the restoration of which was partially funded by the NGS. I can only hope that the article in the latest issue of the magazine is less repetitive and dull than the special, which seemed like 40 minutes of material stuffed into 120 minutes of show. It was very disappointing.
* "Requiem," the episode of The West Wing that seemed like it was going to focus on the passing of Leo McGarry but spent a lot of time on transition issues. The best parts of the episode focused on Leo and on interplay between original cast members, which should have gotten the entire hour. The subplot on the Speaker of the House election could have waited a week.
* Sticking with the executive branch, the return of Commander in Chief was as disappointing as Aaron Barnhart's review indicated. I imagine it's a short list of shows that have a lead win a Golden Globe and still get cancelled in its first year, but there's a real chance that list will grow. Which is too bad; they're wasting a good cast.
* The first two episodes of Thief, a new FX drama starring Andre Braugher. It may still grow on me, but I had a lingering feeling that I was missing something as I watched.
* Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy both had clip shows last night. Why are they still doing this? I can perhaps forgive the latter show - they need to educate folks who've started watching since the Super Bowl - but Housewives? That's just padding.
On the plus side, we did catch up with 24, which is still implausibly delicious, and we got to see Ace Young get the boot on American Idol, which was a long time coming, even if Kellie Pickler was more deserving of the boot after her admitted butchering of "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." Oh, and playoff hockey on OLN has been pretty good, especially as their second game "bonus coverage" seems to be taken right from the CBC - logo and all.
* The National Geographic Channel special on the Gospel of Judas, the restoration of which was partially funded by the NGS. I can only hope that the article in the latest issue of the magazine is less repetitive and dull than the special, which seemed like 40 minutes of material stuffed into 120 minutes of show. It was very disappointing.
* "Requiem," the episode of The West Wing that seemed like it was going to focus on the passing of Leo McGarry but spent a lot of time on transition issues. The best parts of the episode focused on Leo and on interplay between original cast members, which should have gotten the entire hour. The subplot on the Speaker of the House election could have waited a week.
* Sticking with the executive branch, the return of Commander in Chief was as disappointing as Aaron Barnhart's review indicated. I imagine it's a short list of shows that have a lead win a Golden Globe and still get cancelled in its first year, but there's a real chance that list will grow. Which is too bad; they're wasting a good cast.
* The first two episodes of Thief, a new FX drama starring Andre Braugher. It may still grow on me, but I had a lingering feeling that I was missing something as I watched.
* Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy both had clip shows last night. Why are they still doing this? I can perhaps forgive the latter show - they need to educate folks who've started watching since the Super Bowl - but Housewives? That's just padding.
On the plus side, we did catch up with 24, which is still implausibly delicious, and we got to see Ace Young get the boot on American Idol, which was a long time coming, even if Kellie Pickler was more deserving of the boot after her admitted butchering of "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." Oh, and playoff hockey on OLN has been pretty good, especially as their second game "bonus coverage" seems to be taken right from the CBC - logo and all.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
If they ever have a Grey's Anatomy prequel
They should cast Paris Bennett from American Idol as a young Dr. Miranda Bailey. Paris would need to work on her voice (too high) and mannerisms (not nearly ass-kicking enough), but the look is there.
I can't say anyone else would be cast, though Seacrest could play someone who falls ill from too much spray-on tan.
I can't say anyone else would be cast, though Seacrest could play someone who falls ill from too much spray-on tan.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Participatory Fooling
If you've got a minute, head over to teevee.org and check out the TeeVeePedia, their TV-flavored spoof of Wikipedia. Not only is it funny, but there are several opportunities to add and edit stuff youself.
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