And the OSCAR goes to… the fans, for having to endure what can only be summed up as the most boring Oscar telecast ever. Rather than take the honest approach and admit to the world that there simply wasn’t enough time post-WGA strike to put together a proper (translation: entertaining and funny) show, ABC perpetrated a lie. Aside from Jon Stewart’s noble, classy and painfully minimalist attempt to keep the audience awake, the show was essentially a glorified Golden Globes press conference. In fact, the only thing less interesting than last night’s Oscars winning speeches was being force fed clips of previous Academy Award winners we either (a) didn’t care about or (b) didn’t remember. Here’s hoping that sometime in the not-to-distant future ABC will harness LOST’s time-travelling technology and give us five hours of our life back.
Archives for February 2008
Live Blogging the 2008 OSCARS
Since there is virtually nothing new on television tonight in leu of the OSCARS, why not join the TV Addict over at theREELaddict.com for some Live OSCAR Blogging fun.
Jenny’s TV Guide: Sunday February 24
Welcome to a new week for This Week on TV. Doesn’t seem possible, does it? But this being the last week of February puts us one week closer to having our favorite shows back with new episodes. [Yay!] So let’s see what’s on this week, shall we?
Sunday marks the The 80th Annual Academy Awards on ABC at 9/8c. If you feel like adding on more time to the already 3 hour show, you can watch the 1-hour Barbara Walters Oscar Special starting at 7/6c (featuring interviews with Ellen Page, Harrison Ford, Vanessa Williams and Miley Cyrus!) followed by the 30-minute Oscar’s Red Carpet 2008 at 8/7c. Make it an Oscars night!
Also on tonight:
- *Series Finale* – CW Now – CW @ 7/6c
- *Special* – Barbara Walters Oscar Special – ABC @ 7/6c (1-Hour Special)
- *Special* – Oscar’s Red Carpet 2008 – ABC @ 8/7c (30-Minute Special)
- *Special* – The 80th Annual Academy Awards – ABC @ 9/8c (3-Hour Special)
- *New* – Big Brother – CBS @ 8/7c
- *New* – Breaking Bad – AMC @ 10/9c
- *New* – My Fair Brady… Maybe Baby? – VH1 @ 10:30/9:30c
- *New* – Rock of Love with Bret Michaels – VH1 @ 9/8c
- *New* – Russell Simmons Presents: Def Comedy Jam – HBO @ 10/9c
- *New* – Scott Baio is 46… and Pregnant – VH1 @ 10/9c
- *New* – The Girls Next Door – E! @ 10/9c
- *New* – The L Word – Showtime @ 9/8c
- *New* – The Wire – HBO @ 9/8c
Good News, Bad News for TV Fans
GOOD NEWS: Thursday’s winter finale of SUPERNATURAL scored its best demos of the season and attracted a season high of 3.22 million viewers. BAD NEWS: How many of those 3.22 million viewers will remember to tune in when SUPERNATURAL finally returns on April 24? Momentum killer much?!
GOOD NEWS: Joshua Jackson is currently being stalked by the TV Addict shooting the top secret J.J. Abrams pilot FRINGE in the TV Addict’s hometown of Toronto, Canada. BAD NEWS: Which means, according to Michael Ausiello, that he had to bow out of his highly anticipated guest starring role on GREY’S ANATOMY. Quick, give me three CC’s of James Van Der Beek Stat!
GOOD NEWS: The writer’s strike is over! BAD NEWS: Due to what one can only assume is some highly confusing issue over digital rights, the podcast version of REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER is no longer available for download (at least from Canada) on iTunes. What gives?!?!
Meet the New Addams Family
A charming read — if you are able to see the beauty in beasts — Colin Thompson’s new book about a black-magical family, The Floods: Good Neighbors, is bound to draw comparisons to The Addams Family. But Nerlin and Mordonna Flood have something going for them that Gomez and Morticia Addams never did: page after page of dazzlingly imaginative illustrations by Crab Scrambly, the modern-day Edward Gorey. What possessed him to draw characters (in every sense of the word) such as Merlinmary, a sexually ambiguous hairball, and Valla, a twentysomething skeleton? And whatever possessed him, has he since had it exorcised? To find out, TheTVAddict.com braced itself, walked right up to him… well, um, wrote from a distance to the resident of deceptively sunny Southern California, and asked.
How much guidance did the author give you in creating these characters? Were you able to suggest quirks yourself?
Crab Scrambly: Although the author had already established an idea of what the characters should look like, I was still allowed to interperet what I imagined in my head. So really… it’s his ideas filtered through my eyes.
Is it strange for you to know that your vision of these characters will now be how people picture them forevermore?
No… I don’t really find it too strange. Well… unless of course the characters came to life and cursed me for designing them that way. Now that could be strange.
We Interrupt TV Talk to Promote CHARLIE BARTLETT
While we generally try and reserve movie news for theREELaddict, this TV Addict couldn’t help resist mentioning today’s theatrical release of CHARLIE BARTLETT.
Why? Because my brother Jonathan Malen does a fantastic job [in my not-at-all biased opinion] as Tyler Hilton’s [ONE TREE HILL] sidekick. [Click here to check out Jonathan jam with Tyler Hilton in Toronto]
So tonight, with quite literally nothing on television, why not turn off your small screen and spend some time in front of a far bigger screen.
Jenny’s TV Guide: Friday February 22
Friday marks the series premiere of Amne$ia on NBC at 9/8c. It is a high-energy, original comedy game show where contestants are challenged to answer a variety of questions from their own life for money. Memories will be tested and blasts from the past will be revealed as contestants wrack their brains to answer some of the most challenging questions – often times with hilarious results. Now, I might skip it, except the host? Dennis Miller. He’s awesome. lol So definitely gotta check it out!
Tonight is also the season finale of Monk on USA at 9/8c. Awww. 🙁 I love Monk! 😀
Also on tonight:
- *Season Finale* – 1 vs 100 – NBC @ 8/7c
- *Season Finale* – Monk – USA @ 9/8c
- *Series Premiere* – Amne$ia – NBC @ 9/8c
- *Special* – The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular – CBS @ 8/7c
- *New* – About a Girl – The N @ 8:30/7:30c
- *New* – Degrassi – The N @ 8/7c
- *New* – Gone Country – CMT @ 8/7c
- *New* – In Treatment – HBO @ 9:30/8:30c
- *New* – My Big Redneck Wedding – CMT @ 9/8c
- *New* – Real Time with Bill Maher – HBO @ 11/10c
- *New* – Stargate: Atlantis – SciFi @ 10/9c
- *New* – The Soup – E! @ 10:30/9:30c
Shame on You Parents Television Council
In yesterday’s ADWEEK, the Parents Television Council called on advertisers to boycott CBS’ airing of DEXTER on Sundays at 10PM.
“Despite countless public calls for restraint and corporate responsibility, CBS broke its own promise to the public that it would employ careful editing and accurate ratings guidelines for Dexter,” said PTC president Tim Winter. “Depictions of violence were barely altered from the Showtime network original format.”
Not surprisingly, the TV Addict yet again finds himself absolutely flabbergasted by the complete lack of common sense shown by this so called council of responsible TV watching parents.
Farewell Detective Green
By: Aynonomous LAW & ORDER Addict (and President of the organization to bring back TRIAL BY JURY)
I don’t know why the TV Addict has such a hate on for one of the longest running shows in Television history, but I do think it is important we take a moment and reflect upon the impending “retirement” of Detective Green. LAW & ORDER is in its 18th season. Many reading this were barely teenagers when it premiered. Jesse L. Martin joined Law & Order in 1999 as Detective Ed Green, becoming the new partner of the legendary Jerry Orbach’s Lenny Briscoe. He is one four actors to appear on all four LAW & ORDERS and will have filmed, on just about every street corner in NYC, over 192 episodes. Not bad for a guy who found fame as the original Collins in the Tony award winning musical RENT.
I am a LAW & ORDER Addict and loved the dynamic duo of Briscoe and Green. Orbach and Martin are two Broadway performers who had the most amazing chemistry on screen. It was devastating when Orbach passed away leaving a huge void in the entertainment world and ending one of television’s finest partnerships. Detective Green has had a number of partners since Orbach’s passing and none of them have been as good as the original one. It became very apparent that Jesse L. Martin was ready to exit. The spark in detective Green had extinguished and his character was becoming more and more impatient and discontent.
LOST: We Finally Got An Answer!
As is the case with most morning afters, this TV Addict woke up with the traditional LOST hangover (or LOSTover). Why are Kate and Jack covering up the truth about the Oceanic Crash? What’s the significance of Miles asking for not 3 million dollars, but 3.2? Who are the freighter folk working for? Not to mention the even-persistant questions about Ben! The island! The helicopter! Time travel! Well you get the idea.
Yet amidst the never-ending barrage of questions was a glimmer of hope and quite possibly our first genuine answer of the season. Presumably, we now know who Kate was in such a hurry to get back to during last May’s shocking finale scene [see above video]. When Kate told Jack, “I have to go, he’s going to be wondering where I am,” the ‘he’ may infact be Aaron. So Kate/Jack shippers rejoice. Odds are looking good that Kate and Sawyer did not live happily ever after.
That said, the shocking Aaron reveal and Kate’s very particular phrasing raises an even more interesting question. Surely the baby we saw in last night’s episode isn’t exactly old enough to ‘wonder’ where Kate is. Not to mention Jack’s insanely thick Moses-like beard.
Exactly how long have the Oceanic Six been off the island and where does last May’s finale fit into the ever-more-curious LOST timeline?