Guess Sami is Smart to Host The Biggest Loser

Yes, I have watched soap operas since I was 7-years-old. I was sad when Another World was cancelled, but I understood. Now, it seems I am going to have to deal with the loss of Days of Our Lives (which I even stuck with during the horrible storyline of the demon-possessed Marlena - shutter). Seems they bought themselves another 18 months of production by cutting the actors who have played John and Marlena for, well, forever. But the storylines continue to bore and viewers continue to leave, and I guess my habit of watching on Tivo (I can get through an hour-long show in about 10 minutes!) and skipping commercials is not helping. Other than investing in better writers and directors - which will cost more money, I don't have an answer.

For now, it sounds like General Hospital is safe, but I wonder for how long...

(If you need an explanation for why I watch, other than habit, this is a pretty good explanation.)

I'm going to miss The Office...

...while the writers are on strike! Here they are on the picket line:



I guess Mindy (aka Kelly on The Office) is also going to need to watch what she buys and blogs about on her great site: Things I Bought that I Love

Writers

My favorite tidbits about the Writers' strike:

1) Jon Stewart is paying his writers from his own pocket for the next two weeks (love him!!) - UPDATE: this may just be a rumor...check the link for updates from Portfolio.

2) A group from the Laborers Union came to show the writers how to picket - there were cheers of "No moolah, no ha-ha!"

3) I might actually have time to catch up on TV shows! The first season of Friday Night Lights and the series Wonderfalls are each in my Netflix que...as well as the TV show Grosse Pointe, starring one of my friends :) If it goes on longer, maybe I can even catch up on movies! (John - thanks for catching my typo!)

Does American Really Need More Ann Curry?

I don't know if anyone else has had the pleasure of watching the new 4th hour of the Today Show on NBC yet, but everytime I see it, all I can think of is The View. Do we really need another hour of this kind of programming? And with Ann Curry as a co-host? Yikes. I'm sure Ann Curry is a very nice person, but she is such an awful interviewer and ad-libber. She doesn't need more screen time.

Just my morning TV rant for Today.

Fall TV

I can't watch news all the time (I already have depression issues!), so I am getting excited about the new fall TV shows.

Now, I get excited every year and am often disappointed...but I'm hoping, like always, that this year will be different. Afterall, we just had a great summer of new TV - and I wasn't expecting that! I'll soon miss The Closer, Damages, Psych, Monk and Top Chef.

But, I'm looking forward to Pushing Daisies (ABC), Chuck (NBC) and the return of some of my favorites like The Office, 30 Rock and Grey's Anatomy (with some improvements, I hope)!

Calling all Teen Movie Fans...

When I started this blog, a good friend said she couldn't wait for me to post about my new favorite teen movie. It's not really a secret that I love a good angst-ridden, silly teen movie. The problem is, I haven't seen ANY good ones come out lately. (I have high hopes for Superbad though).


In the meantime, I've discovered something to fill that void: Greek. (And, yes, it is on ABC Family.) From the first episode, I was actually interested in the characters, and it doesn't hurt that this cutey, Scott Foster, plays the good-at-heart bad boy. Fun summer viewing! I Tivo it, so I don't actually know when it's on, but I do know that the episodes are online here.

TV News

I've been traveling for a few days, but have been catching up on fall TV news. My reactions to the two latest announcements:

Yeah!

'Veronica Mars' Star Basks in CBS' 'Moonlight',
Vampire drama woos Jason Dohring
In one of the oddest pieces of recasting you're ever likely to see, Jason Dohring is joining CBS' "Moonlight."

That's the best ABC can do??

ABC renews Belushi's 'According to Jim'
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- After mulling the fate of "According to Jim," ABC decided to bring the James Belushi sitcom back next year. The network said Wednesday it has ordered 18 episodes to air in midseason.

Time to Vote!

Time to vote on matters of extreme importance...quality TV :)

I happen to love this weekly TV Gal column on Zap2it.com. Every year, she holds the Amy Awards...her readers nominate categories and then nominate the potential winners in the categories. So, all of that has been done and now it is time to vote in such categories as: Excuse Me, I'd Like My Emotional Investment Back (Most Beloved Canceled Show); Sorry Addison, but THIS Character Deserves a Spin-Off (Character Most Deserving of a Spin-Off) and I was Born at Night but Not Last Night Award (Worst Plot or Storyline).

If you love TV, go vote!

Mars Saved?

Looks like Veronica Mars fans may get at least one more season of our favorite detective. From Zap2It.com, quoting the Hollywood Reporter, :

If the new season gets off the ground, the show will have fast forwarded to a few years in the future, when Veronica (Kristen Bell) is studying at the FBI Academy.

Will there still be a role for Logan??

UPDATE: Bad news, Veronica fans...the show's been cancelled. Where will Jason Dohring show up next???

The Return of Bill Moyers!

I already have my Tivo set for Weds and the following Fridays...

Bill Moyers returns to PBS with a look at how the mainstream media "got it so wrong" when it came to reporting on the lead up to the Iraq war. I'm curious to see what he comes up with, and how the reporters and producers he interviews respond. I've always wondered why I was so sure Saddam didn't have any more bad weapons, yet the media kept repeating the Bush Administration's theories about those weapons as fact. If I could gather enough info to know that the weapons inspectors had done their jobs and Saddam had been disarmed in the 1990s, why couldn't the MSM? And why couldn't Congress??

So many lives (American and Iraqi) - and so much money - gone. I'd like the decision makers to explain their actions, but I'll be happy to start with the media's explanations!

Check your local listings!