Reality Check

In Britain, a 'Killing' for Christmas

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:42:52 -0500

Since The X-Factor started in Britain in 2005, it's been a given that the winner's debut single goes to No. 1.

This year, some folks decided to subvert the system and mounted a campaign to push Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name of" to the top of the charts, pushing X-Factor winner Joe McElderry out of the No. 1 spot.

It worked, with "Killing in the Name of" garnering about 500,000 downloads, about 50,000 more than McElderry's "The Climb."

It's not the most festive choice for the week of Christmas; 1992's "Killing" has been described by author Peter Buckley as "a howling, expletive-driven tirade against the ills of American society."

Read the full story here.

Not so shockingly, Simon Cowell, who is a judge on The X-Factor was not amused.

You can also see a creepy video of X-Factor types "singing" the Rage Against the Machine song. (Actually, a mouth singing the song has been crudely superimposed over their faces.) You can see the video here, but fair warning: The expletive-ridden chorus is unedited, so this is NSFW.

Thanks to Midnight Sun Sam for the heads up.

'Jersey Shore': Pauly D hair tutorial

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:38:39 -0500

Introducing my favorite "Jersey Shore" viral video by far: Pauly D's "Jersey Shore" hair 101, a step-by-step tutorial that I found on Bellasugar. "You gotta blow it out and keep it high volume," he says. Ha! I don't think I could afford to buy all the gel this guy packs, much less the hairspray. And, yes, I am disappointed MTV isn't airing a new episode on Christmas Eve.

'American Idol': Are you ready?

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:46:20 -0500

One of my colleagues got this promotional item in the mail from Fox today to remind us that the start of American Idol is imminent.

But a TV tray? It kind of feels like the message is: "Prepare to spend the next few months watching our show by yourself while you shovel a TV dinner into your mouth." Kinda depressing, no?

Me, I spend the AI season glued to the laptop, ruining my wrists typing like a madwoman and alienating my family. I guess that's a little depressing too.

And this year, we don't even get Paula! Sigh.

(Photo by me)

'Survivor: Samoa' reunion show

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:57:49 -0500

So wow ... Natalie won?

Jeff Probst asks her about how she ended up deciding to go on the show. She says she gave up a lot because she didn't want to have any regrets. He asks if she was changed. She says you really start to understand "want vs. need." She says, among other things, you don't need a razor to survive.

Natalie says her key move was ousting Erik because otherwise Jaison would have gone home, and their numbers would have been only three. Regarding her relationship with Russell, she says they worked together, and she took a more subtle approach even though they were doing the same sort of things. Asked whether he agrees, Russell says he doesn't even agree with her "key move," that it was clearly aligning with him. The audience cheers. "OK, maybe I had two key moves, then," she says. Jeff asks Russell if Natalie had a better social game. Russell says his social game was great. Jeff says he looks visibly upset. "I think I played the best strategic game in history, and millions of people probably agree." Jeff asks if then he brought the wrong people to the end, then, what if it had been Jaison and Shambo with Russell. They jury is split, but Russell would have taken it.

'Survivor: Samoa' finale: And the winner is ...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:06:27 -0500

Is everyone else as excited as I am to see how this Survivor: Samoa finale plays out? I cannot wait!

Russell wakes up early and finds the treemail describing their challenge, which requires balance, speed and patience. Russell's mad that his alliance is complaining and tired instead of focused at the task at hand, which is beating Brett.

He then tells Natalie that if Brett wins again, they are probably going to take her out. She's not amused by that idea. He's worried, too, that his alliance is starting to think Brett is some kind of superstar and that they're going to psych themselves out. "He's no Mike Tyson; he's Brett!"

The challenge in question requires them to run an obstacle course, get puzzle pieces, then climb up a wall to a place where they have to unscramble the puzzle. The first part is pretty much a nonissue, as all five pour out their puzzle pieces at about the same time. It's close, but Brett wins again. Wow. Mick, by the way, was about one piece away.

Russell interviews that he wants Natalie with him in the final two because her game has been 100 percent coattails, so there is no way she would win. He's probably right. Then he interviews that Jaison is the weakest link because he checked out out of the game. He lays it all out: Jaison can't beat Brett in the challenges, and he couldn't beat Russell in jury votes. Mick has a chance of beating Brett in challenges, but he also has a chance of beating Russell in front of the jury.

Everyone else interviews about how they have a deal with Russell to go to the finals. Nice. Now, will anyone get it together and vote Russell?

At tribal council, Jaison votes Mick and Mick votes Jaison, so it seems Russell managed to protect Natalie. When the votes come in, Jaison is out of the game. I think he's ready for a shower and a real meal over all other things.

'Top Chef: Las Vegas': Fan favorite is...

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:03:02 -0500

Kevin "The Beard/Yukon Cornelius" Gillespie, of course! He didn't win Top Chef, but the title of Fan Favorite (and the $10,000 check that comes with it) is a nice consolation prize. And Bryan got a Corvette from his mom, so looks like all of the top three won in their own little ways.

Thanks to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Food and More blog for letting us know. And boo on Bravo for not having any mention of this on their Web site when I checked a few minutes ago.

This victory is redemption for all of us Team Yukon loyalists out there. What do you think of the winner? Did Kevin (or perhaps just his beard) deserve this honor?

'Jersey Shore': Punches, karma and lots of hair gel

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:36:30 -0500

Oh, Jersey Shore. My love-hate-selfloathing relationship with you continues.

Remember how last week, Ronnie and Sammi were, like, so mad at each other because each deined to speak with a person of the opposite sex? They kind of get over it. Well, enough that they have sex, anyway. The line that started the reconciliation? "I was ready to put you in the equation," Ronnie says. The Equation? Do they have a new roommate?

Oh, and JWwow's boyfriend heard that she danced with Pauly all night and so thus she cheated and he's done with her. But ... I thought they were broken up already? On the one hand, she was dancing with all her roommates, but on the other, they had to pixelate her lady-parts area during some of the dancing, so maybe he wasn't so wrong to be mad. On the non-existent third hand ... he's met her, right?

To me, the most amusing set of occurrences in the episode was this one: Pauly D and The Situation are determined to take somebody home. The Sitch homes in on one woman, who won't come over without her friend. Pauly decides to take one for the team and entertain the annoying friend so The Situation can hopefully score. But on the way out of the club, they see two ladies in a fancy car and run over to them and invite them over instead. The original two are pissed off and walk away. PD and TS take the other two girls home, and they're nice, but apparently not giving it up. Then the pair of girls they spurned find the house and walk straight in the front door, calling out for them. (OK, how drunk were they?) The guys see them, decide their chances are better with them, pretend these two girls are their roommates demanding that the car-girls leave. The car-girls do leave, and Pauly D and The Situation start working their magic on their original targets. Unfortunately for Pauly, it turns out his girl is kind of a pill. (Her most amusing line is that she wants to do their dishes because they're annoying her, but she isn't going to go there.) The Situation ends up in bed with his girl, but Pauly, frustrated in any number of ways, has ditched his, and she walks into The Situation's bedroom and breaks up the party. Ha! Sorry, boys, that's some awesome instant karma.

Not so amusing was the part of the episode that everyone's been talking about for weeks. The roommates go out to a club, and they are having a good time, but these guys keep getting in their space (clearly trying to get on camera and/or get free drinks). At one point, one of them keeps taking the shots the roommates have ordered, and Mike and one of the guys from their work are just trying to get the guy to go away, but an intoxicated Snooki is yelling at him. He ignores her, she twiddles her fingers in his face, and he sucker-punches her right in the face, closed fist and all. MTV doesn't show the punch, but it was in promos, and it's all over the Internet. Snooki falls on the floor crying, the guy gets arrested, and MTV runs a PSA on violence against women.

You know, I think this cast is pretty heinous in general, but I wouldn't wish that kind of thing on anybody. Apparently, some folks out there are finding this punch to be deserved somehow and worth lots of jokes. But I'm not one of them. No one deserves that.

Can I just say one thing, though? You realize that because we saw the guy's face that he signed a waiver to be on the show. He signed a waiver. I can't get my head around that, either. What a moron.

Signed,

The Appointment

'Survivor: Samoa' recap: The endgame nears

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:12:42 -0500

Things are heading toward a close on Survivor: Samoa, and I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see how it's going to play out.

We're down to the Foa Foa four, plus Shambo, and then Brett, who calls himself the "last true Galu."

Russell has a lovely interlude of making fun of Shambo's hair. I mean, we've all done it, right? But he takes it to a yucky level, talking about how she's been smuggling food in her hair, how she should shave her head, and how if he didn't have to keep her, he wouldn't because he's tired of looking at that mess. Ah, what a prince!

The reward challenge has two teams pulling out ropes from a contraption holding coconuts. The first team who drops 100 coconuts loses. The reward is the local village challenge. Natalie and Russell are captains and choose their teams. Natalie picks Brett first, which raises some eyebrows. It's Natalie, Brett and Mick vs. Russell, Shambo and Jaison.

'Top Chef: Las Vegas': Jesse and Bryan!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:36:54 -0500

In case you missed it, Baltimore Sun food critic Elizabeth Large catches up with eliminated Top Chef cheftestant Jesse Sandlin, formerly of Abacrombie. She didn't make it the reunion show last night.

EL talks with Jesse about her hair color, her absence from the reunion and her temporary gig at Sotta Sopra.

Finally, I know you're probably sick of my constant swooning over Bryan Voltaggio, but here's one more thing to drool over: Bryan helps other Maryland celebrities read a famous Christmas poem.

More from Russell, winner of 'So You Think You Can Dance'

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:20:05 -0500

Last night's So You Think You Can Dance finale was fraught with drama, and not only in the usual ways.

About an hour into the finale, when the Top 6 were called to the stage to find out the first of the evening's results, Russell Ferguson came hobbling out onto the stage supported by Ryan, and crying in apparent pain.

He said he had busted his knee, and he didn't end up performing for the rest of the episode.

We didn't end up getting more information than that, so it was really confusing when Russell was able to walk around again at the end of the show.

Russell spoke with a number of TV writers by phone a bit ago, and here's some more insight:

"At the end I was pretty much running off of adrenaline," he said. He hurt himself during the hip-hop routine with Kevin and Legacy. "The way I injured it, when I jumped off the stage to krump, then Kevin and Legacy pulled me back on the stage ... I came down wrong. ... Something swelled up in my ankle."

He apparently became very upset, and his father was brought back to talk with him while he was assessed. "It was very stressful after the injury because I wasn't able to do the final performance. My dad came backstage and was talking to me and calming me down and said everything was going to be OK, so I went out with my head held high." He answered later to a follow-up question that he had been given a shot of medication backstage, so it wasn't only adrenaline allowing him to celebrate.

Russell also clarified some his dance background. Though the show usually just said he didn't have training and made it sound like he went from a street dancer to the SYTYCD stage, he did have some schooling.

"I've been doing hip-hop all my life, and I figured if I was ever going to take on a big dance project, I would have to learn other things to be well-rounded. I did four years at Boston Arts. I did a year at [an arts university]." But, unlike many of the other dancers on the show, he did not do a number of years of training in one style.

Asked if he'd been inspired to pursue more dance training in any of the fields he learned on the show, Russell said, "If anything comes my way that requires me to do that, I will do it. But I'm glad I got my foot in the door to spread krump the way it was meant to be done. ... I would love to come back and choreograph and krump routine or a hip-hop routine," he added.

Next up, he's preparing for the tour and hoping to look into some movie parts.

'The Sing Off': How does Baltimore's Maxx Factor fare?

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:59:24 -0500

Tonight's Sing Off will feature a "superstar medley" and a judges' choice song. Then the judges will send two groups home, and viewers will vote on the finalists to pick the winner, to be named Monday.

Nota's up first with a medley of Jackson 5 songs. They are so much fun; love them. Shawn Stockman says their transitions were great, had fabulous energy, etc. Shawn takes on the role of reminding us that a capella means no instruments (well, he says "no music," but we know what you mean, really, stop telling us, show). Nicole Scherzinger says Nota es caliente and that they are making their families proud. Ben Folds says they were gutsy to bring the chorus down in "All Be There," and it totally worked. His one note is for David to push his falsetto a little harder because "you've got more under the hood."

The Beelzebubs are doing the songs of The Who, and wow. These are not easy songs, and they kill it. Not to mention, their choreography is totally on point. It's a little weird that they're dressed like Harry Potter singing these songs, but whatever. Nicole says she loved everything tonight. "It was even more powerful in your stillness." OK, Paula. She was moved. Shawn says they've shown another side of the group, a deeper side to their voices. Ben says he loved how driven it was by the lead vocals, and he credits Matt for such range. In short: They loved it.

Maxx Factor is next with a Beach Boys medley. The Baltimore quartet is really together, and the songs work well with their voices. Ben loves their outfits and says they didn't imitate the original songs, they just made it look great. Nicole gives it up to the last all-female group in the competition. She thinks they brought the good vibrations and that they have such strong, in sync harmonies. Shawn commends them for taking on the Beach Boys. He says it took them a while to get started, but eventually they got it and he loved it. He adds that Valerie's "bass is sick."

The Socals rock out with Journey songs. The last song is "Don't Stop Believin'" and it's totally the arrangement from Glee, at least at the beginning. Shawn says when certain harmonies just click, it gives you a feeling, and he got a feeling he's never had from them. Ben thought it was great and especially loved the "guitar" solo and the duet during "Open Arms." Nicole says this is a competition and that they are improving every single night.

Voices of Lee have decided to sing a Beatles medley. Their figurehead says that, "The Beatles singlehandedly changed the way people listen to music, and this show is singlehandedly changing the way people listen to music." False. Still, lovely (except for the opaque yellow tights). Nicole loved it and thinks they sounded like a really powerful choir. Shawn says he judges the whole performance on the starting harmonies, and he was relieved in the first couple of seconds. Ben thought it was great that they treated the songs as "compositions instead of pop songs." He says it was obvious that the songs meant a lot to them, and that came across.

'So You Think You Can Dance': And the winner is ...

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:07:12 -0500

So who's going to win this season of So You Think You Can Dance?

Tonight's finale opens with a group dance featuring the Top 18 and spotlighting the Top 6. It still think it's so odd that we are having a finale with a Top 6. It's like they didn't quite calculate things right when they started the season.

We'll see reprises of the best dances of the season, lots of guest musical performances, and eventually, the answer of who is the winner.

Lil C's favorite dance of the season is the hip-hop routine with Legacy, Russell and Kevin from the intro to the Top 20 episode. I LOVE this. I have watched it about 900 times, and I have had this song in my head since that episode and listen to it almost daily. So yes, I am with Lil C on this one.

Adam Shankman's favorite is Sonya Tayeh's routine with Ellenore and Jakob. Another favorite of mine, as well.

Nigel Lythgoe's fave is Phillip, Peter and Bianca's tap-dance routine. Aww, yay, I miss them. Yet another good one -- that intro to the Top 20 episode was amazingly good, wasn't it?

Mary Murphy wants to see the ballroom couple dance their actual style, so it's Ashleigh and Ryan, with a routine they choreographed themselves. It's fun, but I really liked seeing them do new things. Still, they're entertaining, no doubt.

Next is a performance by Leona Lewis, then a dance routine by the Groovaloos.

Nigel's request for a reprisal is Kathryn and Jakob's contemporary routine from last night. Gorgeous!

Tyce DiOrio requests Nathan and Mollee's Bollywood routine. This was one of their strongest moments as a couple.

Then, Cat has no audio, and it's time to have the finalists join her on stage. They play music and it kind of sounds like they are going to commercial, but someone brings Cat a microphone. Three of the finalists make it on stage, but then everyone else is not there, and something is going on. Ryan and Ellenore come out, helping Russell to the stage. Russell is crying and says he just "busted my leg up." ACK! What is going on?

'Top Chef: Las Vegas': Reunited

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:05:43 -0500

This is our swan song, folks. Justine and Liz back for one final Top Chef: Las Vegas viewing commitment. We think reunion shows are kind of hokey (remember Fabio's hosting gig earlier this season?) so we'll keep the recap to a sampling of our random observations from Liz's living room couch.

Let's just be clear from the beginning: Justine hates Bravo's Andy Cohen, the host. Every time he says more than a sentence, she yells "Shut up!" at the screen, seriously impeding Liz's ability to hear. We're also mad at Andy Cohen because they're not going to announce this season's Fan Favorite on this reunion show. Instead, they'll be saying who won the coveted honor and cash prize on some random late-night Bravo show the guy hosts. Don't worry, loyal readers; we'll tell you who wins later this week so you don't have to put up with that host guy.

Enough with hating on hosts. On to the reunioning!

'So You Think You Can Dance' Finale: Part I

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:17:52 -0500

John-John William IV saves the day and comes through with a recap of last night's SYTYCD:

Am I the only person who was not that impressed with the first part of the “So You Think You Can Dance” season finale?

I thought it was lacking and bloated all at once. It definitely felt rushed trying to cram an unprecedented six contestants into the finale. It kind of went by like a blur of shirtless men, sparkly dresses and plenty of tears from resident drama queen judge Mary Murphy. There were no solos and no group dances. And the routines that were showcased were kind of blah. It was like many of the choreographers were out of fresh, new routines. Sure, the judges – especially Mary – were hamming it up with the over-the-top emotions. (I swear I’ve never seen her start to cry as much as she did last night!) But I wasn’t drinking the Kool-Aid. Last night simply did not cut the mustard for me.

The evening starts off with a dramatic montage of the six finalists sharing their hopes while walking onto the stage. (Yawn.) Host Cat Deeley, dressed in a fantastic Athena-looking red dress, introduces the judges and quickly kicks things off.

Playing catch up

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:59:34 -0500

OK, I apparently have a massive case of holiday brain or Mommy brain or just-back-from-vacation brain or sick-for-over-a-week brain or some combination thereof.

Went to my husband's work holiday party last night, got home ... and went to sleep without giving one second's thought to the fact that it was Tuesday, and thus the performance finale of So You Think You Can Dance and the second night of The Sing Off, featuring a Baltimore foursome.

I literally completely lost track of what day it was. Anyway, I'm trying to find info on what happened, but I wanted to apologize. I've definitely never missed an episode of SYTYCD without having someone backing me up. Sigh.