Drama fills MTV’s Video Music Awards

Last night’s annual MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) were filled with outrageous drama as star after star attempted to outdo each other in shocking the audience.

Best new artist, Lady Gaga, appeared to bleed all over her white gown as she performed, Paparazzi, which won best art direction. She later returned dressed in red lace from face to thigh to accept her moonman. Jack Black paid homage to the devil while wearing a muscle suit and carrying a plastic anvil. Pink did aerial acrobatics while suspended several feet above the stage.

But perhaps the most shocking event was when Kanye West jumped on stage and grabbed the microphone from best female video award winner, Taylor Swift, while she was giving her acceptance speech. West proclaimed, “Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.”

I’m shocked by the number of inappropriate public outbursts on live television this week: First, Republican Joe Wilson rudely shouted, “You lie!” during Barack Obama’s health care reform speech on Sept. 9; Tennis star Serena Williams viciously threatened a line judge with, "If I could, I would take this (blanking) ball and shove it down your (blanking) throat," during a semifinal match at the US Open on Saturday, Sept. 12; and West’s embarrassing outburst marks the third this week. Wilson’s outburst cost him the respect of American voters; Williams’ outburst cost her a win and a $10,000 fine; and West’s outburst cost him his front row seat as he was ejected from the theater.

I actually don’t like Beyonce’s Single Ladies video. Maybe it’s my sourness over current politics that makes me prefer the colorful, sweet, storyline in Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me video. Maybe it’s Beyonce’s crudely sexual, odd dance movements that make me too uncomfortable to enjoy the video (Even Britney Spears' Womanizer video is more tasteful). Maybe it’s the way the producers stretched the film to make Beyonce look unnaturally thin.

On the other hand, I did find Beyonce’s own good-natured parody of her Single Ladies video on Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake completely hilarious. Now, that was bey-rilliant and I would give her every award in the book for that fabulously entertaining performance. (found here on youtube – the baby intro is very short.)

In the end, West’s efforts were a foolish waste of words. Beyonce’s Single Ladies video won three awards, including the highest prize, “Video of the Year.” After receiving the coveted award, Beyonce courteously invited Taylor Swift to take the stage and finish her “best female video award” acceptance speech.

A complete list of award winners are found on MTV’s website.

King of the Hill Loses Crown

The final episode of King of the Hill will air on FOX from 8 to 9 PM tonight.

I will watch with sadness and utter disappointment while mourning the loss of one of my favorite television staples. While some TV shows seem to go on forever from season to season into obscurity, only to fade out in hyped fanfair, King of the Hill has been a crowd favorite since the first episode aired on January 12, 1997.

The Hill family, though animated, appears more “real” than many sitcom families portrayed on television today. Situated in Arlen, Texas, Hank, Peggy, and Bobby Hill live together in a typical average ranch style suburban home in a typical average redneck middle class neighborhood. Hank Hill, a mild mannered propane salesman, is frequently taken advantage of when his calm demeanor is mistaken as a sign of weakness. Peggy Hill, his wife, is an ignorant and egotistical self-righteous individual who prefers to drive with her brights on, failing to dim them to oncoming traffic. Bobby Hill is their unfortunate prodigy, who’s dreams of someday becoming a stand-up comic are frequently stifled by his unworldly parents.

The show opens with a distinct original cow punk song by The Refreshments. While Hank Hill, his buddies: bugman Dale Gribble, heart throb mumbler Boomhauer, and slightly neurotic barber Bill Dauterive, stand outside the fence and drink cheap American beers, Hill’s wife Peggy, their son Bobby, and Peggy’s niece Luanne, move an old couch to the curb and change a flat tire without help from any of the men. It isn’t until Peggy brings Hank the customary “bag of trash to take out,” a man’s job, that the buddies disappear and leave Hank to do his dirty work.

Why is FOX ending the show?

It’s all about airtime. FOX needs to sacrifice King of the Hill to make room for two new animated shows they will launch on Sundays, The Cleveland Show, and Sit Down, Shut Up. (according to TV Series Finale)

I must admit, that I rarely watched King of the Hill on Sunday nights in its timeslot at 8:30 PM after the Simpson’s. I’m usually still out and about until 9 PM, enjoying a last hoorah before the end of the weekend. Instead, I prefer to watch the show in reruns, primarily on Adult Swim, which will continue to air the show every night at 10 PM (channel 36 on Brighthouse in Orlando, same as Cartoon Network).

One Day You’re In, and Then You’re Out…And Back In Again!

After sitting on pins and needles over legal negotiations, Project Runway, the hit fashion design reality show, has left the NBC owned Bravo TV network and is now back on the air on the Lifetime TV network, which is co-owned by Hearst Corp. and the Walt Disney Company. Season 6 will premiere tonight at 9 PM on Lifetime (Channel 40 in Orlando on Brighthouse Cable) in a 2-1/2 hour blitz of 3 new introductory shows.

The first, at 9 PM, will be a “reunion” challenge featuring past contestants.

The second, at 10 PM, will be the official season premiere which will introduce this year’s contestants in their sunny new location of Los Angeles. If you miss it, don't fret, for it will re-air at 11:30 PM tonight and ten more times this week (check the schedules).

The third show, at 11 PM, will finally sew up the mystery of who the models are. It’s about time. Though technically also in competition amongst each other for a spread in a fashion magazine, viewers have previously only had a glimpse into their lives.

Project Runway is a fabulous show and I highly recommend it for everyone who has had the slightest fascination with fashion. I thought myself to be quite competent, even a little creative, as I modified Simplicity and McCall’s patterns to create my own cute little dresses in high school. However, these guys blow me out of the water. Without patterns, and armed with a pair of scissors, a tape measure, and gorgeous designer fabric, these super talented designers of all ages (24 to 50), construct fabulous couture fashions within only a day or two.

Contestants are advised by the serious, but ever fabulous, Mr. Tim Gunn, the Paula Abdul of Project Runway – caring and compassionate and everyone’s biggest cheerleader. Gunn will circle the work room, giving fatherly advice to designers, kindly voicing, “I’m concerned,” “Make it work,” and the approving, “Carry on.” Gunn’s day job is chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne – now there’s a boss I’d like to have.

The show is hosted and judged by the incredibly gorgeous and talented Heidi Klum, whose brains are an equal match for her beauty.

Returning are our other two favorite judges: fashion designer Michael Kors; and fashion maven Nina Garcia, the current fashion director for Hearst Corp.’s Marie Claire magazine.

On the fringe, the Bravo TV network is smartly rerunning seasons 1 through 5 in order to capitalize on all the current buzz. I have to warn you, once you start watching, you’ll be hooked!

Mad Men Needs a Stronger Cage

Role reversal: Office manager Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) stands over copywriter Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss).

The season premiere of Mad Men, a satirical, but historically accurate view into the world of the early 1960s old school, male-dominated advertising business, aired last night, Sunday at 10 PM, on AMC (Channel 48 on Brighthouse Cable, Central Florida). The “star” (if you can name just one) of Mad Men, Jon Hamm, who plays ad executive Don Draper, has traveled the TV talk show junket, promoting the show to exhaustion. I thought I’d watch it to see what all the hype is about.

Now in Season 3, the series has won a multitude of accolades, everything from SAG awards (Screen Actors Guild) to Golden Globes, to the more obscure, Golden Nymph award at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival. A full list is on IMDb.com.

I’ve seen Season 1 and 2 reruns off and on while flicking through channels during lazy weekends, where I’ve been mesmerized by the show’s cleverly animated and professionally scored intro. However, I’ve never watched the show in it’s regular timeslot. Now, I am making an effort.

My favorite characters are the working women: I commiserate with Miss Peggy Olson, played by Elisabeth Moss, who as a soft spoken woman, asks, but gets little respect despite her esteemed position as a copywriter. However, I also admire the moxy of office manager, Miss Joan Holloway, played by Christina Hendricks, who understands that although she may be a glorified secretary, she wields a great deal of power in the very male-dominated office.

The Season 3 opener, “Out of Town,” opened just-plain-strange, with Don Draper falling into a dream-like reverie about pioneer childbirth, while heating up a glass of warm milk for his pregnant wife. The opener was reminiscent of Twin Peaks, which after an award winning Season 1, lost it’s footing in the dreamy, meandering and very strange, Season 2 – not a good thing.

All quirkiness aside, my biggest criticism of the show is that it truly is a soap opera, not a series at all. Not only do you have to watch each and every show to keep up, the episodes themselves are not self-contained and the one-time viewer feels as if they are sitting in the waiting room of a busy office while witnessing a small snippet of an on-going drama. A really successful long running show will have two storylines: the plot of that particular episode which is 100 percent self-contained and fully explained; and the on-going plot which ropes viewers in and makes them want to watch the show again next week to see what happens. Daytime soap operas can succeed without doing this, with daily airings during worker lunch breaks and when students don’t have classes. However, a true nighttime soap opera has to have a much more seductive draw than the middle aged exploits of Mad Men.

I am happy to see the super talented Colin Hanks as the believable Father Gill (so believable, I didn’t even recognize him), and secretly hope that his character leaves the priesthood to marry the very nice and well-deserving Peggy Olson. The last series I watched Hanks in was Roswell, which gained a huge following during Season 1, but lost its way in Season 3 when the writers forgot that the show was supposed to be a weekly TV series, not just a quirky, sci-fi soap opera.

Monk Season 8 Premieres Tonight

One of my favorite television shows of all time, Monk, is beginning it’s 8th and final season tonight at 9 PM on USA.

Sob! Can’t they make it an even 10 seasons? Mr. Monk would like that, he really would!

I began watching Monk during season 4 after my husband’s very particular metro-sexual boss would not shut up about the show during a theater premiere. I had to see it – at least once. That was enough to get me hooked and I promptly went out and bought seasons 1, 2, and 3 on DVD so that I could catch up on the story line.

Afflicted with psychologically debilitating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Monk’s keen observation skills give him the edge to solve the most unsolvable crimes. Actor Tony Shalhoub adds his own unique flair in portraying Monk’s bizarre cleaning, classifying, cutting, and counting behavior, which provides much needed humorous comic relief to the show. His current assistant, Natalie Teeger (played by Traylor Howard), hands him wipes on cue, moves things he won’t touch, and does the dirty job of touching dollar bills. Monk is employed as a consultant with the San Francisco Police Department where he reports to the gruff, but loveable, Captain Stottlemeyer (played by Ted Levine), and the talented, but quirky, Lieutenant Randall Disher (played by Jason Gray-Stanford).

Monk himself used to be a police detective, but lost his job after a nervous breakdown when his beloved wife, Trudy, was tragically blown up in a parking garage by a hit man. My guess is that the end of this final season will bring to fruition the three things Mr. Monk longs for: solving Trudy’s murder; getting his badge back; and falling in love again.

The show experienced real-life tragedy when cast member, Stanley Kamel, who played Mr. Monk’s frustrated therapist, Dr. Charles Kroger, died of a heart attack in April 2008. Rather than sweep the event under the rug, the show’s producers chose to conscientiously and seriously portray the feelings of displacement a patient suffers when they lose their therapist. Monk found a new doctor, Dr. Neven Bell (played by actor Hector Elizondo), who helped him deal with his painful loss.

You can enjoy your own Monk marathon today from 6 AM to 5 PM on USA, channel 39 in the Orlando area. Reruns also air frequently on Sleuth, channel 154 (check the schedule).

The season premier, “Mr. Monk’s Favorite Show,” will air at the following times on USA:
Friday 8/7 at 9 PM
Friday 8/7 at midnight
Saturday 8/8 at 11 AM
Tuesday 8/11 at 1 AM
Tuesday 8/11 at 11 PM

Boycott Idol, if Paula doesn’t get a raise!

On Wednesday, several news sources reported the details of why host Paula Abdul has decided to quit the hit FOX television marvel, American Idol. At first, it seemed that her demands for more money seemed unreasonable. However, it’s only fair that she be paid at least a decent percentage of what her male cohort, Simon Cowell, is paid. If Paula doesn't get offered a decent raise, I for one, plan to boycott the show when it airs next January.

Here's the salary breakdown:

Simon Cowell - $36 million per year
(according to the New York Post, Oct. 13, 2008 article)

Ryan Seacrest - $10 million per year,

plus a $15 million upfront bonus for licensing usage over the next 3 years, for $45 million total over 3 years.

(according to the New York Times, July 13, 2009 article)

Paula Abdul – formerly $2 million per year,
(plus $1.5 for show related expenses, such as hair, makeup, clothes, stylist, transportation, and security, which I don't feel can be counted as salary).
Offered $5 million per year (according to the New York Times, August 5, 2009 article).
Asked for $20 million (according to radaronline.com, July 20, 2009 article).

Randy Jackson – estimated at $2 million per year.

(popdirt.com stated on August 22, 2003 that he and cohost Paula Abdul were both vying for a raise to $1.5 million each that year. Since Paula is now making $2 million, I have to assume Randy is making the same).

Kara DioGuardi – estimated at $2 million per year.

There are only two people on Idol who cannot be replaced: Paula and Simon. The two offer a colorful Yin and Yang of critiquing Idol hopefuls -- one spiritually positive, one sarcastically negative.

I can take or leave Ryan and Randy. Though both are talented and likable, I could easily imagine either being replaced.

Kara makes a miserable host – she talks far too much and leaves no time for Simon. Plus, she repeatedly echoes the ugly truths about the music industry that we don't really want to hear: that producers prefer the young, charming, pretty people, who are the "complete package." Who cares about looks when you’re listening to music?

The Emmys: Why It Really Is Such An Honor Just To Be Nominated!

It’s Emmy time again and the nominations were announced today. A list can be found on the official website.

Unlike other awards, the Emmys are special. They aren’t based on ratings, DVD sales, or the number of soap boxes sold during the commercials. Instead, the winners are chosen by their peers, the members of “the Academy.” So, even if your show is going to be cancelled because some network idiot scheduled it in the time slot against American Idol and no one watches it, you can still walk away with an Emmy. Hooray!

Who is “the Academy?” The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is made up of over 15,000 professionals who create the shows you see aired on television. It is composed of not only actors, writers, directors and producers; but also of hair and makeup specialists, composers, camera operators, animators, editors, set designers, sound engineers, costumers, stunt people, even commercial writers and actors, publicists, and agents (how did they get in there?)

There’s even a category for Interactive Media, which this blog is sadly, not... Oh, well!

But, if you think that you can just sit back on your laurels and get an Emmy, you’re wrong. Just like winning the biggest pumpkin award in the county fair, you have to pay an entry fee and submit your entry. Sorry! No one’s going to come out into your field and measure your pumpkin.

Someone (maybe you?) must fill out the entry forms in person or online and pay the fee in order to apply for one of the 83 possible awards. Samples, such as DVDs, tapes, or artwork must be included. Entry fees cost anywhere from $200 to $900 for each entry.

However, the good news is that if you join the Academy and pay the measly $160 membership, the fee can be waived. Plus, then you get to go to the awards ceremony and hover in the nose bleed seats for hours! Whoo Hoo!

In order to join the Academy, you must be credited for work you’ve done in the TV business (even as a volunteer). A full list of requirements is up for interpretation on the Academy’s website at: www.emmys.tv

Every member of the Academy gets the chance to vote for their favorites among the vast pool of entrants, which is why, in this particular case, getting nominated is such an honor.

However, only a panel of volunteer judges made up of Academy members will pick the actual winners.

The Emmys will be presented on Sunday, September 20 and will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, who is currently starring on, How I Met Your Mother on CBS.