project runway all-star challenge!

The long awaited return of Project Runway is less than a month away. Has anyone seen the new set of "meet the designers" promos from Lifetime? The aesthetic is the same, but the look and feel of the advertising is very different. More biographical and contemplative, less dramatic. This worries me slightly, but the more comprehensive show site gives me hope.

The best news? Lifetime just announced a 2-hour Project Runway All-Star Challenge to air as a lead-in to the new season premiere on August 20th. I love this idea to get fans back into the Runway.

Here's the lineup:

Daniel Vosovic (Season 2) - Great talent, excited to see his stuff again.
Santino Rice (Season 2) - Gotta have someone to bring the drama.
Jeffrey Sebelia (Season 3) - Over him, but I wouldn't mine seeing him throw down with Santino.
Uli Herzner (Season 3) - Love her. Can she please design a line of sundresses for Target?
Mychael Knight (Season 3) - Gives him an opportunity to make up for his tragic Fashion Week show (and he definitely changed the spelling of his name).
Chris March (Season 4) - Always fun to watch him and see what he creates.
Sweet P (Season 4) - All I can remember is her whining.
Korto Momolu (Season 5) - Super talented, but hopefully nicer without crazypants Kenley.

One other note, they created a whole new show for the models, creatively called Models of the Runway. This will air right after Project Runway each week. I've never been one to get into the model shows, but since it will immediately follow the show, I will probably check it out.

tgif top 10: emmy disses

I'm long overdue for a Friday top 10 list, so in keeping with the Emmy theme, here are my top 10 Emmy nomination disses. Actually, there are in no particular order. I should just call it the ten ten list.

Top 10 2009 Emmy Nomination Disses

1. Big Bang Theory for Best Comedy - As happy as I was to see different faces like How I Met Your Mother (finally!) and Flight of the Conchords, Big Bang really deserves to be on that list.


2. January Jones (Mad Men) for Best Lead Actress in a Drama - Come on, the woman is flawless.


3. Vincent Kartheiser for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (Mad Men ) - I mentioned this in a previous post, but Pete Campbell is one of the most interesting characters on television, and Kartheiser deserves some kudos.


4. Emily Deschanel for Best Lead Actress in a Drama (Bones) - Unfortunately, Bones seems stuck in the awardless zone with CSI and the other acronym crime shows. Emily has created an amazing complex, funny, and endearing character with oddball Dr. Brennan. If Mariska can be nominated every year since the beginning of time, then Emily deserves an invite to the party at least once.


5. Amy Ryan for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy (The Office) - Holly Flax needs a prize!


6. Michael Urie for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (Ugly Betty) - Ugly Betty wasn't on its strongest legs this season, but the fact that Michael Urie has yet to get a nomination is tragic. He consistently plays hilarious, evil, sensitive, and silly with brilliance.


7. Zachary Levi for Best Actor in a Comedy (Chuck) - This is tough because Chuck is not a comedy in the traditional sense - the same problem Ugly Betty actors have. But Zachary Levi completes a triathlon of acting every week and makes it look effortless. Plus, he's so fricken cute.


8. Big Love Cast for Everything - Big Love got a show nomination this year, which is great, but these actors need some individual nods as well.


9. Jason Segel for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (How I Met Your Mother) - I actually don't want to see Marshall nominated until Barney wins. Then, he should at least get a nod for all of the ridiculous things they have him do.


10. Justin Chambers for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (Grey's Anatomy) - T.R. Knight is the only Grey's boy with an Emmy nomination, and I think Dr. Karev is often overlooked during awards season. His performance is consistently great, especially with the Izzy story line this year.

2009 emmy nominations

I've had an unforgivable lack of posts this summer. But that is all about to change as the new fall season quickly approaches! The anticipation was given a lovely jolt this morning with the announcement of the 2009 Emmy nominations (by the fabulous duo Chandra Wilson and Jim Parsons no less).

The Emmys will be broadcast on September 20th with Neil Patrick Harris hosting (yay!). This year, they are allowing more than 5 nominees in each category. Most have 6, but some have as many as 7. Seems like a little much, but if it means given more much-needed recognition to quality shows (and it does!), then I'm all for it.

Without further gabber, here are the nominees in the major categories and some of my initial thoughts:

Outstanding Comedy Series
Yay for Family Guy, Flight of the Conchords, and How I Met Your Mother getting in there with the new rule. All very much deserved. The 30 Rock reign will most likely continue, but it would be a great surprise to see any of the others take it, especially the newbies.

Entourage, HBO
Family Guy, FOX
Flight Of The Conchords, HBO
How I Met Your Mother, CBS
The Office, NBC
30 Rock, NBC (won last year)
Weeds, Showtime

Outstanding Drama Series
Another really strong, competitive drama list this year. Mad Men is still going strong, but Dexter had an excellent season. It's doubtful, but I wouldn't mind seeing Lost pull one off after a great season.

Big Love, HBO
Breaking Bad, AMC
Damages, FX Networks
Dexter, Showtime
House, FOX
Lost, ABC
Mad Men, AMC (won last year)

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Sheldon Cooper! Best news in the bunch. I love seeing Jim Parsons - and Jemaine actually - on here. Not to take away from the talent, but this list really needed some fresh blood. Vote for Jim!

Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory
Jemaine Clement as Jemaine, Flight Of The Conchords
Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, Monk
Steve Carell as Michael Scott, The Office
Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock (won last year)
Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, Two And A Half Men

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Michael C. Hall or Jon Hamm (both nominated last year) would be great, but please god someone give an Emmy to Hugh Laurie already. It's getting embarrassing.

Bryan Cranston as Walter White, Breaking Bad (won last year)
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, Dexter
Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, House
Gabriel Byrne as Paul, In Treatment
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Mad Men
Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, The Mentalist

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Tina Fey still rules the universe, but I've heard great things about Toni Collette. I'd also love to hear Sarah Silverman's acceptance speech.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine, The New Adventures Of Old Christine
Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly, Samantha Who?
Sarah Silverman as Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, 30 Rock (won last year)
Toni Collette as Tara Gregson, United States Of Tara
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin, Weeds

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
As happy as I am for Elizabeth Moss, I'm shocked not to see January Jones on this list. Guess I have to be happy one of the Mad Men ladies made it. I'm betting Gwen goes home with another.

Sally Field as Nora Walker, Brothers & Sisters
Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, The Closer
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes, Damages (won last year)
Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, Mad Men
Holly Hunter as Grace Hanadarko, Saving Grace

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Where's Jeremy Piven?? I actually haven't seen the last season of Entourage, but the 3-year winner isn't even nominated? Jeremy, Hollywood is putting you in timeout for the mercury poisoning stunt. Sorry dude. Great to see a first nomination for Tracy Morgan, but my vote is for the wonderful and talented NPH.

Kevin Dillon as Johnny Drama, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, The Office
Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock
Jack McBrayer as Kenneth Parcell, 30 Rock
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, Two And A Half Men

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Someone named Zeliko Ivanek from Damages won last year, so this is anyone's game. Shatner may get a swan song award, but I would love to see it go to Michael Emerson who wipes the floor with almost every other actor on Lost. As for John Slattery, always glad to see Mad Men get recognition, but I thought some of the other actors were stronger this year, especially Vincent Kartheiser playing Pete Campbell.

William Shatner as Denny Crane, Boston Legal
Christian Clemenson as Jerry Espenson, Boston Legal
Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad
William Hurt as Daniel Purcell, Damages
Michael Emerson as Ben Linus, Lost
John Slattery as Roger Sterling, Mad Men

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Last year, it went to Jean Smart in Samantha Who? - she really was great in that show (RIP). Speaking of RIP, yay for Kristin and Pushing Daisies. Long shot, but I would love it. Also great to see SNL giving more funny ladies a shot at Emmys.

Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler as Various Characters, Saturday Night Live
Kristin Wiig as Various Characters, Saturday Night Live
Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney, 30 Rock
Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater, Ugly Betty
Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes, Weeds

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
I can't contribute too much here because I don't watch Damages, In Treatment or 24. If I had to choose, I think Chandra Wilson eeked ahead of Sandra Oh this season on Grey's.

Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons, Damages
Sandra Oh as Dr. Christina Yang, Grey's Anatomy
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest as Gina, In Treatment (won last year)
Hope Davis as Mia, In Treatment
Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor, 24

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
Colbert or Stewart probably have it in the bag, but I wouldn't mind seeing it go to Letterman just to stick it to NBC for their stupid Leno decision.

The Colbert Report, Comedy Central
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central (won last year)
Late Show With David Letterman, CBS
Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO
Saturday Night Live, NBC

Outstanding Reality Program
If the dog psychic wins over Kathy, she'll have comedy material for a year.

Antiques Roadshow, PBS
Dirty Jobs, Discovery Channel
Dog Whisperer, NGC
Intervention, A&E
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Bravo (won last year)
MythBusters, Discovery Channel

Outstanding Reality – Competition Program
The Amazing Race continues to dominate for good reason. Project Runway just didn't earn it this year unfortunately, and as much as I love it, American Idol production is a shit show.

The Amazing Race, CBS (won last year)
American Idol, FOX
Dancing With The Stars, ABC
Project Runway, Bravo
Top Chef, Bravo

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program
I don't care about this.

Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Jeff Probst, Survivor (won last year)
Padma Lakshmi & Tom Colicchio, Top Chef

As a final note, just want to mention a few fun nominees in the guest appearance categories. Justin Timberlake was nominated for just being all around funny on SNL. Jimmy Smits was nominated for his ridiculously disturbing stint on Dexter as was Michael J. Fox for his great work on Rescue Me. For the ladies, I loved Carol Burnett's weirdo character on SVU, Sharon Lawrence as Izzie's mother on Grey's, and Christine Baranski as Leonard's mom on Big Bang Theory. Of course, Tina Fey also got a shout out for her guest appearances on SNL.

If you want to see the full list, from hairstyling to main title editing, you can download it here.

death row baby? now that's comedy

Variety reported yesterday that Greg Garcia, creater/producer of recently cancelled My Name is Earl, is creating a new pilot for Fox. It's a half-hour comedy about a 25-year-old who has an affair with a woman imprisoned on death row for murder and winds up having to raise the resulting baby with the help of his weird family.

Now, I'm all for dark humor. Written in the world of My Name is Earl, maybe this could work. After all, that Earl had some really messed up shit on his to-do list. But...a death row baby? At least make it a cute kid. No reason to make life even harder with an unfortunate case of ugly baby.

new show review: royal pains

I've been inexcusably absent for almost two weeks. For shame. I will not use the summer hiatus excuse because there is quite a bit happening on the small screen these days.

Yes, much of it is wasteful reality programming (with the exception of NJ Housewives, which I learned to love over the weekend - finale tonight!) but there are also a few scripted shows that I've been testing out. Here's one that's caught my eye...

Royal Pains

(USA on Thursdays)

USA has a solid reputation for original programming with shows like Burn Notice, Psych, and the forever running Monk. They've cornered a strong niche and work the alternative calendar to their advantage. The latest installment is a summer show called Royal Pains about a reluctant concierge doctor in The Hamptons for the summer.

Right away, I like Royal Pains because it has that summer show Malibu Sands-Beverly Hills Beach Club feeling about it. The main character is Dr. Hank Lawson played by Mark Feuerstein. You may not know his name, but you definitely know his face. He's been in a million movies and TV shows (my favorites: Cliff Calley in West Wing and Simon Stein in In Her Shoes). He's always really good, but never seems to have a starring role (or at least one that made it past one season).

In the pilot, we see Hank as a successful young trauma surgeon in NYC with a promising career and a hot fiancee. After making a judgement call to give priority to a kid with a traumatic injury, the hospital's main donor dies on his watch. He's fired, loses his girl and goes into a beer-drinking-in-underwear depression. We've all been there.

In swoops his kid brother Evan played by Paulo Costanzo. You may know Paulo from Joey, but we won't hold that against him because he was great in movies like Road Trip. Evan is a goofy CPA with social climbing aspirations (think Andrew McCarthy in Weekend at Bernie's). He convinces Hank to join him for a weekend in The Hamptons, where he will skillfully sneak them into parties where they clearly do not belong.

Long story, short: Hank ends of saving the life of a woman at an exclusive party and is unwillingly sucked into the job as the official Hamptons concierge physician on call. He and his brother are persuaded to stay for the summer in the guest house of an impossibly rich and mysterious Hamptonite Boris, who is played - oddly enough - by Campbell Scott.

Overall, I've really liked this show so far. Feuerstein can play a likeable guy flawlessly, which proves to be an interesting combination with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Promising side characters include Jill, a love interest for Hank who works as administrator to the struggling local hospital, and Tucker, a wise beyond his years 16-year-old rich kid basically living on his own (absent father is played by the aforementioned Andrew McCarthy).

It's worth a gander.

new show review: southland

Not exactly a new show anymore, but I thought it was worth a quick review since it's coming back next season.

Just watched all the episodes on DVR almost consecutively, which I think helped the show for me. I'm not sure I would have stayed as engaged if I was waiting for the next episode from week to week. Overall though, I liked it more than I thought I would.

Filming is done in the style of ER where the camera acts as a person - as if you are watching from the vantage point of someone actually in the scene - in the back of the cop car, staring over the body, running after the suspect, moving around the room, etc. It makes for exciting, very quick transitions, but can also be a bit dizzying, especially when the same tactic is used to film a quiet night at home - you might see it through a window pane or a crooked doorway shot. Sort of makes you feel like a prowler.

Another odd directorial decision is "bleeping" the curse words. Although it's filmed with a single, moving camera, the show is not filmed as a documentary (like The Office), but the characters swear openly and are bleeped. I can't wrap my head around this. On one hand, I find it refreshing that the cops and criminals have potty mouths. I never bought such clean language on NYPD Blue and Law & Order. But if I'm supposed to be treating it like a "real" show, who's doing the bleeping? It's just weird.

Unlike many cop shows, Southland is largely character-driven. We're talking many characters. MANY. This might be my biggest problem with the show. I'll try to organize my thoughts into the various partnerships:

Detective Team 1: Det. Adams (Regina King) and Det. Clarke (Tom Everett Scott)

These two are the most recognizable actors in the cast. Regina King is practically carrying the show on her shoulders. Her storyline isn't particularly complex, but her performance is flawless and compelling. By the end, you really care about this character. On the other hand, Tom Everett Scott's character is a waste of space. I am a fan of his, so I'm sorry to say it. To be fair, I think it's the writing. Next to Adams, Clarke seems like a lame, heartless, doofus with a boring side story about his blogger wife competing with his aspiring writing career. Hopefully, the finale cliffhanger will either relieve us of the pain or turn this guy around.

Detective Team 2: Det. Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) and Det. Moretta (Kevin Alejandro)

You may recognize Hatosy from Outside Providence and other movies, and Alejandro from Ugly Betty (he played Santos). They're a good pair and handled the central case of the season. No complaints really except for Bryant's bulky side story with his wife played by Emily Bergl, who I normally really like (Men in Trees, Gilmore Girls). Their story was just repetitive and tiring, with no payoff in the end. I was hoping the dog would eat her.

Chief Detective & Mistress: Det. Salinger (Michael McGrady) and Mia Sanchez (Lisa Vidal)

McGrady does fine as the head detective, but his side story was all over the place. Cheating on his wife with a needy TV reporter, rebellious teenage daughter who catches them but doesn't care, DUI, Facebook stalking the daughter. It was too much. I know they're trying to set us up for the future - I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Mia - but I could have used a little less of him.

Cop Team 1: Officer Sherman (Ben Mackenzie) and Officer Cooper (Michael Cudlitz)

If Regina King is carrying the show on her shoulders, Michael Cudlitz might be giving her a piggyback ride. We got a taste of his story - divorced closet case with a sad childhood and a painkiller problem - but we didn't get hit over the head with it. We saw him develop as a mentor to Sherman (Mackenzie) using bully tactics that all proved to be part of his plan. We're left with a lot of questions about this character, which is what you want at this point. Mackenzie is making a valiant effort to overcome The OC curse. Probably my favorite team.

Cop Team 2: Officer Brown (Arija Bareikis) and Officer Dewey (C. Thomas Howell)

Completely unnecessary. Cut them out. Dewey's story was an uninteresting distraction from the others. I'm guessing he's out after the finale, but I don't think she's needed either, except possibly to improve the gender ratio.

As I said, I liked this show more than I thought I would. NBC put a lot of publicity into it as the heir apparent to ER, and it did get decent ratings. But the network took the legs out from under it by moving to Friday nights for only 13 episodes (the standard issue for NBC fall shows). I'll keep it on the DVR, and you should watch online this summer if you're in the mood for some LA gang violence.

new for summer

In all my excitement about fall lineups, I almost missed new summer shows completely. Summer series are the junior varsity teams for each network, usually heavy on competition-based reality programming. ABC is coming out with about 100 of them. Can't blame them - we just tend to watch less consistently in the summer, so we're looking for something fun that's not necessarily plot intensive.

Surprisingly, the much-picked-on NBC has three (plus one mini) drama series premiering in June that look promising. Looks like this is a set up for the short-runs accommodating their new fall schedule.

I'll try to get to reviewing or at least previewing the new shows in the coming weeks. Today, I'm starting with some fluff. Two new summer series from ABC Family. Don't laugh, I know you have seen at least one episode of Greek or Secret Life of the American Teenager. And liked it.

First, 10 Things I Hate About You. I loved this movie - it's a huge teeny guilty pleasure of mine. I have the VHS and will never let it go. I worry this will suffer the same fate of the unfortunate Clueless series, but I'm willing to give it a shot - mostly because it's summer and my DVR is hungry. The only returning character is the dad, played by Larry Miller.

Here's the preview (premieres July 7):



Next, Make It or Break It. I may have lost many of you by now. For those who are holding on, yes, this is a gymnastics show. So sue me for hanging onto Olympic fever for just a bit too long. I blame Shawn Johnson. The premise is the trials and tribulations of a group of Olympic hopefuls. Seems like Center Stage meets Bring it On. The cast includes Peri Gilpin (Roz from Frasier) as a gymnast mom and Candace Cameron (DJ!) as the girlfriend of a gymnast dad. His name? Are you ready? Steve Tanner. STEVE. TANNER.

Here's the preview (premieres June 22). Come on, you know you want to.