BJ and Tyler, The Amazing Race
Question: I read the CBS upfront news about moving Amazing Race to Sundays at 8 pm/ET. I don't care that they moved the night — again — but why Sunday night? It will be constantly overrun by football games that go long. People who record the show will get to see half of 60 Minutes and miss the end of Race, and I'm afraid it'll begin to lose its audience. This doesn't seem like a good move to me, but maybe I'm worrying prematurely. It is only May, after all. What are your initial thoughts about the new time slot?
Answer: My biggest concern isn't the football overruns, which have been a factor in CBS' Sunday lineup for years. People are used to this and should be able to adjust accordingly — as in: set extra time on the VCR or manually set the DVR, or (here's a thought) watch it live. The biggest hurdle is that Race will be going head-to-head against another powerful reality series already established in the time period, ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which, like Race, is quite
...
read more
Will wonders never cease? This week, two of the least deserving contestants in recent reality-TV history got the boot: the obnoxious, repellent, incompetent Brent on The Apprentice and the chirpy, twerpy Kevin on American Idol. They should never have made it on these shows in the first place. But since we usually can't depend on common sense to reign on shows like these, it's worth cheering when it happens. (It would have been a swell hat trick if the woefully insecure, gratingly unworthy Gina had been eliminated from America's Next Top Model this week as well, after her runway freak-out over the glittery cockroach accessories. But there's always next week.)
And now w
read more
Michael Chiklis, The Shield
American IdolFifties night was far kinder to the wannabes than Stevie Wonder night was last week. And the evening clearly belonged to Mandisa. Wow... just wow. A note to Paula Abdul: No woman wants to be compared to a horse. Paris thrived vocally on "Fever," but she's so young that the "vamp" thing didn't work so well for her. To quote the cinema classic and '50s-themed flick Grease, "she's too pure to be pink."
For a minute I was so excited to see Live on stage doing "I Alone." But then I realized it was Chris, stopping once again in the '90s for inspiration instead of heading to the '50s like everyone else. He's always great, but I'm waiting for Simon to coax Chris out
read more
Taylor Hicks, American Idol
American IdolThe leadoff performers, Ace and Kellie, bolstered my belief that American Idol should stay away from Stevie Wonder songs. Thankfully Ace didn't attempt to sing unnecessary falsetto notes, but I had to agree with Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell: It just wasn't the best vocal performance. Naturally Paula Abdul dissented. Eyeing Ace like he was the last chocolate chip in the Keebler tree house, she thought he "entertained everyone." Kellie professed little prior knowledge of Stevie, and then talked about her false eyelashes looking like tarantulas, something clearly less scary than calamari.
Honestly, I was expecting better from both Elliott and Mandisa. I actu
read more
This week, two of my favorite reality shows signed off with satisfying (if, in one case, anticlimactic) season finales. On Bravo's thoroughly addictive Project Runway, Chloe Dao won on the strength of her glamorous, vivid collection, which to my eyes did outshine both Daniel Vosovic's and Santino Rice's. But in the bigger picture, I still feel Daniel won the season, so I was a bit deflated when it was all over.
Daniel dominated many of the challenges, and even his relatively tame collection was lovely to behold. And unlike businesslike Chloe, Daniel's passion for his craft was evident throughout the season. (The less said the better about Santino, who did manage to create a couple of stunners in his collection. But he's had his time hogging the spotlight, and I'm more than happy to move on.)
And then there's WB's adorable
read more
Cher and Josh, Beauty and the Geek
American IdolBo Bice sounded a bit hoarse on his single "The Real Thing," probably from new-daddy lack of sleep. I do miss Bo, but he's lucky Simon Cowell wasn't judging that one. It's not surprising that Kinnik and Will had the lowest number of votes — neither one had a good night this week. And they haven't exactly gotten much love from the judges. While America has heard every detail of Kellie Pickler's lunch orders and knows everything about Taylor but his ring size, Kinnik and Will were the very last of the top 24 picked and we've barely heard a word about them since. Both were total class acts in their farewell speeches, and they finally got to hear the words "I like you" from Simon. Kellie, Kathar
read more
Tyra Banks, America's Next Top Model
American IdolI much prefer Gedeon's singing to his odd speaking voice. Once again he made the perfect song choice, as did Chris, who wasn't as impressive as last week but was still on top of the heap. I loved when Chris admitted that he used to have Ryan Seacrest-style hair but shaved it all off when he started going bald. The shrieking you heard was Ryan falling off the stage after facing his worst nightmare.
Kevin mentioned his love for Kanye West and then went on to perform one of the blandest, most milquetoast '70s songs ever created. Way to prove your street cred, Chicken Little. I always hum "Vincent" when I think of Kanye — doesn't everyone? Bucky remained in his country-song safety zone with
read more
Melinda Clarke, The O.C.
Love her or hate her, Julie Cooper is back, and things are finally heating up for Newport's rich-girl-turned-favorite-trailer-park neighbor. As Marissa and Kaitlin's mom on Fox's The O.C. (returning with new episodes tonight at 9 pm/ET), Melinda Clarke is finally getting story lines to rival her troublesome TV kin, and as such is having nothing but fun with her "roller-coaster" of a fictional life. TVGuide.com spoke with the actress about Julie's new digs, her relationship with Dr. Roberts (which will continue to develop), and what trouble's ahead for Marissa and Co. in this season's remaining episodes.
TVGuide.com: Your O.C. alter ego has been getting some really good story l
read more
Noah Wyle, ER
American IdolAt the top of the show, Ryan Seacrest announced that he had good news and bad news. Four more people would leave, but Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood was on hand to perform. And I was left wondering where the good news was. The "original farm girl" took the stage to tepid applause, but Melissa McGhee was up on the balcony singing right along and studying every stage move... all one of them. I just hope the next Idol winner can move more than one arm at a time. Naturally, before elimination time we had to suffer through another awful group song. I'll give a Reader's Digest version of my notes: bad attempt at harmony, bad camera angle, bad outfits, extremely bad dancing. Can't wa
read more
Emilie de Ravin, Lost
American IdolTaylor started off the show with an underwhelming "Easy." I like his voice, but one more "whoo" might end my goodwill toward him forever. Smooth and soulful Elliott had another fantastic night. I'm not familiar with the jazzy tune he performed, but he handled the offbeat tempo and phrasing effortlessly
I agreed with Simon Cowell about Ace's singing. He looks the part and you can just see the judges counting his eventual ticket and CD sales in their heads, but tonight he was way off; dull, flat and his high notes cracked like cheap china. Did ya catch Brenna practically body-slam the other girls to catch his "beanie"? Gedeon really surprised me, doing a fantastic job on a great Sam Cooke track,
read more