January Jones in Mad Men courtesy AMC
Favorite line on any show I've seen all week: "Peggy, this isn't China. There's no money in virginity." That's Joan talking, the sexiest secretary in all of '60s New York advertising, once again stealing a scene in AMC's dazzling Mad Men with aplomb. Christina Hendricks, I salute you.It was another intensely enjoyable episode this week, which also grew my estimation for the performance of January Jones (what a name) as Don Draper’s quietly simmering, drop-dead-gorgeous Grace Kelly look-alike wife, Betty. How happy was she when, at intermission at Broadway’s Fiorello!, the ad guy wooing Don to jump agencies to the big time offered her a chance to get back into modeling (with the pause that refreshes). How fooled were we that this was just another ploy to lure Don away from “the tiny store” of Sterling Cooper? Not very. And neither was Don fooled. Betty, however? Very fooled. And very crushed when the opportunity vanishes once Don turns them down.Who can blame her ...
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Wednesday, July 25, 10:30 pm/ETBET debuts We Got to Do Better, which was formerly known as Hot Ghetto Mess but retitled "to highlight the show's real intent, which is to offer social commentary in a context that sparks dialogue, debate and, most importantly, change."August 8, 10 pmMTV launches Real World: Sydney: "Jealousy creates intense conflict, tension blossoms into romance, and unresolved issues from a cast member's past explodes, leaving tender relationships in tatters." All that and barbecued shrimp.August 13, 10 pmABC Family introduces Slacker Cats, the cabler's first foray into animation. The "outrageous and decidedly grown-up" half-hour comedy tails two freeloading felines and features such voices as Alex Borstein, Kiersten Warren, Nicole Sullivan and Sinbad.August 15, 10:30 pmMTV premieres Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County, a Laguna Beach successor that promises "a new circle of friends as they discover first loves, face new rivalries and suffer new heartbreaks." But...
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CNBC's Maria Bartiromo has trademarked the name "Money Honey" and will use it as the name of a new show she is producing, she tells Hamptons Magazine.... Laguna Beach alumna Jessica Smith, 19, received three years probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge stemming from a March crash, says the AP.... Mark Wahlberg's Shooter topped last week's DVD sales and rental charts, besting Bridge to Terabithia and Black Snake Moan, respectively.... Factory Girl: The Unrated Director's Cut arrives on DVD July 17.
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Question: I finally jumped on the Project Runway train for this current season, and I'm loving it. Great premise, and I hope I can catch up on the first two seasons. My comment is more about Bravo's scheduling. I'm all for cable networks broadcasting episodes several times a week, but do you think they go overboard with Runway? My DVR shows Runway coming on 32 times this week — don't you think that's overkill? Another question: I'm looking forward (of course) to the new season of Battlestar Galactica and even Nip/Tuck, now that enough time has passed since that ludicrous Season 3 finale. Do you think premiering these shows during the start of the broadcast season may hurt them?
Answer: Without a doubt, Bravo goes overboard with the Project Runway replays — but at least you don't have to fret if you miss an episode. (I've become hooked on HGTV's Design Star, and they don't replay that one often enough — its original Sunday time slot is way overcrowded.) I'm not sure it's overkill,
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Question: You recently mentioned that this season is likely The O.C.'s "last hurrah." Why do you think that is? When the show premiered, everyone was comparing it to Beverly Hills, 90210, a comparison I still think is valid. That show ran for 10 years and almost 300 episodes. If The O.C. ends this year it will be after only four years and likely not even 100 episodes. So why did it peter out so quickly? Do you think it was because of bad scheduling, or did poor story-line choices drive viewers away? Even if the show isn't the phenomenon it was when it started (and how could it be, given how overhyped and overexposed that first season was?), I still think it's successful enough that Fox's decision to cast it aside so quickly is surprising.
Answer: I'm struggling with how to answer this one. A cynic would just say, "The show sucks now," and be done with it, but that's neither fair nor relevant; 90210's long run can hardly be attributed to its quality. It may be the fact that Fox and the
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Question: I know you've grown as tired and suspicious of the "reality" genre as I have, but I need your opinion on last week's episode of Work Out. When I first saw the preview, I said, "No way am I watching this." But last week I was at home sick, so I tuned in. Just how stupid do these producers think we are? The entire episode was so obviously plotted out. Jackie goes away and puts her uptight assistant in charge of the gym as her newest trainer house-sits. She demands her assistant keep the gym neat and clean. She's gone for 10 minutes and the gym looks like a tornado whipped through, then a trainer's dog poops on the mats? She demands that nobody else be allowed over to her house and that the dogs not be let out. The gang crashes Jackie's house for an "impromptu" party like a scene from a bad '80s teen movie; they break a vase and mess up the bed, and the idiot doesn't even straighten up the mess? Plus the dogs get out? And don't get me started on Jackie's "flirtation" with the ...
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Veronica Mars"Why can't the evil just get jobs like the rest of us?" Good question posed by our heroine, who is tasked with investigating a string of pizza-delivery robberies. I guess if they worked 9-to-5 gigs, Mars Investigations would be kaput and Veronica would be clocking a bunch more hours over at Java the Hut. Actually Mars Investigations might be taking a bit of a hit anyway if Terrence Cook turns out to be guilty, though can anyone really blame Keith for wanting to think the best of his idol? And my money is still on Steve Guttenberg as the person responsible for the bus crash. His whole separate privileged Neptune idea never sat well with me, and it is in his airplane hangar where Veronica found the explosives in question.
Loved when Keith was teasi
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Question: Have I missed something? A few weeks back TV Guide magazine (as well as local listings) indicated that Veronica Mars was airing a new episode (one with Kristin from Laguna Beach guest-starring as a lesbian cheerleader). I taped the episode, not being able to watch it live, only to find out later that I actually taped a repeat episode. I believe this happened on one other occasion. Have I really missed two new episodes of VM? The last episode I remember seeing was when Duncan absconded with his new baby daughter. I have since been keeping my eyes open for the next new episode, but have not seen anything. Does this seem like an awfully long hiatus to anyone else? Is VM coming back anytime soon? On another matter, I am a regular watcher of Medium and really enjoy the show and its ability to keep the subject matter fresh. But is it just me (to plagiarize from TV Guide magazine columnist Rochell Thomas), or is eldest daughter Ariel becoming way too unbearable? I find myself ...
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Get This Party StartedIn the wake of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's success, it was bound to happen: a show devoted to giving deserving folks a well-earned party. And there are fewer families in need of a party more than the Joneses, who lost just about everything in Hurricane Katrina. Since then they've been living in a hotel as evacuees and could certainly use a diversion. Enter Laguna Beach babe Kristin Cavallari and Extra's Ethan Erickson to the rescue! Sisters Arin and Alexis were ostensibly heading to Las Vegas to audition for a singing competition (not American Idol, these girls actually can sing). But sneaky Arin was in cahoots with Kristin and Ethan so her sis Alexis could have the best 21st birthday ever. With an entire wardrobe, a brand-new car, gift bags, an
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Kristin Cavallari, Get This Party Started
Remember fun li'l Kristin from MTV's Laguna Beach? Well, she has a party invite for you, and in this rare instance, there will be no velvet ropes to hold you back. Tonight at 8 pm/ET, UPN premieres Get This Party Started, a feel-good reality series in which Kristin Cavallari and Ethan Erickson help organize lavish surprise parties for extremely deserving people. (Case in point: The first episode's guest of honor lost nearly everything she had in Hurricane Katrina.) Here's what Cavallari had to tell TVGuide.com about her Partying ways, what she thinks of Tara Reid and the status of her Laguna Beach friendships.
TVGuide.com: I just watched the pilot, and this is a f
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