March 2007 - Posts
If you walked up to a random person with photos of all the "American Idol" contestants and asked them to put names to faces, I'm betting most couldn't get 100%. People who'd seen the show could probably identify Sanjaya -- even pre-Mohawk, and maybe a couple other singers. But if they'd seen the show even once, they could probably recognize Chris Sligh.
CONTINUED >>
For a week now, viewers of "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" have been comparing the two shows' voting systems. On "Idol," the judges get to decide which singers make it to Hollywood to compete, but then the power moves to the viewers' hands. If the viewers decide they like Sanjaya better than Stephanie, then Stephanie goes home, and Sanjaya lives to wear seven ponytails in a faux-Mohawk.
On "Dancing," the judging would seem more fair. Three trained ballroom-dance experts dissect each performance, explain what was right and wrong about it, and even award numerical scores. They split that power, then, with the viewers, some of whom undoubtedly know nothing about dancing but that they once threw out a knee doing the Macarena at Cousin Julie's wedding. CONTINUED >>
Readers responded to my post last week about "Sopranos" and "The Shield" returning with about a dozen questions about when other shows will be returning. I can't answer every question you asked -- some shows are still in limbo -- but here's a quick calendar of those I do know about, mixed in with the ones I already listed last week.
CONTINUED >>
Time again for Multi-link Monday, our week-starting quintet of work-distracting fun.
CONTINUED >>
I was about to give up on ABC's "Lost." I thought I'd reached my end when the show returned on Feb. 7 after a long hiatus with a horribly boring episode about horribly boring Juliet, one of the Others, and followed it up with an equally dull venture about minor character Desmond. Since then, the show has been hit-or-miss. But "Lost" may have saved its spot on my TiVo last night by focusing on one of the show's long-forgotten standbys, the cryptic John Locke. (Warning: Spoilers for the March 21 episode follow.)
CONTINUED >>
Some suggestions for next week's song choice for Sanjaya Malakar. How about Elton John's "I'm Still Standing"? The lyrics include: "And did you think this fool could never win? Well look at me, I'm coming back again!"
CONTINUED >>
Didn't Charlie Brown once say the secret of happiness is having three things to look forward to and nothing to dread? As a TV editor, I like to put his philosophy into television terms. Even though the average American has more than 100 channels, it can be hard to find those three upcoming shows to look foward to. Here's where I'll be putting my TiVo to work in upcoming weeks.
CONTINUED >>
I admit it, I watched Monday's premiere of "Dancing With the Stars," despite the fact that the show's about ready to be renamed "Cha cha chaing with the C-Listers." I mean, really, did you know who Shandi Finnessey was? Was anyone out there clamoring to see more of Leeza Gibbons? Are we anything but angry at Billy Ray Cyrus for bestowing "Achy Breaky Heart" upon us? And Ian Ziering? Ian Ziering?
CONTINUED >>
Last week was almost all "American Idol." Let's start off this week with our usual contingent of Monday randomness.
CONTINUED >>
I posted last night about how "American Idol" can be compared to the NCAA tourney brackets, but let's take that a little further. If the "Idol" contestants were going head-to-head in individual matchups, who would be the Cinderella, and who'd be an upset victim? Here's my take.
CONTINUED >>
"American Idol" held its first finalist elimination Wednesday night, and the bottom three singers were really no surprise. Or were they?
CONTINUED >>
As you've read in the comments to previous posts here, "American Idol" viewers are clamoring for the show to change its voting system. No one can quite agree on how exactly to do so, but almost all can agree that the current one is a mess.
CONTINUED >>
Some readers have complained that "American Idol" is beginning to dominate this Weblog. Sorry about that, but it's likely to play a prominent role in posts here until the show's May finale. It's the 800-pound gorilla of TV right now, and with stories such as the Mario Vazquez lawsuit, the show just keeps pushing itself into the news.
CONTINUED >>
Last week's 50-state quiz was the most popular Multi-link Monday offering ever, with 250+ comments, and counting. This week, we've got a quiz that's sure to stump even those of us who were pretty proud of our state knowledge, plus more work-procrastinating fun.
CONTINUED >>
WARNING: Don't read further if you don't want to know who went home on the March 8 episode of "American Idol."
Predicting who will go home on the "American Idol" results show each week can be tough. It's a challenge because you can't simply choose the worst singers -- you have to picture the voting audience and try and determine whose fans will be out in frantic force. CONTINUED >>
"American Idol" is in the middle of whittling down its singers to 12 -- six women and six men. And therein lies the problem. Anyone who's watched the show knows that whoever the six men are, as many as three of them will have earned their spot in the final 12 at the expense of women who are more qualified and better singers.
CONTINUED >>
There are a few certainties about "American Idol." Simon will be booed by viewers for stating what's clearly obvious to anyone with working ears. Paula Abdul will act loopy, convincing viewers that there's something other than Coca-Cola in her red plastic glass. And of course, one or more of the "Idol" wannabes will see a scandal from his or her past surface and threaten to knock them out of the competition.
CONTINUED >>
It's Monday, again. And I'm procrastinating, again. Why is it so hard to leap into another week's work? Here's a batch of five fun links for those times when you just can't look at another spreadsheet or file another document.
CONTINUED >>
A week ago, when I wrote about how ridiculous the whole Anna Nicole Smith fight was, I never thought seven days would pass and the poor woman still wouldn't be buried. We need a whole level of vocabulary beyond "ridiculous" to describe the case at this point. Thankfully, it looks as if she will finally be buried Friday, in the Bahamas, with pink flowers and a custom-made gown and a rhinestone blanket covering her coffin.
CONTINUED >>
