Category Archives: News

This week in NEW TV: ‘2 Broke Girls’, ‘New Girl’, ‘The X Factor’ & ‘Person of Interest’

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Last year I posted my Fall TV Preview. This time around I’m breaking that idea in pieces with a new kind of post called This week in NEW TV. Essentially they will serve as expanded versions of my usual TV Reminders. These posts will crop up through October as new TV shows premiere this fall. I will recommend new shows to watch and remind you when returning favorites are coming back. If you want a broader overview of all the new series airing on the big four networks, check out 2011-12 Upfronts coverage.

::MONDAY::

2 Broke Girls — CBS — 9:30PM

Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs star in this new sitcom that’s got a ton of positive buzz. They are being described as a young, female version of the odd couple; Dennings has street smarts and works two jobs just get by, while Behrs is a spoiled princess who’s being forced to work the waitress job due to a string of bad luck and misfortune in her life. The writing is supposedly stellar and the comedic situations that are set up each week are easily relatable: these girls are living in a bad economy and we get to watch them duke it out as minimum wage waitresses to survive. Trailer after the break. (Note: After this week 2 Broke Girls will air in its normal Monday night slot at 8:30PM.)

Give this pilot episode a chance: The Playboy Club (NBC, 10PM)

Returning shows you should be watching: Hawaii Five-0 (CBS, 10PM); Castle (ABC, 10PM)

Charlie Sheen alert: Don’t forget the Roast of Charlie Sheen hosted by Seth MacFarlane airs Monday night at 9PM on Comedy Central. And if you’re interested to see how his Two and a Half Men replacement Ashton Kutcher performs, DVR the CBS sitcom; it also airs at 9PM.

::TUESDAY::

New Girl — FOX — 9PM

Zooey Deschanel is the New Girl and boy is she “adorkable.” The ads plastered all around town don’t have to tell us that. Much like 2 Broke Girls, this show has a lot of exciting positive buzz surrounding it. If there’s one new comedy you tune into this fall season, this is it. The 500 Days of Summer actress brings her enviable charm to the small screen, and we get to watch what happens when her character goes through a messy breakup and then moves into an apartment occupied by three guys. Fair warning: Deschanel can carry a tune and she will be showing off her skills more than once throughout the pilot and series. Are you bouncing up and down in anticipation? Relax–you can get a head start and download the pilot episode for free via iTunes right now. (Note: Damon Wayans Jr. appears in the pilot episode, but he gets replaced by Lamorne Morris after that. Why? Because ABC’s Happy Endings got renewed (thankfully) and he is obligated to remain on that show. New Girl will address the switcheroo.)

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Returning shows you should be watching: Glee (FOX, 8PM), Raising Hope (FOX, 9:30PM) …so basically Tuesday night you won’t need to change the channel–FOX comedies dominate.

::WEDNESDAY::

The X Factor — FOX — 8PM

Four words: Simon Cowell is back. And so is his Idol muse Paula Abdul. They will be joined by Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and former Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid at the judges table for this new singing competition imported from the UK. Sure it’s reality TV, but you cannot deny how much fun it is to watch Cowell destroy dreams. Get a lengthy 8-minute taste of what’s in store right here. (Note: British judge Cheryl Cole appears in the first half of the episode and then she vanishes. Don’t let your eyes play tricks on you.)

Give this pilot episode a chance: Revenge (ABC, 10PM)

Returning shows you should be watching: The Middle (ABC, 8PM, Glee‘s Chord Overstreet (Sam) guest stars in the 9/28 episode), Modern Family (ABC, 9PM, special 1 hour episode)

::THURSDAY::

Person of Interest — CBS — 9PM

From producer J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe) and writer Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight) comes a show with an intricate plot shrouded in mystery and paranoia starring Lost‘s Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) and Christ himself Jim Caviezel. Really, need I say more? The story follows Caviezel, a presumed dead former-CIA agent, as he teams up with Emerson’s mysterious Mr. Finch to prevent crimes before they happen. Finch understands the ins and outs of the surveillance technology that’s installed inside every crevice of New York City, and he uses this information to his advantage to save lives. I was lucky enough to view the pilot at Comic Con earlier this summer, and I can say with full confidence that this show is not one to miss. It’s a classic, adrenaline-filled procedural with a Michael Emerson-fronted mythos attached. I mean, what more could you ask for?

Returning shows you should be watching: The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 8PM); Community (NBC, 8PM), Parks and Recreation (NBC, 8:30PM), The Office (NBC, 9PM)

::FRIDAY::

Give this pilot episode a chance: A Gifted Man (CBS, 8PM)

Returning show you should be watching: Fringe (FOX, 9PM) Continue reading This week in NEW TV: ‘2 Broke Girls’, ‘New Girl’, ‘The X Factor’ & ‘Person of Interest’ →

2011 Emmy results: ‘Modern Family’ is king

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Last night Jane Lynch hosted the 63rd Primetime Emmys. Overall, Lynch proved to be a fun host. Her opening musical number featuring numerous TV celebs (Leonard Nimoy came out of retirement again to serve as “the President of TV”) tickled viewers’ funny bones and started things off right. Her zingers throughout the night (especially the one acknowledging her lesbianism) were downright hilarious. Her only fault has to be the New Jersey spoof she took part in; it was terribly boring and nearly all the jokes fell flat. Besides that, though, Lynch rocked it and the telecast went by smoothly and uncharacteristically speedy (except for maybe the mini-series/movies categories; that part tends to always drag on). Other exciting and fun moments from the night include: the two Jimmys of late night TV getting in a faux-fight; Ricky Gervais’ prerecorded bit about censorship; Charlie Sheen apologizing to the entire TV industry; The Office bit was outrageously funny in so many ways; and Amy Poehler pouncing onto the stage when her name was listed before the other Best Actresses in a Comedy nominees was priceless. Things that didn’t come across so well: the Emmy-Tones (Zacahary Levi, Cobie Smulders, Taraji P. Henson, Kate Flannery, Wilmer Valderrama, and Joel McHale seemed so stiff and the lyrics weren’t all that amusing); the Canadian Tenors rendition of “Hallelujah” was so-so; and that masked announcer was more of an annoyance than anything else as Emmy winners made their way to the stage.

Speaking of Emmy winners, let’s move on to those. Modern Family and Mad Men took home the top prizes for outstanding comedy and drama series, respectively, just as they did last year. And for those of you keeping count, Modern Family is 2 for 2 and Mad Men is an impressive 4 for 4. Other non-surprises of the night include The Daily Show with Jon Stewart winning Outstanding variety, music or comedy series for the ninth consecutive year and The Amazing Race winning Outstanding reality competition for the eighth time in nine years.

As spoiled in the post title, Modern Family walked away as this year’s Emmy victors. The ABC sitcom took home five statues for Outstanding supporting actor (Ty Burell), Outstanding supporting actress (Julie Bowen), Outstanding director (Michael Alan Spiller for the “Halloween” episode), Outstanding writing (Steve Levitan & Jeffrey Richman for the “Caught in the Act” episode), and of course Outstanding comedy series as mentioned above. Other notable comedy winners include… Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) stole the Outstanding lead actor award from Steve Carrell (The Office) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) beat out Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) for Outstanding lead actress.

In the drama categories, Mad Men interestingly did not take home any other awards in addition to their Outstanding drama series win. Friday Night Lights faded to black with two big wins: star Kyle Chandler was named Outstanding lead actor and creator Jason Katims was acknowledged for his writing. Other notable drama winners include…  Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) won Outstanding lead actress and Margo Martindale (Justified) nabbed the award for Outstanding supporting actress. And yes I’ve saved the best for last: Peter Dinklage was awarded Outstanding supporting actor for his phenomenal portrayal as Tyrion “The Imp” Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Look after the break for the full list of winners. Continue reading 2011 Emmy results: ‘Modern Family’ is king →

Lost’s Tania Raymonde & Freddy Kruger to guest star on ‘Hawaii Five-0’

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Can you believe it? Another Lost actor is returning to the Island! According to EW, Tania Raymonde (aka Alex Rousseau) will guest star in an upcoming season 2 episode of Hawaii Five-0. She will play “Trisha, a married woman caught up in a love triangle between her husband and the volleyball coach she’s sleeping with.” Raymonde joins Five-0 regular Daniel Dae Kim and new recurring guest star Terry O’Quinn in the greatest attempt to reunite the case of Lost. Glad this natural beauty is finding work post-Lost; she’s currently starring in the new MTV series Death Valley.

In related casting news, Robert Englund–the man best known for portraying Freddy Kruger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise–will also guest star in a Five-0 episode. And can you guess which one? That’s right–the Halloween-themed one. EW got this scoop too and they say he will play “a homeless desert storm veteran who hangs around an ancient burial site and becomes a suspect in a murder investigation.”

Hawaii Five-0 returns this Monday, September 19 at 10PM on CBS.

[Via EW 1, 2]

Microsoft details Windows 8 at BUILD 2011 conference

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This week at its developer-focused BUILD conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft previewed Windows 8 in all its Metro glory and offered up new juicy details surrounding the upcoming sleek OS. Methinks they can be best presented in easily digestible bullet point format.

  • Windows 8 doesn’t require the latest and greatest and most powerful computer guts to run well. At the conference Microsoft’s President of Windows Steven Sinofsky (above) showed off a Lenevo S10 running Win8 without hiccup. The S10 is an ancient netbook released in 2008 with a single core 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and 1GB of RAM, mind you.
  • Sinofsky also showed off not-yet-released ultra thin-and-light notebooks running Win8 smoothly. These “ultrabooks” of the future will have no problem powering the OS.
  • Win8 will come baked with NFC support. Microsoft demoed a tap-to-share feature whereby users can physically tap a tablet running Win8 to another compatible device and share information between the two devices. Just like HP’s “touch-t0-share” functionality between the TouchPad and other WebOS devices.
  • Xbox Live is coming to Windows. The company promises that this new service will bring the console’s games, music, movies, and TV shows to Win8 devices. (Click here to watch a demo)
  • The Windows Store (Microsoft’s version of Apple’s Mac App Store) will sell both Metro-style and conventional Windows apps.
  • Metro apps can communicate with one another so long as the developer builds that functionality in. Microsoft offers this example: “You can easily select and email photos from different places, such as Facebook, Flickr or on your hard drive.”
  • Windows SkyDrive support allows users to access content in the cloud across various Win8 devices with a Microsoft account.
  • The company has given a name to the pane that houses Search, Share, Start, Connect, and Settings. A swipe from the right brings up those aforementioned “Charms.”
  • The new OS will offer three different ways of logging into your account: password, PIN, or picture password. That last one is definitely the most innovative; you can select a picture from your collection and you will be asked to setup three touch points. When you go to login simply touch the predetermined points and you’re in!
  • Expect much, much faster bootup times. Depending on the type of hardware, going from completely off to the login screen could take as short as 3-5 seconds.
  • The ability to refresh and reset the OS from scratch is a new feature. If for any reason your system becomes corrupted due to, say, a virus you can wipe it out but keep all your settings in tact with a feature called Refresh. If things get really bad or you’re just looking to start anew again, Reset makes it easy to restore your OS to its original factory settings.
  • Last but certainly not least I want to talk about the core of Windows 8. Microsoft continues to reiterate that the new Metro UI and its Live Tile apps is not a skin on top of the classic Windows 7-esque desktop. At the conference the company demoed how users will easily be able to switch back and forth between the new UI and what Windows enthusiasts are used to. Think of it like this. The traditional Windows desktop with Start menu and Quick Launch bar lives next to (not underneath or above) the new UI. To access it users will tap or click the “Desktop” square that lives among the apps that make up the Metro UI. Want to download and engage with new HTML5-based apps? Stay inside Metro. Need to pull up a spreadsheet in Excel? You’re probably going to want to switch into the classic Windows mode. Let’s hope that Microsoft eventually ports their Office suite to Metro like Apple built an iOS version of iWork. Once that happens, your eagerness to return to the dark ages will quickly begin to dwindle. Microsoft is firm in its belief that Metro is the future for their PCs and smartphones; don’t be surprised if one day they completely phase out the Windows interface of yesteryear.
  • Update: Microsoft has announced that the Internet Explorer 10 running in Metro will not support any plug-ins. And that includes Flash. But why? Because they claim it “improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers.” Don’t fret, though; IE10 running in the classic Windows app will support plug-ins as usual. Though Flash maker Adobe says they are ready and willing to “drive innovation in HTML5,” they will also be working hard to enable Flash-based apps in Metro via Adobe AIR.

Windows 8 is expected to release in 2012. But what if I told you there’s a way to get your hands on Windows 8 right now? The Windows Developer Preview is out now! So for all you app-makers out there excited to start building apps for the Metro interface, don’t wait another minute and click that link. And for those of you who are interested in learning more about Microsoft’s next big thing, check out the Windows unveiled article posted back in June. Microsoft’s plan to integrate Windows 8 across all kinds of devices (desktops, laptops, ultrabooks, and tablets running x86 and efficient ARM processors) is discussed in more detail there and after the break in PR form.

[Via Engadget 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] Continue reading Microsoft details Windows 8 at BUILD 2011 conference →

This week in NEW TV: ‘Ringer’ & ‘Up All Night’

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Last year I posted my Fall TV Preview. This time around I’m breaking that idea in pieces with a new kind of post called This week in NEW TV. Essentially they will serve as expanded versions of my usual TV Reminders. These posts will crop up through October as new TV shows premiere this fall. I will recommend new shows to watch and remind you when returning favorites are coming back. If you want a broader overview of all the new series airing on the big four networks, check out 2011-12 Upfronts coverage.

::TUESDAY::

Ringer — The CW — 9PM

Now, I know what you’re thinking: why am I recommending a show that’s airing on The CW, the network that’s best known for attracting teenage girls to Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill? There are many reasons. The first, obviously, is this one: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) returns to television as Ringer’s protagonists. That’s right, more than one. She stars as Bridget and her twin sister Siobhan. Need another reason to watch? Lost‘s Nestor Carbonell (Richard) begins his post-Island career here, shadowy eye-liner still in tact. And here’s another–the neo-noir themed story is promised to be filled to the brim with plot twists galore. Just watch the intriguing trailer after the break and you’ll see what I mean. And if it’s any consolation, Ringer was originally developed to air on The CW’s sister network CBS. Lesson: don’t miss out due to preconceived notions regarding the net that air The Vampire Diaries. Pilot stills and character profiles sit in the gallery below.

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::WEDNESDAY::

Up All Night — NBC — 10PM

This new comedy from Emily Spivey (Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live) is being described as “an irreverent look at modern parenthood.” It stars the always hilarious Christina Applegate, Will Arnett, and Maya Rudolph. Expect Up All Night to bring an onslaught of laughs and remain grounded with family values attached. A damn funny trailer sits after the break. NBC is calling Wednesday night’s episode a “series preview;” the following week the show will air during its regular 9PM timeslot. Pilot stills sit in the gallery below.

Continue reading This week in NEW TV: ‘Ringer’ & ‘Up All Night’ →

Wentworth Miller checks into ‘House’

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This October Prison Breaker Wentworth Miller returns to television. According to TVLine, he will guest star on the FOX medical drama House. Now don’t get too excited; Miller won’t find himself behind bars again (if you don’t already know, the season begins with Dr. House in jail for driving his car into Cuddy’s house). Instead he will serve as a patient of the week. Show creator David Shore teases, “He plays a real altruist. And there’s some question as to whether that’s his symptom or not.”

After slipping out of Michael Scofield’s skin, Miller unfortunately hasn’t found much work. Since the breakout show ended in 2009, he starred in Resident Evil: Afterlife alongside Milla Jovovich and guest starred in an episode of Law and Order: SVU. Though a patient of the week role doesn’t sound all that exciting, you can rest assured that Scofield erm, Miller will play the part like a champ. We all know he’s got a thing for hot doctors–I’m looking at you Dr. Sara Tancredi! Oh, sorry, get back to chopping up zombies.

House returns for its eighth season on October 3.

[Via TVLine]

Single: Coldplay – “Paradise” (preorder ‘Mylo Xyloto’ today!)

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“Paradise” is the followup single to “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” off Coldplay’s upcoming fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto. It’s classic Coldplay: it’s a sweeping anthem, though softer than “Waterfall.” Take a listen above. Download it here.

Additionally, you can now preorder Mylo Xyloto in physical and digital formats. Remember, Coldplay is packaging the album in a myriad of ways. In addition to selling the standard CD, the band is also offering it up in vinyl ($27.99) and pop-up ($79.99) editions. Eye the tracklist after the break; it includes the previously heard track “Charlie Brown” and Rihanna is crowned the album’s sole featured artist on “Princess Of China.” Mylo Xyloto drops October the 24th. Continue reading Single: Coldplay — “Paradise” (preorder ‘Mylo Xyloto’ today!) →

Trey Parker and Matt Stone want to make a ‘Book of Mormon’ movie

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Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, are itching to adapt yet another one of their works of art for the big screen. According to EW, the comedic duo are interested in adapting their Tony-winning musical The Book of Mormon into a feature-length film. The musical has been a raging success ever since it debuted on Broadway in February. I was in attendance at the very first preview night and early mishaps included I was blown away. This absurdly foul and endearing story is outrageously hilarious and so good that it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. Making a movie will give people around the world an opportunity to witness Parker and Stone’s years-in-the-making creation that follows Mormon missionaries on the hunt for converts in Uganda of all places. Whether or not Broadway stars Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad will appear in the movie is still up in the air. Stone tells EW: “We want to do it some day. The great thing is, a lot of Broadway teams would have to go team up with a Hollywood producer and bring on a Hollywood director, but Trey’s a director and Scott [Rudin]’s a great producer. We’ve all made movies. So it’s kind of cool, it can stay in the same family.” Parker, Stone, and collaborator Robert Lopez are taking Mormon on a national tour next summer and after that they’ll start to focus on the production of the movie.

Whether or not you’ve seen the show, visualize it and laugh your ass off and listen to the soundtrack available here.

[Via EW]

Windows Phone Mango coming to AT&T handsets this fall

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In May Microsoft previewed the first major upgrade to its rejuvenated mobile OS. Mango will bring multitasking, IE9, and deeper social network integration, among other things, to Windows Phone 7 devices. This fall, AT&T intends to upgrade their entire WP7 portfolio to Mango. Nice! But there’s more. In a press release (in full after the break), Ma Bell also announced three brand new handsets that will ship with Mango on board in Q4. The new and improved Samsung Focus S features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 1.4GHz processor, a rear facing 8 megapixel camera and a front facing 1.3 megapixel, “4G”-capable speeds, and a thin profile at 8.55 millimeters. The Focus Flash downgrades things a bit and packs a smaller 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screen, a 5 megapixel camera with front facing camera, but it keeps the speedy 1.4 GHz processor. And finally the large-and-in-charge HTC Titan features a 4.7-inch display, 1.5 GHz processor, and 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash. Pricing and exact available will have to wait.

Update: Microsoft shows off a bunch of Mango’s new features in dramatic video fashion after the break.

[Via AT&T; Engadget] Continue reading Windows Phone Mango coming to AT&T handsets this fall →

Droid Bionic finally lands on VZW at $300

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To say the launch of the Bionic has been a long time coming is quite the understatement. Motorola’s latest Droid handset was announced way back in January, and now–eight months later–it’s finally being sold at Verizon Wireless outlets everywhere. So the question on your mind right now should be: was it worth the wait? Check out these specs… The Droid Bionic is Verizon’s first dual-core and LTE-capable smartphone. It packs a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 4.3-inch qHD screen featuring scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, an 8MP camera with AF, flash, and 1080p video capture, a front-facing cam for video chatting, 16GB on board memory and 16GB microSD card pre-installed, and HDMI out. It can serve as a Mobile Hotspot with up to five WiFi-enabled devices. This beast runs the latest version of Android–2.3.4 Gingerbread, that is. And it’s all jammed inside a slim 2.6(w) x 5.0(h) x0.4(d) shell weighing 5.6oz. Ah, what a mouthful. In short, if you’re a VZW customer and on the market for the latest and greatest and the best of both worlds (dual-core power and 4G LTE blazing speeds), the Bionic is a clear choice. How long it will remain on top is yet to be seen; I hear the iPhone 5 (4S?) is just around the corner.

Right–pricing. The Bionic runs a Benjamin higher than most smartphones. Order one today from VZW for $299.99 on a new two-year contract. Full PR sits after the break.

[Via VerizonWireless] Continue reading Droid Bionic finally lands on VZW at $300 →

Google Music Beta comes to iOS in web app form

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Hey you Google Music Beta-er. Got an iPhone and feeling left out? Be jealous of your Android-wielding friends no more! Google has brought its music locker service (still in beta, still requires an invite) to iOS devices in web app form. Sure it’s not a full-fledged app that Android users have been privy to for months now, but it gets the job done. On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch simply point Safari to music.google.com you’ll arrive at the new portal that’ll grant you access to your Music Beta song library on-the-go. Use your finger to swipe left and right and scrub through categories like Artists, Albums, Songs, Playlists, and Genres. Cheers!

[Via @Google]

The Throne reveals single artwork for “N****s in Paris” & “Why I Love You”

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Following the recent success of previous Watch The Throne single “Otis,” Kanye West and Jay-Z (collectively known as The Throne) have released the Ricardo Tisci-designed single artwork for the next two singles (see above and after the break). The art direction follows in the tradition started by “Otis”; American colors red, white, and blue dominate the scene and the rappers’ names, track and album title are inscribed in tiny white capitalized letters across it. Though you must admit that the patriotic theme comes out of focus when you realize that the vertical stripes match those found on the French flag. “N****s in Paris” and the Mr Hudson-assisted “Why I Love You” drop as official singles simultaneously next week on September 13, but that hasn’t stopped radio stations from playing the masterful beats. “Paris” has already debuted at #75 on Billboard’s Hot 100. “Why I Love You” premiered on the French and Swiss Music Charts and UK Singles Chart. Oh and one more thing: according to “Paris” producer Hit-Boy, a music video is in the works for the track that’s got everyone bumping “that sh*t cray.”

[Via Complex 1, 2; Rap-Up] Continue reading The Throne reveals single artwork for “N****s in Paris” & “Why I Love You” →