TV's Most Dateable Guys Part 1

A list for the ladies....
· Seeley Booth, Bones – He … We just … Yes. This man is everything.

· Smith Jerrod, Sex and the City—How great was this guy with Samantha? She cheats, he understands and takes her back. He sends her flowers, holds her hand, is super hot, doesn’t drink, and sticks by her through cancer (and shaves his head, making him look even hotter). Then she gave him up so she could spend more time focusing on herself. Ummm, we will focus on you forever Smith.

· Neal Caffrey, White Collar – There is nothing about Neal Caffrey that isn’t perfect. He’s charming, works with the FBI, knows his art, and is ridiculously attractive. As long as you can accept that pesky tracking anklet, he’s 100% dateable.

· Desmond Hume, LOST—Sawyer can be unstable, and unless you’re Juliet, he’s not gonna commit. Jack was hot, but he cried too much. Daniel looks like a hobbit (and science drove him crazy). Jin was controlling. Charlie was annoying. Who does that leave on LOST? Desmond, who looked awful nice in season 5 when he went to Oxford looking for Daniel in his scarf.

· Shawn Spencer, Psych – Can drop the most obscure, amazing reference whenever appropriate. Even if he weren’t cute, which he is, that would be enough.

· Jim Halpert, The Office—This is the "duh" choice of this list. We are pretty sure every female Office fan ever has said, "I would date Jim Halpert."If he weren’t so great with Pam, we'd want him with one of us. He’s funny, laid back, and loyal.

· Lane Elenburg, Big Brother – He’s amazing. Easily the most attractive and amusing (male) houseguest this season, and he genuinely seems like a good person. And hey, he might be $500,000 richer in a few days…

· Jon Stewart, The Daily Show—Witty, self-deprecating, and spewing more truthful takes on what’s going on than most news stations. And we don't discriminate against older hotties. This guy is married, but if he was not, we would date him. One of the bloggers' moms has said multiple times that this is the sort of man the blogger should end up with. We could argue with him all day… (the writers are a tad more conservative than Mr. Stewart.)

· Chuck Bartowski, Chuck – Super adorkable and very reminiscent of The O.C.’s Seth Cohen … If Seth had been a spy.

· Albie Manzo, The Real Housewives of New Jersey – We would honestly marry this man. Caroline Manzo, if you’re reading this, one of the bloggers is a well-educated, (part) Italian who would be an awesome daughter-in-law. Just thought we'd put it out there.

· Finn Hudson, Glee – Not the smartest guy on this list, but very sweet and generally means well. Definitely dateable.

· Damon Young, Make it or Break it – A cute, passionate rock star who supports his girlfriend? Yes please.

The Vampire Diaries-- Best Premiere So Far

A lot happened this episode. After last season’s cliffhanger ending, The Vampire Diaries treated us to a whole episode of intense, jaw-dropping happenings. We are developing a minor obsession with Katherine. Loved her face after the brothers stopped her fight with Bonnie. (What was with the way Bonnie was holding her jaw last night? Did she pop it out of joint?) Loved how the show doesn’t waste time having the characters figure out something the audience already knows (like other shows we could mention here). Jeremy is looking older and hotter this season too. We love the new, more aggressive Stefan. He is less of a wet blanket now that he has a new enemy threatening Elena. And how hard are we shipping Katherine/Stefan now? Answer: harder than we want to admit.

Another awesome addition: Tyler Lookwood's Uncle Mason. It definitely doesn't hurt to add another hot werewolf to this already ridiculously attractive show.

The last 15 minutes of the episode were fantastic. Holy cliffhangers. Caroline is a vampire; Damon is heartbroken. Jeremy is killed. And then not. And how about that seriously steamy Katherine/Damon near hookup? True Blood should take notes. And while we're on that note, we just want to say how well we think Nina Dobrev is handling both Elena and Katherine. The subtle changes she makes to Katherine's character really improve the show, while still maintaining Elena's genuine nature. Well done.

So far, still obsessed. If only they could change the name of the show. One blogger hates telling the other people in law school that she is obsessed with a show with the words “vampire” and “diaries” in it.

Episode grade: A

Nikita is over-advertised. Is it also overrated?

Adventures of the killer stick figure.

The ads for Nikita did nothing to make us excited about the show. It seemed like just another mindless blend of sex and violence to us. The star, Maggie Q, must weigh 80 pounds soaking wet. It’s not that believable for her to be throwing guys around like they are rag dolls. I didn’t believe it when she was beating up Bruce Willis in Die Hard 4 either. At least Alias’ Sidney Bristow looked strong. Maggie Q has stick arms, and she’s doing things that require strength, like pushing, not just quick karate jabs. But what realism do you expect from a show with a bulletproof chair bottom in its opening scene?

The first half of the episode was a lot like the advertisements. It was trying too hard, and playing intense music without creating actual intense situations yet.

It made us miss Dollhouse. And we know the premise is based on a French movie, but the plot is a heck of a lot like the plot of Alias. It moves faster, is less complicated, and is easier to watch than Alias though. Remove the brain from Dollhouse and Alias, and you have Nikita.

BUT the show picked up at the end by setting up the story arc for the season. After the mindless action intro was over, we found out that Nikita has a plant in the branch of the government she is trying to take down. Also, Maggie Q is WORKING this show.

There is potential here for the show to be good once they stop trying to push it on the people looking to be titillated.

Pretty good pilot. We will keep watching, for now.

Episode Grade: B-

Thoughts on two new shows: Hellcats and Terriers

Notice: These shows are not about animals

HELLCATS
Plot: A pre-law student is forced to become a cheerleader to get a scholarship

This show is just as lame as you’d think, but I’m glad to see Ashley Tisdale getting some work outside of the Disney Channel. She seems like a sweet girl. And Aly (from Christian rock duo Aly & AJ) sure grew up nice. Man, I want a beauty mark like that. Along with a face like that. She plays the blonde lead, Marti. She’s gorgeous and charismatic, but she doesn’t fit her part. She doesn’t come across as someone who would have trouble fitting in or being a cheerleader. Comedic potential is wasted there. Watching a nerd become a cheerleader could be entertaining, but this girl is no nerd. This show would have been better if the two leads switched roles, or if they had picked someone besides Aly. Leave this show to the tweens and rent “Bring it On.” We won’t be returning to it.

Episode grade: C.
Episode grade for what it was/who it was aimed at: C+

TERRIERS
Plot: Slacker private investigators in California make a powerful enemy doing a favor for a friend

This show has potential. The pilot was entertaining, but not mind-blowing. The dialogue was not as clever as it needed to be, and the buddy-cop/crime dynamic has been done. Also, the PIs’ love lives are dull, but included in the show. However, I enjoyed most of the pilot, and I can see the writers setting up a good overarching plot arc. There were some funny moments and the lead characters are appealing. But you will guess this weeks’ baddie the second you meet him. I hope the mysteries they solve have more twists in the future. I'm going to keep watching. Terriers is officially added to blog coverage...for now.

Episode grade: B-

America's. Next. Top. Model. Meet the girls.

First row, left to right- Kayla, Chelsey, Kendal, Ann, Esther, Lexie, Liz, Jane
Back row, left to right- Kacey, Sara, Rhianna, Anamaria, Chris, Terra

Oh Tyra. You look good this year, but you’re obviously still a crazy narcissist. The beginning of the season was all about Tyra, with her actually re-enacting her own success story. She claimed to be “discovered” on the first day of the 9th grade. How? Someone came up to her and said, “Are you a model?” This planted an idea in her head, and after years of struggling to break into the industry, she finally did. If being asked “are you a model?” qualifies as being discovered, then I have discovered a few models myself. This seasons is going to be all about high fashion, and I approve. One of the prizes is to appear in “Italian Vogue".

They immediately got rid of the “mean, arrogant” girl. It was too obvious, and that girl seemed pretty smart. I didn’t buy her arrogance. It was too self-aware. I think she was trying to package herself to get on the show. She said things like, “Girls here are already threatened,” “I’m used to getting what I want,” and “I’m one of the most attractive girls here.” She also described herself as rich. Sorry girl, you’re not the next Jade. I MISS JADE SO MUCH. She was the funniest thing to ever grace that show. Someone read one of the eliminated girls’ diary. Now, if you read someone else’s diary, you have no right to get mad at them and chew them out for not liking what you read there. But these girls do not know that. The diary said, “I almost had to room with this black girl. Ew.” Sounded racist to me, but apparently the girl didn’t like that particular black girl. She got eliminated anyway. They also got rid of a snooty anti-consumerist who looked like a busted Lady Gaga (redundant?), because it didn’t seem like she wanted it.

Now for the girls. They are all pretty weird. This season might be good just because of the entertainment potential of these girls. The show seems to be going for entertainment value over finding an actual model. Anyway, here they are:

Anamaria- All of these girls are scary thin (no plus-sizers this time), but Anamaria looks sickly from some angles, especially in the back of the arms. Cue eating disorder rumors!

Ann- People says she looks “high fashion.” She’s the girl with the small waist. I think her face is hopelessly funny looking. She’s awkward, with ears like Alfalfa. Over six feet tall and already shunned by the other girls for being weird.

Chelsey- Has a little “Sookie Stackhouse” look going on with the blonde hair and the gap in her teeth.

Esther- Has size G boobs, but is doing a pretty good job of hiding them by wearing baggy sack shirts and slouching.

Jane- Really pretty. I’d kill for her jawline. She went to Princeton (I guess she is taking a year off) and had ponies growing up.

Kacey- This girl is NOT going to win. She has bags under her eyes and ageing already. Not that ageing is bad or anything, but this industry isn’t kind to it.

Kayla- Looks kind of like Portia De Rossi. She’s my favorite so far, as a person. She’s sweet, and her look is unique, yet still attractive.

Kendal- A virgin, because she has some sort of phobia against semen.

Lexie- A blonde who runs drama.

Liz- Probably the best-looking girl this season.

Rhianna- The bohemian one. She bored me, but she might do well in the competition because her look is in.

Sara- The rapper. It was so bad. Way worse than previous ANTM rapping models.

Terra and Chris- These sisters are hilarious. Chris is the louder one, but they play off each other nicely. Chris looks too commercial for this season, I think. I died laughing at their reactions when they both got through. I thought they had been possessed by really happy, loud demons.

We have all the ingredients to keep Top Model reality TV gold. We have a tragic story (someone had to sleep in a sleeping bag because her parents were too poor to buy her a bed). Two girls have babies. No big drama or creative photo shoots yet, but I'm hopeful.

Episode grade- B-

Stephen King's Dark Tower Series- Coming to a theatre and TV screen via Universal

Stephen King sold the rights to his Dark Tower series to Universal, according to multiple news sources. The seven novels are going to be released as three movies and an NBC TV series. They are going to be "telling the story across multiple platforms and multiple hours." So some of it will be on TV and some of it will be in the three movies.

Ron Howard is going to direct the first movie and the first season of the TV series. Akiva Goldsman is who they got to write the scripts. This is the hack to who brought us the dud movie version of The Da Vinci Code, which almost no one liked. Maybe I'm being too harsh. He also wrote "A Beautiful Mind." That was pretty good.

As a fan of the books (well, except for most of 5 and 6), I'm excited, but I'm wary of the talent they brought in to do this. King would not give the rights to the people behind "LOST," but apparently Goldsman and Howard are worthy?

It's great that they are going to delve deep into the full world and story though, because it looks like they are going to give it enough time. Will viewers watch the series and then go to the movies to see what happens? I know I would. I wonder which parts are going to be films? Probably books 1, 4, and 7?

I wonder who will play which characters...If they are going to be movies as well, big stars may be looking to be attached. Viggo Mortensen might make a good gunslinger. Too bad Joaquin Phoenix is crazy now, or he could have been Eddie. Maybe he was too old anyway. Thandie Newton for Susan?

More info and quotes from King's Web site. http://www.stephenking.com/promo/dark_tower_film_and_tv/news_tracker/

Requests for more new shows granted, Jersey Shore out.

Some shy, uncommenting readers have emailed requesting coverage of more new shows. Shy or not, they shall be placated. More new show coverage:

*Lone Star- Sept. 20. Mondays at 9:00. Drama about a Texas con man.
*Chase- Sept. 20. Mondays at 10:00 A cop show
*Raising Hope- Sept 21. Tuesdays at 9:00. A comedy about a 23-year-old new single father.
Running Wilde- Sept. 21 Tuesdays at 9:30. A comedy with Will Arnet (from the excellent "Arrested Development) and Keri Russell (from the not-as-excellent, but still nice, Felicity).
*Better with You- Sept. 22 Wednesdays at 8:30 A romantic comedy show
*The Defenders- Sept. 22 Wednesdays at 10:00 A show about lawyers
*Body of Proof- Sept 24. Fridays at 9:00. A medical mystery procedural

Man, we've got a lot of TV to watch now.

So something has to go. Jersey Shore will no longer be covered. The move to Miami takes away the subject, it's just Sammie and Ronnie screaming at each other, and the novely has worn off. We predict this show's popularity will wane in the next year, and we want to be among the first to tune out.

LOST 20-minute epilogue

The New Man in Charge.”
I finally sat down to watch the 20-minute LOST epilogue that came in the special features of my LOST season 6 DVD. I waited, because I wanted to savor the last 20 minutes of LOST. It was too short! But enjoyable. I am still left with a big, LOST-shaped hole in my heart.

They wrapped up the “Walt being special/having a role on the island” plotline. Ben: “You can help your father.” Walt: “My father’s dead.” Ben:”Doesn’t mean you can’t help him.” Walt looked even older than the last time I saw him. He looked like he should be well into college.

The epilogue gave a few answers about Dharma and the polar bears, but it was nothing you couldn’t have intuited or guessed yourself. The only surprising thing was that I think they explained the “Hurley bird” (genetic mutation). They also explained the source of the interrogation room where Carl was brainwashed, which was nice. There were some nice references to the show (the dharma van, connect four).

The LOST epilogue was more of a tease than an epilogue (not surprising), but it was nice to see Ben, Walt, and Hurley again. If you can’t get to it, it’s not essential. The best thing about it is that it gave Walt a purpose for existing. I recommend watching it if you are a Walt fan, want answers spelled out for you, or if you just miss LOST.

R.I.P., Great show. And Namaste (which, according to wikipedia, means, “"That which is of God in me greets that which is of God in you"). Replace with “spirit” or “universe,” depending on beliefs.