Last night, all danced thrice. Tonight, three will remain. Who does America like the least? Let’s find out, after 55 minutes of filler, on … Dancing with the Stars!

The encore dance is, unsurprisingly, Mya & Dmitry doing their Salsa. It earned a perfect 30, and we once again get to see why. I always secretly hope someone falls down during the encore dance, but my secret hopes are always dashed. They’re just as awesome, and get a huge standing ovation.

It’s time for recaps of last night. We find out that Kelly’s Rumba solo was almost completely improvised because she forgot her choreography, and they were concerned about top-poppage in her yellow dress. Joanna savored comments from the judges. Donny suffered Dressgate 2009, but came back with two great dances. Mya slaughtered all three dances and got Len to remark not once, but TWICE about her posterior.

Who’s going home? Find out after the cut, and 50 more minutes of filler. [Read more →]

Although record numbers tuned in for the premiere last week, Episode 2 saw those ratings fall 30%. And while the collective complaint of the first episode was the lightning speed with which it moved and how much was packed in, I found last night’s episode excruciatingly slow. There was, in my humble opinion, very little forward movement to this episode – we have very little new info about what our sneaky lizards are up to and our newly founded resistance members Erica and Jack seemed a little shell-shocked.

But perhaps the plot this week is a reflection of how it usually is in times of sweeping crisis or change – hurry up and wait. Initial enthusiasm and excitement quickly gives way to the need-some-time-to process-this reality of most things in life.

And indeed, our heroes, at least, need some time to process all that they’ve experienced since the Visitors came calling. It provides some convenient filler while the question of the episode is decided: Will the US agree to diplomatic relations with the Visitors or not?

[Read more →]

First, if you missed “V” last night, you can now download it as a free video on iTunes. Second, if you did see it, you weren’t alone. Almost 14 million people watched with you. That’s a good sign for ABC which has three successful Sci-Fi shows right now (LOST, FlashForward, and “V”).

The question is can ABC sustain, or even grow, those numbers. There are just three more episodes before the series goes on hiatus until March (to avoid the Winter Olympics and American Idol). During that time, the show will get retooled. This week they added new show runner charged with speeding up the pace of the show.

USA Today talked with Elizabeth Mitchell about the show before last night’s premier.

Mitchell, who plays hero FBI agent Erica Evans, says the resulting changes merely speed the pace of storytelling to pack a bigger wallop, including big cliffhangers in the Nov. 24 episode. Filming on that episode is set to wrap today, giving actors another unexpected 10-week break as the show is retooled. (Mitchell will trek to Hawaii to shoot new Lost episodes.)

“They didn’t do anything different. They heightened it, they took it up,” she says. The changes are meant to recapture the big-event appeal that started V in a different era. “The idea is to make it a movie, something where we are on the edge of our seats, wondering what’s going to happen.”

From what I saw last night, “V” will make sci-fi geeks very happy even as LOST draws to a close.

• Game Informer has a 9 minute audio interview with Warren Spector, creator of the Epic Mickey game. Lots of great stuff is revealed in what is essentially the first official communication from Disney about the game.
• ABC had to scrap some of its promotional plans for the new TV show ‘V’. Apparently dumping thousands of tons of pollutants into the air and potentially terrorizing unsuspecting city dwellers was seen as a bad move.
• Via Animation Magazine we get to see a rare letter from Walt Disney currently up for auction. What’s interesting is how modern day intellectual property lawyers won’t even let Disney employees look at outside suggestions. Things were simpler back then for sure.
• Disney’s purchase of the Little Einstein brand has come back to bite them. They’re now offering refunds for those ‘child development movies’ when the child movie inventor has revealed was just made up with no real science behind them. We have a few of those on our shelves.
• The Walt Disney Studios has big plans for the the Golden Oak Ranch in Santa Clarita. They’ll be adding soundstages and support structure capable of hosting productions for film and TV concepts. This is good news for Los Angeles which has been losing production work to Canada for years now.

This week’s episode of Modern Family was, in my opinion, the funniest one yet! The proud-of-his-Colombian-heritage child, Manny, wants to wear an oversized poncho to school, and his mother wants to let him, yet his stepfather (Ed O’Neill) teases him to no end. New parents Mitchell and Cameron hit their child’s head on the door frame and panic. And Phil challenges Claire to a foot race.

I don’t want to put spoilers into this blog, yet it is difficult to convey the hilarity of this show without them! The cast dynamic is excellent as is the writing. If you’re not watching Modern Family, you can watch episodes on ABC.com anytime (in fact that is how I normally watch the show!). While you’re over there, make sure to check out The Middle, too!

Modern Family has not disappointed me yet and I don’t think it will anytime soon!

It’s been several weeks since I have written about Modern Family. But the show still makes me laugh. In the most recent episode, Claire and Mitchell’s mother DeDe (Shelley Long) returns after “The Incident” as they call it. At Jay and Gloria’s wedding, DeDe got very drunk and caused a large scene, ruining the wedding. DeDe came back into town to ask for forgiveness so that she could move on with her life.

What I like best about Modern Family is not necessarily the main plot. While I enjoyed Shelley Long’s character and her storyline, it’s the small things that really had me laughing. Young Manny’s debonair attitude is just hilarious. This week he went to his first slumber party, and, while he got teased by his friends, it only made him try harder (even though he did get in his revenge).

The character development of this show is what keeps getting better. As we get to know everyone, we learn what makes them tick, and their little idiosyncrasies are funnier every week. I continue to enjoy this new comedy as well as The Middle, another surprising hit for ABC. I hope they stay around!

Editors Note: Modern Family, The Middle, and CougarTown all got picked up for a full season by ABC.

Sorry I’m a few days late in getting this commentary out – real life intervened, not to mention I didn’t get to watch the episode until late Friday night.  Anyway, getting on with the third episode, entitled “137 Sekunden”.

I was a little disappointed with this episode, in that I thought (from the previews) we were actually going to get some interesting answers up front from the strange German man.  In reality we got nothing but more questions.  More on that later…

Three separate subplots were contained in this week’s episode, surrounding Mark and Janis’ trip to Germany:

1) Demetri, who is mostly absent this episode except to investigate the mysterious phone call from the equally mysterious woman about his impending murder, meets his fiancee at the airport and together they spend some quality (?) time together.  She recaps her flashforward, supposedly of the two of them being married on D-Day (March 29, 2010) on a beach somewhere.  Demetri, of course, should have been able to see this as well but sees nothing so is understandably confused.  He doesn’t tell her that they visions don’t match, so we’ll see that secret carry over for a while…  I thought her description of the flashforward and confidence that it was Demetri she saw was a bit vague, like the assumption someone you expect to see in a certain place and time is indeed that person.  I wonder instead if it isn’t Demetri at all, and the visions do indeed match.  A closer examination of her vision might cause her to reconsider who it actually is, but Demetri isn’t about the rock the boat just yet.

2) FBI Boss Wedeck is uncomfortable about leading an upcoming eulogy for agents that died for various reasons during the flashes (I’m assuming car wrecks, airplane crashes, etc).  His wife, Felecia, who we meet for the first time, dishes with Olivia about her flash, that she will be taking care of a young child six months in the future, and we see this child as the son of one of the dead agents.  How this transition from other parent/guardian to Mrs. Wedeck remains a future plot point.

3) Mark’s AA mentor Aaron (notice how AA is part of his name?) continues to investigate his own flash, that of seeing his presumed dead soldier daughter alive again.  He tries to convince the girl’s mother Katie (last seen as Sawyer’s old flame Cassidy from LOST in yet another actor crossover) to have the remains exhumed and DNA tested, which she refuses.  Seems mom is a run down barkeep in a run down bar somewhere ‘cross town… and the two of them aren’t on the best terms.  Aaron enlists Mark’s help to get it done anyway, and the rests are conclusive – the remains of his daughter are actually in the grave.  All this proves to me is that (sorry) some pieces-parts of the girl were blown off during an attack, and she was captured by the enemy.  Whatever was left on the battlefield was recovered by the military and assumed to be all that was left of her, which were buried.  I’m assuming most soldiers maimed on a battlefield aren’t typically captured and tended for by the enemy in real life, but if I were a dad I don’t think I would rest until I was sure my child was dead – no matter what was returned.  Well, to a certain point.  I’m not sure I want to continue thinking about this, so let’s move on…

…To the main plot.  Mark and Janis get a tip through their international networks that Rudolf Geyer, a former Nazi who was only recently captured after fifty years on the lam, has information from his own flash that would aid the investigation.  Since the man supposedly asked for Mark by name, they travel to Germany to question him.  In exchange for information on why the 137 second length of the blackouts is significant (which Mark remembered posted on his big board in his flash) Greyer bargains for his own freedom.   Here Greyer relates his own actual memory of what happened after the flash, when he woke up.  He noticed crows lying dead all over the prison courtyard.  Having tricked the agents into what seems to them to be worthless information, he wins his freedom.

I’m not sure I expected this resolution to the man’s story – I was waiting on something to explain the duration – being used to LOST’s magic 108 number being the sum of the other numbers (4-8-15-16-23-42) – I expected some fancy numerological explanation, but only some vague mystical ramblings about the Jewish Kabbalah are all he provided.  Perhaps it will be significant later, but from what we’ve seen so far (and will see later in the episode’s tag) I believe we’re looking at a technologically-caused event and not one with supernatural implications.

Back in the states, after cross-referencing lists of mass bird deaths in history, the agents find other strange instances where large numbers of birds died.  In particular, we are shown a scene from history of a young child out in the fields.  He hears a strange noise and looks off toward a village in the distance.  Massive amounts of birds (crows from their calls) that were only moments before circling in great flocks all begin plummeting to earth.  The child looks at the village and up to the top of a great spire, from which a shock wave can be seen reaching outward to disrupt the sky and clouds above.

What this seems to indicate is that for many years someone or some group has been experimenting around the world with a technology that will induce blackouts and flashforwards, and a consequence of the pulse (sonic? electromagnetc? psionic?) is total disruption of the neural pathways of crows, causing them to instantly die.

A couple other random thoughts as we progress to next week:

1) Alan Ruck of “Ferris Bueller”, “Star Trek: Generations” and “Spin City” fame, a fairly recognizable face, has a brief role in the beginning as a participant in the AA meeting.  It seems to be a throwaway part and the character does not appear again in the episode, but it’s odd to use such a recognizable actor in a small role – even if he is a character actor.  Sometimes when shows do that it throws me off a bit because I expect to see the character have more significance than it does.

2) Was there ever any evidence that the blackouts affected any animal species other than humans (and now crows)?  Are we to assume that dogs, cats, birds, monkeys, elephants, horses, etc all went on about their business during the blackouts?  Maybe this is why there were so many Missing Pet posters on the wall that Olivia and Charlie saw last week – their owners were out walking them, collapsed for 137 seconds, and the dogs ran away.  Did people who happened to be on horseback just keep riding until they woke up again?  I feel sorry for the poor random zookeeper’s tending the lion cages or shark tanks at the time…

3) Speaking off, the ramifications of a world-wide 2-minute blackout continue to fascinate me.  I’m a bit surprised at the number of random plane crashes away from airports (takeoffs and landings needing necessary full-time concentration) but surely your average plane would survive a 2-minute coast, whether on autopilot or not.  Just don’t call me Shirley.

Also, it occurs to me that every man, woman and child who happened to be in a swimming pool likely drowned that day.  It’s one thing to be caught in the surf like the guys on the beach in the premiere episode where your body can be tossed around in the waves, but swimming a lap at the Y and suddenly plummeting to the bottom for 2 minutes…ulp.  And even in baby pools… ok, again. I’m, switching topics.

But you see what I mean.  Even with a 30-second mass blackout, the casualties from car wrecks and falls would be astounding.  With over 2 minutes you take into account drownings, airplane and chopper crashes, large equipment failures, factory malfunctions, power plant overloads, chemical spills – any dangerous or important job requiring full concentration would be jeopardized.  I’m surprised the world looks as good as it does…

It’s week 2 on Dancing with the Stars, and the men and women will finally be competing head to head. The dances this week are the jive, the quickstep, and the tango, which are all difficult styles in their own right, plus they’ve only had four days to prepare – so this should be an interesting show. Len is MIA this week, but filling in is guest judge Baz Luhrmann, the man behind Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Australia, and the fabulous reinterpretation of La Boheme on Broadway. Luhrmann isn’t a former dancer per se, but he “grew up around ballroom” and is credited with making ballroom dancing “cool” thanks to the smash film Strictly Ballroom. If you haven’t seen it, please stop what you are doing and go rent it immediately. Let’s go to the dances!

Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough – Jive:  Feet are the most important part of the jive, particularly in the execution of the many kicks this dance requires. With that in mind, Joanna needs to work on hers. Oftentimes her feet weren’t pointed, and she and Derek weren’t always kicking in sync. And as with last week, Derek’s choreography kept them in one place for the whole routine – I would love to see them use the stage more. Carrie Ann and Bruno agree with me – both praised Joanna’s energy but criticized her footwork. Ever the film director, Baz says the dance was good but that Joanna and Derek need to relate to each other more. Scores: 6-7-7 = 20.

Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo – Quickstep: The quickstep has two major rules: Keep Your Back Straight and Don’t Have an Asthma Attack. Natalie, despite holding her breath underwater for a living, has trouble breathing in rehearsals but manages to make it through the live performance with a big ol’ smile on her face. It was a decent routine, although she needs to make sure she points her toes during her extensions, and she seemed a bit stiff at times. Bruno and Baz tell her to relax, and Carrie Ann deems Natalie one of her favorite contestants. Scores: 7-7-7 = 21. And not a chicken dinner in sight.

Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya – Tango: The tango is a masculine, aggressive dance with one major rule – Do Not Break the Hold EVER. The tango definitely plays to Chuck’s strengths, and this was his best dance so far by a mile. He’s a little flat-footed, and his shoulders would creep up at times (in other news, I am turning into Len), but this was a great routine. Extra kudos to Anna for the great choreography. However, I must deduct kudos for the shirtless-and-suspenders outfit. Note to the wardrobe department:  The shirtless suspenders look does not work. Ever. Not on Maks, not on Chuck, not on anyone. Sincerely, My Eyes. Back to the judges – Baz calls it fantastic, Carrie Ann calls it impactful, and Bruno calls it “sudden and primeval” (not unlike the Primeval Whirl at Disney’s Animal Kingdom). Scores: 6-7-6 = 19. This seemed low, considering the comments.

Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas – Jive: I think the jive is Mark’s favorite dance, because it gives him license to be a total and complete ham. The problem with this is that you have to match his energy level, which is more or less impossible even if you were to drink 19  Red Bulls before going onstage. Thus, Melissa Joan looked downright lazy at times. Her technique was a little sloppy, but the bigger problem for me was that she looked as though she was struggling to keep up. Strangely, Carrie Ann praised her high energy, Bruno praised her energy but called her dancing frantic, and Baz agreed that she needs to watch her feet. Scores – 7-6-6 = 19. Sounds right to me.

Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova – Quickstep: After getting smacked down last week for bad dancing AND bad choreography, Michael and Anna needed to nail this dance big time. This performance was a huge improvement over last week, even if there were technical flaws here and there. Bruno praised Michael’s huge improvement, Baz called him out for sticking his tongue out while he dances, and Carrie Ann called it a touchdown. Scores: 7-7-6 = 20.

Debi Mazar and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Tango: Debi says in rehearsals she thinks her love-hate relationship with Maks puts them at an advantage with this dance, and I’m inclined to agree. Maks “Dancing is Not a Democracy” Chmerkovskiy also continued his streak of making his partners cry in rehearsals, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Debi. She looked amazing in her outfit, and it was a particularly bold move to make them dance to “Tango de Roxanne” from Baz’s own Moulin Rouge. The problem, of course, is that Debi is no Nicole Kidman, and looked like she was being dragged around most of the time. Baz began his critique by quoting his own movie and called it a fantastic performance, Carrie Ann called Debi “the drama queen,” and Bruno loved her character but told her she needs to keep it constant throughout – even when she’s unsure of her steps. Scores: 7-7-7.

Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower – Jive: Full disclosure – Chelsie and Louie are my favorite couple. I think it’s my residual love for Chelsie from last season and her stint on So You Think You Can Dance coupled with their overall adorableness, but I think they’re serious contenders in this competition. Louie is still very green, but keep in mind Chelsie is a fantastic teacher and a smart choreographer. This jive started off with a HUGE flip off the stage from Louie and was just oozing charm the whole way through. It was definitely the best routine of the night so far, and you can’t help but smile when these two dance. Carrie Ann says she loved his joy but called him out for having moments of visible confusion (fair enough). Bruno couldn’t contain himself, so he stood up and said there wasn’t enough jive content and Louie shouldn’t be skating (boarding?) by just because he can do crazy tricks. Baz thought it was a tremendous routine that captured the spirit of the jive. Scores: 6-7-6 = 19. These scores seem crazy low to me – it seems the spirit of Len is with us tonight.

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff – Quickstep: Things are tense in rehearsals, with lots of shouting and whatnot, but they seem to have patched things up and ….. OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING WHY ARE THE MUPPETS HERE. This is incredibly unfair for two reasons: 1. Dancing to the Muppets theme song automatically makes your dance better than everyone else’s 2. You cannot have Animal guest star in one routine and not offer the other couples the same deal. I mean, Tom DeLay is basically a Muppet anyway, but that’s not to say his performance wouldn’t be enhanced by Rizzo’s antics. And we all know Donny Osmond would be great at waka-waka-waltzing with Fozzie. And as for Len? We can just replace him with Sam Eagle. Back to the dancing – this was an incredibly clean routine and a great performance from Aaron. In any other number, the fact that he was dressed like a leprechaun (and it takes a very secure man to wear sparkly green shoes) would seem strange, but not tonight. Gonzo joins the panel to hang out out with our resident gonzo, Bruno, who proclaimed their dance “spectacular! spectacular!” and said they’ve set the bar very high for themselves. Baz called it clever and inventive, and Carrie Ann called attention to their technique (props for the hold!). Scores: 9-9-9 = 27. Holy Statler and Waldorf, those scores blow everyone else away.

Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel – Tango: Kelly is nervous about her tango and has worked herself into a tizzy worrying that she can’t measure up to last week’s incredible Viennese Waltz. This routine was, sadly, a big step backwards for her. Louis’s choreography was difficult and she made a few mistakes throughout the dance, including one right in front of the judges’ table. Baz and Carrie Ann both acknowledged that she made mistakes but are still fans; Bruno is a bit tougher on her but none of the judges critique her over anything in particular. Scores: 6-7-6= 19.

Kathy Ireland and Tony Dovoloni – Quickstep: This was probably the easiest quickstep of the night, but it was danced clean. Kathy is still really stiff, which is appropriate for this style of dance, but I wish she had more grace and fluidity in her movements. Carrie Ann said the routine was too careful and there was too much space in their hold, Bruno said Kathy wasn’t engaging enough, and Baz, in his polite Australian way, called them boring. They could be in trouble tomorrow night. Scores: 6-6-6 = 18.

Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer - Quickstep: Mark has great posture, so he should be a natural at this style. Rehearsals seem to indicate otherwise. But wow – they pulled out a majorly classy, incredibly entertaining, glamourous routine. Huge props to Lacey for her awesome choreography – the other couples need to keep an eye on these guys. Bruno called it a great performance but said Mark needs to watch his footwork, Baz called it an incredible comeback (Mark slipped early on), and Carrie Ann called it clean and tight and praised his quick recovery from the slip-up. Scores: 7-7-7. Personally, I think there should have been a few 8’s in there.

Mya and Dmitry Chaplin – Jive: The jive is not traditionally a sexy dance, but Mya and Dmitry performed a sassy, sultry, totally original routine. I rewound the DVR so I could watch it again – the personality was through the roof in this routine, and as frequent viewers will note, personality will get you very far on this show. No surprises here -the judges are ecstatic. Baz called them the real deal and loved that they told a story, Carrie Ann praised their energy and synergy, and Bruno jumped out of his seat and compared them to Josephine Baker and Clark Kent (a compliment). Scores: 9-9-9. Well deserved.

Tom DeLay and Cheryl Burke – Tango: The tango is the dance d’amour, so prepare yourselves for Tom DeLove. It turns out Tom is such a dancing fool that he’s suffered pre-stress fractures in his feet – whether this is foreshadowing for a more dramatic injury later, only time will tell. As for their tango, Serious Tango Tom is much more palatable than last week’s Wild Thing Tom, and he did a very respectable job … until he almost dropped Cheryl on the floor at the end. Carrie Ann finds them alluring (uh?), Bruno said he almost pulled the routine off and gave them credit for doing a proper tango. Baz commented that Len would have been pleased with their performance. Scores: 6-6-6 = 18.

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson – Jive: Donny appears to be having problems in rehearsals with the physical stamina that the jive requires, but it didn’t matter – he delivered a very controlled, fun, personality-filled performance. Points off for the velvet suit, but Kym gets extra credit for delivering another smart, balanced routine that catered to Donny’s strengths. Bruno saved his best critique for last – “Secret Agent OsMANd! Mission accomplished!” Baz called them a joy, and Carrie Ann called their routine a testament to why the Osmonds are such a powerful force in entertainment. Scores: 8-9-8 = 25.

So who’s going home? My money is on Kathy and Tony. See you back here tomorrow with the results!

When she’s not geeking out over the Baz Luhrmann oeuvre, you can catch The Disney Chick at www.thedisneychick.com.

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