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'Lost' Wednesdays: 'Maybe you should be the principal'

March 10, 2010 | 11:50 pm

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 Pretty much everybody who was anybody in "Lost" blogger world liked "Dr. Linus," largely because they liked the performance of Michael Emerson and the way the show mixed around the back story of Ben to present a new history for one of the series' best characters. Well, there were some people who were shakier on the hour, but for the most part, it was the most warmly received episode of "Lost" since the Locke-centric "The Substitute." The weeks of episodes being deeply divisive seemed mostly over for one episode, and all was (mostly) well in "Lost" fandom.

Once again, though, we don't have a lot of time for links, since you guys came up with some good comments and thoughts on the post and in my e-mail. And that's the reason we're here, right?

Let's turn to Twitter first, where @WWOFTBBNR (and good luck figuring out what THAT means) asks: "When are you thinking the Sideways timeline split from the original? Last night confirmed no Jughead in the sideways." I guess I should be looking over my Lostpedia more closely, because I'm not sure if this necessarily confirms that fact or not, but if it does, I'm wondering if, somehow, the Jughead bomb didn't still exist and then exploded at some point before when it did last season but after when we first saw the bomb early last year. (Remember how unstable it was?) You'll have to help me with my "Lost" history, though.

I only got one e-mail this week, but it was a good one. Reader Tom Snee points out that if you take the initials of the actor who played Principal Reynolds -- W.A. for William Atherton -- combined with that last R from the character name of Reynolds spells out W.A.R. Now, I think that's probably reading a little too much into things, but it's certainly an interesting way to look at it. The "Lost" guys are such fans of big character actors that they must have had Atherton in mind for a while now to play someone, so maybe they played this little inside joke on the audience.

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Thursday's TV Highlights: Katharine McPhee in 'Community'

March 10, 2010 |  8:02 pm
Click here to download TV listings for the week of March 7 - 13 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies


Et-kz1cpnnc-mar11 FAMILY DAY: Katharine McPhee guest stars in a new episode of 'Community' at 8 p.m. on NBC.

SERIES

American Idol: Scott MacIntyre and Matt Giraud perform in this new episode when four more contestants are eliminated, revealing the 12 finalists (8 p.m. Fox).

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: When a boy is murdered, Langston and Willows (Laurence Fishburne, Marg Helgenberger) and their colleagues uncover evidence that could link his death to an old case. Paul Guilfoyle, Faith Prince and George Eads also star in this new episode (9 p.m. CBS).

The Office: Dwight causes trouble on Jim's first day back from paternity leave in this new episode (9 p.m. NBC).

30 Rock: Jack (Alec Baldwin) frets that his dreams will be dashed after Avery (Elizabeth Banks) tells him of a rumor that a cable company wants to buy out NBC (9:30 p.m. NBC).

The Mentalist: Patrick and the team try to determine who exposed a government research scientist to a deadly toxin, leaving her with only hours to live (10 p.m. CBS).

The Marriage Ref: Madonna, Larry David and Ricky Gervais share their wisdom in this new episode (10 p.m. NBC).

Manhunters: Fugitive Task Force: The team tracks a fugitive through the coastal towns and rural mountainsides of Puerto Rico (10 p.m. A&E).

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Thursday's TV Talk Shows: Donald Trump is a guest on 'Today,' 'Regis and Kelly' and 'Late Show With David Letterman'

March 10, 2010 |  8:00 pm
Click here to download TV listings for the week of March 7 - 13 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies


The Early Show Matt Damon. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today Donald Trump; Guy Fieri; Amy Ryan. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC

Good Morning America Valerie Harper. (N) 7 a.m. KABC

Live With Regis and Kelly Guest co-host Jerry Seinfeld; Donald Trump; animal handler Peter Gros. (N) 9 a.m. KABC

The View Elton John; Eric McCormack. (N) 10 a.m. KABC

The Doctors Bionic limbs; a robot provides treatment for autistic children; implant for pain management. (N) 11 a.m. KCAL

The Martha Stewart Show Andy Garcia. (N) 2 p.m. KNBC

The Bonnie Hunt Show Tracy Morgan ("30 Rock"); Katharine McPhee. 3 p.m. KNBC

Oprah Winfrey Michael Pollan, Steve Ells and Alicia Silverstone discuss the documentary "Food, Inc." 3 p.m. KABC

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'America's Next Top Model' Cycle 14 preview: Six standout ladies

March 10, 2010 | 12:01 pm

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America’s Next Top Model” Cycle 14 premieres Wednesday night, and 32 new girls are vying to get into the final group. As you know, Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley is joining the judging panel this cycle, but he won’t be in the premiere. Tyra Banks, Miss J. Alexander and Mr. Jay Manuel helm Wednesday night’s ship. Oh, and a certain loathsome gossip columnist, pictured, makes an appearance.

Fans are going to love the premiere. It has all the elements we love: cattiness, touching back stories, not-so-touching back stories and, of course, "Ty-overs"!

Of the initial 32 girls, here are my six favorites Wednesday night:

(Don’t worry, I won’t be telling you anything about the final group that the CW website hasn’t already shared with the world. If you’ve avoided even checking the website, I promise I won’t tell you which gals made it!)

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Bravo adds another night of original programming

March 10, 2010 | 11:27 am
A fifth night of original programming is coming soon to Bravo, which means several of your favorites will be back as well as a couple of new series, the network announced Wednesday.

The new shows, as listed in a Bravo press release are:

"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills": The franchise heads to the glamorous city that defines luxurious wealth and pampered privilege, a city where being seen and who you know are everything. This one-hour docu-series is being produced by Evolution Media ("The Real Housewives of Orange County").

"Miami Social Club": This docu-series follows Miami's social elite -- a glamorous circle where money, hard work, status and beauty rule. MC Filmworks is producing this series and the title is tentative.

"Million Dollar Decorators":  Explore the work and personal lives of some of L.A.'s hottest high-end interior decorators as they navigate a world where millions of dollars and massive egos are constantly on the line. Goodbye Pictures is producing it.

"Pregnant in Heels": Rosie Pope has managed to create a thriving business as the owner/designer of Rosie Pope Maternity, the ultra high-end maternity brand for the most sophisticated and urban mothers-to-be. Rosie -- the tough talking, straight-shooting coach for the most privileged expecting mothers of Manhattan -- advises her clients on everything from planning baby showers and hiring staff to decorating nurseries and organizing Brazilian waxing for the labor room. Shout Media is producing this series.

Bravo is also developing a docu-series following "So You Think You Can Dance" Emmy-winning choreographer Mia Michaels; an international food competition series; and a Darren Star-produced musical drama following a straight, married affluent power broker in New York who leads a double life as a drag queen.

The returning series include: "The Fashion Show 2," "Million Dollar Listing 4," "The Real Housewives of Atlanta 3," and "Tabatha's Salon Takeover 3."

-- Maria Elena Fernandez (follow me on Twitter @writerchica)

'16 and Pregnant': Chelsea

March 10, 2010 |  9:57 am

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I was waiting for it all season: the moment when I would finally admire one of the dads. And it happened after Tuesday's episode ... too bad it wasn't the teen dad-to-be. 

In this week's episode we're introduced to Chelsea. The teen from Vermillion, S.D. is all about "having fun." She's about to have a baby with her boyfriend Adam -- he's the kind of guy who calls his girlfriend a "whore" on his Facebook status updates. Charming, right? It's no wonder Chelsea's dad, Randy, whom she mostly lives with now that her parents are divorced, doesn't exactly like the dude. That and, well, the guy got his little girl pregnant.

As he's folding laundry, Randy and Chelsea recall the moment when he found out she was pregnant. He questioned why she didn't use birth control. Her answer? "I can't even take regular medicine." Um, what?

Continue reading »

'The Biggest Loser': '1-2-3, beat the black team'

March 10, 2010 |  8:14 am

Stephanie The thinning of the herd begins.

O'Neal emerged as a leader last night, and put it all on the table. Literally. Overjoyed to see his daughter, Sunshine, walk through the door, safe, having survived last week's elimination, the big man found himself with a new goal: to protect his daughter, himself and their team at all costs. He likened the blue team members to the individual fingers on his hand -- ultimately, everyone is in it for themselves -- but fingers on the hand come together as a fist. "1-2-3, beat the black team" was their rallying cry.

First up, the blue team beat black in this week's challenge, pulling a semi-truck (I know I saw it with my own two eyes but it still sounds insane), putting together a milk-crate puzzle and winning a year's worth of groceries.

With victory under their belt, the teams had a "work" week. Meaning, they had a taste of what life will be like back in the real world, when work and a commute compete with gym time and the need to prepare healthy meals. (I liked the "Groundhog Day"-esque editing involved there as the teams were up with the chickens, hit the gym, took a bus to work, put in some solids, and then did it all in reverse.) The message: If you could lose weight this week, you could lose weight at home.

Best of all: great insight into hunger in America, as the competitors worked for a Los Angeles food bank. Makes you want to volunteer for your local food bank, write a check for $5 or $10, and clean out the cupboard of stuff you know you won't eat but someone else will, right? Then, just do it.

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'90210': Ade kisses and Navid tells

March 10, 2010 |  7:36 am

90210-cw-adrianna-gia The “90210” gang is back from break and it's time to get back to class: Romance 101 and Intro to Betrayal are back in session.

Don’t you love that in the show they’ve been away for two weeks, but for us fans it has been months? Three excruciating months!

Adrianna and Gia
Well, it happened: The big lesbian kiss everyone has been making such a big deal about. Basically, it was a “fake” kiss in that Ade (Jessica Lowndes) was trying to make Gia’s ex-girlfriend jealous. She was paying Gia (Rumer Willis) back for helping her when she was freaking out earlier in the night. I need to rewind.

Ade and Gia bonded after they discovered that they’re both in Alcoholics Anonymous. Ade had been feeling like the outcast from the group, especially when she went to a party and Naomi accidentally gave her a drink that had rum in it. It was a dumb mistake, but Ade is dealing with her addiction. It understandably threw her for a loop and Gia was there to catch her in her very strong, almost manly arms. I’m kidding.

I have a little bonus interview with Lowndes at the bottom of this post about the kiss and where her character's relationship with Gia is going. Don’t say I never gave you anything!
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'Melrose Place': About last night?

March 10, 2010 |  7:00 am
Amanda ben melrose place Boy, Michael Rady wasn't kidding when he told us that Sydney's murder has been wrapped up and everyone's moving on. Without blinking, we pick up the morning after Jonah hooks up with Ella, Auggie kisses Riley, Lauren ODs and Violet kills Vanessa in the pool.

Sure, there are lots of mentions of "last night" -- mostly of the who-kissed-whom variety, not who-drowned-whom. There isn't even some yellow tape around the pool, and I'm almost positive that at least David, Jonah and Lauren don't have a clue about last night's skirmish. Wouldn't David at least be concerned? It was his step-mom who killed his ex-lover. But since that's what they're giving us, let's concentrate on the dewy-eyed, post-coital-cuddling kind of morning afters.
 
Jonah -- having directly or indirectly alienated everyone else in the complex -- asks David whether he should tell Riley about his late-night tryst with Ella. David suggests bottling up his guilt and angst; something David seems to do to get the superhero strength he needs to pummel the guy who made Lauren sick.

Question: If the guy of your dreams finally leaves his boring schoolmarm fiancee and winds up in bed with you, wouldn't you want said boy to tell said (currently unemployed) teacher about last night's shenanigans? But it did make me feel a bit better that Ella's motive for wanting to spill about their night together seemed to be that she wanted to lock in her man, not to hurt Riley. Deep down, she seemed to know what she did wasn't right.
Continue reading »

Conan Twitter Tracker: The Tour, The Movie

March 10, 2010 |  6:00 am

Conando
Here at Show Tracker, we are hoping that rumors of a Conan O'Brien tour are true. Why? Because we're getting a little bit worried about him.

Not only has he been tweeting about his affinity for peas and posting pictures of strange-looking spots on his (or somebody else's body?), he's been busy Twitter-reproducing. Now there's @CoCosMoustache, @CoCosATMCard, @ConansPromTux, @ConansRaisinets, @ConansRareCard, @ConanOBarbarian, @ConansPeas, and @ConandoOBrien in his Twitter family.

Of course, we cannot be 100% sure that these accounts are part of Conan's 140-character repertoire, so we have a special request. As CoCosBeard and ConansFreckles are prone to writing to Show Tracker, can one of you let us know if these guys are for real? We're pretty sure @ConandoOBrien is real because his Spanish is terrible. @CoCosMoustache seems to be in synch with @CoCosBeard. And @CoCosATMCard reached out to us, too, so we think that one's authentic. The rest? Hmm.

On the subject of authenticity, we'd like to address ConansFreckles' message to Show Tracker over the weekend. It seems that a movie about Conan's Twitter pal Sarah Killen is in the works. According to Freckles, "When Red-Hairy Met Sarah" will star Ewan McGregor (in a wig) as Conan, Renee Zellweger as Sarah, that guy from "Supernatural" (either one'll do) as John, and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog as the Squirrel.

Freckles also mentioned Julianna Margulies or Julia Louis-Dreyfus as possible contenders to play us. Not that we don't think the world of those two actresses ("The Good Wife" is one of our new favorite shows and we've actually met and enjoyed spending time with Julia Louis-Dreyfus), but we're thinking we should go a tad bit younger and with an accent. What about Sofia Vergara? She's definitely someone who can hang with Freckles and the gang. We know this because we've spent time with her, too, and discussed important things, like the size of her breasts. Sign her up!

Another subject that needs clarification, por favor (that's "please" in Spanish, Conando): On March 2 at 8:46 p.m. (PT), @MVNUSID tweeted: "@ConanOBrien I think you should follow someone random and anonymous like me for your first follow just to make people go 'Hmmmm....' :)"  So the question is: @ConanObrien, is that where you got the idea to follow @LovelyButton? In case you were wondering, we have noticed that your Taurus is now following a Canadian Sarah Killen and that your Monkey "decided to go with the most recent person to tweet me."

Does @MVNUSID deserve the credit for all that madness? If so, he needs to be in the movie, too. It's only just. (That's justo, Conando).

--Maria Elena Fernandez (follow me on Twitter @writerchica)

Photo: Conando O'Brien's picture on Twitter. Credit: Conando O'Brien's Twitter page.

Related

Complete Conan Twitter Tracker coverage


'Lost': Ben gets his doctorate

March 10, 2010 | 12:08 am

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Benjamin Linus is a character that shouldn't work whatsoever. Everything the guy says might be a lie, to the point where the actor playing him has genuinely no idea of what the truth of what he's saying actually is. At any given moment, he might shift his allegiance on a whim, flipping sides if it's what will most keep him alive or gain him power. He's a man who pretended to have all of the answers and actually had almost none of them. And all too often, he's used as a shock card by the writers, a character they can have do pretty much anything because they figure they can explain it later. When this show is over, I'm not sure the whole relationship between the Others and DHARMA and Ben will be adequately explained (for one thing, I still find it odd that the Others seemed to have supernatural powers in the early going of the show), but I will know this: Ben Linus is one of the all-time great TV villains.

Some of that has to do with the writers, who have always given Ben some of their brightest and funniest material. Some of it has to do with the sheer audacity of a show having a character who's so self-serving that he essentially tries to reinvent reality as he sees fit. (To make an odd TV connection, Ben is basically the Don Draper of the Island.) But the vast majority of what makes Ben work is the fact that he's played by Michael Emerson, a journeyman character actor, who'd done tons of great work on stage and just as many great TV guest appearances, but one who seemed unlikely to ever become a household name. Indeed, "Lost" mostly brought him on for a tiny guest arc and then kept expanding his role and his character as the producers saw just how good the actor was.

It's not like Emerson -- who had a guest actor Emmy before his "Lost" gig, after all -- was unknown or not respected within the industry, but his work on "Lost" is the clearest case of the show figuring out how to play to a gifted actor's strengths in its entire run. Every show that has a recurring villain like Ben is at its best when it figures out a way to humanize that villain. Every show that has a recurring villain like Ben will inevitably try to figure out a way to put him on the side of the good guys. And every show that has a recurring villain like Ben will go out of its way to keep that villain as slippery in his motivations as possible. To see just how easily this can go badly, look at how "Heroes" kept rewiring the character of Sylar to keep a talented actor around when it was clear that the character was a one-season one the series had no earthly idea what to do with after that first season.

But Emerson's work on "Lost" shows just how well the right actor can sell something as cliche as, say, the bad guy having a daughter that he cares for very, very much. The relationship between Ben and Alex has never been the most compelling thing on the show, but darn it, Emerson was going to make you feel like it was every time it came up again. The season four episode "The Shape of Things to Come," which climaxed with the nearly operatic image of Ben cradling his daughter's dead body while the smoke monster crackled and hissed around him was at once the stuff pulpy dreams are made of and intensely moving. That Emerson could project so much grief under such bizarre circumstances -- in wide shot, no less -- showed just how thoroughly the show had realized what he could do and just how far he could push what the series was capable of.

Continue reading »

'The Good Wife': Alicia and the alpha males

March 9, 2010 | 10:57 pm
AliciaEli
Though it may have lacked romantic subplots worthy of a Nora Ephron film, last night’s episode of “The Good Wife” was but a solid if not enthralling installment. A little heavy on the courtroom drama, perhaps, but it all served a purpose. And what was that purpose, you ask? 

Alicia’s big ol’ crush on Will, that’s what.

Yes, last night boyish-looking Will proved himself to be quite the alpha male, and Alicia did not mind it one bit. Take, for instance, the scene in which he stood up to Judge Lessner (Ana Gasteyer).  He lambasts the rather impartial judge for not ruling on his objections -- a tactic Judge Lessner used to avoid appeals in the past (can any legal experts tell me if this is a real thing?). Will's outburst was a risky, maybe even reckless, display of aggression, but Alicia ate it up. I’m going to read between the lines here and guess that our heroine has a thing for powerful, confident men. Let’s just hope that self-assurance is all that Will has in common with Peter. Speaking of romance, I was sad to see that Diane’s love interest, McVeigh (Gary Cole), was not back for round two. Here’s hoping that he returns in time for May sweeps.

Already sensing the growing attraction between Alicia and Will, Peter completely wigs out when he finds a few condoms in his wife's bedside drawer. That's when he decides to get a little territorial -- and a whole lot hypocritical -- by confronting Alicia about the mysterious prophylactics.  Alicia is understandably enraged by Peter's double standards, but even more so by his invasion of her privacy. Instead of caving into his demand that she stay home, Alicia stuffs the condoms into her purse and defiantly walks right out the door. Surely it was more of a symbolic gesture -- I doubt Alicia put the rubbers to use -- but even so, it was delightful. 
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Wednesday's TV Highlights: Shawn is targeted for murder in the season finale of 'Psych'

March 9, 2010 |  8:00 pm
Click here to download TV listings for the week of March 7 - 13 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies


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SUSPENSE: A killer is using scenarios lifted from classic Hitchcock films, in the season finale of 'Psych' at 10 p.m. on USA. With Corbin Bernsen.

SERIES

The New Adventures of Old Christine: Christine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) tries to teach Ritchie's (Trevor Gagnon) class some street smarts but ends up stranded at a subway station after she misses the train herself. Clark Gregg and Hamish Linklater also star in this new episode (8 p.m. CBS).

America's Next Top Model: This new season premieres with a special 90-minute episode as 33 semifinalists compete for the 13 slots that will allow them to move into the New York loft together. Andre Leon Talley joins Tyra Banks and Nigel Barker on the judges panel and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton makes a guest appearance (8 p.m. KTLA).

Gary Unmarried: Mitch (Rob Riggle) returns from overseas and Gary (Jay Mohr) tries to help him decide what he will do for a living. Dodgers manager Joe Torre guest stars in this new episode (8:30 p.m. CBS).

American Idol: The top eight male singers perform (9 p.m. Fox).

Continue reading »

Wednesday's TV Talk Shows: Charlie Rose interviews Nancy Pelosi

March 9, 2010 |  8:00 pm
Click here to download TV listings for the week of March 7 - 13 in PDF format

This week's TV Movies


The Early Show Harry Smith's colonoscopy. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today Catherine Zeta-Jones. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC

Good Morning America Authors Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Rev. Mpho A. Tutu. (N) 7 a.m. KABC

Live With Regis and Kelly Guest co-host Ludacris; America Ferrera; Bret Michaels. (N) 9 a.m. KABC

The View Forest Whitaker; Jesse Ventura. (N) 10 a.m. KABC

The Doctors Heart transplant candidate. (N) 11 a.m. KCAL

Rachael Ray John Cusack and Amanda Peet. 2 p.m. KCBS

The Martha Stewart Show Author Susan Orlean. 2 p.m. KNBC

The Bonnie Hunt Show Bill Engvall; Jackie Collins; Noah Mills. (N) 3 p.m. KNBC

Dr. Phil Shocking headlines: Ashley Banfield. (N) 4 p.m. KCBS

Continue reading »

CBS renews 'Undercover Boss' for a second season

March 9, 2010 | 11:00 am

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Watch out, America. More bosses will be going undercover.

CBS has ordered a second season of its hit freshman reality show, "Undercover Boss." The series shows hot-shot executives spending time in the trenches, pretending to be low-level workers as they get to know their companies on a more intimate level.

Its renewal is no surprise. "Undercover Boss, " which airs on Sunday nights, is the No. 1 new series of the TV season, averaging 18.74 million viewers.

-- Maria Elena Fernandez (follow me on Twitter @writerchica)

Photo: Bill Carstanjen, chief operating officer of Churchill Downs Inc., the corporation known for the Kentucky Derby, goes undercover. Credit: CBS

RELATED:

Fox renews 'Fringe' for a third season

NBC renews its entire Thursday night comedy block

Early broadcast TV renewals


'House M.D.': Blogging might just save your life

March 9, 2010 | 10:48 am
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After a monthlong hiatus, "House" returned with a bang last night. The episode, titled "Private Lives," guest-starred longtime television favorite Laura Prepon as Frankie, a blogger who obsessively reports the minutiae of her life to her online followers. 

Frankie is obsessed with being completely open and honest with her readers, so she blogs everything: from arguments with her boyfriend to the state of her sex drive.

Things grow more complicated when Frankie's heart valve needs to be replaced. She's faced with two options. A plastic valve would last but require drugs that cause birth defects, while a pig valve would allow for a healthy pregnancy but require replacement every 10 years. Frankie's husband, Taylor, has been hoping for children, but it's not him she consults about the dilemma, it's the blogosphere.

Though her blog may be destroying her marriage, it does help the doctors diagnose her condition. Over the years, Frankie developed a tendency to post in the middle of the night. Day-night reversal indicated liver failure. Ultimately, however, House found the cause of her liver failure (Whipple's disease) by examining the one part of her life she didn't blog about ... her bowel movements.
Continue reading »

Animal Planet to turn Oscar winner, 'The Cove,' into a TV series

March 9, 2010 | 10:14 am

Getprev-2 Oscar gold is coming to Animal Planet.

According to our sister blog, 24 Frames, Animal Planet is turning "The Cove" into a TV series that will possibly premiere in the fall.

The documentary about the controversial dolphin trade in Japan won the Academy Award on Sunday. It tells the story of an annual rite in Taiji, Japan, where fisherman sell dolphins into captivity or kill them for meat.

The series, tentatively called "Dolphin Warriors," picks up where the movie leaves off and also stars animal activist Ric O'Barry. It is being produced by O'Barry's son, Lincoln.


For the full story, go here.

--Maria Elena Fernandez (follow me on Twitter @writerchica)

Photo: "The Cove's" Ric O'Barry, left, and Louie Psihoyos make a point onstage. Credit: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times


'Damages': Ellen against the world

March 9, 2010 |  9:35 am
Damages-Rose-Byrne-Ellen-Parsons-against-the-world-fx In this episode of “Damages,” Ellen Parsons, who has been a bit in the background this season at her new job at the district attorney’s office, steps out to the forefront as she makes some calculated moves.

Ellen vs. the future
In the flash-forward, we see Ellen being questioned by the police about her bloody Chanel bag being found at Tom Shayes’ crime scene. She claims it was stolen, which seems credible because police discover Lester Wiggins' -- a.k.a. Tobin family lawyer Leonard Winstone’s -- prints on it. That’s just one of the many striking developments in Ellen’s story line in this episode.

Ellen vs. the D.A.
It’s clear in the first few episodes that Ellen was being used as a tool to decipher Patty Hewes for the D.A.’s office. Although she was working on a totally unrelated (well, so far) case involving drug dealers, she was constantly pulled into meetings with Patty. In turn, she gave the office her insight on what Patty would probably do next. Up until now, it seemed she was on the same page with her bosses.
Continue reading »

'Gossip Girl': Reunited and it feels so good

March 9, 2010 |  7:04 am
GG_serenanate Like a fair maiden waiting with baited breath for her vagabond lover to arrive, I welcomed Monday night's new episode of "Gossip Girl" with open arms. It has been three months, after all! I expected the same hot and heavy reception that Nate got from Serena, but ended up with a greeting as flat as Chuck's French accent. Why so serious? Perhaps the show and I just need to get to know each other again.

Because there's plenty to be serious to about, let's start with the froth. Serena and Nate, together at last! I've been waiting for this couple to take off since, well, the pilot episode. There's no doubt that Serena and Nate have unbelievable chemistry; their spark pretty much blows any of their previous relationships out of the water (yes, even Serena's relationship with Dan). They're both just so ... hot. We know we can expect more steamy scenes in coat check closets and other assorted tight spaces, but will that physical chemistry be enough to sustain a real relationship? It's a journey I'm willing to take, especially if Serena and Nate are going to be taking kooky advice from their respective exes/BFFs (remind me to create a Venn diagram of who's dated who on this show).

Speaking of exes, one particular doctor ex-husband is causing a major rift between former golden couple Lily and Rufus. After getting wind of Lily's secret summer tryst in the letter sent by Dr. William Van der Woodsen (to be played by William Baldwin starting April 26), Rufus decided to take off to Colorado to hang with his buds and avoid his new wife. The time away didn't help; he returned with a heart as icy as the mountains around Telluride in January. I don't blame him. I'd be angry if my fiancee at the time had kissed an ex -- even if it didn't mean anything. During their confrontation, Lily resembled a guilty Serena, who could do nothing but shrug and pout at her transgressions. Like mother and daughter indeed.

Continue reading »

Johnny Weir on faux rivalries, who he admires, and being called 'fierce' by Larry King

March 9, 2010 |  7:00 am

Johnny Weir loves to fly his "freak flag," and plenty of people love him for it.

The Times interviewed the increasingly popular figure skater and star of Sundance Channel's "Be Good Johnny Weir" in Los Angeles on Friday. As promised, we want to share more videos from our chat with him at the London Hotel.

Here Weir discusses his faux rivalry with Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek:


In this video, Weir talks about the Lady Gaga-themed performance he didn't get to give at the Olympics and what it's been like for him to be compared to artists like her and Adam Lambert.



Finally, Weir tells the behind-the-scenes story of his interview last week on "Larry King Live."


--Maria Elena Fernandez and Denise Martin (follow us on Twitter @writerchica and @denisemartin)

Video credit: Maria Elena Fernandez

Related

Johnny Weir's Weird World...we kinda love it



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