On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

ApprenticeIn a highly-publicized fight far nastier than any boardroom brawl, Donald Trump and Martha Stewart have traded barbs and slung mud with the best of them. Hmm…could it have possibly been a publicity stunt designed to promote Season 5 of The Apprentice, debuting tonight? Not that the show couldn’t use it, having slipped to 38th place from its former number one spot.

Maybe this will be the shot in the arm Donald needs, but will the high-rish move to Monday nights reduce viewership?

The blood feud between Martha Stewart and Donald Trump evokes the same feelings as, say, Iran attacking North Korea. But there is something important to keep in mind. It erupted less than a week before the fifth edition of Trump’s “The Apprentice” premieres in a new time period Monday (Feb. 27). Each of the past three has produced lower ratings than its predecessor. Shows switching nights almost always lose audience, and another such decline could allow Stewart to turn the tables and lecture Trump on what went wrong with his show.

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George ClooneyRenowned talent and sex symbol George Clooney will bare all –emotionally, at least—when he sits down with Barbara Walters on March 1st. Clooney will discuss his fabulous career, views on marriage, and the special relationship he shares with his potbellied pig, Max.

Walters, who is known to cause her subjects to break down emotionally on camera, asks Clooney about marriage and his Oscar nominations for directing and writing the film Good Night, and Good Luck, and acting in the film Syriana.

Clooney is the first person ever nominated for directing and cowriting a film in the same year as being nominated for acting in a different film. In the interview, Clooney discusses the fact that he doesn’t expect to win any awards against the people he holds in high esteem.

There’s no way you should miss this!


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Barbara Walters Oscar SpecialIn what was traditionally a post-Oscars show, the annual Barbara Walters Special will now be airing a whole four days before the red carpet event.  While people on the East Coast were used to seeing this special before the Oscars telecast, those on the West Coast were forced to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to get their turn.  Now the country will be united in their shared time slot:  Wednesday night @ 10pm.

This year’s round of interviews will include the Sexiest Man Alive, Mr. McDreamy, a diva and the token Oscar contender —also known as Matthew McConaughey, Patrick Dempsey, Mariah Carey and George Clooney.  The star-wattage alone should guarantee a big turn out for ABC on the last night of sweeps… but then again, airing right after a new episode of Lost will probably be enough.

As for which star Barbara will make cry?  My bets on Mariah…


KFC BucketThe next time you find yourself watching a recorded episode of your favorite show, don’t be so quick to fast forward through all the commercials. If you take your time to play the latest advertising game, you could win yourself some free food for the effort.  In what’s being touted as the ‘first documented case of hidden messaging in advertising’, KFC is trying to take advantage of the new promotions nemesis:  the DVR.

For those who own a DVR, it should come as no surprise that this new technological gem is the bane of the advertising industry.  Execs are having to come up with new and creative ways to put their products in front of our eyes, since we no longer have the tolerance to stand by and watch their commercials.  Hence—the increase of product placement in the shows that we do watch.

Hoping that they can entice a few intrigued DVR users with their latest marketing ploy, KFC is currently airing a hidden message in their latest commercial for the Buffalo KFC snacker sandwich.  A message that can only be read when screened in slow-motion.  These commercials - airing between Feb. 23 and March 3 - will give viewers a secret code that will instruct viewers on how to redeem a free offer.  Is a free KFC snacker worth all the effort?  Probably not.  But those who love a challenge will probably be compelled to try anyway.


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DescriptionDesperate Housewives frenzy is spreading across the world. In fact, producers at Buena Vista International Television Latin America will produce four new versions of the popular show.

Buena Vista International Television Latin America announced plans Thursday to produce four new versions of the Golden Globe-winning series in Spanish and Portuguese.

Each version of the show will have its own cast and cultural allusions, though the underlying plot will stay true to the format of the original series.

The Spanish versions of the show, titled Amas de casas desesperadas, will air in Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador and the Portuguese version, titled Donas de casa desesperadas, will air in Brazil. “The script of the series perfectly fit the profile of what the Latin American audience looks for,” Fernando Barbosa, senior vice president of Buena Vista International Television Latin America, said in a statement. “It looks similar to the telenovelas.”

What do you think? Will the show succeed across cultural boundaries?


Read More | Yahoo! Entertainment


Van Der BeekJames Van Der Beek, who first rose to fame as the title character in the teen sudser Dawson’s Creek, is returning to television in the comedy Sex, Power, Love & Politics. Van Der Beek is all grown up now in this drama that follows the adventures of new political interns and staff. No doubt Van Der Beek, who made so many young hearts beat fast years ago, will pull in a loyal audience.


Read More | Yahoo! Entertainment


DescriptionEllen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey on the fan-adored, ratings blockbuster Grey’s Anatomy, recently participated in a delightful interview with TV Guide. Did you know that Ellen used to be a cocktail waitress? That when hospitals recognize her, her relatives get special treatment? And that she’s played two psychotic killers in earlier roles? Even though Izzy will always be our favorite Grey’s character, Ellen’s interview is a good read.

TV Guide: How much like Meredith Grey are you?
Pompeo: She wasn’t much of a student, and that certainly was me. The fact that I’m convincing is a huge triumph for me because I’m not that [kind of] book person. I adore books but on my time and not in a classroom. I was very restless. I’m a gypsy at heart. As soon as I turned 18, I started traveling.

TV Guide: Where did you go?
Pompeo: I went to Europe, and then I spent three years cocktail-waitressing in Miami in the early ‘90s when it was fabulous. When I first got there, it looked like a scene out of Scarface: old people sitting on the porches, and all these dilapidated hotels. And then I moved to New York City in the mid-‘90s.

TV Guide: And instantly found fame and fortune?
Pompeo: Actually, I bartended. My first professional job was a L’Oreal commercial. They dyed my hair fire-engine red. It was supposed to go away after six washes but, you know, bright copper hair doesn’t wash out that quickly!


Read More | TV Guide


Calista FlockhartFlockhart, famous for her portrayal of conflicted lawyer Ally McBeal (and even more famous for her diminishing weight,) will return to series television in Brothers and Sisters. The drama is described as an adult soap opera centering on adult siblings who must band together to run the family business after the death of their father. Rachel Grffiths of Six Feet Under fame will also star.

Golden Globe winners Rachel Griffiths and Calista Flockhart have been tapped to star in ABC’s drama pilot “Brothers & Sisters.”

The project is a family soap centering on adult siblings.

For Flockhart, the casting marks a return to series television four years after Fox’s “Ally McBeal” went off the air. Her stint on David E. Kelley’s dramedy earned her a Golden Globe Award in 1998 and three Emmy nominations.

Read More | Washington Post


Becky American IdolThis show sure likes to find the criminals and questionably notorious, doesn’t it? The latest pop star hopeful with a secret past is Becky O’Donohue. What did Donahue do? She posed nearly naked with her twin sister in the men’s magazine Maxim.

There’s nothing like being on American Idol to help excavate a person’s past. In the case of contestant Becky O’Donohue, two-year-old photos showing her with her twin sister, Jessie, have surfaced on the Maxim magazine Web site.

The shots depict the 25-year-olds in bikinis, revealing baseball jerseys, and sitting in a sauna – clad only in towels.

The pictures were taken in 2004 for the publication’s online fantasy baseball game – and found new life when O’Donohue became an Idol contestant, Jordan Burchette, executive editor of the site, tells the Associated Press. “There’s all kind of new buzz surrounding them.”

What do you think? Should this influence fans’ votes at all? And is there such a thing as too much exposure?

(Photo Source: Maxim Online. Becky is on the right.)


Read More | People.com


Description

Great news for science fiction fans: ABC will debut a show comprised of the masters in the genre, entitled Masters of Science Fiction.

Fans can enjoy interviews and works of sci fi experts such as the fabulous Ray Bradbury.

The network has ordered an anthology series called “Masters of Science Fiction” that will bring the work of some of the genre’s titans—including, possibly, Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov—to the small screen. The show comes from IDT Entertainment, the company behind Showtime’s “Masters of Horror.”

“We’re very excited about this anthology,” says Quinn Taylor, who oversees movies and miniseries for ABC. “We’ve been trying to put together this kind of series because it has great potential to become appointment television.”

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