The 1980s were a blur of Reagonomics, yuppie consumerism, and, of course, the two Coreys. Corey Haim and Corey Feldman became the “It” boys of the late 80s, their visages plastered all over young girls’ bedrooms soon after they appeared together in that classic vampire flick The Lost Boys. The Coreys became a huge sensation whether separate or together, and for several years it seemed the teen heartthrobs could do no wrong. In his career, Feldman has appeared in more than one hundred movies (seven of them with Haim). Then, the Coreys suffered the curse of young Hollywood: a decline into substance abuse, forays into rehab, and the decimation of once-promising careers. Such is the agony of being a child star. They’re both 35 now, and believe it or not, they’re back courtesy of A&E’s almost-reality TV.
Click to continue reading A&E Banks on 80s “It” Boys
Read More 
| TV Guide
Gallery: A&E Banks on 80s “It” Boys
Advertisement
Reality Show for Lindsay Lohan’s Mom?
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Reality, Cable, Cable/Satellite, Gossip, Rumors,
Never one to shy from the spotlight, Lindsay Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan, is in discussions with E! entertainment television to develop a reality series. Mama Lohan, who manages Lindsay’s career, wants the cameras to follow her as she attempts to make stars of her other two children. Seeing that Lindsay’s life is in such turmoil right now (the starlet is undergoing her second round of rehab), it leads many to wonder if chronicaling her other kids’ rise to fame is such a healthy thing. The show, if it does see the light of day, may be titled Mom-ager, according to the New York Post, a title that reflects her role as mom and manager. Lindsay’s younger siblings, 14-year-old Ali and 11-year-old Cody, would be at the center of the series. And no doubt, Dina would be prominently featured because she can’t seem to shy away from the cameras either. Add to that the fact that the elder Lohan calls herself “the white Oprah,” and you’ve got a whole lotta crazy going on. Place your bets on whether or not her reality show will make it to the airwaves.
Read More | Reality TV World
Gallery: Reality Show for Lindsay Lohan’s Mom?
Celebrities Riding Bulls—And That’s No Bull
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, Cable, Cable/Satellite,
Here we are, entering the doldrums of summer television programming… but never fear, CMT (Country Music Television) has a new brand of celebrity reality that’s sure to please. Prepare yourself for B, C, and D-listers as they (drum roll…) ride bulls. Given that there’s not much to watch now that the season has wrapped, and how I love to see lame celebrities on reality shows, I may just have to check this one out. Here’s what’s in store: the Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge features nine celebs as they are tutored in the ways of bull riding by Ty Murray. This guy’s the real deal too—okay, so I had to look him up, but he’s won an impressive seven All-Around World Championship titles for bull riding. Oh, and his girlfriend is singer Jewel. The show will begin on August 10th on CMT and include Vanilla Ice, Stephen Baldwin, Leif Garrett, American Gladiators’ Dan “Nitro” Clark, Jonny “Fairplay” Dalton (Survivor), and other less exciting celebs (if that’s possible). Word to your mother.
Read More | Reality TV World
Gallery: Celebrities Riding Bulls—And That’s No Bull
Weeds Comes Between Olsen Twins
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Drama, Cable, HBO, Cable/Satellite,
If you thought the Olsen twins were a package deal, think again. Mary-Kate (the skinny one—how funny is that?) will be joining the third season of Weeds, starring Mary-Louise Parker. This is the first time she has appeared without her sister and after a long hiatus from the television business. Remember, they spent their adolescence churning out direct-to-video features? And then there was their attempt at the film New York Minute... well, ‘nuff said there. She’ll be playing a Christian girl who is smitten with Nancy Botwin’s (Parker) son Silas (Hunter Parrish). Olsen will appear for 10 of the upcoming 15 episodes. Well at least she’s staying in the wholesome role, although the character is rumored to be a bit of wild child. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the show,” said Olsen. “It’s really an honor to be a part of such a talented group of actors and writers.” Executive producer Jenji Kohan said of Olsen, “She came in and read with Hunter and was absolutely charming and real and seemed like a great fit. Audiences have seen only one side of Mary-Kate, but here we’ll see her in a whole new light.” Will this new role have people seeing Olsen in a new way? Or at least as more of an individual rather than part of the “Olsen twins”? At the end of the day, I’m sure she doesn’t really care because she’s a millionaire! Weeds premieres August 13th.
Read More | E! Online
Gallery: Weeds Comes Between Olsen Twins
David’s Channel Surfing Thoughts
Posted by David L. Williams Categories: Drama, Late Night, Music, Prime Time, ABC, Cable, FOX, HBO, NBC, American Idol, Saturday Night Live, Talent, The Sopranos, Editorial, Features, News,
Yes, even more thoughts I’ve had about TV for the past few days, laid out for you in easy-to-read paragraph format.
MOLLY SHANNON ANNOYS & DELIGHTS – Saturday Night Live came back with a new episode recently starring Molly Shannon (she’s ostensibly there to promote her movie “Year of the Dog,” but I really think SNL looks for any excuse to have it’s former cast members return) and it was … pretty much what I thought it was going to be. I used to remark when Ms. Shannon was on the show that she didn’t have many characters, just the same character in different outfits and wigs. That character comes out, goes through her catch phrases and/or crazy falls, and then the sketch is over. That’s Mary Katharine Gallagher, that’s Sally O’Malley (the I’m 50! Lady), that’s Ann Miller (from “Leg Up”).
And she did those first two characters when she hosted and it was annoying and really not funny. The laughter always felt more like a reflex from the audience than an actual “this is funny” laugh.
But what Molly Shannon also can do (and I heard Mike White, the writer/director of “Year of the Dog,” mention this in an interview) is be really funny when she’s quiet and not so over-the-top. Like the Delicious Dish sketch (aka Schwetty Balls) and her typical 80’s mulleted stand-up comedienne.
She did the stand-up comedienne character on Weekend Update and that was great, and she played a quieter part in a very good presidential debate sketch. So, it was a mixed bag: nothing great, but nothing too awful.
Click to continue reading David’s Channel Surfing Thoughts
Gallery: David’s Channel Surfing Thoughts
No Rehab for Richie
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Reality, Cable, Cable/Satellite, Gossip, Rumors,
Even though rehab is the new hip thing for young Hollywood, Nicole Richie is denying rumors that she is currently in rehab. Not that there’s anything wrong with it—The Simple Life star did her rehab stint in 2003. According to Richie’s rep, “She did go see her therapist, but she is sober. Sobriety is an ongoing process. She is not in rehab, and is home in Glendale.” Richie and heiress pal Paris Hilton have been making the headlines a lot these days. With Hilton facing a jail sentence (reduced from 45 days due to overcrowding), and other rumors about Richie’s weight loss, the pair have managed to stay firmly in the spotlight. Good thing too… we’re just on the heels of their reality show, The Simple Life, set to air on Monday on the E! network. This go around, the clueless gals will be taking on the role of camp counselors. Let the “so hot” comments begin.
Read More | E! Online
Gallery: No Rehab for Richie
Flavor Flav Next Celeb to Receive Comedy Central Roast
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Prime Time, Reality, Specials, Cable, Ratings,
Really?! I mean, really… Flavor Flav is the next worthy recipient of a Comedy Central roast? Have they run out of celebs or is Flav just a great source of comedic material? According to senior vice president of specials and talent for Comedy Central, Elizabeth Porter, “We only roast the ones we love –- and the world is clearly crazy about this guy. This event will be full of surprises as Flavor Flav is going to experience a whole new kind of love in this Roast.” Um, yeah, right. Well, at any rate, I suppose they can expect excellent viewer numbers based on the uber success of his VH1 reality show, Flavor of Love. It’s certain to be an interesting event, although no specifics on who will be poking fun yet, but you can bet there will be a lot to rib Flav about. His rap and reality show experiences, including his relationship with Brigitte Nielson, as well as his massive reproduction capabilities—Flav has seven children. The Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav will air August 12 at 10 p.m.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: Flavor Flav Next Celeb to Receive Comedy Central Roast
Dukes of Hazzard eBay Bid a Hoax
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Drama, Cable, Cable/Satellite, Gossip, Rumors,
In a case of too good to be true… the highest bid on the General Lee car from Dukes of Hazzard was in fact a hoax. Don’t you think a bunch of red flags should have gone up when someone bid almost $10 million for a replica of the famous TV car? Former Dukes star John Schneider (Bo Duke) was selling the car on eBay to help fund a movie project. What to do? Try, try again—the car will be put back up for auction for a second go. Plus Schneider filed a “failure to pay” complaint with eBay and may sue the fraudulent buyer. The phony buyer is William Fisher, who of course did not respond to emails requesting a comment. Schneider will keep the bidding offline, this time opting for an auction house. And for all the crazy Dukes of Hazzard fanatics, there’s an event called DukesFest June 2nd and 3rd in Nashville. Schneider and Daisy Duke herself, Catherine Bach, will be on hand.
Read More | E! Online
Gallery: Dukes of Hazzard eBay Bid a Hoax
This Week’s Channel Surfing Thoughts
Posted by David L. Williams Categories: Comedy, Drama, Reality, ABC, Cable, HBO, NBC, Saturday Night Live, Survivor, The Office, The Sopranos, Editorial, Features,
Otherwise known as thoughts I’ve had about the last few days of TV that aren’t long enough individually to make an entire article…
WOO-HOO, THEY LOST! – I lamented the possibility of Charla and Mirna winning The Amazing Race: (not really) All Stars, and they didn’t. They came in last (or third, really) and it was all…kinda lackluster. I didn’t want C&M to win, and I wanted the Beauty Queens to win, but they didn’t either. Eric & Danielle (aka, Team Not Charla & Mirna) won and their fakey relationship and the love between them will, I’m sure, flourish like a sunflower and I’m feeling underwhelmed. Then again, I felt underwhelmed most of the season, so I guess this is a fitting finale. By the way, Race Producers (and I know that you read all of my work), let’s try to make sure in the future that you not design the race legs so that the decisions made by the racers in the first thirty-five minutes of the episode don’t matter at all. I know you want to keep things close, but that’s just annoying.
BEST OF? REALLY, SNL? REALLY?? – Saturday Night Live was not new this week, but instead had their best of the 2006/2007 season episode. There are a couple of things wrong with this. The first is that they still have a few more episodes left. I’m not sure why they felt the need to jump the gun on this one, but maybe they were just tired of rerunning the Peyton Manning episode. Just a tip, NBC: maybe you should wait until the season is over before you start doing a “Best Of” episode. And this leads me to the other thing that’s wrong with this episode: just because you’ve chosen the best example of a recurring sketch, that doesn’t necessarily mean that what you’ve chosen is any good. I know that a lot of people like to hate on SNL on the internet (I believe the phrase “Is this show still on?” is a common “joke” (ironic quotes firmly in place)), but I can’t fully hate the show yet because there are always funny moments every week, and that’s why God invented TiVo (that has to be invented by God, right? Humans are not that good). But, SNL, “Deep House Dish” and that Bronx talk show … they’re not funny. Really not ever. And I really like Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Keenan Thompson. Those sketches, though, are just … ugh. Oh, and finally, SNL went online to have people cast votes on what their favorite digital short of the year was (and maybe the whole episode should have just been digital shorts). Did anybody really think “Dick in a Box” wouldn’t win?
Click to continue reading This Week’s Channel Surfing Thoughts
Gallery: This Week’s Channel Surfing Thoughts
Tom Sizemore Screws Up Again
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Reality, Cable, Cable/Satellite, Gossip, Rumors,
Tom Sizemore just can’t catch a break… only, here’s the thing. He used to be a respectable actor who got parts in Natural Born Killers, Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan, so he was once at the top of his game. He’s had a history with drug addiction, and it seems that he just can’t get cleaned up. He chronicled his rock bottom existence on the VH1 celebreality show, Shooting Sizemore—something I couldn’t stand watching because of what a sad person he’s become. Things just got a little sadder when Sizemore was arrested yesterday with methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia in his car. This came after Sizemore and his friend threatened to beat up a hotel staff person at the Four Points Sheraton in Bakersfield, California. Will Sizemore ever dig himself out of this downward spiral? And will this latest arrest lock him out of Hollywood altogether?
Read More | Reality TV World
Gallery: Tom Sizemore Screws Up Again
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.