American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 5 Results

American Idol
Top 5 Results

Original Air Date: April 29, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

The shock didn’t come in the elimination — oh no. It came in who ended up almost being voted off — Adam Lambert. You know, the heir apparent of S8. Fourth. Not first. Not second. Not third. Fourth.

And that’s just not right.

Continue Reading...

[photo: fox]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 5

American Idol
Top 5

Original Air Date: April 28, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

I never thought I would say this — after all, it’s been a long time since I de-boarded his bandwagon — but Danny Gokey may have pulled off the best performance last night.

Other than that, it was kind of a sleepy night of ballads for Rat Pack Week. The contestants all dressed up in suits and even Allison Iraheta had on a party dress. Anyone notice that Ryan and Kris Allen were almost twins with the same tone gray suit, white shirt and dark tie (only Ryan’s was black while Kris sported blue)? Guess no one else got the memo…

Continue Reading...

[photo: fox]

House - Recap & Review - House Divided

House
House Divided

Original Air Date: April 27, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley - Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Amber ain’t going nowhere. Last week’s episode ended with Amber — Wilson’s dead girlfriend — appearing to House. And she’s still there as he tries unsuccessfully to sleep.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 7 Elimination (take 2)

American Idol
Top 7 Elimination 2

Original Air Date: April 22, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

How fickle is the American public? If Matt Giraud had been eliminated last week without the judges save, then only one person would be going home this week. And that person would have been Lil Rounds.

Instead, it was Lil and Anoop Desai.

Continue Reading...

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 7 (Again...)

American Idol
Top 7 (Again...)

Original Air Date: April 21, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

The annual and much hated Disco Night wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. That’s because several of the contestants turned their songs around (to quote disco singer Vicki Sue Robinson) and gave us — gasp—non-disco versions.

Plus, all four judges commented on each performance and a TV miracle happened — the show doesn’t go over 60 minutes!

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

Pushing Daisies Finale Aired at Paley Center

Pushing Daisies
Finale Aired at Paley Center

Event Date: April 19, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Oh, how it hurts to say goodbye. After three episodes, three standing ovations and a bucket of tears the crowd at the Paley Center closed the book on Ned, Chuck, Emerson and Olive — our beloved friends from the over-way-too-soon Pushing Daisies.

Continue Reading...

[photo: Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media]

Sneak Peek - True Blood Panel Part III

Sneak Peek
A Taste of Season Two

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com


One of the thrills of the True Blood panel at the Paley Center April 13 had to be seeing a sneak peek of Season 2’s first episode (Thanks to E!online for the link!).

The scene is set in Bill’s car traveling down a dark Southern road. It looks as if a few weeks have passed since the S1 ender, because Sookie still has a bit of a black eye, but she has a slightly different hairstyle (curly).

Continue Reading...

Part I of our True Blood Panel coverage: Cracking the Coffin
Part II of our True Blood Panel coverage: Vampires and the People who Love Them

[photo: Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media]

Vampires and the People who Love Them - True Blood Panel Part II

Vampires and the People who Love Them
Alan Ball Vamps

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

At the Paley Center panel for HBO’s True Blood, show producer Alan Ball bit into topics such as creating the show, why it is different in some ways from the books and what he’s planning in S2.

Continue Reading...

Part I of our True Blood Panel coverage: Cracking the Coffin
Part III of our True Blood Panel coverage: Sneak Peek

[photo: Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media]

Cracking the Coffin - True Blood Panel Part I

Cracking the Coffin
True Blood Panel Opens Up at the Paley Center in LA

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com


You’d expect that a gathering to True Blood fans would bring out folks in cloaks and fangs. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the Paley Center panel for HBO’s True Blood, the most creative anyone got were a group of women in T-shirts that read “Bill’s Babe.”

Continue Reading...

Part II of our True Blood Panel coverage: Vampires and the People who Love Them
Part III of our True Blood Panel coverage: Sneak Peek

[photo: Kevin Parry/The Paley Center for Media]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 7 Results

American Idol
Top 7 Results

Original Air Date: April 15, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Call it a tax day miracle, but Matt Giraud became the first and only contestant blessed by the “Judges’ Save” this season. The judges only had two more weeks to use it anyway.

This episode had all the extra filler we come to expect on a results show ¬— such as performances by past Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson (delivered with very little passion) and Miley Cyrus. The movie preview style opening gave us a nice chuckle or two. The CGI of the Ford commercial impressed more than the singing of “Freeze Frame.” The group number of “Flashdance,” except for singers popping up in unexpected places (i.e. next to Simon), wasn’t anything Jennifer Beals would get excited about.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 7

American Idol
Top 7

Original Air Date: April 14, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Whoa — Quentin Tarantino gets to say the words “This is... American Idol”? Ryan must really love him. But really — Tarantino as a musical mentor? I just don’t get it. And a lot of his advice is useless. And quite unmusical. So maybe that accounts for no real break out performance this week.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

House - Recap & Review - Saviors

House
Saviors

Original Air Date: April 13, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley - Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

House is at its best when it’s an equal measure of personal stories and medical ones. Which means that “Savior” isn’t one of the better episodes. There’s a lot more personal in this one.

The action starts with the usually House fake out — environmental demonstrators are chained to a tractor that is tearing down a mountain when one of the women chained passes out. But wait, she’s not the patient. Turns out, she was just dehydrated. Then her male companion gets up and drops to the floor, unable to walk. Yep, he’s the one.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 8 Results

American Idol
Top 8 Results Show

Original Air Date: April 8, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley - Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

The saddest thing about tonight’s elimination was how Anoop Desai didn’t look as much like ‘Noop Dog as he did Hang Dog. He seemed to walk in knowing he was going down. And even when he hit the Bottom Three, how cruel was it for Ryan, in sending one of the three back to the couch of safety, to say Anoop’s name, then say it wasn’t him? From the Wild Card Round on, they have jerked poor Anoop around. Yes, Hang Dog sounds right.

The good news is —Anoop is actually safe. Sigh.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 8

American Idol
Top 8

Original Air Date: April 7, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley - Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

OK, who thinks there are ought to be a law that the judges don’t talk too much in the beginning of the show so that contestants in the end will get more than 30 hurrried seconds worth of comments? Or worse, they get no comments at all because the DVR has shut off and practically no one even gets to see their performance?

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

House - Recap & Review - Simple Explanation

House
Simple Explanation

Original Air Date: Apr 6, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

House has never had a full-out shocker, so last night’s episode left me wobbly in the knees. After all the rumors about a member of House’s team dying, it turns out to be Kutner. And he killed himself!

Huh?

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 9

American Idol
Top 9

Original Air Date: March 31, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Once again, only one singer really stood out — and it wasn’t Adam Lambert this time. Last to perform in the “pimp spot,” Kris Allen not only played piano instead of his usual guitar, but also recrafted a song in a way that made it totally new.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

House - Recap & Review - Locked In

House
Locked In

Original Air Date: Mar 30, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley - Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

I love House, even though it is so formulaic that I probably could write an episode. Blindfolded. With one hand behind my back. You get the idea.

That’s what makes this episode great — it’s a small break from the House formula.

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Top 10 Results Show

American Idol
Top 10 Results Show

Original Air Date: March 26, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Why have the Top 10 parade around, lip-syncing to a Motown medley when you have Stevie Wonder singing in the same show? And Season Two champ Ruben Studdard. Plus Smokey Robinson dueting with Joss Stone. Heck, who needs idols with that kind of talent showing up?

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

American Idol - Recap & Review - Top 10

American Idol
Top 10

Original Air Date: March 25, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Last night, judges were almost more amusing to watch than the singers. Paula got out a coloring book for Simon, noting his immaturity (tell me that joke wasn’t setup). Then Simon drew a crayon mustache on her that kept Allison Iraheta laughing so hard that the 16-year-old singer couldn’t hear the criticism they gave her (it was mostly good).

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]

Interview with AI8 Voted Off Alexis Grace

Alexis Grace Misses the Tour by One

Patricia Morris Buckley — Associate Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

Alexis Grace had dreams of going on the American Idol Summer Tour and she missed it by just one spot. She and Megan (cough) Joy had even talked about their kids becoming friends while touring together.

But instead, she was eliminated after Country Week.

“I never imagined that I’d go home this early,” she said exactly 12 hours after being eliminated. “I thought I would last a little longer. I would have loved to go on tour, especially with those guys.”

Continue Reading...

[photo: FOX]