July 5th, 2008
Original Air Date: July 3, 2008
As much as it pains me to admit it, Swingtown is actually becoming almost entertaining … until you get to the boring parts with the kids, that is.
On this semi-realistic installment, Trina and Sylvia plan a party to fight censorship by raising funds for the legal defense of “actor” Harry Reems, the legendary star of the legendary porn film Deep Throat, whom the Nixon administration really did target in order to send him to jail for conspiracy to distribute obscenities across state lines. He was convicted in real life, but legendary lawyer Alan Dershowitz later helped convince the court to overturn the ruling on appeal.
In fictionland, Susan is all gung-ho to attend the party at the Deckers’ and help out, until she takes some seven-layer dip over before it starts and discovers exactly who the “actor” in question is, a wonderful laugh-out-loud moment for viewers. Predictably, the knowledge makes her extremely and immediately uncomfortable because (1) the movie is pornography and (2) pornography simply isn’t something she’s been exposed to in the past, although open marriages are just fine apparently.
Sylvia tries to convince Susan to think for herself and not worry about conventional attitudes towards pornography, especially when Susan admits she’s never even seen the movie. Susan more or less disinvites herself from the party, but begins reconsidering her decision later when she learns Bruce has seen the movie himself, along with colleagues from his job, as a joke.
While watching, I forgot the plot takes place in the 1970s (I know — how could I do that with those hairdos and outfits and forced era-appropriate references shoved right in my face?), when you couldn’t just fire up the old browser and see porn for free on a gazillion different websites. As a result, when everybody kept talking about the movie, I instinctively assumed they saw it on video. Silly me!
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Tags: cbs, dramas, reviews, summer 2008, Swingtown, television, tvShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
July 5th, 2008
Following my complaints last week regarding how uniform the judges’ commentary has seemed this season, I had my killer line all prepared for this week’s write-up: “And joining the echo chamber at the judges’ table…”
Thankfully, the judges stole my thunder this week when they delivered useful critiques of each couple that showed they were paying close attention to every performance. The breath of fresh air made both of this week’s installments so much more enlightening and entertaining, and I can say without any sarcasm whatsoever that regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy were joined by choreography couple Tabitha and Napoleon D’Umo.
The rules changed a bit for the Top 14, too, because each pair was required to dance twice. After the competitors performed, it looks like America and I were on the same wave length since we chose the same Bottom Three:
- Comfort Fedoke and Thayne Jasperson
- Kourtni Lind and Matt Dorame
- Courtney Galiano and Gev Manoukian
At this late stage of the game, it’s no longer really about who did what wrong but rather who didn’t do what as well as all of the other dancers. The couples who found themselves in the Bottom Three this week just didn’t deliver enough during one or both of their numbers.
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Tags: fox, reviews, round four, season four, So You Think You Can Dance, spring 2008, sytycd, television, tvShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
July 3rd, 2008
And, no, not because of Shannen Doherty, contrary to what some entertainment news outlets seem to want people to think, judging by their sensational headlines.
Spelling was supposed to premiere as her former Beverly Hills, 90210 character Donna Martin in the pilot episode of The CW’s fall spinoff 90210. But the actress was forced to alter that plan following the Caesarean-section birth of her daughter Stella on June 9.
Of course, this is just a temporary delay, and Spelling is still expected to appear on the series in the future. When remains to be seen, however.
Tags: 90210, dramas, summer 2008, television, the cw, Tori Spelling, tvShare This
By Chandra -- 2 comments
July 3rd, 2008
How’s this for moving up in your career? West Wing alum Elisabeth Moss is on this year’s Emmy semifinalist list for Best Actress, thanks to her excellent work on the critically and popularly acclaimed AMC series Mad Men.
Tonight at 10pm EST, however, she’ll be entertaining fans in an entirely different genre from both of those shows when she headlines the latest installment of NBC’s horror-suspense anthology series Fear Itself. The title of her episode is the unsettlingly simple “Eater.” And, yes, it probably refers to somebody who likes to eat some bodies else.
Check out an interview Moss recently sat down for — along with Superman actor Brandon Routh, who stars in a future episode of Fear Itself called “Community” — in the video below.
Photo: Elisabeth Moss (Chris Large /NBC)
Tags: dramas, eater, elisabeth moss, Fear Itself, horror, Interviews, summer 2008, suspense, television, tv, VideosShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
July 3rd, 2008
I’m not as big a fan of the Holly Hunter series Saving Grace as I am of Kyra Sedgwick’s The Closer, but I don’t deny the star is equally captivating in her lead role.
The series begins its second season at 10pm EST on Monday, July 14, with the premiere episode “Have a Seat, Earl.” In the meantime, refresh your memory of what happened during the show’s acclaimed rookie season with the following Rapid Recap video.
Tags: dramas, Recaps, Saving Grace, summer 2008, television, tnt, tv, VideosShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
July 3rd, 2008
The Closer is one show I cannot wait to start up again this summer, since I’ve been watching and lovin’ it from day one.
If you’re an old or new fan having trouble remembering what happened last season, the following Rapid Recap video should eliminate that problem right away. And don’t forget: The fourth season kicks off on Monday, July 14, at 9pm EST, with the premiere episode “Controlled Burn.”
Tags: dramas, Recaps, summer 2008, television, The Closer, tnt, tv, VideosShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
July 2nd, 2008
…and the decline of television continues.
On July 1, TV Land announced it has renewed the aging-model reality show She’s Got the Look for a second season.
The network has good reason to love the high ratings the series is earning, but I’m still trying to figure out what the heck Look has to do with the basic cable channel’s usual programming. Could there be a worse fit, theme wise?
I think not. Still, the show’s sophomore run will premiere in 2009, and at eight episodes, the second season will be two hours longer than the first.
Tags: reality, reality tv, Renewals, She's Got the Look, summer 2008, television, tv, tv landShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
July 2nd, 2008
Talk about nice casting.
TV Guide reports that Tawny Cypress is heading to the Lifetime hit Army Wives for a multi-episode story arc that begins on August 3. The only development that would be better is if she were enlisting as a series regular.
Cypress was a former Season One regular on NBC’s Heroes, where she played non-powered character Simone Deveaux, and she was also a regular on last season’s short-lived Fox cop drama K-Ville.
On Army Wives, the actress will play a local journalist who forms a close friendship with Brigid Brannagh’s radio host Pamela when they collaborate on a story.
Is it just me or have the casting, acting, and storylines on Army Wives been phenomenal this season? Lifetime is really outdoing itself, so, please, keep up the excellent work.
Photo: Tawny Cypress (Michael Muller/NBC)
Tags: Casting, dramas, lifetime, summer 2008, Tawny Cypress, television, tvShare This
By Chandra -- 0 comments
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