It's pretty obvious what Movies & TV blog is about. We churn out recaps, reviews and news on the stuff that interests us.
Tony Black and Zack McGhee have been together for nearly 4 years. They spend altogether too much time watching movies and TV, and being glued to their computers. This blog combines all three at once, thereby gaining them maximum efficiency.
By Tony Black | Monday, January 11, 2010, 12:00 AM
A new season of “Project Runway” starts Thursday, Jan. 14 at 10 p.m. on Lifetime. You might not know it if you don’t watch Lifetime on a regular basis. I wouldn’t watch Lifetime at all if weren’t for “Runway.”
The only way I knew that it was returning was an ad on a website (the first time I have ever found an ad on a website useful). Will the poor promotion of the 7th season of “Runway” hurt the season’s ratings? I don’t see how it couldn’t.
Even if ratings aren’t high for this season, I can’t see this season being the show’s last. I predict season 8 will be the end for “Runway,” but maybe I am being pessimistic.
We don’t have a Dayton area native on this season of “Runway” but we do have a design-testant to represent Ohio. Jesse LeNoir is from Painesville, Ohio (northeast of Cleveland). He is really cute, but also really straight (he makes his fiance dresses).
By Tony Black | Sunday, January 10, 2010, 04:17 PM
Jay Leno
It looks like NBC finally figured out that moving Jay Leno to 10 p.m. was a bad idea. Too bad they didn’t realize the reason wasn’t the time slot.
Jay just isn’t that great, in my opinion. I have tried to watch his show, the old version and the new one, and it couldn’t keep me entertained.
Conan O’Brien
NBC will move Jay back to the 11:35 p.m. time slot for a half-an-hour show after the Winter Olympics. The plan is to have Conan O’Brien’s show move to midnight and retain the “Tonight Show” label and Jimmy Fallon would move to 1 a.m.
I was once a big Conan fan, but the repetitive jokes and gags started to wear on me. And when he moved to his current, earlier time slot, he had to ditch a lot of the ‘inappropriate’ content which was where a lot of his show’s humor came from.
David Letterman
David Letterman isn’t my cup of tea either, but I think that isn’t a surprise since his show seems to be geared towards the 30-100 age demographic. He has nothing to worry about, however, since CBS appears to be close to signing him and Craig Ferguson through 2012.
When it comes to late night talk shows, I have 2 favorites: Jimmy and Craig. The 2 late night hosts keep things simple on their respective programs, and I like it that way.
Jimmy Fallon
What I like about Jimmy’s show:
Jimmy acts like a dork around celebrities. When he is a big fan of his guests’ work, he isn’t afraid to let it show. This makes Jimmy more personable.
Jimmy is big on interacting with the audience. He loves to play games with the audience and bring them onto the set in front of the camera, sometimes to interact with the celebrity guests. How cool is that?
The Roots. I am not big on the “music scene” and had never heard of this band before they were announced as Jimmy’s late night band. The opening they play for Jimmy’s show is full of energy and gets you pumped for the show.
The Real Housewives of Late Night. A comedic spoof of the “The Real Housewives” reality TV shows on Bravo where Jimmy and some of the crew dress in drag and pretend to be their own wives. It’s “season” ended recently, but I really hope it returns soon.
Craig Ferguson
What I like about Craig’s show:
The puppets. Craig likes to open the show sometimes with puppets. They even sing and dance. They even made their way into Craig’s new Hi-Def opening that they had to create when the show started broadcasting in HD in late 2009.
Craig’s interview process. Craig tears up his note cards before every interview and just “wings it.” Probably just a gimmick, but his questions are so random at times and conversational it feels like 2 people shooting the breeze and not a celebrity being interviewed by a talk show host.
Craig’s story.If you don’t know anything about Craig Ferguson, know that he has had a wild life. From drugs to alcohol, he’s done it all. Now he is sober with a family and his very own talk show. If that’s not an inspiring success story, I don’t know what is.
Craig’s impersonations. He’s Scottish, so he naturally does a really good impersonation of Sean Connery. His Prince Charles with a hideous comb-over is barely understandable through giant false teeth but you laugh at his slurred jokes anyway.
I’ve shared my late night favorites, now you do the same. Which late night talk show do you prefer? What makes it your favorite?
AfterElton.com, a gay entertainment site, is asking people to cast their votes for the person they think was the Gay/Bisexual Man of the Decade. Cast your vote.
The poll was originally supposed to end at midnight on Sunday, Jan. 3, but has been extended to Tuesday at midnight because of all the sudden attention it has gained.
Neil Patrick Harris
John Barrowman
Days ago, Neil Patrick Harris (child star from “Doogie Howser M.D.”, star of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” and co-star on “How I Met Your Mother”) and John Barrowman (star of “Torchwood”) both asked their Twitter followers to support them in the poll. It didn’t take long for other celebrities to throw their Tweets “into the ring” to show support for their favorite gay.
Harris garnered support from Jimmy Fallon, Perez Hilton, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Chris Hardwick, Alyssa Milano, Hal Sparks and Alyson Hannigan (to name a few).
Barrowman’s support has come from Kevin Smith, author Neil Gaiman, The Sun (UK tabloid), Vernon Kay, Tom Price, and Paul Cornell (to name a few).
Who knows how big this thing will get now that people are back from winter vacation and looking at the Internet again.
I voted for Harris because I am a huge fan of “How I Met Your Mother” and love what he did with the Tony Awards and Emmy Awards last year. He seems like a real down-to-earth guy. I really know nothing about Barrowman.
But Harris and Barrowman aren’t the only 2 people in the poll. You can also vote for T.R. Knight, Cheyenne Jackson, Patrik-Ian Polk, Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellen, Lance Bass, David Hyde Pierce, Adam Lambert and other out young gay men, Dustin Lance Black and George Takei. If you are unsure who some of those guys are, Google them.
Everyone is working on their various lists for best this and that of the year or the decade so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and share my list of best TV shows of the decade.
Top 10 TV shows of the decade
10. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
This animated comedy on Cartoon Network was born in the year 2000 when I was still in high school. I had never seen anything so random in my life. Its characters: A bossy milkshake, an intelligent box of french fries and a clueless wad of meat. Each episode had the fast food trio thrown into inexplicable situations where anything could happen. It has given me lots of great quotes that I still throw into casual conversations to this very day. It is currently entering its seventh season.
9. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
I didn’t start watching this comedy on FX until earlier this year. The cast is perfect at portraying characters who only care about themselves and have complete disregard for etiquette and the rules of society. The story-lines are ridiculous and offensive, but that’s what makes it so much fun to watch.
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David, the co-creator of “Seinfeld,” brings his unique brand of humor to television once again with stories about nothing. But neither “Curb” nor “Seinfeld” are actually about nothing. They just described them as such, because their plots are like nothing we’ve ever seen before on television. David uses the show to shed light on social norms that he doesn’t subscribe to, which inevitably alienates him from family and friends.
7. The Big Bang Theory
This fairly new sitcom on CBS revolves around 4 nerds and a pretty blonde waitress who catches the eye of one of the main characters, Leonard. Most of the show’s humor stems from Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard’s roommate, who is a genius (and knows it). Sheldon’s knowledge doesn’t extend to any realm outside of science, and his blissful ignorance of social conventions leads to lots of laughs.
6. How I Met Your Mother
The simple premise of this comedy is a father telling his two kids the long story of how he met their mother. But the show is so much more than that. The show follows Ted and his group of friends as they find their way through life while living in Manhattan. It has a lot of the aspects you would find in any sitcom in the 90’s, but what makes it stand out is the amazing cast, and the well-written characters and stories.
5. 30 Rock
When it debuted in 2006, I didn’t like it. The pilot just wasn’t funny to me. I couldn’t tell if the show was supposed to be funny at all. I decided to stick with it for a couple more episodes and I’m so glad that I did. There is a reason why this show has won so many awards. The writing is amazing. The jokes are delivered with perfect timing and precision while Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey light up the screen. The entire cast is perfection, even Tracy Morgan, whom I’d always had trouble finding humorous.
4. The Venture Bros.
This animated gift to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim is one of the smartest cartoon comedies I’ve ever seen. The show is a perfect parody to the classic adventure series “Johnny Quest” where you have a scientist father of two boys, a bodyguard, and plenty of ridiculous villains. It isn’t something you can just watch once. Multiple viewings are required to capture the nuance of every joke.
3. Frisky Dingo
A short-lived comic masterpiece, this is one of the most entertaining pieces of television I have seen in a long time. The show initially follows the villain Killface as he tries to market his plans to destroy the world but quickly things fall apart due to lack of funding. There is also a self-absorbed millionaire playboy named Xander Crews, who moonlights as a bumbling superhero named Awesome-X. But you really have to watch the show to understand the humor.
2. Arrested Development
It was a series too intelligent for the Fox channel. Canceled halfway through their third season, this show is one of the funniest of all time. The jokes and running gags are smart and funny while the cast is amazing. Every character quickly becomes your favorite.
1. LOST
The only drama on my list, “LOST” is simply great TV. Plane crash survivors unravel the mysteries of a not-so-deserted island in the South Pacific. This is one show you have to watch from the beginning to fully understand, but that is no chore as the first season is some of the best television you’ll ever witness.
Madison graduation 2012
Warren County CC graduation
New Miami graduation 2012
