Musings From A Nobody

A NASTY TRICK, A SMALL TREAT AND RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT HALLOWEEN

This Halloween evening I reflected on the past twenty-one hours or so and realized that I experienced one nasty trick, a small treat and had random ruminations on my patience for the holiday of Halloween, itself.

First, the nasty trick. I forgot to watch the last five minutes of the Dancing With the Stars Results Show last night, but I found out who was eliminated via online sources later that evening.  Shockingly, the dancer who went home last night was the so called, "unstoppable" Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan.  In my mind, I had already bestowed the winning trophy in her hands a few weeks ago.  Recently,in my weekly Dancing With the Stars Recap, I said something to the effect, "that the competition should end now and just give her the top prize".  Or just on this past Monday, I proclaimed, "Game Over" and the winner of DWTS5 is Sabrina!  Now, how premature and silly was that in light of the recent events.  So, why did Sabrina lose?  And with several weeks left of the competition.  Word has it that online blogs (definitely, not this one), complained that her perkiness cause her unexpected downfall.  What does that mean?  Is perkiness a synonym for cockiness?  Sabrina was perky, but certainly not cocky!  Or should I play armchair psychologist and say that Americans hate to see someone be designated the winner weeks before the contest is supposed to end?  Viewers may have felt like Sabrina did not pay her dues because she made it look so effortless , therefore she was not deserving to remain in the competition.  And finally some DTWS fans may have thought that the outcome was going to be too predictable and wanted to shake things up.  But, I am done surmising about the B.S. explanations for voting off the most natural and proficient dancer since Season Three's runnerup, Mario Lopez.  Now who am I going to root for, "the should have been at least in the bottom two or gone home last night", Jane Seymour who by far, gave the worst performance on Monday evening.  Jennie, Helio, and Cameron (who was also in the bottom two, but escaped elimination, perhaps his All My Children fanbase is larger than Sabrina's Cheetah Girl's one) are inconsistent in their performances week to week. Marie Osmond is only a tad better than Jane.  And Sabrina's closest competition, Mel B is worthy of the runnerup position.  But, Sabrina simply had the total package of any other dancer this season (and most of the seasons that I've been watching DWTS).  She possessed the best technique, completely understood how to work the crowd (except the voters, obviously) and genuine confidence.  This was the worst mistake in a reality performance show since Jennifer Hudson was voted off early in Season Three of American Idol and you saw how J-Hud fixed that error (let her introduce you to her new man, Oscar!)  So, in good conscience, I can not watch the rest of this season of DWTS, this blunder was too egregious to forgive.  Hey, I hear that time slot competitor, NBC's Chuck is pretty good and no one gets voted off on that series.  Well, it is ratings-challenged, so NBC may eliminate it!

But, tonight after a brief trick with my cable company not providing me with the first ten minutes of my new charming fave Pushing Daisies, I enjoyed this small treat which was good, but not as good as previous weeks.

I've been in a hating Halloween mood for the last few days. I wasn't understanding the big deal about his holiday.  I felt like the Scrooge version of Halloween.  It's not like I hadn't enjoyed Halloween in the past.  As a kid, trick or treating was fun.  As an adult, I could remember dressing up as a pepper shaker, half of a pair of dice and an apple!  But, lately I've been wondering what was all the fuss about Halloween. Was it just an excuse for people to hide behind costumes and do stupid things or worse commit violence like what happened at the San Francisco Halloween parade for the past two years?  Subsequently, S.F's Halloween parade was cancelled this year. But, after all of my contemplations, as I commuted home from work and saw how many people, young and old were all dressed up in their Halloween getups and seemed to be enjoying themselves, my old, icy Halloween Scrooge heart began to melt and my tolerance level raised for others enjoying the frivolities of this joyous occasion.  Plus, it did help that I did not get pelted with any eggs on my way home!                                              

NIP/TUCK SEASON PREMIERE

The bad boys of plastic surgery, Dr. Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Dr. Christian Troy (Julian McMahon) are back for another season of hopefully, outrageous antics. 

The docs moved their practice from Miami to L.A. for a fresh start.  Business was slow until they met Fiona (former supermodel, Lauren Hutton) who hooked them up with a T.V. producer Freddy Prune (Oliver Platt) who has a tacky television program about plastic surgery entitled, "Hearts 'n Scalpels".  The doctors work on the show as consultants hoping to promote their fledgling practice.  Daphne Zuniga (Melrose Place fame) guest starred as Fiona's aging actress client who shared her bed with Christian and who was indecisive about surgically enhancing her looks.  Jennifer Coolidge played the patient on the show within the show, "Hearts 'n Scalpels" and Tia Carrere portrayed a dominatrix using her talents over a big shot studio head.

Nip/Tuck was my second favorite show last season behind the Emmit/Mario showdown on Dancing With the Stars, but tonight's premiere was mildly disappointing.  There were some funny lines and the usual outrageousness provided mostly by Tia Carrere, but overall the "fun" aspect of Nip/Tuck was missing.  Hope it comes back on subsequent episodes.  And last season's players, Sanaa Lathan, Jacqueline Bissett and Peter Dinklage are sorely missed.                

HBO IS SO COOL: CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

After last week's pivotal and highly entertaining episode of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, I thought that Larry and the gang had peaked for the season.  But, Sunday night's episode raised the bar even more.  Curb... managed to bring together three disparate concepts (the discrimination against bald men, the N-word and uncontrollable "arousal") into an uproarious concoction of hilarity.  Curb... is definitely the R-rated version of Seinfeld (Curb... star, Larry David also created Seinfeld).  A must-see!  Will be repeated many times this week!    

DANCING WITH THE STARS RECAP

Last week, Mark Cuban's extremely cute "I Dream of Jeannie" dance didn't save him from elimination.  So on with the sixth week of Dancing With The Stars and the tension was building.  The stars revisited a previous dance that they had performed and participated in a swinging fifties group dance.

Cheetah Girl's Sabrina Bryan opened the show with yet another sensational performance dancing to the foxtrot.  First of all, her mostly black with a little white colored dress was absolutely stunning.  I say, "Game Over" and the winner of DWTS5 is Sabrina.  But, unfortunately, it's not up to me because Bruno and Len remarked that she came off as being too aggressive and that the dance did not incorporate the, "flow" aspect of the foxtrot.  Conversely, Carrie Anne liked Sabrina's potent combo of feistiness and smoothness.  Possibly, her lowest scores ever, but still better than the rest of the competition in most weeks.

Jennie Garth did a very loose and fun mambo.  Judges responded very well saying that she basically knocked it out of the ballpark!  Her scores reflected the judges' enthusiasm.  Now, she needs to be more consistent in her performances from week to week. 

Jane Seymour will be in bottom two again this week.  Her strength is in the elegant dances, but this was the first time that she had to cut loose and her jive lacked vitality, to say the least.  Bruno and Len said that the dance did not suit her, but Carrie Anne disagreed with her colleagues again and commented that Jane's performance was energetic!  What?  Lower scores than usual.

All My Children's Cameron Mathison did a pretty good samba, but it was nothing special.  Bruno and Len (agreed again!) that it was good in parts, but the spirit of the samba was missing.  But, Carrie Anne thought that the guys missed the point.  She found it to be primal, passionate and powerful.  Scores were better than expected.

Spice Girl's Mel B did a solid rumba.  The judges were wowed again by Mel B sensual rumba, just like last week's performance.  But, will it be enough to keep Mel B in, for next week's show?  I hope so, Mel B is probably Sabrina's main competition (though still a few notches below!)  Perfect scores! 

Marie Osmond did a very theatrical paso doble.  Carrie Anne found it to be, "playing it safe", Bruno rated it as a mixed performance, but Len thought it was dramatic and passionate.  Scores were only decent.

Helio Castroneves did a smooth and entertaining cha cha.  Judges basically said that he was, "the comeback kid".  Scores were appropriately very high.

Group dance was next, but does it really count for that much?  At least they could legally do lifts.  Take that Carrie Anne! 

Jane is a goner and possibly anyone outside of Sabrina could join her in the bottom two.  But, we will see!                      

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES & BROTHERS AND SISTERS

After three weeks of very entertaining episodes, Desperate Housewives was down a few notches tonight.  Most of the interesting moments were saved for the last scenes.  In the meantime, we had to deal with the new gay residents being ostracized for their unstereotypical taste in art, hideously displayed in their front  yard to the horror of their "philistine" neighbors.  Lynette ran for president of the homeowner's association against Katherine.  She took on this extra duty to prevent Katherine from expanding the infractions policy to the treehouse in her front yard which had become a refuge for her children weary of coping with her cancer diagnosis. (Lynette remains the most realistic character of Wisteria Lane.  I love that the writers are normalizing her cancer storyline, not allowing her to wallow in self-pity)   

Gaby's affair with ex-husband Carlos got more complicated with the return of John, the gardener.  (BTW, Jesse Metcalfe who portrays John is not a good actor and it was more noticeable tonight, since his shirt was on the entire time and I had to focus on his poor thespian skills) 

Edie who made the "crabcakes" connection on last week's episode made a move on her recent discovery.

Bree's fake pregnancy storyline is simply tired!

And finally, the gay couple implausibly connected a few dots in Katherine's mystery.

Brothers and Sisters returned to its emotional tone after a couple of entertaining, but lighter episodes.  Kitty discovered something big that may affect the campaign.  Sarah's husband, Joe has been revealed to be a really serious S.O.B.  If you were on the fence about hating him before, your decision was made after tonight's harrowing storyline.  Joe haters, please stand up!  Poor Sarah! And when will the Walkers learn to keep their big mouths shut!                  

OCTOBER 27TH FILM BOX OFFICE

The fourth in  the gory horror series, Saw IV easily beat the other debuts this past weekend with 32 million bucks at the box office while its closet competitor, Steve Carrell's Dan in Real Life could only muster up 12 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates.  All of the holdovers from recent weeks barely registered with grosses in the single digits.  The record-breaking b.o. of the summer, now seems like a distant memory.  Bring on the holiday films! 

The Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe starrer, American Gangster, the family friendly animated flick, The Bee Movie and John Cusack in The Martian Child open next weekend, in great hopes to seriously, commercially revive the sluggish fall movie season.

American Gangster should attract the hip-hop crowd, Washington/Crowe fans and others into the crime drama genre.  The Bee Movie which will probably be the number one movie attraction next weekend, will get the family crowd that has been pretty much ignored after the surprise success of The Rock's Gameplan and The Martian Child should attract females and the Cusack fanbase.  Almost something for everyone next weekend.  But which of these films will underperform or exceed expectations?  Stay tuned.               

SURVIVOR: CHINA

Sorry for the delay with the Survivor update, but I wasn't able to get online for the past two days because my internet provider had technical problems.

Anyway, on another solid Survivor (not a dull episode this season yet and we're almost at the merge, when things really get exciting!) James was feeling like a sitting duck at Zhan Hu after Aaron's ouster last week. 

Meanwhile at Fei Long, Todd enlisted  Amanda's assistance in finding the hidden immunity idol since he had the great fortune in receiving all three clues from various members of each team.  Todd's master plan was for Fei Long to win the reward challenge and kidnap James, have James throw the immunity challenge for Zhan Hu and with James now in possession of the hidden immunity reward, break up the alliance of Jaime and Eric by voting off Jaime.  But, in dismantling of the hidden immunity, Frosti (former Zhan Hu member) inadvertently found out about it.  Was cutie Frosti safe at Tribal Council last night?  But, Todd's grand scheme backfired when Denise choked at the traditionally disgusting Survivor food challenge against James.  James could only play along for so long and then he had to swallow the last morsel of the unpalatable "delicacy".

At Zhan Hu's camp, P.G. realized that Frosti and Sherea did not acknowledge her during the reward challenge and the great plot to reunite with them after getting rid of James was not going happen, so Zhan Hu had to win the immunity challenge and with, "Denise's help", they did just that.

One funny bit occurred when Fei Long won the reward challenge and went on their "spa" reward and James was showering naked and a couple of women were admiring his derriere!

At tribal council,  did obnoxious Jean Robert or former Zhan Hu member, Sherea get the boot last night? 

My fave Todd took a risk and it did not pay off this week.  So, he's down, but not out!

The Office was not an hour this week, but had a good half hour episode. So that meant that the zany crew of Scrubs was back with their wacky selves which followed The Office!  This episode of the low-rated and in its final season comedy was funny last night. 

Big Shots was slightly better, but it may be too late for this disappointing dramedy.               

PUSHING DAISIES

Another enchanting episode of the best new series of the 2007-8 fall season, Pushing Daisies.  The usual brilliant combination of mystery, romance and quirkiness.  All four principals (Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride and Kristin Chenowith) are looking at Golden Globe noms and possible wins for their excellent comedic performances.  And throw in the wonderful Swoosie Kurtz for good measure!   

ABC, now has the lock on engaging, "dramedies" with Pushing Daisies added to its treasure chest, along with the reinvigorated Desperate Housewives and the charming Ugly Betty.

CANE

On Cane tonight, the murder mystery of Quinones heated up.  Alex and his minion, Santo were the primary suspects.  Will Santo rat out Alex to save himself?  Will Alex hire a lawyer?  Will Santo stay loyal to Alex?  And where is Santo's ex-friend Miguel?  Did he really go back to Cuba?

Meanwhile, Senator Burns who was supposed to help Alex and his brother, Frank with the ethanol deal gets entangled in a Senator Larry Craigesque sex scandal.

The younger Duques remain uninteresting as if they were only placed there to please the youthful demographics.  But, a sex tape being filmed while Alex and Isabel's daughter was having sex with a young man she wasn't even supposed to see, may lead to some intriguing drama in future episodes.

Did Nestor Carbonell's (Frank) acting improve this week?  Don't bet on it!

And finally what was up with all of those Santana songs being played throughout the program.  Don't get me wrong I like Santana, but the cynic in me thought that this was shrewd product placement since Santana's greatest hits was just released last week!      

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

Everyone at work was talking around the watercooler about last Sunday's Curb Your Enthusiasm.  So, I finally caught it tonight.  SPOILER ALERT!  If you still haven't seen this week's episode, do not read any further!  Anyway, Cheryl tried to tell Larry that she thought that she was going to die during extreme turbulence on her flight home and all Larry could care about was getting his TiVo fixed.  Well, that was the last straw for Cheryl, so when she returned home she was out the door!  (Reportedly, Larry's T.V. marital crisis mirrors his real-life counterpart).  Well, as friends tend to do when their friends breakup is to choose sides.  Let's see: Cheryl is highly likable and Larry is irritating.  Guess which friend they picked.  Lucy Lawless of Xena fame and flyless underwear also figure prominently in this hilarious episode.  Will be shown again many times this week on HBO.