Rickey.org is a must for Idol fans, though for one and only one reason. Shortly after each broadcast, he has clips (either video or mp3s) of all the performances. Idol is one of the few shows that doesn’t do a Web rebroadcast – they aren’t even posting performance clips on the Idol site, though they do have exclusive video interviews. So if you want to watch or rewatch the performances, you have to either search You Tube and hope someone posted them or go straight to Rickey.org. The drawback is that he doesn’t usually include the judges comments. On the other hand, considering the songs run less than 2 minutes a piece, it means you can watch all the performances in under a half-hour. So Rickey.org is a site we love.
And now on to the Top Ten men.
Phil Stacey – Missing You If he was voted out of the competition, and weeks later someone asked me how I felt about it, I would say “I ain’t missing him at all.” Lame cover of a lame original song.
Jared Cotter – Let’s Get It On It’s funny. Every year we have a female singer attempt a song by a distinctive artist (Aretha jumps to mind) and they get criticized for choosing something by an artist so memorable that it invites unfavorable comparisons. You almost never hear this criticism of the male singers. (They say it about singers doing Stevie songs, but it’s the song, not the performance they talk about.) But Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On certainly has to be the male equivalent of that. This wasn’t a bad performance, but it certainly was not Marvin Gaye.
AJ Tabaldo – Feeling Good I think it was good, but I’m not sure – it almost put me to sleep.
Sanjaya – Steppin’ Out With My Baby I didn’t watch any of the auditions. Was there really no one better than this kid to have sent to the round of 24? This is awful, god awful.
Chris Sligh – Trouble I can’t get by his looking like a Jack Osborne clone. Sorry. Can’t do it. He’s a good singer, but he is in dire need of a makeover.
Nick Pedro – Fever Great song, crappy performance. I bet he’s gone.
Blake Lewis – Virtual Insanity Not bad, but pretty damn forgettable. Lose the hat, dude. Lose the hat.
Brandon Rogers – Time After Time Boring. There’s really nothing else to say. Boring.
Chris Richardson – Geek In The Pink I love it when an Idol singer performs a song I’ve never heard before and I like it so much I rush out to buy the record of the original performer. That happened last season when Katherine McPhee sang Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. I went out the next day and got K.T Tunstall’s Eye to the Telescope. I’m not rushing out to buy any Jason Mraz today, but I did like the song and the performance a lot. A lot.
Sundance – Mustang Sally I always think of the movie The Commitments when I hear this song. Although the band in that movie is a fake band, they are still a great band that does a great version of Mustang Sally. This version isn’t as good as that one, but it’s pretty good nonetheless.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Idol - Top Ten Men (And Another Site We Love)
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Thoughts about the Top 12 AI Girls
The problem with writing a post entitled "Thoughts about the Top 12 AI Boys" is that you feel obligated to follow up with a post about the girls even though you're very busy at work. This will only have a few quick comments.
Gina - You didn't hit the note. Don't argue with Simon. I still like you.
Lakisha - I was gushing at my TV last night but today reality has set in. Remember Mandisa? Yeah, no one else does either. Beware the hot start.
Antonella - Get off my TV screen. Please!
Melinda and Stephanie - Love ya. Please stick around.
Hayley and Leslie - I hope you stick around because I think there's potential there.
And you know what else I realized? I prefer listening to male singers over female singers. So if the men continue to suck and the women continue to shine, I may lose interest in this season.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Condensing CSI: Miami down to the essentials
Via Defamer (another Site That We Like), here for your enjoyment is a montage of David Caruso's scenery-chewing one-liners, all-sunglasses edition:
Thoughts about the Top 12 AI Boys
Wow, that really sucked, huh? There wasn't one memorable performance on American Idol last night. There were a couple of good performances and a lot of not too bad performances, but we were also treated to some absolutely wretched singing.
Let's talk about the good first. The two best performances of the night were Phil and Blake. 
Phil started very rough, but by the end of the song ("I Could Not Ask for More") he had it under control. I wish to god he had some hair though. He's difficult to watch for any length of time. I think he ought to make hats a permanent part of his wardrobe each week.
You might remember Blake as the beat boxer. Turns out he can sing too. He was Sharon's favorite. I like the pure tone of his voice and that he didn't add any crazy embellishments to her performance. He just stood and sung the words with emotion.
Now those two were the best of the night, but they weren't amazing. Both had decent performances, but neither was unforgettable like Constantine's rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody from season four. But both were much better than everyone else last night.
I will give props to Chris Sligh for a decent if not excellent performance. But he loses some points for the stupid digs at Simon. Chris, take the criticism like a man and sing better next time.
And now the truly horrible...
This boy is the poster child for the Raise the Age Limit campaign.
His name is Sanjaya and he's got a great voice. But he's just too young and lacks the maturity to go all the way. Every year there are teenagers in the competition and every year they fail to get very far. Sanjaya's performance last night was so boring I fell asleep. Well, I wish I could have fallen asleep.
Then there's this idiot:
His name is Paul Kim and he's decided his "thing" is to go barefoot every week. If he makes it through, which would be a surprise, I think he better buy some shoes. Trying to invent something memorable about yourself doesn't work. Let it happen naturally.
Everyone else was pretty forgettable. I hope the women are better. Check 'em out tonight!
Lost Podcast
It’s Wednesday, a good day for several reasons. First, and foremost, it’s new comic book day. Second, it’s midway through the work week. Finally, it means a new episode of Lost. And what goes best with a new episode of Lost? A new Lost podcast!
New Lost podcast you ask? Why yes, new Lost podcast. Each week when new episodes are airing, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, the two main producers and writers of Lost broadcast and air a podcast available at the ABC Lost site. There’s a brief introductory section where someone from the show is interviewed (this week it’s Henry Ian Cusick, who plays Desmond) then the portion with Cuse and Lindelof. They talk about the previous episode, tease the upcoming episode, and answer questions readers post at the ABC message boards. These weekly podcasts are one of the reasons I have not lost (pun intended) faith in the show. They show that the powers that be at Lost do have an overarching plan, even if it sometimes changes, and that they are aware of the pitfalls shows like Twin Peaks and X-Files fell into in the past. Have a listen. It’s about 30 minutes long, and very entertaining. If you're a huge fan, you should go back and listen to the previous podcasts as well.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Speaking of sites we love...
If you're an American Idol fan, you have to check out MJ's Big Blog, which is clearly the most comprehensive AI site on the web. What's nice about it is that not only does MJ give us everything you could possibly want to know about American Idols past and present, she also has some interesting commentary. Check out this post which details the top 12 guys who will perform tonight.
Oh and thanks, Dweeze, for inviting me to join the fun here at DTV.
Sites We Love - By Ken Levine
By Ken Levine is the blog of, hard as it is to imagine, Ken Levine. Who’s Ken Levine? He’s an Emmy-winning writer and producer of such shows as M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, Wings, and Everybody Loves Raymond. He frequently posts his thoughts on current shows, such as this post from today, as well as insights on the creative process for television (see this three part series on the creation of Frasier – ironically, this is by a guest writer, not Levine himself). One of my favorite past posts was this two parter entitled Lost House 24, a combination of three of Levine’s current favorites. Here’s a sample from part one:
12 pm – 1 pm
Oceanic Air Flight 15 wings from Sydney to Los Angeles. Jack is returning home after two years of hiding in the Outback because that’s as far away from Audrey as he could get. House spent two weeks in Australia learning the accent so he could better taunt Chase. The plane crashes. Jack saves 54 people. Learns they only have provisions for 53. He shoots one.
1 pm – 2 pm
House discovers he can walk. Sayid remembers Jack from once torturing him. Together, Jack and Doc build an entire village and Banana Republic outlet.
2 pm – 3 pm
Sawyer and House compete making Hurley fat jokes. Sayid tries to get radio communication. Nothing but static. They’re 2,000 miles from civilization. Jack’s cellphone rings.
By Ken Levine - a site we love!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Notes On The Read More Link - Update
The "Read More" button is a nice feature, allowing us to post small posts on the main page and larger posts with a portion on the main page and the rest of the post a click away. Unfortunately, at the moment a "Read More" shows up at the bottom of each post even if there is no "Read More". We are working to get this bug out. Out bug, out! In the meantime, if you click a "Read More" and there is no more to be read, assume you have read the entirety of the post.
UPDATE - Problem solved. Yay technology!
Behind The Eclipse - Heroes Talk
Behind The Eclipse is a regular feature at Comic Book Resources. It is a behind the scenes chat with writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite of Heroes. They talk about the previous episode, talk about the upcoming episode, and usually answer reader questions. The latest installment is now up and has some interesting tidbits.
Food Network Smackdown
Via The News Blog, a link to a guest blog post by Anthony Bourdain (and if you don’t know who Anthony Bourdain is, you don’t watch enough Travel Channel) wrote about the Food Network and the various hosts therein. It’s well written, compelling, and, as far as I’m concerned, spot on. There are over 500 comments already, so it’s unrealistic to read them all, but some of them are pretty interesting as well.
For Those Who Like Some Toys With Their TV
Promo pictures of Lost Wave Two action figures, courtesy of Action Figure Hub. This wave consists of Sun, Sawyer, Jin, and Mr. Eko. Here's Sun and Sawyer.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
24
I'm just not feeling 24 yet this year. This might be in part because I'm watching it delayed - I watch Heroes live and record 24. But I felt that way even before Heroes restarted, and I've delayed-watched 24 before, so I don't think that's it. I think it's the format. I don't think the 24 hour format works well when used over and over again for the same character, particularly because the producers seem to feel each new day has to top what happened in a previous day. How many times can you realistically up the ante before it becomes, well, boring? Thoughts?
Monday, February 5, 2007
Coming Soon - DTV
Summaries, program thoughts, all this and more coming soon from the fine folks at DTV.
