Posts tagged Television

Rachel Bilson shows of her best ‘not impressed’ face in this first look at McKayla Maroney’s guest spot on Hart of Dixie. 

The Olympian appears in the November 20 episode of The CW show, where she plays Tonya, Rose’s best friend. 

(Source: tvguide.com)

Gossip Girl Renewed for Sixth and Final Season

The CW has announced that Gossip Girl will be returning next year for a sixth and final season of 11 episodes. That’s right just 11 episodes to say goodbye to our favourite Upper East Siders. Devastated. 

Time to start the mourning process now, guys.

This weekend saw the UK premiere of The Voice and I have to say I loved it. 

The concept is simple: Four celebrity coaches (Tom Jones, Jessie J, Will.I.Am and Danny O’Donoghue) sit with their back to the stage, a contestant comes out and sings to win. If a coach likes what they hear they turn their chair around and the act becomes part of their team, but if more than one coach wants the same contestant it’s then up to them to decide whose team they want to be on (cue lots of bragging and name dropping from the judges to persuade the contestant that they’re the ones to choose). 

Sounds good, right? And it is. Here’s why: 

The coaches are a great mix of talent from different genres and generations. I liked the banter between them as they try to convince the contestant to pick them and for once there doesn’t seem to be the typical ‘mean one’ or the ‘one who sits on the fence’ as is normally the case on these kind of shows. 

I also like the fact that the audition process is a lot kinder than that of say X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent. First of all the auditions are blind, meaning that all contestants are judged by their voice and their voice alone. Also there’s no (or at least there hasn’t been yet) scathing comments from coaches, if contestants have not been chosen, the coaches offer constructive criticism explaining why they didn’t turn around. Not to mention the fact that a chair not turning around is a lot less humiliating than a big red X illuminating above the stage. Finally the people auditioning all have some talent as they’ve all made it through initial producers auditions before making it in front of the coaches. I have to say it’s somewhat refreshing to see and hear people who can sing instead of cringing as delusional contestants humiliate themselves in front of the nation. Some people may say that’s one of the best parts of talent shows, but after seeing it for so many years, it’s nice to have a show that’s focused on talent from the beginning. 

I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the series unfold.

Picture: DigitalSpy

So it’s here, the most romantic day of the year: Valentines Day. A great day if you’ve got that special someone in your life, no so great if you’re on your own. If you’ve managed to survive the barrage of red roses, chocolates, champagne and sexy lingerie that have been exploding from shops since the end of January, then there’s just one thing left: the day itself. As a single lady myself I’ve decided to make a list of 5 fictional men I’d like to spend today with: 

5. Gale Hawthorne 

As suggested by my friend Gem, I’ve decided to start this list with Gale from The Hunger Games. What could be more romantic than spending Valentine’s Day deep in the forest, whilst a wild turkey (caught by the man himself) roasts on an open fire? Gale is fearless and knows how to take care of himself. I think we’d have a great time. 

4. Prince Eric 

I had to include a Disney Prince somewhere on this list and Eric has always been my favourite. First of all he’s a Prince, what more could you want? But he’s always seemed to me, to be the coolest Prince. I mean, he’s not throwing Balls to find a wife like that guy in Cinderella and he’s not self-obsessed like the Beast. He’s just a genuine guy. A date with him would involve dinner at the palace, followed by a romantic stroll on the beach with his dog. No need to worry about small talk, because you’ll be serenaded by a bunch of underwater characters. Delightful. 

3. Damon Salvatore 

The Vampire Diaries’ Damon is my third potential Valentine. He’s older and sexy as hell. He’s got that swoon-inducing smoulder down to a fine art and although his age may suggest an old-fashioned gentleman, he’d definitely be a lot of fun. I imagine on our date we’d grab a bite to eat, before heading to a bar to drink and dance, winding up the night at his place. Sure he might take a chunk out of your neck for dessert, but really the danger’s all part of his appeal. 

2. Nate Archibald

Okay, so Nate is probably not the obvious Gossip Girl pick, but I’m honestly in love with him. Sure he may not be the best conversationalist, but I really think he’d treat me right. On our date, we’d probably have dinner at an expensive, but understated restaurant in the West Village and then head back to his to watch a movie. I feel like dating Nate would be very simple. We wouldn’t need to do much. I’d probably even start watching sports. Now that’s love. 

1. Noah Calhoun 

I’m not sure I really need to explain this one, but here it goes. Noah Calhoun is possibly the ultimate date. He can cook, he can build houses, he fought for his country and he’s probably one of the most romantic fictional men around. Our date would be an exact re-enactment of any of his dates with Allie, storms and all. He could cook us dinner and we’d talk or we could go out on the lake to see the swans, before rushing home in the rain or we could go to the movies and dance in the street on the way home. I’m really not fussy. Either way it would be perfection. 

The CW Orders ‘Carrie Diaries’ Pilot 

Fans of ‘Sex and the City’ rejoice Carrie is returning to the small screen! Only this time we’re going to see how Miss Bradshaw spent her teenage years as The CW orders the pilot for Candace Bushnell’s prequel ‘The Carrie Diaries’. The book chronicles Carrie’s time at high school before she even met Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. 

Whilst I think the book may have made a good film, I’m not so sure about a television series. Firstly we know how it ends. We know who Carrie ends up with, we know that she follows her dream and becomes a writer in NYC, we know it has a happy ending. And at the end of the day isn’t that what keeps us watching a TV show? The suspense and wonder at where these characters are going to end up. Is this the relationship that lasts? Will she get the career she wants? With this removed will we still have an enjoyable show? I guess it could go another way and the producers may decide their own, different fate for Carrie, as they’ve done with many books to TV series in the past. I don’t know. 

My second concern is that at the end of the first prequel novel Carrie finds herself in NYC for the Summer and undoubtedly this will be incorporated into the show, but The CW already has a show about young pretty things frolicking in New York. Does ‘The Carrie Diaries’ spell the end of ‘Gossip Girl’? Because I don’t think I could live without my weekly Nate fix. 

I suppose we’ll have to wait until May, but at the moment I’m not convinced. 

This week the return of our favourite shows continued, here’s what we learned: 

Modern Family: 

This week we learned that no matter how you think your first kiss is going to go, it will never happen like that. There are just some things you can’t plan. 

Read more …