Whine & Cheese

Lost In Your Eyes

Look what just showed up in my mailbox!

I am not sure who is looking hotter on this week's Entertainment Weekly cover!

I have to say Evangeline Lilly might make me consider switching teams... and while I may be all about sex every minute of every day in that alternate universe... I will say I don't have an iota of an impure thought about Matthew Fox since he is one year waaaaaay (gasp!) older than me and fully clothed... even if he is quite successfully pulling off that rugged, come hither look!

Express Lane: Issue 38

This week in Celebrity Drunk Driving: 48 Days in Jail for '24' Star Sutherland and Ex-'Lost' Star Rodriguez Gets 6 months. (10/11/07)

Lindsay Lohan says rehab was `sobering' - Ummm...  "pardon the pun"? (10/9/07)

`Sopranos' regulars join `Chicago' cast - 'Janice' (as Mama Morton) and 'Big Pussy' (as Roxie's husband Amos) are the latest to sign up for what is increasingly the stunt casting musical of all-time! (10/9/07)

Broadway 'Rent' Gets New Mark and Roger - Here's a switch!  Saw both these guys the last time 'Rent' came through town on the national tour.  Congrats to Broadway debutantes, Declan and Harley... well deserved! (10/4/07)

Paula Abdul refused to do more 'Hey Paula!' which she says was "disturbing"; wants a child - I agree with the first half (it was pretty much 'trainwreck'), but not so sure about that second half. (10/1/07)

Get Your Emmy Nominations

The Emmy nominations were announced this morning. 

This year there was the promise of something new as blue-ribbon panels picked the final nominees from the top ten vote-getters from the Academy's general membership.  I don't know how much "new" there is, but there were some surprises... and, of course, some major overlooks (in my humble opinion)...

The Sopranos - The show gets the expected nod for  Best Drama, but the big surprises were the absence of the usually slam-dunk nods for James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.  Now I am not familiar with all the shows/actors, but I found it particularly insane that the wooden Geena Davis, for Commander In Chief, earned a spot over Falco.  Michael Imperioli did get a nod for Supporting Actor.

Desperate Housewives - I agree the show has slipped in its sophomore season... but last year's winner for Best Comedy was pretty much shut-out in the major categories.  None of the leading ladies were nominated (including last year's winner, Felicity Huffman). If anything, I thought the lone non-nominee last year, Eva Longoria, might get one this time around.  Craziest?  The only major acting nod was Best Supporting Actress for ... Alfre Woodard?!?!  I love Alfre, but the Applewhite storyline is what I felt really dragged down this entire season.

Six Feet Under - It seems like such a long time ago since we said goodbye to the Fisher clan, but the stellar final season was just eligible for this round of Emmys.  While I hoped it would earn a final Best Drama nod, it did not... Peter Krause and Frances Conroy earned lead nominations... but none for Michael C. Hall and Lauren Ambrose, both who broke my heart (multiple times) over those last few episodes.

Lost - As with Housewives, last year's winner for Best Drama was totally shut out of major nominations this year... no acting nominations, lead or supporting... only Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) earned a "guest actor in a drama series" nomination.

The Comeback - One the nominations that made me the happiest... Lisa Kudrow for Best Actress in a Comedy series.  Valerie Cherish may have got the shaft, but at least Lisa knows she's being heard.

The Office - Earned nods for Best Comedy as well as for Steve Carell.  But no Emmy love for Jim and Pam (John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer) in the supporting categories.

My Name Is Earl - Perhaps eclipsed by The Office, I felt the freshmen comedy was a bit slighted.  No nominations for Best Comedy or Jason Lee or Ethan Suplee -- but all is well in Best Supporting Actress-land with a well-deserved nod to Jamie Pressly.

Arrested Development - The show eked out one more nod for Best Comedy series... but was on the short-end when it came to acting.  Only Will Arnett (Gob) squeaked in for supporting.  Where or where was my Jessica Walter nomination?!?

Will & Grace - Also, in its last hurrah.  The show fails to be up for Best Comedy... but 3/4's of the cast are nominated one more time (sorry Eric McCormack).

The West Wing - Gets its last (and, in my opinion, well-deserved) nod for Best Drama... with the usual suspects nominated in the acting categories... Sheen in lead, Janney in lead, and Alda in support.

24 - The show with the most nominations, including Best Drama.  Now while I think that this is technically a very good show, it's not one I watch for its fine acting.  Nevertheless, Kiefer gets a lead acting nod... and the devilish First Family, Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart, earn nods in support.   What no Chloe?!   Guess we need a "best comedic performance in a drama series" category for Mary Lynn Rajskub.

Weeds - A very good show over at Showtime... didn't expect a Best Comedy nod, but thought the deliciously sly Mary Louise Parker (and Award show fave) would make the cut for Lead Actress, she did not... the only major nod was Elizabeth Perkins in support.

Scrubs - Ok, I am thrilled for the Best Comedy nod... but WTF?!!!? Where are the acting nominations?!?!   Zach Braff made it onto the list last year, so I thought we were past all of this... and again, it is just inexcusable that John C. McGinley has never been nominated as Dr. Cox.

For the full list of nominess... and to see if your favorites have been nominated from the few shows I do not watch (i.e. the very much nominated Grey's Anatomy)... go here:
Yahoo! TV - Coverage of The 58th Annual Emmy Awards

A more "easy on the eyes" list can be found here:
EW.com | Here are the Emmy nominees

Lost Map

This past week's episode of Lost had a big "Oy!" moment ... well there were quite a few of those... to say nothing of the Jack/Sawyer homoeroticism with the whole "putting your mango where my mouth is," yet I digress...

But arguably, the biggest revelation of the night was when Locke got a gander at a mysterious map that was momentarily illuminated by black light.

Entertainment Weekly's website does a little deconstruction on the map... and gives us a closer view of some of that scribbling... so lowing us to zoom in and get a better view of some of that scribbling.

So get at it, if you so choose, but I think it will all just make my brain hurt!

Ana Lucia Makes It To The Merge

Last night's episode of Lost got me thinking that this was just the Survivor episode from hell.  Wouldn't Mark Burnett just kill (whoops, bad analogy) for a cast like this!

When we rounded the the corner and ended up in the same place where we finished last week... I half expected Jeff Probst to pop out from behind Sayid and the dying Shannon and yell out "C'mon in Guys" to Ana Lucia & crew.

At one point last evening, I was thinking... shouldn't these people be happier?!  They've made it to the merge!  After watching Survivor, the ONE thing I do know is that you want to make it to the merge!   Granted on the island of Lost  when the "tribe has spoken" one is not exactly whisked off to a nice hotel for some food and a shower.  Take this picture for instance.... Ana Lucia wins the immunity challenge... but something appears to have gone terribly awry!  Ouch!

But all the signs were there for a tribal merge.  One tribe has been fairly decimated... there was the unexpected tribe switcheroo with Sawyer, Jin, and Michael joining the other tribe for a bit.  Where will their loyalties lie when they return to camp?  We even had the surprise double-elimination with the disappearance of Cindy and the Shannon "oops" moment ahead of the merge.

So the dynamics of the merged tribe should be interesting.  Ana Lucia has likely sufficiently pissed off Sayid.... so that should make the whole Bobby Jon/Jamie Guatemalan "in your face" rivalry look like a couple of school boys fighting on the playground.  Then we have what I assume will be a juicy Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Ana Lucia love triangle square... and who is not looking forward to the reunion of Rose and Bernard!

As Probst would snarkily say at the end of a tribal council... it looks like these folks have a lot of issues to work through... now grab your torches and head back to camp!

TV Talk: Lost, Survivor, WW

Spoiler Alert:  If you have NOT watched the latest episodes of Lost, Survivor, and West Wing... probably best just to skip by this post.

Lost
Well, JJ Abrams pulled a good one on us... doing a little reverse psychology and not doing a surprise twist with the death of Boone.  Even when Boone was on his last breath, I still half expected something else to happen... say that crazy French chick coming out of nowhere and gunning someone down.  Kind of ironic that Boone dies in a plane crash, huh? 

While I certainly appreciated the eye candy, I admit to being not quite as devastated as someone else in our household.  I can understand the whole "circle of life" thing that was going on in the episode (a surprisingly cheesy move) and how this will shake things up on the island.  Any bets that Claire will name the baby Boone?? And with his death, Boone takes to the grave that he made contact with the outside world... so that is pretty convenient as well (although I suspect the radio was probably irreparably damaged in the re-crash).

But be prepared for another lengthy wait between episodes, I hear we won't see another new Lost episode until May -- with the show ultimately closing out its first season (no surprise that it has been officially renewed) with a 3 hour "event" airing over two weeks (with a 2 hour season finale).

Survivor
Well, it was the Worst Week Ever for pretty boys on the island... as an increasingly skeletal looking Bobby Jon got knocked out of Survivor... as Ulong continued its winless streak in immunity challenges.  What do you think will happen next week?  Do you think they will just have Stephenie compete in an immunity challenge with Koror and if she doesn't win, she's out??   Have to give the show credit for surprising us and just letting the Ulongs disappear without an emergency/intervention tribe merger.

Am I the only one who feel that they don't even know some of the members of Koror?  I see some of the women every week and I honestly could not tell you their names!  I don't think we have ever got this far into a season, where I feel that I do not have clue about some of the participants... but you only get to really know them once the mental game begins... and with only one trick tribal council, Koror hasn't yet had to start scheming.

Alas, we will probably be bidding a Fine Wine adieu to Bobby Jon soon... but I will let him hang on for a few more days.

West Wing
A pretty good season finale for The West Wing ... no big surprise, that Jimmy Smits/Matt Santos pulled out the nomination at the divisive Democratic Convention (c'mon did you think Ed O'Neill/Al Bundy was going to pull the upset?)... but I am glad I remained spoiler-free that Leo ended up being the surprise VP nominee.  While it is a big surprise that a man who just had a serious heart-attack accepted the job, I guess there is a current "real-life" precedent that makes it a bit more easy to believe.  I am pretty optimistic that next season is going to be pretty darn good.  And if that was'n't enough, what about CJ?  Will she be exposed as the source of the leak about the potential use of a military space shuttle to save the stranded astronauts or do you think we are being mislead?   Tune back in this September (or even October if the show decides to go "non-stop" again)!

The Weekend
Probably be a fairly busy weekend, as you see the days are getting teasingly close with regards to our vacation... so will probably look into getting our LA flights an overnight LAX hotel booked this weekend... also get the doggies reserved at the kennel.  We are also dog sitting next week... our guest pup arrives Sunday morning.   

Tonight, we are off to our local independent bookstore to see former Secretary of State Maddy Albright... she is on tour promoting the paperback release of her memoir.  I hope Todd is able to get his hardcover edition signed as well... he is quite atwitter about meeting up Madame Secretary.  Ok, I better shut up as I think I just got myself into some trouble!

Have a great weekend!

"Lost" & Found

After a very long break, Lost was back with a new episode last night... and as usual, we were left with more questions than answers.

First off though, the television gods are not being very nice at all!  Lost, Idol Finales Will Square Off... arrrrgh!?!   Both are currently scheduled to air expanded 2 hour finales on Wednesday, May 25th - I am hoping that are TiVos and cable boxes (which have a tendency just to shut themselves off every now and then!) are working fine while we are on vacation.

Later in the post there are some mild spoilers...  they have been widely reported (and are not very specific) in entertainment mags and website... but I will give a warning if you want to remain totally spoiler-free. 

The show's title last night was "Deus Ex Machina" -- everything means something on Lost, so I had to look it up.  Here you go:

In some ancient Greek drama, an apparently insoluble crisis was solved by the intervention of a god, often brought on stage by an elaborate piece of equipment. This "god from the machine" was literally a deus ex machina. The term deus ex machina is still used for cases where an author uses some improbable (and often clumsy) plot device to work his or her way out of a difficult situation. When the cavalry comes charging over the hill or when the impoverished hero is relieved by an unexpected inheritance, it's often called a deus ex machina.

Okay... go at it... it is just making my brain ache just thinking about all this could mean.

More of the numbers game... when Locke's mom asked him where the footballs were... he said "regulation aisle 8, nerf aisle 15".... once again a reference back to the doomed Oceanic Flight 815.  Also, remember the Hurley's lottery ticket also had this numeric reference (4-8-15-16-23 42).

When Boone made contact with someone on the newly found crashed plane... the person on the other end said "There were no survivors of Oceanic Flight 815"... now what does that mean? 

Ok, avert your eyes... STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS...

After being tricked several times about the deaths of main characters... creator JJ Abrams is standing firm that one of them will not make it through the first season.  Now things were not looking very good for Boone last night (causing my other half to already show the signs of deep depression)... but my take (and I really have no clue!) is that Boone dying would be too obvious... this show thrives off the surprise twist... so I am thinking this just might be a bait-and-switch.

And not like the season finale needs to be hyped, but co-creator Damon Lindelof says the season-ending cliffhanger is "gonna rock peoples' world... we want people talking all summer long."

"Lost" and "NY"

Caught the series premieres of two new shows last night - Lost and CSI: NY.  Mind you we do not really need to be adding ANY new shows... it is starting to feel like we are Lucy in the chocolate factory... way too many shows coming down the pike with not enough time to absorb them into an already crowded existing schedule.

Both shows earned quite a bit of pre-season hype - so figured we would give 'em a try.  Apparently we were not alone. Lost dominated its time slot while CSI:NY earned what many felt was an unexpected victory over the stalwart Law & Order.

So here are my initial thoughts:

Lost - Pretty impressed with the production value.  The show definitely has the feel and scope of a big-screen movie.  Thought Matthew Fox was a solid leading man despite having the character go through some Superman-like heroics before the first commercial break.   Was a little confused about the actual airline crash -- the commercials have given away the big "ta-da" special effect of the plane breaking apart...so I was wondering where the heck it was in the opening episode.  But I guess the complete disaster will be spoon-fed to us in flashbacks.  I think it is going to take some time to get into.  It has an immense cast (which I suspect will be whittled down over time) and there were a lot of people to meet.  I am a bit iffy on the "monster" aspect of the show.  I knew about it ahead of time and was told to just go with it...but I still found it more of a detraction than something I was totally sucked in by.   Bottom line: the show is different and has potential.

CSI: NY - Never got into the CSI shows... didn't get on board the original before it took off and gave CSI: Miami a try -- but it was a victim of the omnipresent "not enough time to watch this" syndrome.  As with Lost, this show is very well-done. The visuals were very stylized - it was both kinda cool, but a distraction as well.   Does any crime investigation office actually look like that (funky loft, circa 1940)?  Was any shot done without the use of colored filters (grey, blue, green)?  The tone of the show and the characters were also pretty dark and dank.  I wasn't expecting bright skies and snappy one-liners... but I was thought it would be a tad less "heavy."  Bottom line: pretty torn... appreciated the production value and the actors, but just don't really know if the shoe fits.