It’s from “Watch with Kristin” on E!’s website. Watch here. The episode airs September 29 on The CW at 8 pm.
Archive for September, 2008
In Defense of Jordin Sparks at the 2008 MTV VMAs
Jordin Sparks at the 2008 MTV VMA red carpet.
As I was watching the 2008 Video Music Awards on MTV last night, I couldn’t help but notice the controversy that erupted on stage after British comedian and host Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) made several cracks about the Jonas Brothers and their promise rings. Jordin Sparks defended the concept of promise rings in an impromptu remark while introducing T.I. with John Legend, saying,”I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It’s not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut.”
Brand later made an apology during the show, but I thought the exchange made the evening more entertaining. I didn’t plan on blogging about the awards until I read the comments that AOL users had made about the ordeal. Here are some of the completely ignorant, disgusting, and concerning comments:
“Is she jealous? Why do singers and celebrities shove their sex (or lack of) lives down our throats? When she looses 100pds. or so, she too can have a chance at a sex life!!!”
“Jordin Sparks seems to be sexually frustrated that no one is tapping her fat a**. This whole thing about promise rings….. that s*** is GAY!! Ok? but I would expect no less from those f***, the Jonas Brothers.”
There are many more obscene sentiments than these. I’m a born and raised atheist, and I certainly don’t wear a promise ring, but I support others who wear them because it is a sign of possessing morals. The Jonas Brothers wearing promise rings is a good thing because males often don’t, and because their fanbase is young girls who need a better idol than Miley Cyrus. Then again, I think Russell Brand had a right to joke about them because it was the MTV Awards, not the Nickledeon Awards. The jokes are going to be more adult and off-color, and you have to accept that when you decide to attend or watch the show.
Jordin Sparks certainly did not need to get up there and defend promise rings because it was merely a joke, though a rather humorless one. Yet I admire her courage for speaking up, for being brave enough to admonish the evening’s host. She doesn’t need the offensive, grammatically incorrect bashings of uneducated, hypocritical, chauvinistic commentators. Do you really not have a better response? Must you attack a role model for young girls for being “jealous” and a “fat a**”? Plus, didn’t she make the show more exciting? Russell Brand was pathetically unfunny.
90210
The cast of the CW's "90210"
The revamp of “Beverly Hills, 90210″ debuted Tuesday, September 2nd, on the CW to the channel’s highest premiere ratings ever, 4.9 million viewers. In now appears to be the powerhouse of the network, acheiving higher ratings than “Gossip Girl” and “America’s Next Top Model.” I am proud to say that the show films at my old high school, just as the original did. Unfortunately, I doubt “90210″ will remain a hit because of how lackluster the series premiere was.
The show needs serious renovation if it wants to be as buzzy, entertaining, and critically praised as “Gossip Girl.” A major issue with the new series is the likability and consistency among the teenage main characters. Annie, the supposedly innocent Kansas girl, is hopelessly clueless and dorky. Her performance during her impromptu audition for West Beverly’s Spring Awakening musical was unintentionally hilarious. She also obliviously hands her paper to queen bee Naomi, who was obviously going to copy it. How can you root for a goody two-shoes heroine who seems to have no flaws except for her lack of common sense?
Her adopted brother, Dixon, has an interesting storyline, but so far he’s been fairly dull and a little exaggerated and awkward in his scenes. As for Naomi, it’s hard to have sympathy for an ambiguous cheating ice queen. And her boyfriend, how can he be seen as the series’ Prince Charming if his first scene, at the beginning of the premiere, had him getting a blow job from another girl in his car in front of school? Annie promptly caught him, yet she seems to still be attracted to the brainless man-whore. And another thing: for a show marketed to tweens and airing at 8 pm on a major network, wasn’t that scene inappropriate?
Hopefully, the characters will become better developed, and the storylines will be sharper and more drama-filled. As for the adults in the series, they weren’t given too much screentime, but they were definitely the most entertaining. Annie and Dixon’s grandmother was the most intriguing character, a rich, sarcastic, alcoholic matriarch. I was too young to see the original series, but Jennie Garth as Kelly seemed sweet and adult, as does her potential suitor, the English teacher Ryan. Why can’t they just make it “90210, All Grown Up” and just focus on the adults’ lives?
Grade: C
2008 Emmy Predictions: Comedy Edition
HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm
Best Comedy
- 30 Rock- NBC
- Curb Your Enthusiasm- HBO
- Entourage- HBO
- The Office- NBC
- Two and a Half Men- CBS
30 Rock won the Emmy last year, plus it didn’t have the best season this year. Curb Your Enthusiasm had a good year, and it hasn’t won an Emmy, at least I don’t think so. Entourage had a rotten fourth season, and The Office took home Best Comedy too recently. As for Two and a Half Men, that is a possibility, but I don’t think that show deserves critical approval.
Who Will Win: 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm are in a dead heat for me.
2008 Emmy Predictions: Drama Edition
The 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on September 15th. I can honestly say that I am very good at making picks for the winners, and I’m sharing with you my TV drama predictions.
AMC's Mad Men
Best Drama
- Boston Legal- ABC
- Damages- FX
- Dexter- Showtime
- House- FOX
- Lost- ABC
- Mad Men- AMC
Boston Legal shouldn’t even be nominated, let alone as a drama, yet the Emmy voters are in love with the show. However, it won’t win, or else all of the TV watchers in America will rise in protest. Damages got a lot of publicity earlier this year, but the reviews have been mixed. Dexter attracted some new viewers with its censored run on CBS during the writers’ strike, but I bet the serial killer show is very polarizing amongst conservative Emmy voters. House, while long overdue for some Emmy recognition, shouldn’t be rewarded for its dull fourth season, though the finale was the best episode of any show this year. Lost, while good in its fourth season, was not amazing; plus, the Emmy voters are still punishing it for its season 2 and 3 missteps. That leaves us with Mad Men, which took best drama at the Golden Globes back in January; this freshmen show has been praised universally, though it does have a small viewership because of its somewhat boring subject matter and placement on a rarely watched basic cable channel.
Who Will Win: Mad Men
