I Want To Be the Girl On Fire

"I want to be Alicia Keys!" Katie Couric declared on her show last week. Keys was a guest and had just performed a song from her new album, Girl on Fire (released today: 11/27). At this point you can probably guess that this post isn't about my desire to be Katniss Everdeen (not this time at least).

Admittedly, I've never considered myself a big Alicia Keys fan. True, I love many of her singles and find her vocal and musical talent incredible. Still, it wasn't until learning more about her last week that I began to think we should all be more like Alicia Keys.

I realize not all of us can sing like she can or play piano like she can or even write songs like she can. We can't all produce our own music either, or were the valedictorian of our high school class, but I'm not talking about all that. Last week I learned more about her philanthropic efforts and found myself inspired, impressed and a little surprised that I didn't already know all she does. But, maybe that's intentional: Keys not telling her right hand what the left is doing. Gotta love that.

ABC Orders Another Pilot

Following the SHIELD pilot order, ABC orders a put pilot called "The Housewives", written by June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson, as reported by Deadline.  Will Gluck is producing the pilot.  The show would be a multi-camera comedy about three female friends that takes place in 1954.  1954, people!  This could be all sorts of fun!  Raphael just may be one of the three leads.  It's too bad Wilson can't do both Happy Endings and The Housewives, but we'll have her there in the words.  Hopefully this one will stick, unlike last year's pilot by the same team Walk of Shame.  I do hope that Raphael ends up playing a role, and I do hope that role is a drunken blunt woman.  This writing duo is also responsible for Bride Wars.  Check out Raphael weekly on Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV and Wilson weekly on Happy Endings, ABC, at 9 PM, opposite New Girl, FOX, and Go On, NBC.

Elizabeth Cook Soars

A regular guest on David Letterman's late night show, Elizabeth Cook entertains.  She knows there's humor in her honesty and in her background.  But many mistake her lighthearted sense of self and southern accent together as her being an dumb blonde airhead.  And as she wrote in her song, "Dolly, did you go through this?"

Site of the Week: My Drunk Kitchen

My Drunk (Sexy) Kitchen

Have I not told you about this before?  I thought I had, so I deeply apologize for not alarming you of uber-nerd Hannah Hart's awesomeness.  Ms. Hart provides us the best sort of entertainment: drunk cooking on her webseries My Drunk Kitchen (now in HD!).  Her witty puns and quirky personality are irresistible as she fumbles around the kitchen in an attempt to assemble something that looks like food and has been on the floor a few times.  Unfortunately, guys, Ms. Hart is not available to date.  But, ladies, she's all yours.

John Barrowman, Catherine Tate, and David Tenant Sing

If you haven't seen it yet, you will now.  John Barrowman, Catherine Tate, and David Tenant sing a tune called "The Ballad of Russell and Julie", based off this tune, in honor of Tenant's departure along with Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner.

TV Updates Galore!

Soooo a few things have occurred in the TV realm that I couldn't report due to long days/nights at work.  We have updates on 2 Broke Girls, Cougar Town, Community, Golden Globes, Megan Mullally, Arrested Development, Hot in Cleveland, and Betty White.


First up: Arrested Development.  It's official.  It's happening.  It's returning!  It will air on Netflix after the streaming and video rental company had a bidding war with Showtime.  Again, it will air ten episodes of a new season, leading to a movie.

Site of the Week: 11/14-20/11

Little Big Town has always been one of my favorites in the country scene.  Their tight harmonies are quality, and each voice has a distinct tone, yet they all work well together.  The only harmonies that beat it in today's music are from SHeDAISY, who creates music outside the box.  It's hard for creative groups to make it big in Nashville, but Little Big Town (LBT) does it with ease.  Unfortunately, Lady Antebellum took over their place as reigning group.  That doesn't stop LBT from having fun and being great to their fans.  Continue reading for more info on the best thing to happen to Country music in the past few years, something that reinvigorates a dead music.

I (Really) Love Lucy

From a very young age I adored Lucy. I spent many summer nights camped out in front of our living room television watching Nick at Nite and sure, I’m rather fond of Samantha, Jeanie, Mary, Laverne and Shirley, but it will always be Lucy I love. This past Saturday the show celebrated its 60^th anniversary, and my feelings toward Lucy as well as Ricky, Ethel and Fred have not wavered.  Why do I love Lucy? There are so many reasons but here are my top 5:

5. She Makes Me Laugh (especially when she’s intoxicated)
Think of the I Love Lucy moments you remember most. Even if you’re not as big of a fan as I am, I’m sure you remember those moments because they made you laugh. And who doesn’t love to laugh?

I don’t know why I don’t turn to Lucy more often on dim or dawnsy* days, because I know that if I watch Lucy Does a TV Commercial (Vitametavegamin), my favorite episode, my day will be brighter in 22 minutes or less.

4. Her Family Reminds Me of Mine
How lucky was Little Ricky to grow up with such fun parents? Think about it: your mom is hilarious and never boring, plus your dad is always singing, playing the bongos and acting out little skits. That’s his job. Now, my father was never a Cuban band leader, but the stage has always been a hobby of his in one form or another.

Lizzy Caplan Guests on New Girl

After a weak second episode and a really strong third episode, The Hollywood Reporter scoops that New Girl has yet another guest star: Lizzy Caplan (Party Down, Mean Girls).  She joins as a love interest for Nick (the hobbit) in three episodes.  Julia will be around for Schmidt's 29th birthday celebrations.  Her character Julia has anger managements issues and a master's degree in art history.  I wonder if she has a job...

The Day Frances Bay Died...

Frances Bay, born January 23, 1919, has died September 17.  The 92-year-old has appeared in films such as Happy Gilmore as Happy's grandma and a slew of TV shows, such as Happy Days (as Grandma) Charmed (as old Phoebe), the marble rye loaf lady on Seinfeld, and The Middle as the family grandmother.  Here's to Frances, everyone's grandmother!  Yeah, I'm drinking at 11 am, so what?

Kristen Bell and Justin Long Unsupervised

You guys!  The writers and producers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Rob Rosell, Scott Marder and David Hornsby are about to bring about havoc yet again.  The show is currently titled Unsupervised, and it's about two teenage boys Gary and Joel, who want to not turn out like their parents, who do not parent them at all.  Essentially they parent themselves and try to do right.  Voices will be from Kristen Bell, Justin Long, Fred Armisen, Romany Malco, Alexa Vega, Rob Rosell, and Sunny stars Kaitlin Olson and David Hornsby.  I expect great things from this show.

Chloe King's Nine Lives Are Used Up

Skyler Samuels

ABC Family has just pulled the plug on the adorably dramatic The Nine Lives of Chloe King, but it's looking to the future with a new show Strut by Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.  Nine Lives followed the trials of The Uniter, Chloe King, who suddenly wakes up (after dying) to find that she revived and has feral powers.  She had to deal with her human life and her Mai life.  Poor Chloe found love on both sides of the fence.  Being fiercely protected by her fellow Mai, she feels caged and has to break rules put on her.  It's nice to see a young independent lady making decisions for the just and good.  Chloe's decisions often put her in danger, but she risks her life to save others or to do what's right.

This Just In: Danny Pudi on Chuck

Photo by Angela Weiss

Community's very own Danny Pudi, who plays the loveable Abed, will play an unannounced role in the fifth episode of the final season of Chuck, as reported by AOL TV.  Other guest stars include Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker from Star Wars) in the Oct. 21 premiere and Carrie-Ann Moss (Trinity from The Matrix) as a recurring role.

No Duh the 90s Were All That (and a bag of chips)

I am a child of the 90s. My school supplies were Trapper Keepers and everything Lisa Frank. I collected Pogs and spent summer vacations watching VH1 while memorizing every word to whatever glorious one-hit-wonder was popular that week (New Radicals, anyone?) At age 8 I listed my favorite TV show as Hey Dude when I was Student-of-the-Week. For what it’s worth, my favorite color was fuscia and my favorite animal was penguin (some things change, some things stay the same).

Thanks to my childhood, I never needed a cable network to tell me that the 90s Are All That, but in the recent resurgence of 90s after school and Saturday night programming, I thought I’d share my top three 90s TV shows from my childhood.

3. Flash Forward
We love that the Nickelodeon network, Teen Nick, is embracing its 90s past, but we’ve yet to experience again the glorious 90s programming from Disney. Before Hanna Montana and Alex Russo, there were Tucker and Becca: two teenagers who weren’t rock stars or wizards. They were just your average kids living next door to each other getting through middle school while comparing their current experiences to those from when they were just tikes.

My TV BFFs

Sometimes when I watch TV, I think, OH MY STARS AND GARTERS!  I COULD BE THEIR BEST BUD!  It's why I love certain TV shows so damn much.  Listed here are my TV BFFs and reasons why.  Who are your TV BFFs?

1. Veronica Mars
Played by Kristen Bell; Veronica Mars
Veronica's spunkiness, dry sense of humor, and witty retorts, complete with nerdy pop culture references make her my ultimate potential BFF.  Her ability to handle herself in a dire situation and be able to sniff out clues and piece them together to solve minor crimes to murders.  Her ability to ward off all popular people with fear and weirdness can only draw me to her more.  "When entering a frat house full of accused rapists, the pant suit is a solid wardrobe choice.  It's fashion's way of saying, 'Move along. Nothing to see here.'"  Veronica (or, really, Kristen Bell), please be my BFF-entine.  If you had, you wouldn't have chosen such awful taste in men.

You Again

This was brought to my attention by co-blogger Sally....I totally forgot to mention You Again as a film to look forward to in 2010. It's by director of Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical and She's the Man, two of my very favorite movies. This time around, the most adorable people are bunched together in one film. I've dreamed of the team-up of Betty White, Kristen Bell, and Kristin Chenoweth. How can anyone NOT want to see this? Can someone get Craig Ferguson and Lee Pace on this movie, too, before it comes out?!

Kristen Bell's character, now a successful business lady, was tormented in high school as a nerd. Her worst enemy, the most popular girl from school, is now marrying her brother, and she has to DEAL WITH IT!

Variety Shows: Ferguson/White/Bell

I'm a fan of variety shows. I wasn't too much of a fan of Carrie Underwood's, mostly because I'm not a fan of hers but I enjoyed her guest appearances from Dolly, KChen, and Christina Applegate. Alex Borstein and Seth MacFarlane's variety show I thought was funny but also awkward at times. Obviously a weekly variety show, no matter who hosts, will not work, maybe unless it's a different host every week. But I say the next variety show special should be Betty White, Craig Ferguson, and Kristen Bell. Craig has fun rapports with his guests, but I think the most outrageously adorable and hilarious are when White and Bell are on. The senses of humor are similar and the cuteness factor of the show rises to exceed the cute-o-meter. With Betty's dirty jokes and get-rich quick schemes, Kristen Bell's singing and adorableness, and Craig's presence and Scottish insanity, this variety show will be utterly awesome. I'm thinking of the abdominal pains I'll have when the show is over from laughing so hard. Please, CBS, make this variety show happen. I would post youtube videos of the dynamic duos together, but I don't know how to do that haha. Perhaps one of my ghost of co-bloggers could do that.

Thoughts? Who would you like to see host a variety show?

Cheaters Never Prosper

*blogger's note: this post is not about Tiger Woods*

We love Glee here at Nerdy Pop and Wednesday's fall finale did not disappoint. There were great performances both musical and acting wise, but that's not what this post is about.

For months while watching the show I've been rooting for Will and Emma while hoping that when they finally did get together it would be without encouraging infidelity. Call me a prude, but I tend to get annoyed when television shows or movies have two characters come together romantically when one or both are in a serious relationship; no matter how compatible. Maybe it happens often outside of TV Land, but I want my shows to represent to me the ideal.

So, let's take a look at how Glee has handled some story lines that thankfully took the high road.

• Will and Emma
This is the obvious one. From the first episode it's been clear that these two belong with each other, but a marriage and engagement stood in their way. Kudos to Glee writers for bringing these two together after taking care of the dysfunctional, yet exclusive relationships they were both in.



• Quinn and Puck
It ain't neat to cheat kids and thank goodness Glee sends this message so well. Here's what happens when you take up with your b/f's bff and become his baby mama: you lose your boyfriend, your parents, your popularity and you get slushie in the face.

• Finn and Rachel
It's still unclear after the fall finale what will happen with these two. For me, that's a good thing. Viewers need something to root for now that Will and Emma are together, so come April I'll be right there waving my Rachel + Finn flag high when the show's spring premiere airs.

I don't know about you nerds, but this Gleek can't wait too see what this show has in store for the spring. And that's how Sally C's it.

Crazy Cancellations: Pushing Daisies

Sally and I finally got around to watching Pushing Daisies. I never picked up on it when it was on, well, frankly, because it seems it was doomed from the start. No matter how many commercials I saw and positive critical reviews, I think it hit the screen at the wrong time. They came in supposedly having 13 episodes scheduled, and then the writers strike happened, and the final 4 were cut. Then the second season happened. Maybe people forgot about it after nearly a year absence. Usually we only have to wait 4 months, but about 10 months sucks. From Fuller's genius mind of Dead Like Me-ness and Wonderfall-ness, comes this brilliant fairy tale noir crime show.

So let's talk about the scenery first. It's oddly dark, yet vibrant at the same time. The city is like that of old noir films or Batman's Metropolis, but then bright colors of green, orange, red, and yellow contrast the dull darkness. It seems like it's straight out of a storybook. It's a mix of the old and the future. Cars and buildings are antiquated. But it supposedly takes place around 2025, I'm assuming, since Chuck and Ned were born in the 1990s. Wardrobe is retro-inspired, anywhere from 1920s through 1960s. And the idea of a pie store called The Pie Hole is adorably 1950s.

Now let's move onto the characters and actors. Oh. My. Lordy. Every single character is lovable and adorable beyond belief. Ned, played by Lee Pace, is perhaps the most adorable adult man ever (hence my mancrush on him). When Ned gets shy or awkward or embarrassed, he blushes and looks down and his shoulders shrink into his body. It's adorable. ADORABLE, I SAY! Lee Pace does a fantastic job at making this character lovable, a character who has lost so much in his life and is afraid to attach himself to anyone. When he lies, his eye twitches. Adorable? Yup. Ned has the power to awaken the dead for one minute before something else dies of similar size in proximity. And those the things that revives, like Chuck and his dog Digsby, he can't touch or they die again. Unfortunately these are the two things he now loves most. How sad!

Kristin Chenoweth. That should be all I need to say, but I won't. She's brilliant. She's her. She's godsent. She plays the character Olive Snook, who is and has been in love with Ned. She might be certifiably insane, but, damn, is she hilarious, especially in the second season when she becomes sidekick to the private detective. She also breaks out into song when overwhelmed with emotion. One includes a duet on "Birdhouse in Your Soul."

Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, played by Anna Friel, is Ned's childhood crush, and she dies in the first episode, but he wakes her up. And allows her to live. This has repercussions throughout the series. Her clothes are always super fantastic, complete with hair bows and ribbons.

Chi McBride's private investigator Emerson Cod also has an adorable quirk: knitting. He likes to knit sweater vests! He adopts Ned as his sidekick in investigating deaths. And then he adopts Chuck, as she tags along with Ned everywhere he goes. He's not keen on that until the second season, but he is keen on Olive joining him. And they make an adorable couple, which I would've loved to see, but it didn't happen.

Chuck's aunts are played by Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Greene, and you couldn't ask for better casting for a series. Together these two are a retired synchronized swimming duo The Darling Mermaid Darlings. Kurtz's Lily is a drunken hardass, and Greene's Vivian is adorably sweet and naive.

The guest stars galore, especially second season, have you stoked and squealing in excitement, like Molly Shannon, Fred Willard, and loads of others.

The writing is witty, snappy, and intelligent. It's not natural dialogue, but the relationships are, which is what makes it relatable. But the dialogue is brilliantly different. It's fresh, like a good apple, not the cardboardy mushy apples that I hate. The crisp apples that have that piercing sweet and sour taste that lasts on your tongue.

And best of all, you want to eat a lot of pie with a side of coffee after watching it.

But on a little brighter side...the third season (or the rest of the second seasons, if you will) will be in the form of a comic book! Bryan Fuller has already submitted a script for the first issue and the next two should be coming in soon. So hopefully we'll see the first issue by the summer of 2010 (if Daisies doesn't return to the screen by then, which it would be a nice summer show anyway).