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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Hey, Watch It! - Thursday's TV Picks
This post is coming to you a bit early today to give you a chance to catch President Barack Obama's "historic" appearance on "The View" this morning at 10 A.M. on ABC, the first appearance on a daytime talk show by a sitting President, ever, apparently. Resident Republican Elisabeth Hasselbeck usually has a lot to say about Obama on a show-by-show basis, but I bet you dollars to donuts she lobs nothing but softballs at him while he's sitting right there next to her...
Speaking of historic TV, "Jersey Shore," the show everyone watches but refuses to admit they love, returns for season two tonight at 10 p.m. on MTV. Since they had to record the second season during the winter, and the Jersey shore is cold and sad(der) during that time of the year, the gang moves to Miami for the first part of this season. Yeah, it's "Jersey Shore" in Florida. Whaddyagonnadooabodit?!
Quick! Who won the last season of "Project Runway"?
Didn't think so...Alas, the past few seasons of "Project Runway" have proven to be forgettable. Whether this has to do with the show's move to Lifetime, or just the fact that the series has lost its novelty, and a bit of steam, is up for debate; and their decision to increase the show's running time from one hour to 90 minutes is a bit troubling. But, on the plus side, "Models of the Runway" is no more!
One local designer, Christopher Collins, is amongst the "Runway" hopefuls. Watch the season premiere at 9 P.M.
Following "Project Runway" is the premiere of the new spin-off series, "On the Road With Austin and Santino" at 10:30 P.M.
| Jul 29 at 09:00 AM
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
911, what is your emergency? Police, Fire or Mental?
My house alarm is so loud, I thought the world was ending when it went off at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. My first hazy thought was that my roommate had tripped it, fumbling with the code on his way in. Growing more awake, I realized my roommate wasn't home. Something else had set it off. The alarm was deafening, screaming at me to turn it off. I scrambled to throw on some sweats and ran to the panel by the front door.
It glowed, "LAUNDRY ROOM."
Running through my mind the entire time.
The hallway leading towards the laundry at the other end of my flat was pitch black.
I deactivated the alarm and with my heart now beating just as loudly, tiptoed towards the kitchen. The moment my head peeked into the darkness, I saw something move, right at my eye level.
I always wondered what sound I'd make if ever confronted with something like a axe murderer in my doorway. I figured I'd try to scream but no sound would come out and I would die a silent, panicked death.
Well, now I know. When I saw something move in my kitchen, a sound definitely came out.
It was like I gasped and screamed at the same time. This sound I'd waited so long to hear wasn't really loud, was more like a "WHOA!" and may have been muffled by the swish as I F***ING RAN OUT THE FRONT DOOR and onto the sidewalk, leaving my front door wide open.
So there I was, on the sidewalk of a empty, urban residential street at 2 a.m.
Without my phone.
Without my keys.
Without my shoes. Read More »
| Jul 28 at 12:05 PM
Hey, Watch It! - Wednesday's TV Picks
I made a resolution at the beginning of the summer that I would not watch any "summer series" that was on TV simply because it was summer, and a network had to fill in programming time. It worked out pretty well at first, but now I find myself with at least three hours of TV a night that I need--and want--to watch, and I'm beginning to miss the earlier days of summer TV, when it was reruns and little else.
So, it is unlikely I will be adding a season pass for the CW reality series "Plain Jane" which premieres tonight at 9 P.M. Especially if all the makeovers end up making the women look like they're wearing bad wigs. To wit:
| Jul 28 at 12:00 PM
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Hey, Watch It! - Tuesday's TV Picks
If you're a fan of Gordon Ramsay, you need look no further than Fox tonight, as it's all Ramsay, all night on that network. (At this point, it seems like he should just get his own cable channel; he's got enough shows out there to easily fill up a week of primetime programming.)
Following a new episode of "Hell's Kitchen" is the premiere of "MasterChef," which is basically what you end up with if you combine "Top Chef" with "American Idol," and make the Simon judge even more apoplectic. Watch it at 9 P.M.
| Jul 27 at 12:00 PM
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tourist Trapped: Surviving GoCar
This week on Tourist Trapped, my oldest friend Kate and I decided to test out a GoCar. You've probably seen these things tearing around the city, bright yellow two-seater "cars" manned by helmeted tourists. When I mentioned the idea of a GoCar to Kate, a third-generation Marina native, she was thrilled. "Yes! Count me in! I've always wanted to do that!"
Kate and I met on a sunny afternoon at the corner of Hyde and North Point, where I once again found fabulous street parking, across the street from Gary Danko. The GoCar offices are shared with Blazing Saddles bicycle rentals, and we were bombarded by both companies as we walked in.
The counter of GoCar was packed, and I maneuvered my way to get the attention of one of the many young Irish kids signing people up.
"Have ye watched the video?" She asked us.
No, we admitted that we had not.
A small, portable DVD player was presented before us on the counter, and dozens of fellow tourists watched over our shoulders. The safety video featured nothing more than breath-taking views of San Francisco and a warning to stay off cable car tracks. There was no "reverse" on a GoCar we learned, and we were to avoid steep hills. We would be guided by GPS, if we so chose, and GoCars count as motorcycles, so we could park in motorcycle parking, which is what most impressed Kate and me.
We were then told to select helmets as our paperwork was drawn up. The amount of papers one has to sign to hire a GoCar is daunting. It felt like buying a car, not renting one for an hour. And GoCar ain't cheap. It's basically $50 for the first hour, and then you get charged in 15 minute increments. No one tells you when your time is up either. They want you racking up minutes out there, zooming all over the city. GoCar also put a $300 hold on my credit card, lest I total their precious vehicle.
After signing away any legal right to basically anything, Kate and I hopped in a GoCar and handed the keys. We received a brief (and I mean brief) instruction on how to drive the thing, and we were off.
Read More »| Jul 26 at 12:05 PM
Hey, Watch It! - Monday's TV Picks
We have to wait another week before we find out who Ali picks on the season finale of "The Bacherlorette," (oh, how can we ever bear the wait?), as tonight it's time for "The Men Tell All." There have been some loons this season, so this could be an entertaining reunion. Who can forget the guy who turned out to have had a girlfriend all along? And that other guy who turned out to have had a girlfriend all along? And the crazy guy who sang to her, and got a tattoo, and sounded like he had a permanent saliva bubble caught in his throat every time he spoke?
Man, if I were Ali, I'd want to have a serious little talk with the casting director once the show comes to an end. 8 P.M. on ABC.
For those seeking more...important TV, at 9 P.M. HBO is airing Alexandra Pelosi's documentary Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County, which follows children of the working poor in Orange County, as they attend a year-long school, and try to get by on a day-by-day existence with no permanent address.
| Jul 26 at 12:00 PM
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Hey, Watch It! - Sunday's TV Picks
First off, season four of "Mad Men" premieres tonight at 10 P.M. on AMC. You know this. I know this. Everyone knows this. And with the return of this show, Sundays are officially no longer the worst day of the week...
Also returning for a fourth season is the comedy "My Boys" at 10 P.M. It's one of those shows that is never great, and never awful, but just kind of...pleasant. It produces smiles more than outright laughs, as this clip may illustrate.
| Jul 25 at 12:00 PM
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Hey, Watch It! - Saturday's TV Picks
Comic-Con is currently going on down in San Diego, and just like I have for the past few years, I start Comic-Con week with a bit of envy over those who are down there when I am not. But then I start to read reports from the event, and remember my one time there, and end the week with a big sigh of relief that I don't have to deal with any of it. Plus, there's live coverage on the G4 channel starting at noon today, and that's got to beat hours of standing in a hot, muggy line with a bunch of fellow nerds, right?
And, speaking of nerds and the TV they love, "Being Human"--that British export about a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf who all share a flat--returns for season two tonight at 10 P.M. on BBC America.
| Jul 24 at 12:00 PM
Friday, July 23, 2010
Weekend What's Up, July 23-25
I have to say, this has GOT to be one of my favoite WEWU's ever. The special effects in the second segment have pretty much made my year (at Hogwarts).
We hope you enjoy the above, and have a magical weekend.
| Jul 23 at 12:05 PM
Hey, Watch It! - Friday's TV Picks
I grew up watching Shirley Temple movies every weekend. No, I wasn't born in 1925; local channel 44 used to run Shirley Temple films, (as well as Abbott and Costello flicks) all the time, which is why my childhood nostalgia includes flashbacks to depression-era movies about an (inevitably) orphaned, ringletted moppet.
My favorite Shirley Temple movies are amongst her earliest ones, because they're filled with some really weird moments, and great performances from supporting players. Like this:
(Colorization. Bleck!) TCM is running a mini-festival of Shirley Temple movies today, and even though they aren't showing my faves (Stand Up and Cheer and Bright Eyes) both Heidi (6:30 P.M.) and The Little Princess (8 P.M.) have their (slightly odd) moments. Like this...
| Jul 23 at 12:00 PM
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