filmfun

Here is a list of the winners for the 2008 Emmy Awards. I just have a few comments:

DRAMA
Best Series: Mad Men
Best Actor: Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Best Actress: Glenn Close – Damages
Best Supporting Actor: Zeljko Ivanek – Damages
Best Supporting Actress: Dianne Wiest – In Treatment
Best Directing: Greg Yaitanes – House
Best Writing: Matthew Weiner – Mad Men

COMEDY
Best Series: 30 Rock
Best Actor: Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Best Actress: Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Best Supporting Actor: Jeremy Piven – Entourage
I am very upset about this decision because Jeremy Piven won last year and I don’t believe he is that good to win two years in a row, whereas  Neil Patrick Harris is a comedic genius in How I Met Your Mother, nevermind everything else he does, and he deserved this award especially after already facing one loss to Jeremy Piven last year. 
Supporting Actress: Jean Smart – Samantha Who
Best Directing: Barry Sonnenfeld – Pushing Daisies
Best Writing: Tina Fey – 30 Rock

I believe in this category 30 Rock deserved to take home four awards because it is the best comedy series on television at the moment.

MINISERIES
Best Miniseries: John Adams
Best Lead Actress: Laura Linney – John Adams
Best Lead Actor: Paul Giamatti – John Adams
Best Supporting Actress: Elieen Atkins – Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre)
Best Supporting Actor: Tom Wilkinson
Best Directing: Jay Roach – Recount
Best Writing: Kirk Ellis – John Adams
Best Made for TV Movie: Recount

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY
Best Series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Best Directing: Louis J. Horvitz – 80^th Annual Academy Awards
Best Individual Performance: Don Rickles – Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Best Writing: The Colbert Report

REALITY
Best Program: The Amazing Race
Last year and this year there were the same five shows nominated, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef, and this year The Amazing Race won just as it did last year.  But I really don’t understand why this show won.  I really don’t think it’s that popular, I didn’t even realize that it was still on the air.  Whereas the other four nominees I hear hype about all the time and I’ve watched all of them (and I’m not even a big reality fan) and think they are much more entertaining and interesting shows than The Amazing Race, (including American Idol which I don’t even like but I can’t ignore its obvious popularity).
Best Host: Jeff Probst – Survivor
Another decision that I am very upset about because I believe Tom Bergeron of Dancing With The Stars was much more deserving of this award than Jeff Probst.  Bergeron is just all around a great host and he has more history to prove it by his past hosting duties with America’s Funniest Videos and Hollywood Squares.

Overall for the Reality Show category, maybe since it is a newer category, I think they were way off the mark and need a better way of judging what makes good reality television.

P.S. Just a reminded there are two great shows premiering tonight, the two shows that I think were underestimated at the Emmy Awards and you should check out:

Dancing With The Stars (with the amazing Tom Bergeron as host) on ABC at 8pm
How I Met Your Mother (with the hilarious NPH as Barney) on CBS at 8:30pm

-Shavon Keller

Veronica Mars made its TV series debut September 2004 and lasted 3 seasons ending May 2007.  The show focuses on Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell ) the high school daughter of Keith Mars ex-county sheriff and new private detective.  The first season takes place a year after Veronica’s best friend Lilly was murdered and Keith claimed it was her billionaire father who did the murdering.  But another man had confessed to the murder and Keith was therefore kicked off the force.  This entire first season introduces us to the diverse and complicated characters of the small town of Neptune as Veronica takes on her own responsibilities as private eye along with her father and delve deeper into the mysterious case of Lilly Kane’s murder.

After Season One’s finale and the mystery solved, Season Two takes on a new overall arc.  On the way back from a school field trip a bus of Neptune High students mysteriously goes over a cliff.  Now with Veronica on the case this doesn’t seem to be just a simple accident and she is determined to find out the true cause.  While at the same time deals with relationships including a complicated romantic relationship with Logan, Lilly’s brother.

Season Three lacks a great deal compared to the first two suspenseful action-packed seasons.  The reason for this is the pressure put on Creator Rob Thomas by the new WB.  The WB decided that they didn’t want the show to follow its usual course of an overall arc for an entire season.  They thought by having shorter 5 show arcs it would be easier for newcomers to join in on the show and the audience numbers would climb.  Unfortunately this seemed to have the opposite affect proving that what was great was best left unchanged.  I personally preferred the original set up for the show and found it more interesting making it a show worth being dedicated to.  I think the WB underestimated its audience as unable to follow a complicated series.  Well the show LOST and its success would certainly prove those thoughts wrong now.  I don’t know what they were thinking in a day where a fan could easily watch missed episodes online therefore they didn’t need to do the 5 show arcs because people could catch up on what was going on by downloading missed episodes.  I believe Rob Thomas took back the show a little more at the end of the season because the episodes were better but it was just too late and he was forced to end the series because the show was being cancelled.  The finale is a powerful episode and it’s a very sad one at that, because of Veronica’s situation and also because of the show being forced to end.

Now there’s been a lot of talk about a Veronica Mars movie.  It would only be logical to have a film in order to give VMars fans what they deserve and the show what it deserves for being unfairly stunted.  Although the idea of a film seems to be just that an idea and lots of talk, I really do hope it will be made because then Veronica Mars will have the ending it was meant to have and VMars fans will finally be satisfied.

-Shavon Keller

Dancing with the Stars revealed season eight’s dance couple’s today.

Hosts: The great Emmy nominated Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris of E! Entertainment

Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer:
The former member of NSYNC and newcomer 2006 U.S. Youth Latin Champ and 2007 World Swing Dance Champ.

Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo:
Six time Grammy winner and season one champion.

Brooke Burke and Derek Hough:
Host/actress who is regularly ranked in men’s magazines as one of the sexiest women in the world and third time DWTS dancer and brother of DWTS dancer Julianne Hough.

Rocco Dispirito and Karina Smirnoff:
The James Beard Award-winning celebrity chef fifth timer who was paired up with R&B singer Mario last season.

Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke:
Winner of two gold medals, in the 100m sprint and the 4×100m relay at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics and two time DWTS winner of season 2 and 3.

Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas:
Celebrity and reality star of E! reality series, Keeping up with the Kardashians and last season’s winner.

Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas:
Nine time Emmy winner, winner of a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award who is best known for her role as Phyllis in the television series Phyllis and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the World Latin Champion/Mark Ballas’s father.

Cody Linley and Julianne Hough:
The youngest contestant to ever compete on the show and known for his character Jake Ryan of Hannah Montana with two time DWTS winner of seasons 4 and 5.

Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani:
Known as the most famous face of daytime television for her role as Erica Kane on All My Children and sixth time DWTS dancer.

Misty May-Treanor and Maksim Chmerkovskiy:
Her and partner Kerri Walsh captured their second Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and became the first team ever to repeat as back-to-back champs and returning dancer for his fifth season.

Ted McGinley and Inna Brayer:
First known for his role as Jefferson the neighbor on Married with Children and first timer current US Amateur 10 Dance Champion.

Jeffrey Ross and Edyta Sliwinska:
Comedian/”Roastmaster General” and the only dancer who has competed in all 7 seasons of DWTS.

Warren Sapp and Kym Johnson:
Recently retired defensive tackle and Superbowl Champion Warren Sapp played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders and fifth time DWTS dancer.

Check out the 3 day Season 8 Premier starting Monday September 22^nd at 8pm.

-Shavon Keller

I’ve been a fan of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) for the past three seasons. I first became interested in the show in particular with season 4 because I was a huge NSYNC fan and wanted to see Joey Fatone perform again, but of course when watching the season I switched my interest to Apollo Anton Ohno (five time medalist speed skater) and was satisfied with his win. I fell in love with the show that season and have been a fan ever since.

My roommate took me to see So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) on tour in 2007. I didn’t know what to expect because I had never watched the show but I couldn’t help but be in impressed by the incredible dance routines. This inspired me to watch every episode this season and the two part finale Wednesday and last night. Congratulations to Joshua! I was actually rooting for Katee all season so I was glad this season they decided to give a prize to the first place female in which Katee walked away with $50,000.

After watching the two dance shows I thought it would be interesting to do some comparing and contrasting.

Host:

Tom Bergeron (DWTS) v. Cat Deeley (SYTYCD) the clear winner is Bergeron! Yes Deeley may be hot and she is clever at times but Bergeron is just amazing at what he does. It’s no wonder he’s up for an Emmy in the new category, Best Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program, which he is the most qualified for compared to his competitors (Ryan Seacrest – American Idol, Howie Mandel – Deal or No Deal, Heidi Klum – Project Runway, and Jeff Probst – Survivor). He’s been around longer with Hollywood Squares and Funniest Home Videos under his belt he’s just grown and has strengthen his host abilities. He is very talented in his improvability and you can’t help falling in love with him.

Judges:

DWTS Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli. I really like all three of the judges and the way they interact and compliment each other, for the most part. When I first started watching I thought Len was another cranky harsh British judge (another Simon) but as I tuned in longer I realized he does usually give honest criticism and he is capable of plenty of positive comments as well. Carrie Ann always gives helpful tips for the dancers to improve and she seems to really care about their progress. Bruno at times can seem over exuberant but he has yet to get to the point of complete annoyance so I don’t mind his over exuberance, I find it more entertaining than anything. The only thing that does annoy me are the arguments between Len and Bruno, it becomes distracting and by not listening to one another they become childish.

SYTYCD Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and a guest choreographer. I don’t have a problem with Nigel, I think he is a very good judge and he gives out truthful and helpful criticism. I think it is smart to provide a different guest choreographer as a judge each week because it provides a fresh perspective and also an in-depth view since they are the ones working closely with these dancers. But I can honestly say I find Mary Murphy very annoying. I’ll give her respect for her criticism on the ballroom dances, it’s her specialty so she knows what she is talking about, but besides that I believe the reason she is positioned as middle judge is because she doesn’t know how to comment on other dance styles and she bases her answers on the comments of the other judges. Don’t even get me started on her habit of screaming!

Format:

Judging

DWTS throughout the entire season the judge’s points count for half and the audience votes counts for the other half of the total. Therefore the judges and the audience are given equal control over who remains on the show and will become champion.

SYTYCD there are two different voting styles throughout the season. For the first half of the season the audience votes decide the bottom four and the judges votes are the final decision. Then in the second half of the season the judges’ opinions are merely used as guidance and influence on the audience and critique for the dancers, only the audience votes decide who will remain and become champion.

I understand that by providing the audience so much power in voting they’ll have more interest in watching every week to see if their vote had an effect. But I don’t like how the audience will pick favorites based on personality instead of dance abilities, it isn’t fair to the dancers. Especially in DWTS, the competitors are celebrities so of course the audience has favorites but they are supposed to vote based on the dances. So I feel the judges should always have more power than the audience.

Dance Styles

DWTS since it is based on ballroom competitions, the dances are those of ballroom and Latin competition styles including: Foxtrot, Cha-Cha-Cha, Quickstep, Jive, Tango, Paso Doble, Viennese Waltz, Mambo, Rumba, and Samba.

SYTYCD main focus is Contemporary and Hip Hop since most of the dancers are from these particular styles, but there is also a very large variety of other styles thrown in to the mix including Latin dances and ballroom dances along with other unique styles: Jazz, Broadway, Disco, Ballet, Two Step, Bollywood, and Russian.

At first I was thrown by such a large variety of dance on SYTYCD because I was used to the specific combination of dances on DWTS every week in which you see the progression the dancers make with each type of dance. But then I couldn’t help but be impressed by these dancers versatility with such a variety of dance that they’ve never experienced before and are able to conquer in the four hours they are given to learn the dance.

Results Shows

DWTS includes a group dance by the professional dancers, repeat of favorite couple’s dance from the night before, guest performance, along with series such as Macy’s Dance Showcase Performance and DWTS Kids. In the special 100^th Episode past dancers came back and the judges reminisced about their favorite moments of the series.

SYTYCD includes a group dance, guest dance performance and guest singer or musical group which can include back up dancers. Then for their season finale they brought back past dancers and the judges reminisced about their favorite moments of the season.

I believe DWTS has better guests, they seem to have a bigger budget though, and their dance series add a little something extra to the show. Also I enjoy how they have their favorite dance repeated. But I think SYTYCD does it right by having a group performance (although DWTS does have one per season). I think DWTS should take note of SYTYCD’s finale in which there is a greater recap of the series with past dancers, which is a special reward for long term fans.

Quality:

Fox v. ABC, ABC will always be the winner when it comes to quality.

Final Comments: Entertainment Value/Audience:

Each show is for any age but DWTS tends to attract older audiences and SYTYCD tends to attract more of the younger audiences although there is plenty of overlap and plenty of people who watch both, such as myself. This makes sense because DWTS usually has more celebrities known to older generations and very few of the younger generation celebrities and SYTYCD features young dancers in their teens and early twenties so the younger generation can relate.

I believe that after watching both shows and comparing them you can’t say that one is better than the other overall because their focus is very different, even though they are both dance shows. With just the differing fact that one’s competitors are non-professional dance celebrities and the other are aspiring dancers makes a large difference. Therefore I won’t say which is better, it depends on what you want to get out of a show. DWTS is pure entertainment it reminds me of the 70s celebrity shows, I mean seriously- the celebrities reward for all their hard work is a mirror ball trophy (and of course exposure which doesn’t hurt)! Whereas SYTYCD is about watching aspiring dancers go through almost a dance boot camp in order to prove themselves, to become better dancers, with the end goal of making their name known by gaining the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer”, $250,000, a tour contract, and in this season a role in a movie.

Both shows are worth checking out and you can decide which is your favorite but neither will leave you unimpressed.

-Shavon Keller

SPACED the complete series is now finally on DVD in the US! The hilarious and inventive sitcom from the minds of (and also starring) Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson), and the vision of director Edgar Wright was released in the US yesterday July 22nd.

First off if you have never heard of or seen Spaced, get out there and start watching it and then buy it. If you have heard of and/or seen Spaced, what are you sitting around for, buy it immediately.

For those of you who don’t know Spaced, I’ll fill you in. It’s a quirky sitcom about friends Tim (Pegg) and Daisy (Hynes) who pretend to be a couple in order to share a flat. The sitcom focuses on their everyday lives as Tim plays video games and works on his comics while trying to get over his last girlfriend and Daisy unsuccessfully tries to make it as a serious writer and eventually trades her boyfriend in for a new dog named Colin. We meet their land lady Marsha a chain smoking alcoholic who’s in love with Tim and Daisy’s downstairs neighbor Brian (Mark Heap) the disturbed painter. We also meet Tim and Daisy’s best friends Mike (Nick Frost) a childish lovable character who is obsessed with combat and Twist a ditsy fashion designer.

For all you film and television nerds out there, (I’m included in that group) your in for a real pleasure because the series is filled with film and television references some obvious and many are amazingly obscure. Star Wars, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Scooby Doo, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The A-Team, along with many others. In one episode they make a reference to Pulp Fiction and now in the US DVD extra features, Quentin Tarantino provides commentary about this particular scene and reference.

There were several promotional events and I was lucky enough to attend one in NYC on Monday the 21st. It was a treat and I can’t wait to watch the entire series again and all the bonus features on my new Spaced DVD set and I hope you will do the same.

-Shavon Keller