I’m in Big Brother 8 Heaven!

She may be the Chenbot on Big Brother, but in person Julie Chen seems quite lively. BB8 premieres July 5th and the Big Brother 8 Contestant Pictures are here! To further our interest, here is Julie Chen on Letterman:

This is a great letter that Boston Globe TV Columnist Matthew Gilbert put up today. It’s addressing new NBC bossman Ben Silverman about how to approach the upcoming fall television season in regards to Friday Night Lights. It’s heavy on the convincing tip and why not, it’s one of the best shows on television and it needs to be treated as such. I hope you get a kick out of the letter and please let me find out that he really sent this on to Ben Silverman!

Dear Ben Silverman,

Mazels on the new situation as co chair of NBC. I envy you about as much as I envy the person who’ll take the presidency from Bush — that is, not much. I hope you’ve got plenty of Krazy Glue on hand, because you’ve got a lot of pieces to put back together. But, as producer of network TV’s best comedy, “The Office,” and the pop-art soap “Ugly Betty,” you clearly have good instincts.

But Ben, I am nonetheless nervous about “Friday Night Lights” — yes, the show that all the critics are whining about and that will probably become a thorn in your side if it isn’t already because it will remind us all of another egregious NBC botch, “Freaks and Geeks.” Dude, you gotta make it work.

You gotta find a way to represent “FNL” with more excitement to viewers. Despite the fact that NBC is the hippest kid on the network block, the one with Tina Fey and Steve Carell and “Scrubs” and Jason Lee and “Heroes,” it has been unable to tell viewers that “FNL” is not medicine. Sure, it’s a “family” show and it trucks in “rousing” sports movie cliches. And its docu-poetic approach to small-town Texas life is perfectly suited for those artsy viewers who’ve seen “The Last Picture Show.”

But “FNL” is also a charged relationship drama that stars some amazing young actors. Find a way to sell it to audiences who like youth soaps. Put the show’s kids out there — and not always in football uniforms or against a football-field backdrop. Obviously, Zach Gilford, Gaius Charles, Scott Porter, Taylor Kitsch, and Aimee Teegarden are pretty and sellable, not to mention talented.

But also make a publicity point of Jesse Plemons, who plays the geeky Landry. He’s a great character, a Texas take on Seth Cohen from “The O.C.” And as recovering bad girl Tyra, Adrianne Palicki has great offbeat allure. The potential of these two characters makes me think of Hiro and Claire from “Heroes.”
(more…)

So You Think You Can… Predict who’s going home on this show each week? Hardly. Last night’s SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE results show was yet another shocker of a night for the dancers and for the audience. The contestant that just won’t go away is still kicking around and Mary Murphy’s jovial screams were probably sent into a pillow last night instead of into the audience.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, Cedric Gardner did not go home after the insistence from Mary Murphy and Nigel that he must. I knew this would happen. I knew that the way Mary and Nigel treated Cedric on Wednesday night would cause more people to vote for him out of sympathy and not. Oh you could just see Mary seething sitting there on her stoop. Suck on that Mary Murphy! Cedric Gardner is still on the Hot Tamale Train and he ain’t getting off anytime soon. Shauna girl, you deserved to stay as well, you worked that Mia routine like noone’s business.

Jessi was there in attendance and she looked great during both the opening number and when they allowed her to dance the routine she should have danced the night before with Pasha. Let me tell you, girl wiggled and writhed like a horny latin stripper! The routine had a different feel but hands down it was wonderful to watch. Regardless, she’s dancing for her life.

So who went home already, geesh…

(more…)