Opening Tonight - A Chorus Line

I'm going to assume that little has changed in the new production of A Chorus Line since 5 weeks ago since I saw it when it was in San Francisco, and if so, I must say that you MUST see this show. Though sadly the New York Times has revealed some injustices to the original dancers (including Gilmore Girls' Emily Gilmore's Kelly Bishop) that were mined for their stories for $1 by Michael Bennett (do we see neon sign allusions to the character of the megalomaniac director Zack?).

Still, I hope it get's resolved, because the show itself is absolutely fantastic and explains to me why it deserved all its original accolades and long-run on Broadway. Here's the link to my original review. It has instantly become one of my favorite musicals of all time, which I guess is the point of this new production of A Chorus Line, to introduce the newbies to this old classic that weren't alive when it was first premiered, and for others to relive the joys and pains of dancers auditioning for a chorus line.

Playing at the Schoenfeld Plymouth Theatre on Broadway in New York.

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Lost & The Nine - Party of Salinger Brothers

Lost - A Tale of Two Cities, The Nine - Pilot

I'm sick and irritable so this will be short, and I'm possibly sicker because instead of going to bed like I should have, I was sucked into watching both Lost (cause I had to) and the premiere of The Nine (cause I was seduced and riveted).

I also realised that the Party of Five Salinger brothers were back to back but now on ABC with Matthew Fox leading up as Jack on Lost, and Scott Wolf (is there something to the animal last names?) on The Nine.

First of all, I'm sure we were all going crazy after that first 5 minute opener on Lost, where we are shown the normal domestic suburban looking lifestyle of Juliette and her book club members, just as we seen Oceanic 815 burst above the skies, wherein not-Henry Gale runs out calmly directing orders to (GASP!) Goodwin and (GASP!) Ethan and the rest of The Others. Pull back and we see this small little quaint neighbourhood amongst the jungles of the island.

Now, there's already been complaint that the rest of the episode was too slow and not revealing enough, but uh. HELLO. it's called LOST. Do you think they are going to reveal everything? I for one just enjoy the ride, as we discover Sawyer (and then later joined by Kate) locked in animal cages leftover from a zoo (which explains the polar bears). Jack is locked up in some underwater cell which is confirmed as Hydra, one of the hatches. We flashback to Jack and his father, the separation/divorce precedings with his wife (Julie Bowen), and we discover not-Henry Gale's name is Ben.

The Nine quickly captivated me with its interesting but simple concept, and great big cast, but I'll go into more in further weeks when my head is not spinning (both from the cold and trying to figure out Lost and what's what in The Nine). I will however make one complaint that prevents The Nine from being a perfect ten. Considering how horrific the whole ordeal of the 52 hour bank hostage was, most of the Nine seemed to recover pretty well so soon after, or at least, the second half of the show seemed much brighter than I expected, unless they were all just putting on their brave faces (which I guess a lot of the characters were, but then, was I just not convinced, or maybe it was just too damn sunny in LA). Still, I could see why everyone has been touting this as the best new show since it fully engages into the stories and all the major characters right away without much dawdling on exposition (I'm talking to you Heroes and Brothers and Sisters). It was faced paced from the start and we got enough clues about each characters to fill in the gaps for now, with inevitable clues highlighted to take notice for future episodes.

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So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour Buffalo - Some More Photos

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Premiering Tonight - Wed. Oct 4th

Only a few more hours to go before Lost returns for it's 3rd Season Premiere! Apparently the first 5 minutes are a MUST SEE. Plus the promos with creepy Not-Henry Gale's Michael Emerson narrating are creepy but totally amazing already so I can't wait for the season to begin. ABC/CTV at 9pm. Maybe we will even find out who those two guys above from last years finale were? Okay. Probably not for now.



The Nine follows on ABC at 10pm (CTV will air it on Saturdays at 10pm). This is supposedly the best new show of this season according to all the critics and bloggers and the premise of the aftermath of a 52 hour robbery and a solid cast is enough to sell me so far.

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Veronica Mars - Welcome Wagon

Welcome, to Veronica Mars now in it's third season! (Really, did we ever think this smart and sassy show would last this long? Cause you know when it's this good, it's doomed from the start).
Veronica is now attending Hearst College, along with Logan, Wallace, Mac, and Dick(?). Wallace's new roomate Piz (Chris Lowell from life as we know it) loses his stuff right off the bat, and dear old Veronica Mars, in her new Saturn, still living in Neptune, is off on the search. Meanwhile dear ol' dad picks up Matt's Melrose Place lover to deliver him to Kendall as some kinda nice gesture, only to be had by this new dude who kills (?) Kendall?

Meanwhile, the rapist on campus continues his shaving streak, whil Dick is left completely in shambles. Mac seems to slowly have recovered from the finale.

Man what a hilarious show! I would describe more but all you people just have to watch what you're missing. How I missed Veronica Mars, now, people; I'm talking to YOU, watch so it doens't get Arrested Develpmented (and cancelled midway through the third season).

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Gilmore Girls - That's What You Get, Folks, For Makin' Whoopee

Quick recap: Luke goes to Christopher's and punches him out (and that's what you get, folks, for makin' whoppee). Lane is back from her honeymoon with Zach and dislikes sex. Luke tries to fix his diner with T.J., while Kirk opens up his own diner "Kirk's", causing frustrations for Luke. Lorelai throws Rory her Asia trip at home, but then Rory overhears a phone message from Christopher revealing all that happened over the past 3 days and makes Rory furiously storm out. Rory runs to Lane where Lane has just discovered after one bad sexual experience (proving her mother right, according to Lane) that she's pregnant (and that's what you get, folks, for makin' whoppee). Luke has diner at his sister Liz's place where she basically puts in his head that Luke and Lorelai would never have worked out because they were always in different phases of life. Luke and Lorelai bump into each other at a supermarket with more awkwardness and Luke telling Lorelai that while he is still mad, he will eventually get over it. Close on Lorelai crying on the couch at home and Rory finally back to comfort her (um, and that's what you get, folks, for makin' whoppee).

Okay. So... I actually do like where the storyline is going (and reading the recap for next week, I do approve). I somehow feel that while Dan Rosenthal has almost nicely copied the rhythm of Gilmore Girls, it's still just a slight beat off, including the dialogue, which feels somehow manically forced. The actors look like they are trying harder to pull it off, which I didn't notice before because Amy Sherman-Palladino's dialogue was quick and dense but always smooth. Or are we just being harsher on Dan cause he's crazy?

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Friday Night Lights - Pilot

Here's the link the my initial review of the pilot I saw back in the summer. Re-watching Friday Night Lights last night, I must say it didn't lose any appeal and was just as good as I remembered, and still amazed at the quality of the filming and how they didn't glossify life in a small town (though the girls do seem a bit tarted up, but hey, I guess it's on NBC so they need to get an audience somehow).

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Premiering Tonight - Tues. Oct 3rd

Friday Night Lights premieres on NBC/Global at 8pm tonight. I could care less about football. This show made me care. One of the strongest new shows this year, both in style and content.



and... FINALLY... VERONICA MARS is BACK!!! One of my faves, now on The CW and FINALLY in Canada, on SUN TV at 9pm tonight. If it takes me one by one to force you down and watch this show and love it, I will (and have, and all you people I've forced to watch the DVD's. Was I wrong? NO. Of course not. Spread the word people!)

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So You Think You Can Dance Live Tour Buffalo - A few pics

Sadly, these are the only photos that really remotely even turned out due to the no-flash rule. Will see what photos my friends got.

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Heroes - Don't Look Back

The second part of what was really a two part opener (or as they clearly mark, Chapter Two), we continue our introductions into our heroes from where we left off, and we finally include Greg Grunberg (above), who finally seems to have been able to find a job without the help of buddy JJ Abrams.

Greg plays Matt Parkman who is a cop that can hear the inner thoughts of the people around him, but unfortunately hears the voice of a little girl hidden in a house where the mother was murdered (in a way WAY too Saw like, and I'm not saying that in a good way). He finds the girl, but the doubts of the investigators around him of all his knowledge gets him arrested by Clea Duvall.

Most importantly, we follow back to Hiro who lands in Times Square, finds the "9th Wonders" comic book that tells the tale of him, looks for the author, and finds a man with his head cut open and brain missing, just before the cops come in and bust him for the murder of artist Isaac Mendez (I think). Except, when they call Japan to verify Hiro's story, it is actually 5 weeks after he teleported from Japan, Nov. 8th to be exact (oh, look. Novemeber Sweeps), and the massive destruction of the city just about starts before Hiro wills himself back to the subway in Japan on Oct. 2nd.

There's more about Ali Larter's deadly stripper, and Milo and Adrian as the brothers, blah blah blah. We find out cheerleaders dad has the tape of her "accidents" and that he is up to no good, and that Mohinder Suresh's dad had discovered something (the way to find all the "heroes" I assume?)

I like the nice dark comic book look to the whole show but found that some of the images (the murdered mother hung on the stairs, the head chopped off the guy) were far too graphic for a show on primetime. I don't want to sound like the evil FCC or those Family Christian groups that want anything but Barney the Dinosaur left on television, but those scenes had definitely gone a little too far.

I was glad to see Matt Lanter employed again as the jock football player. It's always nice to know that someone who appeared on Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model can still get work afterwards. I'm still shocked he ended up on Commander in Chief last year as Oscar winner Geena Davis' son.

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