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Buzz News Roundup, 9/26

BuzzSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:31:05 PDT

Do Not Disturb is the first casualty of Fall TV. - Broadcasting & Cable
It's only in the rumor stage, but still: People are saying Ricky Gervais may be the host for the 2009 Oscars! - E! Online
Steven Spielberg may adapt the sci-fi novel Chocky for his next project. - Zap2It
HBO wants to turn the Tom Wolfe novel I Am Charlotte Simmons into a TV series with Tina Brown as executive producer. - Variety
Helen Mirren is set to play a Mossad agent in director John Madden's The Debt, an English-language remake of Israeli thriller Ha-hov. - Variety
Melissa George of Alias will guest-star on Grey's Anatomy as a possible love interest for Callie or Erica. - Entertainment Weekly
Nick Nolte will star in an indie coming-of-age-drama titled Arcadia Lost. - Hollywood Reporter
Bob Dylan's new album will be released one week early as a free online stream on National Public Radio's website. - AP
The American Idol tour did better this year than last year but still couldn't match the 2006 edition. - USA Today

Photo courtesy of Fox

Pilot Watch: Do Not Disturb

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:30:22 PDT

The networks have announced their Fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? This Summer, as the networks release their pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air - especially this year, when the writers' strike severely gummed up the production of pilots - so consider these just some quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: Fox's Do Not Disturb, the network's only new comedy of the Fall, which will be paired with 'Til Death on Wednesdays.

What's it about? The Upstairs, Downstairs-style comedy focuses on the relationships between the employees of a ritzy hotel.

Who's in it? Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Molly Stanton, Jolene Purdy

The good: This show has a lot of funny people who are hilarious on their own and should, ideally, be funny together. I love Nash on Reno 911!, I think infinitely higher of O'Connell after his Tom Cruise parody video, and executive producer Abraham Higgenbotham was a writer on Arrested Development (fellow Arrested alum Jason Bateman directed the pilot). Nash, in particular, has a commanding presence on screen and seems like she could really do a lot with her character.

The bad: Stereotypes. Everywhere. Some of them are actually funny (there's a great sight gag with the women at the reception counter going up on their tippy-toes to please O'Connell's character, after Nash's character gets them some more-comfortable but less-skyscraping shoes), but so many of them just made me cringe. Like what? Well, the plot line of the first episode revolves around an overweight phone receptionist who wants to interact with hotel guests but isn't allowed to because of her looks. Yes, the bosses keeping her hidden come off as abhorrent - but mostly I felt like the show wanted us to point and laugh right along with them.

Will I watch? The show will have to get a lot less broad and stereotypical if it wants to keep me as a viewer.

To check out a preview and see a gallery of photos, just

View 4 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Fox

Expect Fringe, 24 Excitement and Jon Voight Talks Angelina

Molly — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:05:00 PDT

BuzzSugar and I are down in LA for the TCAs, starting with yesterday's Fox presentations! Highlights included seeing Joshua Jackson promote Fringe, even if it was only via satellite, hearing Jerry O'Connell joke about his Tom Cruise impression, Brian Austin Green all hot and tan and - get this - hearing Jon Voight talk about Angelina Jolie and the new twins while promoting 24! Check out Buzz for more in depth coverage of all the panels and details on the new and returning shows, and here are some more of my observations from Fox's presentations and party last night on Santa Monica Pier:

Let's cut to the chase, here's what Jon Voight had to say about Angelina and those babies: "Well, the most exciting thing is to have new children -- the most beautiful thing in the world and the most exciting thing. And when they're part of your own family it's even more exciting. . . I have not heard from her directly but I've heard little messages from her. My niece has heard but that's the only thing I know about. . .but I'm so excited to have a boy and a girl. I love her." When asked if he will visit, "As soon as I'm allowed. . . When Angie says come on over, I'll do it."
Joshua Jackson and his Fringe co-stars were off filming in New York, but the general feeling about the show seems to be super excited. JJ Abrams was on the panel with his cowriters, but Pacey still managed to bring a hilarious lighthearted feeling to the day even just on the big screen. When one reporter said that the cow in the pilot stole the show a few times, Josh was quick to come back by reminding her that even though he wasn't in the room...he could still hear her.
When asked whether he's heard from Tom Cruise since his parody video, Jerry O'Connell said thankfully not.
Party highlight: playing carnival games with (and beating) Kal Penn. Also, Amanda Bynes showing up with Seth McFarlane causing more than a few whispers.
Things got a little, uh, interesting with Karl Rove in particular at the Fox News panel - more about that over on Citizen.

To hear more from the panels including SYTYCD news and how Kiefer and Brian Austin Green looked just

Sad So You Think You Can Dance news about Jessica's injuries that mean Comfort is back, though Nigel wasn't about to say anything more about it.
Ladies (and gents) love those Prison Break boys Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell.
During the Do Not Disturb panel, Jerry O'Connell lamented the fate of Carpoolers, but said that despite it leaving him "depressed in his underwear" at home for a couple months, it opened the door for this new job and got the attention of the new show's director Jason Bateman and writer Abraham Higginbotham.
Brian Austin Green stayed almost silent during the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, though still looked pret-ty hot and very tan.
Even though Kiefer was too unbelievably mobbed the moment he walked into the informal coffee break session with the 24 stars for me to get a word, it was still so great to see him back as Jack Bauer in the preview for the 24: Exile special.

There will be lots more to come as the week and TCA presentations roll on so check back here and on Buzz for all the coverage. Already starting to get excited again for Fall TV!

To see more from the party and all the stars on the panels just

View 21 Photos ›

Images include: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Seth MacFarlane, Jerry O'Connell, Emily Deschanel, Joely Fisher, Brian Austin Green, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Niecy Nash, Kal Penn, Summer Glau, Olivia Wilde, Omar Epps, Wentworth Miller, Hugh Laurie, Kathy Najimy

Fringe

View 7 Photos ›

Images include: JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Burk, Jeff Pinkner

Do Not Disturb

View 7 Photos ›

Images include: Molly Stanton, Jerry O'Connell, Niecy Nash, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jolene Purdy, Abraham Higginbotham

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

View 7 Photos ›

Images include: John Wirth, Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Leven Rambin, James Middleton, Thomas Dekker, Josh Friedman

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Fox Fall Schedule: Two New Shows This Fall

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:57:33 PDT

Fox revealed its Fall TV schedule at the 2008 upfronts this morning, announcing two new shows and the two-hour "telefilm" 24 prequel that will air in November before the regular (much delayed) new season of the show starts up again in January 2009.

The Fox show getting the most buzz this upfront season (and the basket in which Fox is placing all its eggs) is the J.J. Abrams drama Fringe (featuring Joshua Jackson - yay, Pacey!) which will follow House (in a new spot) on Tuesday nights. The other new addition to the schedule is the scripted comedy Do Not Disturb (formerly known as The Inn) which is directed by Jason Bateman.

Coming up mid-season? More sci-fi including Dollhouse from Joss Whedon and two new animated comedies: The Cleveland Show (the Family Guy spinoff) and Sit Down, Shut Up from Arrested Development's Mitchell Hurwitz.

Here's Fox's official press release, and to check out the full schedule and descriptions of the new shows, just

All caps = new show
** = new timeslot

MONDAY
8:00 p.m. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
9 p.m. Prison Break

TUESDAY
8 p.m. House**
9 p.m. FRINGE

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. Bones
9 p.m. 'Til Death
9:30 p.m. DO NOT DISTURB

THURSDAY
8 p.m. The Moment of Truth
9 p.m. Kitchen Nightmares

FRIDAY
8 p.m. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
9 p.m. Don't Forget the Lyrics!

SATURDAY
8 p.m. Cops
8:30 p.m. Cops
9 p.m. America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
11 p.m. MADtv
Midnight Talkshow

SUNDAY
8 p.m. The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. King of the Hill
9 p.m. Family Guy
9:30 p.m. American Dad

Mid-season: SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, DOLLHOUSE, 24, American Idol, Hell's Kitchen, SECRET MILLIONAIRE, HE CLEVELAND SHOW

Here's how Fox describes the new shows:

Fringe
From J.J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind Star Trek,Mission: Impossible III and Alias comes a new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley, Boston Legal), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble, Lord of the Rings), our generation's Einstein. There's only one catch: he's been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson, Dawson's Creek) in to help. When Olivia's investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES, CHARLIE FRANCIS and ASTRID FARNSWORTH will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb (working title) is a hilarious workplace comedy set at one of New York City's hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple's "10 Best Places to Stay," The Inn is just that the "in" place to be, with its chic dcor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story. The hotel's top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL (Jerry O'Connell) at least in his opinion. Although The Inn's charismatic owner R.J. (guest star Robert Wagner) takes all the credit, Neal is the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. RHONDA (Niecy Nash, Reno 911!) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal's demands in check. She's brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble. At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE (Molly Stanton), an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. Fresh from Nebraska is JASON (Brando Eaton), the nave bellman who would prefer to work behind-the-scenes, but was hired to show off his chiseled face and perfect pecs at the front of the hotel. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY (Jolene Purdy), a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; and LARRY (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), the head of housekeeping who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs.

Dollhouse
Joss Whedon, creator of groundbreaking cult favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly returns to television and reunites with fellow Buffy alumna Eliza Dushku for a thrilling new drama, DOLLHOUSE. ECHO (Dushku) is an "Active," a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the "Dollhouse," Echo and the other Actives including SIERRA (Dichen Lachman) and VICTOR (Enver Gjokaj) carry out engagements assigned by ADELLE (Olivia Williams), one of the Dollhouse leaders. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional "pro bono" good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler BOYD (Harry Lennix), returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased by TOPHER (Fran Kranz), the Dollhouse's genius programmer. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, FBI Agent PAUL SMITH (Tahmoh Penikett) pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. Dollhouse revolves around Echo's blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.

Secret Millionaire
Secret Millionaire is a dramatic unscripted series that takes America's wealthiest individuals away from their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and private planes and places them undercover into some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. Shot under the guise of a documentary, the series reveals the dramatic personal return that millionaires will get when they leave their fortunes to invest in those less fortunate. Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They will work side-by-side with community members and befriend those in need to decide who should ultimately receive their gifts of a lifetime. The millionaires will be touched by the people they meet. Some will inspire with their dedication to helping others, while others will relay stories of overcoming tremendous odds. On the final day, the Secret Millionaires meet with the chosen recipients and reveal their true identity and intention: to give them at least $100,000 oftentimes more of their own money and to change their lives forever. Secret Millionaire will engage viewers in important social issues, extol the virtues of volunteerism and change the lives of disadvantaged people and the philanthropists who helped them in unexpected ways.

The Cleveland Show
Many years ago, CLEVELAND BROWN (voiced by Mike Henry) was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named DONNA. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he'd be there when she called. Well, this man done her wrong. Donna's husband skipped town with another woman, leaving Donna with a daughter and a baby. Now she's come to Cleveland and offered him another chance at love. Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously accepts and he and CLEVELAND JR. move to Stoolbend, VA, to join their new family. Once in Stoolbend, Cleveland has a few surprises in store for him, including a flirtatious new stepdaughter, a 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies, as well as a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck couple, a British family seemingly stuck in the Victorian era and a family of bears living at the end of the block. Family Guy was only the beginning. Get ready for The Cleveland Show (working title)!

Sit Down, Shut Up
From Emmy Award-winning writer Mitchell Hurwitz (Arrested Development) and Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men) comes Sit Down, Shut Up (working title), an animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. We watch them grapple with their own egos, needs and personal agendas, their petty insecurities and prejudices, unrequited loves, and ruthless battles for power and that's just at the staff meeting. SUE SEZNO (Kenan Thompson), a woman who frequently says "no," is the acting principal of the school (the actual principal is recovering from a series of unfortunate accidents that might be seen as escape attempts). Then there's Vice Principal STUART PROZACKIAN (Will Forte) who has a terrifically positive and upbeat attitude... possibly from the performance-enhancing medication he's been secretly put on by the other teachers. There is one educator who feels the focus should be on academics, but despite the old adage, at this school, those who can teach, teach gym and that's where LARRY SLIMP (Jason Bateman) has been exiled to. Immensely frustrated, Larry nurses a crush on science teacher MIRACLE GROHE (Maria Bamford), a woman whose superficial grasp on science is balanced by her superficial grasp on spirituality. Rounding out the staff is the aging German teacher WILLARD DEUTSCHEBOG (Henry Winkler), a deeply defeated man whose yearbook quotation reads "If I believed in reincarnation, I'd kill myself tonight." Uptight HELEN KLENCH (Cheri Oteri) is a librarian whose life's work in research and archiving can now be surpassed by the average Google search from the average cell phone. Proud ANDREW SAPIEN (Nick Kroll) is the flamboyant drama teacher. ENNIS HOFFTARD (Will Arnett) is a fellow teacher and a self-obsessed body builder who yearns to be thought of as a "cool dude" by his students. And finally there's HAPPY (Tom Kenny), the plotting secretive custodian who's assumed to be Hispanic despite the fact that his real name is Muhannad Sabeeh Fa'ach Nuaba. With a distinctive new look a combination of animation against a live-action backdrop Sit Down, Shut Up is a series for the young and old at heart. It lampoons modern society while exposing the dreams, flaws and struggling humanity of our first and most formative authority figures: teachers.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Jason Bateman, Niecy Nash Team for Fox Comedy

BuzzSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:34:32 PDT

I love when people I like team up to make some cool new project happen, and that seems to be the case with Fox's new comedy pilot The Inn. I was excited enough to see that Reno 911!'s Niecy Nash was cast in the lead of the comedy. Sweetening matters further was its creator and writer, Arrested Development alum - and possessor of one of the best names in Hollywood -Abraham Higginbotham. And now there's word that Jason Bateman will be directing the show's pilot episode.

That's an awful lot of comedy talent in one little show. Of course, there's all the Arrested Development goodness from Bateman and Higginbotham. And Nash has been one of my top two favorite characters on Reno! for, well, forever (the other one is Wendi McLendon-Covey, a.k.a. Deputy Clementine Johnson). If Nash can bring even a smidgen of the crazy/funny she offers up in Reno!, I'm sold.

I admit I wasn't too excited about the pilot from its description: an Upstairs, Downstairs-style show set in a swanky New York hotel. It just reminded me a little too much of Welcome to the Captain over on CBS. But with Nash in front of the camera and Bateman behind it, I'll definitely give it a try if it makes it through the pilot phase and becomes a series. You?

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Gear Review: Lark Silent Alarm Clock

Leta Shy — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:48:00 PDT

You can count me as one of the 30 percent of people who don't get enough sleep every night, so when Lark sent me its silent alarm clock ($100) to test a couple months ago, I was all about it. Since then, I've been using it pretty regularly, here's what I think of the alarm clock.

First, here's what it is: The Lark is part app (compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad only at the moment, but an Android version seems imminent), part motion-sensing wristband that vibrates to wake you up and tracks your sleep quality throughout the night. It promises to both help you wake up more naturally and without disturbing your bedmate and change your personality from sleep-deprived night owl to well-rested morning lark. Included in the package is the Lark sensor, wristband, and charging dock where you plug your wristband into when you wake up - both to shut off the vibrating alarm and ensure that your wristband has enough juice to monitor your sleeping stats for the next night. The charging dock includes a USB port to connect your iPhone charger to it, so you don't have to use two sockets for each.

Who it's for: The Lark is useful if you have a partner and you both wake up at different times. Since it's a silent alarm clock, it rouses you with a series of vibrations through your wristband, so if your normal wake-up call is earlier than your bedmate's, your partner can snooze away without being disturbed. That may or may not be valuable enough for you to justify the $100 price tag, but it is an effective solution. Besides the alarm clock portion, the Lark app tracks several sleeping stats: how many hours you slept as well as how many times you woke up during the night and how long it took you to fall asleep (both based on your movements).

Keep reading for my thoughts on the Lark alarm clock.

Fifty Shades of Grey, Fight Club, and the Complications of Male Dominance

The Good Men Project — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:00:55 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Clarisse Thorn sees nothing new in eroticized images of male dominance and violence, but she sees plenty that's thought-provoking.

Much is being made of the highly successful S&M erotica novel 50 Shades of Grey. People are blaming feminism for making women into submissives, blaming feminism for preventing women from being submissives, blaming women for having sexual desires at all, and a whole lot of other boring and typical stuff that comes up in any conversation about women and S&M. News flash: it’s not the feminist revolution that is "causing" women to have fantasies of submission. S&M fantasies have been around since the beginning of time. (And the 1950s S&M-sensation book, The Story of O, was much better written than 50 Shades of Grey.)

Top 10 Reasons to Use Condoms

As an S&M writer, I hear a lot of allegations about how "all" (or "almost all") women are sexually submissive and how this must Mean Something. This is echoed in the coverage of 50 Shades of Grey, in which everyone is demanding to know What It All Means About Women. I wrote a piece a while back called Inherent Female Submission: The Wrong Question, in which I took on a lot of this stuff. But there’s another submerged question here - about men. There’s plenty of talk and stereotypes about how men are inherently violent, or more aggressive than women, or "the dominant sex."

Keep reading below.

Game of Thrones "Garden of Bones": What We're Still Talking About

Shannon Vestal — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:46:22 PDT

To say there's little lightheartedness in this week's Game of Thrones is a bit of an understatement. In fact, it's pretty messed up - we see more of how twisted Joffrey can be, some creepy rat-torture, and the episode ends with a giant WTF moment. And to add insult to injury, there is no trace of Jon Snow this week, either.

While this week's episode may have been tough to watch, the many awful things give us a lot to talk about today. Let's talk about what's still haunting me after the jump.

Game of Thrones "The Night Lands": What We're Still Talking About

Shannon Vestal — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:34:39 PDT

This week's Game of Thrones is blessedly free of Joffrey, but there's still plenty of other things that are pretty gross. From decapitated heads to surprise incest, things are intense as the houses continue to get ready for impending war. Thankfully, there's also some levity in Westeros, mostly from Tyrion's one-liners and a charming scene between Gendry and Arya.

I definitely missed the characters we don't see this week (well, maybe not Joffrey), like Sansa, Robb, and Jaime, and those we only visit with briefly, like Daenerys. But like each episode of Game of Thrones, there's still a ton to talk about. Let's break it down after the jump.

Mad Men's 5 Maddest Moments: "Mystery Date"

Shannon Vestal — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:18:20 PDT

Sex and violence play a huge part in this week's Mad Men, and this episode has one of the most shocking scenes I've ever seen on this show (even though it turns out not to be real). Don is suffering from a cold that gives him disturbing dreams, and Joan's happiness about welcoming Greg home from Vietnam turns sour fast. Peggy gets an assignment from Roger, which leads to her spending quality time with Dawn, the new receptionist. Michael Ginsberg is quickly making his presence known at SCDP, though his tactics very nearly get him fired immediately.

Even though the maddest moment of this week's episode doesn't really happen, I'm still having a hard time getting the image out of my head (I guess I know exactly how Sally feels). Let's chat about those scenes and more after the jump.