27 October 2011

THE KITCHEN MUSICAL Becomes The AVALON

I guess this answers my question as to whether or not The Kitchen Musical retains its original Asian components when it's shown in the US.

It won't.

In the US, the series will be known as The Avalon and the story will take place in LA. Casting for this series should be announced soon.


I grabbed this off Deadline.Com

Would You Like to Be on TV?

Just for the record, I have no association with this production and have no knowledge of what this show is about. I only came across this post on Craigslist Manila and immediately thought of The Kitchen Musical for some reason. But I also wondered what kind of Reality TV show would require "NO ACTING EXPERIENCE, SPECIAL TALENT, OR NUDITY"? A competition Reality Show like The Amazing Race, perhaps?

Anyway, you or someone you know would probably want to try out.  Again, I'd like to make it clear --- I know nothing about this ad, I just saw it online.



The full listing is here.

Reply to: realityshow.sg@gmail.com CASTING GUYS AND GIRLS FROM THE PHILIPPINES FOR NEW REALITY TV SHOW We are looking for interesting and outgoing people to be featured in an upcoming reality show, shooting in Singapore in the Summer of 2012. Travel to Singapore will be paid for by the production. Candidates must be: - Filipino/Filipina - 18-29 years old - Comfortable speaking ENGLISH - Open to living with other people on camera - Willing to travel to Singapore in the Summer of 2012 (all flights paid) NO ACTING EXPERIENCE, SPECIAL TALENT, OR NUDITY REQUIRED! If interested, please send us your contact info, a photo or link to your Facebook page, and a few sentences about yourself -- interests, occupation, hobbies, background, etc. so we can know more about you. We look forward to hearing from you! Location: Singapore - all flights paid Compensation: negotiable.

26 October 2011

First Thoughts: ONCE UPON A TIME

Two series based on fairy tales are premiering this week --- Once Upon A Time (OUAT) and Grimm.

I caught up with OUAT last night. The show airs on ABC, a Disney company, which would make sense that their fairy tale is based on Disney's take of my classic childhood favorites.

As a child, I didn't like Snow White all that much. Because her story was tragic. ("Why'd she have to die???" --- I asked this as a child. I loved Cinderella way better. Her shoes? To die for. Hee!)

Anyway, the series dramatizes the tragedy further.

It takes off after Snow White's Prince Charming found and saved her. They marry and she becomes pregnant, and the Evil Queen enters the picture and makes their lives miserable (of course!).

Without giving too much of the plot away, lemme just say that the birth of Snow White's daughter, Emma --- a twist I thought was actually cool --- triggered the change in their fairy tale world. This is what OUAT would like to build on --- giving an old classic its new way of telling the story.

So now, we see this alternate world where Snow White is a school teacher and her prince is on a hospital bed somewhere, in a coma. (Role-reversal! Fantastic!)

And all the rest of the fairy tale characters are either accountants or policemen; basically, common folks like the rest of us. They don't have any memory of who they really are. Snow White, especially, moves and talks as if she's in a trance.

The Evil Queen, however, seems to know. In the alternate world, I'm not sure what she is (Mayor's wife?), but she is the same cold-hearted bitch.

The key to all of these is Henry, a kid of about 9 or 10 years old. He lives in the alternate world, and is, in fact, adopted by the Evil Queen (who now goes by Regina). Henry has gotten hold of an acient book that gave him these ideas about who these people are.

And the other twist is --- Henry is supposedly SnowWhite's grandson, Emma's biological son.

Intrigued yet?

I'm also quite intrigued by how similar these lead characters look physically. Ever since the promo posters for Once Upon A Time came out, I've wondered how all these women's characters are connected.

SNOW WHITE

EMMA, Snow White's daughter
THE EVIL QUEEN, SNOW WHITE's Step Mom

Anyway, the pilot was not impressively written as I would have expected. Although none of that matters now, because the pilot, which actually aired last Sunday, was well-received. The highest-rated debut of a new show for this season, in fact.

My beef though is that the exposition of some of its storylines, to me, felt forced. And I think the problem lies with trying to lend a 'darker tone' to a Disney fairy tale (where it's mostly sugar and spice, right?).  But towards the last few minutes of the episode, the story picked up. If you plan on watching, I suggest you muster a little patience and sit through it because it DOES get better.

I've watched Jennifer Morrison, the central character (Emma), on House all those years and I was never sympathetic to her character there. It's not the same case for me for OUAT. I thought she did great and I thought there was chemistry between her and that child who plays Henry.

Henry, however, is lacking in charisma.

This is the kind of show viewers would love to pick apart, especially since we all know our fairy tale characters well. (Coz we read books of it during our time. There were no Angry Birds to play with!)

And once Grimm does air by the end of the week, it would interesting to see how these shows stack against each other. Grimm, being Grimm, is expectedly morose.

Which fairy tale based program would live happily ever after in TV world, where viewership matters?

20 October 2011

I'll Be Right Back...

I'll be on a brief TV, blogging, Facebook and Twitter break and will switch to limited mobile access in a few.  I hope TV is boring for the next five days. Or else, I'll miss a lot. Boooo....


19 October 2011

Random Observation: Ringer Season 1, Episode 6

I don't exactly know how fast the world revolves on Ringer. I seem to recall Bridget telling Gemma it's been two weeks.

But in the sane world, where the Bridgets are easily discovered and young boys needing their parents DO exist (those imaginary kids of yours, Gemma & Henry!)...it's been six (6) weeks.

Six weeks and Shiv's pregnancy (or Bridget's non-pregnancy, for that matter) has not been properly addressed.

Andrew, Shiv's husband, does not offer to go with her to the OB-GYN and see if everything's okay Henry, who IS the father of her baby, doesn't seem to have the same enthusiasm for this as well. Your wife/lover tells you she's pregnant and you do nothing more than --- say you're happy? :P I learned of a friend's pregnancy and the first thing I asked was --- WHAT DID THE DOCTORS SAY?

Anyway, I know this show has bigger problems than addressing the pregnancy.

BIGGER than this woman's belly in this photo:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, when she was pregnant IRL

Where does one begin fixing Ringer?

14 October 2011

REVENGE: I Know Why Sammy the Dog Is Still Alive

The biggest question that's been asked about Revenge isn't why Emily is so determined to avenge her father.  The biggest question isn't what the Queen has done to her family.

The biggest question would have to be: WHY IS SAMMY STILL ALIVE?

This is Sammy.


In the series, Emily got Sammy when she was 9.  It was a birthday gift from her father.  Sammy was just a puppy of a few months. Back then, Emily went by the name of Amanda.

Upon her return to the Hamptons, seventeen hellish years later (which makes Amanda/Emily 26 years old), Sammy is now owned by Jack, her childhood playmate. We know it IS the same dog because he's never forgotten Amanda (now Emily), even when Jack hardly recognized her.

Doing the math, Sammy would have to be a really old dog. He is 119 years old, after all. And yet, there's Sammy every week on Revenge, running around and looking young and active.

So why is that?

It's simple.

Because SAMMY IS A VAMPIRE DOG!

Not aging is a dead give-away. We know that now. Vampires do not age. And he's got fangs. Of course, every Vampire's got fangs.

Show the readers your fangs, Sammy!
But what really convinced me about Sammy's secret as to why he's never aged?

It's Jack.

Jack is stupid.

He can't think for himself. (Do you think he should sell the bar?)

And he's that guy who says lines like:

"These are from Sammy. 
He's saying thank you for bringing him home last week."
He's done this more than once. And yes, it's lame. :P Sammy says this and Sammy says that... Go back a few episodes and see how many times you'd hear him speak for Sammy in this manner.

And then it hit me why.

Jack has been compelled.

By Sammy.

Which is why Jack can't think or speak for himself! He's been put under a spell by a vampire.

Ergo...Sammy, the lab who hasn't aged, is that VAMPIRE DOG.

Jack is my bitch, Bitch!

And that is why Sammy still lives.

11 October 2011

Honest To Blog: Twitter Musings, Fall TV 2011 Pilots

I am being lazy. I'm having a burn out. (This is because of you, X-Factor!!!) So I took to Twitter/Facebook what I would've blogged, if I had all the energy to think.

 Here's what I think of this season's pilot shows so far (Start reading from below, going up):





What are your thoughts on Fall TV 2011?

08 October 2011

The Kitchen Musical Heads To American Television

Did you know that The Kitchen Musical is coming to the USA? And that Ben Silverman's production company has bought its rights?

What is The Kitchen Musical, you ask?

It is this Pan-Asian TV show created and written by CheeK, the creative head of The Group Entertainment.

Described as Glee meets Hell's Kitchen, the show features performers coming from all over the Asian region, a few of them are actually Filipinos.


The show premiered on Philippine TV tonight and it will also be showing in 18 other Asian countries. 

I had the pleasure of watching it and except for the theatrical delivery, I was really entertained. This was an unexpected surprise!

Musical arrangment is done by Gerald Salonga, brother of Tony Award winning performer Lea Salonga, and the song choices are impressive and familiar. But some of it are done and delivered differently, they sounded pretty good!

Catch the first episode on cable AXN on 15 October 2011 and its succeeding airings every Saturdays at 8.00 pm. And you can join the Facebook page or follow the show on Twitter.

So then...who is Ben Silverman? And why does it matter if his company buys the show, you ask again?

Ben Silverman is THE guy who brought The Office to USA. His company has won numerous Emmys. He is THE guy who headed NBC between 2007-2009. Those were controversial years for NBC. But for all his misses in leading the formerly dominant network on US Television, he was also responsible for keeping Friday Night Lights (only one of the best shows on TV!) on air for five seasons.

Suffice to say, the track record speaks for itself. And if he and his company has taken interest in this Asian show, then that says a lot for the The Kitchen Musical's quality.

But I'm not sure if they are going to retain The Kitchen Musical as is, or completely redo and adapt this for US Television. I hope not, coz Gerard's musical arrangement's really good! But the prospect of this coming to the US sounds really exciting! It's high time something from this region gets to shine over there, in the field of television.

Read the press release here: Ben Silverman's Electus to Bring Asian Series 'The Kitchen Musical' to U.S.

And then watch Maddie (played by Filipina singer-actress Karylle) sing Unwell:

06 October 2011

Where is the story in AMERICAN HORROR STORY?

What did I just watch? It was hard to process watching American Horror Story.

My expectations were low because:
  • Before watching the pilot, I knew a lot of TV critics didn't like it. 
  • Horror is the last genre I'd pick to watch over anything else.
  • I am not a fan of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck, the creators of this show. It seems a lot of people are aware of how they do programs, where it starts out really promising and then it gets ridiculously bad. Case in point: Glee. Case in point: Nip/Tuck. Case in point: Popular.

And yet somehow, watching this with the awareness that it was gonna bad...FELT. SO. GOOD.

My emotions are conflicted. Because there was NO story with what I just saw. Really, it made no sense. There were PIECES of the story. But it was all over the place.

However, it did manage to shock me.  It did manage to be repulsive. (I wanted to gag at one point!)

Ryan Murphy said in an interview that, unlike Glee's feel-good moments, American Horror Story was gonna be a "feel-bad" show.  They had plan on it being disgusting. They thought of putting everything scary, so that the show appears scary --- from bothersome images, to eerie sound effects and disturbing camera-work, to the location (a haunted house, so cliche!).

Somewhere inside my head, a voice was begging me to just stop watching.

And yet I could not.

And I don't know why.

It certainly wasn't the plot that was holding me. Because, as mentioned, its story line and writing? Paper thin.

It certainly wasn't all those images. Because I scare easy and I hate those. Although the mood of the show reminded me of stuff TV people do to Stephen King novels, or that movie The Others.

Why could I not stop watching?

Maybe it's Connie Britton. She instantly had a her shining moment here and my admiration for her grew ten-folds more. It was not easy to see this amazing actress go from Friday Night Lights to this show. But because she's awesome, I think she can carry this to a full season.

Maybe it's Jessica Lange. Or Frances Conroy. They can be so creepy, these old women. Or maybe it's Alexandra Breckenridge, who I kinda loved watching on The Ex List and Life UnexpectedAmerican Horror Story has a solid cast of women. Including that kid who plays Britton's daughter.

And once again, I'm conflicted.

 Because I don't know how far these talented women can go, with what little story they are given to deliver.  A shame if, judging by the creators' track record, this would all go to waste.

But the scariest thing is...you know what? I'm gonna watch again next week!!!

American Horror Story's official synopsis:
American Horror Story, co-created by former Nip/Tuck executive producers and current Glee co-creators/executive producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, revolves around The Harmons, a family of three who move from Boston to Los Angeles as a means to reconcile past anguish. The All Star cast features Dylan McDermott (The Practice) as "Ben Harmon," a psychiatrist; Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) as "Vivien Harmon," Ben's wife; Taissa Farmiga as "Violet," the Harmon's teenage daughter; Jessica Lange (Tootsie, Blue Sky, Grey Gardens) in her first-ever regular series TV role as "Constance," the Harmon's neighbor; Evan Peters (One Tree Hill) plays "Tate Langdon," one of Ben's patients; and Denis O'Hare (The Good Wife) as "Larry Harvey." Guest stars for the series include Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) as the Harmon's housekeeper; Alexandra Breckenridge (Dirt) as the Harmon's housekeeper; and Jamie Brewer as Constance's daughter.
The show is aired on cable channel FX.


05 October 2011

10 Reasons People Say Is Why The Playboy Club Was Cancelled

After three episodes and a poor ratings performance, NBC has decided to pull The Playboy Club off the air. Going around fan communities, I gathered some of the reasons why this show never quite made it past November sweeps, at least.

10 Reasons People Say Is Why The Playboy Club Was Cancelled:

1. Because no one took their clothes off all the way. I said this haha!

2. Because this should just have been The Laura Benanti Show. Some dude would rather watch her sing over and over. Was that really her singing?

3. Because people think this is Eddie Cibrian's karma. I don't like the guy too but MOVE ON, Folks!

4. Because it's actually just a glorified crime series. They should have brought the CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York teams over. Word.

5. Because it's marred by bad writing. I didn't think it was that bad. But then again, I'm the one who keeps watching shows like Pretty Little Liars, so...What? Pretty Little Liars is a fun show!! :P

6. Because Nick Dalton is a Don Draper clone and can never really measure. Yeah. That. He even sounds like him. Try rewatching and close your eyes.

7. Because the Parents TV Council said so.
8. Because 7 major advertisers pulled out when the Parents TV Council said so.
So says the Parents TV Council.

9. Because it was projected to fail. True dat. The show was not yet on air and it was already being panned.

10. Because its sexy blonde bombshell of a bunny, Amber Heard, is really a lesbian.

Amber Heard with girlfriend

03 October 2011

It's a miracle! ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is back from the Dead!


A show that's been long cancelled is coming back from the dead. And I literally had goosebumps as I was reading news about it.

Jason Bateman on his Twitter, said:



TV shows doing a Lazarus rarely happen. As far as I'm aware, Futurama's the only other show that's done this. 


Cancelled by Fox in 2006, Arrested Development left TV with a cult fan base that incessantly:

1) blamed Fox for taking away the funniest comedy on TV and; 
2) wished the show could continue to air somewhere else.

My 13-year old loved the show so much, he too, was disappointed it ended with just three seasons. 

As early as 2008, rumors about a possible movie version was ripe online but nothing ever panned out. 

But now, we have this. 

Like any miracle, this is gonna be glorious! 

And my son and I can rejoice! 

01 October 2011

Random Observation: Person of Interest Episode 2

Dear Bad Guy of The Week on Person of Interest,


If you have to receive text messages with fonts this big...




Should you not opt for a voice-call instead? 


Love, 
M

First Thoughts: Terra Nova = Jurassic Park + Avatar

Jurassic Park in the early 90's... I remember watching this in the movie house with my college buddies and we were all literally pulling our legs up our seats, screaming really loudly for what seemed like eternity.

In that scene where the dinosaurs came running after Jeff Goldblum and the kids in that yellow car, I felt the shock of my life. That moment was exhilirating. The shock of it was unforgettable. But it was the best part of the movie.

This scary thing was on my TV screen!!!!
I felt that same moment while watching the pilot episode of Terra Nova tonight. My chest was tight. But I was loving what I was watching.

Dinosaurs were everywhere. And if it weren't for all those guns the men armed themselves with, blood and limbs would be everywhere, too.

To say that I loved the pilot as a whole, however, would be premature.

Maybe because Falling Skies, a promising show also produced by Steven Spielberg's team like Terra Nova, eventually dragged on, I have some reservations with this. Falling Skies' mistake was that it focused on family drama and the exposition of the stories more (in soooo many dialogues and words!!!) and aliens less. I was expecting to see people frantically trying to win over the aliens, shouting, "Aaaaaah!!!" But that didn't happen (yet --- season 2, maybe?).

There were moments in Terra Nova that felt all bungled up to me that I was kinda alarmed that it may go the way of Falling Skies.  Thankfully, that wasn't the case in the pilot, but it nearly would have gone there. I'm hoping that succeeding episodes of this show can strike a balance between story-telling and frankly? Crapping the fear out of me.

Terra Nova also felt like Avatar in so many ways (and because that guy from Avatar is such a presence in this show!). And I wasn't so impressed by that movie...which probably explains my other reservation.

Production is overwhelming, no doubt about it. For television? It is definitely huge, huge, huge. I thought this show's budget runs at $20 Million, which is already expensive by any standards. But apparently it's even more than that. It's $50 Million. And it does look that many million bucks!

Terra Nova's official synopsis:
From executive producers Steven Spielberg ("Saving Private Ryan," "Jurassic Park"), Peter Chernin, RenĂ© Echevarria ("Castle," "The 4400") and Brannon Braga ("24") comes an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making. TERRA NOVA follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in jeopardy, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past.  
When scientists at the FERMI Particle Accelerator unexpectedly discovered a fracture in time that made it possible to construct a portal into primeval history, the bold notion was born to resettle humanity in the past - a second chance to rebuild civilization and get it right this time. The series centers on the Shannon family as they join the Tenth Pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first colony established in this beautiful yet foreboding land.
Here's a sneak peek of next week's episode, airing October 3rd.