Dancing duds

The moment some of us have been waiting for is finally here. The new cast of Dancing with the Stars was announced last night and boy its a bust.

Here is the rundown:

Audrina Patridge- Aka the first one to be voted offs claim to fame is she played second fiddle to Lauren Conrad on the hills and dated a boy named Justin Bobby.

Brandy-Used to be a good singer. Went through some tough times after getting in a texting while driving accident, which ended up killing a woman. I assume she is back to revive her career because her VH1 show with her creepy brother isn't doing it.

Bristol Palin-Oh brother. All I have to say is thank goodness it is her and not Levi. I betcha we will see Sarah Plain in the audience.

David Hasselhoff-He left America's Got Talent to come show us he doesn't really have any himself. Let's hope they don't serve cocktails and hamburgers in the Green Room.

Florence Henderson-Aka Mrs Brady. They have to fill their older woman/cougar quota.

Jennifer Grey-Nobody puts baby in the corner! Let's see if she can hold her own without Patrick Schwayze.

Kurt Warner-And there's your football player quota.

Kyle Massey-There's your random actor quota.

Margaret Cho-Let's hope her dancing is more funny than she is.

Michael Bolton-This could be good. Maybe he will do the rhumba to one of his own sweet songs.

Mike Sorrentino-Aka 'The Situation'. Oh Marone! This guy is everywhere. I'm sure he will ham it up and based on his abdominal structure and club going lifestyle I don't doubt he can dance.

Rick Fox-He's is indeed a fox; but he might be too tall to Tango.

So there you have it. The show starts Sept. 20. Put on your dancing shoes.

Excellent Emmy's

Usually, the Emmy's and most award shows really don't draw in a large audience. For most, the red carpet is really the most impressive part.

However, I love TV and award shows so I was fully engaged in the two hour red carpet coverage and three hour show last night.

The best part of the show this year was host Jimmy Fallon. He really added something new to the show with his hilarious Glee inspired opening and guitar strumming segues.

The worst part of the show was Jewel's unrecorded song that accompanied the In Memoriam portion of the show. This is usually a very touchy portion of the show but I was extremely distracted by the high pitched noises coming out of Jewel's mouth.

Along with the best and worst parts of the show there were also the best and worst dressed actors and actresses.

Best dressed male: Ryan Murphy-Glee director

Worst dressed male: Ty Burrell-Modern Family

Best dressed female: Jewel, Sofia Vergara

Worst dressed female: This one is pretty hard. Here's my list: January Jones, Kim Kardashian, Kate Gosselin, Glen close, Anna Paquin and Emily Deschanel.

The theme of this year seemed to be the unexpected or underdog. It seemed that some really well deserving actors finally got what they have worked so hard for.

I was happy to see Claire Danes win for Temple Grandin. It was even more exciting to see the real Temple Grandin there.

The guys from Breaking Bad, Brian Cranston, and Aaron Paul, finally got accolades for their under the radar breakout performances.

Despite being nominated consecutive years and winning other awards in the meantime, Kyra Sedgwick, finally got an Emmy for The Closer (ironically as the show comes to a close).

I don't know about you but all this TV talk has got me excited for mid-September when all the new shows start!

Who are you picks for best and worst dressed? Put your answers below.

Top TV blogs

I can't be exclusive and I've learned from the best. On an almost daily basis I frequent many pop culture websites. I read other TV blogs and get the scoop on everybody from Miley Cyrus to Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Here are my picks for some of the best TV insider blogs and sites:

Popeater.com-It's not a blog but  it carries all your top TV headlines and aggregates juicy gossip from all the top celebrity infotainment websites.


TV Squad- This blog has all the must-know breaking TV news. The site is setup very similar to Mashable.com in that it gives readers a couple of preview paragraphs and a running list of all the hot stories. Like all good blogs it has lots of video and external links.

Watch with Kristin- Kristen Dos Santos is an E! correspondent and she appears to have a lot of inside schools as she shares on air on E! news by flashing her cell phone and reading directly out of her email. Kristin is good for viewer advisories and plot gossip on your favorite shows.


Tuned In: Time Magazine TV critic, James Poniewozik, offers a lot of good critique on some of our favorite shows. The man is a seasoned couch potato. He's good for a recap or suggestions about what you should be watching. 

The Ausiello Files- This Entertainment Weekly's TV blogger extraordinaire. Here is where you will get the biggest scoops of them all, thanks to EW's privy to all things entertainment. Ausiello keeps us updated on preview's, spoiler alerts, guest stars and anything else you want to know about your favorite guilty pleasures.

Oh my gosh are you watching Tosh.0?

There's nothing like a viral video to get you laughing. There are millions of videos floating around the web and thanks to Comedy Central's Tosh.0 (real name  we don't have to worry about weeding through them ourselves; he picks the best and shares them with us Wednesday's at 10:30 p.m.

What a job, the guy stands in front of a green screen and runs down the top or most random web games of the week. It's a very similar setup to E!'s The Soup hosted by Joel McHale.

My favorite segment of the show is called 'web redemption'. Tosh shows us an epic fail caught on tape then he invites the subjects to redeem themselves on air once again. Hilarity often ensues.

This show has definitely made it onto my DVR series recordings.

You can catch a lot of clips on Hulu. For now here's a sampling.

Tosh.0
Beach Flip
www.comedycentral.com
Tosh.0 Videos Daniel Tosh Web Redemption

Do Dexter if you dare...

Admit it, people love crime, murder, deviance and mystery. That is why shows like CSI, NCIS, Law and Order and Dexter are so popular.

I'm normally not a sucker for those formulaic episodic drama's; but Showtime's Dexter is different. Though I must advise those prone to a weak stomach that this may not be the best programming for your health. Also, if you tend to have nightmare's or still believe in the boogey man, watch something funny like a rerun of Golden Girls or Fresh Prince before bed.

Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter specialist for the Miami Metro Police Department. Ironic, because by night he is  serial killer who collects blood samples from each of his victim's and stores them inside his air conditioner.

Without giving much away, Dexter was adopted by a Miami police officer after he was found abandoned at a crime scene. Harry, his adoptive father, knew Dexter was different and spent his life trying to help Dexter control his urges. Harry lives on in the show through flashbacks and as the episodes progress we learned just how bad Dexter urges really are. Dexter works with his adoptive sister Deb who is a mediocre detective. He often helps her solve her cases. Dexter lives an rather ordinary life, he works hard, has a girlfriend and even brings in donuts to his co-workers.

When Dexter first aired I was intrigued; I watched the first two episodes and gave up. What a mistake. Michael C. Hall has won a ton of awards for playing the serial killer who kills killers. Critics and fan's have made the show a winner.

Four seasons later I was challenged with watching the entire first season on DVD. I love a good challenge; and now I really like Dexter.

Season one starts off slow but it sure doesn't end that way. I have less than a month to work my way through 3 more seasons so I can watch the Sept. 26 premiere of season 5.

The Bachelor Pad is bad

Did you expect a show called Bachelor Pad (which you know is a spin-off of ABC's Bachelor and Bachelorette) to be good? However, I've lost four hours of my life to this garbage thus far.

In a nutshell: Cast off's from past seasons of network TV's biggest matchmaking failure franchise co-habitate in a Malibu mansion and complete challenges to earn immunity and dates with other contestants. The grand prize is your standard $250,000 grand however, producers hope some contestants will get distracted by love and choose the proverbial love over money. How sweet (and yes they do).

There are rose ceremonies and hosts Chris Harrison and Melissa Rycroft instigate competitors during challenges.

The show can easily be described as a hybrid of Survivor, the Real World/ Road Rules Challenge and well of course the Bachelor (ette). And, maybe a little good old fashioned Blind Date. 

Last night the girls led off the pie eating challenge. It was to say the least very unappetizing. The challenge required contestants to eat a pie without their hands, much like at a state fair. However, the girls donned bikins and the men came shirtless. The girls puked and the guys used their own techniques including dipping their hair in the pie to soak up the liquid (barf). Tenley was uber dramatic but came in second.

So, if you are hankering for beautiful people, big personalities, drama, romance and deception you're in for a treat.

Woohoo Weeds!

I might have just let out a woohoo in the office because I am so excited Showtime's Weeds is back tonight. I've missed my favorite not remotely close to perfect mom, Nancy.

Last season ended with a huuuuge cliffhanger as Shane knocked the nasty, bad, beautiful PR lady Pilar into the pool and Nancy was once again left to do severe damage control. I'm more concerned for Nancy's safety now more than ever.

I'll be watching this one live tonight at 10.

My beef with the boys (of Entourage)

As you recall I was super excited about the season 7 kickoff back in June, however, my excitement has simmered as the boys of Entourage are loosing their 'it' factor.

Rumors are rampant on the internet that next summer (which is season 8) will be the last for Vince and his crew. I have to say this is no surprise especially as I talk to other fans of the show who are also less than impressed with the gang.

My fanhood dimmed when Vince was given the role as Nick in the modern big screen version of The Great Gatsby. The movie poster hangs in E's office; but yet we never saw a glimpse of Vince on set. What gives? He actually lands a serious role and we get nothing. Then he digresses and takes some macho action role in a B-flick where he does his own stunts and we are supposed to be impressed. He's never going to get an Oscar.

Five reasons the curtain needs to close:
1. Turtle still doesn't have a day job.
2. Lloyd finally became an agent.
3. Ari is getting closer and closer to a heart attack every episode.
4. E and Sloan are getting hitched and they will live happily ever after.
5. Vince is dating an adult film star.

Enough said. All good HBO shows last between 5 and 8 season.

I want my Fall TV!

The days are getting shorter, the night air is cooler and vacation season is winding down. You know what that means? The Fall TV lineup is approaching! I don't mind the summer hiatus; and there are always a couple good fillers for the moment.

However, I need time to prepare my DVR for the deluge of new and old programming. I need to clear conflicts, weeds out the winners from losers and prioritize my viewing schedule. Oh yeah, I don't mess around.

For those of you who are having the same anxieties check out TV Guide's handy dandy Fall schedule to get your programming squared away.

There are too many shows that I am looking forward to to even try and list. I will keep you updated on the good the bad and just plain bad.

D.C. wives dish it out!

The D.C. dames are divas; and I love it. The newest chapter of Bravo's Housewives saga is looking like a good one.

Episode 1 (in a nutshell) introduced us to the 5 ladies. Stacie hired Janet Jackson's chef for a girl's night. Michaele showed us she over indulges and likes to hug and schmooze. Catherine already plugged her book and proclaimed she does not like Tyra Banks and Obama snubbed her wedding. Lynda showed us her arm candy and suggested Michaele needs to gain some weight (ironic for a modeling agent). And, Mary showed us her postcard family. She also is apparently the glue that holds the clan together.

Stacie Scott Turner

Stacie the self-proclaimed only real Washingtonian (because in case you didn't know D.C. is known as the chocolate city. I had no idea!). She sell real estate with Southeby's.

Michaele Salahi

 

Recognize Michaele (Maybe with a red sari?)? That's right she's one half of the White House crashers. 

Catherine Ommanney

 

Catherine is a British important who is shy about talking politics in the nation's capital. And, her voice is very deep. Kind of creepy. Her better half is a WhiteHouse photog.

Lynda Erkiletian

 

Lynda is a cougar; but don't call her that because she doesn't like it. However, she does keep a much younger man. She also owns a successful modeling agency in DC. 

 

Mary Schmidt Amons

 

It took me awhile to figure out who Mary looks like; but BINGO I got it she looks like one of the sister's from E!'s Pretty Wild (aka the sister who broke into Orlando Bloom's home in CA). Mary is the ultimate super mom. She has five kids and a studmuffin hubby.  Also, Colin Powell is her neighbor.

The usual suspect: MTV's VMA VIP's

It's the one time of year MTV remembers why they are in business. The Video Music Awards were announced this week and Dame Gaga of course leads the way.  The show will air live at 9 p.m. Sept. 12. 

Now I'm going to attempt to make predictions.


VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Florence + The Machine, 'Dog Days Are Over'

30 Seconds To Mars, 'Kings and Queens'

Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, 'Telephone'

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'

B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams, 'Airplanes'


BEST FEMALE VIDEO

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Ke$ha, 'Tik Tok'

Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, 'California Gurls'

Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, 'Video Phone (Extended Remix)'

Taylor Swift, 'Fifteen'


BEST MALE VIDEO

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'

Usher featuring Will.I.Am, 'OMG'

B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams, 'Airplanes'

Drake, 'Find Your Love'

Jason Derulo, 'In My Head'


BEST COLLABORATION

B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams, 'Airplanes'

Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, 'Video Phone (Extended Remix)'

3OH!3 featuring Ke$ha, 'My First Kiss'

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, 'Empire State of Mind'


BEST NEW ARTIST

Ke$ha, 'Tik Tok'

Jason Derulo, 'In My Head'


Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, 'Baby'

Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett, 'Massive Attack'

Broken Bells, 'The Ghost Inside'


BEST HIP HOP VIDEO

B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams, 'Airplanes'

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'

Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem, 'Forever'

Jay-Z & Swizz Beats, 'On To The Next One'

Kid Cudi featuring MGMT and Ratatat, 'Pursuit Of Happiness'


BEST POP VIDEO

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, 'California Gurls'

Ke$ha, 'Tik Tok'

Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, 'Video Phone (Extended Remix)'

B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars, 'Nothing on You'


BEST ROCK VIDEO

30 Seconds To Mars, 'Kings and Queens'

Muse, 'Uprising'


Paramore, 'Ignorance'

Florence + the Machine, 'Dog Days Are Over'

MGMT, 'Flash Delirium'


BEST DANCE MUSIC VIDEO

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull, 'I Like It'

Cascada, 'Evacuate The Dancefloor'

David Guetta featuring Akon, 'Sexy Chick'

Usher featuring Will.I.Am, 'OMG'


BEST ART DIRECTION

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Florence + The Machine, 'Dogs Days Are Over'

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'

30 Seconds To Mars, 'Kings and Queens'

Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga, 'Video Phone (Extended Remix)'


BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce, 'Telephone'

Beyonce featuring Lady Gaga, 'Video Phone (Extended Remix)'

Usher featuring Will.I.Am, 'OMG'

Janelle Monáe featuring Big Boi, 'Tightrope'


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, 'Empire State of Mind'

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'

Mumford and Sons, 'Little Lion Man'

Florence + The Machine, 'Dog Days Are Over'


BEST DIRECTION

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, 'Empire State of Mind'
Director: Hype Williams

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'
Director: Francis Lawrence

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'
Director: Rich Lee

P!nk, 'Funhouse'
Director: Dave Meyers

30 Seconds To Mars, 'Kings and Queens'
Director: Bartholomew Cubbins


BEST EDITING

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'
Editor: Jarrett Fijal

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'
Editor: Ken Mowe


Rihanna, 'Rude Boy'
Editor: Clark Eddy

P!nk, 'Funhouse'
Editor: Chris Davis

Miike Snow, 'Animal'
Editor: Frank Macias


BEST SFX (SPECIAL EFFECTS)

Lady Gaga, 'Bad Romance'
Special Effects: Tim Jarvis

Eminem, 'Not Afraid'
Special Effects: Animaholics-VFX

Muse, 'Uprising'
Special Effects: Sam Stevens

Green Day, '21st Century Breakdown'
Special Effects: Laundry

Dan Black, 'Symphonies'
Special Effects: Corinne Bance & Axel D'Harcourt


BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO

Dan Black, 'Symphonies'

Gorillaz featuring Bobby Womack and Mos Def, 'Stylo'

Coldplay, 'Strawberry Swing'

The Black Keys, 'Tighten Up'

Shaaaarrrrk!!!!

Nothing gets a crowds attention like yelling shark, accept for maybe fire but let me advise you that is illegal. It's Shark Week on the Discovery channel, a cable channel's ratings dream.

Discovery headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland even celebrated by decking out the building with giant shark appendages.

I have to say sharks scare the you know what out of me, even though I once had the guts to swim with them in a caged portion of the crystal blue waters of the Domican Republic. I had just graduated college and well; you only live once. They were 'vegitarian' bottom-dwelling sharks so I survived.

The Discovery goes all out for this week long event. The Shark Week website is filled with full episodes, interactive maps, virtual shark dives, shark merchandise and even shark inspired cocktails.

It's amazing how much the chums at Discovery can crank out to fill a whole week with shark programming; but they do it and people watch. Shark week has been getting a lot of shout outs on Facebook.

My favorite show so far is Top 20 Shark Facts. Did you know-the  epaulette shark actually uses its fins to walk long the sea floor. Also, watch the Mythbuster's get in on the action.

There's something for everyone during Shark Week.

Roberto robs the Bachelorette!

I totally jinxed this one. Just when you think the Boston boy took the cake the underdog but clear chemistry winner Roberto proposed to Ali in the last five minutes of the excruciatingly painful two-hour final of the Bachelorette.

Who writes those speech for these guys? Roberto was sweating like a monkey in a rainforest and just when you think he's not going to pull out that Neil Lane rock (lucky Ali) he goes through with it for the sake of dramatic prime time television. What a guy!

Congratulations Ali and Roberto. Let's hope the Bachelor/Bachelorette curse doesn't it make it's way to you.

Bachelor #1 or Bachelor #2?

I know you're on the edge of your seat. Tonight's the big night where ABC's Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky will either choose Roberto (right) (probably) or Chris L. (Left) (but you never know). 

Now, I'm not a steady follower of the show; mostly because of it's sorry excuse for results; however, the show is getting a lot of buzz and Ali seems to be one of the more popular bachelorette's. Though, it seems that the bachelorettes are far more popular than the bachelor's-total double standard.

I also would never ever be caught on a show like this one. These people put it all out on the line only to be dumped (because eventually they all get dumped).

Word on the street is Roberto is a strong favorite because the chemistry has been visible since the get go. However, the trip home with Chris L., certainly brought on bonus points.

The final rose situation on the Bachelorette is always awkward because who is really supposed to propose. Hopefully Ali makes a sound decision but if not the dude will be the next Bachelor and Ali will be snapped up in no time.

Although, I don't tune in every week the buzz has got me curious so you can be sure I'll be checking in between commercials of my ABC Family guilty pleasures (no Shark Week for this girl).