I sat down with my daughter to watch the Season 5 premiere of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” last night.By the end of the show I felt like I was watching an episode of “Celebrity Rehab,” and my daughter was fighting back tears.
What was once a cute, funny, and somewhat endearing show about a couple raising two sets of multiples has turned into a train wreck. I feel especially bad for those fans of the show (like my daughter) who watched the first four seasons because they had fallen in love with the eight kids. (My daughter’s favorite was little Hannah.)
I had enjoyed watching with my family, because I got a kick out of the interaction between Jon and Kate. Some of you may remember that I actually once praised their relationship in a column, writing:
“Jon and Kate have morphed into a couple that is totally honest and open with one another. They have developed a relationship built on trust, so much so that they can say almost anything to each other without producing the type of lingering feelings that fester and destroy so many relationships.”
Apparently I was wrong.
But what bothered me most about last night’s episode (which probably garnered the highest rating in their history, as the public squabbling between Jon and Kate has been tabloid fodder for the past six months) is the total hypocrisy that the show represented on so many levels.
Kate’s anger at the media and the paparazzi for intruding on their privacy is almost laughable.How do you invite the cameras into your home for five years and then constantly complain that you are getting too much media attention?
Then there is Kate herself, the mother of eight kids, who now is focused upon her career, which I guess entails traveling around the country making speeches, pushing her books (full of Bible quotes by the way), and selling a variety of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” products. Apparently she is not home much these days.
Of course there is Jon’s hypocrisy admitting that he needs an escape from the spotlight, and that he has “made some mistakes,” while photos of dear old dad canoodling with young women in nightclubs have appeared on the covers of tabloids for months.
If ever a show demonstrates the adage that “money is the root of all evil,” it is this one. In early seasons, with the family packed into a small house and wearing jeans, the show exuded a feeling of love and warmth.
Now in Season 5, there was Jon driving up in his white sports car, Kate wearing designer clothes and expensive jewelry, and the family living on a $1.1 million dollar estate. (Jon supposedly is living in an apartment over the garage.)
Overall, the premier episode was full of tears and sadness. Even though Kate had planned an especially gaudy (even by her standards) 5th birthday party for the sextuplets, the whole show oozed emptiness. And what was especially empty were the classic interview scenes on a couch, as Jon and Kate each were interviewed sitting by themselves.
So why did they agree to a fifth season, with their world crumbling around their family? How does $75,000 an episode sound? After all, the upkeep on that estate must cost quite a bundle. Moreover, they better save up for all the therapy sessions those kids will need in a few years.
When the show ended last night, my daughter said she probably won’t watch it anymore. But I am hooked. After all, I never missed an episode of “Celebrity Rehab!”
Labels: Jon and Kate, paparazzi, relationships
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Why Kris Allen Will Win 'American Idol'
Every season on "American Idol" Simon repeats the phrase "This is a singing competition" countless times.
I hate to disagree with the Chief Justice, but I must. When it comes to the final vote, "American Idol" is no longer a singing competition. Now it is a popularity contest. And that is why I think Kris Allen will win.
Sure, early on when the judges are narrowing the field, their decisions may be based upon how well someone sings. But as America votes, how well someone actually sings becomes less and less important each week.
As the field narrows down to the final three or four performers, they all can sing (at least this year), and most will have recording careers with a relatively high degree of success. (Oh my, am I beginning to sound like Paula?)
By the time we reach the finals, the voting comes down to calculating who has the largest group of fans, and it becomes strictly a numbers game.
Frankly there is little doubt in most people's mind that this season of "American Idol" belongs to Adam Lambert. As I have written before, he is certainly the best "entertainer," and no matter who wins next week, he will have the biggest career. When people look back on the 2009 "Idol" competition, it is Adam Lambert who will be most remembered.
But I don't think he will win. IF Ryan Seacrest was telling the truth (and I am always a little suspicious of his statistical claims) that fewer than 1 one million votes separated Adam and Kris' totals last week, then the most important factor is determining who will capture the most Danny Gokey votes.
It seems very apparent that a vast majority of the conservative, down to Earth, nice guy, Midwestern Gokey vote will swing over to Kris Allen, a down-home country boy from Conway, Ark. Of course Kris will easily retain his base, the young girls who swoon at his cute, boy-next-door looks.
(I know I am beginning to sound like Wolf Blitzer on CNN analyzing a presidential primary battle between Barack and Hillary.)
Adam is someone who generates strong feelings from people pro and con. Again, as I have written before, there certainly is a segment of the voting population that generates an anti-Adam vote. (I doubt if there are any "anti-Kris" voters.)
So now 100 percent of the anti-Adam votes will swing to Kris, and I predict he will win the competition fairly easily.
Having said that, I personally prefer Adam Lambert, and when all is said and done, even though Kris Allen will win the "Idol" crown, I predict that it is Adam Lambert who will become the biggest star to graduate from "American Idol," not just for this season but also from seasons past.
I hate to disagree with the Chief Justice, but I must. When it comes to the final vote, "American Idol" is no longer a singing competition. Now it is a popularity contest. And that is why I think Kris Allen will win.
Sure, early on when the judges are narrowing the field, their decisions may be based upon how well someone sings. But as America votes, how well someone actually sings becomes less and less important each week.
As the field narrows down to the final three or four performers, they all can sing (at least this year), and most will have recording careers with a relatively high degree of success. (Oh my, am I beginning to sound like Paula?)
By the time we reach the finals, the voting comes down to calculating who has the largest group of fans, and it becomes strictly a numbers game.
Frankly there is little doubt in most people's mind that this season of "American Idol" belongs to Adam Lambert. As I have written before, he is certainly the best "entertainer," and no matter who wins next week, he will have the biggest career. When people look back on the 2009 "Idol" competition, it is Adam Lambert who will be most remembered.
But I don't think he will win. IF Ryan Seacrest was telling the truth (and I am always a little suspicious of his statistical claims) that fewer than 1 one million votes separated Adam and Kris' totals last week, then the most important factor is determining who will capture the most Danny Gokey votes.
It seems very apparent that a vast majority of the conservative, down to Earth, nice guy, Midwestern Gokey vote will swing over to Kris Allen, a down-home country boy from Conway, Ark. Of course Kris will easily retain his base, the young girls who swoon at his cute, boy-next-door looks.
(I know I am beginning to sound like Wolf Blitzer on CNN analyzing a presidential primary battle between Barack and Hillary.)
Adam is someone who generates strong feelings from people pro and con. Again, as I have written before, there certainly is a segment of the voting population that generates an anti-Adam vote. (I doubt if there are any "anti-Kris" voters.)
So now 100 percent of the anti-Adam votes will swing to Kris, and I predict he will win the competition fairly easily.
Having said that, I personally prefer Adam Lambert, and when all is said and done, even though Kris Allen will win the "Idol" crown, I predict that it is Adam Lambert who will become the biggest star to graduate from "American Idol," not just for this season but also from seasons past.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Finishing the 'Lost' Puzzle
I love doing 2,000 piece jigsaw puzzles, though when you first break open the box and begin the hunt for all the straight-edged border pieces, the process is rather tedious.
But as one progresses, and you begin to fit together certain sections, such as the blue, cloud-scattered sky, the row of towering trees, or the large red barn in the foreground, it starts to become much more interesting. (At least to puzzle freaks like myself.)
After working on such a puzzle for weeks or perhaps months, the exhilaration crescendos as you approach the final stages. Everything speeds up, as fewer pieces remain, and chunks of pieces fit together.
A similar sense of excitement is what I and my fellow “Losties” are now feeling as “Lost’s” two-hour season 5 finale will be aired this evening (Wednesday, May 13) at 8 p.m.
I consider the show the best network television drama of all-time. (I differentiate network series from cable series, as such commercial free cable shows as “The Sopranos,” “Dexter,” ‘The Wire,” and “Six Feet Under” stand in a class by themselves.)
But for network television, “Lost” is far superior to most if not all of the somewhat mindlessly-juvenile shows produced by NBC, ABC, CBS, and of course Fox.
While I enjoyed the first couple of seasons of “Lost,” at times it seemed like the show was just going in circles. But once the producers set a definite end date and decided to begin moving the plot line forward much more rapidly, I and millions of other fans got caught up in the complexities of a show that is unbelievably complex.
When I say “fans,” I recognize that there are three categories of people who watch “Lost.” Of course like all television shows there are probably some casual fans, though I have difficulty imagining how anyone can just casually or occasionally watch this show.
The casual fan group probably consists mainly of those people for whom the show became far too complex, as the flashbacks of the early years turned into flash forwards, and this season morphed into just plain flashes, as the Island moved back and forth in time, dragging its protagonists along, like shoes tied onto the rear of a “Just Married” car.
(No, that is too simple of an analogy; a better one would have those shoes bouncing back and forth from the road to the closets where they temporarily lived and back to the shoe store where they were purchased, and then back to the road, and then back to the factory where they were created, and then on to the feet…well, you get the point.)
In any case, most of those casual fans probably no longer watch the show. Again, I can’t picture someone just skipping a few weeks and then saying “Maybe I’ll catch ‘Lost’ tonight, just to see if Jack and Kate are still together.”
The next category of “Lost” fans is probably the largest, and I would include myself as a member. We are people who are obsessed with “Lost,” watch every episode at least once and usually twice, and make a serious effort to try and figure out exactly what is happening and where the show is going.
We love the characters, and I mean practically ALL of the characters. I have never watched a television show that had such a large ensemble cast and felt so involved with so many of them.
Here are just a few of my favorites. I can’t get enough of Ben, trying to figure out if I should love, hate, or pity him. And how cool is Hurley, who always says just what I (and most of the viewers) am thinking, seconds before he says it?
Then there’s bad boy Sawyer, with his nicknames for everyone and Richard Alpert, he of the eyelashes that most women would die for.
Of course I was devastated when Charlie drowned and when Daniel Faraday was fatally shot by his mother, Eloise, while she was pregnant with him (if that doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t ask), and Locke, who is an enigma wrapped inside a riddle.
Then there’s Kate. Even though I am happily married, I would run off with “Freckles” in a minute if she snapped her fingers, and my wife knows that but doesn’t care, because I know that she would leave me in a nanosecond if Sayid just whistled.
Anyway, do I understand all the plot twists and turns? Not really, but like most obsessed fans, I am going along for the ride and enjoying every moment. And when on my second viewing of an episode I finally figure out the significance of a particular reference to something that happened in Season 3, it is the same feeling I have when realizing that I can fit that section of flowers perfectly into the lower left corner of my jigsaw puzzle.
Finally, there is the third group of “Lost” fans whose extreme obsession with the show borders almost on psychosis. These are the fans who watch each episode in slow motion, freeze framing every moment in an airport scene so they can point out that while Jack was in line at the ticket counter, his dead father’s ex-girlfriend’s boss was reading a book whose title is an obscure reference to something that will occur three years from now.
I am not sure how large this group is, but I do enjoy perusing the “Lost” bulletin boards where they post their findings, and I must admit I have learned a great deal about the show by reading some of their postings.
So tonight is the season finale, and we know that one more season remains. I do believe with absolute certainty that I will watch tonight’s show and there will be moments when my mouth will drop open in shock and awe. I have absolutely no anxiety that tonight will produce a “Seinfeld-like” letdown.
And tomorrow morning I will read some of the psychotic fans’ postings to try and better figure out what actually happened. Then I will go into “Lost” withdrawal, having to wait about 8 months for the final season to begin.
Unless I can figure out a way to move the lever in the basement of my house so I can flash forward my television set to next February, and hopefully discover whatever happened to Bernard and Rose.
But as one progresses, and you begin to fit together certain sections, such as the blue, cloud-scattered sky, the row of towering trees, or the large red barn in the foreground, it starts to become much more interesting. (At least to puzzle freaks like myself.)
After working on such a puzzle for weeks or perhaps months, the exhilaration crescendos as you approach the final stages. Everything speeds up, as fewer pieces remain, and chunks of pieces fit together.
A similar sense of excitement is what I and my fellow “Losties” are now feeling as “Lost’s” two-hour season 5 finale will be aired this evening (Wednesday, May 13) at 8 p.m.
I consider the show the best network television drama of all-time. (I differentiate network series from cable series, as such commercial free cable shows as “The Sopranos,” “Dexter,” ‘The Wire,” and “Six Feet Under” stand in a class by themselves.)
But for network television, “Lost” is far superior to most if not all of the somewhat mindlessly-juvenile shows produced by NBC, ABC, CBS, and of course Fox.
While I enjoyed the first couple of seasons of “Lost,” at times it seemed like the show was just going in circles. But once the producers set a definite end date and decided to begin moving the plot line forward much more rapidly, I and millions of other fans got caught up in the complexities of a show that is unbelievably complex.
When I say “fans,” I recognize that there are three categories of people who watch “Lost.” Of course like all television shows there are probably some casual fans, though I have difficulty imagining how anyone can just casually or occasionally watch this show.
The casual fan group probably consists mainly of those people for whom the show became far too complex, as the flashbacks of the early years turned into flash forwards, and this season morphed into just plain flashes, as the Island moved back and forth in time, dragging its protagonists along, like shoes tied onto the rear of a “Just Married” car.
(No, that is too simple of an analogy; a better one would have those shoes bouncing back and forth from the road to the closets where they temporarily lived and back to the shoe store where they were purchased, and then back to the road, and then back to the factory where they were created, and then on to the feet…well, you get the point.)
In any case, most of those casual fans probably no longer watch the show. Again, I can’t picture someone just skipping a few weeks and then saying “Maybe I’ll catch ‘Lost’ tonight, just to see if Jack and Kate are still together.”
The next category of “Lost” fans is probably the largest, and I would include myself as a member. We are people who are obsessed with “Lost,” watch every episode at least once and usually twice, and make a serious effort to try and figure out exactly what is happening and where the show is going.
We love the characters, and I mean practically ALL of the characters. I have never watched a television show that had such a large ensemble cast and felt so involved with so many of them.
Here are just a few of my favorites. I can’t get enough of Ben, trying to figure out if I should love, hate, or pity him. And how cool is Hurley, who always says just what I (and most of the viewers) am thinking, seconds before he says it?
Then there’s bad boy Sawyer, with his nicknames for everyone and Richard Alpert, he of the eyelashes that most women would die for.
Of course I was devastated when Charlie drowned and when Daniel Faraday was fatally shot by his mother, Eloise, while she was pregnant with him (if that doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t ask), and Locke, who is an enigma wrapped inside a riddle.
Then there’s Kate. Even though I am happily married, I would run off with “Freckles” in a minute if she snapped her fingers, and my wife knows that but doesn’t care, because I know that she would leave me in a nanosecond if Sayid just whistled.
Anyway, do I understand all the plot twists and turns? Not really, but like most obsessed fans, I am going along for the ride and enjoying every moment. And when on my second viewing of an episode I finally figure out the significance of a particular reference to something that happened in Season 3, it is the same feeling I have when realizing that I can fit that section of flowers perfectly into the lower left corner of my jigsaw puzzle.
Finally, there is the third group of “Lost” fans whose extreme obsession with the show borders almost on psychosis. These are the fans who watch each episode in slow motion, freeze framing every moment in an airport scene so they can point out that while Jack was in line at the ticket counter, his dead father’s ex-girlfriend’s boss was reading a book whose title is an obscure reference to something that will occur three years from now.
I am not sure how large this group is, but I do enjoy perusing the “Lost” bulletin boards where they post their findings, and I must admit I have learned a great deal about the show by reading some of their postings.
So tonight is the season finale, and we know that one more season remains. I do believe with absolute certainty that I will watch tonight’s show and there will be moments when my mouth will drop open in shock and awe. I have absolutely no anxiety that tonight will produce a “Seinfeld-like” letdown.
And tomorrow morning I will read some of the psychotic fans’ postings to try and better figure out what actually happened. Then I will go into “Lost” withdrawal, having to wait about 8 months for the final season to begin.
Unless I can figure out a way to move the lever in the basement of my house so I can flash forward my television set to next February, and hopefully discover whatever happened to Bernard and Rose.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
'American Idol' Prediction
The assignment from Gina Carbone was simple: "Whom do you pick to win 'American Idol' this season?"
Gina knows an easy mark when she meets one. After all, last season she wrote a piece stating "Why David Cook would win," opposite an article I wrote guaranteeing that David Archuleta would win. Earlier this season I wrote an article predicting that Anoop Desai would win.
So carrying a miserable 0 for 2 track record, here are my predictions as we head into "Idol's" Final Four.Even though he was in the bottom three last week, I predict with absolute certainty that Adam Lambert will make the finals. Without question he is by far the most talented performer remaining, and I firmly believe that he will become the biggest star to emerge from this season.In fact I further predict that Adam Lambert will eventually sell more records (or downloads or ringtones, or whatever it is that singers sell these days) and become more popular than any "American Idol" alum, and that includes Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, and Jennifer Hudson.
He has a unique quality that is very, very rare. I doubt if Adam will ever become as big as "The King," (nobody will), but from the very beginning he reminded me of a young Elvis. Maybe it's the jet black hair or perhaps the pure, raw energy that he exudes.
(Actually I can easily envision Adam in two or three decades resembling an older, bloated Elvis, performing in glitzy Vegas hotel showrooms in front of screaming middle aged women who would be today's teenagers.)Having said all that, I am fairly confident that Adam Lambert will NOT win the "Idol" crown this year. He is an entertainer that most people either love or hate, and when it comes down to a one-on-one competition in the finals, he will lose.
Either Allison Iraheta will win, capturing the female and anti-Adam votes; or Kris Allen will win, capturing the heartthrob and anti-Adam votes; or Danny Gokey will win, capturing the down to Earth regular guy, sympathy, and anti-Adam votes. (OK, Gina, if I have to pick someone, I'll go with Gokey.)
The irony is that whomever of the three actually wins, I am confident that person will eventually fall into the Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, and David Cook category of mediocre, soon to be forgotten "American Idol" winners.
And this season's runner up, Adam Lambert, will become the biggest star of all!
Gina knows an easy mark when she meets one. After all, last season she wrote a piece stating "Why David Cook would win," opposite an article I wrote guaranteeing that David Archuleta would win. Earlier this season I wrote an article predicting that Anoop Desai would win.
So carrying a miserable 0 for 2 track record, here are my predictions as we head into "Idol's" Final Four.Even though he was in the bottom three last week, I predict with absolute certainty that Adam Lambert will make the finals. Without question he is by far the most talented performer remaining, and I firmly believe that he will become the biggest star to emerge from this season.In fact I further predict that Adam Lambert will eventually sell more records (or downloads or ringtones, or whatever it is that singers sell these days) and become more popular than any "American Idol" alum, and that includes Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, and Jennifer Hudson.
He has a unique quality that is very, very rare. I doubt if Adam will ever become as big as "The King," (nobody will), but from the very beginning he reminded me of a young Elvis. Maybe it's the jet black hair or perhaps the pure, raw energy that he exudes.
(Actually I can easily envision Adam in two or three decades resembling an older, bloated Elvis, performing in glitzy Vegas hotel showrooms in front of screaming middle aged women who would be today's teenagers.)Having said all that, I am fairly confident that Adam Lambert will NOT win the "Idol" crown this year. He is an entertainer that most people either love or hate, and when it comes down to a one-on-one competition in the finals, he will lose.
Either Allison Iraheta will win, capturing the female and anti-Adam votes; or Kris Allen will win, capturing the heartthrob and anti-Adam votes; or Danny Gokey will win, capturing the down to Earth regular guy, sympathy, and anti-Adam votes. (OK, Gina, if I have to pick someone, I'll go with Gokey.)
The irony is that whomever of the three actually wins, I am confident that person will eventually fall into the Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, and David Cook category of mediocre, soon to be forgotten "American Idol" winners.
And this season's runner up, Adam Lambert, will become the biggest star of all!
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