"Password" Has Yet Another Rebirth

Thanks to the snoozefest also known as the MTV Movie Awards, Sunday I missed the premiere episode of "Million Dollar Password", but I was able to watch the episode online and loved it. The show is a revamp of the original "Password" hosted by Allen Ludden. This time around the host is the ever affable 'Reeg' (Regis Philbin) who's become a staple of any good game show. As in the original show, contestants are paired up with a celebrity to try to win money, with the object of the game being to help your partner guess secret passwords from one-word clues that you've given. The players alternate betweeen giving and receiving one-word clues to guess passwords through four elimination rounds, ending with the contestant with the most passwords at the end of the fourth round moving on to the money round.

In the first episode, the two celebrities were Neil Patrick Harris (He was great--funny and smart! I wish he could be there every week) and Rachael Ray. Unlike the original, once in the money round contestants are playing against the clock (1 min 30 sec) for a shot at the grand prize of $1 Million. Once in the money round, the prize money builds like a ladder--sort of like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"--the dollar levels are $10,000, $25,000 (this is a safety level that if you reach you can't go home with less than that), $50,000, $100,000, $250,000 and finally $1,000,000. If you don't get the five password in any level, you lose what you had accumulated and you're out of the game. As you climb the money ladder, the game gets harder--words get harder, the number of words you can get wrong decreases, any words you pass are gone for good and you are limited to three clues for each password. For $10,000 you have to get 5 out of 10 passwords, $25,000 it's 5 out of 9, and so on until you reach the $1,000,000 level when you have to get 5 out of 5.

If the first episode is any indication of what's to come, then I'm in. The show airs again next Sunday, June 8 at 8:00 pm ET, and the next two celebrities will be Rosie O'Donnell and Tony Hawk. For all the fans of the original "Password", the New York Post reported that Betty White, one of the regular players on the original and Ludden's widow, will be one of the celebrity players in the third episode of the show. Now that's must see TV!

"El Juego del Angel"

This weekend I finally finished "El Juego del Angel" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and I must say that I'm slightly disappointed. "El Juego del Angel" is the second book in the series based around the Cementerio de los Libro Olvidados (Cementery of Forgotten Books) that offers up an adventure which includes tragedy, romance, intrigue, betrayal and murder. At the story's onset we meet the tragic David Martin, an orphaned 17-year old working for the newspaper "La Voz de La Industria" who dreams of being a writer and following in the steps of his mentor and friend Pedro Vidal, a moderately successful writer and suave man about town. David is hopelessly in love with Cristina Sagnier, the daughter of Vidal's chauffeur. After leaving the paper, David begins writing a series of stories entitled "La Cuidad de los Malditos" (City of the Damned) published under the pseudonym of Ignatius B. Samson. It's around this time when he meets the mysterious Andreas Corelli, a publisher from France who makes him an intriguing offer which could change his life forever.

As I've previously mentioned, I became a Zafon fan after reading "La Sombra del Viento" (Shadow of the Wind), which I felt was a true masterpiece. From the moment I opened "El Juego del Angel" I wanted to fall in love with this book like I did "La Sombra del Viento", but unfortunately I only fell in like. The descriptions are a little too long in parts, the characters--with a few exceptions--are all glaringly dark and doomed, and the book is missing the humor and light which were so pivotal in "La Sombra del Viento." What redeems the book and makes it worth the read is the suspense and intrigue which fans have come to expect from Zafon's books and which he readily delivers. Even with it's flaws, "El Juego del Angel" is still a page-turner, full of mysteries you can't wait to see solved.

2008 MTV Movie Awards

The MTV Movie Awards were held last night and folks, if you didn't watch them, you didn't miss much, the show was a total snoozefest. The show kicked off with a lame dance-off between Mike Myers (the host) and Chris Brown. There were none of the wild antics you'd expect to see on MTV (like last year's Best Kiss winners Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen rolling around on the floor), or even some witty banter for the presenters. To let you know how bad things were...the funniest line of the night came as a shout out from an audience member. Not good when professional writers are one upped by audience members. Here's how it went down...the main stars of "Get Smart" Steve Carell ("The Office"), Anne Hathaway, and Dwayne Johnson ('The Rock') came out to present an award, and as an ongoing gag Steve began speaking too close to the microphone, to which Dwayne says "Steve, you are practically eating it," without a beat someone yelled from the audience "that's what she said." (Michael Scott's favorite punchline) As for edgy, that came thanks to Seth Rogen and James Franco who came out with a "fake" bag of pot, and proceeded to light up a "fake" joint. Before you could tell if they were actually smoking a joint, the camera pulled out to a wide shot which encompassed the whole stage and stayed that way until they finished their presentation and announced the winner. Maybe even MTV has to grow up sometime.

Overall, the two best moments of the night in my opinion, were seeing Mike Myers and Dana Carvey back together to reprise their roles as Wayne and Garth from "Wayne's World" and Adam Sandler singing "Nobody Does It Better" including his change of lyrics to "baby I'm the best" after being presented with the Generation Award by Tom Cruise.

Soul Patrol Revisited

Yup, I'm a proud member of the Soul Patrol, the slightly irrational group of fans who helped make Taylor Hicks the Season 5 winner on "American Idol", and who have supported him ever since. I loved him from the moment I saw him perform Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" at his Las Vegas audition. He was unashamedly quirky and he had a unique sound that had never graced the American Idol pop-machine's stage before. While he was my early favorite, I never expected him to actually win it all, but like the little engine that could, he surpassed everyone's expectations maybe even his own. At the end of the season, for the first time since I'd been watching Idol, going back to Season 1, I anted up my hard-earned cash and bought a ticket to the American Idol concert tour. A little less than a year after his Idol win, I bought a ticket to see him perform at The Borgata in Atlantic City for his own tour. Now, a year later I've bought a ticket to see Taylor perform on Broadway in "Grease." Taylor will be appearing as Teen Angel, the role performed by Frankie Avalon in the 1978 hit movie. I wish Taylor luck on Broadway, and hope he can put together a great second album that truly showcases his talent and plays to his strengths. Soul Patrol!

2008 Emmy Awards Wish List

My TV addiction is easily rivaled by my obsession for award shows, so even though the 60th Annual Emmy Awards don't air until September 21, 2008, nominations will be announced on July 17th so I've already compiled my wish list of potential nominees and those I hope will go on to win on award night.

Comedy Series
"30 Rock", "The Office", and a dark horse which I'd love to see nominated is "Chuck"..."The Office" came back in full force after the writer's strike, and they put on the screen some of the funniest episodes on TV. In my opinion there's no funnier show on the air right now.
Hope wins: "The Office" (Last year's winner: "30 Rock")

Comedy Lead Actor
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock" and Steve Carell, "The Office"...I have a soft spot in my heart for Steve Carell's Michael Scott. Carell manages to make the character of Michael Scott so much more than the buffoon and politically incorrect boss, he infuses warmth and heart into the character and ultimately transforms him into the underdog that we all hope wins the day and gets the girl. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the year Carell gets to take home the prize.
Hope wins: Steve Carell, "The Office" (Last year's winner: Ricky Gervais, "Extras)"

Comedy Lead Actress
Tina Fey, "30 Rock", she's pretty funny as Liz Lemon, plus she gets extra kudos from me for also writing for the show.
Hope wins: Tina Fey, "30 Rock" (Last year's winner: America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty")

Comedy Supporting Actor and Actress
Actor: Joshua Gomez, "Chuck" and Rainn Wilson, "The Office"...I love Rainn Wilson and find him incredibly funny and believable in the role of Dwight.
Actress: Jane Krakowski, "30 Rock" and Melora Hardin, "The Office"...Melora's portrayal of the bitchy and slightly unstable Jan this season has been priceless.
Hope wins: Rainn Wilson, "The Office" and Melora Hardin, "The Office" (Last year's winners: Actor - Jeremy Piven, "Entourage" / Actress - Jaime Pressly, "My Name is Earl")

Drama Series
"Friday Night Lights", "Heroes", "Life", and "House"...The writing on "House" was top-notch this season, in particular, the episode with Mira Sorvino after the Super Bowl and the last three episodes of the season. The cast, especially Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard, gave standout performances during the two episode finale.
Hope wins: "House" (Last year's winner: "The Sopranos" ineligible for 2008)

Drama Lead Actor
Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights", Damian Lewis, "Life" and Hugh Laurie, "House"...Laurie's multi-layered performance as the resident medical genius and Vicodin addict at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is nothing short of brilliant.
Hope wins: Hugh Laurie, "House" (Last year's winner: James Spader, "Boston Legal")

Drama Lead Actress
Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights" and Sally Field, "Brothers and Sisters"
Hope wins: Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights" (Last year's winner: Sally Field, "Brothers and Sisters)"

Drama Supporting Actor and Actress
Actor: Michael Emerson, "Lost" and Robert Sean Leonard, "House"...Michael Emerson is always at his creepy best as Ben. Robert Sean Leonard is always great serving as Dr. Watson to Hugh Laurie's Sherlock Holmes on "House", but he was beyond moving in his performance of Wilson's heartbreaking goodbye to Amber.
Actress: Anne Dudek, "House"...As I've mentioned before, Anne Dudek performed no easy feat in portraying 'cutthroat bitch', the cold-hearted conniving ice queen and then transforming her into Amber, a more caring and tender portrayal of a young woman in love. She managed to pull it off in time to make us weep along with Wilson during her last goodbye.
Hope wins: Robert Sean Leonard, "House" and Anne Dudek, "House" (Last year's winners: Actor - Terry O'Quinn, "Lost" / Actress - Katherine Heigl, "Grey's Anatomy")

P.S. I Love You

"P.S. I Love You" features a great cast, including Hillary Swank, Gerard Butler, Kathy Bates, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, and Harry Connick Jr. It's listed as a romantic comedy, but be forewarned that it's also a tear-jerker. Directed by Richard LaGravenese and based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern, "P.S. I Love You" tells the story of Holly (Swank) and Gerry (Butler) a young married couple, facing the typical fights and fears of a young married couple....job, money, and the question of whether it's time to start a family. Shortly after we're introduced to Holly and Gerry and are given a glimpse into their loving relationship, Gerry passes away from a brain tumor. At first, Holly shuts out her family and deals with her grief alone. On her 30th birthday though she receives a cake along with a tape recorded message from Gerry asking her to get dressed up and go out and celebrate her birthday with her friends Sharon (Gershon) and Denise (Kudrow). In the tape, Gerry also tells her to expect letters from him at random times--when she least expects it--which will contain tasks that she'll have to complete. While at first her mom (Bates) feels that the letters are only keeping her in the past, in truth through each letter Gerry is helping Holly to find herself and to take the steps to build a new life without him. Thanks to the use of flashbacks we also get a glimpse of the life and memories they built together, including when they first met and fell in love.

This is definitely a chick-flick (I can't see many guys renting this of their own free will), but a thoroughly enjoyable one. The movie manages to strike a perfect balance between the comedic and tear-jerker moments. You'll laugh, cry, and laugh again. The entire cast did a great job, especially Hillary Swank, Gerald Butler, and Lisa Kudrow. Swank conveyed Holly's every emotion--shock, denial, despair and ultimately acceptance--movingly, Butler made you fall in love with Gerry so you empathized with Holly's loss, and Kudrow was hilarious as usual, stealing many of the scenes she was in.

P.S. If you rent this movie, remember to buy a box of Kleenex.