Michael Jackson-related stories
Posted Nov 13th 2009 10:23AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Parks and Recreation
(S02E09) It's nice to see an episode where everybody in the office (and Ann) is working together. They're usually broken up into their own smaller storylines, so people like Donna often get shoved into the background, if we see her at all. This time, she was front and center, along with Jesus
Greg Kinnear, and Indiana's pride,
Michael Jackson. Speaking of which--
American Idol runner-up
Adam Lambert was born in Indianapolis, so he totally could have helped round out the table.
Jerry, another mainly background character, generally serves as the show's whipping boy, which I find really funny -- especially in the episode where
they were all trying to dig up dirt on each other, and he found out he was adopted. Granted, that's pretty bad, but I still laughed. This time though, where they ridiculed him and dismissed his mural, it didn't really work for me.
Continue reading Review: Parks and Recreation - The Camel
Posted Nov 7th 2009 5:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Celebreality
Reportedly, before
Michael Jackson died suddenly in June, his brothers – and other family members – were putting together a reality show for A&E. After all, celebrity reality shows have a certain appeal, especially train wrecks like
Being Bobby Brown or
Hey, Paula. Not that the Jacksons were thinking that way. I'm sure they envision something classy and edifying.
Since Michael's death, the interest in this miniseries has escalated, much like the interest in all things Jackson. Will the brothers talk about Michael? How much? Will Michael's children be included in the show? All that and more will be answered when
The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty debuts on A&E December 13, at 9 p.m. The plan is for two hour-long episodes to kick off the series.
Continue reading The Jackson Family reality show debuts in December
Posted Nov 4th 2009 12:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
ABC News has landed
Janet Jackson for a primetime special. The award-winning singer will not be singing and dancing. Instead, she will be talking about her brother Michael Jackson.
Good Morning America host,
Robin Roberts, will be doing the in-depth interview with Janet.
The show will air on Wednesday, November 18, at 10 p.m. (
Eastwick will be pre-empted). The interesting thing about the timing is that Janet's new CD compilation, a double set of her hit songs called
Number Ones, will be released on November 17
Continue reading Janet Jackson in primetime special ... talking, not singing
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 6:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting
Attention, attention! This is not a joke. It's not a spoof or a gag.
Kathy Griffin will host a dance show for ABC. That's right, the funny lady of Bravo's
My Life on the D-List, has said yes to hosting
Let's Dance, a new celebrity reality show in which stars compete with one another by re-creating classic routines from pop culture. That means someone is going to try and do Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" dance from
Motown's 25th Anniversary Special, don't you think?
I am not a
Dancing With the Stars fan, but this show sounds like something I'd be interested in watching for a couple of reason. Number one is Kathy Griffin. I think she's hilarious. She also loves celebrities, so I could see her really getting into this show and being the perfect built-in zingmeister. She'll say whatever comes to her mind, and -- fortunately -- that's usually pretty funny.
Continue reading Kathy Griffin dances her way into new ABC series
Posted Oct 14th 2009 5:31PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, Casting
If this report is true, that Michael Jackson's kids are indeed going to star in the
new Jackson family reality show on A&E, then I guess I have to revise my view on who are the sane members of the family and who aren't.
US says that Prince, Paris, and Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson will costar in
The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, which will premiere in December. The magazine says that Janet Jackson gave the thumbs up to the kids appearing in the show. I always thought she would be one who would say no to something like this. Older sister Rebbie doesn't want the kids to appear in the show and won't appear in the show herself.
Continue reading Michael Jackson's kids will appear in new reality show - or will they?
Posted Oct 8th 2009 2:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Watercooler Talk, South Park, Reality-Free
You knew that when
South Park returned it would work in one of the many celebrity deaths that happened over the past several months. But last night's episode actually had, well, all of them: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, David Carradine, and all the others. Ike started to see their ghosts and was sent to a psychiatrist for it.
Here's the full episode. Chipotlaway is
disgusting but hysterical.
What did you think?
Posted Sep 15th 2009 8:36PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
If you tuned in to watch the first part -- day one -- of
Whitney Houston's interview with Oprah Winfrey yesterday, you weren't alone. The overnight ratings were gangbusters for
The Oprah Winfrey Show, the best premiere in three years, which is just what Oprah had in mind when her producers booked Whitney on her comeback trail.
And Whitney benefited, too. Her new CD debuted at number one on the Billboard chart, a fact confirmed at the end of the second half that was broadcast today. So Whitney won and Oprah won and Clive Davis was happy and smiling, probably because he had orchestrated the whole thing behind the scenes.
Continue reading Whitney on Oprah, day two
Posted Sep 11th 2009 10:41AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Daytime, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
Hmmm, maybe Ellen
doesn't know a lot about music.
Right on the heels of
Ellen being named as the replacement judge for Paula Abdul on
American Idol comes this news:
she's being sued by various record companies. You know the segment at the start of the show where Ellen dances onstage and often in the audience? Yup, it looks like she's been playing those songs illegally (over 1000 times), and the record companies don't like it.
What's interesting is that the spokesman for TelePictures (they produce Ellen's show) says they've been trying to work with the record companies for months to get a resolution to the issue.
Continue reading Second copyright lawsuit news of the day: Ellen!
Posted Sep 10th 2009 3:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: TV Royalty, The Apprentice, Interviews, Celebrities, TCA Press Tour
Joan Rivers was in Pasadena in July to promote her show on TV Land,
How'd You Get So Rich?, but when I spoke to her after her presentation, I was more interested in a couple of issues. First, her longevity in a business that takes even older comedians and tosses them to the side (Cosby, for instance, is more community activist than comedian these days). Second, I wanted to ask her about her experience on
The Apprentice, which included her
feuds with wedding planners, Clint Black, and Annie Duke.
But, Joan being Joan, she also randomly let loose on Brooke Shields, Sarah Palin, and whoever else was in her mind during the ten minutes we spoke.
We start off by talking about longevity. She feels one of the reasons she stays relevant is that she doesn't live in the past. "I don't give a shit about Johnny Carson," she said.
Continue reading Joan Rivers on longevity, Brooke Shields, and not caring about Johnny Carson
Posted Sep 5th 2009 4:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
USA has a House marathon all night.- At 7, ESPN has College Football, BYU vs. Oklahoma, followed by LSU at Washington.
- ESPN2 has the Nationwide Series: Degree V12 200 NASCAR race at 7, then College Football, Washington vs. California.
- Nickelodeon has an iCarly marathon at 7.
- At 8, ABC has College Football, Alabama vs. Virginia Tech.
- Lifetime Movie Network has A Sister's Secret at 8.
- HGTV has a new Color Splash at 8.
- At 9, TBS has two new episodes of The Bill Engvall Show at 9.
- Hallmark has the movie Love Finds A Home at 9.
- Also at 9: TV Guide Network has Michael Jackson shows.
- At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
- Fox News has the special Do You Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading? at 10.
- TLC has a new Moving Up at 10.
- At 11:30, IFC has Comic-Con 2009.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
Posted Sep 4th 2009 12:22AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Late Night, OpEd, Celebrities, Talk Show
Ever notice how goofy celebrities seem to gravitate towards each other? Ok, me either, but maybe that's because most celebrities are goofy in one way or another.
Got a note from CBS tonight with a fun little advance tidbit from
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Carrie Fisher tells a story about her brush with Michael Jackson, who was laid to rest today.
"They came to me to go on a travel junket for talking about Michael (Jackson), because I was with him on his last Christmas," the actress tells Ferguson. "It was fantastic. He had a big tree, and I did the Princess Leia monologue for his children. Yeah, I got paid.
No, no, I got paid nothing. But I got a lot of it, and also he got me a cell phone."
Continue reading Carrie Fisher spent last Christmas with Michael Jackson
Posted Aug 21st 2009 5:29PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Programming, Celebrities
This was actually a reality show that was already in the works at A&E way before
Michael Jackson died in June. They filmed a one-hour special and they were hoping that a reunion concert with Michael would happen in the last episode.
There's no official word yet, but
sources say A&E is going to do the series after all, and it will focus a lot on how the brothers are coping with Michael's death. Will you watch it?
Posted Jul 21st 2009 11:15AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, Emmys
Kathy Griffin is so ubiquitous these days, you might have to dust off an old cliché (and change it slightly) to describe her - The Queen of All Media.
Kathy Griffin: My Life On the D-List is getting the best ratings of its run, she was a guest on Privileged, her CD,
For Your Consideration, was nominated for a Grammy, her book comes out in September, and she continues to tour as a stand-up comedian. She was also recently tapped to host the Shmemmys (The Creative Arts Emmys) and to roast her good friend Joan Rivers for Comedy Central. She may not be getting Ryan Seacrest's 45 million dollar paycheck, but she may be challenging him for most entertainment jobs held simultaneously.
I caught up with her by phone recently and had a long conversation. So long, in fact, that we have posted two different versions - this is the short one. There is an
unedited version here, for those who need every last morsel of Griffin they can get.
Griffin actually started out by asking me a question.
Continue reading Kathy Griffin: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Jul 21st 2009 11:15AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
This is the full version of my interview with Kathy Griffin, for those who clicked over from the "short" version. Again, Griffin started out by asking me a question.
So is this interview going to run anywhere or is this just for your personal collection?
It's going to run on TVSquad, AOL's TV blog. You know what? I have an exciting announcement. By the way, I'm looking at it myself, I knew, but it was officially announced today. I am hosting the Shmemmys this year. Now if you recall, two years ago when I won a Creative Arts Emmy, I got in a little trouble for telling Jesus to suck it. And now, two years later, when The
D-List has its highest ratings ever, they want me to host. And that is what I love about Hollywood.
Continue reading Kathy Griffin: The TV Squad Interview (full transcript)
Posted Jul 16th 2009 1:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Commercials, Celebrities, Reality-Free
It's weird to look back at the Michael Jackson Pepsi ad from 1984 (the one that actually aired) and think that it caused so many problems in his life.
US Weekly got hold of the footage that never aired, of Jackson's scalp catching on fire, causing second and third degree burns to his scalp and face. The magazine claims that this accident is what led to MJ's addiction to both painkillers and plastic surgery.
This is surreal footage, and at first I thought it was footage from the TV movie made about Jackson's life, but it's real. That's Miko Brando in the hat helping Jackson. Brando has been on
Larry King Live many times recently. After the jump,
the ad that aired. It's worth noting that Jackson went on to do other Pepsi ads after this.
Continue reading 1984 Pepsi ad turned out to be a lot of trouble for Michael Jackson
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