Jay Leno's sit-down with Chris Rock on Thursday's show felt like it didn't really need Jay. Chris was just doing his act, which is fine since he's a comedian. If Joe the Plumber was just doing his stand-up act on Jay's chairs, that would be another story, and quite possibly another universe.
But as another great talk show producer once said, "A host with less talent would have interrupted him."
Rock's comedy was on the money, an expected bit of entertainment from a man who knows more about comedy and writing than you or I ever will. His bit about recently arrested film director Roman Polanski was particularly funny, especially since it's starting to become "The Michael Jackson Death Coverage 2: Electric Bugaloo" on the press. That's what late night is supposed to do: soften the blows the real world brings.
Carrie Prejean, aka Miss California USA (yes, apparently there is a difference between Miss California and Miss California USA, which is more information I ever thought I'd know about these pageants) has filed a lawsuit against two pageant officials.
You may remember that Prejean caused an uproar back in April when moron Perez Hilton asked her a question about gay marriage at the MIss USA Pageant. Prejean was fired a couple of months later for violating her contract and not appearing at several pageant events. Prejean says that pageant officials Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler really got rid of her because of what she said during the show and because she talked a lot about God.
Donald Trump hasn't made a statement about this yet, but I'm sure he will.
First let me say that this is NOT a "political" post. I'm posting this video because it concerns something that happened on television recently that has somehow consumed all of the local and national newscasts (and it's a beauty pageant, of all things). It features MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and his take on the whole Miss California (Carrie Prejean) controversy. It's an interesting video essay. I think that Prejean can think whatever she wants to think and Perez Hilton is kind of a moron. I also think that Olbermann gets in a few good points.
Miss California, Carrie Prejean, caused some controversy the other night when she said she was against gay marriage. Today she explained her answer on, well, Today. I think Matt likes her!
We've been getting a lot of wisdom and insight from our beauty pageant contestants lately. First was the solution to our lack of maps/Africa/the Iraq situation uttered so eloquently by Miss Teen South Carolina, and now we have Miss USA Rachel Smith, who explained what she wants to do with her career in front of the Women In Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN?):
"I always wanted to be a reporter - maybe some TV. Who knows? Some serious news - but some modeling, too...I just don't want to end up like Katie Couric. I want people to take me seriously."
That's the only explanation I can come with as to why the man will not leave my television. Now that The Apprentice is through, the Donald is developing yet another reality series, this time for MTV.
The new series, Pageant Place, will feature former Miss USA Tara Conner (whom Trump forgave for her "party girl" lifestyle that almost cost her the crown) sharing an apartment with several beauty pageant winners (Miss Universe Riyo Mori, Miss USA Rachel Smith and Miss Teen USA Katie Blair) as she teaches them how to behave like proper pageant winners. New beauty queens will replace the old ones as the series progresses through its eight-episode order. I just hope Conner and Blair can keep their hands off one another.
The series is expected to debut on MTV sometime later this year.
Rumors are abound that former Miss USA Tara Conner may be hosting an updated version of Singled Out, the popular match-making game that aired on MTV in the '90s and was hosted by Jenny McCarthy and Chris Hardwick (Carmen Electra later took McCarthy's place on the series). The original series had a group of fifty men and fifty women who were slowly whittled down to one person based on the preferences of the contestant, who could not see the other players.
All we know right now is that Conner has been chosen for a new project at MTV. Whether or not it's an updated version of Singled Out is unknown.
Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.
Today on TV Squad Daily:
Chris Sligh was so like-able until he got eliminated this week on American Idol.
One is staying and one is going. But what's really the difference between Miss USA and Miss America?
Frankie Muniz is desperate to be known for something other than "Malcolm in the Middle," but I'm not sure if a Mohawk makes me believe him as a race car driver.
Tara Conner you have made yourself quite a presence as Miss USA in the last year. If any of us in the television world had forgotten, you were the tinder that caused the fire between your maker Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
It wouldn't have been a reign without having an opportunity to watch you take it off. The crown that is.
In a highly orchestrated voice over, written by a devoted Trump employee, you gave us a small reminder that the Miss USA competition is tantamount to mob rule, where the boss is truly boss...
Apparently Donald Trump's daughter is just as much of a tool as her father. She's weighing in on the Rosie V. The Donald feud that her father has dragged out way too far in the media. 25-year old Ivanka appeared on Today this morning, where she told Meredith Vieira that Rosie O'Donnell "instigated" the feud and that she had been "bullying people for a long time". She also defended the mean things her father said about Rosie-- calling her "fat" and a "failure" (which is funny coming from a Trump).
If you don't remember or you're one of the lucky ones who could erase this stupid feud from your brain... I'm going to remind you of it. Ivanka is right that Rosie started it. She's the one who said, on The View, that Donald Trump was morally bankrupt. Of course, Trump Sr. took it upon himself to lash out to every media outlet that would listen because he's got a new season of The Apprentice coming up soon on NBC. Ivanka jumped on her father's loud-mouthed bandwagon today as she, too, promoted The Apprentice (maybe we should all boycott it).
Dancing with the Stars runner-up Mario Lopez has just signed a one year deal to host the Miss America Pageant. The pageant will be held at the Aladdin Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and will be televised by CMT on January 29. Desperate Housewives star James Denton hosted it last year (I still don't understand what that whole thing was about).
The Miss America Pageant should not be confused with the Miss USA Pageant. Miss USA is Tara Conner, just given a second chance by Donald Trump. Miss America is the original beauty pageant that nobody cares about anymore.
And if you're wondering, Miss Universe is the beauty pageant held on the moon, where beautiful women from various planets compete to see who is the most beautiful woman in the universe.