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A&E's Hoarders is a record-breaker

hoarders_a_and_eIf your garage looks like this picture, you may have a bit of a problem. The fact that this is somebody's kitchen means they have a BIG problem. This is an image from A&E's hit series Hoarders. I can't even fathom how somebody puts so much stuff into a kitchen to make it look like that, but I assume they're not doing any cooking on that stove or opening that refrigerator.

Hoarders has become a sensation on A&E. Monday night's season two premiere of Hoarders was a record breaker. More people watched it than any other A&E season opener ever -- 3.2 million viewers. That was more viewers than Intervention, which has been A&E's big drawer.

Continue reading A&E's Hoarders is a record-breaker

A&E's Hoarders - And I thought MY place was cluttered

Hoarders on A&EWhen it comes to hoarding stuff, I've gotten better over the years, but I'm still a fairly impressive pack-rat. For instance, I've got boxes of newspaper clippings in the basement dating back to the 1980s, when I wrote for the local daily paper.

Do I need this stuff? No, but it's part of my history, so I hang onto it. Maybe at some point in the distant future, I'll make a bunch of nice scrapbooks and pass them on to my kids. Then they'll have to figure out what to do with it. Isn't that how it works? People just keep handing their stuff down through the generations, and no one knows what to do with it. Eventually, no one even knows who it belonged to in the first place, and maybe it'll get tossed out.

But I must say, after watching A&E's Hoarders, I feel downright neat and tidy.

Continue reading A&E's Hoarders - And I thought MY place was cluttered

A&E buys Lifetime

A&E and Lifetime Network logosA long-awaited merger between two cable channels has been finalized...uh, finally.

A&E Networks aquired Lifetime as part of a deal between Hearst, Disney and NBC Universal. The deal makes Lifetime a sub-company in the A&E empire.

The deal puts Disney and Hearst in the front row seats of both networks with NBC in a distant third. This means that NBC can sell its holdings in Lifetime to the other two parties within the next 15 years.

There doesn't seem to be any serious announcement or confirmations of a name or brand change under their new owners. Lifetime will still be called Lifetime.

Continue reading A&E buys Lifetime

Five shows to watch at the gym (if you know what's good for you)

jackie warner workoutIf you're like me, then you're probably a mom. Although, I don't have children. In fact, I'm a quarter-century old dude built like an extra from a 1960's beach movie (that's not necessarily a compliment, especially if you think "compact" is a terrible description of body type, as I often do). However, when I'm at the gym, I seem to get along like gangbusters with all the mothers who take to the Stepper for a mindless lower-body workout in which one essentially climbs to nowhere.

In fact, every now and then, you'll catch me on the machine upwards of an hour, which is by no means an easy task when you have the attention span I do. But luckily, I've got plenty of friends to keep me going, and I don't even have to talk to them. Because they're inside the TV! (Sorry, moms!)

Continue reading Five shows to watch at the gym (if you know what's good for you)

A&E cancels The Beast

patrick swayze the beast
Though it probably comes as no big surprise, sources are saying that the Patrick Swayze drama about a rogue FBI agent, The Beast, won't be returning for a second season. While A&E has told Variety that no official decision has been made, word is that episode 13, which aired at the end of April, will be the series' last.

I've been watching I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here!, which is a terrible revelation to make about myself, but in the three hours of my life that show has taken from me, I've come to a few conclusions: 1. My life needs more meaning, and 2. Lou Diamond Phillips is kind of a bad-ass.

I bring this up because apparently, there had been talks of The Beast continuing with someone other than Patrick Swayze in the lead in case Swayze's poor health prevented him from continuing on the show. Phillips recently guest-starred on the series, and I would love to see him on television (in a situation in which he wasn't getting eaten by rats).

Continue reading A&E cancels The Beast

Kevin Costner may direct/star in a new Western mini-series...or may not

Kevin Costner - While Kevin Costner is executive producing a new A&E Western mini-series event, he's not as sure if he'll be directing any of it or even if he'll be appearing in it. It all depends on the script. So he's not sure if it'll be good enough to bother with beyond his current EP duties?

Come on, Kevin. This is A&E. Remember their first, and only so far, mini-series The Andromeda Strain? Yeah, I actually watched it and it was horrible! Which means this one simply has to be better. Right? It can't be much worse. Truly. It can't.

Continue reading Kevin Costner may direct/star in a new Western mini-series...or may not

Like most ex-celebs, M.C. Hammer gets his own reality TV show

M.C. HammerJoining the long list of former celebrities who have gotten a second life as a result of television reality programming, M.C. Hammer will be getting his own series on the A&E Network. It will be called, what else, Hammertime and will chronicle his life with his wife and five children.

Honestly, is there a 1970's or 80's celebrity who hasn't been the star of his or her own reality television show? We've had Hulk Hogan, Scott Baio and a myriad of others in various reality shows that contain the word "celebrity" such as Celebrity Boxing and Celebrity Apprentice. Okay, Dancing With The Stars doesn't have the word "celebrity", but it has "star" which is close enough.

I think what gets me the most is that this same concept was used in The Osbournes (depending on the show's use of profanity). I envisage a network exec saying "Think The Osbournes, but it's a rap star with more kids". If it's good enough for Ozzy...

Subtle Subtitles

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

andromeda strainLast contest's winner: apronk

"Clay Aiken is breeding!!!"


This week, a scene from the series premiere of CBS's Swingtown ...

swingtown

TV 101: Channel Drift (or, what the hell happened to A&E?)

I usually write something witty right here, but, uh... can't really concentrate...Do you remember coming back from your first semester at college and running into a kid you used to go to high school with who decided to use college as an excuse to totally reinvent him or herself? Like he was the class dork and in three months he's all of a sudden a death-metal anarchist? Or she dated the basketball team (the varsity, junior varsity, AND the freshmen) and now she dresses like Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman?

There was always something disturbing about it. Not so much that they had changed -- everyone has a right to change -- but because what they now were was different from the template you had made for them. When the universe doesn't act like you expect it to, you get uneasy; it's a natural reaction. I couldn't help but feel that way this week, when I watched A&E's new show Parking Wars.

Continue reading TV 101: Channel Drift (or, what the hell happened to A&E?)

Giveaway Monday: Criss Angel Mindfreak season one

criss angel dvd coverThe giveaways continue today! Not only are we giving away the Twin Peaks Gold Box edition, we've also got three copies of Criss Angel Mindfreak season one on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The set is already available in stores and, until October 31, you can pick up a Criss Angel DVD for a steal at only $5!

To enter, simply leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, November 2, simply telling us your favorite Criss Angel feat. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
  • To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating your favorite Criss Angel feat.
  • The comment must be left before November 2, 2007 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Three winners will receive a copy of Criss Angel Mindfreak Season 1 DVDs (valued at $26.95).
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Giveaway Monday: The Kids in the Hall Complete Series Megaset!

kith megasetIt's time for us to give away some stuff ... again! One of today's giveaways is for three copies of The Kids in the Hall - complete series megaset on DVD, which is in stores October 31, but through Wednesday, October 17th, you can order the set at 50% off. All you've got to do is submit a comment below before 5PM Eastern, October 19, and mention your favorite sketch from the series. We'll randomly choose three winners to receive the DVDs!

Some other details:
  • To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating your favorite Kids in the Hall sketch.
  • The comment must be left before October 19, 2007 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Three winners will receive a copy of The Kids in the Hall Complete Series Megaset DVDs (valued at $199.95).
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Cleaning up The Sopranos for A&E

Tony SopranoBeginning January 10th, A&E will begin broadcasting a cleaned-up version of The Sopranos. No violence. No nudity. No swearing. How likely is it that the PG-13 version of The Sopranos will suck? According to A&E's vice president of program planning Tom Moody, "The Sopranos is so well written and so well acted, it doesn't rely on language, violence or nudity to carry story arcs. It overcomes any of those tiny obstacles." Ah, yes, "tiny obstacles" - like how the characters speak to each other, how their actions convey meaning, etc. Not a prob.

Fortunately, HBO thought ahead. Alternative shots and scenes with tamer dialogue were filmed alongside what originally ended up on the air. Less than one minute and no full scenes will be edited out of the seventy-seven episodes destined for syndication, or so they say. If Sex and the City can be cut down to a thirty minute basic cable-friendly show with no dirty talk, than anything may be possible. Do what you will to The Sopranos - just don't get any fancy ideas about syndicating Deadwood.

The Coreys are back

Corey Haim and Corey FeldmanTrust me, I'm really not making this one up. Apparently, A&E has ordered eight episodes of something called The Coreys: Return of the Lost Boys. The half hour show aims to update viewers on just what Corey Haim and Corey Feldman have been up to over the last twenty years.

The 'Arts & Entertainment' network has also ordered 13 episodes of Paranormal U. This show will follow a research group at Penn State University which studies and debunks paranormal phenomena. I could see myself watching this. I like that real world X-Files theme.

All this does make me wonder though, is it time for a name change for the network? With a slate that includes Dog the Bounty Hunter, Driving Force, Family Jewels, SWAT, Paranormal U, and,
The Coreys I'm just not sure A&E really represents the programming.

[via Cynopsis]

Duane "Dog" Chapman and son arrested in Hawaii - BREAKING NEWS

duane chapmanMSNBC just this afternoon broke the news that Duane "Dog" Chapman, star of the Dog the Bounty Hunter reality show on A&E, was arrested in at his home by United States Marshals for an extradition hearing to Mexico. Mexican authorities are requesting that Chapman be extradited for kidnapping charges related to Chapman's capture of Andrew Luster.

[Update: Chapman, his brother, Tim, and son, Leland were apprehended at Chapman's home separately. Chapman's wife Beth goes on to say that the Federal Marshals explained Chapman was being charged with "deprivation of liberty of Andrew Luster." Bounty hunting, incidentally, is illegal in Mexico.

Luster is a Max Factor heir, and when Dog first caught him in 2003, Dog spent three days in a Mexican jail over the incident. Dog the Bounty Hunter was in the midst of producing its fourth season during this most recent arrest. Luster is currently serving time on three rape convictions.]

Related:
Lawsuit file against Dog the Bounty Hunter

History Channel and A&E go HD

david carusoWithin the next couple years, both A&E and the History Channel plan to launch individual high-definition channels. A&E's offering, called A&E HD, will come first, premiering this September. The channel will kick off with a CSI: Miami marathon on Labor Day weekend, so get ready to become intimate with David Curuso's pores. After the launch, the channel will simply simulcast A&E's programming. The History Channel's new high-def channel, which has the similar unoriginal name of History Channel HD, will launch next year. I'm not sure how the History Channel plans to take advantage of high definition, but I'll bet you'll be able to see mites crawling around inside Hitler's mustache. That's actually a really good idea for a Disney cartoon. Or maybe not.

[via Lost Remote]

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