DANCING WITH THE STARS

I promise you that when this show first came out, I was the last person I thought would become a fan. In fact, I refused to watch the first season at all. I thought it was the cheesiest idea I had ever heard of for a show. Cut to three years later, and you can't find a bigger fan. Actually, It makes more sense that I am a fan than it did when I wasn't, because I grew up taking dance class my whole life. But come on, a show where B list, or lower, celebrities learn how to dance, and ballroom dancing at that, that's an even dumber idea on paper than the SURREAL LIFE. Well color me wrong, because DANCING WITH THE STARS has turned out to be one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

First of all, the dancing is amazing, and the professionals can kick any sports star's butt. But don't worry, because if you are one of those people who don't enjoy watching people gallop around the stage, there is plenty for you as well. First of all you have gorgeous men and women dressed in skimpy clothes, I mean where else can you get that on a show that can still call itself family friendly. While many of the celebrities are decent to excellent dancers, there are plenty who don't seem to know their left feet from their right. Those rythmically challenged contestants actually provide some of the best stuff to the show. Anybody who has been watching for a while knows what I mean, if they had a chance to catch Master P in action. You would think that would be enough, but hold on to your hats because DANCING WITH THE STARS is lousy with drama as well.

Come on, you can't put that many good looking people together gyrating to sexy music without some rumors floating around, and float they do. The first season's winner, Kelly Monaco, was rumored to be having a fling with her hot Russian partner, but that turned out to be just that, a rumor, because he is now married the another hot Russian female dancer who is also on the show. In fact, romance rumors abound on this show, but there is also plenty of controversy. Take for example Marie Osmond fainting last season during her grilling from the judges. I tell you, this stuff can't be written, which is what makes true Reality TV so entertaining. And if you like Reality TV, you'll be happy to know that HELL'S KITCHEN comes back on the air this week. Stand by folks, that review will be coming up shortly.

LOST

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LOST is the show I love to hate, or rather, the show I hate to love. While it keeps me on the edge of my seat with its contant surprises, it fails to answer even what seems to be the most inconsequential questions. Yes, it's true that a show that can keep you guessing keeps you coming back for more, but there has to be some payoff for its loyal fans. My fear is that while we are all sitting around waiting for the finale of the show to give us the satisfaction we've all been waiting for, it will turn out to be another X FILES. For any of you have were fans of that venerable show, I don't have to tell you how frustrating it was to watch a finale that left us asking even more questions than when it started. That being said, I can't seem to get myself to stop watching.


So far this season we have found out that six of the castaways make it back to the mainland, and to their credit, the show even told us which six it would be. But as always, those answers only led to more questions. For example; Kate has ended up with custody of baby Aaron, so what happened to his mother? Sun gives birth to a healthy baby girl, but apparently Jin has died. Then there's the mystery of Michael, who we all thought was happily living out his life with his son back on the mainland, only to find out he's in cahoots with his former captor to sabatoge the mysterious vessel that brought the supposed rescueres to the island. I know, if you don't watch the show you are compeletly lost right now, but don't worry because even those of us who have watched from the beginning are baffled. Don't even get me started on what's going on back at the island.

The bottom line is this, if the writers are able to wrap everything up in a nice shiny package, as they have promised, by the time the show reaches its conclusion, than all this frustration will have been worth it. If they don't, I will never trust another Sci-Fi show again, because ultimately that's the genre I would be LOST in. That being said, the format does work, because I eagerly anticipate Thursday night every week.

TOP CHEF

BRAVO has come up with a formula for Reality TV that is pure genius! While SURVIVOR is s
till the standard, when it come to this genre, BRAVO has created numerous Reality shows all based on the same format. Here's how it goes; all of their shows are based on competition, and I mean competition that takes tangible talent and not just the talent to deceive and manipulate the other players. Ok, so even these shows do include some dirty game-playing, but every contestant comes to the game with the ability to compete, based on whatever talent that particular show is centered on. in TOP CHEF the talent is ... you guessed it, cooking. And I don't mean just whipping up your basic meat and potatoes, these people all come to the game with extensive backgrounds in their field. Some have reached the level of executive chef, while others are still climbing their way to the top. But whatever stage they are at, this show gives them the oppotunity to show case their unique and personal style.

This week, BRAVO debuted its fourth season of TOP CHEF, and so far it is just as exciting and compelling as the previous three. As I said, BRAVO uses the same formula for all their competition shows, so just as PROJECT RUNWAY had their contestants compete in two challenges a week, so does TOP CHEF. The first one is a mini version of the elimination challenge. In TOP CHEF, the competitors have a quickfire, which is a challenge thrown at them in the beginning of the day and they are usually given anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to complete it. The winner of the quickfire gets immunity in the elimination round, so the stress level is pretty high. But what always impresses me is the fact that they all deliver. Of course some are much better than others, but if I were given one of these challenges, I would probably be serving peanut butter and jelly.

The elimination round is where we really see the contestants shine, because they are given a much bigger challenge and more time to complete it in. The only problem with this show is the fact that it is on at 10 p.m., which means I am usually dying for some type of exotic food late at night. That aside, I thoroughly enjoy not only watching them throw together amazing creations, but also, watching them run around the kitchen like chickens with their heads cut off. TOP CHEF provides great entertainment, and in the end, that's what we all want from our TV shows. Since there has only been one episode so far, I can't say I have a favorite, but give me a week or two and I'll be rooting for one to win and one to be asked to "pack their knives and leave."

NEW AMSTERDAM

NEW AMSTERDAM is a new show on FOX, but it's one of, what seems like many, shows that were originally advertised to be on the FALL lineup. As I mentioned in my blog on CASHMERE MAFIA, it makes me very nervous when a series is pushed back in the season. This usually means that it got awful early reviews. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered it was really good! The basic premise is your cookie cutter cop drama, but this one has an interesting twist that saves it from being a total copy cat of others that came before it. Before I get to what the twist is, I'll give you a basic rundown. First you have a hot looking male cop, who is part mystery and part crusty old timer, and of course he gets paired up with a gung ho younger female partner who makes sure to let him know he can't push her around.

I know what you're saying; come on we've all seen this ad nausiem. This is where the cool twist comes in, because the lead character, who happens to be pretty hot, is about 400 years old. It turns out he saved a village of Indian women from being slaughtered in the 1600s, and for that their local shaman blew some type of smoke into his mouth and told him he would not grow old or die until he found "the one." Of course "the one" is supposed to be his ultimate soulmate. I'm not sure if this was a reward for saving this women or a curse for being part of the group that killed their men, either way it appears to have worked.


Our sexy lead character has the obligatory sidekick who knows his whole sorted past, but his 65-year-old confidant is more than just his buddy, he's his mortal son. So you can see how imaginitive the writers of this show are. There have only been two episodes so far, so for all we know he has children he's outlived as well as other senior citizens running around that were sired by him. Based on the interesting direction NEW AMSTERDAM appears to be going in, I will definitly continue to watch. I can only hope it doesn't go the way of the last show that took at a risk at being original, JOURNEYMAN. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you aren't the only one, as this show got cancelled after half a season. That's it for now; check in next week for more advice on what shows are worth your time.

THE TUDORS

If you like European history, especially history about its royals, than this is the perfect show for you. THE TUDORS is about the early years of King Henry IIX, and his many wives. This March, THE TUDORS debuts its second season, which kicks off with how he changed the course of England's religion. After falling in desperate love with Anne Boleyn, or at least desperately wanting to sleep with her, Henry decides he must get rid of his wife, Kathryn of Arragon. Of course being a devout Catholic, Henry knows that divorce is out of the question. So, what else is a king to do but to change the rules to suit his own desires. This begs the question of why he had to behead other wives, when he could have just divorced them.

Herein lies the reason a show like this is so good. We all know that real-life is better than any soap opera or movie drama, and King Henry is a perfect example of that. History buffs will love it for all the factual information it provides, and for those who aren't so hip on learning another country's background, there is plenty of high drama. Oh, and did I mention all the nudity and sexual content that goes along with all the political intrigue? Being a Showtime program, THE TUDORS doesn't shy away from the randy exploits King Henry was known for; in fact, they are a big part of the show. That being said, it can get a bit confusing, if you don't know all the facts surrounding the situations going on.

While the show is good about going through the timeline of events, without having at least a minimal amount of knowledge on the subject can cause the viewer to get a little lost in all that's going on. And make no mistake, these people created drama wherever they went. With all the backstabbing, lying and secret alliances you may think you are watching a strange version of SURVIVOR as opposed to THE TUDORS. All in all, this is a show worth watching; it's entertaining, educational and takes a modern look at the aristocracy of the time. While I may get frustrated from time to time, wondering who each character is, I still find myself eagerly anticipating the new season.