I like the Big O and, quite frankly, how will we know what to do with our lives unless mamma O tells us? She dispenses tons of wisdom and fun on her show and I’m sure I won’t be the only who will miss my daily fix.The Bad:
I can’t believe they’re doing this. Seriously, what the hell? TLC (As in The Lame Channel nowadays) just announced they’re going to have a new show called “Twist Of Kate” plus some “Kate plus 8″ specials.

Does this woman have no job options other than the overexposure and exploitation of her children?

This woman needs to be slapped across her newly redesigned face. She sporting the “I’ve just left my husband and am now looking for a new man to want me” look. New extensions in her hair and overdone makeup is really cliche.

Women who suddenly try to look good AFTER their husbands are gone annoy the crap out of me. It just means that their husbands weren’t worth the extra effort to try to look their best. Or they’re trying too hard to get someone new and don’t think the “real” them will be able to achieve that.

Yes, the kids are cute. But that doesn’t mean they should be paraded in front of cameras like performing monkeys for people’s amusement. I don’t think monkeys should be used for amusement either for that matter. So please, give it a rest and let them be.

People’s desire to see what’s going on with the kids shouldn’t overshadow their need for a normal life. How much will it suck if they stay in the limelight until their teenage years, when they stop being cute, and no one gives a crap about them? How will that affect their self worth? What will they do to get attention then? Does anyone care?

How Kate can be considered an inspiration is a joke. To say that this show is being launched to help other women who are trying to cope with a new “single mom” life is a bigger one. Most women aren’t profiting off their kids cuteness. Most women out there aren’t rich from the exploitation of their kids. Most women grow up and get jobs. Real jobs. Not “look at me I’m on T.V.” jobs. She does other thing too, like write books, but all this is directly related to her having 8 kids. No one would care about her if it weren’t for them.

Why do I care? Why can’t I just shut up and not watch the show? Because I hate seeing people get famous and rich when they’ve done nothing to deserve it. Pushing 8 kids out of your vagina isn’t a talent. Crude I know, but that’s how I roll.

Where? When? Who? What? And now Why?

Those are all the questions we’ve asked ourselves over the last couple of years regarding the Island in Lost. Island with a capital I, because it is indeed the main character of the show, whether we knew it or not.

Where is the Island? In the first 3 seasons, this is the question we all asked ourselves.  This plane crashed on a seemingly deserted island and no one seemed to be making any attempts to find it. Then we found out it actually wasn’t deserted at all. In fact, it had been inhabited for years by scientists and crazy people. Also, as it turned out, some people had made it their life’s mission to find it. We find out about the characters we’re investing an hour a week’s time with through a series of “flashbacks”. Little clips of information telling us why they’re on the Island and what dirty little secrets they’re keeping from everyone.

Was it Hell? Purgatory? Are these people dead? Remember the dinosaur theory? There have been so many questions and theories about this show it almost makes me sea-sick to think of all of them.

Then came when. When in time was this Island? This changed the entire dynamic of the show. It went from being a “Gilligan’s Island” show revolving around a group of castaways with questionable morals to something a little more interesting. It went from being slightly Sci-Fi and possibly religious to full on Sci-fi and still possibly religious. We see a series of “flashforwards” from the Oceanic 6, who managed to make it off the Island in season 4.

This led to the who. No, not the band. Who exactly is controlling the Island? Was it Ben, the dude with crazy eyes? Was it God? Was it Mr. Smokey? Who knows.

This whole show revolves around a series of questions in order to keep you coming back for more. Just when I think the show is losing it’s luster, I watch an episode that blows my mind. Like last week’s episode “Recon”. In it we find out in the “flash sideways” that Sawyer, actual name James Ford, is a Detective. The whole thing where he tries to swindle a woman out of money? Part of a cover operation he’s part of. What the hell?

So now what? Well, what is the Island?

The Oceanic 6 are now back on the Island. They’re candidates in a survivor type game they never signed up for to become the “leader” of the Island. Huh? Yeah, that’s right. The words “fate” and “destiny” get thrown around a lot because it would seem those are exactly what these people were bound to. Even in the “flash sideways” they all meet each other. Whether they were passengers on the plane or inhabitants of the Island’s pre-explosion time line, they were destined to meet each other and be a part of each others lives.

In this week’s episode “Ab Aeterno”, meaning ‘from eternity’ in Latin, we find out exactly what the Island is. This episode blew my mind. Not only because of it’s revelations, but because of the incredible job Nestor Carbonell did portraying Richard. The episode revolves around him completely. We find out who is is, why he’s on the Island, how he got there and how he got to stay young forever.

For someone who really didn’t have much in the way of emotional range during his occasional appearances on the show, he sure had them for this episode. They used all of this guy’s acting chops for one episode.  And I mean all of them. I got misty people. I, Sly, got misty. Of all things I could get emotional about, it was the back story, or more so the actor’s performance, of a secondary character on a show called LOST that got me sad.

So what is the Island? Well, it’s the CORK over the mouth of what we may call hell, keeping it contained in order to spare the world from a chaotic devastation of which no one would be spared.

Well……… shit.

All I want to know now is why? Why are these people there as ‘candidates’ and why the hell did the universe choose an Island to guard the world of an unspeakable evil so powerful it can justify sacrificing so many in order to protect it? Dramatic? Yes. Compelling and addicting? Hell yes.

I should mention that at no point in this entry will I talk about who wore what or who looked the best.

Before the show even began, there were 3 reasons I was not excited about it. The first reason; the acting categories were all so predictable that I didn’t care about them. The second and third reasons; Steve and Alec. I was not looking forward to them hosting. I’m not a big fan of either of them and I didn’t think they could carry the Oscars. I was right.

When the show opened with Neil Patrick Harris singing and dancing, I thought I may have been wrong about the show being boring this year. He was fantastic! Great energy and start to the show. Then Steve and Alec came on and the energy went with NPH backstage and stayed there for the next 4 hours. The hosts had a few funny things to say during their opening, but mostly their jokes fell flat. I thought they were boring and that their self deprecating “we’re old, these young people don’t know who we are” comments were inappropriate. Morgan Freeman is older than both of them and has somehow managed to stay relevant to young and old audiences. Steve and Alec were forgettable and felt absent throughout the show. I kept waiting for Steve to whip out his banjo and sing us a tune. Thankfully, he didn’t.

Now to elaborate on my lack of excitement for the acting wins. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knew who was going to win the acting Oscars this year. I wasn’t excited for them, not only because I already knew who was going to win, but because the wins for actor and actress felt like they were getting is because it was their turn. That seems to be the popular opinion anyway. Any other year, Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela would’ve almost guaranteed him an Oscar. He’s an icon playing an icon. It’s the stuff the Academy voters usually live for. Perhaps the fact that the movie in which he chose to play him in is based on a sports game worked against him? Who knows. I love Colin Firth, and just seeing small clips of his performance in “Single Man” gives me goosebumps. Again, any other year, he may have had a chance. The actress category was the same. Meryl and Gabourey were wonderful and may have deserved that Oscar, but they didn’t stand a chance against Sandra’s popularity this year. Can I just say that I think it’s sad that it took Sandra Bullock 20 years to make something worthy of an Oscar, but when a newcomer like Gavourey delivers an amazing, touching performance HER FIRST TIME ON SCREEN she gets overlooked because she’s new.

I did like how all the Best Actor and Best Actress nominees got some costar love prior to the announcement of the winner. It’s almost like they knew that the winners were obvious and that everyone deserved a little love before losing.

The acceptance speeches for actress and supporting actress were disappointing. It made both actresses unlikeable for me. I thought Mo’Nique was ungrateful and came off with a sense of entitlement that I don’t think she deserved. The character she played came through on stage and it made her performance a little less impressive to me. Hey, Mo’nique, when someone hands you a gold statue, you should take the chip off your shoulder before taking it. Sandra seemed to be trying so hard to be tough and not to cry. That, coupled with her lack of surprise, made her speech less touching. I didn’t feel happy for her, because she didn’t seem all that happy herself. She seemed repressed. Her attempt at being funny and referring to Meryl as her lover lacked class. Someone get that “miss congeniality” sash back from her, cause she didn’t deserve it last night.

Where did the music go? Every year there has been breaks in the ceremony for the best song nominees to perform. It made for a nice break and usually a light moment in the show. This year they opted out of the songs to make room for longer performance clips when announcing the acting nominees and a whole dancing number showcasing the best original score nominees. I liked both these things, but I still missed the song interludes.

I really liked that they paid tribute to John Hughes. It was fun to see some of the Brat Pack together again, and he really was a relevant film maker who deserved more than just a 10 second clip during the memorial part of the show.

Avatar won 3 Academy Awards. Technical awards, which to me is all it deserved. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Avatar is a movie for the eyes. When you’re not capable of seeing in 3D, like myself, the technology becomes less impressive and you must rely on the story to be entertained. The story was unoriginal and predictable, the acting in it was unimpressive and almost everything in the movie was created by computer. These are not factors befitting a “Best Picture” movie. People want the “Best Picture” winner be movies they actually went to see in theaters? Then stop going to see the same movie 3 or 4 times because you’re easily impressed by CGI and expand your horizons. Go see a movie that will make you have to actually think and use your brain for something other than differentiating between whether the character on screen is a boy or girl. The Academy Awards should not be “dumbed down” to accommodate the general movie seeing public who only go to the movies a hand full of times in the year. People who watch the Oscars are usually people who care about movies. Real movies. We go once a week and we don’t only go to the ones that have big name actors and/or big budgets.

Ok, now that I got that off my chest on page, let’s move on. Am I the only one who thought the constant references to Avatar and James Cameron were annoying? It seemed like everyone who wasn’t wining for acting made references to Avatar. Half the presenters mentioned it in some way. The other half and the hosts took shots at the movie or James himself, either in an obvious way or in jest. It was ludicrous. It felt like they were ganging up on him and the movie and bullying a bully, which I thought lacked class. Is James Cameron full of himself? Sure. Does he make good movies? Yes. His movies are among my favorites. Titanic, Terminator, Aliens. He’s brilliant, and he knows it. That doesn’t mean that everyone should choose the Oscars as a platform to take shots at him and his movie.

Now for the part I was actually very happy about. The Hurt Locker’s semi sweep. It really proved that people who know movies really don’t care about how much money it made and base their votes on the quality of the movie. Money does not always equate quality. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s the best. I was happy for all it’s wins, but mostly for “Best Director” and “Best Picture”. Historical moment aside, Kathryn Bigelow was adorable when she won. She looked so happy, humbled, overwhelmed and , more importantly, grateful. It was great to see a “Best Director” go up there and not come off as full of themselves. Martin Scorsese was the last director who came off as cute on stage when he won.

I was rooting for “Locker” to win. It was one of my favorites last year and I was so happy it won. It was strange to see a movie win best picture and not have a stage full of people. There were maybe 10 people up there, with the cast taking up only 3 spots. Again, Bigelow looked so happy, it made it easy to be happy for her.

So congratulations Kathryn and “The Hurt Locker”! Thank you for making a boring Academy Award show worth the wait with your win.

Here’s hoping they go with better hosts next year. Might I suggest Neil Patrick Harris?

The residents currently occupying your rehab facility are no longer celebrated for anything, so far as I can tell. I have either never hear of them, or heard of them 20 years ago when I was 9, and didn’t care about them then either.

I would also like to comment on having these people on T.V at all. It is my opinion that someone who used to be famous who then turned to drugs or alcohol, either because they couldn’t cope with their fame or because they had some other bull-shit problem they couldn’t deal with on their own, should not be granted the privilege of being on television. They chose to screw up their lives and throw away their money by turning to drugs and alcohol rather than using their millions, which the rest of us will never have, to seek the professional help you are offering them on your show. So screw them. Seriously, let them rot.

I understand that these people are perhaps the only people you can get to be on the show, seeing how an actual current celebrity would never stoop to showcasing their crackie ways on television. However, I think that if you were to implement an incentive program, perhaps you will get some takers. Things like free designer shoes, plastic surgery and instruments. To replace the ones they sold off buying crack.

Thank you for your attention;
Sylvia

It’s one of the few shows that I can watch and not get bored of. I have to admit the season 2 finally left me a little annoyed and unsure of whether or not I was going to continue on the strange journey which is watching Lost. But season 3 sucked me right back in, and now I’m hooked and anxiously waiting for next Tuesday. 9pm. On ABC.

I’m not a big TV fan. I don’t follow a lot of shows. I have box sets of canceled shows I love to watch over and over again. Recent television seems to have been taken over by hundreds of talentless attention whores looking to get their 15 minutes of fame and a chance to win some money. Or a music contract. Or a smaller ass. Or a husband/ wife/ someone to dump 3 days after the season finally has aired, etc…. I dislike reality television. Abhor it sometimes. I don’t get the point. Maybe because I’m not much to empathize with strangers. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.

I don’t feel bad for an attractive man/woman who “just can’t seem to find the right person” and has to make out with 10 different people to do so. On Tv. I don’t feel bad for anyone who has eaten themselves into obesity and then decided to go on national television to get yelled at by a 100 pound woman with arms that would shame some men. She’s pretty hot though. I don’t feel bad for them, and I don’t get any pleasure by watching them suffer either.

In order to entertain me via television or film, I need someone to come up with a smart story line, realistic and interesting characters, and maybe some humor to spice things up. Very few television shows out there are fulfilling this for me. FOR ME. I don’t look down on those who watch reality television. My mother is obsessed with it, and my best friend Janice (Hi Jfo!) loves her American Idol. Loves it. I’ve watched it when I’m at her house, and more power to her for being able to put up with all the bad, BAD singing. Some good, sure. But some of it is “tear off my ears” inducing. If I were a judge, I’d be Simon.” You suck, get out.” That would be me. Sure the show has given us some good talent. Adam Lambert is pretty damn adorable. Kelly Clarkson is great. They beat most of the pop tarts who can’t sing live out there. But that’s another rant for another day.

A bunch of idiots, hand picked out of thousands of eager hopefuls, who were put together in such a way as to ensure drama and controversy just doesn’t mesh with me. It feels far too contrived. I don’t care who’s sleeping with who, or who’s going to be number one in some contest (mainly cause some are never heard of again after the show is done. Fantasia anyone?) I don’t care who is willing to eat the grossest thing in order to be the last survivor or who is going to lose the most weight. It’s not how I’m entertained. There’s nothing interesting about it. Mainly because I don’t find those people interesting. It’s just a form of acceptable voyeurism.

I like clever writing and a story line.

So Lost, good show. Other shows I enjoy (that are still on the air today) are 24, Modern Family, Criminal Minds, Castle and Law and Order SVU. Other canceled favorites are X-files, Gilmore Girls, Buffy and Firefly.

I guess my point is I don’t see why such people deserve the attention, money and fame they get, for a short time in most cases, when they haven’t done anything to deserve it. They’ve failed in doing things for themselves, and now they want a quick fix to their problems. Can’t lose weight on your own? Go on TV. Need some money and attention? Get fake stranded somewhere semi-exotic and eat mystery slop. Can’t find love (and are reasonably attractive?) Go on a dating show. Struggling actor in need of face time? Take your pick.

I see enough of it in my day to day life. I hear the inane conversations and the dramatic recounts of the previous weekend or last boyfriend etc… I don’t see why I should pay attention to the idiots on T.V.