Lee Thompson Young + salsa = 'Mano'!

Umm, when did this happen? Lee Thompson Young dancing in his wife beater uniform. See for yourself.

Sugababes + Lee Thompson Young = About a Girl

What a delicious combination. Lee Thompson Young just can't stay away from those wife beaters. Shame. In the new Sugababes single featuring new member Jade McEwan. Methinks I want to see him in an action movie that does not start with 'Hills' and end with 'Have Eyes'.

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-GB&vid=b557f153-2fc7-4073-9ad2-bd3e0ee0387a" target="_new" title="Sugababes - About A Girl">Video: Sugababes - About A Girl</a>

Michael Buble sings to me.

Yes, Michael Buble, you just haven't met me yet.

Leona Lewis is HAPPY!

I stopped by HMV today and took Leona Lewis's new album, Echo, for a spin. It's on my own Christmas list which I hope to get around to before actual Christmas. I've been listening to and loving Happy, maybe in hopes that some of it will rub off on me.

There's no video yet, but here's Leona performing the song on X Factor.

Here is a top cover by Laura Broad.

I also love Nike Jemiyo's version. Check out her other covers because her voice kills most of the so-called artists on the charts (and all of the ones in Hong Kong).

Racialicious "FlashForward" S01E07 roundtable

The folks at Racialicious with another installment of their weekly FlashForward roundtable. I link because I still need my Agent Al fix, and you know they went heavy on the sad short life of our beloved Mr. Gough. Last week's episode was kind of a bridge to this week's, which I'll comment on soon. Yes, I was still decompressing from "the jump" and was also disappointed that his death was treated so casually. No funeral, memorial, dirty rice cookout tribute? Then again, such nonchalance was expected as business returned to normal so quickly despite the deaths of 20 million people during the blackout. Way to go, FBI. They are either super efficient or don't know what the hell they're doing. Anyway, I'm still holding out for some pseudo-science wrinkle in time or some alternate reality that will allow Al to be resurrected, but...maybe I wish for too much. Lee Thompson Young's departure might be forgiven if they replace him with another good looking not-so-Caucasian male of similar build. Just saying.

'Star Trek' DVD release interview

Here's a clip from Jimmy Kimmel. He sent his minion Yehya to crash the Star Trek DVD release party and came back with some prime footage. I love John Cho going crazy, especially when Zachary Quinto's involved.

A case of the crazies.

I know I'm crazy, but I'm not a happily married 37 year old who stakes out teen heartthrobs. From the Daily Mail, one woman writes about her 'robsession' with RPatz, aka Robert Pattinson/Edward Cullen/Cedric Diggory. Check out the reader comments from equally loopy housewives. In my defense, I don't sleep with magazines, I don't own any DVD box sets, and the only movie I've seen more than 20 times is The Mighty Ducks, which I did when I was actually a teenager. (Adam Banks...) So thank you to all the deranged women out there who go to extraordinary lengths so that I might feel more ordinary.

Al, sweet, sweet Al.

Clip of Al's death on episode 7 (The Gift) in FlashForward.

"Can't get you out of my head. Boy, your loving is all I think about."

Lee Thompson Young will not exit my head (thanks, Kylie).....so I watched Akeelah and the Bee, in which he has a minor, minor role as Akeelah's brother, in order to satiate my inner 15 year old. I'm rationalizing this decision by arguing that it was on my list anyway and is one of those feel good movies that makes me smile and cry at the same time. I'll withhold a review because it's too late at night for critical thinking, but this scene is just before big brother Devon heads back to the Air Force base. In a moment of pure fantasy, Akeelah wakes up bleary eyed to see that man in uniform sitting by her bedside. The camera even went all soft focus on Mr. Young

Um...in other news, episode 7 of FlashForward has been on loop over here. Rather, the Lee Thompson Young bits have. ABC did a mean thing when they told him to cook in a wife beater, and then forced him to eat alone. The shock of seeing a grown up Jett Jackson has been too much, and I never even watched that show. Also, have been checking out the boards and most are in agreement that Al's death is a loss for the show. He kind of snuck up on everyone as his role grew in the last couple episodes. I think people were eager to see an affable and competent character to balance out all the crazy in this show, what with all the bizarre shootings and creepy blue hands. The folks over at the Racialicious blog noted that the Demetri/Jett Jackson pairing was far superior to the Demetri/Shakespeare one. I love Joseph Fiennes (especially as Shakespeare), but sorry, Mark Benford is kind of a whiny bitch. Cho's character, meanwhile, is working out better. He has some of the qualities that you'd expect for the lead - humor, attitude, doubt, cool - but that are lost on Mark, who is just hurtling towards disaster. I actually care about what happens to Demetri and am anxious to discover how his murder is (hopefully) averted. Mark, on the other hand, is only useful for his vision. If his marriage disintegrates, well, he doesn't really deserve Olivia anyway. He exemplifies a type of man that women love to hate on - the hypocrite who faults his wife for cheating, before the fact, but who refuses to be candid about his own transgressions, alcohol in this case. Well, another 2 days before round 8. The preview looks positively absurd. Something about settling things like men - with poker. Please, Hobbit Merry.

Say it ain't so, Jo.

I hope to eventually get around to reviewing the first episode of the eighth series of Spooks, but some disturbing spoilers...Hermione Norris aka Ros aka the woman I want to be in my next life dropped a bomb via the Daily Mail, always a reputable source. She promised a 'spectacular exit' for her character. The last 3 spectacular exits? Adam Carter (Rupert Penry-Jones) and the car bomb, Connie James (Gemma Jones) and the almost nuclear bomb, and of course Ben Kaplan (Alex Lanipekun) and the bra underwire. As long as Ros doesn't get her head dipped in a deep fat fryer, I might be able to stomach it, although they are a creative bunch over there. This sad news though comes on the heels of Miranda Raison's, who plays the useless Jo, interview last week. She leaked her departure from the show. Not a terrible loss for me as I never liked her character, but I do wonder about the trajectory of the show sans the two female leads. Anyway, 7 more episodes to go before series 9 speculation. I will admit from the preliminary viewing that this one hasn't hooked me like the opener of series 7, but I'm willing to expend some of my patience.

Dominic Cooper, Take 2

I stumbled upon this today. Dominic Cooper and Craig Ferguson sort of promoting An Education, which looks enchanting, but mostly having a grand ol' time. Mr Cooper could use a shave, but couldn't we all?

"He's like a male Halle Berry."

O-M-fucking-G. FlashForward delivers every week. This has been my gateway drug to weekly television. Previously, I didn't have the patience to watch, wait, and anticipate a 22 hour drama stretched over 7 months, but now my Thursday nights go on hold until I get my hit. And damn, I am still high (low?) off this week's episode, The Gift. It was crazy in one hundred ways, the least of which was because AL COMMITTED SUICIDE. Yes, that really did merit all caps. It sent me into fits of shock and awe, from which I'm still recovering. Okay, not that dramatic, but really, Jett Jackson, man? Did you see those guns?! I thought it especially cruel to parade him around in a wifebeater only to toss that sculpted body over the edge like peanuts moments later. Rest in one mushy piece, Agent Al Gough.

I guess if you're going to have the distinction of being the first casualty though, you might as well shake shit up instead of going gently into that good night. On an intellectual level, I can understand and accept the dispensing of our dear doe-eyed Agent Al. After 7 episodes, the show was not so much predictable in plot as it was in formula. As the visions were coming to fruition, everyone grew increasingly resigned to, or restored by, what might happen, what would happen. While that dilemma induces enough tension, it sidesteps the whole issue of controlling the future. They all talk about change but who acts on it? Even Bryce, the doctor who was saved from suicide by the blackout, passively, if passionately, accepts his future. The assurance of a happier life allows him to embrace each moment but also threatens to make him too comfortable with what assumes will unfold. Babysitter Nicole, meanwhile, remains troubled by her vision of being drowned, seemingly for some immoral act she will commit. She volunteers at the hospital in order to atone, but she does so believing in the sinfulness of her own wrongdoing before the fact. Al's death then radically refocuses the story, and once again we revisit the central question - do we control our future? Because he had a vision of himself, alive, 6 months after the blackout, the answer would seem to be yes, there is no future except the one we create. But if that's the case, how do we understand these visions? What is the relationship between this mystery experiment by two creepy Brits, these glimpses of the future, and a present that is quickly catching up? I don't know either, but life in the FBI's L.A. office just got a little more frenzied.

So...while I'm able to rationalize Al's departure, that hardly makes me happy with the decision. He was a fine supporting player - actor and character, someone who was not just a body in the background but whose personality and storyline really complemented those of the main cast. He had presence with a purpose, both in forwarding the plot and in softening the more established character types. It was a pleasant touch, I think, to know that Al's futon played host to Demetri and his video game cheating ass on occasion. Boys. Sweet. Well, there is my farewell. I will have to grow accustomed to a Lee Thompson Young-less tv lineup just as I was getting used to that very idea.

On a slightly critical note, I'm still having a bit of trouble with the writing as some of the finer details often get brushed aside in order to perfect key plot points. The focus is clearly on making sure the puzzle fits together and in a way that delivers constant suspense but not necessarily in ways that seem the most believable or natural. Of course this show, more than the average Thursday night drama, is one contrived piece of storytelling, but there are ways to dampen the effect. I am continually amazed that this Mosaic thing - think Facebook for flash forwards - so quickly became the primary catalog for visions all over the bloody world. First of all, do you think constructing an online database is going to be a primary concern in Stanford's office in the immediate aftermath of the blackout? Secondly, do you mean that no other government or branch of the US government has come up with the same idea? How does everyone know to post their vision on Mosaic and not on, I don't know, MySpace or actual Facebook. (And you know there would have been a group topping 1 million members for that.) I mean, Demetri pops in his (non)vision and a couple hours later someone from Hong Kong is already all over it? (By the way, it can't be night time in both L.A. and Hong Kong.) So the whole Mosaic business is a bit eye-rolling, but it is what it is. Another minor example comes in this week's episode. Nicole sees some of Bryce's drawings of the Asian chick in his flash forward and declares that this mysterious woman is 'obviously' in Japan. Yes, because I have never seen a Japanese woman anywhere outside of Japan. Also, both Chinese and Japanese share the character for "believe." Maybe Bryce's chick was a Chinese woman - in Hong Kong with Demetri's mysterious caller from episode 2. Details, details. As the major elements of the blackout mystery are established, however, I sense, or hope, that these blips will fade and more attention can be paid to those little things that complete a show.

Oh, and apparently the combined salaries of a criminal defense attorney and an FBI agent can land you a sweet, sweet pad in L.A. Land. And Aaron's daughter is alive.

Plus, I love dirty rice too, Al! But it wasn't meant to be.

(The Halle Berry quote is from Scrubs. Lee Thompson Young made an appearance as a sexy intern, prompting Zach Braff to remark on Young's uncommon beauty. Word.)

Kimball Cho: Real Man of Genius

Kimball Cho, one of the reasons why The Mentalist is heads above other shows. He has some of the funniest, sharpest, most cutting lines on television.

Grace: He's also the type that would hire other people to do his dirty work.
Cho: Yes he is. Hitmen aren't cheap and they don't take credit cards.

Suspect: I can make one phone call and your career is toast?
Cho: That's impressive. The best I can do with one phone call is a pizza.

Suspect: How am I supposed to know who you are? You're banging on my doors, 'CBI! CBI!' Like that's supposed to mean something?
Cho: Yeah, we do need better brand awareness.

Rigsby: All I'm saying, you can't say there's no such thing as a psychic because you've never met one.
Cho: You're right. I've never seen a zebra. Doesn't mean they don't exist.
Rigsby: Never seen a zebra?
Cho: Nah.
Rigsby: Never been to a zoo?
Cho: Yeah, I don't get zoos. You pay money to look at animals. Why?

Spooks Series 8...Countdown

The Guardian asks: Spooks - overblown nonsense or top tv? Definitely top tv. Is it overblown and nonsensical? Of course. But sometimes that's exactly what makes top tv. After all, it's a tv show, it's absurd by definition. If someone is really interested in the daily trappings of spy life, go watch a cubicle. A good percentage of a spy's job is paper pushing and bureaucratic somersaulting anyway (so I'm told...). The point is not whether 5 lean Gucci-outfitted spies can save the whole of Britain with science-defying technology; the point is we like to imagine they can. It's fun, exciting, and damn sexy, very unlike most our lives. Okay, very unlike my life. How probable is it that a section head like Harry Pearce would be taken hostage by the Russian secret service, stuffed in a body bag, and bundled in a boot? Not very. But you sure want to tune in tonight and find out how it unravels.

Who shot G.C.?

Oh, Chris. Next week we get to dive into the real NCIS: Los Angeles mystery. Who wanted Chris O'Donnell, rather his character, dead?! Not me.

Adolescent M&Ms

This is Trina, and she ruined Jimmy Brooks's Season 7 storyline on Degrassi. Ashley and Jimmy redux was grating, but Trina and her non-existent personality still managed to leech onto Jimmy and suck all the vulnerable, sensitive juices out of him. Um, anyway. No wonder he was axed from the next season. Well, I blame that and Aubrey Graham's out of control rapping career. You're on notice, Degrassi. Next time you go for a filler love interest, give them a personality and a reason to exist in the show. Some onscreen chemistry is also a plus. Just saying.

Private, parts.

I've tried and I've tried but I can't get the 15 year old girl out of my system. Here's Drake being Aubrey Graham being a U.S. deserter on the Canadian show The Border. I love me some Jimmy Brooks but I would also love to see him in something that I can actually talk about with friends who have moved beyond puberty.

Mamma mia!

Dominic Cooper's dipped on my radar a bit since he shot out of the History Boys cannon. I've devoted my energy instead to supporting the lads who could use a boost - Samuel Anderson, Jamie Parker, Sacha Dhawan, Russell Tovey, Andrew Knott, and of course, Samuel Barnett - since clearly my two cents mean anything. Fail on me. I successfully managed to get one friend and her husband to watch History Boys, of which they remarked, "What's so funny about a gay sexual predator?" Harsh and so off point. But cheers to Dominic Cooper, and his jolly flatmate James Corden, for doing good by the franchise. Now if only I could see Samuel Barnett on Jonathan Ross's couch one day...