reading the recaps

[jlh]

In this issue: Guiding Light, United States of Tara, Dancing with the Stars, Elton John videos, Castle, and Jacob on last night's idol. I had one of my non-sleep naps today and feel ever so much better now.

Jacob on last night's American Idol theme:

I'm not sure I understand the theme. "Most popular downloads" according to something or another. Like One Night In Paris, maybe, you could sing that somehow. "Tommy Lee Gave Me Diseases On A Yacht With His Mile-Long Penis, Parts I & II."

Everyone seems to agree that last night was Bizarro!Idol, with the judges praising what sucked (Danny) and dinging what didn't suck (Allison) and singers who are good being weird (Matt) with the only parts everyone is happy about being Kris and Adam. I keep going back and forth about whether its Anoop or Megan who'll go tonight.

I've been watching Dancing with the Stars this season because there are so many SYTYCD alums—Dmitry, Chelsie and Lacey—but I've been completely charmed by Gilles Marini, the naked neighbor from the Sex and the City movie. Lil' Kim is pretty awesome, too. I'm glad that Holly and the Woz went home, because neither of them were pleasing to watch. I find the whole hot-girl-who-can't-move to be baffling, but they do seem to get reality shows on E!—Kim Kardashian, Holly, Denise Richards who left last week. I guess they're so self-conscious about looking good that they just can't let go enough to actually look good dancing, or something. Loving Shawn Johnson and Melissa from the bachelor (very good move!) as well.

But more importantly, why didn't anyone tell me that judge Bruno Tonioli is the leather-thonged dancer in Elton's I'm Still Standing video? While I could see the gayness for a country mile, just the fact that there was an objectified scantily clad boy in a music video had a big impact on my adolescent self. (I'd embed, but it's disabled—and MTV won't offer the video to "viewers in my region." I'm not sure why that video and not so many others, but whatever; UMG sucks.)

Castle continues to be what I want from a television show. I'm mostly just excited to actually be excited about a new show; I haven't been in so long, probably the first season of HIMYM, or maybe the start of Studio 60 before it all went horribly wrong. I liked that they showed Castle's vulnerability this week, and his insistence that he's "a wiseass, not a jackass." Of course I adored his reaction when Beckett showed up to his reading in her hot dress, but even more I enjoyed his mother's reaction: "Oh, look at you!" The mystery was good, too—I thought it was the wife as soon as I saw her at the press conference announcing her candidacy.

I'm not sure how I'm feeling about United States of Tara. The acting is great and the scripts sparkle, but the plot is a little all over the place and I'm never sure where we really are or where we're headed. It's been renewed for a second season—the first season finale is this Sunday—and I definitely think I'll watch it, but I don't think it's definitely a big winner that I have a lot to say about. On the must watch list for me, but I don't think at the top of the recommendation list for others.

Last but absolutely not least: CBS cancelled Guiding Light. GL was the longest running scripted program on television, and when you add the radio show, had been running continuously since 1937. (And yes, the Bauers were at the center of it from the start.) GL was my soap as a teen, and even now I can see five seconds of it and recognize most of the characters. Sad, sad news, especially for New York theater actors who will have one less way to make the rent.

Comments

[likebunnies.livejournal.com]

This is the first time I've watched Dancing with the Stars in a few seasons and I have no clue why, but I've always had this notion that pretty girls can dance. They all seemed to be the cheerleaders or dance squad girls at my high school ages ago so I guess that's where I got that idea from. I'm also watching for Ty Murray. My guilty pleasure is watching professional bull riding so I have to offer my support to the cowboy.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I really love how Ty is improving every week—he's so cute with Chelsie and she's so good at moving him along in rehearsal.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm sad about Guiding Light. That's the soap my mom follows, and although I haven't kept regular track of it in eons, I still had a sentimental attachment to the concept, and some of the long-running characters. That's too bad....

[jlh.livejournal.com]

yeah, same with me, and I'm totally watching that final episode and probably crying buckets of tears!

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I have to say I'm sad about GL. I started watching it when I was maybe 9 years old, probably when I had to stay home after having my appendix out. I watched it while I grew up, basically ever time I was home sick. Lost the thread for a few years but picked it up again. Kept watching it until 1996, when my DD was about 6 weeks old; I finally decided to break my addiction to soaps, which included GL, As The World Turns and The Bold & The Beautiful (yeah, only CBS soaps for me). I haven't watched it since then but I still remember a lot of the characters fondly.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I watched ATWT and GL from kid times through college, and then was mostly out. But I love how so many people are saying their mom watched it—same with me!

[longtimegone]

I was really sad to hear about GL. Mom was a Days girl, and thus I watched with her, and I haven't watched soaps in YEARS, but her other two soaps were As The World Turns and Guiding Light.

I LOVE CASTLE! His relationship with his daughter is my favorite thing about the show. <3333333

[jlh.livejournal.com]

It's like, he's this kind of asshole guy, and yet he's surrounded by all these women. His daughter is awesome—I love how she wanted to listen to Beckett giving him a hard time about naming the character.

[longtimegone]

yes! And his relationship with her is just...very warm and respectful and loving. It's so great!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

OMG, they cancelled GL? That's...wow. Talk about the end of something. Wow.

I thought of you for some reason with that line on Castle--it was great. "I'm a smart ass, not a jackass."

I swear the only time I was really happy about UST was when Marshall kissed the boy he likes. But now I don't know where that's going. They already had Justin on Ugly Betty make a friend who then dumped him for being a bit flaming, and that guy on Tara really did seem gay. I wasn't sure what to make of his sister's claim that he was experimenting to get some "edge." Because I really don't think that kind of kid sees gay as "edgy."

[jlh.livejournal.com]

No, I think she sort of backed down from the edgy and was just saying that to be pissy, or insulting of the guy. But what she said after that was more true, that he might fuck Marshall, but he was going to marry a woman, and he'd never be able to really love Marshall the way Marshall loved him.

I didn't realize that the actor is one of Joey Lawrence's brothers! Val pointed it out to me and I was like, my goodness how could I not see that!

But yes, the kiss was my favorite moment on Tara, that and when her sister goes over to Patton Oswalt's house after the whole I-hate-my-breasts thing.

[darth-kittius.livejournal.com]

My grandma listened to Guiding Light on the radio and then watched it every day it was on tv until she had Alzheimers so bad she didn't remember to watch it... I never got into it, but I'm sad that it's not going to be continuing!

[jlh.livejournal.com]

My mimi and then my mother watched it, and I'm definitely watching that last episode and then crying buckets I'm sure!

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

OMG Guiding Light. I watched that in the 80s and early 90s. My mom watched it and got me into it, after I left the Luke & Laura General Hospital crap. She'd been watching it forever, but probably stopped keeping up when she got a job.

Oh man.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

I love how people are talking about how their mom and grandmother watched it—same with me!

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

GL was my grandmother's "story" and she died 20 years ago this week, so that's an odd personal coincidence for me. i watched it on and off over the years. it just seems wrong for it to end after so long.

ok, the "i'm still standing" thing is wonderful. 80s elton is mostly snooze elton for me but i love that song.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

"I'm Still Standing" is definitely a light in the darkness of all that crap he was churning out in the 80s when he was "bi" and omg so high all the damn time. I mean, "Nikita"? No. Though I do like "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That"—the first verse is brilliant. I know people like "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" but I never cared much about that song, or "Sad Songs Say So Much."

I can't believe that they're dumping GL rather than ATWT; that seems odd to me.

[lillijulianne.livejournal.com]

eek, i watch ATWT much more regularly so i don't want it dumped either! plus,.nuke, oh my god. i would guess it gets better ratings around here at least, because they didn't banish it to mornings the way they did GL.

i do love "i guess that's why they call it the blues," but not
"sad songs" or "nikita" or the rest of those snores.. IDWGOWYLT (he must have been high, such long song titles) has the virtue of being bouncy.

[jlh.livejournal.com]

Prolix titles are so 70s, it's true. Or late sixties. Effects of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds, that sort of thing.

Anyway, IDWGOWYLT is really all Bernie for me:

I've always said that one's enough to love
Now I hear you're bragging one is not enough
Something tells me you're not satisfied
You got plans to make me one of four or five

I guess this kind of thing's just in your blood
But you won't catch me carving up my love
I ain't no puzzle piece that needs to fit
If it takes more than me let's call it quits

I mean, that's just great writing right there, and then Elton took the whole thing and syncopated it, and it's pretty brilliant. Video's highly silly though.

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues is in there with Billie Jean and a few other songs as "songs I know are great songs, that other people love, that I can appreciate but am not emotionally connected to." That video, though, is super cute.

Nuke? You do know that GL has some in-their-40s lesbian couple, right?