Idol-Talk: Season 10 Auditions - Nashville

American Idol 10: Nashville Auditions
Air Date: Thursday, January 27, 2011 [8-9pm]

Audition City: Nashville, TN

The hour starts off with Darius Thomas giving a terrible audition; some sort of long drawn-out screech.

This audition stop in the country music capital of the world, Nashville, TN, was held at the historic Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry.

My Favorites/Best of the Night:

• Lauren Alaina - "Like We Never Loved At All" (15-years-old)
• Her cousin, Holly, had a brain tumor; she is in the room when Lauren sings.
• After receiving three yeses, the judges invite her family in. Lauren sings Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" with Steven joining in.

These auditioners won't last long in the competition:

• Jackie Wilson - Aretha Franklin song
• Chelsee Oaks & Rob Bolin
• This duo are exes. They first perform together, then individually. Neither one is particular that good. I'm not sure about Chelsee, but Rob won't be around much longer.

Not deserving of a Golden Ticket, but a judge caves yet again:

• Stormi Henley - "Father Can You Hear Me"
• She was Miss Teen Nashville or something like that. Her voice is not strong enough. After Steven Tyler votes yes, Jennifer Lopez does the right thing and votes no. It seemed at first that Randy Jackson didn't prefer her. But when he became the deciding vote, he caved in and sent her to Hollywood.

I didn't hear them say how many were sent to Hollywood; does anyone know?

About three or four times, Randy really stepped up his game and bluntly told the truth, Simon-style. Steven and Jennifer kind of got on his case about being him being too harsh.

Next Wednesday (I want to type Tuesday, because I'm still getting used to the show being on a Wed/Thu schedule now), American Idol makes a stop in Austin, TX (8-9pm). See ya then...

In Defense of Skins: An Open Letter to the Parents Television Council (& Other Critics)

To Tim Winter, President of the Parents Television Council (PTC), and other critics:

On January 25, 2007, a brand-new show called Skins from the minds of father/son duo Brian Elsley and Jamie Brittain, debuted on E4 in the U.K., receiving positive reviews and high ratings. Right from that first episode, and continuing to today, this series has depicted the lives of a group of teenagers and all the outlandish, crazy situations that arise from their lives. The term 'Sex, Drugs & Rock N' Roll' times ten at first may seem like the perfect term to attach to this show. But attaching that phrase here shows that one has not actually watched the series (or rather, more than a few clips, trailers or promos). We need to dig deeper here, because the sex, drugs and rock n' roll is only the surface layer. Just take a moment and peel back the layers to look at the heart of the show. Skins is a much deeper show than the PTC and other critics have tried to make it out to be. The heart of this show is the characters themselves, because having strong and fully-developed characters are key to the success of a fictional story. We see their ups and downs, the emotions, the inner-truths, lies, deceit, hurt. Fans of the show, including myself, have become attached to Skins because of this. It truly is raw and revealing.

Five years later, Skins is still going strong in the U.K. And the creators now have developed and adapted the show for American audiences on MTV, which debuted on January 17, 2011. Immediately after that first episode aired, the Parents Television Council blasted the show as the most dangerous television show ever. "The episode included all manner of foul language, illegal drug use, illegal activity as well as thoroughly pervasive sexual content. Moreover, future episodes promise much more of the same," PTC President Tim Winter wrote. "It is clear that [MTV's parent company] Viacom has knowingly produced material that may well be in violation of [several child pornography laws]" (TV Guide). MTV is basic cable, which viewers have more access to than such pay cable networks as HBO or Showtime; if Skins had aired on any of the latter stations, would the PTC still have filed their complaints, for channels like HBO can get away with lot more than on a spot like MTV? Regardless, I can't honestly say if MTV is violating child pornography laws (though even that claim is a little ridiculous), but I can address the general criticisms of the show.

I would now like to briefly address the advertisers who pulled their sponsorship from the show, Taco Bell, GM, Subway and H&R Block, among others. I find it laughable that you would choose to pull your ads only after the PTC went after it. The original U.K. Skins was already known as a raunchy show. You decide to attach yourself as advertisers of the program, when that fact was completely and obviously well-known, and somehow feel taken aback once the show actually airs. That is just plain ridiculous. Wrigley says that "it was never our intent to endorse content that could offend consumers" (HR). Really? You're saying that after partnering with a network that is known to air controversial, crude, and inappropriate material (see: Jersey Shore), as well as other ridiculous and disturbing shows (like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant). You have to look at the network; you should not be taken aback that MTV is airing a show like Skins. Plus, Skins is a FICTIONAL show, unlike Jersey Shore (a REALITY show) where brainless airheads get together to drink, fight, have sex, and go on TV just for money and fame; now that's inappropriate! And don't get me started on The Hills. There's a difference between reality (or "reality," for those who believe not everything is impromptu) and fiction. Speaking of Jersey Shore, I don't even see that show listed on the PTC website; what's up with that?

The Parents Television Council, right at the top of their website claims that they are "A non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment." TV Watch Online is not a political website at all, so I won't dwell on the politics too long here, but the PTC is anything but non-partisan. It is a very conservative group who just don't get it. And Skins obviously isn't the only program this organization has gone after.

One such show they have criticized is one that T.W.O. covers on the main site: Glee. Glee has been criticized not only by the PTC but by other voices as well for sexually explicit scenes, showing two teenage girls making out, among other examples. You even compared Glee's GQ photo shoot to pedophilia. How outrageous of a claim. Since we're on the topic of singing: Adam Lambert. After his performance at the 2009 American Music Awards in which he kissed another male on stage, simulated oral sex, and walked dancers across the stage with chains. You called it "vulgar." If he had kissed a woman, I doubt you would have had a problem with it. Female performers, for the most part, have gotten away with being more sexually explicit on stage, but it's not okay when a male singer does it? Lambert's performance aired at almost 11pm; children should not even be up at that time anyways.

But back to Skins. I want to make something very clear. I would never condone the things happening on this show--the underage sex, drug use, etc-- if this was real life. I'm in my early 20's and in college, and I would never think to imitate what these fictional characters are doing. If we saw all of this happening on a reality show, I would be strictly against it, no matter if they were teens or adults.

And by the way, our American version of the show is a whole lot tamer and toned down than the original, British version. When Skins UK started airing on BBC America, where were you, PTC? Even in an edited form, the UK show has a lot more nudity, sex and explicit language than ours. Even if you did respond to BBC America airing the show, it most definitely was not to the outrageous level that you are dishing out with the tamer U.S. show.

Before I finish, I would like to briefly talk to MTV and the people behind Skins. Two episodes have aired so far. And in each, I have noticed some swear words were bleeped. If you knew words like those wouldn't be allowed on TV, why did you even put then in the script in the first place? Unless you're going to release an uncensored version of the DVD (if one should come out), I want to either see no censorship at all or leaving it out in the first place.

After the premiere aired and the PTC came after you, you (MTV) were backed up against a wall and didn't defend your own network or show. If you truly believe in this show, you need to step up and put yourself back on the offense instead of playing defense. You knew this show would create controversy, so back up your decisions with reasoning. I think the PTC should read show creator Brian Elsley's statement he made after the premiere aired.

In this war between the PTC and MTV, the Parents Television Council is winning right now. And you wanna know why? Because they are being louder, whereas MTV is whimpering. Look at politics, especially the political climate of the past year or so. The winning party was victorious because they were louder. Being louder means you will be heard in the media. And if you have the attention of the media, those who agree with you will come out in full force to support you. And when you are louder, have everyone's attention, and gain some support resulting from that, it puts you on the offense. Being on offense equals power. And the PTC has the power right now.

It's very unfortunate that it ended up the way it did, because the PTC, in theory, is a very irrelevant organization. Tim Winter (PTC President) - let parents and their families make their own decisions and don't butt into people's lives, telling us what we should think or do.

Sincerely,

Jeff D.
Webmaster, TV Watch Online

---

Related Links:
Creator Bryan Elsley's Statement
Actor Sofia Black D'Elia Responds to Controversy

Webmaster Note: TV Watch Online will continue its coverage of Skins and the controversy, posting article links in the TV/Movie/Entertainment News section on the home page.

Idol-Talk: Season 10 Auditions - Milwaukee

American Idol 10: Milwaukee Auditions
Airdate: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 [8-10pm]

Audition: Milwaukee, WI

Now that we've got Premiere Week behind us and now in the midst of Week 2, I'm thinking this week's Idol-Talk entries will be shorter than last week.

The episode starts off with 'October 2, 2010, 8:45am' on the screen, followed by a clip of Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson singing together. Next, we see season 8 second runner-up Danny Gokey at the Cattle Call audition stop in Milwaukee, WI.

My Favorites:

• Scott Dangerfield - "Dreamin'" (student teacher)
• Thia Megia - Adele's "Chasing Pavements" (15-years-old)
• When I heard her name, I kept having this nagging feeling that I've heard that name before. I found out today that she was on America's Got Talent. I think I might have to look back on my AGT Commentary and see what I thought of her back then.
• Hayley Reinhart - "Oh Darlin" (she tried out last year)
• Naima Adedapo - Donny Hathaway's "For All We Know" (she works at Summerfest)

Good/Average:

• Chris Medina - The Script's "Breakeven"
• His fiance got into an accident, sustaining a traumatic brain injury
• Scotty McCreery - Josh Turner's "Your Man" and a Travis Tritt song (very deep, country voice)
• Steven had to be bleeped, saying something about "suck a duck" - best line of the night)
• Molly DeWolf Swenson - "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay"
• She's a White House intern from Seattle (in my home state)
• Earlier in the day, she got punched by Randy when he was high-fiving everyone

Average:

• Jerome Bell - "Let's Get It On" (he sings at bar Mitzvahs and weddings)
• Tiwan Strong
• Afterwards when he was celebrating with his family, one family member got a charlie horse; Ryan tried to help her while everyone else was celebrating Tiwan's victory, oblivious to what she was going through.

Shouldn't have received a ticket, but the judges caved in:

• Emma Henry - "True Colors" (15-years-old; a little rasp in her voice; she recently received her learner's permit and drove her family to the audition)
• Randy says "you'll get swallowed up in this competition," but caves in and voted her in)
• Alyson Jaydos - "Come Together" and "Dream On"
• Steven Tyler is her Idol.
• Steven: "You look like you could be one of my--," not finishing the sentence. What comes out of his mouth keeps getting more and more hilarious.
• Steven said it was very pitchy, but caved in and said yes only because she was a fan of his.

Misc. Notes:

I can tell that Jennifer Lopez is having an easier time saying no, often times being the first of the three to say no. And she is definitely becoming the head judge.

I found only one instance when Randy was Simon-like: "I thought it was terrible and a joke."

At one point during the episode, a clip was shown from the holding room where some guy does blackflips and ends up landing on a cameraman on his back holding a camera.

Every 15-year-old auditioner who came in received a ticket to Hollywood on Day 1 (I'm not sure about Day 2).

I'm not sure if I heard correctly, but I thought I heard Ryan Seacrest say that 53 singers advanced to Hollywood.

Tonight, we're back to a one-hour episode from 8-9pm with a stop in Nashville; in fact, there will only be one-hour episodes from here on out for the rest of the audition process. See ya then...

New T.W.O. Page Devoted to The Hunger Games!

This week, the release date was announced for the upcoming film adaptation of the first book in the hugely popular young-adult series, The Hunger Games: March 23, 2012! That's just over a year from now; how exciting is that! If you have listened to the T.W.O. Show podcast, you may know that I gave a spoiler-free review of the final book, Mockingjay, back in September (Episode 18) and mentioned that I am a huge fan of this series. After reading the first book, I felt like I was reading the best book I've read since Harry Potter.

With each big news item that has come out regarding the movie version (script, director, etc), I have become more and more excited to see this on the big screen, because I believe that this story was made to be seen on the big screen. And now what may be the biggest news item to date: the release date!

I had a poll on the main page of T.W.O. asking visitors if they thought I should have a page devoted to The Hunger Games; nobody voted against the idea. I got to a point where it wasn't a matter of if, but a matter of when. And when the release date was announced, I thought this would be the perfect time to unveil it, because now, from this point on, each announcement will be upping the anticipation level even more, mainly with the casting (which we should hopefully hear about pretty soon).

Yesterday, I debuted T.W.O.'s brand-new page devoted to The Hunger Games. It is set up exactly like the other movie franchise pages (Harry Potter, Narnia, Twilight, Hobbit): logo, news article links, about the movie, poll, product links, and cover/poster images.

And The Hunger Games also now has its own page in the T.W.O. STORE.

Every time I add a new movie franchise, it may seem to you that I just put the new one below the one that came before that on the navigation bar, but there's a reasoning behind it. It all has to do with when the first movie in the franchise premiered. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005, Twilight in 2008. Since The Hunger Games will be coming out in early 2012, and The Hobbit will not arrive until December of that year, that is the reason why HG is above Hobbit on the navigation bar (the same order applies in the STORE).

Any related news articles before yesterday that had previously appeared in the TV/Movie/Entertainment News section on the home page has been copied over to the new film page, for convenience.

I am really looking forward to seeing the progression of filming with this movie, seeing any and all trailers, the film itself, and hopefully (fingers crossed!) two more movies as well.

Idol-Talk: Season 10 Auditions - New Orleans

American Idol 10: New Orleans Auditions
Airdate: Thursday, January 20, 2011 [8-9pm]

Audition: New Orleans

After a two-hour opener Wednesday night, Thursday brings us a shorter episode, only one hour. The episode begins with auditioner Blake Patterson, on October 17 as the text on the screen tells us, playing the piano and singing. The text tells us he won't be going to Hollywood. It looks like Blake hasn't taken the news very well.

We see the judges arriving in New Orleans, and Steven Tyler has a little hat on his head, and makes a comment about things that are small that has to be bleeped. :)

In the premiere, it was all about getting used to the new judges. Now that's behind us, and this second episode seemed just like any other audition round from any season. I mentioned this yesterday, but am I a terrible person if I have been watching all three hours this week without really thinking about Simon at all? I'm sure I'll miss him at some point, but I'm loving the new judges too much at this point to think about the past.

The below list of auditioners will work pretty much the same as yesterday, starting out with my favorites and working down to other singers who may not be as good, but I still want to keep an eye out for them in the future, if they should improve and stay in.

My Favorite of the Night:

• Sarah Sellers (Steven Tyler-like lips)

The two names below may not be at the very top of my list, but they have the potential to do well on the show; I'll be keeping an eye out for them in future rounds:

• Brett Loewenstern - "Bohemian Rhapsody" (picked on in school; he kind of looks like Kenny G to me)
• Jacee Badeaux - "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay" (15-years-old; they were pimping him throughout the episode as one to look out for)

Average/Good:

• Jordan Dorsey - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (piano teacher)
• Jovany Barreto (Latin singer)
• Jennifer Lopez is Jovany's Idol and couldn't wait to meet her. At the end of the audition, he took off his shirt, and Steven and Randy Jackson joined in with them, pulling up their shirts some. Jennifer was shocked at what was happening right in front of her.
• Jacquelyn Dupree - "I Stand By You"
• Her father was Randy's football coach back in the day; she brought photos of Randy from high school
• Paris Tassin - Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home"
• Paris got pregnant at 18. She found out that her unborn baby had what I believe is water on the brain. She decided to keep the baby, who now has to have hearing aids. Jennifer was in tears while Paris sang.
• After the auditions were over with (Paris was the final singer) and Jennifer was about to leave, she went over to Paris in the hallway, met her child, and gave her a hug. While still being honest, we can really see how Jennifer is going to be the compassionate judge this year.

Bad:

• Alex Attardo - "Proud Mary"
• Alex went to Idol Camp three years ago and says it was an eye-opening experience that really helped him; if only he knew how untrue that was. Randy said that maybe they should stop the camp (um, Randy, I don't think it's been around for quite a while now), and bluntly stated that "It was terrible." After now having seen three hours of season 10 so far, this has been the only time Randy has been as harsh as Simon and as straightforward as he said he was going to be. Yesterday, I complained that we didn't see any of that; maybe I have to hold my tongue. But we've only been through one week; there's still plenty of time left to see if he will be more Simon-like.

Of the two episodes that have aired so far, my favorites are Devyn Rush (New Jersey) and Sarah Sellers, with Brett Loewenstern and Jacee Badeaux as ones to keep an eye on as well.

37 auditioners advanced to Hollywood.

If you have ever read my Idol-Talk commentary in previous seasons, you will know that my biggest pet peeve with American Idol is the countless times the show runs past its scheduled end time. We're only on the second episode, and it runs over by a minute (9:01pm). As I've done before, I will continue to mark down when this happens and add it up at the end of the season; last year went over about 40 minutes or so over the course of season 9.

Next Wednesday, American Idol's back with another two-hour episode from 8-10pm with auditions from Milwaukee, WI. See ya then...

Idol-Talk: Season 10 Premiere!

American Idol 10: Premiere!
Airdate: Wednesday, January 19, 2010 [8-10pm]

Audition: New Jersey

After coming off of a lackluster season last spring, we said goodbye to Simon Cowell. Who would have thought that during the summer that followed, both Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres would say goodbye as well, creating a media frenzy about the reasons for their departures, and how the show would replace the three of them.

During the opening minutes of the two-hour season 10 premiere of American Idol last night, we were shown a montage of clips featuring that media frenzy. I don't think Kara or Ellen (or even Simon, I don't think) were mentioned by name at all, but we obviously already knew the backstory.

Then the video montage moved into some of the names that popped up as possible replacements. Finally, they showed footage from the announcement event held in Los Angeles, where host Ryan Seacrest introduced the new panel: Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, pop/Latin singer Jennifer Lopez, and returning judge, Randy Jackson.

The winner will be signed to Interscope Records, with the help of big-time music producer and new Idol in-house mentor, Jimmy Iovine. I've been mispronouncing his name this whole time; it sounds like the 'o' silent and it is pronounced like "Eye-veen," or did I hear it wrong? But no matter, I'm looking forward to seeing how Idol incorporates him into the show as the mentor.

The opening title sequence is different than we've seen before, though the theme song remains the same (but I thought I heard a slight alteration at the start of the song). The past three or four or so seasons, the intro has shown all of the Idol winners. This time around, it not only shows the winners but other former finalists as well; it seemed to me that they wanted to feature some of the successful singers to come from the show, such as Adam Lambert and Jennifer Hudson. Since the producers are hoping that the show can regain that success story of finding a star, I guess I'm not surprised they did this.

After this inital introduction to all the changes, we come back from break at about 15 minutes in and see the start of the first audition stop in New Jersey. Season four finalist Constantine introduces Ryan at the cattle call audition.

And then the auditions in front of Steven, Jennifer and Randy began. Besides the new judges, this first audition round seemed just like all the past audition episodes in previous seasons. And I kind of hate to admit this, but I didn't really think about Simon at all during the episode; maybe I was too focused on getting to know the judges and seeing what their roles would be on the show.

When Steven and Jennifer were first announced as the new judges, I didn't mind the choice of Jennifer at all. I felt she might be the kind one in the group while still providing some constructive feedback. But with Steven, I had other feelings. Even though I have heard some Aerosmith songs, I did not know who Steven Tyler was at all. And I started reading about his previous (or still ongoing, who knows) drug abuse, as recent as six months before the announcement. From that time on, I have been very wary about him. But the past few weeks or so has changed my mind. We started hearing about his personality. And when promos came out showing what the judges were like and after seeing him appear on talk shows, I started taking a liking to him. It seemed from those promos and appearances that he would bring his outrageous and wacky nature to the show, while still providing quality feedback to the singers based on his 40+ years in the music business.

So, the premiere begins, and we're off! Steven seems to love interacting with the singers, being wacky as mentioned, finding some of the female ones attractive, and giving great feedback and advice. Jennifer started out having a very hard time saying "no." But she soon toughened up and showed us that she can not only be kind but honest as well. And Randy...well, Randy was a little pointless if you ask me. Over the years, Randy has become more of a background judge, not standing out when giving comments, and just saying "yo, dawg" all the time. In the premiere episode, I don't think I heard him say "dawg," but he didn't really bring anything to the table. Maybe that was due to editing, but I saw him no different than he's ever been. In interviews, he's been saying that he's more assertive; I understand we still have a lot more audition stops left, but if the premiere was anything to go by, we shouldn't hope for a change in him. The judges can be perceived a certain way in the auditions because of editing, but the true test will be the live shows, where they don't have editing to showcase their strengths (that was, unfortunately, Ellen DeGeneres' downfall last year).

The way I organize Idol-Talk during the audition rounds is different than other recap articles you may read elsewhere online, where they bring up most if not all of the featured auditioners. During the show, I write down contestants that stood out to me and mark which ones were my favorites and that may have a shot to go far. Unfortunately, I only saw maybe one (or two) that I could see lasting. Next to the name, I put some notes down so I can remember who they are (such as song title and/or their sob story, etc).

Great:

• *Devyn Rush - "God Bless the Child" (singing waitress)

Good:

• Robbie Rosen - The Beatles' "Yesterday" (as a child, he was in a wheelchair)
• Kenzie Palmer - Carrie Underwood's "We're Young and Beautiful"

Good to Average:

• Briell Von Hugel - "Endless Love" (dad: cancer-free)
• Victoria Huggins - (higher-pitched southern accent; happy personality)
• Ashley Sullivan - "Gimme Gimme" (Britney lover)
• I initially had Ashley on my list, but crossed her out when she started begging to be sent through to Hollywood.
• Melinda Ademi - (sounded just like original; Kosovo: dad was war refugee)

Bad:

• Michael Perotto - "Proud Mary"
• Steven: "Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?"
• Yogi "Pop" Asano - Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." (from Japan, MJ imitator)

51 auditioners make it through to Hollywood.

Devyn Rush and Robbie Rosen were, I believe, the two best singers of the night, with Devyn being the best. I also wrote down two bad singers because I wanted to mention them briefly for notable reasons. I want to bring up Michael Perotto, who sang "Proud Mary," because of what Steven Tyler said to him: "Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a child?" That was by far the best line of the night. In interviews, Steven has brought up that line a few times. If that line is anything to go by, then Steven is going to be hilarious on the show, and should bring the wacky that we had with Paula. The other bad singer I wrote down was Yogi "Pop" Asano. I mention him because the producers seemed to feature him in a way as to have a successor to William Hung (or even General Larry "Pants on the Ground" Platts). I don't think that will happen, but don't put it past the producers to bring him back for the finale.

The season 10 premiere is behind us now, and we have about 17 more weeks ahead of us.

Tonight, the American Idol season 10 premiere week continues with a one-hour episode at 8pm featuring the auditions from New Orleans, Louisiana. Should be fun; I'm looking forward to more of Steven Tyler! See ya then...

Golden Globes: My Predictions vs. Winners

Last night NBC aired the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards. With the three main award shows (Emmys, Golden Globes, and Oscars), I always make predictions. And more often than not, I get about 50% or less right. But, I lucked out big time last night when I only got four wrong, meaning I received an 84% this time around. If I'm not mistaken, that's the highest percentage I have ever had. Hopefully, this will set up some positive results for my Oscar predictions.

Below are the list of winners alongside my predictions:

MOTION PICTURES:
Best Picture Drama:
The Social Network
My Prediction:
The Social Network (+)

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy:
The Kids Are All Right
My Prediction:
The Kids Are All Right (+)

Best Actor - Drama:
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
My Prediction:
Colin Firth, The King's Speech (+)

Best Actress - Drama:
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
My Prediction:
Natalie Portman, Black Swan (+)

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy:
Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version
My Prediction:
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland (-)

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
My Prediction:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right (+)

Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale, The Fighter
My Prediction:
Christian Bale, The Fighter (+)

Best Supporting Actress:
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
My Prediction:
Melissa Leo, The Fighter (+)

Best Director:
David Fincher, The Social Network
My Prediction:
David Fincher, The Social Network (+)

Best Screenplay:
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin
My Prediction:
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin (+)

Best Original Song:
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me Yet," Burlesque
My Prediction:
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me Yet," Burlesque (+)

Best Original Score:
The Social Network, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
My Prediction:
The Social Network, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (+)

Best Foreign Language Film:
In a Better World
My Prediction:
Biutiful (-)

Best Animated Feature:
Toy Story 3
My Prediction:
Toy Story 3 (+)

TELEVISION:
Best TV Series - Drama:
Boardwalk Empire
My Prediction:
Boardwalk Empire (+)

Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy:
Glee
My Prediction:
Glee (+)

Best Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie:
Carlos
My Prediction:
Temple Grandin (-)

Best Actor - Drama:
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
My Prediction:
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire (+)

Best Actress - Drama:
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
My Prediction:
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (-)

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy:
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
My Prediction:
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (+)

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy:
Laura Linney, The Big C
My Prediction:
Laura Linney, The Big C (+)

Best Actor - Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie:
Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
My Prediction:
Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack (+)

Best Actress - Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie:
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin
My Prediction:
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin (+)

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie:
Chris Colfer, Glee
My Prediction:
Chris Colfer, Glee (+)

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, Made-for-TV Movie:
Jane Lynch, Glee
My Prediction:
Jane Lynch, Glee (+)

On the film side, I got 12 out of 14 correct, and on the TV side, I got 9 out of 11 correct; only two incorrect on each side, resulting in this unbelievable 84% correct. You can also view the list of nominees, winners, and my predictions on T.W.O.'s Golden Globes page.

Whenever I'm making my predictions, I always look at what people are saying online about these various TV shows, movies and actors, what awards they've received so far in the award season,  and compare them with my personal choices and then made my predictions. As I said the other day, my predictions are not necessarily for those who I personally want to see win (who should win), but rather who has the best shot at winning; sometimes, though, I make exceptions.

Now that the first major award show of 2011 is behind us, we can now look forward to the morning of January 25, when the nominations will be announced for the Academy Awards. Stay tuned to TV Watch Online for all the latest award season news, including finalists, nominees, winners, and much more.

T.W.O. Show #27: It's 2011!

The T.W.O. Show podcast is back for 2011 with episode #27. Here's a rundown of what I discuss in the episode:

*Changes have been made to the site, blog and podcast
*Award Nominations galore!
*Amazing Race: Season 18 will be an All-Stars edition
*Will Desperate Housewives be back next season?
*Celebrity Apprentice: New celebrities announced
*Glee
*American Idol: Format changes. I go on a mini-rant about the band. And Fantasia's court drama
*Survivor: Redemption Island, new castaways announced
*Grey's Anatomy
*Harry Potter: The latest Box Office numbers, JKR prevails!
*Narnia: The latest Box Office numbers
*Twilight: We know where Breaking Dawn will split the movies
*Hobbit: Casting announcements, LOTR cast members return!
*Golden Globes: T.W.O.'s Predictions
*My Recommendations...Or Not

To download this latest episode, click HERE to visit TV Watch Online's MediaFire download page, where you can also find every episode, including my interview with Mahsa from Episode #26.

T.W.O.: Golden Globes Predictions

Tomorrow are the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards, airing on NBC at 8pm ET/5pm PT. As usual, I have made my predictions on who will win in each of the 25 TV & Movie categories. Below are my predictions, and check out T.W.O.'s Golden Globes page for a list of all the nominees. So, without further ado, here are T.W.O.'s 2011 Golden Globe Awards predictions:

MOTION PICTURES:
Best Picture - Drama:
The Social Network

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy:
The Kids Are All Right

Best Actor - Drama:
Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Best Actress - Drama:
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy:
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale, The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress:
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Best Director:
David Fincher, The Social Network

Best Screenplay:
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

Best Original Song:
"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me Yet," Burlesque

Best Original Score:
The Social Network, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Best Foreign Language Film:
Biutiful

Best Animated Feature:
Toy Story 3

TELEVISION:
Best TV Series - Drama:
Boardwalk Empire

Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy:
Glee

Best Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie:
Temple Grandin

Best Actor - Drama:
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Best Actress - Drama:
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy:
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy:
Laura Linney, The Big C

Best Actor - Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie:
Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack

Best Actress - Miniseries or Made-for-TV Movie:
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie:
Chris Colfer, Glee

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, Made-for-TV Movie:
Jane Lynch, Glee

In episode 27 of the T.W.O. Show podcast, due out this weekend, I will run through my predictions and explain where any personal picks of mine differ from my actual predictions.

Welcome to the New T.W.O. BLOG!

Welcome to the new TV Watch Online BLOG! As I mentioned in Episode 26 of the TV Watch Online Show podcast, I would start out the new year by combining the two blogs (T.W.O. BLOG and Interviews Blog) into one main blog containing announcements, news, American Idol and America's Got Talent commentaries, and interviews. Since the Interviews Blog was not updated as often, there was no point in keeping it as its own blog. And I decided to host the main blog here on Blogger because I favor the format and tools available here over the Tripod one.

And also to celebrate the start of 2011, here are changes I have made to the main T.W.O. site:

• With how few Harry Potter book-related news articles there are nowadays, I have decided to combine the two Potter pages into one main HP page, set up in the same fashion as The Twilight Saga page (combining book and movie news). Link: Harry Potter
• The Heroes and Ugly Betty pages are no longer available to view, since those shows are not on the air anymore and there is no more news coming in regarding those shows; you can still view their respective Article Archives pages. (The Lost page may still be around for another month or so until we find out the results of any awards the show is nominated for).
• All the 'Remembering...' pages have been combined into one 'In Memoriam' page, remembering TV shows that have gone off the air; visit that page to find out how you can leave your comments on Kyle XY, Heroes, Ugly Betty, and Lost. Link: In Memoriam
• The order of TV shows on the navigation bar has been updated to reflect the schedule for midseason (The Apprentice has been moved near the top for its return to Sunday nights; American Idol moved down one spot for its move to Wednesdays/Thursdays).
• Finally, the 'About the Movie' section at the bottom of The Twilight Saga page has been updated for Breaking Dawn.

If you would like to become a guest contributor to this blog, feel free to e-mail me.

And if you haven't listened to my interview with The Apprentice contestant Mahsa, click HERE and download Episode 26 of the T.W.O. Show podcast for free.

Happy New Year to everyone!