Don't Hate "The Player", Hate the Game

     As I predicted in September, NBC's The Player has been cancelled, which once again means Must-See TV has fallen by the wayside at the peacock network. I didn't follow the show after episode 1, but I think a big part of their downfall was showing on Thursday nights opposite ABC's "Shonda Thursdays," specifically the gut-wrenching, heart pounding triumph, How to Get Away With Murder.  I did see Alex Kane as a sympathetic character, after all, he did just rekindle his relationship with his sobering ex-wife Ginny, only to have her murdered hours later. On top of all that, he was considered as a suspect in the murder, and playing "the game" was his only hope to get himself cleared and kind out what really happened to Ginny.  But the show had a lot of action packed into each scene and some very layered conceits set up, so it was not helped by things like Thursday night football or an earlier lead in of Heroes:Reborn and James Spader's retirement fund, The Blacklist. In a eperate post, I have to explore how this show is still on air because I'm pretty baffled. The show's 9 episodes ended with several twists and many questions, which can be found here.

Samantha Mumba Lives!

     My friend and I recently pondered what became of 2000's two-hit wonder, Samantha Mumba. She brought us the Now compilation classic hits like Baby, Come on Over and Gotta Tell You, and then disappeared. Good news! She recently had a baby this spring, and she is singing again!

     Samantha performed at an anniversary opening of  large shopping mall/marketplace in Orlando, and she wasn't alone. The Artegon Marketplace event was hosted by Joey Fatone (or as my family calls him, Joey fat one, from a long-ago N*SYNC video joke) and Aaron Carter was also there! All is well with the old 90's crew!

2016 AMA Post-Performance Recap

     There were many great (Luke Bryan and  Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild trading verses) and many odd (Megan Trainor and Charlie Puth trading saliva) performances at this year's American Music Awards, and no, I'm not talking about Jennie Garth's odd "I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I'm such a nerd and I'm married to a musician" act.

    No,  I'm also not talking about Jennifer Lopez's nostalgic dance through the songs of 2016, or Celine Dion's gorgeous tribute to France, or the Pentatonix giving a vocal tribute to Star Wars.

     Somewhere in between all of that was the true standout performance of Alanis Morissette and Demi Lovato singing Alanis M's 1995 angsty girl hit, You Oughta Know. I'm very convinced (mostly by Dave Coulier from Full House) that song is about him. As we now know Carly Simon's You're So Vain is about Warren Beatty, it's only a matter of time before this mystery is unraveled).

     The reason this performance was so bizzare it led me to ask, did they know they were singing the same song? Alanis started singing onstage alone, looking great 20 years later. Then Demi answered after a little while, and they continued to cross the stage, passing each other, never acknowledging that the other one was onstage, making eye contact or singing the song with each other. See below.

Book Club: Let's Get Chatty With Mindy K

     I'm starting a book club with some dear friends and I can't wait! We're reading Mindy Kaling's second book Why Not Me? I can't wait to dive in! This book is a follow-up to Kaling's first book, 2012's Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me (And Other Concerns).

The creator of Hulu's successful The Mindy Project finds a way to bring her everyday Hollywood problems and childhood traumas to the audience with humility and grace.

Britney Comes Back to TV, a JTV Special

     In Monday night's Jane the Virgin, the show had a special guest star, none other than Britney. I began this episode being super excited to see the Brit, but I was quickly let down and disappointed.

     Appearances like this  used to be a pretty big deal back in the day, but somehow it made me feel kind of sad. The show opened with Jane taking her baby to the Maribela hotel to stalk Britney, then they got together and did a creepy dreamed-up imaginary dance sequence to one of Britney's much weaker hits, Toxic.

     Something seemed off about Britney in a way I cannot explain, like she might have been forced to do this as a favor to someone, or it was a blackmail scenario? We're way past the days of "eave Britney alone", but I have to wonder, who is she? Could is just be weird for her to act in something that's not the Mickey Mouse Club? Having seen Crossroads (never the full movie, just bits and pieces), we know she is not he best at holding down a feature presentation.

     This led to a much weirder plot where Britney had been invited to Miami to perform at a highly important wedding ceremony. Who's wedding, you may ask? Crazy Petra is blackmailed into marrying a crazy explosives salesman, Miloche.

     The episode got  downright hilarious when Jane's telenovela star dad Rohelio De La Vega (always use his full name) admits to having a feud with Britney over a Latin Grammy Awards presentation. A very serious twitter feud with some "Mean Girls-esque" banter. I did at least laugh at Britney and her dancers began walking around the hotel in one large synchronized group. Is Brit really that desperate for exposure, or am I just not in the joke?

     My favorite Britney tv appearance is when she showed up on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, teaching Sabs some dance moves in Paris. It was also kinda a weird situation,  but it worked because she really seemed like herself, just a teen pop star dancing around with a fan, and not a glambot. Alas, it was during the Drive Me Crazy phase of 199, so maybe Britney was just more of an authentic gal back then.

The Situation is a Little More Nuanced than That, or Settle for CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND

I saw an early teaser of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, one of CW's few non vampire/witch/superhero shows on the CW, before the season started. My mom immediately looked at me and asked why we were watching a musical series that wasn't even about music (re: Glee, Smash).

Still, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and tuned in for the next few episodes and...

PAUSES FOR EMPHATIC DRUMROLL....

     Josh just happens to live here! This is real estate lawyer turned crazy lady Rebecca Bunch's (Rachel Bloom's) favorite justification for moving from New York to West Covina, California because a butter commercial made her take a way too real life re-assessment.This is also the title of the first episode.

     In case you can't tell, I am into this show. The show is certainly quirky, and promises at least three musical numbers per episode thus far, and I'm betting everyone in the cast will sing at some point, including Rebecca's oddball boss, Darryl Whitefeather. 

     The story in a nutshell, plants miserable Rebecca in California after following chill surfer dude Josh Chang, a guy she dated in summer camp, back from New York to California, which is commonly known as a "Flipped Felicity". (I am trademarking this term).  She arrives in West Covnia, breezes into a law firm and gets hired at a moment's notice, since she went to Harvard and loves to remind people it's not such a big deal, and sets to work the 9-5 of getting herself into Josh's life. One of many ways she gets to worm closer to Josh is the three or so accidental dates she goes on with Josh's bartender friend, Greg, who is played by Broadway legend-in-the-making Santino Fontana (he did the voice of the prince in Frozen). After meeting Greg and hearing Josh will be at a party, Rebecca gets ready (singing the "Sexy Getting Ready Song, a true ear-worm) and shows up to the party all over Greg to make Josh jealous. As luck would have it, Josh never shows, and here begins the love triangle. Rebecca befriends many people including her psych major neighbor Heather, pep-talking paralegal Paula, and even meets Josh's yoga teacher girlfriend, Valencia. 

Wait, Josh has a girlfriend?

 Yes, that was a surprise to Rebecca too. In the course of a few short days,  (Episode: Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool!)  she meets Valencia, befriends Valencia to set her at ease, gets Valencia a deal on a new space for her yoga studio, and makes out with her at a club, which alienates Valencia, Josh and Greg. Rebecca follows up with trying to show Valencia she's not a threat to Josh (Episode: I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!) by throwing a "casual"  house party with her paltry gathering of friends, greatly overcoming her fear of house parties that began the day her dad walked out on her mom at her birthday party. As bad as Rebecca treats Paula, she comes through and helps throw the best house party and gives Rebecca the peace to get over her parent's divorce. 

     In this week's episode (I'm Going on a Date With Josh's Friend!), Greg reluctantly asks Rebecca out to a taco festival (after an elaborate ballroom dance and tap number in black and white) and Rebecca accepts. Rebecca recently chose to become a vegan, as a drastic kickback from dating inappropriate mean and making unhealthy decisions. Things go great until Rebecca sabotages the date, running off with briskets and an unwashed vegan cook, leaving Greg and the viewers disappointed and once again confused- doesn't Rebecca really like Josh? Doesn't she seem like she is really a better fit with Greg? Rebecca apologizes to Greg after he finds the vegan dude leaving her house, but it may be the third strike for the more-than-perfect-if-they-could-get-out-of-their-own-way pair. 

     In a side story, Rebecca helps Josh with a job application for a Hawaiian themed electronics store (wow, super retro) and he looks over-qualified for the job. When Josh is forced to work in his dad's radiology lab instead, Rebecca storms into the Aloha Tech Center and demands that some Harvard book smarts and average smarts like Josh's, should not  preclude someone from selling computer games.