Well, this'll be sort of a catch-all entry, as I'd like to give you (whoever the hell you are) my thoughts on Celebrity Apprentice, Project Runway and a couple other random items that have crossed my path in the last couple days.
Celebrity Apprentice--It's hard to believe that one screen can contain all the combined assiness of Gene Simmons and Donald Trump (not to mention Stephen Baldwin and Piers Morgan), but maybe it's the hi-def equipment or something. These two suck hardcore, yet they could buy and sell me several times over, which hardly seems fair. It appears that Gene is even more of a male chauvanist than The Donald, a man who once intimated on The View that his daughter was so attractive that he would date her, if only she wasn't his daughter. Gene stirred controversy this week by being quite rude to Ivanka and her giant rack when she came to check Team Hydra's progress on the Pedigree commercial task. Gene basically ignored her saying, "She'll wait", and then flat-out asking if, since she was the "female of the species" (for whom he obviously has an unhealthy level of contempt) she was going to run back to the women and share their plans. I had to side with Ivanka in being appalled. She brought it up later in the boardroom, and DT was mock-pissed at Gene for "insulting" his daughter, until Gene deigned to remove his shades and issue the most insincere apology ever. Omarosa used the whole incident to suck up to the Trumps, which surprised exactly no one. And she hit on Lennox Lewis, who's married, right in front of all the other Apprenti and several viewers. Keep it in your pants, O.
In the end, the men made a professional enough looking spot, perhaps more in spite of than due to director Stephen Baldwin's "20 years in film", while the women gave really sad, yet amazingly lame sob stories to dogs through voiceover and failed to actually use any of their celebrity on the task, again, which seems to be the overriding theme here. I also decided it's kind of hard to look at Nely Galan and her fishlips. I must admit I nodded off at some point, and missed how Nadia Comaneci managed to blow running the craft service table so badly that she got fired. Donald was disappointed that, despite all her Olympic gold (ya know, over 30 years ago) that she was unable to lead the team. Last time I checked, getting a perfect 10 on the uneven parallel bars doesn't really require you to lead anyone, per se. So, if you can depend on anything in this world, it's that the reasons that Donald Trump fires anyone on The Apprentice will continue to have nothing to do with anything relevant.
Project Runway--This week, the remaining designers were required to design a prom dress for a group of Catholic schoolgirls, who selected them based on their portfolios, rather than the other way around. Most of the designers were at least moderately horrified at having to design dresses for such a cliche event as prom (while we were treated to pictures of several of them at their proms), and at having to take orders from teenage girls to boot. None was more devastated than Christian, who, of course, hates the whole concept of prom (shocking, I know!) but also got the most outspoken model; one who literally grabbed the pencil and sketchpad from him and seemed keenly aware that she was going to be on a reality show. She also had the tackiest design in mind, and I though Christian's head might pop right off as he put together the brown and black monstrosity with a pouffy skirt, beading and lace applique.
Ultimately, the only dresses the judges really liked belonged to Sweet P, who should have won for her long, glamourous silk gown; and Victorya, who actually did win for this blue halter dress with jewels on the neckline that I wasn't really feeling. Chris did an excellent job (while also reminding the two eventual top finishers, who have been cellar dwellers often, that he actually has been auffed, so quit yer bitchin'!) as did Kit, who has definitely become one of my favorites.
I understood the criticism Rami received for creating something a little too old-looking for a teen girl, but he was immune, so why bother, really? What I didn't get was why Ricky was given a pass yet again, when he consistently scores low, in order to get rid of Kevin for his cheap-looking design this time around, when many of his past designs have been in the top tier. I felt like Kev just didn't care anymore, as evidenced by his choice not to finish the hem of the dress when he had the time to do so. I thought they should've sent Ricky packing based on his less-than-stellar body of work, which, along with his outspoken persona, is the reason they kept Christian around. I know I'm not the only one who is sick to death of watching Ricky come thisclose to slitting his wrists in every interview. Oh well, maybe next week!
In other disturbing news, I read in Media Week that A&E is renewing the "non-scripted" The Two Coreys for a second season, presumably in the summer of 2008, for 10 more painful episodes. Lord knows, back in 1986, when Haim was endearing himself to girls like myself in Lucas, you could never have convinced me that Feldman, i.e. the lesser Corey, would at least appear to be the more successful, well-adjusted Corey in the 21st century. Haim has somehow survived his history of drug and alcohol addiction (not to mention a stroke) to still be here, but he's had a once promising acting career reduced to this piece of crap "reality"show that's truly unwatchable, even to its target audience. So sad.
In case you hadn't heard, NBC is airing the last two episodes of Chuck that are in the can until the strike ends on Jan. 24, sandwiched around the aforementioned Celebrity Apprentice. I'm not sure I get why they don't run one each week for two weeks. Do they expire or something?
