The TV Chick

The day is finally upon us! True Blood season premiere day! The wait has been rather long, and it certainly sucks but it’s over. When last we left our favorite vampires (and humans alike), Bill had been kidnapped after Sookie left him to think about his marriage proposal. We pick up right where we left off in “Bad Blood.” Of course, I can’t tell you who kidnapped him or why…but some of you might have an idea if you read the books. However, it’s quite riveting, I will say that. Sookie thinks Eric kidnapped Bill and is quick to accuse him.

Shortly after, The Queen returns. I didn’t hate her as much as some of my other True Blood loving friends, but regardless, she’s back and as commanding as ever. The Queen is worried about the selling of V and gives very specific orders to Eric. The only other person who knows about Eric and the V is Bill, so of course it is in Eric’s best interest to find Bill.

One of the characters I love the most — Pam — is taking on a bigger role this season, and I am so excited about that. There is an amazing scene between her and Sookie that made me laugh out loud. I just love her subtlety. Kristin Bauer van Straten is such a brilliant actress and I can’t wait to see more shining moments with her.

And in the world of one of my other favorite characters, Jessica is dealing with the aftermath of biting that trucker from the season finale. She also feels Bill’s “call,” something we have never seen or heard about thus far, but that’s all I’m going to say about that. Sookie goes to Jessica to help her look for Bill. She’s a little harsh with her in my opinion, but maybe that’s just me. I suppose if my super good looking Vampire boyfriend had just been kidnapped, I’d probably be the same way. Tara is struggling with Egg’s death, and her mom returns to help her. I’m not going to spoil anymore but Tara continues to be her semi-crazy Tara self. In this episode we are also introduced to wolves! They use real wolves which is pretty unbelievable. I will leave the mystery of in what capacity we are introduced to them, but it’s pretty great.

And what about the others? Sam is looking for his family and probably has one of the best scenes of the whole episode…with someone you would hardly expect him to have a scene with. Arlene is feeling guilty from all the madness that went on last season and tries to make it up to her kids. And Tara isn’t the only one dealing with the death of Eggs, so are Jason and Andy. And not to worry, you will see plenty of Jason. I’m pretty positive it’s in his contract.

Overall, I thought it was a fantastic premiere. Some people you hope get naked do indeed get naked and all our favorite characters are back. One thing I really liked about the premiere is that it resumed right where the season finale left off. Often times with premieres, the show picks up 6 months later or even years later. I love that True Blood treats its audience like they are intelligent (which we are) and fills each episode with subtle nuances that are just brilliant. Alan Ball is a genius, and I love being transported into his world (and Charlaine Harris’) week after week. Despite going a bit off the handle with all the Marianne stuff last season, I still think that it is consistently one of the best shows out there. I can’t wait to see what the rest of season 3 brings, because it’s bound to be crazy and amazing.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 9 pm to HBO for the 3rd season premiere of True Blood.

Happy True Blood premiere day! Waiting sucks, but the wait is just about over. I am ready for some amazing vampire action! True Blood kicks off its third season tonight and I will be posting a spoiler-free advance review but I will say this: It is amazing. In addition to our old favorites, there are many new characters coming our way. I am always a little wary of being introduced to so many new characters, but last year, Jessica became one of my absolute favorites. One of those new characters is Jesus (played by Kevin Alejandro), who is Lafayette’s new love interest. I recently had the chance to chat with Kevin Alejandro about his new character, working with Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette) and the big differences between his character on Southland and Jesus. He was very tight lipped about season 3 but he still gave some interesting insights into the show.

How did you originally get the part of Jesus?
I had to go through a series of auditions. It was actually quite a long process. I think it was about a month before I finally found out whether or not I was going to be a part of the show. I went through several auditions with producers and call backs and stuff like that, but I think the deciding [factor] was the last audition where they had to narrow it down to a handful of guys, and we all had to go into the room and have what’s called a chemistry read with Nelsan [Ellis, who plays Lafayette] and whoever fit the best [got the part]. I was glad to feel that they thought that I was that one.

We haven’t been introduced to your character yet, but he is the caretaker for Lafayette’s mom. What more can you tell us about him?
That. And he is the love interest to Lafayette, played by Nelsan. There’s a really strong connection that they develop. You can just look forward to a lot of really interesting things that happen. I can’t really tell you too much about it. Other than what you already know.

Had you seen the show before you got the part?
Oh yeah, definitely. That’s what made this whole process really cool is that it was this show that I had already gotten into, and just to get the audition was like “Oh yeah, that would be awesome.” Further d0wn the line, as steps got closer and closer to it, I was like “Wow, this might actually happen.” It’s really super cool to be a part of something that you already know, and that you’re a fan of.

Absolutely. And have you read the books at all?
I have not, actually no. A buddy of mine, who is actually the Godfather to my kid, he works on the show, his name is Luis. He’s a camera assistant. So when it first came out, he was like “This is such a great show…” so we got into it for that.

So you have been for the past few seasons been playing Nate on Southland. How different is it going from playing Nate to Jesus on True Blood?
It’s completely different, like two different worlds. But that’s part of the decision making, what helped me decide to do this was that I’m coming off Southland as a gang detective, as a husband with a couple kids, and dealing with that sort of hard-core life. And then to play a character like Jesus who is going through a completely different hardcore world and life. His sexual preference is different, it’s such heightened – they’re just two extreme worlds, and that was so challenging and very inviting. That’s part of why I wanted to do it.

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Waiting sucks. But on Sunday, the wait for season 3 of True Blood is over. I have seen the first three episodes and I can tell you they are fantastic. If you have read the books (or even if you haven’t) you know that Lorena (Bill’s maker, played by the lovely Mariana Kleveno) takes on a bigger role this season. There’s also werewolves and witches and more crazy action (and also some clothes-less Eric). Whatever the season brings, I am extremely excited for it. I recently had the chance to chat with Mariana Klaveno about Lorena’s complexities, how she’s able to relate to a vampire, and what makes Bill (and Stephen Moyer) so special.

What originally drew you to the project?
When I first read for it, it hadn’t started airing yet. So I all I knew was that it was Alan Ball’s new show, which that in and of itself was enough of a draw. I knew it was his new show, and that it was about vampires, and that it was set in the south. And that’s kind of all I knew, but I was such a fan of Six Feet Under, and I just love his creative genius, that I was drawn to it immediately just because I knew he was behind it.

Obviously, Lorena’s not human, but there are human elements. How do you relate to her?
I try to focus on — in any scene with Lorena — I always try to go back to what’s at her core, what motivates her. And sadly, it’s a tragic love for Bill. And that’s behind everything, and that’s what makes it easier for me to participate in a scene where my character’s doing something really evil (laughs) or really morally questionable. That’s really who she is. She’s a tragic, lonely, desperate character who may be a little unstable as well. And it all stems from her need to be loved and to have this connection with this  man that will never be returned.

She’s also an incredibly powerful  female character– not just because she’s a vampire — so what has it been like playing her?
Oh that’s just been a dream. (laughs) It’s fabulous enough to play a vampire, but to play a very powerful vampire, and exactly — to be in these power scenes with men, and go toe to toe with them, and sometimes literally throw them across the room (laughs) is a fantasy of mine. It’s an insane amount of fun to play her. Again, I have to give Alan the respect that he deserves for giving so many on the women of the show such powerful and complex parts. That doesn’t always happen.

Absolutely. And what has it been like working so closely with Stephen Moyer?
Stephen is fantastic to work with. He’s an amazing guy, and a brilliant actor, obviously. He’s an incredibly generous actor. He’s always concerned about how you’re doing, and even if it’s somebody who’s only there for the day, who has a couple lines and is there for the day, he’s always concerned about if they’re being taken care of, if their experience is as good as it should be on the show, and that’s the qualities of a true leader, when you’re looking for someone to lead a cast and I have to say that Anna’s the same way. And they’re just the most wonderful people and a wonderful couple and extremely funny. And it’s just a joy to be around them and work with them.

That’s good to hear. And you touched on it a little bit, but Lorena is a very complex character with many layers. She’s still a bit of a mystery to us. Is there more to her that we don’t know yet that we might find out soon?
Yes! I can’t give too much away, and not too much is revealed, but you do get to see a little bit more in season three and you see some new sides to her, which I’m excited to see how it comes out, and excited to see how the fans receive that. Some new shades of Lorena, and a little bit more information in terms of who she is.

I’ve read the books, so I know that Lorena has a pretty big role in season 3. Did you read the books before you started the show?
I did, yes. Lorena doesn’t really have a strong presence in the books. Luckily for me, Alan and the writers have changed that when it comes to story lines in True Blood. And I enjoyed the books immensely, they’re very fun, but I did read them looking for insights into who my character was and where she comes from, but it doesn’t really give a lot away. She’s even more mysterious in the books. You hear about her a lot, but you barely even see her. So we’ve expanded on that, and taken some liberties. I did read the books, but I kind of had to do a lot on my own of coming up with storyline and background.

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E is here, and you know what that means. Time for another Flashback Friday.  OK, guys, this was a really dramatic week on Boy Meets World.  For serious, important stuff.  Let’s jump into our spotlight episode, or should I say episodes? That’s right, we’re focusing on a 2-parter today… “A Long Walk to Pittsburgh.”

• OK, so the episode starts with Eric walking into Chubby’s (He’s having a lucid few episodes around this point).  And he totally catches Shawn and Topanga having an intimate moment.  He hugs and kisses her, oh, heck no!

• Eric then tries to sort of gently let Cory know what he saw by providing him with steak and cake.  I love steak! Oh, and Morgan is there, bugging the heck out of me again complaining about her grilled cheese.

• Cory sort of melts down and confronts Shawn and Topanga at school after he can’t get a hold of either of them on the phone. Cory confronts Shawn with a knock knock joke, oh Cory, never change.  Shawn tells Cory that he needs to talk to Topanga, but he was not making a play for his woman.  Oh, also, when Cory is talking to Shawn at Chubby’s, Eric comes in and jacks Shawn against the wall, and it is awesome.

• Cory then climbs into Topanga’s room (which is filled with packed boxes, spoiler alert!) and kisses her.  After, he pronounces, “I wanted to be the last one to kiss you before I killed you.” Creeeeeepy.

• Anyway, Topanga breaks the news that she is moving to Pittsburgh because her mom got a new job there.  Cory and Topanga then act sad together.

• Amy Matthews then becomes an enemy of love when she basically tells Cory that he should date other girls and chill the heck out.  Do you think Betsy Randle is just mad that she has to be in an Advil commercial now for her arthritis? I do. Cory then tells everyone that they’re going to make it work like Romeo and Juliet did, heh.  Don’t worry, Feeny explains the ending to him and tells him he believes in their love!

• Cory then goes to Topanga and tells her that they should just get married and live in an abandoned home in an upscale neighborhood with no bugs.  Love it, oh Cory. Topanga is like, no, I have to go to Pittsburgh fool.  But, we’ll call and mail letters.

• Shawn then tells Cory that he’s not worried because he’s watched a lot of TV, and the girl never leaves. We’re getting self-reflexive up in this piece again.

• But, she does leave, with Shawn saying “What the hell kind of TV show is this?!”

• AND SCENE! Onto the second part.

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What a journey it has been. The little show that could which started way back last May until now has become a phenomenon. I knew there was something special from the moment I saw it. But even I could not have anticipated the level of success it has achieved — and it is all so deserved. Honestly, can the Emmys just leave the awards at a table for Glee and call it a day?!

I didn’t think anything could top the mid-season finale. I was wrong. “Journey” brings everything full circle. Regionals are finally upon us and the judges are Sue, local newscaster guy, Olivia Newton John and Josh Groban. Right before they perform, Finn tells Rachel that he loves her! (She had previously kissed him in the hallway). Unlike a lot of the pairings this season, this felt wonderful and genuine. They love each other! Finn was once throwing slushees at Rachel’s face and now they are a couple. They have both come such a long way. The New Directions crew perform a Journey medley and they are amazing. I was wary of a remake of “Don’t Stop Believing” because it was done so well the first time, but this remake blew me away. Vocal Adrenaline, led by Jonathan Groff, sang a Queen medley. Besides the fact that Jesse St. James is apparently evil (I had really hoped he wasn’t), this medley was amazing. However, I have to agree with Rachel, they didn’t have the heart that New Directions had. I also am holding out hope that Jonathan Groff will be back, even if only for a few episodes. Ryan Murphy wrote a part for him, so in my mind, it wouldn’t make sense to write him off so quickly. Perhaps he can come back as a Vocal Adrenaline coach?

In any case, Quinn’s mom shows up and tells her that she ended it with her dad and wants her to move back in. Of course she goes into labor at this moment, and the entire Glee club (minus Rachel) rush her to the hospital. In the first of many teary eyed moments (for me, not Quinn), Quinn asks that Mercedes be with her in the delivery room. I love this friendship. I know I have mentioned it before, but I adore Quinn and Mercedes together.  I want to commend the writers on making Quinn’s giving birth scene funny and heartwarming at the same time. I loved when she yelled “You suck! You suck! You suck!” to Puck. Dianna Agron is such a fantastic actress, and I love that she got her moment in the finale to shine.

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Everyone loves free stuff, right? I am thrilled to offer this great DVD giveaway of Ghost Hunters International Season 1, Part 1. A spin-off of the Ghost Hunters series, Ghost Hunters International features a squad of paranormal investigators who use their principles of scientific techniques, to explore some of the most legendary haunted spots around the world. Each week the team travels to the far corners of the globe, searching for answers to bizarre supernatural mysteries. For its first round of investigations, the International crew took on some of Europe’s most haunted locales, including Chillingham Castle in England and the forgotten underground city of Mary King’s Close in Scotland. The new episodes will take the team to countries such as Peru, Singapore, Sweden, the Philippines and many others.  Veteran investigators Robb Demarest, Dustin Pari, Brandy Green and Barry FitzGerald, are joined by newcomer Angela Alderman on their trip to Peru. TAPS member Joe Chin also makes the move from Ghost Hunters to Ghost Hunters International.

Ghost Hunters International is produced in association with Craig Piligian’s, Pilgrim Films and Television which has produced American Chopper, Dirty Jobs and Ultimate Fighter. Piligian and Thomas Thayer, along with Rob Katz and Alan David, serve as executive producers. New Ghost Hunters International episodes return Summer 2010.

• Over 1 hour of deleted scene not scene on SYFY

PRODUCT INFORMATION 3-DVD set contains 11 episodes

• Chillingham  Castle
• Evil Unearthed
• Whispers from Beyond
• Haunted Village
• Fortress of Fear
• Headless Haunting
• Frankenstein’s Castle
• Larnach  Castle
• Devil Dogs
• Castle of the Damned
• Shattered Spirit

To enter to win, leave me a comment with your own experience with a ghost or maybe what you thought was a ghost or a haunted house. If that’s not your thing, just leave me a nice comment.

In the small town of Rosewood (just outside of Philadelphia), secrets abound. Four girls (Aria Montgomery played by Lucy Hale, Hanna Marin played by Ashley Benson, Spencer Hastings played by Troian Bellisario and Emily Fields played by Shay Mitchell) were the best of friends, brought out of their unpopular status by it girl Alison DiLaurentis to become queen bees. During a sleepover in middle school, Alison goes missing, and nothing is ever the same. The girls drift apart, but Ali is always in the back of their minds. The series premiere of Pretty Little Liars (based on the amazing book series by Sara Shepard) takes places years after Ali has disappeared. Aria returns from Iceland to find her friends have changed. Hanna is now the most popular girl in school, with Mona Vanderwaal by her side (Mona used to be a huge nerd). Spencer and Hanna are friendly with each other, but not friends. And Emily seems the most unchanged, but she still thinks about Ali all the time. Maya St. Germain (played by Bianca Lawson who is kind of too old for this part), moves into Ali’s old house and she and Emily become fast friends.

But nothing is ever as it seems in Rosewood, and throughout the episode, each girl gets mysterious forms of communication from “A.” Is it Alison? Who knows! (Well, I do since I read the books but I won’t be sharing that info) Each note or text contains a secret that only Alison knew, and she threatens to tell all. The girls are admittedly freaked out, but don’t come together until the end of the episode where they all get a text from “A” at the same time. What lengths will the girls go to in order to keep their secrets? Is Alison alive? Was there more to their old friend’s disappearance than they could have imagined? And then there’s the Jenna thing…a secret they have all sworn not to tell anyone.

Pretty Little Liars is full of drama, mystery and intrigue with a dash of high school thrown in there. But it isn’t just the girls with secrets, their parents hold some secrets of their own. Byron and Ella Montgomery (played by Chad Lowe and Holly Marie Combs), and Ashley Marin (played by resident TV bad-ass Laura Leighton) are hiding some things of their own. I have been dreaming of a TV series since I picked up the books years ago, and the series premiere of Pretty Little Liars did not disappoint. It followed the first book pretty closely which sets my hopes and expectations high for the rest of the season. The only flaw I saw was the age of Bianca Lawson, who plays Maya St. Germain. But since the show mainly focuses on the girls, and she’s just a guest star, I don’t see it being a huge issue. Of course with any book series, you have visions in your mind of what the characters look like (especially since Shepard is such a descriptive writer), and I’d say that Hanna and Aria fit their roles perfectly. Emily and Spencer are great as well but I think Ashley Benson and Lucy Hale are Hanna and Aria personified. Sasha Pieterse plays Ali (mostly in flashbacks of course) and I enjoyed her too.

I applaud ABC Family for picking up Pretty Little Liars, because it’s not a show you would typically find on their network. It certainly has the same demographic as their shows but in general, it’s a bit more risque than their usual choices. If I had to compare it to another show, I would say it has shades of Veronica Mars in it (which is a huge compliment). The girls aren’t solving new crimes on a daily basis but they are trying to get to the bottom of a big secret that has been haunting them for years.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm to ABC Family for the series premiere of Pretty Little Liars. And remember, never trust a pretty girl with an ugly secret.

Pretty Little Liars premieres tomorrow night at 8 pm on ABC Family. The show centers around four girls: Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Emily who grew apart when their best friend Alison went missing. There is drama, intrigue, mystery and everything that makes for a hit show. And of course, big secrets and big lies. I recently had the chance to chat with Laura Leighton, who plays Hanna’s mom, Ashley Marin. She talked about playing strong, female characters, how she relates to her character, and what it’s like playing a single mom.

How did you find out about this role?
Pretty Little Liars is a pilot script that was going around during pilot casting season, and everyone I knew had read it, and everyone was loving it and hoping to audition for it.  I was going through the process.  I read the script, loved it, and auditioned for the role of Ashley.  I waited to find out who they were going to cast as Hanna, and I was lucky enough to match up with Ashley Benson.

What do you find challenging about the role?
It’s a juicy part, which I love.  It’s challenging, always, to have a character that’s acting sort of outside your own moral compass; making choices that you wouldn’t necessarily make.  Ashley is certainly finding herself in the position of making some parenting choices and choices in general for herself and her family that are a little bit shocking.  You have to find a way to justify that within the character and go, “Okay, what kind of person would do this, and where is she coming from?”  And it’s a challenge.  It’s fun.  It’s always fun to figure that out, and certainly more fun than playing someone who is very boring and milk toast and predictable.

But is it a show your own children will be allowed to watch?
I do have a couple of older children—teenagers, that I think are within the demographic and it could be appropriate and definitely appealing for them.  My younger children definitely not, but they’re use to that.  Just sort of like that’s where we go to work, and as far as their concerned they’d rather we’d just stay home and play.

Could you tell us a little bit about your character and what we can expect to see from her in the show.  Just her personality or things you like about her; just a little more info.
Well, Ashley Marin is the single mother on the show, parenting one of the girls—one of the pretty little liars, and Hanna is her daughter.  And Ashley is working to keep it all together, as any single mom has to.  She’s a business woman; she’s got a bit of an edge.  She’s very matter-of-fact, and she places very high value on appearances.  She wants to maintain her image and pulling herself together every day is high on her list. So when her daughter makes the mistakes and she needs to cover those up, she acts in desperation and thinks of the best thing she can think of at the time.  Like how she should try to cover up and what’s the best way to do it.  She’s really just trying to maintain appearances and her life and her lifestyle.  She’s struggling to balance it all.

I just wanted to know how playing this character compares to some of your previous roles.  Sydney, for example, comes to mind.
Well, yes, going from Sydney to this character, I definitely think they’re completely different characters, different roles within the show, and the shows themselves are different.  But it is funny.  I find myself playing a character who makes some controversial choices.  I don’t know if it’s because once you play one role that goes in that direction it’s easy to see you doing it again, and some people are able to envision you in that role and you’re more likely to get cast.  I don’t know.  I’m happy to have the opportunity.  Like I said, I think it’s always much more interesting to play somebody who’s got some gray areas, and maybe a dark side and some questionable attributes.  There’s some humanity in them.  It’s just interesting.  It’s interesting to try to figure it out, and I think it’s more fun than playing somebody predictable.

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Pretty Little Liars premieres tomorrow night on ABC Family at 8 pm! I am so excited for this series and will feature more coverage today and tomorrow, but until then, enjoy these video previews about the four Pretty Little Liars. This show is sure to be ABC Family’s newest hit.

Aria:

Hanna:

Emily:

Spencer:

This past week, I took part in something I have never done before: a virtual set visit of Drop Dead Diva. Live from the DDD set in Atlanta, Ben Feldman (who plays Fred) showed everyone around remotely. We even got to see a small bit of filming for season 2.  I am always sad when the regular TV season ends, but Drop Dead Diva is a fantastic summer show.

Here is a little synopsis:

“Deb is a beautiful model-in-training, but a fatal car accident derails her hopes and dreams. Jane is an intelligent, unremarkable, but sweet plus-size attorney who ends up on the wrong end of a gun during a robbery. As she heads towards the gates of Heaven, Deb is confronted by gatekeeper Fred, who labels her a “self-centered zero.” After accidentally hitting a key on Fred’s computer, her soul is sent back to earth, but she accidentally ends up in Jane’s body. Horrified, Deb soon realizes that if she is going to continue living in her new body, she’ll have no choice but to come to terms with her new body — and it isn’t exactly going to be the easiest transition for anyone concerned. Will this diva finally learn that there is more to life than a pretty face?”

If you haven’t watched season 1 yet, what are you waiting for? It came out on DVD on June 1st, and you should definitely check it out. Season 2 begins tonight at 9 pm on Lifetime. However, here are some clips to get you excited for tonight and show you what the set looks like. There are also a couple interviews with the cast. Hope you enjoy! And be sure to tune in tonight for the 2nd season premiere of Drop Dead Diva!

Ben Feldman (“Fred”) welcomes viewers to the set of Drop Dead Diva

Ben Feldman finds Margaret Cho (Teri) sleeping on set!

Ben and Margaret find snacks at “craft service” on set.

Ben takes viewers behind-the-scenes in “Video Village” to meet the director and 1st AD

Ben chats with Brooke Elliott (Jane) and Kate Levering (Kim) off-stage, talking about Drop Dead Diva on DVD!

Ben asks Brooke and Kate what their favorite episodes were from Season One!