Secret Girlfriend of the Sneak-Peek

While in Vegas last week, I got to attend a TV screening at MGM Grand - we sat in a computer lab and watched a show, using a little dial to indicate how much we were enjoying it. Sounds a bit weird, I know, but it was hella fun for a television enthusiast/amateur critic such as myself. What made it even more entertaining was the show itself - we got to see the pilot of the upcoming NBC show, 2 Broke Girls, starring the gorgeous and funny Kat Dennings.

Rawr.

You may recognize those luscious lips from such films as Charlie Bartlett, The House Bunny, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and most recently Thor. To each and every role Dennings brings a quick wit, a sharp tongue, and undeniable sex appeal. Also, boobs.

Damn girl, put those things away. There are children present.

In 2 Broke Girls, Dennings stars as Max, a sassy yet lovable waitress working in a shady Brooklyn diner. Her world is turned upside down when Caroline (played by relative newcomer Beth Behrs), the newly destitute daughter of a Bernie-Madoff parody, gets a job at the diner and moves in to Max's apartment. At first, Max is disgusted by Caroline's privileged attitude and inability to pull her own weight - but Caroline eventually shows herself to be a good-hearted (if sheltered) person, with enough ambition to carry them both to fame and fortune. That is, if she can learn a lesson or two from Max about common sense!

Okay, I'm done with cheesy announcer voice.
Don't look at me like that!

IMHO, Dennings has served her time as a "hey, it's that girl!" and is due to step into the spotlight in her own show. Obviously I'd love something more innovative than rehashing the odd-couple trope for the billionth time, but would it play in Peoria? The show is also set to occupy a pretty choice spot: Mondays at 8:30 EST, right after HIMYM. Bottom line, it's a show that seems to have a chance of survival, which could potentially give us hours and hours of Kat Dennings - I'm calling it a win!

A lapsed Gleek attends Glee Live

Hello, friends - your long-lost contributor Monkey Sri here. I have a confession to make - I have not set up the cable or internet in my new apartment. Shocking, I know. I am waaaaaay behind on my TV/Hulu-ing, and subsequently my blogging. And as a result, when Maggie and I attended Glee Live in Vegas last week, I had not seen the latest four episodes.

Cue the gay gasp.

This did not diminish my enjoyment of the live show one iota. The show opened with the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, aka Harry Shum, Jr's (Mike Chang) dance troupe. They do amazing routines that play out like mini-movies - totes worth a click-through.

I won't go through all the songs performed by the Glee kids - here is the complete set-list, with tons of clips. I will just say this - "Kurt" is an will always be my fave, and I need to get Chris Colfer to be my gay best friend. These firm convictions were only strengthened by seeing him and the girls do the "Single Ladies" dance live. BRILLIANT.



Other highlights included Amber Riley (Mercedes) and Naya Rivera (Santana) performing "River Deep, Mountain High" - Do I love them? My, oh my! - and Kevin McHale (Artie) getting to get out of his wheelchair for "Safety Dance." In short, all my favorites got their time in the spotlight - though every single cast member brought the noise and the funk, so it was a thrilling show from start to finish. If you have a chance, go see this show! If you don't, you'll just have to content yourself with the awesome TV show, the Glee Project competition on Oxygen, the upcoming Glee 3D movie...

Throwing Chairs

Perhaps I was naive. Perhaps I was just foolish. But I honestly thought that the age of the Jerry Springer-esque daytime television show had passed. I remember when Jerry Springer and those kind of shows were all the rage; they used to show episodes in the college late-night dining area and people would cheer and catcall whenever so and so ghetto trailer park person (sure it's a stereotype but that doesn't mean it's inaccurate) would physically attack the other ghetto trailer park person, screaming and tossing chairs around. Despite being a "reality" program that kind of behavior always felt so unreal to me. Those people were in on the joke, right?

When Jerry Springer and his show bowed quietly out of sight it was like the nation released a collective sigh of relief. "At last," we thought, "we can move on to more mature programming like The Bachelor, Celebrity Apprentice, and Jersey Shore." At least that was what I thought happened. But I guess I was wrong.

Because last week, while working at home and changing out of my gym clothes, I switched on the tv and there it was. Maury Povich doing a "who is the baby daddy?" themed show where people without jobs or anything useful to do except fornicate (badly--or well depending on how you look at it) yelled at one another. Actually, everyone yelled. The guests, the audience, it's just a whole bunch of people screaming profanities at one another.

Needless to say, I was surprised to see this. I thought we had moved on from this kind of thing. Maury just sits there with a little smile on his face and a "don't blame me" expression and that makes ME want to scream and throw chairs around. Because I have to wonder--who are these people? What are their lives like that they think going on this show is a good idea? Can they not afford the at home DNA kit? Do they have so little self-respect and self-worth that they think being on television makes them a good person? And is this really my fault (i.e. America's fault) for making this kind of culture and behavior ok? And how does Maury Povich deal with this kind of thing every single damn day?

I don't have any real answers here, just more questions. And a feeling of sadness that this kind of thing passes for entertainment. Maybe the people who watch these shows just feel better about themselves after seeing how messy the guests' lives are? Maybe being judgmental and smug and acting like the over-educated under-sexed East Coast liberal that I am makes ME feel better about myself? I don't know. But I do one thing--in my family we don't throw chairs. It's just rude.