EMMY 2012 RED CARPET DRESSES

Okay, let's do what everyone else is doing: discuss, judge, evaluate dresses at Emmy's red carpet, shall we? The rest of the pictures can be found for example, here or here, or... They are everywhere now!

Starting from a bunch of mermaids: 

Sofia Vergara

I love Sofia Vergara, she's gorgeous and it must be really hard to make her look less attractive. But I see her stylist is trying. This dress is not flattering, I think it makes her chest look heavy and the color is not doing any good to her either.

Julianne Hough

Hough took mermaid image one step further and chose a dress with scales. Again, her body looks a little heavy, but at least this color seems great on her.

Heidi Klum

Well, look who's here. A desperate Heidi Klum. The sad thing is that this could have actually been a great dress without all of this extra flesh.

The old guard disappointed:

Glenn Close

OK, what is this? I understand that Glenn Close cannot wear just anything anymore, but it doesn't mean that she has to pick only poor grandma dresses.

However, this doesn't look so bad as we come to another extreme where Christine Baranski is patiently waiting for us, wearing THIS:

Christine Baranski

She does have great legs, I give her that, but it does not justify being dressed up like that at the age of 60. Yes, I am a prude.

A bunch of our beloved celebrities did not evaluate their capabilities properly, so a number of dresses that are lovely on their own ended up spoiling the look.

Starting with the obvious miss:

Mayim Bialik

There is so much wrong with this dress, that I don't know where to start. I mean, the photographer bear certain responsibility for how bad Mayim looks on this picture, but I've seen other images and they are not that much better. She looks like somebody cut her legs off! I'd suggest something shorter. The makeup is great, though.

Giuliana Rancik

The dress is cute, but Giuliana looks like a lollipop. She is extremely skinny (I am too, believe it or not, finding the right clothes is a real pain). 

Ariel Winter

I love this dress, but unfortunately it makes Ariel look too short and together with the fancy hair - too old. But gosh, she's pretty! I guess it's just a matter of time before she replaces Emma Watson as one of the Lancome faces.

Alexandra Breckendidge

Alexandra Breckenridge is extremely beautiful, very strong face (loved her in AHS), but deep blue would have been much better on her, the dress is fine but the hair color in combination with black make her look a bit cheesy. Blue! Or dark purple/ox blood.

Kelly Osbourne

I don't think that matching funky hair color with the color of the dress is such a good idea. I'd also suggest change a haircut, she looks too much like her mother now that she's slim (great job, Kelly). Still pretty.

Phoebe Price

Well, there's no excuse for this one, is there?

UP ALL NIGHT EP. 1 SEASON 2

The last season of Up All Night in my opinion was the only successful attempt to introduce the concept of real modern family without exploiting the gay parenthood topic (there was one episode where we saw a gay couple raising a kid, but from what I understood they weren't doing such a great job). 

Reagan and Chris Brinkley (played by Christina Applegate and Will Arnett) are shown as truly "cool" parents, well educated, initiative, loving and not afraid of letting go and having fun (usually, with the help of alcohol). The elements of the modern type of family are numerous like the fact that Chris is the stay-at-home dad and Reagan is a working mom, that they have weak connections with their other relatives (e.g. Reagan does not really enjoy the company of her mother and clearly has issues with Chris's nanny, whereas Chris can't communicate with his brother in any other way than bragging), even the fact that when baby is born, the lives of parents, though changed, are not over. All of this was new and unusual, and I loved the series for this and for very warm emotions coming from each episode. The acting was also exceptional.

I don't know why would they want to change all of this so dramatically, but the sad truth is that the first episode of the second season of the show was, least to say, disappointing.

Maybe I missed it, but I did not hear explanations why 'Ava Show' got cancelled. What happened with other secondary characters from the last season? And may I say I hate Reagan's brother, Scott, I hated how obvious was the outcome of the episode i.e. that Chris and Scott decided to found a business. Even Reagan and Ava's fight was lame and lacking passion (though Maya Rudolph was phenomenal as usual).

I understand that it's essential to look for new turns, so the show doesn't get boring as the writers get lazy, but even with these new circumstances, the episode was very weak, I'm literally worried.

So creators, pull yourself together, will you?

Score: 4/10

64th PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS (2012)

My two favorite jokes of the ceremony were by the host, Jimmy Kimmel, about how Obama watching Homeland is as dangerous as Charlie Sheen watching Breaking Bad, and the one by Eric Stonestreet, upon his acceptance of the award for supporting actor in a comedy, about how now that he's playing a gay character people send him pictures of hairy chests and "they are amazing".

In regards to the winners I can't say there were any big surprises there, I think everybody got used to Modern Family dominating in comedy and unless, let's say, Partners turn out to be a great hit, I don't expect changes next year either.

Jon Stewart won again with The Daily Show in variety series, and even though I generally love his show more than The Cobert Report, I think Colbert deserved the award this year; his 'mockvestigation' of the superpacs was huge, whereas Stewart just continued being a Don Quixote of the modern time, the very theme he exploited (to our benefit) heavily over the past years.

Game Change was named the best miniseries and Juliana Moore as the best lead actress in the same category. It's an election year in the States, so again, that's not surprising at all. 

Sherlock's fans must be disappointed that the academy chose Kevin Costner as the best lead actor in miniseries and not Benedict Cumberbatch. I can't really comment on this, I did not see Hatfields & McCoys, so I don't know whether Costner or Tom Berenger, who was named the best supporting actor in miniseries, were actually the best.

For Jessica Lange there was no competition for best supporting actress in miniseries, can't wait to see her in the second season of American Horror Story.

I fail to understand why Homeland got so many awards, it's just another overrated action-ish  drama, like 24  (I hated 24). I can only explain it by the fact that it was pretty much the only new drama series nominated. And now we've learned that Obama likes it.

So that was it, now we just have to wait for the Golden Globe.

THE MOB DOCTOR, EPISODE 1 REVIEW

LA VIDA LOCA

As I watch all these new comedies, like New Girl, Ben & Kate etc. where they try to load (at least) one of the characters with explosives to the point when it hurts watching him/her, I miss Friends. Each of characters there had his/her main theme, as being geeky, or hippie, or sarcastic, or controlling, or silly or hot. Yet they all were very balanced, so normal people could actually relate to them. This approach seem to be working great in Modern Family as well; none of its characters you would try to avoid getting to an elevator with should you meet them IRL.

In an incredible book by Jon Ronson The Psychopath Test (recommend, btw) I've read that the modern audience, which mostly consists of people questioning their own normality on a daily basis, likes to watch  crazies on TV, so that they have someone they can compare themselves to and say: "Well, I'm more sane than this guy". Ronson was referring to real people, but the guys-slightly-nuts are now leaving reality shows and interviews and conquering TV series with great enthusiasm.

I don't like crazies. I love taking layer after layer off the character and see who he is, how complex he is, what he stands for and how everything he does makes sense.  Let me just say that by introducing abnormality as the latest trend (though I assume that a lot of this comes from reality shows), writers make their job so much easier. They don't have to worry too much on character's integrity now that they just can explain his actions and words with his ill mind. You do not have to provide a thorough motivation, background - nothing, just make him do something randomly stupid. Just look what they've done to Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory). It all started with him being geeky, very weird and genius, now he's just plain crazy and most of what he does is pretty random.

I understand that it's harder and harder to come up with new funny situations now that there are so many comedies out there, so to come up with something unique writers have to re-invent personalities. I only wish they would not make them so simple and so hyperbolic that it's just painful to watch.

BEN & KATE, THE STORY OF HOW A SINGLE MOTHER GETS HER SECOND CHILD WITHOUT HAVING SEX

There are loads of warm family comedies out there, but this one, Ben & Kate (Fox), is waaay too weird. It gets even creepier if you get to know that the creator of this show, Dana Fox (New Girl), borrowed Ben's personality from her own brother (which naturally means she must associate herself with Kate).

The story is about a single mother and a bar manager Kate Fox (well that's just cheesy, there are millions of other last names), her immature and to great extent idiotic older brother Ben and her 5-year-old daughter Maddie. Dakota Johnson (Social Network) and Nat Faxon (Bad Teacher) got the main part, Echo Kellum and Lucy Punch play Ben and Kate's sidekicks, Tommi and BJ, who are frankly more likeable and fun, than the Fox family. Since we're on that page, I still have hard time understanding why would you call a character in a family show BJ - is it only for the sake of  predictable, unsophisticated jokes, like that one in the pilot about what "BJ" means?

BJ being sexy

So in the pilot Ben gets an email from his ex, Darcy, which says "call me", and naturally, he doesn't call and just comes to his hometown (where his sister lives as well) only to find out (by stocking ex) that she is getting married. Some might think that now would be a good time to call her or maybe go home, but Ben wants to unexpectedly appear during the ceremony and convince Darcy to get back together. Nice plan, huh? But here's where it gets funny: when his sister Kate, who is described as 'down to earth' character in the synopsis, gets to know that somebody's wedding is in jeopardy, she does not send her brother to hell, but actually helps him, especially enthusiastically after Ben reveals the truth about Kate boyfriend's double life and ruins her first in five years chance for sexual intercourse. I can only assume that subconsciously Kate needed to ruin somebody else's steady relationship just to feel better, or otherwise Ben's idiocy is actually genetic, and she suffers from that as well.

In the end Ben decides to stay with his sister and his niece and help them (hard to tell how). And that's how Kate suddenly gets a second child to take care of.

I don't think this show is terrible, there is a couple of laughable moments; but it's definitely not the best. Not only because of the stupid-stupid-stupid main characters, but also, as I said in the beginning, because it's weird, and not in a good way. You don't have this type of relationship with your brother, I'm sorry, Dana Fox, you just don't.

Ben watches Kate in her sleep - supercreepy

Score: 5/10

THE MINDY PROJECT: CAN MINDY HAVE IT ALL?

I'm all for talented people exploring other ways of expressing themselves, but the sad truth is that if you are a witty writer, it does not necessarily mean you can be a great comedy actress as well. This is the issue with The Mindy Project (Fox): the dialogues and jokes are rather funny, and Mindy Kaling must be great at writing, but she is not Tina Fey she's often compared to; that is because Tina can really act and her Liz Lemon does not look like a secondary character even as she's standing next to brilliant Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock. Mindy unfortunately has acting talent of John Stewart (i.e. close to none), so the sooner she realizes that and focuses on what she can actually do well, the better.

The main character of the story is Mindy Lahiri an OB/GYN doctor who was (still is) obsessed with romantic movies as she was growing up, and has not realized yet that what happens in real life is different from what scriptwriters have in their beautiful minds. This naturally leaves her being a mess with troubled love life and a drinking problem. She tries to become more organized, focused and vegetarian, but from what I've seen so far, it won't be an easy task.

Everybody, meet Mindy Lahiri!

Most of the secondary characters are boring and their only task is to fetch out Mindy's personality. Except for maybe Danny Castellano (Chris Messina), at least he seems to have more lines than the others.

To sum up, this could have been a good show, if Kaling got someone else to play the part. On the other hand, comedy premiers this Fall are somewhat dull, so if we isolate it from Modern Family, Up All Night, Don't Trust the B-- from Ap. 23 and even 2 Broke Girls, which will return on TV shortly, it's really not that bad: there are a few jokes you can giggle at.

Score: 5/10

(MY HEART WILL) GO ON

Matthew Perry always seemed a whiteface clown to me; there's so much tragedy behind all his characters that feel like reflections of the same person. He has exceptional comedy talent and it's the type of power you have to decide, if you want to use for good or evil.

I must admit, I am the crier. But up to this point I have not seen a trailer that would make me tear up. There, I said it, I cried as I watched the trailer and then as I watched the pilot of new NBC sitcom (created by Scott Silveri) called Go On. This show is SO SAD. I understand it's aimed at showing people with personal tragedies that there's a way to handle this and go on with their lives, but I'm afraid for unstable people, who skipped antidepressants for a day, watching this may end unfortunately.

So the story is about a sportscaster, Ryan King, whose wife recently died in a car accident. He wants to return to work, but his boss insists he goes to ten therapy sessions first.

Ryan King being sad

I can't really say that the script is exceptional, there are drawbacks in how some of the happenings scripted and directed, for example, Ryan's meltdown seems artificial (I understand they tried to make it funny, but it looked unnatural). Some jokes are predictable, like sympathy-birthday cake part, so it's mainly cast and characters that make this show watchable, i.e. it's how they speak, rather than what they say that makes you laugh and how they act rather than what they do. Facial expressions, tone, moves - this cast is awesome at this!

I love this creepy guy! (Brett Gelman as Mr. K)

Laura Benanti as Lauren Schneider

All in all, I admire Perry's acting talent but I need the right mood to be able to watch this. This will probably have higher than usual critical reception due to the topic, but I'm worried about the actual ratings. As I said, this is just so sad...

Score: 8/10

THE MOB DOCTOR: THE PATIENT IS MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE

I watched the pilot for The Mob Doctor yesterday. What can I say, it was really bad. I've read reviews of those who's been unlucky to see this earlier, and I must admit, I could not believe the show was actually that terrible. But it was.

Dr. Grace Devlin (Jordana Spiro) is a young, ambitious, top surgeon from Chicago, who's moonlighting for mafia to pay her brother's gambling debt. From the first episode we get to know that her mother had cancer, her brother is a moron, half of her colleagues hate her, the mob boss is so dumb that he, while under investigation, himself (!) and on his own (!!!) comes to Grace's house to get her and/or her family members.

Grace Devlin

The actress choice for the main part is strange, to say the least. I understand they could not take a really pretty girl to play the doctor smart-ass, but there's nothing strong in her face, no matter how much make up they put on her. It's a face of a passer-by, you see hundreds of such every day and they don't stick. She was great in Dexter's season 6, when she played a religious maniac, very natural. She could play a victim of domestic violence or a woman tired of life and breaking bad. You know, something similar to Aniston's character in Good Girl. And can I say she has funny gait.

Jordana Spiro as Beth Dorsey in Dexter

There are two main issues with the show. First of all, all characters, even Constantine, are flat, bold and boring. Except for Grace herself; she's complex, but there's no integrity in this character. She's mad at her boss because he did not follow (or rather did not let his other subordinate follow) procedures before treating the patient, yet she forces her BF to risk his career and break the rules for a girl he just met (and she was not even nice to him), so that her father wouldn't freak out. I mean, if it's worth this risk, Grace should have reported this girl's father to children protection agency or something, and a long time ago. She risks her life and life of her siblings by not killing the witness (who's been a mobster before, so must have committed all sorts of crime) herself, but later, as she gets the upset mob boss to follow her to Constantine's house, did she not realized that he's gonna die in there? Sure, she did. So either she's a hypocrite, or the writers don't know who they want her to be.

And the second issue, a very important one, is that the show is overloaded with all this different, often unnecessary, story lines. The love story line: at least three times we hear the question about Grace's BF, namely, if he's a marrying type. We don't get to hear an answer to this and frankly, do we even give a shit? I don't think so. And then we get to meet her ex-boyfriend. Why? Is it to show that her life is deeply connected with mafia? I think flashbacks to the moment when Constantine killed her father are enough for this (btw, if the writers plan to reveal that Grace's real father is Constantine, they should drop it right now). Or is it for the sake of a classic triangle? Hardly, from how they portrayed her, Grace shows no sign of actual feelings, well, except for contempt, towards either ex or current boyfriends (none towards her siblings either, since we're on that page).

One more thing, did they have to kill that poor child just to show what a dickhead Dr. Devlin's boss is? Not that I got attached to him, because, firstly, there was too much going on besides that and secondly, from other medical procedurals, I've learned not to care for the patients (the creators of these shows though are cynical enough to kill cute secondary characters just as well) but it was enough to see how he acted at the time of operation to get that he's an arrogant a-hole. The audience is not as dumb as you hope, writers, we get hints! Also, how important to the hospital could this particular doctor be that even after patient dies his actions don't get to be at least investigated (the board won't fire him anyway, we hear)?

All in all, it's not good. They tried to appeal to everyone and failed. If they want to improve, they have to focus. And learn better both doctors' and mobsters' habits.

Score: 3/10

CITIES OF MUSIC AND SIN

Vegas or Nashville? A cowboy or a country music star? Murders, fights and tough guys or intrigues, betrayal and tough girls?We can now have both.

Vegas, a new drama on CBS, is said to be based on the true story of a Las Vegas Sheriff in the1960's. I believe the show is following a declining now trend, set by Mad Men, a trend of portraying America's recent past (others of the same sort are Pan Am, Magic City, The Playboy Club).

The story rolls around an antagonism between a rancher Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid, The Day after Tomorrow) and a Chicago gangster Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis, The Shield). If you missed a direct, honest old guy with big fists, this series might be just what you want. Though I'll watch it for lulz.

Dennis Quaid as Ralph Lamb

Geeks might also be excited to see how Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) is playing Assistant District Attorney, Katherine O'Connell.

The show was written by Nicholas Pileggi (Casino, City Hall) and Greg Walker (The X-Files, Smallville), and directed by James Mangold (Knight and Day, NYC 22). It premiers on the 28th of September.

The story of Nashville (ABC) is happening in our time and it's about a fading star of country music, Rayna James (Connie Britton, American Horror Story) and a young and ambitious singer Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere, Heroes). Naturally, Juliette will try to overthrow Rayna from her Olympus, and Rayna will do what she can to hold her reign. Must be a good soap, unless they fill it with clichés up to the point when every turn is predictable.

Connie Britton as Rayna James

The show was created by Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise), who actually lived in Nashville for some time. Besides Khouri, executive producers of the show are R.J. Cutler (also directed the pilot), James D. Parriott (Sons of Anarchy, Grey’s Anatomy) and Steve Buchanan (was involved in production of various country music specials and TV movies).