Disaster for new TV shows - the 2013 fall season

Yes the 2013 fall TV season is now under way. Just a few more TV shows have just to start their new season. Once Upon a Time starts tonight, we'll see if that one can hold up for another season. So far here are my picks for the "soon to be canceled" list:

• Sleepy Hollow - yes I saw it and it is too much like Grimm for my liking. It smacks of Highlander does Van Helsing
• The Agents of SHEILD - sorry but I switched channels before it was finished. It did not keep my interest. Apparently I was not the only one. Here is a link to a fellow blogger with her thoughts on the show.
• The Micheal J. Fox Show - saw that one and I am thinking they can only play on his disability for only so long before it gets old. It will take some talented writers to keep that one going. I have my doubts about it lasting more than this season but who knows.

I have seen some good shows as well so all is not bad. We will see what the next few weeks will be and which shows will be canceled or if they are lucky, picked up by a cable channel.

Movies that start off great but go downhill from there

I, like many of you, have watched more movies on DVD than at the movies. So with that in mind here is a list of my top movies that I had to turn off because they were so bad..............but started off great. This will be a post that I will add to as time goes by so you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed at the bottom, so you will be notified when I update it.

Top of the list is The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption.The movie should have been as good as the first 2 in the series but with the addition of the ninja warriors and the elephants, I had to turn it off as being totally unreal or even close to good fantasy writing. I didn't see the end so if aliens from Mars showed up in the last 20 minutes, don't tell me............I am not interested.

Next up is another movie that had some really good reviews and strange as it may sound is in the top 10 rented movies on Blockbuster. That movie is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.It actually starts out as totally believable. You can remove the historical Lincoln from the fantasy Lincoln in this stage of the movie. For me the point of turning it off was just after the battles in the Civil War were just fought and all the soldiers in the confederate army were vampires. Top that with the reason that they had slaves as unwilling blood donors and you just turned my stomach. Sorry, didn't finish that one, as I thought it was a total injustice to the people who fought and were used in the real Civil War. What the movie should have done was remove the name of Lincoln, remove the vampire soldiers in the Civil War and you would have a decent fantasy movie.

Why The Learning Channel AKA TLC is now in the gutter

TLC, that cable channel that use to be called - The Learning Channel should be called the side show channel or something close to that. Where else could you find side show freaks, families and odd balls that you would normally gawk at in the Walmart parking lot?

I thought the channel started its great decline when they put that brood mares' show on, you remember the Duggars? Each year the name of the show was changing from 17 and counting to 18 and counting, then 19 and ..............well you get the idea. Now there is Honey Boo Boo, the world's most hideous child.

When is The Learning Channel get back to showing actual shows we can learn something from? Cough.......never, because there is more money in showing off freaks.

Speaking of freak shows, why are all of them about white people? I know that the white race does not have a monopoly on stupidity, so what gives? Is their more advertising dollars for TLC for showing only one race and type of stupidity?

Oh well, one can only hope for a swift end for TLC.

Cher is dead, long live Cher

Twitter has proven again that it is a force worth reckoning. This time the rumor that Cher had died was being tweeted like wildfire Thursday and Friday (Jan 26-27, 2012) until it was proved to be either a joke, prank or something else.

It goes to prove how much people will repeat something they read or heard even if they have no proof. Can you say politics?

Work It - Canceled by ABC

The TV show "Work It" has been put down. For failure to compete with the big dogs it has been hauled away by network control.

The TV show followed the likes of  "Some Like it Hot," Bosom Buddies" and a few others I can't remember the names of right now.

Work It, followed Last Man Standing in the TV schedule and quite frankly I thought was a good lead in. I actually liked the show.

It is now gone after only 2 episodes. ABC didn't even give the show a chance. Maybe it was too tame since Two and a Half Men relied more on sexually based jokes than Work It did.

ABC will now air Last Man Standing back to back for awhile until they figure out what their next move is. Just what I need more of "Tim the toolman Tailor does outdoor sports." I know that Tim Allen can do better than the same tired old "man cave" characters that he has played on TV but I guess he needs a paycheck.

Tired of the heat of summer yet?

Don't let the heat of summer get to you. Go watch some snow boarding videos or catch up with your favorite winter sports figure. Think COLD.

After you have finished watching those cold videos and reading those ski goggles reviews, wear those new ski goggles and check out the latest in what is coming to your TV this coming fall. No I am not talking about the new fall line-up but the winter sports that will starting soon. 

On the snow boarding gossip side, did you know that Cory Smith was doing some summer snow boarding. Yep he headed out to Mt. Hood near his home town of Portland, Oregon and had some summer fun. It is August and there is still plenty of snow on that mountain. No wonder he has plenty of chances to practice. He even boasted that he made some boards out of wood and tried them out. This summer in Oregon is reported to be the coldest on record and some of the ski resorts are still open. With highs only in the 80's it looks like there will be year-round skiing to be found there.

The domain name is gone

I saw no point in having a top level domain that spoke more about dogs than Hollywood gossip, so it is gone. Right now some dip shit bought it for a real estate website. All I can say is good luck with that one. I might be shopping around for another domain name for the blog, but I am in no hurry. After all, I still get the visitors and apparently Google has already re-indexed everything. So for now, this is still the official "Gossip Hound" until I play with the name.

Lawerence Fishburne says goodbye to CSI

Fishburne's contract was not renewed for this next season. He has told many people that he would like to have another season but failing ratings has dictated otherwise.

What I don't understand is the fact that William Patterson, the actor who plays Grissom IS the executive producer of the show. He leaves the onstage part of the show and watches the ratings go from number 1 to number 30 and figures it might be the fact that Fishburne is the blame. WAKE UP BILL, the audience misses you. If you could have only shown up in each episode for 5 or 10 minutes then people would have kept watching. My guess is that you make a better actor than you do a business man. Get your ass in gear and save the damn show or watch it go the way of the Law and Order franchise - down the tubes.

Great gift

Today we have another guest blogger

Posted by Hyman Weeks

My daughter knows how much I like to cook, and last year for my birthday she gave me a subscription to wireless Internet from Wirelessinternet.net. I know that doesn't sound related to cooking in any way, but I've actually needed a home Internet connection for some time now so that I can watch tutorial cooking videos online and order specialty ingredients that are hard to find in my small town. It was actually one of the most thoughtful gifts I've received in quite a while! My cooking has definitely improved since I got wireless, and I know my husband is really thankful my daughter thought outside the box. I have her over for a huge Italian feast about, after I got my wireless, and she was so impressed at how far my cooking techniques had come. What I did before I had wireless, I really have no idea! I'm planning to do Thanksgiving for my entire family this year, and I've already started a recipe hunt online to make sure it's perfect!

You're Cut Off!

Today we have a guest blogger

Contributed by Maria Ruiz

One of the best reality shows is "You're Cut Off" on VH 1. This fabulous show depicts the lives of spoiled brats that have been cut off from their parents never ending trust funds. This show depicts how young adults must cope with the startling reality of making their own living and paying their own bills without mommy or daddy's help. I love watching this show as a hard working girl, because it is fun to see the spoiled brats finally suffer for their expenditures.


I indulge in viewing this show on satellite tv with NFL Sunday Ticket all the time. Well, actually, I only watch this show when I am not working one of my many jobs, which is quite an irony. I am so completely different than the girls on this show, in that I work so hard for every cent I earn on this planet. While I was given a blessed childhood, I understand the value of a hard earned dollar unlike the spoiled brats on this show. On this show, young women must compete against one another by staying within tight budgets. These girls can become so catty, as they are cut off from their parents' finances. In the end, I think this show is pure comedy and a joy to watch for any hard working girl out there who wants insight into the wretched lives of spoiled brats!

Two and a Half Men is a goner

I have kept silent on the subject of Charlie Sheen and his departure from the most popular TV show on the air......till now.

I shake my head in total disbelief when people in general have turned against Sheen. After all, the show is based on his real life, that was according to Chuck Lorre, the creator of Two and a Half Men. So why are people surprised when they hear that Charlie has 2 live in girlfriends, parties all night long with booze and drugs and has the money to spend, spend, spend. He and Charlie Harper are one in the same.

Now here is an interesting thought:
Should the sitcom still stay in production but with a different actor playing the part of Charlie, can Charlie Sheen sue for using his lifestyle without due compensation? After all, it was based on Charlie's real life exploits.

An Idiot Abroad

Have you seen the TV show, An Idiot Abroad? If not you are missing a fabulously funny show. It airs on the Science channel on DirecTV. The show has reportedly broke viewer records for the Science Channel and I can see why. Below is a short excerpt of the show.......enjoy.

Dr. Phil riding on the fame of the "man with a golden voice"

Remember the man who was "discovered" on a street corner begging? He had a "golden voice" for broadcasting and was hired. Then comes along Dr. Phil and his TV show.

Dr. Phil is being a jack-ass, at least in my book. He found a patsy in Ted (the man with the golden voice) and put him on his show under the disguise of therapy. All Phil is thinking about is his shows ratings. Yes Ted has problems but show me any family who doesn't. The only reason Phil got Ted on his show is because people are curious about him. Phil is putting Ted and his family on parade, shame on you Dr. Phil!!!

We all know that Dr. Phil claims that he does not pay any of his "guests" on his show.....well if he keeps up using those people to prop up his own ratings then maybe he should be paying them.

Is karaoke making a comeback?

Karaoke, that bar time social activity that made you think you could sing and it provided cheap, free entertainment for night clubs everywhere. That was about 15 years ago. About that time the first karaoke machines made it into private homes across the USA. People would buy special music CDs made just for the machines. The karaoke music was in the form of a video with the music and the lyrics on the screen for you to sing along with. I am sure you have seen plenty of videos on Youtube or AFV (America's Funniest Videos) showing people that could not carry a tune in a bucket. They are plainly tone deaf.....but that does not stop them. Of course those were some interesting days, the same time that MTV actually still did show music videos 24/7.

So what brings this all up? I thought about the karaoke phase of our culture because a few nights ago I was watching that new comedy called S#*() My Dad Says (which is really "Shit My Dad Says) and Bill Shatner was in a bar with his son and he got on stage and sung (in the same style as those awful travel commercials he does). That made me wonder if karaoke is making a comeback.

This nutty week in review

Damn, this week is nuts. Just today Zsa Zsa Gabor, who is 93 by the way, was taken to the hospital with a blood clot in her leg. There is a danger of it moving to her heart or lungs but she would probably undergo a quick procedure that puts a small filter in her vein that leads from her leg to her heart that will block the clot from killing her.

Next we had rumors of an Avatar 2 with Sigourney Weaver back on the screen......wait a minute, didn't she die in Avatar? Now "they" are saying that "Grace," the character that Sigourney played, did not die. I suspected that Grace got absorbed into the planet like all the other lifeforms did but to bring her back as a being, that will be interesting.

The hype over the new Harry Potter movie is .........lets say, ho hum. Not much fanfare played up on this one. A few TV ads but not like in years past where fans were lining the streets for the cinemas to open up. Most of the die hard Potter fans have grown up, grown older and are a lot less able to pay for the $13 movie ticket plus popcorn and a drink. The last time I took in a movie was last month and for 2 people it cost almost $50 for tickets, a drink and popcorn. The concession stand almost broke the bank!!

The Harry Potter movie has already premiered in London on Nov 11 and is expected to go nation wide in the USA on November 19th 2010. Now I ask you, why the delay? They should have opened it up the day after the premier or the same day. Oh well....it is after all just...... ho, hum.

Of course we had a few famous people pass away this week. Dino De Laurentiis left us at the ripe old age of 91.

Britain to sell off their forests to balance their budget

WTF!!! is going on in England?

About 900 years ago (in the year 1215 to be exact) laws were made to protect the forest lands of Britain. The famous forests of Sherwood, New Forest and the Forest of Dean among others, were protected against development and logging. Those forests contain ancient trees. Unlike the national park system that is in place in the USA where tourism is promoted, it seems like the forests in England are treated much like sanctuaries and are off limits to the general public, at least that is my understanding of them.

Now in the Parliaments' great wisdom, they have decided to sell off half of the forests, to whom ever comes up with the money for them. Sure, lets put a chemical plant or a housing development in the heart of Sherwood forest, only after cutting down hundreds of ancient trees that will never be replaced.

What ever happened to protecting the world's forests to stem the dramatic climate changes? If the world's governments keep up making rash decisions like this, we as humans will surely face an early extinction. This news item is almost good enough for the Pee Brain Award, but I will refrain from awarding it until I see if there is any large protests against the decision. If no protests then I will award it to the entire country of England.

Did you know that Spock makes t-shirts?

That's right, Mr Spock, AKA Leonard Nimoy sells t-shirts! Here is the article that tells all about his etsy store, yep he is on etsy!!! Not exactly one of the places I would imagine a celebrity to sell stuff, but oh well.

...and this week's Pee Brain Award goes to the wives of Kody Brown

Gawd, I thought I have seen it all on TV but the latest entry into the reality shows is called. "Sister Wives," a show on TLC, the same network that brought us 16, 17, 18, 19 kids and counting (you know that fricken baby machine lady). Now back to Sister Wives, which during their interview tells everyone that Kody, the husband, was not the one to go out looking for the next wife, but the first wife or wives, was. Are they morons or do they like to have group sex? Let's face some facts here, the only reason to to get married or have more than one "wife" at a time is SEX, not to have more kids (you can adopt children) nor to have someone to clean your house (hire a housekeeper) or for the other wives to have someone to watch their kids (hire a babysitter or find a daycare like normal people do).

If that was not all, one of the wives, Janelle states "If we raise productive, contributing members of society who are moral and ethical, that's our final goal, whatever their path is."

Is she out of her mind? What is her definition of morality? Apparently not the same as the rest of society. That nut job has 4 kids with Kody.

As an interesting side note, the entire family now has the feds investigating them for felony bigamy. This show might be more interesting as the courts and police get involved. I wonder if the cameras will follow them in jail?

Yep the whole cast, except for the kids, are the winners of this week's Pee Brain Award.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, season opener tonight

Well another night of new shows and the return of some. Sunday nights has been dominated by 60 Minutes, Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, for many years now. Of course FHV has been a favorite since Bob Saget was its first host but EM:HE has been losing its luster for me.

I think that what turned me off of the show was the fact of the stories about the people with their new homes "after" the show ended. Many of them ended up losing those homes, some of them had 2 families living in the home and one family kicked the other one out. The show has done something different for their upcoming Halloween show that got my attention. They rebuilt a dorm for a school. You can read more about that here. The same article mentions the some of the past homes that were built that were too costly for the new owners to keep.

So I will let you know how Sunday nights measure up for the new season.

Saturday night on TV, boring as ever

The new TV season is turning out to be as lack luster as I thought it would be. Both Friday and Saturday nights are boring. It looks like the only interesting night on TV so far is Thursdays. The major 3 networks are working hard to chase viewers to the cable programs.

Saturday night was so boring I had to resort to watching the Travel Channel and reruns of the Halloween attractions all over the USA. Sad, so sad. At least I didn't end up at the food network.