Homeland Episode 2.08 'I'll Fly Away' Damian Lewis and Morena Baccarin (Credit: Showtime)
SPOILER for episode 208. Watch the screencaps slideshow carefully. You'll see 'someone' accompany one of the series' co-stars in a vehicle to a remote location where the two are met by a scarily familar face. They 'fly away' and when landed, in the closing moments of this extremely high-tension episode, a familiar voice with 'the wrong face' greets them. It's truly a holy sh*t moment in a season that has been brim full of them!
Zuleikha Robinson & Damian Lewis in HOMELAND Episode 208 – “I’ll Fly Away” (Credit: Showtime)
HOMELAND Episode 208 – “I’ll Fly Away”
He lies for Carrie. He lies for Roya. And he’s still lying to
Jessica. Brody’s heading for a serious meltdown as he struggles to keep
complicated alliances clear. Against Quinn’s orders, Carrie stages a
risky intervention to keep Brody in line, forcing both of them to
confront their mixed emotions. And as Dana turns to an unlikely source
for comfort, her father comes face to face with his deadly past.
Directed by Michael Cuesta Written by Chip Johannessen (SOURCE: Showtime)
Previously on HOMELAND:
Homeland 207 'The Clearing' Claire Danes & Damian Lewis
“I do feel used and played and lied to,” replied a rather breathless Brody, hugging, smooching, squeezing. “I also feel good. Two minutes with you and I feel good. How do you do that?”
The photos do tell part of the story. The Dana and the son of-the-VP boyfriend hit-and-run story ties up--pretty straightforwardly but there's a glitch, as you can see in the promo photos. Things look pretty hunky-dory with daughter and dad (Damian Lewis) now that Dana (Morgan Saylor) has unburdened herself and she and dad are on their way to the local precinct to fill out an accident report/confess. But just then--our Ms. Mathison (Claire Danes) steps into the picture , which is not at all cool with Dana or her dad.
Synopsis - HOMELAND Episode 207 – “The Clearing”:
Reeling from the recent ambush, Carrie and team struggle to regain control of their operation, while Brody and family attend a tony fundraiser at a Virginia horse farm. Saul visits Aileen in solitary confinement, hoping she’ll provide key intelligence on this latest attack. Meanwhile, an anguished Dana pressures Finn to come clean about their hidden crime. But her quest to tell the truth will collide with her father’s secret mission in ways neither could have foreseen. Directed by John Dahl Written by Meredith Stiehm
Justin Kirk as 'Uncle Andy' fires up the bong in WEEDS on Showtime. (CR: Showtime)
Weeds : 'Memories' favourite scenes/moments VIDEO Interview (w/Screencaps):
The cast and crew of Weeds reminisce their favorite moments.
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy and Juston Kirk as Andy in WEEDS on Showtime (CR: Showtime)
There's no better time to stroll down memory lane with the Weeds cast than right now as they move towards the penultimate episode of the final season of the show this Sunday on Showtime.
Unsurprisingly, many of the favourite cast and creator moments included the numerous weed/stoner times, especially when Uncle Andy and Doug thought that they should sample as much product as they could inhale. There are also fond memories recounted of the sexual adventures that that Nancy, Andy and Doug engaged in (albeit separately) that are most often more funny than sexy,
Enjoy the reminiscing and the pictures that tell a thousands words from some of the best of the past eight season of Showtime's Weeds.
Weeds Episode 8.11 Sneak Peek VIDEOS:
Weeds Make It Grow http://youtu.be/a69—u_iNTQ
Powerful Deja Vu http://youtu.be/1w16pSk6-_E
'Yael' returns in episode 8.11 this Sunday. What will she surprise Andy with this time?
Official WEEDS Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Weedsonshowtime
Official WEEDS Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SHO_Weeds
Official
WEEDS Series Site: http://www.sho.com/sho/weeds/home
Jennifer Carpenter as Deb in Dexter (Showime) season 7 episode 1 (Sept 30)
Intel From Comic-Con 2012 Dexter Panel:
About that opening 2 minutes of season 7...
Q: Is Deb actually buying what Dexter is selling in first few minutes of Season 7?
A: “He hopes so… In that moment,” Michael C. Hall said with a laugh. Added Jennifer Carpenter, “She’s just taking one step at a time; she takes one step forward and is sent 10 back.”
Look for Season 7′s Deb to embrace her position of power a bit more than in previous years. “She actually needs [her authority] now. It’s the one card she has to play,” Carpenter teased. “At any second — if Deb lives after what you just saw [in the promo] — she could tell someone to put cuffs on him.” Long story short, “It’s like Dexter and Deb are just fish swimming [in opposite directions] for awhile.”
Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall in Dexter season 7 on Showtime - Sept 30, 2012
Familial Love?
Carpenter might be alone in these sentiments, but she was not as taken aback by Deb’s seemingly sudden affections toward her “brother.”
“There was certainly a fascination that I thought Deb had with Dexter [early on], so it didn’t feel like it was so bizarre to play that last season.”
However, she added, “I think him stabbing somebody trumps those thoughts.”
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin In WEEDS episode 8.01 (Credit: Showtime)
Episode 8.01'Messy' - Synopsis: Nancy is rushed to the hospital after being shot as the family follows close behind. There, they grapple with the tragedy (and in Doug's case, with some other 'things') and hypothesize on the shooter's identity.
SHOWTIME:'With The Creators 'VIDEO:
Very intriguing video interview with Weeds' creator Jenji Kohan about the broad strokes of what we'll see in season 8, the final season of WEEDS.
Kohan talks about how both the audience and the writers were getting frustrated with Nancy's (Mary-Louise Parker) always escaping from her misdeeds 'scot-free' and that it was almost "MacGuyver-esque" and therefore the character was in danger of not seeming genuine. Kohan goes on to explain why they chose the shooter out of a 'long list' of contenders. Kohan added that the story will circle back in some ways to season one (but we all know you can't ever truly go back, right?). Finally, she explains how episode 1 sets up season 8 to include the big question (IMO): What kind of person will the head-shot Nancy be as she recovers? Kohan also mentions the Botwin boys' very different life pursuits (currently, Shane is in the police academy and Silas is growing and selling weed) and finally, does God exist?
Also, something else to look forward to that Kohan didn't mention: Jennifer Jason Leigh (who I adore) as Nancy's sister Jill, will be making frequent appearances. Sounds like there is plenty of material to cover this last season! I'm hoping too that the rabbi who makes an appearance in this episode returns as well as a love interest for Nancy. (That may or may not have been 'set-up' in this episode.)
Next on DEXTER Episode 12: 'This Is The Way The World Ends' SYNOPSIS:
In the Season 6 finale, Dexter and Homicide race against a lunar eclipse to catch the Doomsday Killers before their final gruesome act; Debra struggles with a new emotional reality.
Update/
Season 6, Episode 12
Episode Synopsis: In the sixth-season finale, Dexter and Homicide try to stop the Doomsday Killers from committing one final murder, while Debra deals with a new emotional situation. Original Air Date: Dec 18, 2011
Guest Cast: Mos as 'Brother Sam'
DEXTER SNEAK PEEK: 'He Just Left'
Travis kidnaps Harrison.
DEXTER Season 6 Finale SPOILERS and SPECULATION:
When we first see Dexter, he’s floating in the middle of the ocean, desperately clinging to the debris of the rowboat. Although we know that Dexter will survive, there’s a helpless desperation that we haven’t seen in him for some time. He’s resigned himself to the fact that he’s going to die and finds it ironically fitting that his body will vanish into the sea without a trace. His deepest fear and regret isn’t death itself, but that he will never see Harrison grow up and become a man. It’s a great start to the episode.
If there’s any doubt that Jennifer Carpenter is this season’s MVP, then just check out the excellent performance on display here. If she gets any kind of award consideration this year, guaranteed her highlight clip will be pulled from this episode.
Colin Hanks goes out on a fairly strong note. If you’re a Hanks hater, nothing will change your mind here, but he looks worn down and weathered in a few scenes achieving the right amount of menace. It’s hard to remember him as the somewhat sympathetic man-child killer (and that’s a compliment). If you’ve enjoyed Season 6 so far, then Episode 12 is a nice capper on the continuing adventures of Dexter Morgan.
On the other hand…
If you’re looking for a “ties up all the loose ends/ advances the plot” finale, then Episode 12 might disappoint. Almost... Some plot details remain a mystery, some end with a general shrug, and others with a convenient “resolution”. If you’ve had issues over Dexter’s easy escapes and convenient logic, then there’s more ammo to fuel the fire here.
Here’s your final hints n’ teases:
Good impressionist, Masuka, he is.
Travis checks the mail
“Oh God”
But here’s one more important teaser…
...the sound of a major bombshell going off in the final minute of the episode.
Everything I’ve written above won’t matter come Monday morning, because THIS is the final impression that will be burned into your brain over the next 9 months. Bring on Season 7!
We've come to expect penultimate episodes of 'Dexter' seasons to be heart-pounding and intense, but the second-to-last episode of Season 6 raised the stakes of serial-killing suspense.
In 'Talk to the Hand,' Dexter thwarted a poison gas attack aimed at Miami Metro and lost a showdown with Travis that ended with him set out to sea, surrounded by a ring of fire. It also opened a Pandora's box of step-sibling sexual tension when Deb's therapist suggested that Deb might be in love with Dexter.
To help bring some perspective to such a dizzying episode, AOL TV has an interview-cap with Dexter Morgan himself, Michael C. Hall. We discussed tonight's episode, the developments of Season 6 and where 'Dexter' may be headed in its final two seasons. Hall offered his thoughts on the Wormwood attack, the Gellar twist, and the new, strange wrinkle in his complex relationship with Jennifer Carpenter. Read on for the interview.
A lot of wild things happened in this episode, but the most interesting was the introduction of some weird, incestuous sexual tension between Deb and Dexter. So your TV step-sister who may have feelings for your character also happens to be your real-life ex-wife. Are the writers just trying to mess with you at this point?
Hall: Absolutely. [Laughs] But not without our blessing. Jennifer and I were aware that the story was moving in this direction. We laugh about it, we shake our heads ... but you know, in as much as there are inevitable parallels, we're both very professional and committed to telling this story.
(Hall, cont.) And frankly, whatever's happened with Jennifer and me and our relationship's evolution notwithstanding, Dexter in the first episode says, "If I could ever have feelings for anyone, I'd have them for Deb." I think those two characters have been on some kind of collision course from the get-go.
Dexter seemed almost like a super-hero in this episode, thwarting the Wormwood attack and then miraculously surviving the ring of fire at the end. He often seems indestructible. Do you ever worry that the lack of realism can hurt the storytelling?
I honestly feel that from the beginning, there is undeniably, just if you look at the logistics, there is a fantastical element to the world of the show and this guy's abilities. It's not a show that's based on a graphic novel or a comic book, but it feels like it is.
Ya know, on set, we are very much aware of the logistical or literal implausibility of so many of the things that happen on the show, but I think there is a suspension of disbelief that is required of our audience.
You look at the end of the first season ... he subdues the Ice Truck Killer, and gets him back into the Ice Truck Killer's room that's like, part of an active crime scene, and slashes his throat? It's all absurd really, but there's some sort of serendipitousness or fantastical coincidence ... I've suggested in other interviews that while we don't see it, Dexter definitely has the power of flight and can turn himself into smoke. ...
Is Dexter a strong swimmer?
Hall: I mean, come on. Yeah. He better be. Or he better luck into something. I'll tell you this much ... that San Pedro water is not warm. It was pretty cold. It was hard to pretend I was in Miami. My teeth might have been chattering a take or two. Hopefully they can cut around it.
After the Gellar twist, fans have now moved on to wondering about Louis Greene. People are wondering if he's connected to the Ice Truck Killer. My own theory is that he's used his own algorithmic powers to isolate Dexter as the Bay Harbor butcher.
Hall: That's indeed a possibility. He's a formidable guy given his access and expertise. It seems pretty clear that he's somewhat obsessed with Dexter in a way that is ... potentially problematic. ...
That gets you wondering about how messed up psychologically Dexter actually is. You know, in addition to being a sociopath.
Hall: Yeah. That was kind of a magical moment when we get to see Dexter in that basement watching Travis talk to the imaginary Gellar while having a conversation over his shoulder with his imaginary father. He's nuts, man.
Episode 6.07 of Showtime's HOMELAND was truly riveting.I don't think it's an exaggeration to call it a 'game-changer.' And then a set-up for the next episode, 6.08 - 'Achilles Heel', with possibly yet another plot twist that is just as big. My TV-watching partner quit on this show, I think because the story wasn't unraveling fast enough for him. With a story like this, a certain degree of patience and I'll say it, sophistication is required to fully enjoy it.
Some of us seem to want the equivalent of 'fast-food' TV but like many things in life, taking it slowly can result in a big payoff.
HOMELAND Episode 1.08 - 'Achilles Heel' Promo VIDEO (HD)
A: This Sunday, all eyes — and phone traces, and street cameras — are on a new target as the CIA attempts to capture Brody’s presumed-dead pal, Tom Walker. But by the end of the hour, we’ll learn Walker and Brody have something — or someone — else in common. Translation: Don’t be so quick to remove Brody from the list of suspects.
Luna discloses to Sam (Sam Trammell) that she has a jealous ex who not only is a werewolf but he's a stalker, too. Luna herself is both a shifter and a witch!
HBO — June 17, 2010 — A tribute to True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse from one of her biggest fans, Snoop Dogg. For more information, log onto HBO.com.
No doubt Snoop is pretty funny. He's always been good at getting his message across. I love the dancing "Sookies" in the background and that they are not all tiny in size. They don't even have to really work at being Sookie just dress up like her, throw on a blond wig vaguely styled in Sookie's signature Merlotte's 'do and bop around behind Snoop. Highly amusing. Hey! I've watched "Oh Sookie" a couple time and I still don't know the exact word(s) that is/are bleeped out the one time that Snoop refers to Jason Stackhouse and his versus Snoop's sexual prowess (I think).
Snoop Dogg likes "True Blood" star Sookie Stackhouse so much, he made a song and video about her. In "Oh Sookie," the West Coast hip-hop vet pays tribute to the HBO vampire drama's main woman (Anna Paquin), seducing her with player talk like, "I'll order you a gin and juice at Merlotte's," and, "Come close baby, I'm the dog that don't bite -- woof, woof." Snoop also makes a convincing case for why he'd make a better boyfriend than her immortal suitors, Bill and Eric. He won't make her drink his blood and “We’ll do it in the daytime/Bill won’t know a thing,” he raps before a group of dancers dressed in blonde Sookie wigs and her signature Merlotte’s Daisy Dukes.
The lyrics, which demonstrate an impressive understanding of the show, spell out a comically sexual plea for Sookie to do bad things with him. But, it’s not just Sookie he’s after: “Bring a friend/Matter fact, bring your best friend/Tara/I’ve got some real eggs for her to eat.” In 2009, Snoop professed his love for ‘True Blood’ via his single “Gangsta Luv,” rapping: “Everyday is the same thang, I creep in/ It’s like ‘True Blood,’ I sink my teeth in/ I gotta have it.” A source at HBO reveals the d-o-double-g himself approached them with the idea for the video, and it was shot on location of the show’s Los Angeles set.
...When Snoop Dogg likes something, no matter the genre or medium, he goes all in with it.
That might explain “Oh Sookie,” a new rhyme in which the Doggfather pays homage to the mind-reading, sex-addicted, shape-shifting, bloodsucking and howling residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana, from HBO’s vampire series “True Blood.” In the video for the tune...Snoop offer(s) up his best sexual seduction come-ons while rocking a five-finger “Sookie” ring. he video for the song opens with Snoop — who later rocks a giant platinum “Sookie” chain — pulling into Bon Temps in his newly tricked-out Snoopmobile, complete with a “Tru Pimp” license plate and cloves of garlic hanging from the rearview mirror. Wearing a red, pinstriped suit, he urges Sookie to come close because, unlike so many of the creatures in the swampy town, “I’m the dog that don’t bite.” ... Snoop drops references to Sookie’s telepathy and even offers to buy her a gin and juice at the restaurant where she waitresses, Merlotte’s diner. “Bill ain’t for real, he ain’t true blood/ Snoop is a G, I smoke true bud/ Wanna be a vampire, gotta listen up/ I hit you with the glamour,” he raps while hanging outside Merlotte’s in a pimp fur and later showing off his own TB product, a package of “True Nutz.” MadHipHop
Read more :Geeks of Doom Iconic rapper Snoop Dogg really likes vampire drama True Blood, or at the very least, one of the show’s main characters Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). Evidence of Snoop’s True Blood-fanboyism can overwhelmingly be found in the music video “Oh Sookie” he produced and subsequently uploaded to YouTube to promote the show for HBO.
OMG. LOL. That's pretty awesome. Snoop is a genuine fan of True Blood. I'm in the mom demographic with my youngest kid but my oldest is in his 20's. We saw Snoop Dogg at Lollapalooza years ago. Snoop is very much a performer. He works it. Both he and HBO are savvy marketers which something I can really appreciate when it's done with style, in this case, Doggy Style. :)
... The video begins with Snoop pulling up to Merlotte’s in a tricked-out Cadillac with a personalized California license plate that reads “TRU PIMP.” He comes bearing gifts like “Tru Nutz” and proceeds to rap amongst a montage of True Blood clips and shots of Sookie look-a-like dancers.
Clarification: Dancers dressed in Sookie's Merlottte work-clothes costumes with blond, ponytailed hair.
This is truly a yummy, slice of pop culture. I love how confounding it is for people who are really unfamiliar with True Blood or with Snoop Dogg but are very familiar with one of them. They either get it or they don't and when they don't, they hate it. LOL. It's supposed to be funny --just like much of True Blood is. It really takes a light heart to enjoy this. To be able to laugh and to give Snoop props for the effort. It's a catchy tune.
The lyrics have numerous references to the show, such as Snoop recommending a Gin and Juice at Merlotte’... Sam Merlotte being a shape-shifter that Snoop sort of belows the belt by referring to him as a ‘bitch.’
Snoop helpfully suggests to Sookie how she could discretely hook up with him. Chorus: "Oh Sookie, Let me get in your head. Oh Sookie, We can lay in the bed. Oh Sookie, Choose a player like me …We can do it in the daytime, Bill won’t know a thing." ... Snoop (also beckons Tara with): “Bring a friend. Matter of fact, bring your best friend: Tara. I got some real eggs for her to eat. And these eggs come with a whole lot of cheese and greens… ya dig?”
Wow. Wouldn’t you like to see the left over footage from that
scene? Let’s set the stage. Amanda dressed in bikini bottoms with a
hoodie on top is surveying the room, looking for the clue. Danielle,
dressed much the same way, is on the bed eating popcorn and also
wondering where the clue might be. Colby is the only one actually
watching the damn movie and he downs a handful of popcorn.
Danielle finds the clue in the bowl of popcorn. She carefully
removes it and then tries to hide it from the others by dropping it on
the floor next to her. As Amanda continues her hunt for the clue she
spots it on the floor.
Amanda grabs it. Danielle tries to grab it back. The cat fight is
on.
Two women, dressed only in bikini’s who haven’t showered in weeks
fighting over a small piece of parchment in a hotel room while the
seemingly oblivious cowboy from Texas continues to watch a movie on the
television...
Amanda has it. Danielle wants it back. So... Who does the note belong to? ...
Does it belong to Danielle because she found it? Does it belong to Amanda
because she found it after Danielle dropped it on the floor? Should
they have to share it? Or does it go to the winner of The cat fight? ...
Of course I would opt for the last scenario – let them fight it out and
the winner gets it, cause let’s be honest, that would be fun to watch.
INSIGHT: From a rules point of view, there is no rule that covers
something this unique. Neither Danielle nor Amanda had a clear-cut case
of possession, so it was up in the air.
My call would have been to have them “work it out” which probably
would have resulted in all three of them sharing it together. That’s
definitely what I would have said if I had been Amanda or Colby, “Let’s
work it out together.” I would never have let Danielle walk away with
it by herself.
Yes let's talk about Colby's interference in Amanda & Danielle's exchange. Did Amanda ask for Colby's help? It sure did not look like it. (see photo)
Even though Danielle stumbled across the clue, she "hid" it in plain sight just under the bed. Amanda found it but as Danielle herself says in explanation of the physical exchange she had with Amanda, "Finders keepers." That's right, Danielle. Amanda found it because you didn't hide it fast or securely enough.
Given the situation of both women finding the clue to the HII the only reasonable conclusion would have been to have them both read it. Colby should have had NO part to play because based on his account of a full dinner with wine and the evidence of 2/3's a bottle having been imbibed in the room, there was a deep need for someone with a clear-headed assessment. Does this guy look like he fits the bill?
He looks like a typical guy trying tune out and watch the TV. He's pretty zoned--which is his due. He just had no place making judgment calls against his own former tribemate andthen-current alliance member.
So Colby screwed not only Amanda but himself as well, because back at camp the next day Danielle told Russell of her good fortune (Russ could now add another notch on his sap-o-meter regarding how easily "Russell Wentz" will take down golden-boy, Colby. <shudder>) Russell, using Danielle's clue from the Stevenson sleepover-catfight, was all over finding the HII and he did so with very little effort. (Why are HII's so easy to find? Under a small rock?!? Seriously?)
Probst has this to say about The Hidden Immunity Idols of future Survivor series:
"
RUSSELL FINDS A THIRD IDOL
“I am the king of hidden immunity idols.” I’d have to agree. Over
the last two seasons Russell has proven that he has an uncanny ability
to find the idols. In fact, he’s so good at it that he’s forever
changed how we will handle idols in future seasons.
INSIGHT: Next season it will take more than just looking under a
rock to find a hidden idol. I won’t give away what we’re doing, but in
planning our creative for next season we coined a phrase, “The Russell
Factor” and it influenced how we will play the hidden idol next season."
The 'Russell factor' is causing some online Survivor boards to explode in criticism of 1. The frequent opportunities for players to find hidden Immunity Idols and 2. more specifically, how Russell truly is an immunity magnet. Maybe psychopaths have some extra perception?
Probst seems to be hinting in Jeff
Probst blogs survivor
that Russell finds yet another HII in this game which would explain a lot of the buzz I've heard. Remember, Russell has given his HII away twice to Parvati--though now he says no more. We'll see if Parvati turns on the charm full blast and if Survivor's resident "toothless troll" as Courtney calls him, can resist her feminine wiles.
In closing:
With Amanda gone, my favourite player is as well.
Whether
it was her strength and fearlessness in the challenges, her youth
& radiant beauty or her strategical play in SURVIVOR, Amanda Kimmel
was/is a wonderful role model of a strong, fit woman--and a true hottie.
Her niceness and her willingness to share her feelings with the camera
made Amanda a sympathetic "character," though in truth, she is as Jeff
Probst has said more than once, constantly strategizing.
I'm amazed when people complain that she cries sometimes. You go live outside with no food for 100 days and see if you don't cry occasionally, is what I have to say to that dumb line of complaint about her.
Side note: When she started
this installment of the game Amanda Kimmel she weighed 144 lbs. which many people would knock as "fat." In
case you are curious she only shed 12 pounds in 30 days in Samoa. If you look at her next to most all the women and about half or more of the men she's as tall or taller. She looks to be maybe 6' tall -- so 144 lbs.? Pfft!
As
noted, Amanda Kimmel "strategized" herself into over 100 days on
Survivor with two trips to the final jury vote (getting no votes, sadly,
due to her inability to articulate why she deserved to win). She set
some records and in sum, was one of the better players ever, IMO.
Since
she is now only 25 years old, I'd love to see her in say, 5 years.That I
think is the biggest thing that knocked Amanda down--her wavering
certitude in her own "greatness." Confidence could have taken Amanda
farther in the game and if she were to gain that--and going from age 25
to
say, 30 will help a great deal--and play again, I would
tune in a few years just to see her.
In other news, I'm not going
to spoil it here but the boot list I saw has been exactly right since
day 1. Much like LOST, ironically the show modeled on SURVIVOR it seems
there have been major leaks in what went on as the SURVIVOR Heroes vs.
Villains game played on. This edition (20) of SURVIVOR was made last
summer. That's a really long time to ask the multitudes involved with
the show to not talk amongst themselves, never mind others.
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - Season 20, Episode 11
CBS Press Release.
IN THE WAKE OF A GAME-CHANGING TRIBAL COUNCIL, EVERYONE STRUGGLES TO
FIND THEIR PLACE IN THE NEWLY MERGED TRIBE, AND SOME PANICKED PLAYERS
CONSIDER MAKING NEW ALLIES, ON “SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS,”
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
“Jumping Ship” – With two swing votes hanging in the balance, no one
can be sure of their safety heading into Tribal Council, and even the
most formidable villain in the game makes a potential miscalculation, on
SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS, Thursday, April 29 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT)
on the CBS Television Network.
Amanda reflects on her time in the game of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - Amanda the Day After
Air Date: 04/29/10
Clip 3:32
Amanda reacts to having just been voted out of the game
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - Amanda's Final Words
Air Date: 04/29/10
Clip 1:10
Amanda expresses the utmost fear of Russell's control over the Villains
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - The Most Dangerous Player
Air Date: 04/29/10
Clip 1:32
Amanda describes her incident with Danielle and the immunity idol clue after the Robert Louis Stevenson reward
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - Amanda's Mistake
Air Date: 04/29/10
Clip 2:06
Now here’s where it gets bad. By now you know that Amanda has been voted out. Surprisingly, this is the first time she has been voted out ever. In her other two seasons, she hung in there until the end. She could’ve hung in there until the end this time… if she’d stood up for herself and kept the immunity idol clue. But instead, Danielle had to whine like a preschooler and she whined to Colby (of all people) as if she was fighting over a toy with her sibling and had to get Daddy into it. “Can you tell her to give it back to me?” she said to Colby after mildly struggling with Amanda for the immunity idol clue. And Colby, whose head was obviously not even in the game said something like, “She had it first,” and Amanda gave up the clue to Danielle. But that’s not the end of it. In typical school yard fashion, Danielle proclaims to her Villain buddies that she wrestled Amanda to the floor and ripped it from her hands. Whew. I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2951424/a_catfight_on_survivor_and_another.html?cat=9
Colby laughs at the catfight that erupted between Danielle and Amanda at the reward
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - Colby on the Reward
Air Date: 04/29/10
Clip 3:07
Danielle reacts to having just been physically attacked by Amanda during the Robert Louis Stevenson reward
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains - Catfight
Air Date: 04/29/10
Clip 1:24
I'll have my synopsis up later I just lost it! Dang!
Season 20, Episode 11
'Jumping Ship'
Episode Synopsis: Russell starts to lose control of his alliance, and Sandra targets him to be the next person voted out of the game as she strategizes with Rupert.
Original Air Date: Apr 29, 2010
If you thought VH1′s …of Love shows were the only place to see women wrestling with each other while yelling things like “psychopath”…well, think again! That equal parts confusing and entertaining struggle highlighted the latest edition of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. ... The claws came out when Danielle, Colby, and Amanda went on a reward trip to Robert Louis Stevenson’s home. While watching Treasure Island and chomping down popcorn, Danielle found a clue to the next hidden immunity idol and tried to hide it on the floor so no one else would see. The turned out to be a mistake when Amanda walked over and picked up the clue. Danielle then leaped to her feet and tried to physically wrestle the clue away from Amanda while calling her a “psychopath” and insisting the clue was hers. Then, in a move that was both immensely generous and immensely stupid, Colby (who shockingly seemed more interested in watching a 76-year-old movie than the two smokin’ hot babes wrestling in bikinis right in front of his face) told his alliance-mate Amanda to give the clue back to Danielle, thereby handing a second hidden immunity idol over to the enemy. Instead of refusing to give the clue up and then finding the idol to save herself, Amanda was voted out.
Here's a bit more detail about how the catfight went down:
After winning the reward challenge, Danielle, Amanda, and Colby were treated to a nice meal,a tour of and night at Robert Louis Stevenson's mansion and a screening of "Treasure Island." Amanda was on high alert, searching for the clue to the next hidden immunity idol. But it was Danielle who found the clue in the bowl of popcorn that Amanda had, ironically, passed to her. Danielle took the clue out and placed it on the floor.
That was her mistake. She should have made like she did when Parvati found a clue at a prior reward and gave it to Danielle to "hold" between Danielle's silicone-enhanced breasts. Amanda saw Danielle attempt to be stealthy so she went over by Danielle to scope things out. She saw the clue and picked it up, and this is where the real fun began. Danielle and Amanda started wrestling each other for the clue with the former telling the latter that she was a ''psychopath'' and the latter telling the former that ''it's not yours!'' All the while, Colby just sat there explaining, ''I didn't even see what happened. I was watching Treasure Island.'' Yet another "clue" that Colby is so not in the game.
"But here's where things went from crazy awesome to just plain crazy. When Danielle went to Colby for back-up on how it was her clue and she should get it back, Colby astoundingly, inexplicably agreed, responding, ''It's your clue, Danielle. It's your clue. You found it,'' and encouraging his fellow Hero Amanda to return it. And then she astoundingly, inexplicably did! Now to properly establish how insanely dumb this move was, let's go to the Survivor rulebook for a minute. Once you have a hidden immunity idol, no one is allowed to take it from you. They can't just grab it and pull a finders keepers, losers weepers on you. But this wasn't the idol. It was a clue to the whereabouts of the idol. And the clue was not even in Danielle's possession. It was sitting on the floor."
Be the first to own the Tru Blood Drink, Ships early exclusively at the HBO Shop!
It's official! The Tru Blood drink has now been 'de-fictionalized' and emerges into reality as a delicious blood orange carbonated drink.
* Meticulously crafted, the Tru Blood Drink is an exact replica of the bottle design as seen on True Blood. The 14oz glass Tru Blood bottle is stained in a rich red, with raised Tru Blood English lettering and matching Japanese Kanji.
* This blood orange flavored soda is slightly tart, lightly sweet and subtly carbonated. Designed to taste great while matching the appearance of Bill’s favorite drink, the drink pours like a regular soda, but with the standing appearance in a glass is stormy and mysterious.
True Blood, Comic Con 2009 Part 1
Please Note: Due to the weight of this item a $3.00 shipping surcharge will be added to your order at checkout.
Drink Menu:
The Fangbanger - Tru Blood, Vodka
Death on the Beach - Tru Blood, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple Juice, Vodka
Plasmapolitan - Tru Blood, Citron, Cointreau, Fresh Lime Juice
Ingredients:
Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Carmine Coloring, Potassium Sorbate, Sucralose, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Caffeine, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Caramel Coloring, Red 40, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B6, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Folic Acid, Gum Accacia, Ester Gum
Sookie is forced to babysit Jessica, as well as the romantic inconveniences the teen vampire’s presence creates. At the Light of Day leadership conference, Jason makes an impression on its ambitious leaders, Steve and Sarah Newlin. Maryann casts her spell on Merlotte’s patrons.
ASAdmin | June 22, 2009
WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC! HBO owns the rights. No copyright infringement intended.
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"Pam Will Kill Me" True Blood S02xE02 "Keep This Party Going"
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: True Blood S02xE02 "Keep This Party Going"
After making up with Bill, Sookie suggests that he take it a little easier on Jessica as she is just a teenager. Bill tries to convince Sookie that a vampire as new as she is not capable of controlling her impulses and that she could be dangerous. En route to the Light of Day Leadership conference Jason becomes fast-friends with an anti-vampire zealot named Luke, but after Jason makes a good impression on Steve Newlin, and Sarah Newlin in particular, Luke’s good-natured friendship turns to bitter jealousy and he tells Jason that he doesn’t belong there. Eric approaches Bill and demands that he and Sookie help in finding a vampire sheriff named Godric, who has gone missing in Dallas. Meanwhile, Tara finds out more about Eggs' past as a criminal and he makes it clear that he is interested in her. After a failed attempt to escape from the basement of Fangtasia, Lafayette is badly injured and asks Eric, Pam and Chow to turn him into a vampire. Fangs bared, they ferociously bite him. Jessica realizes she misses her family after her parents, who think she has just gone missing, appear on TV. She asks Sookie to take her to see her family and Sookie agrees, on the condition that Jessica stay in the car. Although she agrees, Jessica eventually ignores Sookie and drops in on her old family. When her father comes home, he angrily accuses her of putting the family through hell, and even though Sookie tries to stop her, Jessica attacks her father and threatens to kill him for all the times he beat her. But Bill shows up and glamours his way into the house just in time. The episode ends on an ominous note, with Bill throwing Sookie out of the house barking at her that he has to "clean up her mess"
Last night we saw Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer quarrel over his keeping secrets--big secrets from her--and then having fierce, kinky make-up sex that looked pretty real right up to and including Bill's chomping on Sookie's neck, blood flowing like a necklace across her throat.
When True Blood actors said in pre-season interviews that there would be "more sex," I think they were being quite literal. Will more sex and violence, especially when coupled together turn off the audience members that are not the most ardent fans?
I hope so.
There is a vampire overload in American entertainment right now and most of it is dreck. Nothing especially wrong with that as judging from what the top twenty network shows are, most of teevee-show-watching America thrives on dreck.
I would just as soon see a smaller, more cerebral audience for True Blood than to see a bunch of teenagers jumping on the True Blood bandwagon seeking vampires that sparkle--because they don't belong there.
Despite all the hype--especially the viral marketing of True Blood--it's made for a specific demographic that is not put off by vampires biting whilst having sex, (almost)vfull nudity, intense violence which includes buckets of blood--and more sex. And just to mix it up and keep it interesting and fun we get the sheriff of Area 5,1000 year-old former Viking, vampire Eric Northman paying a visit to his dungeon whilst in the middle of having his hair highlighted, foils and all.
We also get Sookie, upon discovering that Bill has turned his first victim vampire as punishment for last season's killing of Fangtasia bartender Longshadow when he was attempting to snap Sookie's neck, enquiring of Bill and new vamp Jessica, "Did you have sex?" To which Bill blurts out "No!" while Jessica throws in "Old"! (as in ew, he's disgustingly old). <big smiles>
Sookie and Bill, afters she stomps off and then comes back another night, end up declaring their love for one another and having frenzied sex. This is not stuff for teenagers, not stuff for the easily unnerved or to be blunt, prudish, nor is it for the squeamish.
The violence in True Blood, though played straight, is in fact done with a wink and a nod. Just pay attention to how ludicrous the storyline gets.
Last season for example, a scene begins with vampire Bill in his dilapidated old mansion--playing Wii-like golf on his big screen. It's funny yes, but also kind of sad as we know that no matter how long he "lives" he'll never play out on the greens.
And so True Blood goes. It's intense, scary, funny, sexy, witty, violent, escapist entertainment for, need I say? Grown-ups.
There is a thread of social commentary running through it which you can feel free to ignore or acknowledge though why would you want to ignore it?
Please though if it offends you, pick up your remote and click over to Animal Planet. Oops, there's sex and violence there, too.
How about Dancing with the Stars or American Idol? They are pretty harmless and I've heard quite entertaining if you are into that kind of thing. And that's really my point. People that are into True Blood and therefore into Alan Balls' work are a bit left of mainstream and we don't get all freaked out by the freakiness. For us, the farther out he goes the more we enjoy ourselves.
Last time I checked that was the point of couch-sitting for 60 minutes whist facing a large plasma screen.
Below there are some hardcore spoilers regarding Nelsan Ellis's "Lafayette," BonTemp's gay, V -selling prostitute and Merlotte's (probably ex) short-order cook.
I'm calling shenanigans on Ausiello and every other critic that has seen one-third of Season 2 of True Blood already and are blabbing about it. I write about spoilers and I don't even want to know what's gonna happen episodes down the line.
However, in their quest to get eyeballs on their websites Ausiello and I'm sure I'll a bunch of others paid and unpaid who are are practically wetting their pants,totally untrustworthy about leaking info three weeks before it occurs on True Blood, a 12-week show on HBO.
I can't imagine that Alan Ball wants that much of his story out of the bag so early in the season.
I'm hoping it's more HBO's publicity department. You know, the ones who've been accused of driving one of the last nails in the coffin of the Los Angeles Times by wrapping Stephen Moyer around last Friday's edition?
How will the experience of being locked in a dungeon and almost dying change Lafayette this season? ELLIS: It certainly humbles him. It shows him there are some situations he just can’t get himself out of no matter how slick he is. He's going to have to suffer the consequences of what he’s done. And I think he reflects back on his behaviour and maybe for a second thinks about changing. What was your reaction (to finding out LaFayette survives?) ELLIS: Thank you! I have a job for next season! That was my reaction. Did (showrunner Alan Ball) explain to you why he let Lafayette survive? ELLIS: Not really. He just said he decided after the bar scene in [the pilot], but he didn’t tell me until the 12th episode. He didn’t really go into any detail as to why he decided to keep me -- not to me anyway.
In an upcoming episode [SPOILER ALERT], Lafayette ingests a lot of Eric’s blood. The homoeroticism in that moment was off the charts. Was that something you were conscious of while shooting it? ELLIS: I wasn’t. I know Alexander said that from his standpoint he thinks Eric is a little drawn to Lafayette. My intentions were that I was completely terrified of Eric and what he can do to me. As far as I know, I hated his guts. It’s funny what the camera picks up... Alan has been making jokes about me and Eric and what’s to come in the third season. I definitely think I’ll be one of his henchmen, but as far down the rabbit hole as that goes, I don’t know.
So we can assume that Lafayette does, in fact, survive to see a third season? ELLIS: I think I’m back for the third season.
Do you think it’s possible for Lafayette to settle down and have a normal relationship with a guy? ELLIS: I don’t know that his normal is the general norm for everybody. I don’t think he’ll ever be normal to everybody’s standards. I do hope though that the dude can find someone that he loves and that loves him back. Everybody should be capable of that -- even Lafayette. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Medina)
If you've watched TRUE BLOOD - SEASON 2, EPISODE 1, watch this. See if you agree that these are the best scenes.:
DEBORAH ANN WOLL AND STEPHEN MOYER ON TRUE BLOOD SEASON 2
"In all honesty, this stuff is for the rabid True Blood fangirls who need no introduction to these two, but if you're reading this anyway and you're the type who likes a little metadata with your content, then you should know this is a post about True Blood, which is an hour-long sex, blood, and soap opera Southern Gothic vampire series executive produced by Alan Ball and broadcast by the premium cable network HBO." - E!
These interviews with actors Alexander Skarsgård, who plays Viking vampire Eric Northman, and Stephen Moyer, who plays Southern vampire Bill Compton, were conducted by E! News at the True Blood season-two premiere party at the Paramount lot in Hollywood on the evening of June 9, 2009. For further information, please review our series of informative online articles(lulz) on the topic of True Blood. Season two of True Blood premieres Sunday, June 14 at 9 p.m. on the Home Box Office channel delivered by your cable or direct broadcast satellite provider. Enjoy." Credit: TEAM WWK
Huh. That's the first time I've heard Alexander Skarsgård speaking as himself. I thought he'd have an accent. Isn't he really big in one of those Icelandic or Norwegian countries? EDIT/ SWEDEN! Or is that just rumour and/or innuendo?
Also, it's still pretty striking too, to hear Stephen Moyer speak as not-Bill. Lovely voice.Anna Paquin as well (not heard in this clip). Not an American in the bunch!
You'll notice in thatwhen writing about True Blood E! (below after jump) really seems intent on making sure the reader knows that "True Blood" has some very raunchy sex scenes. That's because Alan Ball is unafraid of your reaction. But it's not teevee, it's HBO so he can do what he wants. As he did on Six Feet Under.
Meanwhile, media outlets like E! can grapple with just how do they write about this show they ignored until it became a hit? Hmm.
Anyway, I think True Blood brings out into the open a number of sex taboos on American television, namely sex itself! The Brits are much more casual about a shot of breast or bum--and their language is saltier, albeit at times very hard to understand to my not-Brit ears.
More with Stephen Moyer talking to E! after the jump:
SCENE ONE - "She's a Hell of a Girl" - Michelle Forbes' Maryann meets Tara's (Rutina Wesley) mother (Adina Porter), but it isn't all love and warm feelings:
Oh, here it is! I've been waiting for Michelle Forbes to be turned loose. And that's the beauty of this actress. She can cut someone straight through using only the weapon of her words. Here, Tara's mother gets a taste of being "Maryann's" bad side. Excellent scene!
SCENE TWO - "We're All Equals Here" - Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) tells a visiting minister that God has a purpose for him:
This may be unfair but I think the "Jason finds Jesus" storyline sounds the absolute weakest. It's an Alan Ball creation (not from the books) which I believe will segue into Jason's next adventure which should be way more appealing, IMO. I'm guessing though that his next adventure willnot start in earnest until the end of Season 2 or even not 'till Season 3.
SCENE THREE -"This Is All Your Fault" - Bill (Stephen Moyer) explains to Sookie (Anna Paquin) how Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) came into being and how long she'll be around.
Getting the tension between Sookie and Jessica started from the get-go, Bill answers Sookie's string of Jessica-related questions honestly, though with a strong streak of "but I did it for you" runningthrough his explanation. In truth, Bill turned Jessica upon hearing that the Spanish Inquisition-era trained "judge" of his crime against vamps--the staking of Longshadow to save Sookie--told him he could show him some "real" torture.There was no threat against Sookie When Bill turned Jessica. All Sookie had to lose was Bill himself. Perhaps this act of selfishness on Bill's part is an exmaple of his "human" fraility?
SCENE FOUR - "We Made a Deal" - Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) lets Bill (Stephen Moyer) know that he still has need for Sookie:
This scene is odd with vamps Eric and Bill with a shopping mall as the backdrop. The pissing match between these two continues with Eric again (predicably) keeping the upper hand in procuring Sookie's services in locating the ancient vampire Godric..
Stephen Moyer True Blood Season 2 Premiere - StephenMoyerWebring.com
Here are a string of videos from the True Blood Season 2 Premiere brought to you by one of the original True Blood fans who actively promoted the show early on, without any "special access" (as far as I know!)
Sam Trammell True Blood Season 2 Premiere -StephenMoyerWebring.com
Unfortunately, the crowd noise was such that the interviewer could be heard just fine--so we hear the question put to the actors but the responses by actors Kwanten, Moyer, Paquin, Wesley and Trammell are almost inaudible. If you can read lips you'll have no problem, to a lesser extent you can get a feel for the actors by interpreting their body language.
For my part I've decided that the incredibly smart, gracious, and cute Sam Trammell is the one I'm going to really follow this season. As much as I love Anna, Sam Trammell has won me over. He's absolutely an actor's actor.
Anna Paquin True Blood Season 2 Premiere - StephenMoyerWebring.com
"Sophie-Anne LeClerq," the 400 year-old vampire Queen of Louisiana who makes her appearance in the Alan Ball-helmed HBO series near the end of season two, was honoured last night at Hollywood Life’s 11th Annual Young Hollywood Awards.
About Queen Sophie-Anne -
"She's kind of a cross between Patrick Bateman and Paris Hilton. ... she's crazy-- and she's a lesbian!"
(And what about your lesbian love interest?)
"I haven't really met (her) yet. She's not really a love interest. I feed from her."
Wood was presented with the Young Hollywood Superstar award by Patricia Clarkson but prior to that spoke about her role as Queen Sophie-Anne and “her impending lesbian love interest.”
Really fun feature story on True Blood coming out in Sunday's L.A.Times. The article is available online for those of us who don't buy the Times. There are spoilers in the article penned by Jessica Gelt, which pertain to the latter half of Season 2.
Since True Blood interviews have saturated the Internet and will continue on the airwaves this week coming with Stephen Moyer appearing Wednesday on both the ABC daytime chat-fest, The View, and late that night on Jimmy Fallon (check your local listings for info) , I was a bit more interested in things that have not yet caught my eye. Like for example the incredible access that fan-sitetruebloodnet.com getsis due to it now being pseudo-sponsored by HBO which "helps secure interviews for (them)," even taking one of the webmasters "on a guided tour of the show's set."
Since the interview also plugs "Bill's Babes," which originates from the website The Vault,
my money is on the likelihood that they too have a "special relationship" with HBO.
That's all well and good IMO--anything that promotes the show--though the lines are getting blurry as to what is official and what isn't. This reflects in part the breakneck-speed changes in how we distribute and assimilate media. That sort of works in the favour of people like me who approach the show from a different perspective but like to have access to information surrounding it.
Since Ms. Gelt, the women of truebloodnet.com, and even True Blood showrunner Alan Ball seem to feel that True Blood is a women's show, I won't take issue with that but it is not why I tuned in. (I also suspect that because of the show's tolerance of all forms of sexuality--male-female,male-male, etc. that it may have a larger gay-bi-lesbian following than anyone is talking about publicly. Six Feet Under was also very tolerant, portraying a realistic long-term homosexual relationship--one of the things that contributed to its greatness, I think.)
I saw the adverts for True Blood a week or two before it's debut in 2008. It was marketed as "from the maker of Six Feet Under" which made me sit up and notice and "starring Anna Paquin." With that, I decided on the spot that I'd give it a go and I was fairly certain after being wrapped up in Alan Ball's Six Feet Under for it's entire run that True Blood would be good, if not great, too.
I've been a vampire lover since reading Bram Stoker's Dracula at age 9. My father, who is a big science fiction and to a lessor extent, fantasy reader had it on the bookshelf and it looked intriguing. I read it right through--twice and even at that young age I was aware of the sensuous undertones. Much later came Anne Rice and The Vampire Lestat and though I enjoyed several of Ms. Rice's books it wasn't until Brad Pitt did his turn as the tortured, beautiful vampire "Louis" in the film "Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" that I truly got sucked in (no pun intended) to the notion that as Mr. Ball puts it, "Vampires are sex."
"True Blood" on HBO follows the romance between waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her soul mate, 173- year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). The bomb that shattered the living room left carnage in its wake. The floor is slick with blood, tattered bodies litter the room, entrails dangle from the ceiling and an unrecognizable mass of goo stuck to the wall erratically spurts jets of mauve blood. "I'm gonna ask everyone to clear the set who is not actually dying on it," yells Scottie Gissel, a first assistant director for HBO's hit vampire series " True Blood," which launches into its second season of sensational Gothic gore and lusty, undead romance next Sunday. (Viewers will see the scene of explosive destruction that Gissel is stage-managing late in the season.) On this sunny afternoon, the cast and crew work in overdrive on a gloomy, fog-soaked soundstage at the Lot on Santa Monica and Formosa. They labor with the assuredness of a project vindicated. After getting off to a rocky start critically last fall, "True Blood," based on the books by Charlaine Harris and created by Alan Ball, who created "Six Feet Under" and wrote "American Beauty," steadily built its audience to emerge as HBO's most popular show in recent years, with an average of 7.8 million viewers watching each episode by the end of Season 1. With a fervent fan base, including nearly half a dozen fan-run websites that HBO -- in a forward-thinking approach to managing public opinion -- actively fosters, "True Blood" is hoping to prove with its sophomore season that even in the "Twilight" age of vampire overkill, it can maintain its success. Unrest hits undead "True Blood" takes place in a world where vampires have come out of the coffin , so to speak, aided by the invention of a synthetic blood substitute called Tru Blood that helps keep their primal appetites at bay. Still, prejudice against the undead abounds, with many of the show's human characters motivated by a hate and fear that is as gruesomely destructive as that of even the most unrepentant bloodsucker. Season 1 established the main action: "True Blood" is set in the fictional backwater town of Bon Temps, La., where a telepathic good girl named Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) works as a waitress in a raucous bar called Merlotte's. When a mysterious vampire named Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) comes to town, Sookie falls in love with him. A high body count and muddy graveside sex ensue....
As he leads an on-set tour of Bill's cryptic, mossy mansion, Moyer says that he and Paquin were in England when Season 1 first aired, so they never got the chance to watch it. In the real world, the pair are dating and live together. They kept their romance a secret for 10 months before coming out with it on set; its inception was aided by the fact that during filming for the pilot "HBO very stupidly put us in the same hotel," says Moyer, adding that he knew "True Blood" was building a fan base but didn't realize the scope of it until someone sent Paquin a shirt emblazoned with the words, Bill's Babes."
"She was like, 'I'm the original Bill's babe,' and she would occasionally wear the shirt around the house," says Moyer... ... Ball says... says, although... deeper topics are definitely present, the show, its fans and its creator are primarily concerned with campy glee. "I needed fun," he says. " 'Six Feet Under' was a really gratifying emotional and artistic experience, but it's hard to spend five years peering into that existential abyss. This one is just fun. It's so much fun."
Paquin thinks so too. Walking around the set in a dirt-and-blood-stained white coat and high heels, her shiny blond hair matted and fake glass sticking out of her slender calves, Paquin asks the crew and visitors for hugs and jokes about how fabulous she looks... What fans are responding to, says Paquin, is the fact that "True Blood" is an "exciting, big-concept, plot-driven, really high-class soap opera." And like in any good soap opera, Moyer knows that no matter how you chew on the show's politics, it all really comes back to sex. Biting, specifically. His dark eyes glittering with mischief, he says: "There wasn't a hole there before and there's a hole there now. It's sexy. There's no getting away from it. If you want to scrape away at it, scrape away, but it's really sexy stuff."
"The blogging empire is temporarily welcoming a new site into its fold
that’s written and paid for by HBO to promote the network’s noir
vampire drama, True Blood. And the word “advertisement” won’t appear
anywhere in the project’s vicinity."
I'm gonna say it.
Wowsa.
I've been blogging in the "sponsored post" arena since November 2007, and there has not been one minute that it has not been controversial. Initially and I was late to the party by at least 18 months, all sponsored posting was baaaad. Only bad people with bad intentions did paid blogging without the blog post itself screaming "I'm an advert!!! She's getting money to write this!"
I
admit I had not thought through what the ethical implications were to
writing short blog posts which pushed products. I didn't think it was
doing any harm as I talked about what I thought of the product or
simply talked about the product in the days where I was assigned work
that if I turned it down I would get no further work.
That company
literally did not care what I wrote. They simply wanted me to insert a
link. So for example, if I had to write about a diet supplement I would
talk of the dangers of dieting and if you ever did use a product like
"X" do so only under your doctor's care.
Frankly, I was glad when that
company told me to choose them or another another company to work for. The other other company told me to work for
whomever I pleased. Guess who I chose? At the same time, in fact years before, Google was
getting very agitated because companies that had bloggers share their
opinions about products got free "Google" juice when a "do follow" link
was used in the post. That means, to make it very simple, that the company pushing a product was in direct competition with Google's
Adsense when it came to search engine results that Internet users would get.
Huge no-no in the land of GOOG. Again, I totally had no idea that what I was doing was in violation of Google search engine rules. They stripped me of PageRank which is a metric which is considered to be a short-hand way of telling the world what your blog is worth.
Since
11/2007, I've made over $4000 doing paid blogging some with "do follow"
links and here now only with "nofollow" links. There are
no ads on this blog that violate Google's policy. I only very occasionally
write adverts here and all of them have a big honking in-post badge
saying I got paid, along with the non-Google juice producing nofollow
links. I might add that I'm offered many posts per pay for decent money but the advertisers do not want me to disclose that I'm writing an advert. So I never write them. For one, I'm acutely aware that I'm being used (for my Page Rank! I feel so dirty!). They want to take advantage of my PageRank so they get sweeter link juice--for about a week--because that's when Google will strip me of my PageRank and if I have anything to say about that, it's not going to happen. I know better now.
If
you read an ad on this blog you'll know it's an ad. And this is
important, too: I hand-pick all my ads. As I said, I turn down money
each day--and that's really painful, believe me. But I'm preserving my
PageRank and my integrity.That's the other part of Gawker's experiment (their wording)
that I find intriguing. Will they too lose PageRank? One would think
that the Blood Copy ads will be in violation of Google's rules. I know I'm staying tuned in order to see what happens when one of the big guys does what the little guys got crushed for.
Lastly, Gawker is utilizing paid blogging to advertise one of my favourite shows. I have to be honest. I'm excited about this. I'm interested to see how it plays out, yes and I'm curious to hear what kind of reception the advertising gets from various fronts but most importantly from the consumer because friends, despite being told as we grew up that the Hokey-Pokey was what "it" is all about, that is simply not true. In this great land of consumers what it is all about is selling stuff, the more stuff the better. The ways of selling are changing at a dizzying rate. With newspapers, magazines, and television losing ground in the advertising wars, those that want to sell stuff need to be willing to experiment with a variety of venues. That's what it's all about, folks.
Entries from the blog, BloodCopy, will appear as cross-posts in the mix of Gawker Media’s eight verticals, which include Gizmodo, Kotaku, and the flagship. They’ll be set off by a border and labeled as BloodCopy posts but otherwise indistinguishable from editorial content — except that the blog is written by an undead, bloodsucking ghoul.
“With vampires, we thought we could be a little looser with the disclosure and create some disbelief,” Chris Batty, Gawker’s vice president of sales and marketing, told me yesterday, dismissing critics of the advertorial as “humorless.” He also made a bold prediction that surprised me so much I made sure to confirm I’d heard correctly:
“If we’re around in three or four years,” Batty said, “the majority of our advertising revenue will be in sponsored posts like this.”
Maryann's Solo True Blood Promo
Courtesy of (HBO).
The excitement is reaching a fever pitch as the countdown to the second season premiere of HBO's True Blood on June 14, 2009, is now less than one month away. The wait has been excruciating, but by all accounts it will be worth it.
For my part, having read the Sookie Stackhouse novels, I have to say I enjoyed book II, "Living Dead In Dallas" more than I did the first book, which I really liked. Regardless of the disclaimer made by showrunner Alan Ball that his vision of True Blood is distinctly different than that of the Sookie books by Charlaine Harris (and I'm not disputing his assertion) ;),I can see from the bits and pieces of the promos that there is quite a bit of overlap, too. And that, IMO, is a very good thing indeed.
Eric's Solo True Blood PromoSookie Solo True Blood PromoBill & Sookie True Blood Promo
Catch three segments of HBO's The Buzz after the jump!
Sorry the plot synopsis'are sort of random. They do give you a fair idea of where Alan Ball is taking the series in Season 2.
Season 2 Episode 1: “Nothing But the Blood” AIRING DATES: Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 14 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
A
shocking murder outside Merlotte’s has Bon Temps reeling. Meanwhile,
Sookie’s (Anna Paquin) relationship with Bill (Stephen Moyer) is tested
when she learns about Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), and of his
involvement in her uncle’s death. Sam (Sam Trammell) recalls a
shape-shifting encounter he had with Maryann (Michelle Forbes) as a
17-year-old. Jason (Ryan Kwanten) gets a sudden windfall that allows
him to pay for a leadership retreat with the Fellowship of the Sun. Two
adversaries find themselves sharing a mysterious dungeon and, possibly,
the same fate.
Season 2 Episode 2: “Keep This Party Going” Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
Sookie
is forced to cope with Bill’s obligations to Jessica, as well as the
romantic inconveniences the teen vampire’s presence creates. At the
Light of Day leadership conference, Jason makes a favorable impression
on its ambitious leaders, Steve (Michael McMillian) and Sarah Newlin
(Anna Camp), though not on his jealous roommate Luke (Wes Brown).
Maryann casts her spell on Merlotte’s patrons, and Sam proves helpless
to stop the revelry.
Season 2 Episode 3: “Scratch My Back” Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 28 (9:00-10:00 p.m.)
When
Sookie is attacked by a mysterious creature, Bill must enlist Eric’s
(Alexander Skarsgård) help to save her. At the Light of Day retreat,
Jason has second thoughts about the sect’s anti-vampire agenda, but
Sarah and Steve counter his doubts with flattery and promises. After
snapping at Tara (Rutina Wesley) and new employee Daphne (Ashley
Jones), Sam decides to cut and run. A bored Jessica heads over to
Merlotte’s, where a smitten Hoyt (Jim Parrack) falls under her spell.
At another Maryann-hosted party, Tara finds her attraction to Eggs
(Mehcad Brooks) interrupted by a swirling, aphrodisiac fog.
Before
the new season of True Blood kicks off, viewers will have a chance to
catch up on season one. HBO2 will present three episodes per night
back-to-back at 8:00 p.m., June 4-6, while HBO will present the first
season’s final three episodes back-to-back at 8:00 p.m. on June 7. Source: truebloodnet.com
Host Justin Timberlake worked song and dance into nearly every sketch on this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live
— his take on Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” while dressed as a giant breast
implant was pretty amusing, and he also appeared alongside musical
guest Ciara (clip after the jump) — but “Motherlover,” his new digital
short with “Dick in a Box” costar Andy Samberg stole the show.
Set five months after their “Dick” bust, the pair of Color Me
Badd-styled singers leave jail just in time for Mother’s Day, realize
they have no gifts for their moms (their boxes are empty without the
dicks) and plot an ingenious, filthy “switcheroo” over hero sandwiches
— because what’s a better present than sex with your son’s pal? Susan
Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson guest star as the lonely cougars who
play Mrs. Robinson for their respective son’s best friend, because
“Every Mother’s Day deserves a Mother’s Night.”
This song is very, very bad and very, very funny. I always forget to watch SNL because let's face it, it's been with the exception of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, not exactly "must see tv." But this I might not have watched anyway because the one time I saw Justin Timberlake live--with the Rolling Stones believe it or not--he was awful. Truly terrible. But between "Dick in a Box" and his other comedy bits as well as his very strong "enhanced" performances--as in his bit here with Ciara, I may have to reconsider.
The previously announced project from Starz Media,
"Spartacus: Blood and Sand," will feature the New Zealand-bred thesp,
who starred in "Xena" from 1995-2001, as the proprietor of a camp for
gladiators.
Australian thesp Andy Whitfield will play the title role.
(The) project, which goes into production in April, is set to bow on the Starz premium cabler in January, 2010.
Rihanna and Chris Brown on Feb. 7Photo by: Lester Cohen / WireImage
Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.
The pair have reunited almost three weeks after Brown, 19,
allegedly battered the "Umbrella" singer on Feb. 8, a source tells
PEOPLE.
"They're together again. They care for each other," says the
source. The on-again couple are currently spending time together at one
of Sean "Diddy" Combs's homes, on Miami Beach's Star Island.
Taking a break from my usual fanwanking I'm going to say the only thing I've said about this case of a guy beating up a girl.
After weeks went by with no word from Rihanna regarding Chris Brown I was pretty sure she'd go back to him. I'd hope not but experience told me differently.
I let a guy beat me repeatedly over a 3 ½ year period. I even married him. Once a man beats a woman he does not stop. He takes breaks. HE DOES NOT STOP.
Rihanna is one year younger than I was when I got into an extremely abusive situation and as "horrific" as her police domestic violence shot is, I had the same type of injuries many times over. The thug that does this to his woman does not stop a beating until he has thoroughly messed her up. Her exterior is a mirror of his interior.
Trust me on this one. Rihanna is NOT stupid. She is allowing herself to be victimized. My guess is at some time in her youth she was victimized in some fashion. Am I saying someone beat her? That is possible but just as possible is sexual abuse, neglect, verbal abuse or some awful combination. She'll stay with Chris Brown until something drastic changes. And when and if she chooses to leave him she'd best have a bodyguard with her when she does.
This upsets me not so much for Rihanna as for kids for whom both she and Brown are role models.
After watching three seasons of Dexter, one of cable's very best shows,I was wondering how in Season Four, which sadly is some time away, it could maintain it's killer level of entertainment.
I've been enthralled with Dexter since Season 1, E1, "Dexter" having started watching Dexter beginning with the premiere based solely on Michael C. Hall's work as "David Fisher" in HBO's brilliant (but sometimes grating) Six Feet Under.
After all these years of watching him I would have thought I'd see him give away something when he looked at his real-life love while she was literally acting as his sister.
I totally never saw this coming on Michael C. Hall's side, but what I've mentioned a couple times over the recently finished Season 3 to my spouse and son with whom I have a standing weekly date to watch Dexter, is that Jennifer Carpenter keeps getting better--looking great and growing incredibly as an actress. Now I see that she's only age 29 so must have started "Dexter" around age 25-26. I noted that Jennifer had sort of taken on the role in a way in which it seemed she felt really comfortable in her skin. I'm guessing dating "the sexiest man alive" has helped her grow into the role--of big-sister, Deb. Eep. She's only 29 and he's 37. That it hasn't been glaring obvious is a huge credit to Michael C. Hall's seemingly eternal youthfulness.
I :heart: Jennifer Carpenter. I'm so happy for them both but honestly just a tiny bit weirded out. I'll get over it, obviously (or will I?) but the newlyweds really must share some weddings shots so we can really picture them as Mr. and Mrs. Hall. Please and thank you. (Big Sur! Yummy, though it is rainy season and the winds get pretty stiff there. Still, a beautiful backdrop for nuptials.)
"...They may play brother and sister on Dexter, but in real life Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were lawfully wed on New Year's Eve, according to Hall's rep... The outdoor ceremony was held in Big Sur, CA. Jennifer carried a bouquet of white roses with her
grandfather's wedding band attached.
Dexter's cast and crew are currently on hiatus but will resume
work on the upcoming fourth season early this year. Dexter has already been renewed by Showtime for two more 12-episode seasons.
Hall, 37, and Carpenter, 29, plan to appear together at this year's Golden Globes Awards on Sunday. The couple has been secretly
dating for about a year and a half and will make their first public
appearance together on the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton. The series
is up for multiple awards, including Best Actor in a Drama for Hall.
PEOPLE...spoke with Jennifer the Emmys last September, where she answered the question, "Who's the sexiest man alive?" with, "Michael C Hall!. "He's the sexiest man alive. He's one of the best we've got. He's an incredible talent..."
The notion of a endeavor like this usually gives me a bit of trepidation as the success rate of some past well-intentioned environmental efforts has been questionable. I often think of Newton's laws, one of which is usually trimmed down to, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." One would surmise that there would be a reaction to the repeated dumping into the Atlantic Ocean of 19-ton New York City retired subway cars, off the coast of Delaware. So what does happen after almost 700 subway cars are dumped into the Atlantic Ocean? Read on.
Photos: Tim Shaffer for The New York Times
New York City subway cars being towed to a location off the coast of Delaware, where they will be dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. NYTimes.com
Once submerged, the subway cars turn a barren stretch of ocean floor into a bountiful oasis, carpeted in sea grasses, walled thick with blue mussels and sponges, and teeming with black sea bass and tautog.
Seeing Delaware's successes, other states have started competing for the subway cars, which New York City provides for free.
“They’re basically luxury condominiums for fish,” Jeff Tinsman, artificial reef program manager for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said as one of 48 of the 19-ton retirees from New York City sank toward the 666 already on the ocean floor.
In the last several years, the artificial reefs have drawn swift, open-ocean fish, such as tuna and mackerel, that use the reef as a hunting ground for smaller prey.
The American Littoral Society and other environmental groups opposed the use of the Redbird cars because they have small levels of asbestos in the glue used to secure the floor panels and in the insulation material in the walls.
State and federal environmental officials approved the use of the Redbirds and other cars for artificial reefs in Delaware and elsewhere because they said the asbestos was not a risk for marine life and has to be airborne to pose a threat to humans.
Mr. Tinsman particularly favors the newer subway cars with stainless steel on the outside to create reefs. “We call these the DeLoreans of the deep,” he said.
Subway cars in general, he said, are roomy enough to invite certain fish, too heavy to shift easily in storms and durable enough to avoid throwing off debris for decades.
“The one problem I see with them,” Mr. Tinsman said, “is that just like the DeLoreans, there are only a limited number.”
Edit/ Apparently yes he did, according to her family:
Britney Spears's family is accusing Dr. Phil McGraw of violating their trust by making public statements about his hospital visit with the troubled pop star and his call for her to receive therapy...
Waiting...
"It's true people sometimes need to be placed under involuntary mental health treatment because they can't take care of themselves," veteran psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Sugar said of the 26-year-old Spears. "But there's a difference between being detained involuntarily for psychological treatment and being forced to endure Dr. Phil involuntarily."
(my comment follows)
I wonder what Dr. Phil thought he could do to for Britters? Besides her "psychological disease," as a family spokesperson referred to what ails the pop singer, Britney has demonstrated behaviour consistent with borderline and narcissistic personality disorders plus the courts (not to mention the paparazzi) have documented her copious use of drugs and drink. If there ever were a textbook example of a patient with co-existing psychological "diseases" or what in the 21st Century we refer to as disorders, Britney, whose behaviour has been so plenteously documented by the ever-vigilant media, is that sad example.
In scanning some of the reaction (statements by "experts," natch) to Dr. Phil's barging into Brit's psychiatric ward room as she was in the process of being discharged I've seen references to Britney as an "older adolescent." Britney is 26-year's old! If age 26 constitutes being an adolescent than at what age is one allowed to be an adult? Do we ever have to grow up?
I've not ever met Britney Spears so the best I can do is diagnose her from afar which I would never do with an actual client. That doesn't stop myriad entities in the media including Dr. Phil, the biggest self-help self-promoter this side of Oprah, to the armchair experts from documenting and cataloguing her "transgressions."
With his self-serving, highly questionable actions of inserting himself into Britney's life without an invitation is Dr. Phil any better than the paparazzi (that she sometimes courts and sometimes reviles) in their relentless pursuit of finding Britney in yet another compromising position?
I don't follow Britney though she's unavoidable when reading both mainstream and entertainment press but at the most basic level I'm alarmed that she seems to have put her children in situations in which they've been exposed to possible danger. She may not truly be a "bad mother" but acting like one was a sure way, when under unrelenting scrutiny of the media, to have them taken from her and given to her gold-digging, ex-dancer, ex-husband. That's the saddest thing because as "sick" as she is Britney Spears is an adult who can make an adult decision--even if it is her very first--to seek help in managing her behaviour. Because at this point her kids--who are still babies--haven't had much more than three years of life between them and they are already screwed unless someone intervenes for them.
"These polls seem to suggest the public has decided to just 'throw
the bums out,'" said Karlyn Bowman, a public opinion analyst at the
conservative American Enterprise Institute.
"These are huge,
huge, numbers and they are very bad for Republicans," she said. "There
is not a shred of good news in these polls for Republicans."
Clinton raises $7.3 bln to help tackle world woes
Fri Sep 22, 2006 03:53 PM ET
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton wrapped up his
second annual brainstorming summit on Friday with commitments worth
$7.3 billion to combat illness, poverty, religious and ethnic conflict
and climate change.
The 215 commitments secured during the three-day Clinton Global
Initiative in New York were headlined by British billionaire Richard
Branson's pledge on Thursday to spend an estimated $3 billion over 10
years fighting global warming.
While the 2006 initiative secured less than the 300 or so commitments
made during the inaugural event last year, the value of this year's
pledges almost tripled the $2.5 billion achieved in 2005.
"What Richard Branson did here is wonderful, but you don't need $3
billion to replicate it," Clinton told the summit, adding the aim of
the initiative was simply to "create a piece of common ground in a
highly contentious world."
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp. also reminded
people that commitments to tackle the world's woes did not need to
involve a big monetary donation.
"We can do many, many things -- they're not multibillion dollar things
-- but maybe they're more valuable," Murdoch said at the event.
Among the pledges made was a commitment to create a green fund expected
to raise up to $1 billion and to be managed by former World Bank
President James Wolfensohn to support investments in renewable energy.
Microfinance nonprofit Opportunity International pledged to provide
$500 million in loans, savings, insurance, and training to help 50
million people work their way out of poverty around the world.
The world's biggest diamond producer, De Beers, pledged $2 million to
help improve the lives of diamond miners in Tanzania, frequently
exploited by middlemen and rogue traders.
Merck & Co. Inc. committed $75 million in a partnership with the
government of Nicaragua to vaccinate every child born in Nicaragua over
the next three years against rotavirus, the most common cause of severe
diarrhea among children.
The initiative grew out of Clinton's frustration as president from 1993
to 2001 at attending conferences on important world issues that were
all talk and no action.
Among those helping generate ideas and money at the summit were
billionaire businessmen Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and 50 current
and former heads of state, along with entertainer Barbra Streisand.
In a recorded message shown at the initiative, former South African
President Nelson Mandela commended the 1,000 people attending the
summit for accepting Clinton's call to action.
"This initiative is a global movement where every word spoken, every
partnership discovered and every promise made can have a direct impact
on the lives of millions of people across our planet for generations to
come," Mandela said.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton, left, and George H. W. Bush smile at
each other on the podium at the Tulane University Commencement in New
Orleans on Saturday May 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
Am I the only one, when coming across yet another George HW & Bill C. news photo who begins to wander off mentally to the land where enquiring minds want to know?
Like for instance is this what-appears-to-be-genuine unlikely pairing of US presidents #'s 41 & 42 really as genuinely warm as it looks?
And how does George the younger a/k/a Dubya, react when he sees his dad in a succession of photos from various functions appearing to thoroughly enjoy himself in the company of of Bill Clinton?
There just has to be at least a twinge of jealousy. Dad's not giving special attention to just anyone, but this guy. C'mon.
The story goes that it was through Dubya that George HW and Bill C. originally got together to work as a team in aiding the world's plights (I believe it officially started with the Asian Tsunami). I can see the logic in keeping "Poppy" out of the loop by hooking him up to some sort of official-like activity that would keep him busy and away from the White House (though still able I'm guessing, to obtain his daily CIA briefing, as do all ex-presidents if they desire).
But Dubya must have a major streak of envy that Poppy never looks at him--the President! with the expression one sees so often in the Clinton-Bush, Sr. photos. Mutual admiration emanates from photographs of these two--usually interspersed with lots of pics of them cracking up about something. One has to guess that Bill C. is in raconteur mode and that George Sr. on several levels, just really digs hanging with him. And Dubya doesn't really have several levels, does he? Just the one basic, pre-programmed, stay-on-topic mode. But look what fun his dad is having hanging with Bill Clinton.
"The tearing of Janet Jackson's costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance," MTV said in a statement.
"Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha!!!!," most everyone else said.
"I'm sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl," Timberlake said. "It was not intentional and is regrettable."
(Everyone but Timberlake rolls on floor laughing uncontrollably. He'll do that off-camera.)
I have a strong dislike for Viacom's stance in this. They chose MTV (the owner of both MTV and CBS) to put together the Super Bowl half-time show and then feigned shock and surprise when the "performers" got raunchy.
Worse than Viacom et al, are media/others that fob all the responsibility on and call into question the morality of Ms. Jackson. Fine, call her a ****, but if you do so you'd best include Viacom and Timberlake. She didn't pull this stunt off on her own.
And please. Get it right. Her breast was not "nude." She wore a pastie.
Main Entry: past·ies
Pronunciation: 'pAs-tEz
Function: noun plural
Etymology: 2paste
: small round coverings for a woman's nipples worn especially by a stripteaser
Edit: According to anil's daily links and others, Janet is not wearing a traditional pastie. It is rather, a Sunburst Nipple Shield.
Hope we all can now breathe more easily.
The beautiful women of Showtime's SHAMELESS like Emmy Rossum in NSFW VIDEO scenes and screencaps FROM THE SHOW as well as magazine scans from other sources. (Copyright: Showtime)
