Brian Boitano Trivia Challenge

QUESTIONS:
26. Where are Brian’s American flag appliqué Olympic skates currently on display?
25. Which TV series creators would Brian like to have on his show?
24. Name the Disney film in which Brian appeared with Michelle Kwan?
23. What does Brian have for a typical dinner at home?
22. What other skating legend appeared with Brian in the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show?
21. How many times has Brian won the World Championship?
20. What is Brian’s middle name?
19. What is allowed under the ISU “Boitano Rule”?
18. In what Will Farrell movie did Brian make a cameo appearance?
17. What is the only original appliance in Brian’s renovated home kitchen?
16. Name the year Brian was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
15. What film featured the song “What Would Brian Boitano Do?”
14. Where did Brian place in his first Olympics in 1984?
13. To which film score did Brian perform his 1988 Olympic Free Skating Program?
12. Who choreographed Brian’s Olympic programs in 1988?
11. How does Brian cut up his garlic?
10. In what year did Brian win his first National Championship?
9. For which program did Brian win an Emmy Award?
8. How many times has Brian landed a quadruple jump in competition?
7. Where did Brian place in the 1994 Winter Olympics?
6. How many times has Brian won the National Championship?
5. Where was Brian born?
4. In what year did Brian win his first World Championship?
3. What is Brian’s signature jump?

2. Name Boitano’s rival in the 1988 “Battle of  the Brians.”

1. In what city did Brian Boitano win the Olympic Gold Medal in 1988?

ANSWERS
26. The Smithsonian Institute
25. Trey Parker and Matt Stone of “South Park”
24. “Ice Princess”
23. Fish and vegetables
22. Dorothy Hamill
21. Two times (1986 & 1988)
20. Anthony
19. Professional skaters can be reinstated as amateurs
18. “Blades of Glory”
17. The stove
16. 1996
15. “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut”
14. 5th place
13. “Napoleon”
12. Sandra Bezic
11. A chopper
10. 1985
9. “Carmen on Ice”
8. Zero
7. 6th place
6. Four Times (1985-1988)
5. Mountain View, California
4. 1986
3. The Tano Triple Lutz

2. Brian Orser

1. Calgary, Alberta

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Craig T. Nelson Role

Craig T. Nelson is a regular renaissance man. He's starred in movies like "The Proposal," "Silkwood," and "Ghosts of Mississippi." He's written TV shows like "The Alan King Special" and "The Tim Conway Show." He voiced animated characters like Mr. Incredible, in the Disney feature "The Incredibles," and he made his Broadway debut in Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!"

Still most people know him as a TV actor for shows like "The District" and "Call to Glory." But he will forever be remembered as Hayden Fox on the TV series "Coach." He starred in the sitcom about the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles football team alongside Jerry Van Dyke, Bill Fagerbakke, and Shelley Fabares for nine seasons and garnered numerous nominations and awards including an Emmy.

While we loved "Coach," our favorite Craig T. Nelson role was protective dad, and not-so-great real estate buyer, Steve Freeling in the "Poltergeist" films. If you haven't seen them in a while check out the trailer for the original. It still holds up.

And if you miss Craig T. Nelson as much as we do, watch him on the series premiere of "Parenthood" next Tuesday, March 2 at 10 pm on NBC and see what he has to say about the show in this interview.

Conan O'Brien vs. Jay Leno — Part II

It is now a proven fact. Conan O'Brien is funny no matter what he does. He started a new Twitter account (verified by the website, so it's really him) at 6:00pm Wednesday.

Within the first 30 minutes he had 15,000 followers. So far he has two (hilarious) posts and 367,000 followers. And while that may seem small in comparison to, say, Ellen DeGeneres or Ashton Kutcher (whose followers number in the millions), it's not bad for a day's work.

Plus the best part — Jay Leno's verified account, which launched last May, has only 30,000 followers. In one day Conan has ten times more fans than Jay attracted in nine months. If only Coco could have kicked his butt this much on TV, then maybe his Twitter bio would not have to read, "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account."

At least we still have an outlet for O'Brien's creative genius, bearded pictures of him with monkeys, and some of his best jokes to date.

We'll whet your appetite with his first tweet: "Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me."

Be sure to follow him. There are bound to be more gems just like it. Rock on, Coco!

And hey, by the way, we're on Twitter, too, and we could use a few more friends ourselves.

Great TV Families Reunite

Get ready Retro TV fans, “The Today Show” has quite a treat scheduled for you next week. The morning talk show is running a week-long series called “Great TV Families Reunited” starting next Monday, March 1 and running through Thursday, March 4.

The segment kicks off on Monday with the cast of “Eight Is Enough” and the Partridges will be on Tuesday’s episode.

Wonder what happened to Mary Bradford from “Eight is Enough?” Curious how
“The Partridge Family’s” Danny Bonaduce is doing these days? Wondering if Maureen McCormick from “The Brady Bunch” has kept off that “Celebrity Fit Club” weight? Dying to find out what Jackee Harry’s favorite “227” moment was?

Well then you’ll be really excited to know that “The Today Show” is giving viewers a chance to ask the cast members questions. All you have to do is go to the official website and submit your burning query.

But don’t ask the Brady kids if they got along off screen as well as they did onscreen, we’ve already sent that one in ourselves.

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Dax Shepard Role

Dax Shepard has come along way since doing Ashton Kutcher’s dirty work on the MTV hidden camera series “Punk’d.”

Now he’s become a legitimate movie star – appearing in over ten movies since he left the celeb prank show in 2004. Some were good – like “Baby Mama.” Some were, well, not so good – like “Employee of the Month.” But regardless of the overall movie, Dax always delivers a solidly funny performance.

He’s become a  leading man in real life, too. Over the holidays he proposed to his “When in Rome” co-star Veronica Mars… we mean Kristen Bell. Shepherd, 35, and Bell, 29, reportedly met at a mutual friend’s birthday party and went public with their relationship in 2007.

Next week Dax is making his triumphant return to TV,  but this time it will be on a scripted, network series. In the latest small screen adaptation of Ron Howard’s 1989 film “Parenthood,” Shepard plays Crosby the commitment phobic youngest brother of the Braverman clan. We’re looking forward to seeing how far he’s come. 

If you want a reminder of his "Punk'd" performances, check out the first episode from the show's premiere season.

   

You Can Help Choose a Winning Oscar Fashion

Have you always wanted to have a hand in choosing someone's Oscar gown? Well now you have a chance. Sure, it may not be a dress worn by Sandra Bullock or Angelina Jolie, but it will be seen more times on Oscar night than almost any other garment.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has created an Oscar Design Challenge. Nine up-and-coming designers are competing for the top prize — their gown will be worn by an "onstage awards escort" (more commonly known as a trophy girl) during this year's Academy Awards.

It's sort of a mini online "Project Runway," but this time, we all play the parts of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. We get to choose who is in and who it out. Like the reality show, the designers are at a range of stages in their fashion careers — many have their own lines and some have already made clothing for the stars. But none are household names and this win could change their lives.

Also similar to "PR" this is a competition for the models, too. Each designer was assigned a young girl who wore their gown in a runway show this past Tuesday. The videos from the event were posted online and now it's our turn. We get to go to oscars.go.com, see the nine competing gowns, and cast our votes. The winning design will be revealed at the Oscar pre-show on March 7, and the model will wear it as she hands out awards alongside her fellow statuette handlers.

Plus, starting March 2nd you can also watch "Behind the Dress," a web series about the designers, the models, and the competition. And the best part? Carson Kressley (of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "How to look Good Naked" fame) will host the series, so you know we're all in for a few giggles coupled with some tenderly encouraging moments.

The entries are all so gorgeous that it's hard to choose a winner. We have narrowed it down to our top three, but we will refrain from revealing our picks so as not to sway your vote. Let us know which one you chose and may the best gown win.

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Peter Krause Roles

We've been fans of Peter Krause for a long time. So we were more than pleased to hear he'll be playing the mildly uptight family patriarch, Adam, in the highly anticipated TV show based on Ron Howard’s 1989 movie “Parenthood."

We first got a hint of Krause in "Cybill," playing Cybill Shepherd's son-in-law, but it was his starring role as anchor Casey McCall on "Sports Night" that put Krause on our map. We were sad to see the series end after two seasons, but glad to see Peter back on our TV the following year as funeral director Nate Fisher in "Six Feet Under."

While it seemed like an eternity between Krause spottings on the small screen, he returned just two years later in "Dirty, Sexy Money," the new millennium's answer to "Dynasty." Krause played Nick George, the good guy turned-oh-so-slightly-bad when he took over as the family lawyer to the filthy rich Darling family. Once again, though, we were let down to have yet another Krause show canceled.

And now he's back. Hopefully, to stay for a while on what is expected to be a big hit, "Parenthood." This time he's playing a good guy. A family guy. A guy struggling to find time for both his work and his kids. In a recent interview, Krause said he likes playing this kind of character because it's a big change for him to portray a good husband and a good dad.

To hear more of what Krause has to say about playing Adam Braverman check out this interview and be sure to watch the series premiere next Tuesday, March 2 at 10 pm on NBC.

In Honor of “Parenthood:” Lauren Graham’s Finest Role

  

We’ve been waiting a long time for the new TV show based on Ron Howard’s 1989 movie “Parenthood” to premiere. The show was originally slated to debut last September but that was postponed when series’ star Maura Tierney announced she was leaving in order to undergo treatments for breast cancer. We were sad to hear the news and bummed about the delay.

We never could have anticipated that out of that disappointment would come incredibly good news. Lauren Graham would be replacing Tierney. Now we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We were HUGE “Gilmore Girls” fans. HUGE. And we’ve been waiting three years to hear that Graham was signing on to a new show. We never expected it to be the one show we’ve been waiting forever to see.

Sure, we’ve had little Lauren fixes along the way with her appearances in “Evan Almighty” and “Flash of Genius.” But nothing’s filled the Lorelei-sized hole in our TV addict hearts. We miss her at her finest, in her greatest role.

But now we only have to hold out a little bit longer, until next Tuesday night, March 2 at 10 pm on NBC. Until then, we’re going to enjoy Lauren in all her Lorelei glory and stage our own “Gilmore Girls” marathon. Feel free to join us, the WB posts three new episodes of the classic series each week. Order in some Chinese and let the snappy banter begin.

And click here to see Lauren's thoughts on her "Parenthood" character, Sarah.

Bob Newhart Is Still Funny After all These Years

Photo by Alan Light

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/ / CC BY 2.0

Last weekend, the Los Angeles hipster film afficianados at the American Cinematheque made one of our childhood dreams come true. We were in a room with Bob Newhart, when the Aero Theater ran back-to-back Newhart films (“Cold Turkey” and “Hot Millions”) and invited the legendary comedian to speak between the two flicks.

The room was packed and it wasn’t just TV fans that came out to see Newhart speak. Among the luminaries in the audience were Bob Schiller (writer on sitcoms like “I Love Lucy” and “All in the Family”), John Voldstad (that’s Larry’s “other brother” Darryl to you “Newhart” fans), and most amazing of all, Norman Lear, who directed “Cold Turkey” and joined Bob onstage during the Q&A before leaving early to drop his young daughters’ friends off at home.

Newhart did not disappoint. He was exactly as we had always expected – a charismatic guy who seems grateful for the life he’s had.  The former accountant turned copywriter in the late ‘50s. He happened to start recording funny phone calls with a coworker at a Chicago ad agency and turned that bit into a record called "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” which would become the only comedy album to ever win a Grammy for Album of the Year.

Bob beat out two classical pieces (the Brahams Concert No. 2 by Sviatoslav Richter and the Puccini Opera “Turnandot” performed by Erich Leinsdorf) and three of the biggest recording artists of the day: Harry Belfonte, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra. According to Bob, Old Blue Eyes wasn’t amused. He recalled, “Frank was not thrilled with the fact that a comedian had beaten him out for album of the year. But didn’t take too much to upset Frank. Wind… or a bird.”

The highlight of the night with Newhart came with an audience member started his question with an enthusiastic, “Hi Bob,” which set the crowd into a fit of wild applause. When Lear looked confused, the star of “The Bob Newhart Show” launched into a full-scale explanation of the drinking game his show’s incessant salutations had inspired.

For a guy who thought he was going to be in the business “for five [years] out.” Newhart seemed surprised that he’s had a 50-year career. In fact, he still does about 20 stand-up gigs a year, but that’s his max. “I say the alternative is ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ Sitting in a darkened room and Erich Von Stroheim says, ‘Which episodes of ‘The Bob Newhart Show’ would you like to watch next?’ Not my idea of retirement.”

We can only hope Bob won’t retire any time soon.

Shatner Signs on to Star in "Sh*t My Dad Says"

We're sure by now you've heard of the Twitter phenomenon "Sh*t My Dad Says" where Justin Halpern tweets his 73-year-old father's often profane words of wisdom. Some recent gems include "Nah, we don't celebrate it. Don't know who St. Valentine was, don't give a sh*t, and doubt he wants people screwing in his memory" and "Universe is 14 billion years old. Seems silly to celebrate one year. Be like having a f*#@ing parade every time I take a piss."

Last fall Halpern landed a TV deal to write a script based on his father and today it was announced that none other than William Shatner has signed on to play the eloquent old coot in the pilot.

Halpern's Twitter account now has 1.6 million followers, a number sure to increase with Shatner onboard. The Hollywood Reporter said the "Star Trek" actor was chosen for his comedic timing and prowess at spoken word performance as recently witnessed when he read Sarah Palin's tweets on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien."

We had our own first hand experience with Shatner's comic genuis when we gave him a pop quiz not too long ago. Check it out here, and as always, live long and twitter.

Easy-Bake Oven Inventor Dies at Age 83

It's a sad day in pop culture history. The inventor of the Easy-Bake Oven has walked towards the white light bulb in the sky. Ronald Howes Sr., passed away this weekend at the age of 83.

Howes spent his life inventing — from high-tech defense weaponry to printers. He was a modern day Caractacus Potts, but he had a little more success than his "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" counterpart.

In 1963, Howes made an indelible mark on the lives of many young girls when he created the child's toy oven that baked cakes and brownies with a 100 watt light bulb.

We remember the Christmas we got our first Easy-Bake oven. We can picture stirring the batter in the tiny bowl with the even tinier spoon. We can conjure up the smell of the bubbling brownie mix and the taste of the flavorless white cakes. And we also recall running out of cake mix on day one and from there on in substituting toilet paper for cake mix and pretending to eat the crusty concoctions at our stuffed animal tea parties.

In more recent years, the Easy-Bake Oven was redesigned. The light bulb was replaced with an actual heating mechanism and it looked more like a microwave oven. Open the door, place the pan inside, and it sits there and lifelessly bakes. But in the glory days of the EBO, the best part was sliding the pan into one side, pushing it slowly over the light bulb heater, waiting for it to turn from goo to cake, and pushing it out the other side. A young girl's culinary miracle.

The genius inventor worked for many years at Kenner and in addition the Easy-Bake Oven, he also worked on other toy products for the company including Spirograph and the Close-and-Play Record Player.

Thank you, Mr. Howes, for the hours of entertainment. May heaven be a giant laboratory for eternal inventing.

Read his full obituary here.

Join the “Draft John Mellencamp for Senate” Debate

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If a select number of his Facebook friends get their way, the artist formerly known as Cougar (aka John Mellencamp) will be making a run for Evan Bayh’s soon-to-be-available Indiana Senate seat.

Over 3,500 fans have raised their voices in support of the “Draft John Mellencamp for Senate!” page. Apparently these fans feel, and we quote, that the musician “established his political creds long ago with performances for ‘Farm Aid’ and many other political events.” Interesting. We thought that holding public office took a little more experience than singing a few rousing rock tunes. Maybe an outsider will bring a new and refreshing perspective to the stodgy old ways in Washington, D.C. At least we’ve been told before that this concept would work.

Still, Mellencamp wouldn’t be the first seemingly under-experienced celebrity to successfully wage a political campaign. There are the obvious movie star politicians like Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, and Arnold Schwarzenegger who have morphed their high profiles into positions of power. And there were the once famous but now forgotten trailblazers like Fred “Gopher” Grandy from “The Love Boat” and wrestling great Jesse “The Body” Ventura.

Maybe it’s that old sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll adage that has prevented more musicians from becoming politicians. Besides Sonny Bono (who served as the Republican Representative for California’s 44th District from 1994-1998) there haven’t been many singers who have landed high-level government gigs. Although Kinky Friedman ran as the Independent Candidate for Governor of Texas in 2006 (and may repeat the effort in 2010) and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic mulled over a run for Lieutenant Governor of Washington state in 2004 after a long standing interest in politics including the creation of JAMPAC (Joint Artists and Musicians Political Action Committee) in 1995.

So it looks like Al Franken might have to scooch on over to give Mellencamp some space. There could be a fresh famous face in the Senate sometime soon.

The Most Notorious Celebrity Apologies

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In case you haven’t heard the news, Tiger Woods is sorry for being unfaithful to his wife. “Deeply sorry.” He apparently has let all of us down. Sure, he hasn’t been the greatest husband and he’s caused a lot of problems for his business partners. But as for the rest of us, we just want Tiger to know we’re doing just fine. We thought he was a just a golf pro. But maybe we missed some important legal documents that tie us to him in some much more profound way. If we did, then Tiger, we are, in fact, “bitterly disappointed” in you. But until those papers come to light, why don’t you just go back about your business and we’ll focus on ours.

Tiger isn’t the first star to "transgress" and cause a stir. Lots of big names have had to man-up over the years and say they were sorry. Here are some of the most notorious celebrity apologies in entertainment history.

Read more »

Betty White and Other Dream "Saturday Night Live" Hosts

Betty White has had a pretty good year. At 88-years-old she was in the the hit movie "The Proposal," got a Screen Actor's Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, and starred in the best Super Bowl commercial of the season (the Snicker's spot with Abe Vigoda).

But even before all the Betty hoopla began, a "Golden Girls" fan by the name of David Matthews launched a Facebook page as a campaign aimed at getting Betty to host "Saturday Night Live." While Betty herself says she doesn't understand the social networking phenomenon (in a recent Diane Sawyer interview she called herself a "technological spaz"), she has more friends on the new Facebook page — "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!" — than the actual "SNL" show has on theirs. Betty has close to 400,000 fans and the late night sketch comedy show has less than 300,000. Rock on, Betty.

While we'd love to see the "Mary Tyler Moore" star grace the stage at 30 Rock, we also have some other deserving celebrities in mind for the gig. So, we give your our "SNL" Host wish list.

Read more »

"Lost" Theories — Are You as Lost about "Lost" as We Are?

We have watched "Lost" for six seasons now, and we have never understood it for a second. Of course, if we were die hard fans, we would spend hours online sorting through the theories about religion, reincarnation, the afterlife, aliens, and good vs. evil. Some people may have a lot of free time to get to the bottom of it all, but we are firm believers that TV shouldn't be that much work.

And yet, we love "Lost."

What is it about this show that keeps us coming back? Guess it's the overly optimistic and unending hope that some day, before the series finale, the producers will do what all TV show creators are supposed to do — tie the story up in a neat little package and explain everything to us. To put it simply, we keep hoping that next week it will all make sense.

Certainly, we are drawn to the great acting and ingenious plot twists that always take us by surprise. Of course, like all viewers, we are intrigued this season by the flash-sideways that depicts two alternate worlds seeming to take place at the same moment in time.

There are plenty of fans out there who spend far too much time looking for clues and trying to unravel the mysteries of the series. In fact, if you google "Lost Theories" you get numerous websites dedicated to the pastime of deciphering the "Lost" code. ABC has one of their own and Lostpedia keeps a running tally of theorists, articles, and airings.

According to a recent Entertainment Weekly article, even the cast members are completely in the dark about how all this will end and if questions will be answered. So for now we will remain lost about "Lost" and continue hoping it will all become crystal clear on May 23.

Johnny Weir Rocked the Tassel

Looking like a cross between the child catcher from “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and Edward Scissorhands – all dolled up in a Bob Mackie bejeweled unitard – Johnny Weir did, in fact, rock the tassel Olympic style last night. He nailed his landings, he was graceful but cheeky, and he wasn’t sporting any fur. And yet, he scored an 82.1, which placed him sixth in the standings at the end of the Men’s Figure Skating Short Program in Vancouver. In other words, he was robbed.

Maybe the Romanian judge hasn’t watched “Be Good Johnny Weir.” If he had, then he’d probably be as big a Johnny fan as we are.

But no, the conservative judges seem to be Evan Lysacek fans. Sure, he was technically spot on, and he was graceful, but he just doesn’t have the flair that Johnny has (despite his weak attempt to glam it up with a few feathers at his wrists).

Look we’ll take the U.S. National Anthem anyway we can get it and if that means Evan has to knock Russian Evgeni Plushenko down a notch to bring it home, so be it. But we’d love to see Johnny skate another passionate program on Thursday night and overtake them both.

No matter what’s to come, we love Weir but here’s what we’re hoping… Don’t just be good on Thursday Johnny, be great. We’re rooting for you!

Huffington Post's Live Fashion Week Feed

Maybe it’s our growing obsession with shows like “Project Runway,” “The Rachel Zoe Project,”  and “Kell on Earth” that has sparked our interest in New York Fashion Week. We used to know more about the clothes on the racks of Lane Bryant than we did about the couture on the models at Bryant Park. But now we’re intrigued by what’s going on with the spring lines premiering on the catwalk.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. We’re less concerned about the clothes themselves (until more affordable knockoff versions are available) and way more interested in the behind the scenes dramas.

That’s why we love the Huffington Post’s live coverage of all things Fashion week. The page features the totally entertaining More Than Mary live video stream from the front row at the runway shows to backstage interviews. But the best part has to be, not one, not two, but three live Twitter streams by in-the-know fashion press, designers, and models.

Check out tweets from Betsy Johnson, Cindy Crawford, and Veronica Webb. The catwalk cattiness just keeps coming.

Pregnant Athlete on the Canadian Curling Team

Just when you thought the sport of curling couldn't get any stranger, the internet is buzzing about the pregnant athlete on the Canadian team.

Apparently at almost six months along, Kristie Moore is only the third expectant mom to compete in the history of the Olympics. The first was way back in 1920 when a pregnant Swedish figure skater, Magda Julin, won the gold medal (that was long before they ever did triple — or even — double jumps). The second was Diana Sartor a German who came in fourth in the skeleton (yes, that's the toboggan kind of race you do lying on your stomach. Ouch.)

As the alternate, Kristie may never really see ice time, but if a teammate is injured Moore and her baby bump will take to the curling sheet. Which, of course, makes us wonder, how does one get injured in the fast paced, full contact sport of curling?

Moore has said her pregnancy has in no way affected her ability to deliver rocks, and that, in fact, her mom was a curler who played while pregnant with both Kristie and her brother Chad.

When we first heard the news, we worried for her safety, but then realized, she's on the curling team, she's not a snowboarder or mogul skier. In a sport often compared to lawn bowling or shuffleboard, her main stress during the event is how fast to sweep the ice.

For a pretty funny take on the sport of curling, check out this interview with actor, Jeff Goldblum.

OK GO's Marching Band Video

This Too Shall Pass Rocks the Accordion 

OK Go - New Music - More Music Videos

One take wonders OK Go are at it again. First it was the charmingly choreographed, if not completely goofy, backyard romp on "A Million Ways." Then came the ridiculously impressive treadmill video, "Here It Goes Again," which we thought they would never top.

But the kings of geek chic are back. And this time they prove their prowess for singing, playing, and moving in formation in the ultimate test... playing with a marching band. And not just ANY marching band, the Notre Dame marching band. Our friends from color guard are unpacking their plumed caps and reliving their glory days.

OK Go's new act of video genius features the four members of the band playing accordion, xylophone, bass drum, and snare. Oh my. Really, who doesn't love a xylophone break (let alone three)?

Add to that swamp creatures playing clarinets and a bunch of kids doing a ribbon dance, and OK Go really has achieved a new pinnacle of nerd rock. Oh, and did we mention it was live? No cuts, no edits, no overdubs.

Don't believe us? Watch for yourselves.

MTV: No Longer Music Television

We’re obviously feeling a bit nostalgic for the ‘80s today. Must be the John Hughes memorial interview that set us off. But we just caught wind of yet another sign that our youth has perhaps faded for good. MTV has dropped the “Music Television” from it’s logo creating a stumpy unfinished M where the heart of the network used to be.

Now, many of you younger readers might not remember the days when MTV used to show music videos. You know, back when video killed the radio star. Don’t get us wrong we owe a great debt of gratitude for the once fledgling rock and roll channel for moving into series TV. Our first internship during college was on MTV’s first prime time show, “The Big ___ Show.” The ___ in the title would change nightly with "humorous" concepts like "The Big and Tall Men's Show" and "The Big Organ Photo Show" (yes, the latter featured large pictures of spleens and kidney throughout the half hour).

Shockingly the series lasted just six weeks and had three hosts who each took over the program for two weeks – VJ Kevin Seal, Weird Al Yankovic, and Yahoo Serious (who was in the states to promote the opening of his film “Young Einstein”). And musical acts like XTC (we had to scour New York to find honey roasted peanuts for Andy Partridge) and Julian Lennon (we had to scour the studio to find Julian).

The series was a flop but MTV had other projects in the works including “Remote Control” which launched the careers of Denis Leary and Adam Sandler. If you google “The Big ___ Show” you’ll get no info. It’s somehow disappeared from the network’s history. But without it, we’d argue there would be no Speidi on “The Hills” or Snookie on “The Jersey Shore.” We’re not proud of that part, we’re just stating the facts.

John Hughes Remembered by Broderick, Ringwald, and Hall

There are those people in your life who you’ll never meet but who have an inconceivably deep impact. Ask any 40-something about writer-director John Hughes and they will tell you how important at least one of his movies was to them growing up.

Maybe they were the school geek with a thing for the awkward redhead like Anthony Michael Hall in “Sixteen Candles.” Maybe they had one fabulous day playing hookie in high school like Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck in “Ferris Bueller's Day Off.” Or maybe they had a crush on the popular boy but just didn’t have the right dress for the prom like Molly Ringwald in “Pretty in Pink.”

Yes, we never knew John Hughes but that doesn’t mean he didn’t know us. He seemed to nail every “Breakfast Club” like moment of teen angst we lived. And we were so grateful that someone above the age of 17 seemed to get it and wanted us to know that we weren’t alone in our adolescent hormonal hell.

It’s hard to believe that there were a handful of kids our age who actually did know Hughes. The actors that seemed to be playing out our lives on the big screen actually got to work with him every day. And yet, when they grew up, they all seemed to lose touch with the man who left Hollywood behind to live a peaceful life with his family outside of the spotlight before dying of a heart attack in Manhattan last summer.

David Kamp sat down with Hughes’ biggest stars recently and asked Ringwald, Hall, and Broderick about their memories of the man who made them household names. The article will appear in this month’s Vanity Fair but he’s also posted some excerpts that didn’t make the final piece. Their observations are touching and insightful. Just a like a John Hughes movies.

When Did Quitting Become OK? Ali Leaves Jake "The Bachelor"

What's with the new trend of quitting a reality show and then changing your mind? On Monday night's "The Bachelor" Ali left Jake in a puddle when she walked off the show because her boss was threatening to fire her. But before the preview for next week's episode even aired, we knew we had not seen the last of the bubbly blonde.

Up until recently, though, we had always assumed when a contestant quit a reality show that was it. We saw it time and time again on shows like "Survivor" and "Celebrity Apprentice."

But then things changed. First there was Speidi's infamous walk out/walk back in/walk out again on "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here." Then on "The Bachelorette" last season, it was Ed's turn. He left the show, for the same reason as Ali, because of pressure to get back to work. Begging two questions. When you go on a reality show, don't you clear it with your boss that you might need a few months off? Not to mention, if you're really looking for true love, shouldn't that come before your job at the ad agency?

But minor details aside, Ed left a crushed Jillian in week five, only to return a few episodes later to steal her heart and win the game. Ali waited until she was in the top four to drop the "I have to chose work over love" bombshell making it that much more "dramatic" in true "Bachelor" form.

By this time we've all seen the previews showing Ali returning. We assumed she would. In fact, we picked her as the winner on night one. So now we wait through the fantasy suite dates and final rose ceremony to see if we were right.


Want more? Read the interview with Chris Harrison revealing that Ali does, in fact, come back.

Megan Fox and Other Imperfect Beauties

It seems that no matter how beautiful a woman is, people have to find a flaw. Right now the Internet is buzzing about Megan Fox's thumbs. Really? A while back we all found out that Megan had a stubby thumb and the poor thing was scrutinized for it. Now "thumbgate" is back with rumors flying that the actress used a body double in her recent Super Bowl Motorola commercial, so that the world would not see her deformed digit.

The girl could not be more drop-dead gorgeous, and people are taking time out of their busy lives to analyze the size and shape of her thumbs? It's no wonder that women, and female celebrities in particular, obsess about certain body parts or facial features. If they don't do it, it's almost guaranteed that someone else will.

Megan Fox doesn't seem all that concerned about her thumbs from what we can tell, but she did say in a interview once that she was extremely insecure about her looks. She even joked (we hope) about thinking she's an Alan Alda lookalike. And while we think Alan is adorable, Megan clearly wins out in the attractiveness department.

We also contend that some people's "flaws" are actually what makes them alluring, like Julia Roberts' wide, contagious smile. So we present a list of gorgeous celebrities who have criticized themselves or have been critiqued by others for being less-than-perfect.

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Diahann Carroll: "White Collar," Her TV Legacy, and Future Plans

We always knew that Diahann Carroll had an impressive career paved with incredibly important accomplishments. But when we sat down to prepare for a recent interview with her, we were overwhelmed by all she’s done.

She is perhaps best known for her groundbreaking (and Emmy nominated and Golden Globe winning) title role in the 1968 television series, “Julia,” which made her the first African American actress to star in her own show. Besides her Emmy nod for Julia, she won the 1962 Best Actress Tony Award for the play “No Strings” and garnered an Oscar nomination for “Claudine” in 1975. And she has a slew of other Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, too. Most recently she made the short list of Outstanding Guest Actresses in a Drama Series for “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2008.

In addition, she’s recorded albums, starred in TV shows like “A Different World” and “Dynasty,” appeared in cabaret shows and acclaimed theatrical productions of “Agnes of God” and “Sunset Boulevard,” and survived breast cancer.

It was truly an honor to speak with her recently about her current role on the hit show “White Collar” (Tuesdays at 10:00 on USA Network), her TV legacy, and her goals for the future.

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Introducing the Pajama Jeans

We don’t write about fashion very often. We’re Target girls who will never understand why anyone would spend $800 on a pair of uncomfortable designer shoes.

But finally there’s a fashion trend we can get behind – Pajama Jeans.  It’s INGENIOUS. As the website says they’re “Pajamas you live in. Jeans you sleep in.” Who could ask for anything more?

Want to impress you’re new boyfriend? Don’t throw on some old ratty pj’s, wow him with your stylish nighttime denim slacks.

As freelance writers who sometime work in an office, we’ve been saying for years that official workplaces will not be fit for five day a week action until Casual Friday = Sleepwear Friday. Now, no one will even notice if we wear our bedtime, snuggly clothes to our day job. Why not? The high contrast stitching and brass rivets, of course.

And all this for the low, low price of $39.95 (plus shipping and handling) at pajamajeans.com.

  

How do they look in real life? We’re not sure, our Sleep Jeans haven’t arrived yet. But we’ll be PediEgg-ing our feet and Smooth Away-ing our legs while we anxiously await their arrival.

Celebrity Fit Club Preview

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Tonight's the Season 7 premier of "Celebrity Fit Club." And if you've seen the promos it may seem like Kevin Federline is the only contestant on the show. But, thank goodness, that is not the case.

In fact, we think the most interesting thing about K-Fed being on the program, is that his ex (no, not Britney, his girlfriend that he left for Britney), Shar Jackson, is in the cast, too. That should make for some good trashy TV.

Add to that Bobby Brown (whose own show practically invented train wreck television), Sebastian Bach (ex-lead singer of Skid Row and centerpiece of one of our favorite and way-too-short-lived series "SuperGroup"), Tanisha Thomas (of "Bad Girls Club" fame), and Jay McCarroll (winner of "Project Runway" Season 1), and you've got yourself a veritable who's who of reality stars.

Two C-List actresses — Nicole Eggert (from "Charles in Charge" and "Baywatch") and Kaycee Stroh (from the "High School Musical" series) — round out the weight challenged crew.

The most exciting twist to this season's "Fit Club?" New life coach extraordinaire Rhonda Britten, who hails from our favorite reality show of all time "Starting Over." If only she would bring Dr. Stan for a special visit, it could quite possibly be one of the best TV casts assembled.

Set your DVRs. You won't want to miss a second.

Our Picks for Best Super Bowl Commercials

We're not what you call sports fans, by any stretch. Sure we go to an occasional Dodgers game and, being from Boston, if a New England team is on top we cheer for them until they choke. So when it comes to the Super Bowl, unless the Patriots are playing, we watch purely for the half time extravaganza and the commercials.

This year Pete and Roger did not disappoint. Although we do admit that we are such huge Who fans that the pair could have stood perfectly still on stage and not opened their mouths and we would have loved the show.

As for the commercials, very few of them caught our attention. In fact only two really stood out to us.

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Albert Exergian's Insanely Hip TV Posters

Since TV is such a visual medium, it's amazing that a designer would have the presence of mind to attempt to break each one down to a singularly striking and sophisticated graphic image.

Now Austrian artist Albert Exergian has created a series of stunningly hip posters (and, we’re praying, future t-shirts) that boil “Dallas” down to a drop of oil and reduce “Kojak” to a lollipop. You can probably guess how he depicts “Twin Peaks” but until you see the clean, bold images you can’t even begin to image how cool they are.

Perfect individually, incredible as a set. You can scoop them up at the UK company Blanka but be prepared to shell out £50 each (that’s about $80) plus international shipping and handling (VAT is included). That’s still probably cheaper than your monthly cable bill and your TV addict friends will be oh so jealous of your impeccable taste.

Exergian’s non-television work is all pretty cool. Check it out at his web site www.exergian.com.

Leif Garrett Caught with Heroin, Again

Leif Garrett was one of our first childhood celebrity crushes. We had a thing for guys with long blonde curly hair. Peter Frampton, the Greatest American Hero, Pippin. See the pattern?

We realize now, looking back as adults, that Leif was really just our generation's Justin Beiber — a pretty face without too much substance to back it up. But still as far as schoolgirl daydreams, he was one of the dreamiest.

So we were more than disappointed when we heard of all of his troubles over the years - from the car accident that left a friend paralyzed to many months spent in rehab and jail. And he's most definitely lost his boyish good looks.

We were hoping that the last attempt at sobriety, prison time, and three years of probation were enough to get him on track, but sadly he was arrested again yesterday in Los Angeles for heroin possession.

We think Scott Baio should come to his rescue and do a second season of "Confessions of a Teen Idol" starring Leif. A girl can dream.

Read the whole story of his arrest here.

"Land Down Under" Ripped Off the Kookaburra

Men at Work Sued for Copyright Infringement on Children's Song

We have thought it since we first heard the song back in the '80s. That silly flute part in "Land Down Under" sounds just like one of our favorite songs we used to sing in grade school.

     Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
     Merry, merry king of the bush is he
     Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
     Gay your life must be

Kookaburra also eats gumdrops and counts monkeys in later verses. What's not to love?

If we had known there were millions of dollars at stake we might have pointed it out to someone important so the actual songwriter, Marion Sinclair, could have earned her rightful stake.

Instead Sinclair, who wrote the song in 1935 for Girl Guides, sold it to music publisher Larrikin Music before she died last year. So now a bunch of suits stand to win millions from Men at Work. Who's laughing now Kookaburra?

Watch the video to hear the songs compared and read more here.

Hollywood Loses Legend Aaron Ruben

Early on in our TV careers, while working at "Matlock," we had the pleasure to meet a legendary Hollywood writer, Aaron Ruben. 

More often than not the talented men and women behind the cameras in entertainment go unnoticed. In fact, you might not know his name - but you should. He was a writer, producer, and sometimes director on shows like "The Andy Griffith Show," "Sanford and Son," "Too Close for Comfort," and, of course, "Matlock."  

He started his career in radio writing for Dinah Shore, Burns & Allen, and Milton Berle. Then when a new medium called television came around, Ruben transitioned to the small screen - writing, producing, and directing "spectaculars" and series for stars like Danny Thomas, Phil Silvers, and Sid Caesar.

But when Ruben met Andy Griffith, everything changed - for him, Andy, and television fans everywhere. In 1960, Aaron's agents at William Morris showed him three TV pilots and told him that he could choose any one to produce. Wisely, he realized that "The Andy Griffith Show" was the clear cut winner. And so began a lifetime friendship and working collaborations between Aaron and Andy.

Sadly, Aarron Ruben died on January 30 in Beverly Hills from complications of pneumonia. He was 95-years-old.

In 1999, Ruben sat down for a four-and-a-half hour interview with Morrie Gelman for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Archive of American Television and talked about his career. It's more captivating than just about anything you'll see on TV tonight. Take some time to honor Aaron Ruben and hear his story.

Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones Re-record "We Are the World"

Pink, Kanye West, and Barbra Streisand Sing for Haiti Earthquake Relief 

There's another reason to watch the Olympics opening ceremony on February 12th, besides the figure skating and bob sledding. The newly recorded "We Are the World" remake will debut during the events. Lionel Richie (who wrote the charity anthem 25 years ago with Michael Jackson) and Quincy Jones (who produced the extravaganza) announced last week their plans for the recording session.

And if you've always wanted to belt out a tune alongside Jennifer Hudson and Celine Dion, Mr. Jones has arranged for that as well. Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis was on hand yesterday to shoot the whole event — in 3-D, no less. And a few people, donned in green from head to toe, were strategically placed in among the performers, so that some day soon, you will be able to insert yourself into the group.

So warm up your pipes, dust off your 3-D specs, and brush up on the lyrics.

Read more about the recording session here.

Jon Hamm and Michael Bublé Get the SNL Laughs

We have been fans of Jon Hamm since his days as Joanie's hunky firefighter  boyfriend on "Providence." We renewed our affection for him with one glimpse of his stellar portrayal of ad man Don Draper on "Mad Men." But we did not expect the chiseled-faced actor to make us laugh.

So his first trip to "Saturday Night Live" and his faux commercial for Jon Hamm's John Ham caught us pleasantly by surprise. This past weekend he was back on "SNL" and he had set the bar pretty high for his command performance.

But, thankfully, he did not disappoint. Shockingly, neither did his sketch side kick, standard-crooning-Sinatra-wanna be Michael Bublé. The pair teamed up for a John Ham follow-up — Hamm and Bublé, a pork and champagne establishment. We have a new found respect for Bubbly Bublé. The best "SNL" skit all season.

The Countdown to Brian Boitano Begins

JUST 34 DAYS TO GO

True, "Lost" returns tomorrow night on ABC at 9:00 pm and the 2010 Winter Olympics are about to start on February 12, but we're already looking beyond that to what is sure to be the greatest TV event of the year - the relaunch of the Food Network's "What Would Brian Boitano Make?"

Yes, on March 7 at 1 pm, the gold medal figure skater will be gliding back into the kitchen and into our hearts as he whips up his delicious culinary treats. You won't find a more entertaining cooking show on TV and his recipes are actually accessible to the home cook.

If you're following Boitano on Twitter (which you should be) you might already have voted for him as the greatest figure skater of all time. But if not, go and vote now.

For our part, we'd like to honor "WWBBM?" in our own way. So we'll be counting the minutes with our daily Brian Boitano Trivia question.

Just click on read more to get the answer and enjoy.

Q: In what city did Brian Boitano win the Olympic Gold Medal in 1988?

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Kathy Griffin Got Robbed at the Grammys

The low point of last night’s Grammy Awards was not the atrocious duet by Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks (who looked like she was trying to back off the stage mid-song on more than one occasion). Nor was it Jon Bon Jovi’s questionable Carol Brady haircut (Jon, we like it short but you’ve got to lose that little flip at the nape of your neck). It certainly could have been the shameless and uncomfortable parading out of Michael Jackson’s children (and what, did Jermaine threaten to walk from the family reality show if they didn’t let the cousins join them on stage?).

No, the travesty of the Grammy’s was that Kathy Griffin once again lost the Best Comedy Album Award. We got it last year. How could they not give the golden gramophone to George Carlin following his untimely death? And we love Stephen Colbert and his Christmas Special (who took home the trophy this year). But Kathy’s time is now and “Suckin’ It for the Holidays” is hysterical.

Sorry, Kathy. We’re on your side and ready to launch a full scale campaign for you to win in 2011.