When it came down to what AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL’s Tyra Bank dubbed “the battle of the accents,” did anyone else get the distinct impression that the show purposely set out to crown a bilingual girl? Heck, both Jaslene and Natasha addressed the panel in their native tongues. Frankly, we’d have rather seen Whitney – aka the vivacious, plus-size model – declared the winner. If Tyra and company were truly looking to send a positive message – especially in an age when the modeling industry is being critiqued for sending rail-thin waifs down the runway – “eat something” wouldn’t have been a bad one to start with.
Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? The past two episodes of HEROES have felt like little more than filler, leaving us practically screaming at the screen, “Yes, yes, we know! Get to the big boom already!” And perhaps that’s part of the problem: For far too long, we’ve known what the finale would involve, leaving us to impatiently await its arrival. LOST, on the other hand – which took a lot of heat for similarly dull episodes earlier this year – has bounced back with killer episodes which are actually propelling the story toward its season-ending cliffhanger. Seeing as HEROES is only in its first season and seems already to be padding its storytelling, should viewers be concerned? And given its season-long hype, doesn’t it seem safe to say that if next Monday’s episode of HEROES isn’t one of the most jaw-dropping finales of all time, the show could suffer a summer-long backlash that might be hard to rebound from?
As amazing as Jacklyn Smith looks, what, exactly, is her purpose on Bravo’s SHEAR GENIUS? Sally Hershberger – inventor of a hairstyle made famous by Meg Ryan – has actual experience, and Rene Fris – who manages to be both appealing and freakish at the exact same time – serves as mentor to the would-be stylists. As far as we can tell, Jacklyn’s soul purpose has been to put someone beloved by TV audiences front and center. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Have you caught AMERICAN IDOL alum Constantine Maroulis stint on THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL? Somehow, what passed for “smoldering” when the rocker took to the reality show’s stage is coming off as stalkerish and creepy on the soap. But given the somewhat campy nature of B&B – a show on which one woman has married a family patriarch and both of his sons as well as slept with not one but two of her daughter’s lovers – it somehow works.