Snap Emmy Judgments from a West-Coaster

It's Emmy day!!!

Of course, West-Coasters are usually the last to know in North America about award show winners. So tweeting or changing my Facebook status as winners are announced is obviously futile. Plus my Twitter timeline and my Facebook news feed would be very spoiler-iffic.

I am still holding out hope that LOST will win something, considering it went 0-for-2 (Single-Camera Picture Editing and Sound Mixing) at the Creative Emmys that was held last week.

Snap reactions to the winners:

UNTELEVISED AWARDS

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special: The 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors
Didn't see this one. Congrats anyway!

Outstanding Reality Program: Intervention
Well-deserved. It's a show who tries to help addicts and the like turn their lives around and live a better life.

COMEDY

Outstanding Supporting Actress: Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies

I was hoping for Kristen Wiig or Amy Poehler. They were extraordinarily good. They were both robbed!

Outstanding Supporting Actor: Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS WAS ROBBED!!! 'Nuff said.

Outstanding Lead Actress: Toni Collette, United States of Tara

Well, she plays four characters in her show. That is all I need to know. I would be happy if Tina Fey or Julia Louis-Dreyfuss won, but I'm so happy for Toni!

Outstanding Guest Actress: Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live

She's awesome. 'Nuff said.

Outstanding Guest Actor: Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

Eh. Whatever. Kidding. They said he was hilarious, so I'll just take their word for it. (Who's "they"? *Wink wink*)

Outstanding Lead Actor: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Oh. My. Gosh. JIM PARSONS WAS ROBBED!!!

Outstanding Director: Jeff Blitz, The Office
Congrats!

Outstanding Writer: Matt Hubbard, 30 Rock
I think I saw the "Reunion" episode for which he won. That was an awesome episode. Congrats!

REALITY

Outstanding Reality or Reality-Competition Host: Jeff Probst, Survivor

Congrats, Jeff. (Y'all know I'm not a fan of reality shows.)

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program: The Amazing Race

I can never get tired of this show. Booyah!

TV MOVIES/MINISERIES

Outstanding Supporting Actress: Shohreh Agdashloo, House of Saddam

Wow. I know this actress is good. She sounds like she's wheezing, though. Just sayin'.

Outstanding Supporting Actor: Ken Howard, Grey Gardens

Congrats, Mr. Howard. (Don't know him, sorry.) I love the end of his acceptance speech - when he dedicated his award to his wife, who's celebrating her birthday today. Called her Sunshine too. I want a man just like that.

Outstanding Lead Actor: Brendan Gleeson, Into the Storm

Congrats, Mr. Gleeson.

Outstanding Writer(s): Andrew Davies, Little Dorrit

Writers rule! (He wasn't there, so Jennifer Love Hewitt and Patricia Arquette accepted the award on his behalf.)

Outstanding Director: Dearbhla Walsh, Little Dorrit

Congrats, Ms. Walsh. Love your name.

Outstanding Lead Actress: Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens

Congrats, Ms. Lange!

Outstanding Made-for-TV Movie: Grey Gardens

Well, it's the most buzzed-about TV movie. Congrats!!!

Outstanding Miniseries: Little Dorrit

Congrats!!!

VARIETY

Outstanding Director: Bruce Gowers, American Idol

Congrats, Mr. Gowers. (I didn't see that episode. Duh, LOST was on.)

Outstanding Writer(s): The Team from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

OMG, The Daily Show is probably one of the best shows ever produced. They all deserve it. Congrats!!!

Outstanding Original Music & Lyrics: The Team from the 81st Annual Academy Awards, Hugh Jackman Opening Number
Uhm, hello? The most fun Oscar opening number EVER! I love you, Hugh Jackman - and Anne Hathaway.

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
WOOHOO!!!

DRAMA

Outstanding Supporting Actor: Michael Emerson, LOST

OH. MY. GOSH. HE FINALLY WON! HE WASN'T ROBBED THIS TIME!!! YAY!!! (I'm crying, BTW.)

Outstanding Supporting Actress: Cherry Jones, 24
Congrats!!!

Outstanding Guest Actress:  Ellen Burstyn, Law and Order: SVU
I love her! Congrats!

Outstanding Guest Actor: Michael J. Fox, Rescue Me
Dude's awesome. Congrats!!!

Outstanding Director: Rod Holcomb, ER
He's not there!

Outstanding Writer(s): Kater Gordon & Matthew Weiner, Mad Men
Oh, crap. How can you not recognise Damon and Carlton? The Emmy voters suck.

Outstanding Lead Actress: Glenn Close, Damages
She's freaking awesome. Congrats!!!

Outstanding Lead Actor: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
OMG, he won again. Congrats!!!

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance: When Bill and Sookie met, True Blood
I was hoping Kris Allen's surprise win in American Idol would win, but I guess a lot more people have gone True Blood-crazy. Whatever.

FINAL TWO

Outstanding Comedy Series: 30 Rock
OMFG, How I Met Your Mother was ROBBED!!!

Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men
UNFAIR! UNFAIR! LOST WAS ROBBED!!! THE EMMY VOTERS REALLY, TRULY SUCK!!!

There you have it. Let's hope LOST gets more love next year.

Nevertheless, congratulations, Michael Emerson!!! You rock!

Wait a minute... Check this out:

Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media (Fiction): The Dharma Initiative, DharmaWantsYou.com
I count this a win for LOST, since this was supposed to be a LOST ARG anyway. Yay!

See? Expect the worst, but hope for the best!

Fringe Season 2 Premiere Freakin' Rocked

Did y'all watch "A New Day In The Old Town"? Did you?

Wow. That was freaking amazing.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

The first five minutes blew my mind. I kinda figured out what the dude was doing - i.e. shape-shifting - after the intro. (Hehe.) I didn't see The Observer, though, until I went to FringeTelevision.com (Fringe's DarkUFO).

And what is the true nature of Colonel Phillip Broyles and Nina Sharp's relationship??? That was shocking!

The new FBI agent, Amy Jessup, is kinda interesting. Her motivation for following Olivia's car crash wasn't explained, was it? Hmmm... Would that be explained later on? Also, it was interesting that she had a Bible with her when she was looking at the old (as in, Season 1) Fringe Division cases. What is the significance of that?

And that last scene? Oh. My. Gosh. So was Charlie Francis already dead when Amy and Peter found him - or shape-shifter him - standing over the dead nurse (or doctor???)? Or was it even before? I noticed the laundry cart when Charlie, Peter, and Amy were chasing after the shape-shifter.

Overall, the Season 2 premiere was pretty mind-blowing. No wonder: J.J. Abrams and Akiva Goldsman wrote the episode.

I'm already looking forward to next week's episode!!!

Kelly Clarkson Gives Kanye West a Butt-Whoopin'

Kelly Clarkson posted a butt-whoopin' entry regarding Kanye West's egotistical behaviour last Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Actually, it was more like an open letter to Kanye - a badass one.

I love this part of the letter (in verbatim - i.e. EXPLICIT LANGUAGE WARNING):

What happened to you as a child?? Did you not get hugged enough?? Something must have happened to make you this way and I think we’re all just curious as to what would make a grown man go on national television and make a talented artist, let alone teenager, feel like shit. I mean, I’ve seen you do some pretty shitty things, but you just keep amazing me with your tactless, asshole ways. It’s absolutely fascinating how much I don’t like you. I like everyone. I even like my asshole ex that cheated on me over you…which is pretty odd since I don’t even personally know you. The best part of this evening is that you weren’t even up for THIS award and yet you still have a problem with the outcome. Is winning a moon man that much of a life goal?? You can have mine if it will shut you up. Is it that important, really??

You go, girl!

She posted this yesterday at 4:16 AM, so she must have been holding it in since 6:30ish Sunday night. She could also be discussing it with her friends and decided to post this letter afterwards. Either way, this is full of the things that I omitted (e.g. the curse words) from my own blog post.

She ended her post with this:

Taylor Swift, you outsell him ….that’s why he’s bitter. You know I love your work! Keep it up girl!

I wouldn't be surprised if this were true - that Kanye may have been bitter about a teenage country singer outselling him.

I do think Kanye's childhood and upbringing may have something to do with his egotistical behaviour, but I think he was over-indulged or over-hugged when he was a kid. He didn't lack anything other than a whole lot of money. I think he was loved too much. This, in turn, made him believe that only his opinion matters.

I will say it again because it is most likely true: he may have apologized to everyone he pissed off, but he will do this again. He will ruin someone's moment again because he doesn't agree with it. His ego demands it.

Taylor Swift Found a New Fan

I'm sure you've seen, or at least heard of, what transpired tonight at the MTV Video Music Awards. If you haven't, then here it is: Kanye West dissed Taylor Swift for beating Beyonce Knowles in the Female Video category.

I wasn't a fan of Taylor Swift's until tonight. I mean, the girl was shocked that she won in the first place. A country singer winning a Moon Man is an achievement by itself. Who does Kanye West think he is by dismissing that and ranting that Beyonce should have won? Oh, right. Kanye thinks he's the most awesome person that ever lived. Please. Dude, Beyonce herself was horrified at Kanye's idiotic actions.

I must admit I wanted either Beyonce or Kelly Clarkson to win. I even shouted "Robbed!" when she was going up the stage. BUT I immediately repented of that when Kanye went up and dissed her. I mean, WTF, Kanye?!

Anyway, Taylor fought back by doing a great job in performing her song You Belong With Me, the video that won her the Moon Man.

When Beyonce won the Video of the Year award for Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), she more than made up for Kanye's idiocy by giving Taylor a chance to finish her acceptance speech, which Kanye rudely interrupted. Although I still prefer Kelly Rowland over Beyonce, I have more respect for her now than I had before. B is a real class act. (Taylor too, of course.)

One more thing: Because Kanye West pissed me off so much, I decided to buy Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me off iTunes. Ha!

One last thing: Has anyone noticed that when other musicians record Kanye's songs - e.g. Kris Allen's Heartless and the Glee Cast's Gold Digger - they sound so much better? Have you?

Thank God Kanye was kicked out of Radio City Music Hall. Also, word around Twitter that he apologized for his idiotic and egotistical actions. But I don't believe him. He'll do this again. I just know he will.

LOST @ D23 Expo

Today is the last day for the D23 Expo, the first Disney fan convention held at the Anaheim Convention Center. Apparently, some LOST-related goodies were revealed.

First up is the Season 6 poster unveiled at the last LOST panel at Comic Con 2009. Thanks to TheODI for posting the pic that lll4815162342lll Photoshopped together.


Click here for the bigger version.

As you can see, the poster features most of the main characters (Daniel Faraday, Boone Carlyle, Miles Straume, Michael Dawson, Ana Lucia Cortez, Charlotte Staples Lewis, Shannon Rutherford, Desmond David Hume, Mr. Eko, Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen, Jack Shephard, James "Sawyer" Ford, Johnathan "John" Locke, Benjamin Linus, Sayid Jarrah, Elizabeth "Libby" Smith, Sun-Hwa Kwon, Jin-Soo Kwon, Claire Littleton, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, Juliet Burke, Charlie Hieronymus Pace, and Richard "Ricardus" Alpert) and the three recurring but very important characters (Frank Lapidus, Bernard Nadler, and Rose Henderson-Nadler). There is one character missing, though: Walt Lloyd. Why is he missing from the poster? Will we ever see him again on LOST? Also, will we ever see the real John Locke - i.e. not the Man in Black/Flocke/Jacob's Nemesis - on LOST?

Anyway, a few of the actors whose characters have died are confirmed to appear in the final season. It is interesting that Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), and Ian Somerhalder (Boone) have new shows premiering this fall - i.e. V, Flash Forward, and The Vampire Diaries.

Next up is the appearance of Sterling Beaumon (young Benjamin Linus) and François Chau (Dr. Pierre Chang) on the Expo floor. Not as terribly exciting as the previous one, but they signed stuff that includes the official Season 6 promo poster. Click here to view the autographed Season 6 promo poster.

Next up is the LOST memorabilia auction next year. According to IGN, Profiles in History will handle the auction of LOST props and costumes sometime after the series finale in 2010. Included in the auction are Ben's fake passports, Hurley's lottery ticket, Faraday's journal, Sun's business card, Horace's DHARMA Initiative jumpsuit, eight DHARMA buses, Jack's Ford Bronco, and Hurley's Camaro. Photos of props and costumes, as well as other LOST-related pics, can be found here.

According to Joe Maddalena, president of Profiles in History,

"We're going to be selling it episode by episode, season by season, starting with the pilot. You can buy stuff specifically from a certain scene."

I wonder how much Faraday's journal could sell... Maybe I should bid for it? Hehehehe...

Last is Maddalena's bigger revelation: the date for the LOST series finale. Say what???!!! The final season premiere date has not even been announced, and there's already a date for the series finale??? Anyway, according to Maddalena, the LOST series finale will air on May 19, 2010 - no time reported. However, since ABC has not confirmed any date or timeslot related to LOST's final season, I will not mark that date yet on my Outlook/Windows Mail/Google/BlackBerry/iPod Touch calendar. Perhaps I would put a tentative label on it. One great thing about this date, though, is that it falls on a Wednesday, which means the show may return on its original timeslot - i.e. Wednesdays at 9 PM.

To tide us all over, there is an ongoing ARG featuring Paul Schreer and his artwork, particularly his Damon, Carlton, and a Polar Bear painting that he gave to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse during the final LOST panel. I haven't been following it due to work, church, and WRIT 409, though. There is another ARG featuring the LOST University. Some of the courses sound like DVD bonus features - indeed, these would be included in a supplementary Blu-Ray disc that is presumably included in the Season 5 Blu-Ray release. A shame I don't have a Blu-Ray player, though. I did sign up for e-mail alerts, so I would be posting the e-mails once I get them.

Is it possible to be even more excited - and, at the same time, sadder - about LOST Season 6???

I Love Glee!!!

I'm addicted to Glee - especially its soundtrack.

Four months ago, I watched the pilot and actually liked it. Hotties Matthew Morrison and Cory Monteith certainly helped. Of course, the performances in the pilot were freakin' awesome.

Glee returned tonight - as in, Wednesday at 9 PM - with a great episode. I loved the "Push It" and "Take A Bow" performances. My favourite, however, is the cast's version of "Gold Digger" (originally by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx).

I found this video on YouTube. Well, it's actually the audio for the song. Download it from iTunes, if you'd like.


(Video courtesy of YouTube user LeelooDoyle.)

Here's a capture of the sequence itself:


(Video courtesy of YouTube user ramapo13.)

I can't wait to download this episode from iTunes!

Of course, as I've mentioned before, I will have to sacrifice Glee when LOST comes back. But that's still four or five months away, so I will enjoy Glee while I can.

All The Single Ladies...

Oh, crap. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) is stuck in my head again.

Quiz: What Type of Single Gal Are You? My result: Happy Medium You definitely see the good (and bad) in both being single and in a relationship. You don’t see being single as a death sentence; sure, you may get lonely at times, but still find joy in your work and when spending time with friends and family. Keep up that positive attitude!

Take this quiz!

I Have a Green Mind

Wehehehehehehe...

Quiz: Are You "Green"? My result: Enviro-aware You’re active about doing you part when it comes to recycling, reusing and reducing. You’re well aware of many environmental issues and are open to learning more and finding new ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Boost your planet-saving impact by checking out 10 Ways to Reduce Waste for more tips on going green.

Take this quiz!

Do I Need a Vacation?

Heck yeah!

Quiz: Do You Need a Vacation? My result: Plan a Vacation Soon Sometimes you think about taking time off, but you’re still relatively happy in your daily routine as it is. You may feel tired and overwhelmed at times, but you could probably last a few more months without crumbling under the pressures of your life. It could be fun to start toying with possible destinations you would like to escape to in order to give yourself something to look forward to, but it’s probably not time to start planning anything concrete… yet. For ideas on how to plan an affordable getaway, click here!

Take this quiz!

I Love Purses...

Hah! I found a new quiz site. Well, actually, it's not a quiz site. It has a nice quizzes section, though.

Quiz: What Type of Purse Are You? My result: Clutch You are elegant, and your lifestyle is simple yet refined. You are definitely a woman of good taste! You only bring the essentials in your bag, and like to have your hands free. That is why an elegant yet simple clutch perfectly suits your habits and your fashion style!

Take this quiz!

The Fall Season is Upon Us

Primetime TV programming, that is.

New and returning primetime shows start premiering next week. To help us all out, EW.com's Michael Ausiello - with a little help from EW intern Aly Semigran - posted a fall premiere schedule.

Here are the ones that matter to me:

September 9, Wednesday - Glee - 9 PM on FOX
September 10, Thursday - The Vampire Diaries - 8 PM on The CW
September 17, Thursday

• Fringe - 9 PM on FOX
• The Office - 9 PM on NBC

September 21, Monday

• House - 8 PM on FOX
• How I Met Your Mother - 8 PM on CBS
• The Big Bang Theory - 9:30 PM on CBS
• CSI: Miami - 10 PM on CBS

September 22, Tuesday - The Good Wife - 10 PM on CBS
September 23, Wednesday

• The New Adventures of Old Christine - 8 PM on CBS
• Gary Unmarried - 8:30 PM on CBS
• Criminal Minds - 9 PM on CBS
• CSI: NY - 10 PM on CBS

September 24, Thursday - FlashForward - 8 PM on ABC
September 27, Sunday - The Amazing Race - 8 PM on CBS
October 9, Friday - Ugly Betty - 8 PM on ABC
October 15, Thursday - 30 Rock - 9:30 PM on NBC
November 3, Tuesday - V - 8 PM on ABC

Obviously, I am most excited about the return of Fringe, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Glee, and 30 Rock. I am also looking forward to the series premieres of The Vampire Diaries (Ian Somerhalder! Paul Wesley!), Flash Forward (Joseph Fiennes! Sonya Walger! Dominic Monaghan!), V (Elizabeth Mitchell!), and The Good Wife.

Obviously, LOST will be my top priority once it comes back in 2010. So, assuming it will come back on Wednesdays at 9 PM, I will have to say goodbye to either Glee or Criminal Minds. There's always iTunes and reruns.

By the way, The Futon Critic also has a colourful grid for the Fall 2009 schedule. Check it out, if you'd like.

Which of the new and returning shows are you watching?

"Televisionary" J.J. Abrams

LOST and Fringe made EW.com's list of 17 classic TV shows from four "televisionaries" - Aaron Spelling, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon, and J.J. Abrams.

LOST (2004 - 2010)

The most successful of Abrams’ TV creations, Lost follows the adventures of a group of plane-crash survivors on a bizarre tropical island. The characters’ stories also are told through flashbacks and flashforwards. Beware of polar bears, a nutty French woman, and time-travel flashes. Will we get all the answers to our burning questions when the show concludes in May? Fingers crossed.

Wow. Classic TV show. I'm a proud geek!

Fringe (2008 - present)

Starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, and John Noble, this Fox drama chronicles the stories of an FBI division that investigates a burst of creepy events that are referred to as “The Pattern.” Hope you can stomach skin-dissolving contagions and strange parasites wrapped around hearts.

Classic after only a season? Awesome.

By the way, what is a "televisionary" anyway? According to Urban Dictionary, a televisionary is "a 'born to be on TV' visionary who appears on television regularly, delivering messages that fall into her (his) mind from the dead." Hmm... Not quite. The Wikipedia entry defines the word as the concept "used to describe television and communications network operators who are developing services that provide consumers with more control over when, where and how they consume video and other multimedia content." Still not it.

Based on the examples - Aaron Spelling, Aaron Sorkin, Joss Whedon, and J.J. Abrams - I can say the word pertains to a smart person who creates something (in this case, a TV show) that has unique elements, setting it apart from others in its genre.

Obviously LOST and Fringe are great examples. The other shows on the list - great examples as well - are Aaron Spelling's 7th Heaven and Beverly Hills, 90210, Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and Sports Night, and Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly.