Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
KBC 4 review *ing Amitabh Bachchan
So I begin Kaun Banega Crorepati with much apprehension. For me the heyday of Millionaire was not Amitabh Bachchan hosting (gasp!). It was Regis Philbin in his gee golly gosh manner with the highlight being a man winning a million dollars and using his lifeline to call his dad to tell him he won! That was the type of drama that made such game shows exciting and not fake Bollywood dancing and dialoguebaazi with the entire focus being on the celebrity and constant homages to his greatness.
What I feared most is exactly how KBC begins. An extremely long tribute to Amitabh Bachchan starts immediately. It is his birthday (how convenient) and we are first given his life story and baby pictures are put on the screen for all to adore. Next comes all his famous dialogues (kabhi kabhi mere dil main, etc) followed by him singing a Khaike Paan remix (with added lines like "Girl the way you move it, everybody losing it, go Mira go Mira go!) with lots of background dancers (whose next aim is to make it to item girl status) in red bras and harem pants with long slits. Ahh, perfectly befitting a 70 year old icon.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Bigg Boss 4 review *ing Salman Khan
Another year, another round of the deliberately incorrectly spelled Bigg Boss. Indian entertainment - helping to ruin English one show and film at a time. They won't be satisfied until they make everyone illiterate.
The show opens with Salman posing nearby a small plane eerily like Donald "comb-over" Trump in The Apprentice. Next up is Salman riding a motorcycle (hoping to capture some Khatron Ke Khiladi viewers? If there were any left by the end, that is. ) and doing his best superstar act. What this has to do with people trapped in a house I haven't figure out yet and am likely not to before it finishes either. Oh sweat, now comes a helicopter! Once the chopper business is through, Salman rides an old fashioned bicycle and doesn't forget to roll his sleeves up to his shoulders to show his biceps of course. I don't know what's going on but I feel good in knowing Salman probably has no clue either.
He finally (finally!!) gets to his destination though I'm a bit cross he missed out on using the great Indian railways. And oh, cruise ships. They should have been included. Mamata Banarjee should sue him for ill treatment on behalf of the trains and get some free PR out of this. Sallu begins his tour of the house but as an aside, let me point out he is wearing a pink tee that says "I just want to take a pic so please don't SMILE!!" Hain? Wittiness FAIL. As if that alone wasn't enough, one of his first lines is that the house is looking "happy happy" on the outside but will be "sad sad" inside. Groan, this is going to be a long night. Want more? Here's another Sallu gem, "The family that eats together cheats together." (Someone inform Karan Johar; he can improve We are Family. )
During his cheesy tour, it's revealed that this time the men and women will all sleep in the same room and on double beds attempting to maybe equal the sleaze levels of MTV and Bindass. In honor of the Jersey Shore, this room will henceforth be known as the smoosh room. (For those of you haven't seen the Jersey Shore, it's the absolute epitome of trashy television and completely delicious!) Sometime during the tour, Salman also comes up incredibly close to the camera and then... kisses it. Yep, plants a wet one and then wipes it off. For once, I am glad I am watching on my faithful youtube and not HD television though I know what screencaps are going to be made by salmankhan.net this morning. Continuing on with Salman's prize quotes, we get "Oh blimey!"After mastering the American accent, he plans on moving to a British one.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Emotional Atyachar review *ing Ranbir Kapoor
Frequently Asked Questions:
First up, what is Emotional Atyachar? It's not just a song from an Anurag Kashyap film anymore. It is one of the staples of trashy guilty pleasure television made famous by channels like Bindass and MTV. For similarly satisfying American trash, refer to The Jersey Shore, one notch above the now defunct Jerry Springer Show. Think about it this way: if Mad Men is gourmet, Emotional Atyachar is buying a 25 cent bag of Cheetos from a gas station while wearing flip flops.
The premise of the show? A person comes on the show to do a "loyalty test" on their partner. The show sends their own crew members to flirt with the suspected person and then record it all on hidden cameras. The footage is then shown to the world and a showdown usually occurs at the end. This could be comprised of sobbing, fighting, hitting, spitting, and traditional beat-downs. This is what we call the "pay-off"- the reason that the audience watches the show. Who doesn't want to see people getting their asses kicked. I'm in.
Why Ranbir Kapoor you ask? Emotional Atyachar is so popular and famous now that all celebrities make their rounds of it, watch the cheating action, dole out some advice (and secretly enjoy the beat-downs like the rest of India) and promote their films.
Deepika tested Ranbir's loyalty?! All of us wish this to be true but alas that was not to be. A truly golden opportunity missed. Please send all future suggestions to Deepika Padukone's PR agents. They are slacking. I don't think the daily interviews dumping on Ranbir are quite doing the trick. They need to try for something more effective and entertaining. Deepika owes us big time after Housefull as it is. We might begin to forgive her if she pulls off this coup.
Now on to the show.
After the requisite song snippets from Anjaana Anjaani (really? A cheating show to promote a love story? Marketing FAIL), Ranbir appears looking to be a wearing a thick toupee with long sideburns. He immediately suggests making a film based on this tv show (Picture Amitabh Bachchan doing his trademark "Hain"?) because people need to be made aware these things happen in real life. Who would know better than Ranbir. Smirk.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Outsourced sneak peek
Featuring mostly Indian actors and writers
Premieres this Thursday after The Office on NBC
Salman's Big Boss song video
Kind of a hangover of SRK's KBC video, IMO, but doesn't match up to the epically awesome cheese that was Karle Karle.... What do you guys thing? Which one of the frenemies has the cooler video? Yeah, yeah, SRK vs. Salman again. Still better than counting crores. :P
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Khatron Ke Khiladi Reloaded: Ep. 2
*Episode 2 review*
We begin with a disclaimer that folks watching at home should not replicate the stunts. All ho hum, right? The next line made my eyes nearly pop out. "THE CHANNEL WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE." So if you go jump out of a helicopter and break a leg you can now sue Colors and make some money. Eat some slugs and get food poisoning? Sue the bastards. Not a bad money-making scheme in this economy. So all you unemployed slobs sitting on your couches drooling over Priyanka, chop chop, get to work. The only people who *don't* deserve work? The morons at Colors who can't even write proper disclaimers. I suppose they would be the same retards green-lighting remakes of horrid American reality shows. They must have been multitasking.
Piggy Chops arrives wearing shorts so short her butt cheeks are nearly hanging out. Eh, same thing she does in the movies or award shows or well, anywhere. She is, after all, using her best ASSet. She announces the stunt which happens to be transferring worms, beetles, cockroaches and other creepy crawlies from a honey-covered rope to a bowl a few feet away. Since I had to been dying to see Rahul Bose eat gross insects, it's no surprise that the universe once again denies me this pleasure. Mr. Bose, oh so manly and muscular, volunteers his cheerleader girl to do the stunt for him!!
5
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Labels:
Khatron Ke Khiladi,
Original reviews,
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recaps,
reviews,
television,
TV
Labels:
Khatron Ke Khiladi,
Original reviews,
Priyanka Chopra,
recaps,
reviews,
television,
TV
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
India-themed comedies emerge as new TV trend
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - They are the two comeback stories of this pilot season, projects developed years ago that have been resurrected and have landed orders at the broadcast networks.
The two comedies -- "Nirvana" at Fox and "Outsourced" at NBC -- have something else in common: They both are ensemble shows about Indians and Indian-Americans.
A third project, a U.S. version of popular British comedy "The Kumars at No. 42," about an immigrant Indian family, also is poised for revival. Eight years after NBC took a stab at the format, the show's British producers are shopping it to U.S. networks, including FX.
Is it a coincidence or a delayed "Slumdog Millionaire" effect?
"I do think that 'Slumdog' had a lot to do with it," a TV studio executive said of India's rapid emergence on the U.S. pop culture scene. "It was boiling, hovering there, with the increasing popularity of Indian clothing, food and Bollywood movies, but with its mainstream acceptance and critical success, 'Slumdog' pushed it over the tipping point."
In Hollywood, consciousness grew exponentially last year with Danny Boyle's runaway hit and Oscar winner as well as the $1.2 billion deal between Indian conglomerate Reliance and DreamWorks.
Reliance also is bidding for the MGM studio and has signed production pacts with eight A-list Hollywood actors, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
On the small screen, India's growing impact has been dramatic as well, albeit more slowly developing.
LARGER CASTING POOL
When producer Gavin Polone brought "Kumars" to the U.S. in 2002, its Indian roots were stripped away and it was remade as "The Ortegas," a show about a Mexican-American family.
In 2004, when NBC shot two pilots of "Nirvana," one starring then up-and-comer Kal Penn, and one starring creator Ajay Sahgal, there were only two Indian actors in primetime, Sahgal recalls: Ravi Kapoor on NBC's "Crossing Jordan" and Parminder Nagra, who had just joined "ER."
That is not the case anymore. Most successful shows launched in the past five years feature a prominent Indian actor: "The Office," "The Big Bang Theory," "30 Rock," "Parks and Recreation" and three hot freshmen: "Community," "Glee" and "The Good Wife."
"24" also has regularly featured Indian actors, including one of Bollywood's biggest stars, "Slumdog's" Anil Kapoor, who has a major role this season. Additionally, Penn co-starred on Fox's "House" until he left to pursue a career in Washington.
"There are far more Indian actors today that can do this kind of thing than there were six or seven years ago," Sahgal said.
To find them, he is launching an international talent search for "Nirvana," an ensemble comedy about grown-up Indian-American brothers and their Indian immigrant parents, with casting taking place in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, London and Mumbai.
"Outsourced" -- an office comedy about an American shipped off to India to manage a ragtag group of customer service reps -- has hired casting consultants in Toronto and India.
That the film and TV industry are seizing on the growing popularity of Indian culture isn't surprising, according to TV historian Tim Brooks.
"Hollywood, and TV in particular, always tries to jump on a trend," he said.
Another ethnic comedy making a comeback is ABC's "Funny in Farsi," about a family of Iranian immigrants living in Newport Beach. The single-camera project directed by Barry Sonnenfeld earned a green light this season after failing to secure a production order last year.
Read the rest HERE.
In Hollywood, consciousness grew exponentially last year with Danny Boyle's runaway hit and Oscar winner as well as the $1.2 billion deal between Indian conglomerate Reliance and DreamWorks.
Reliance also is bidding for the MGM studio and has signed production pacts with eight A-list Hollywood actors, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
On the small screen, India's growing impact has been dramatic as well, albeit more slowly developing.
LARGER CASTING POOL
When producer Gavin Polone brought "Kumars" to the U.S. in 2002, its Indian roots were stripped away and it was remade as "The Ortegas," a show about a Mexican-American family.
In 2004, when NBC shot two pilots of "Nirvana," one starring then up-and-comer Kal Penn, and one starring creator Ajay Sahgal, there were only two Indian actors in primetime, Sahgal recalls: Ravi Kapoor on NBC's "Crossing Jordan" and Parminder Nagra, who had just joined "ER."
That is not the case anymore. Most successful shows launched in the past five years feature a prominent Indian actor: "The Office," "The Big Bang Theory," "30 Rock," "Parks and Recreation" and three hot freshmen: "Community," "Glee" and "The Good Wife."
"24" also has regularly featured Indian actors, including one of Bollywood's biggest stars, "Slumdog's" Anil Kapoor, who has a major role this season. Additionally, Penn co-starred on Fox's "House" until he left to pursue a career in Washington.
"There are far more Indian actors today that can do this kind of thing than there were six or seven years ago," Sahgal said.
To find them, he is launching an international talent search for "Nirvana," an ensemble comedy about grown-up Indian-American brothers and their Indian immigrant parents, with casting taking place in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, London and Mumbai.
"Outsourced" -- an office comedy about an American shipped off to India to manage a ragtag group of customer service reps -- has hired casting consultants in Toronto and India.
That the film and TV industry are seizing on the growing popularity of Indian culture isn't surprising, according to TV historian Tim Brooks.
"Hollywood, and TV in particular, always tries to jump on a trend," he said.
Another ethnic comedy making a comeback is ABC's "Funny in Farsi," about a family of Iranian immigrants living in Newport Beach. The single-camera project directed by Barry Sonnenfeld earned a green light this season after failing to secure a production order last year.
Read the rest HERE.
India-themed comedies emerge as new TV trend
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - They are the two comeback stories of this pilot season, projects developed years ago that have been resurrected and have landed orders at the broadcast networks.
The two comedies -- "Nirvana" at Fox and "Outsourced" at NBC -- have something else in common: They both are ensemble shows about Indians and Indian-Americans.
A third project, a U.S. version of popular British comedy "The Kumars at No. 42," about an immigrant Indian family, also is poised for revival. Eight years after NBC took a stab at the format, the show's British producers are shopping it to U.S. networks, including FX.
Is it a coincidence or a delayed "Slumdog Millionaire" effect?
"I do think that 'Slumdog' had a lot to do with it," a TV studio executive said of India's rapid emergence on the U.S. pop culture scene. "It was boiling, hovering there, with the increasing popularity of Indian clothing, food and Bollywood movies, but with its mainstream acceptance and critical success, 'Slumdog' pushed it over the tipping point."
In Hollywood, consciousness grew exponentially last year with Danny Boyle's runaway hit and Oscar winner as well as the $1.2 billion deal between Indian conglomerate Reliance and DreamWorks.
Reliance also is bidding for the MGM studio and has signed production pacts with eight A-list Hollywood actors, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
On the small screen, India's growing impact has been dramatic as well, albeit more slowly developing.
LARGER CASTING POOL
When producer Gavin Polone brought "Kumars" to the U.S. in 2002, its Indian roots were stripped away and it was remade as "The Ortegas," a show about a Mexican-American family.
In 2004, when NBC shot two pilots of "Nirvana," one starring then up-and-comer Kal Penn, and one starring creator Ajay Sahgal, there were only two Indian actors in primetime, Sahgal recalls: Ravi Kapoor on NBC's "Crossing Jordan" and Parminder Nagra, who had just joined "ER."
That is not the case anymore. Most successful shows launched in the past five years feature a prominent Indian actor: "The Office," "The Big Bang Theory," "30 Rock," "Parks and Recreation" and three hot freshmen: "Community," "Glee" and "The Good Wife."
"24" also has regularly featured Indian actors, including one of Bollywood's biggest stars, "Slumdog's" Anil Kapoor, who has a major role this season. Additionally, Penn co-starred on Fox's "House" until he left to pursue a career in Washington.
"There are far more Indian actors today that can do this kind of thing than there were six or seven years ago," Sahgal said.
To find them, he is launching an international talent search for "Nirvana," an ensemble comedy about grown-up Indian-American brothers and their Indian immigrant parents, with casting taking place in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, London and Mumbai.
"Outsourced" -- an office comedy about an American shipped off to India to manage a ragtag group of customer service reps -- has hired casting consultants in Toronto and India.
That the film and TV industry are seizing on the growing popularity of Indian culture isn't surprising, according to TV historian Tim Brooks.
"Hollywood, and TV in particular, always tries to jump on a trend," he said.
Another ethnic comedy making a comeback is ABC's "Funny in Farsi," about a family of Iranian immigrants living in Newport Beach. The single-camera project directed by Barry Sonnenfeld earned a green light this season after failing to secure a production order last year.
Read the rest HERE.
In Hollywood, consciousness grew exponentially last year with Danny Boyle's runaway hit and Oscar winner as well as the $1.2 billion deal between Indian conglomerate Reliance and DreamWorks.
Reliance also is bidding for the MGM studio and has signed production pacts with eight A-list Hollywood actors, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
On the small screen, India's growing impact has been dramatic as well, albeit more slowly developing.
LARGER CASTING POOL
When producer Gavin Polone brought "Kumars" to the U.S. in 2002, its Indian roots were stripped away and it was remade as "The Ortegas," a show about a Mexican-American family.
In 2004, when NBC shot two pilots of "Nirvana," one starring then up-and-comer Kal Penn, and one starring creator Ajay Sahgal, there were only two Indian actors in primetime, Sahgal recalls: Ravi Kapoor on NBC's "Crossing Jordan" and Parminder Nagra, who had just joined "ER."
That is not the case anymore. Most successful shows launched in the past five years feature a prominent Indian actor: "The Office," "The Big Bang Theory," "30 Rock," "Parks and Recreation" and three hot freshmen: "Community," "Glee" and "The Good Wife."
"24" also has regularly featured Indian actors, including one of Bollywood's biggest stars, "Slumdog's" Anil Kapoor, who has a major role this season. Additionally, Penn co-starred on Fox's "House" until he left to pursue a career in Washington.
"There are far more Indian actors today that can do this kind of thing than there were six or seven years ago," Sahgal said.
To find them, he is launching an international talent search for "Nirvana," an ensemble comedy about grown-up Indian-American brothers and their Indian immigrant parents, with casting taking place in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, London and Mumbai.
"Outsourced" -- an office comedy about an American shipped off to India to manage a ragtag group of customer service reps -- has hired casting consultants in Toronto and India.
That the film and TV industry are seizing on the growing popularity of Indian culture isn't surprising, according to TV historian Tim Brooks.
"Hollywood, and TV in particular, always tries to jump on a trend," he said.
Another ethnic comedy making a comeback is ABC's "Funny in Farsi," about a family of Iranian immigrants living in Newport Beach. The single-camera project directed by Barry Sonnenfeld earned a green light this season after failing to secure a production order last year.
Read the rest HERE.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Yash Raj Films' TV shows sputter, advertisers unhappy
According to TAM Media Research, the third show, Mahi Way, which first aired on January 2, has a 0.9 rating between 9 pm to 10 pm. “The ratings have been disappointing. And, there is no scope for the ratings to grow in the weeks to come,” said a key figure from a media buying agency.
During the same time band, (8 pm to 9:30 pm), other general entertainment channels like Zee and Star Plus witnessed ratings between 2 and 5.5. For instance, Star Plus’ Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai (8:30 pm to 9 pm) on January 1 had a viewership rating of 3.1, while Zee TV’s Jhansi Ki Rani had a rating of 3.8 on January 1 between 8 and 8:30.
Also, during the time band when Mahi Way was introduced, a show on Star Plus Music, Ka Maha Muqqabla, had a viewership rating of 3 (9 pm to 10:30 pm).
The initial ratings are certainly a cause for concern among advertisers who have bet high. Each of the four fiction shows have a sponsor on board for almost Rs 2 crore each. Advertisers had high hopes for the 20-week celebrity show, Lift Kara De, since the 10-second ad spots were estimated to deliver viewership ratings in the range of 3-4, according to sources. “It’s too early to comment on what advertisers will do now. We will consider data of the first two weeks before taking a call,” said H Vishwanath, National Trading Head, MediaEdge.
Read more HERE.
Yash Raj Films' TV shows sputter, advertisers unhappy
According to TAM Media Research, the third show, Mahi Way, which first aired on January 2, has a 0.9 rating between 9 pm to 10 pm. “The ratings have been disappointing. And, there is no scope for the ratings to grow in the weeks to come,” said a key figure from a media buying agency.
During the same time band, (8 pm to 9:30 pm), other general entertainment channels like Zee and Star Plus witnessed ratings between 2 and 5.5. For instance, Star Plus’ Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai (8:30 pm to 9 pm) on January 1 had a viewership rating of 3.1, while Zee TV’s Jhansi Ki Rani had a rating of 3.8 on January 1 between 8 and 8:30.
Also, during the time band when Mahi Way was introduced, a show on Star Plus Music, Ka Maha Muqqabla, had a viewership rating of 3 (9 pm to 10:30 pm).
The initial ratings are certainly a cause for concern among advertisers who have bet high. Each of the four fiction shows have a sponsor on board for almost Rs 2 crore each. Advertisers had high hopes for the 20-week celebrity show, Lift Kara De, since the 10-second ad spots were estimated to deliver viewership ratings in the range of 3-4, according to sources. “It’s too early to comment on what advertisers will do now. We will consider data of the first two weeks before taking a call,” said H Vishwanath, National Trading Head, MediaEdge.
Read more HERE.
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