Blair to star in Gervais’ Extras
Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant’s second comedy show, Extras, has had its fair share of big cameo names in the past but, in an effort to top them all, the final episode has one Mr Blair to star.
Unfortunately, the Mr Blair in question is a Lionel, not a Tony, although the show will doubtless be a cracker nevertheless.
In every episode of the show a celebrity takes the lead role, and usually plays a sour imitation of themselves, so there will be plenty of fodder to use against Lionel, having become about as uncool as Cliff Richard in the past decade or more!
However, it seems as though he is up for the challenge, after he was reported saying: “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call from Ricky.”
Lionel even joked that he wouldn’t be able to pull it off: “I’m known as always happy and always smiling but I was told I’ll have to play it glum.”
Are The Sharks Circling “Shark”?
Shark is fast becoming one of the most unexpected hits in the UK, not to mention with the US audience. While many may be disappointed to see “another US court drama”, Shark is something a little different, it has a different angle than the traditional US state versus prosecution programs.
The program centres around Sebastien Stark, a “thief turned policemen” i.e. a defence lawyer turned prosecutor, who has amazing court skills and an unerring eye for detail. Many a time he has been seen to be losing a court case only to pull a rabbit out of the hat at the last minute. We also see some great footage of what actually goes on behind the scenes, the plea bargains, the threats and the friction. Great to watch!
Tonight’s program sees Stark go out on a limb to help an old friend, only to become embroiled in the middle of a murder case. There is also more bad news when he gets home to find that his daughter has been stopped for drink driving, and may be facing serious repercussions. Life never has been easy for the single father of one, who is trying to mix his high flying court career with his family life (what is left of it!).
Starring the likes of James Woods, Jeri Ryan, Sam Page, Sophina Brown, Alexis Cruz and Sarah Carter, there are very few stars who the UK audience have seen before. What makes Shark stand out from all of the other court room sagas? How about the acting, the scripts and the great attention to detail which makes you feel as though you are actually in the court room and behind the scenes.
Often criticised for bringing sub standard US programs to our screens, Channel 5 should receive praise for spotting this gem in the pile of would be US hits. Who is next for the slammer?
Paris up for awards after TV appearance
Paris Hilton received some good news recently after hearing she is up for two awards in the US’ Teen Choice awards.
The heiress has been nominated for Best Female Reality/Variety star, for her appearance in the Simple Life.
However she is up against an already popular name in the States; Jordin Sparks, the latest winner of American Idol, but perhaps the sympathy vote post-jail will lend Paris a hand.
The awards can be voted for only by teenagers, and have come under fire in the past for choosing “unsuitable” role models.
No doubt then, they will be coming under heavy attack soon, considering Paris’ airhead image and criminal record…
The news comes as Nicole Ritchie, Paris’ co-star, is the centre of attention due to a pregnancy debate.
Many gossip columnists insist she is pregnant, but even her Dad Lionel Ritchie has admitted he has no idea whether the Simple Life star is or not.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons has become one of the most popular cult classics of all time, some how managing to reflect the thoughts of the US nation in an amusing and funny way, yet often getting over serious points. The show has attracted some of the biggest stars from the world of showbiz, music and even presidents do not escape.
For those who have never seen The Simpsons, the show revolves around the Simpson family with son Bart and father Homer taking centre stage in the vast majority of the shows. Bart is the stereo-typical cheeky young school boy, with a loveable side to him, while Homer just cannot getting anything right, whether looking after the nuclear reactor at work or organising Christmas for the kids. Thankfully it always seems to end on a happy note, even with Homer’s efforts!
Tonight’s show is set in the approach to Christmas with Homer looking to scrape together as much money as he can, to buy Christmas presents for the family. As you can guess, nothing ever goes right for Homer and his plans all fail, so what next?
For some time now The Simpsons house has been the home of Santa’s Little Helper (a dog), who fetches the newspaper every morning and plays with the kids. Thankfully Santa’s Little Helper decides to take charge in the run up to Christmas and ends up bailing Homer out of a very tricky situation - and everyone is able to enjoy the festive period.
The beauty of The Simpsons is the writer’s ability to introduce new and current storylines in such a manner that they get their points across, often making people think again in the process. They seem to have a gift for understanding the thoughts of the nation, even though a number of the shows have actually covered very controversial storylines.
Great fun for the kids, as well as the adults - “Eat My Shorts!”, as Bart would say.
Sharon Osbourne in monkey protest
“This man that I thought was such an honest, good man was a fake. So I got this stupid concrete monkey and did a s**t on it.”
You’ll probably find that this is not such a surprising statement when I tell you it came from Sharon Osbourne’s mouth…
Sharon, TV judge and wife of heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne, was talking about her father, and the revelation that he was having an affair during her childhood, on More4’s Shrink Rap.
In a show where celebrities are put on a psychologist’s couch for a chance to open up to psychologist Dr Pamela Connolly, Sharon admitted that she often suffered at the hands of her violent father - although insisted that she didn’t mind.
“I was surrounded by violent people, violent talk, violent behaviour, so there was nothing unusual seeing my dad threatening someone, or brandishing a firearm. It seemed normal. I thought everybody was like this. It was part of our lives,” she explained in an article published in the Sun.
“My father really had a temper. He had a voice which would echo through the entire house. A couple of times he would whack me and he used to yank my hair.
“I wouldn’t say I was abused and beaten; in those days it was a normal thing.”
However, when she discovered he was having an affair, Sharon grabbed an ornament given to her father from her mistress and left a signal of just how she felt - proving once and for all that perhaps Ozzy isn’t the source of her terrible behaviour!
“Pay It Forward”
Every now and again there is a film release which sticks in your mind for all of the right reasons, funny, serious and with a great hidden message. “Pay It Forward” is one of these films, once seen never forgotten and likely to make you think about everyday life and how you can make the world a better place.
The film centres around a young boy and his school studies where his class are asked to think of a plan to make the world a better place and put a smile back on the face of society. He comes up with a plan whereby he does a good turn for people and then asks them to “Pay It Forward” by doing a good turn to three other people.
The plan takes off and before long the trend is taking over his local town the next town the next state and so on. Such is the support and passion for his new “Pay Back” system that he is soon courted by the media and made into something of a TV star. Determined to do his bit to make society a better place he continues to pursue his idea, touching all areas of society.
As you may expect from a film spreading good throughout society there is always a twist in the tale and unfortunately not all recipients of “Pay It Forward” appreciate the well meaning thoughts. The young boy soon becomes involved with a heavy drug taker, trying to help him turn his life around, but all does not go to plan in what has to be one of the saddest endings to a film.
For some time after its release this film spawned a lot of websites pushing the theory of “Pay It Forward” and became a trend amongst the young - not a bad results for a simple yet very well thought out idea.
The film has a great cast which includes Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr, James Caviezel and Sophie Jovillard.
Kylie to star with the Doctor
Pop Princess and one-time actress Kylie Minogue has been meeting the crew of BBC’s Doctor Who this week after she confirmed she will be starring in a special episode.
Kylie will begin filming in Cardiff later this month for a role referred to as a major part.
Yesterday in London however, Kylie said after meeting the cast: “It is an incredible thrill. Doctor Who enjoys a unique history. It is exciting to be a part of that.”
The special show will be an hour long Christmas edition of the long-running show, and has been described as “the most ambitious and best Christmas episode yet”, by producer Russell T Davies.
The news comes on the same day the BBC was branded “mad” for carrying out a stunt explosion in the centre of Cardiff for the Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood.
There were warnings about the explosion posted in Cardiff after the bombing of Glasgow airport and attempted attack on London last week, although many criticised the corporation for acting insensitively.
Coronation Street - Fun And Games On The Cobbles
While Coronation Street has gone through many changes over the years, it still remains one of the most popular programs on TV - by far and away the most popular Soap on UK screens. The storylines are both serious and fun, and the writers have a great skill for integrating funny storylines in between some of the more serious ones, such as Tracy Barrow’s recent high profile court case.
Tonight we saw Hayley struggling to keep herself motivated at the factory, with Liam on an extended break after the recent death of his brother. The girls are taking Hayley for a fool, but even the mild mannered lady from the Cafe snaps in the end. Luckily for Hayley, Carla decides to take over the reigns at the factory, introducing some new system which do not go down well with the staff.
Over at the Grimshaw household, Violet and Sean continue to discuss their hair brained scheme to impregnate Violet even though Sean is gay and has no interest in woman at all! Strike one, they try the old fashioned way but Sean backs out. Strike two, they look at local clinics, but decide they could not stand the invasion of privacy, Strike three, whatever next!
It seems that love is abound in the Grimshaw house with Eileen enjoying a love in with her new man Pat, but it seems that there is more to Pat than meets the eye. This storyline is set to unfold over the coming weeks, when all will be revealed!
It is surprising how the Coronation Street writers are able to keep so many storylines going at any one time, often cooling them off for a short period only to bring them back when other storylines close. It is a skill which has seen the show cement it’s position at the peak of UK TV, with rumours abound that ITV are about to sign a £30 million sponsorship deal for the program.
Big Brother housemates punished for their ’sins’
Big Brother’s Carole recently had no trouble passing judgment on the sins of her fellow housemates as part of this week’ shopping task.
With a luxury shopping spree at stake- much needed after they had to make do with minimal rations following their total failure in the sleep deprivation challenge- the show’s would-be matriarch was given the task of naming the housemate most guilty of each of the seven deadly sins- sloth, gluttony, greed, pride, lust, envy and wrath.
Despite last week’s comments from Carole that a complete lack of exercise had meant that Chanelle had put on weight since entering the house, she stated that Laura was the most slothful.
The remaining choices would hardly have come as any surprise to viewers with even the least bit of knowledge about the remaining housemates.
Liam was deemed to be the most lustful, Tracey the most greedy and argumentative Charley the most full of wrath.
In a twist, Amanda, being the most guilty of the sin of pride, has been forced to wear a hot-dog costume and abstain from looking in mirrors for the next two days, while gluttonous Ziggy was made to sit in a room surrounded by luxurious food and ordered not to touch any of it.
The housemates have all agreed that twin Amanda has the worst deal in the first post-Billi task.
