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Seriously, Poland, it's just a TV show. And a modestly rated one at that.

I guess I should only save my interest for the most popular things... popularity is such a good measure of value, after all.

Christ, David, I had that shit recorded. Thanks for spoilin'!

(Something tells me I'll go on.)

I liked the Amazing Race brother-sister Asian couple that won, though I'd have preferred AWESOME HOT FIRECROTCH TYPE-A SHORT-FUSE MANIAC JAMIE, who I was in love with (her lookalike partner was OK too). But as long as that hateful mama's boy TOOL Luke didn't win, I was happy. Luke, proving that even the disabled (he was deaf) can be thoroughly loathesome, irritating assholes.

This Apprentice, though, had two of my all-time heroes (Diceman and Tom Green); Bummer they, and AWESOME RODMAN, and my Third Favorite Kardashian, got the axe so early on.

Sorry, I have never forgiven Joan Rivers for Rabbit Test.

don't be so quick to write off Rabbit Test ... the newsbreak on drums ... George Gobel, Paul Lynde, Roddy McDowell ... it's one of the only cool movies Rivers ever did ... the one sheet was pretty good too

Actually, it's the only feature they ever let her direct.... thank God. This movie very nearly ended Billy Crystal's movie career before it started.

A reality show being less than honest? Well I am shocked and appalled.

Rivers is also briefly in THE SWIMMER ... and billy crystal has starred in worse films than rabbit test (mein giant anyone?)

So the guy who gets his own cover of EW, and may be the best IDOL ever. Does not come across as commercial as Allison? Really?

"I guess I should only save my interest for the most popular things... popularity is such a good measure of value, after all."

Well, the whole point of your post was that "a comedy legend seriously damaged her legacy" and I pointed out 1) it's just a show and 2) it's not a very popular show at that.

So this isn't about your "interest." It's about how a "comedy legend" has destroyed her career. To which I say: bullshit.

Did anyone not already find Joan Rivers to be a mean-spirited hypocrite? I kinda thought that was her whole appeal. Not that it appeals much to me, but I mainly know her as the woman who insults people's Oscar outfits.

One more observation on this: I watch Celebrity Apprentice but I'm a few weeks behind, but I notice from the comments not one other person appears to have even WATCHED the show, but that didn't stop them from commenting, dissing the show and Poland for even bringing it up.

I don't really care and I butt in like a blowhard all over the place so I can't hate on anyone else for it, but is there some kind of MOVIE ASPERGER'S that affects L.A.-area film geeks? Wherein they know EVERYTHING about movies and who's moving and shaking what's tracking where and what theater is playing what... but every conversation about sports and TV kinda falls like a lead balloon?

I'll exclude the news and politics, because L.A. is rife with Obamaniacs who follow the talking points, and history-geek screenwriters who keep up on the news.

But like, it's sweeps season and Poland mentions a fairly high-profile show, and people chime in to turn up their nose like he just posted a link to a video of Sarah Palin and Carrie Prejean singing the praises of coal energy.

YES, we get it, you're all NOBLE SCREENWRITERS and the EVIL REALITY TV GENRE could put you out of business, blah blah blah. Except it won't. And except that most of you guys have a hardon for DOCUMENTARIES anyway. So what you're basically being is SNOBS about something you don't watch, wouldn't watch and will never watch.

But Blog aside, I see this in my L.A. day to day ALL THE TIME. Aren't the Lakers in like some kind of basketball version of the Super Bowl right now? Shouldn't at least one straight dude at the office make some note of this? Only in L.A. could a dude go into work and a bunch of folks are sitting around the lunch room discussing not Manny, not the Lakers, not American Idol, not even Swine Flu or the Press Corps dinner, but, like, the collective works of Alan Rudolph for 47 minutes.

Yes, I realize that's exactly WHY a lot of us film geek outcast types move here, but doesn't it get a little Aspergy at times?

Joan Rivers probably destroyed her reputation with the few million Americans who watch Celebrity Apprentice (you really watch this, Dave?) As for everyone else... nobody will have the faintest clue that she was even on the show let alone made an (apparent) fool of herself. But, then again, what else is new?

I like how Celebrity Apprentice is beneath Kamikaze, but JOAN RIVERS is some paragon of integrity whose reputation could ONLY be sullied by appearing on an innocuous reality show that he CLEARLY DOESN'T WATCH.

Christ, dude, aren't you in Australia? If you want to be an AMERICAN so bad, just f'ing move here. I don't bag on NEIGHBOUUUUUUUUUUURS, whatever the FUCK that is. You're just constantly hating on shit you couldn't possibly know ANYTHING about. WannabeAmerican.

Quick observation: Lex's (monthly?) column was preceded and followed by a week or so of extremely mild behavior, aka he basically shut up. Looking forward to the next one!

"So the guy who gets his own cover of EW, and may be the best IDOL ever. Does not come across as commercial as Allison? Really?"

I'm with you here. Lambert's easily the best singer the show has had in years.

And David, you don't get voted off American Idol, you simply don't continue if you don't get enough votes. It ain't Survivor.

Brack, two words:

MEGAN. JOY.

Worthless season ever since, though I'M TOTALLY PULLING for Danny Gokey, mostly due to his hilarious inability to ever be remotely humble or non-toolish. Guy is PURE COMEDY.

Speaking for myself, I don't comment much on TV because (a) I had the cable cut off to save money and (b) during prime time I'm usually at a screening of some sort.

I do watch LOST on abc.com, but I actually kinda hate discussing it. Tough enough to follow what's actually going on without indulging everyone's different theory that references about a hundred trivial details I don't even remember.

As for sports, I'm glad I live in a town where more people than usual don't care about them.

You kill me, Lex.

Lex, I don't know what you're talking about. Seriously, I'm not sure what you think I typed. What does me criticising Celebrity Apprentice have to do with being Australian or American or whatever the hell you're on about?

I was merely saying that Rivers doing something embarrassing on a show like Celebrity Apprentice is hardly going to destroy her career when she's been doing things to destroy her career for her entire life. Her fans will keep on loving her and her haters will keep on hating her.

And then there's the pure fact that anybody who doesn't watch that show will also not give a shit. And, let's face it, there's not that many people watching that show anymore. And I can't believe Dave watches it. I do think it's beneath him. I think it's beneath most people as a matter of fact and I'm not sure why he's watching it when there's probably Real Housewives of Detroit or whatever on and that's surely more scintillating viewing.

And also: YES, PEOPLE FROM OTHER NATIONS SPELL THINGS DIFFERENTLY TO YOU! Gawd, get a brain you naffwit. You obviously know what Neighbours is so stop acting like the idiot you apparently want people to think you are and be more like the intelligent person that Dave thinks is coherent enough to write a column.

I don't care if Dave doesn't like this sort of thing, but I did NOTHING to Lex in this thread and there he goes firing off his mouth so I, just like Joan, don't give a shit. Don't you have a bottle of bourbon to down in your lonely apartment?

Lex, I think your generalization is a bit off. I love sports, and I love TV. I'm watching the playoffs obsessively (I'd love to talk about the playoffs somewhere around these parts), and I probably own nearly as much TV on DVD as I do films on DVD. I have nothing against Dave writing about TV, but off all the things on TV, the Celebrity Apprentice is what gets a multi-paragraph screed? I suppose I might be a snob on this manner, but that show is one of the least worthwhile things on TV.

Poland, you obviously missed that prank Johnny Carson pulled on her a long time ago, when he put her in an airport waiting lounge with a Margaret Thatcher look-a-like. After just a few toothless rebukes about Rivers' jokes about the royal family, Rivers was blathering apologies.

But the capper was when Carson himself came out to reveal the set up and Rivers slapped him. Carson played it for laughs, but if you look in her eyes you could see it was no act.

She's been a hypocrite to me ever since. It took you 20 years to discover this?

I get just enough Celebrity Apprentice (and most other reality shows) on The Soup. But I do like American Idol and Top Chef, and I picked up The Biggest Loser about halfway through this season (Lex, if you're really built like Burt Young, maybe this show is your ticket!).

Seems like I still run into plenty of sports freaks in this town. And when they try to pull me into that default polite conversation about it, I have to sheepishly say, "Sorry, I don't really follow [insert sport here]."

What I hate is when you dare to bring up watching some classic or foreign language film to a "normal" person, and they look at you like you just told them you eat baby brains for breakfast.

This whole season of Celebrity Apprentice has been full of examples of the producers kowtowing to the Riverses -- who, after all, are good TV because they're batshit crazy. I suspect that the whole business with the party planner quitting was a setup either engineered or at least encouraged by Mark Burnett & Trump & co...though I'm staggered by how they could use that to make Annie look bad, since their own footage showed that she was telling the truth and Joan was lying.

I'M TOTALLY PULLING for Danny Gokey, mostly due to his hilarious inability to ever be remotely humble or non-toolish. Guy is PURE COMEDY.
Lex dude, you almost made me pee myself!
You really hit the nail on the head with that Gokey dis (at least I hope it was a dis).
"Dead Wife Guy"--my pet name for The Goke--is the bastard spawn of Alan Cumming and Taylor Hicks.
Totally gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Truly wretched "A.I." season except for Allison, Adam and Kris who all have bright futures ahead of them. The Goke will be lucky to get a gig at the Branson Sheraton.
I really dug Jesse James on "C. Apprentice" this season. Seems like a cool guy; plus, he's married to Sandra Bullock which is A-OK in my book.
The best "reality" show I've seen on TV lately is MTV's "Taking the Stage." (Nobody does "reality" TV like MTV; hell, they fucking invented it with "The Real World" in '92.) It's a great appetizer for the "Fame" remake, and--speaking of "A.I."--why the hell doesn't Mia audition for the show next season? That chick is Kelly Clarkson 2.0 waiting to happen (i.e., a very good thing).
Still suffering from "Top Chef" withdrawl. Can hardly wait for the new season of "Who Will be the Next Food Network Star."
Speaking of food, I'm planning a Pacific Coast Highway trek from LA to Napa, then on to San Francisco this summer.
Already have
reservations at the French Laundry, Ad Hoc, Bottega and A-16.
I guess it'll have to suffice for the eating tour of France I'll never be able to afford.

Gokey has a natural gift no less impressive than those of Adam and Allison. He's probably heard "a little pitchy, dawg" less than any contestant in the show's history. Unfortunately, his parents seemed to have raised him on Lionel Richie and Christian pop instead of, say, Ray Charles, so his musical taste is for shit. He could make a great record if put in the hands of a great producer instead of some AI-affiliated shlockmeister(s). Which means, of course, that he's not likely to make a great record.

Yowza, Yancy.
Really??
I stick by my previous comments about "Dead Wife Guy."
The Branson Sheraton; or maybe the Ramada.
Of course, there's currently an opening in Vegas for a "Danny" who's last name begins with "G," so maybe he can book that gig...unless Taylor Hicks has already beaten him to it.
And I think you're definitely shortchanging Kris Allen. I'll take dreamboat Kris' vocal restraint and stylish doodlings over Gokey's frat boy karaoke routine any day.

Danny Gokey, the choice of Utahans everywhere.

Adam Lambert is the new Clay Aiken... great for women who want to fantasize that he isn't gay. He'll be in the touring company of Spamalot and doing his "Yes, I'm gay... What are you, stupid?" magazine cover before the end of next year.

Yes... a truly special voice. But he hasn't sung a note that I would ever care about listening to again. His only emotion is Broadway emotion... Liza emotion... only his mama wasn't Judy Judy Judy... he doesn't have the street cred.

Put him in a sing-off with Raul Esparza and watch him drown.

Pop records? He gets one smash, off of the show's heat. And then he is a has-been.

Alison is young and raw... but she is the kind of person and voice that will only grow. I keep waiting to find out that Adam got a fake birth certificate, cause he doesn't look a day under 38.

Fake broth? I think I had some of that last week in a really bad restaurant...

Meow!

Lambert does have the hag fanbase, and that won't go away if he parlays it properly. Unlike Aiken, he seems pretty comfortable with himself and isn't trying to fool the audience that he's gay.

His future career in showtune revues is assured, and once he learns how to grow a beard he can tour the universe in Jesus Christ Superstar until he retires.

And Gokey... great Vegas opener... but really, a Christian rocker... no one will ever see him on a mainstream channel again... but he'll make a fortune and perform the national anthem at the 2012 Republican Convention.

Kris is a really good looking kid who could be manufactured into a minor version of the John Mayer. Good, not great singer. His wife better get a lawyer now.

Throw an oversized Maple Leafs jersey on Lambert, and dude is TOTALLY 1993 Mike Myers.

They keep talking up how "current" and "rock" and "now" he is, and yes, he can hit a glam-rock high note that would do Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson proud. But DP's assessment is pretty spot on, and for all his emo/scene wardrobe and vibe, he's definitely Broadway-bound.

Gokey's album will go straight-up Taylor Hicks... its only street cred will come from being marginally edgier than the inevitable album of "Two Less Lonely People In the World"-esque covers that the blind kid'll put out.

Kris is really the spoiler at this point. And someone "the show" pretty obviously didn't account for early in the running. Wouldn't be surprised at all if it came down to Gokey vs. Kris next week for a supremely vanilla showdown.

What I don't get about Idol is, it galvanizes the nation, but almost NONE of this shit would any of, particularly any young kid, be caught dead listening to. It's like fucking Boomer covers and Michael Bolton soundalikes. (Daughtry excepted.)

A show that, a mere two years ago, was acting as though that DOUCHEBAG Blake Lewis (AUDIO DAY DREAM, ADD... what a DOUCHE) invented that-oh-so-innovative thing known as BEATBOXING.

Back to Apprentince, can I point out:

I was REALLY impressed with, and charmed by, Brande Roderick. For the usual obvious reasons to some degree, but she seemed eminently competent at every task and really professional.

All the more surprising because wasn't she on one of the horrible VH1 celeb shows a few years back? She wasn't nearly as likable, engaging and evenheaded on whatever that was.

movieman: Not sure what confused you about my Gokey post. I didn't exactly predict a hot career for him. I suppose it was my appreciation for his vocal skills, but they seem inarguable to me. Whether you like what he sings or not, he has impressive control and possibly perfect pitch. None of which will matter a damn without good material, of course.

Didn't mean to shortchange Kris -- I just don't think he has quite as flexible an instrument as the others, but he's probably the best at working with what he's got and I won't be surprised if he makes the best record of the bunch.

Hey, was it just the LA Fox affiliate or did the entire country miss Danny and Kris' first numbers due to the sound dropping out in the first 15 minutes? Frustrating as hell.

Funny thing -- when I heard the Fray's cover of "Heartless" on the radio the other day, I turned to the person I was with and said, "Kris should do that on Idol. I'll bet one of the judges will choose it for him." Imagine my surprise when he chose it for himself (doing his own arrangement that was nonetheless closer to the Fray than Kanye). Kara saddled him with "Apologize," which didn't seem to suit him at all, based on the 5 seconds I heard during the recap.

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