Moment of Silence...

Tomorrow, Dec. 21 has been named as a National Day of Mourning in Connecticut due to the tragic elementary school shooting that took place there last week. A petition is going around on Causes that I would appreciate that you sign, tomorrow at 9:30am EST a National Moment of Silence will be observed for the victims of the shooting. For about 5 minutes, cease all online activity, leave your phones alone, if you pray then pray, if you don't then meditate--but either way make your effort known to observe this moment of silence with us and help it grow. So at 7:30am MST tomorrow morning, I will be turning off my computer, phone and tv and using that time to pray and reflect. Please send out some prayers to those still in school; we've had a lot of copycat threats across the country and one of my city's local school districts has already decided to release the kids early just in case. This is not the type of world that I want my children to grow up in and the fact that it just keeps getting worse is unbelievably scary. It makes me wish I'd stayed in the bubble, honestly. I don't regret getting better but I'm afraid to just go outside sometimes because I don't know what craziness is awaiting me; what idiot wants to get on the 5 o'clock news for doing something tragic to people. If I'm afraid to live in this world, I'm definitely afraid to bring my children into it. But for the innocent little hearts, bodies and souls that are already here, let's be strong for them. For the innocent little bodies that had to be laid to rest this week and the next and for those who died protecting them, please join me in taking a few minutes out of our day and being silent.

((I tried to include the badge here but the coding won't show the image but when you go to the Cause page you'll be able to get one of your own))

Sign the Cause here. The page that the link will take you to is a page with three Causes on it; the first is to sign your consent to take part in the Moment of Silence tomorrow morning, the second is to sign the Sandy Hook Sympathy Card, and the final one is a petition to Pres. Obama to adapt a better gun safety plan for the country. I don't care how many of them you sign but please add your name to at least one of them, if you haven't already. You can also click on the badge above this paragraph to go to the Cause directly and get one of these for your own social media pages. There's been so much bad in the world, folks, let's do something good.

Read More »

Bitchy Double Review: Nailene's So Natural Everyday French Nails & Ultra Adhesive Tabs

As the title says, this is a double review. I use artificial nails from time to time, mainly when I'm trying to grow my real ones out or look professional (I have what I call 'kid hands'--small hands, small fingers, even smaller nailbeds lol) and most of the time when I use artificials I go with Nailene. I like the clean look, the design takes away my desire to paint them and they usually stay on long enough to suit the purpose I put them on for. I've been looking into doing some testing for beauty products as I love makeup and nail stuff, pretty obsessed with them now that I think about it, so after some searching and research I emailed Nailene to become a product tester for their new products. I didn't hear anything back from them, so I didn't think anything of it until a box came from UPS a couple of weeks later.

The nails

The adhesive tabs

They sent me a pack of their Natural Everyday French Nails and Ultra Adhesive Tabs to accompany the nails. I didn't get around to trying either until this morning because my nails were healthy at the time I received them--and longer than the artificials lol so I didn't need them--but with the holidays approaching I wanted to try out something cute and it looked completely elementary trying ideas out on my tiny nailbeds with no nails. I wanted to try the nails out with the tabs and see if maybe this would be a better option for my nails than the glue, which usually wrecks havoc on my beds when its time to remove the artificials.

The instructions told me to use tweezers to remove the adhesive from the sheet and then again to remove the top layer once the tab was on my nail, but I ended up not needing them. It doesn't fit across the entire nail, but I remember reading that it wasn't supposed to anyway. So I put the nail on top of the adhesive and it seemed a little loose at first, but I pressed on it for about 30 seconds or so and it seemed okay I guess. This was until I actually looked at the entire nail and realized that because the adhesive is kind of centered on your nail if you have small nailbeds like mine, it leaves the bottoms lifted and very false looking, kind of like you need fills. I didn't get a pic of that; next time I take off my nails I'll update this post with some pictures.

I had applied two nails and was trying them out to see how they held; I work with my hands on most things that I do and need my nails to be manageable, not claw-like but I also need the adhesive to be heavy-duty so they don't pop off so easily. In other words, my nails and the adhesive need to be too legit to quit on my ass.

This adhesive lasted all of 10 minutes before I had to visit the little girls' room; I washed my hands and the nails seemed fine, until I went to dry my hands and 'pop!' 'pop!' go my nails, in quick succession the minute I began to towel off my hand. Popped the nail and 'adhesive' from the tab clean off. Good thing is that the adhesive didn't stick to my nailbed either, so it made removal super easy. I redid the nails with super nail glue, my usual, and we'll see how long they'll last; I'll update and let you know.

Bitchy Rating:
(Nails) 12.14.UPDATE: They lasted 2 days. One popped off yesterday and I didn't even realize it, when my right thumb came off while I was trying to open a lid I decided to remove the rest of them and pop! pop! --No problem removing them at all, they didn't really adhere to my nail I guess because it was too easy to get them off. If you only need nails for a hot night or two, go with this set; they don't last much longer than that so if you need nails that hold up through the workweek, these aren't the ones to get. By the time they come off, the edge has already began to loosen from your nail, creating the 'needs fills' look again and the nailbed changes colors. My nails were the beige set, but by the time they came off the nailbed had bubbles underneath and were more of a pale pink. Looked totally fake no matter what I did with them.  
((2 out of 5 stars))
(Tabs) *Terrible. The adhesive does not hold up well at all in water, does not cover the entire nailbed so it runs the risk of causing air bubbles to sneak up in the nail and loosen it anyway and it makes the nail look like it needs fills even when you have just applied them. I wouldn't recommend them. The instructions tell you to ensure that all bubbles are removed from the adhesive tab upon applying it but even when you smooth it out there are still bubbles and they also tend to slide a little bit. The only good part is that once the adhesive tab loosens, removal is a snap and doesn't damage your natural nail.
((0 out of 5 stars))

Read More »

Time for Change!

If you've been with me through the years, you know I do something different at the start of every new year. This past January I decided to stop doing Daytime Suds entirely and would only do a post on it if there were significant updates, then I stopped doing that as well. I also upgraded the design.

January of 2011 I upgraded the design of the blog, changed the name and began to include tv show and movie reviews on the site. January 2010 I first mentioned adding tv reviews but they were mainly food related, then the blog went dark for awhile.

This coming year is no different. As you know, when I started this blog it was originally called Daytime Suds and I provided soap opera recaps and commentary. I have since stopped watching soaps, so I changed the blog name to include reviews of various television shows. It took me awhile to find my groove but I found it, then promptly went on hiatus. lol I then came back, changed the name again and started reviewing a bit of everything. But amongst all these changes, one very annoying thing has remained the same--the website address. It still says Daytime Suds, even though I have tried to change it several times. So come January, we're going to be moving to another site to reflect the new name and Daytime Suds will be shutting down. I'm also thinking of changing the name of the blog from Bitchy Reviews to.....something. lol I don't have that part nailed down just yet.

Either way, come January this site is going dark and I'll be starting up the new blog. Time to start looking for designs and all the other fun stuff!--aka I'll find so many designs I like I'll get overwhelmed before finding one, then end up finding one after I've already started the new blog. lol

Read More »

Bitchy TV Review: Dollhouse

So firstly, yes I know this show is off the air. Has been for almost 3 years. I heard of the show when it was still on, but I wasn't really interested in it and I didn't get the CW anyway, so I never saw it. I got Netflix at the end of September though, so I've been trying to find new things to watch. One thing I can say about Netflix, they don't have a lot of shows or movies that are really popular with the public, a misconception that I think they helped feed. They don't have updated seasons of current shows--there are many shows in current seasons and Netflix may only have up to the last season or, if the show spans multiple seasons, may only have the first couple. For example, I love Bridezillas. I got caught up in that whole Dish Network-AMC feud earlier this summer as a Dish customer and as you know, they snatched our AMC programming from us for a few months while the two were in court. Because of that, I missed about two months of Bridezillas. I got Netflix and saw that it was there, so I was going to go watch, but to my confused surprise, they only had two seasons=7 and 8. LOL Why do they have two seasons in the middle of the show and none of the seasons either before or after them? Scandal, a very popular show on ABC, only has the first season on Netflix. Unfortunately, we're already in the middle of Season 2. My satellite dish is suspended at the moment, so I can't get my locals, which means no Scandal for me. I have to find it on Hulu Plus during the weekend because Netflix hasn't gotten the contract to stream current episodes yet. That's a huge disadvantage that I believe Netflix has, in addition to not having many popular series and movies and thinking that the many B-list shows and Hallmark movies are going to make up for it. With that being said though, it is still probably the best streaming service to use, and you do get a lot for the monthly membership price. I pay $8 a month and can watch whatever I want however many times I want (this doesn't apply to the rentals, ofc) and if I give out the code to my family, they can do the same. That's a great deal for $8 a month. There's a lot of lesser-known comedies and movies, so I guess the positive is that you can at least expand your viewing library and try something new that you may end up liking.

Anyway,

I've been watching Frasier for the past month and a half. It's become a bit of a nightly ritual, I realized. lol Watched the entire series save for a few episodes at least 3 times. lol Netflix doesn't carry a lot of my regular tv shows and movies, so I was on the hunt for something new last night and kept seeing this tv show Dollhouse on the "Best of Netflix" lists, so I figured what the hell. I like the techie shows, I like Eliza Dushku (I can admit with no shame that the real reason why I like her so much is because of Bring It On), and the concept was something I hadn't seen before. It was like 1am so I decided to give it a go.

The show only lasted for 2 seasons, so it wasn't really given the time that many shows get to pick up steam, and usually achieve cult status after their premature cancellations. I believe this may be one of those shows. Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, was behind this redheaded stepchild of the CW, but that part didn't much matter to me since I didn't like either of those shows. LOL Anyway, the concept is that the Dollhouse is actually a top-secret agency for the extremely wealthy in which "dolls," or Actives as they are referred to on the show, are leased out for certain periods of time to paying customers to fulfill their fantasies, then returned once the job concludes. Many are lonely, some want to dabble in wish fulfillment, others need actual jobs carried out. Think of it as a fixed Match.com for the Bill Gates level income bracket. Now for the part that serves as the major conflict for the show. These "dolls" are actually people, but they are programmed to be the exact thing that the client wants. They are programmed to fit the criteria and become complete people in that manner, complete with memories, feelings, thoughts and backstories that they genuinely believe, so they can become virtually anyone. When the job ends, the person is whisked away by their "handlers" for "treatments." Said treatment is really a memory wipe and after the job finishes, their minds are wiped clean and they stay at the Dollhouse until they are contracted, or engaged, to another job. Each person at the Dollhouse is under a mandatory 5-year contract, after which they can return to their normal lives. What happens to their personalities you ask? They are wiped and stored on hard drives, to be replaced in the person's mind once the contract is up. This allows for different personalities to be downloaded and imprinted in the doll's mind throughout their time at the Dollhouse. Between jobs, the doll is in a trance, child-like state with simple thoughts and actions and not many, if any, feelings. The Dollhouse, for obvious moral reasons, is an illegal activity and must be kept secret, but as is the case with many of these shows with conflict, there is already an FBI agent on the case trying to blow the lid off of the Dollhouse. There's also a rogue doll running around and helping the agent get closer to Echo, which adds to the drive that the Dollhouse has to find and eliminate him as well as keep the public from finding out.

I wasn't completely sold after the first couple of episodes, but for some reason I couldn't stop watching. I ended up finishing the first season and it's kind of a bad show, like bad to the point that it's good. lol Eliza Dushku, the main protagonist of the show, plays No Last Name Echo, who is the Dollhouse's most requested Doll. Over the course of the show and despite the memory wipes, Echo begins to show signs of self-awareness and increasing ability to take initiative. This causes conflict, because obviously she is not supposed to be her own person and make her own decisions. She's also not supposed to remember her former life at all, which she also begins to do in bits and pieces throughout the course of the show. A couple of the dolls begin to break free of the mind wipes and fall in love, although the blank state between jobs and the various personas help them not to realize it. It ends up being that their love is part of their instinctual drive more than driven by mere feelings and finds ways to manifest itself. I like that side story, especially in my newly-single, bitter-driven state. lol

I'm still debating on whether or not I want to watch the second season. The first season was okay and the varying personas that Echo and the other dolls had to take on did allow the actors to stretch their wings, but again, still not sold. I got lost towards the end of the season and I'm by nature one of those people that wants a solid story so I kind of get drawn to any plotholes or other things that generally don't make sense. This kind of detracts from my experience, but that's a personal problem. Anyhow, there are a lot of elements about the show that I think were ingenious and I also liked that in one of the episodes they showed reactions from the public about how a service such as the Dollhouse would be received. I think the reactions, varying from disgust to intrigue to genuine interest, fear to avoidance and even acceptance, were a pretty good picture of how the public would really receive a service like that, which is where the conflict with self and within the show begins.

Some would see this show as a form of human trafficking or prostitution and be disgusted, which I can see because at first I was rather upset about the possibility of this being able to happen to us--these people are getting their entire lives wiped clean, as if they didn't exist, and being asked to become con artists in a sense with no control or power over their own minds; in essence, they don't have their own minds. To the outside world, they don't even exist anymore. They have a sleeping brain and neurons until the next job, when they are programmed to have them. Walking and breathing robots in a sense. They have to be programmed to feel! How crazy is that? We feel an array of things all day long. To think about being in a state in which I'm not sick but I still cannot feel, cannot even think enough to know that not feeling, in essence not being is abnormal, I'd lose my mind once I figured out what happened to me. If the real person were to get wind of what was happening to them, its more than likely that they would want to get out but in one of the episodes, we come to see how each of them ended there and unlike human trafficking, each of these people signed a contract to become Dolls. Not all of them had a great deal of choice in the matter, but the point is that they signed over their rights for the 5-year duration, which in court will hold up to being a voluntary decision, therefore not human trafficking. Very good point. Morally, however, is it wrong? Don't many people comment on wanting a fantasy man or woman to be all that they need in life, to give them the happiness they can't seem to find anywhere else? These Dolls are walking fantasies; they can be programmed to be damn near anybody--hell they can be programmed to be themselves. Crazy stuff. But back to the question, if many people indeed want such a thing at some point in their lives, would they turn it down if it were offered to them?

Some people are staunchly against the concept. But put this in the mind of a 45-year old just about spinster. Never had a boyfriend, lives alone, and just wants a man for her, that she won't have to worry about cheating on her, hitting her or otherwise taking advantage of her. The loneliness is overwhelming. Someone tells her that if she writes down everything she wants in a man and someone will deliver it to her, you really think she's going to say no? Some people wouldn't take a second to sign on the dotted line and finally have the man or woman of their dreams. Some would hesitate, but sign anyway. Some would hesitate and finally say no, and many would not only say no, but find the nearest FBI department and get them to investigate. It's a moral-twisting question and I can say that I enjoy that immensely about the show. You want to see this agency as the villain and sometimes, many times, you do. But when you see that they actually do get to help in ways that genetically or physically are impossible (its not all about the fantasy man/woman concept) and keep in mind that when the 5 years are up, the people get to resume their lives, you find yourself questioning sometimes.

Bitchy Review: This show makes me question many things when looking at my own life. Would I, if asked to do something like this, do it? Morally, could I do that to myself and become a Doll? Or on one of the flip sides, would I contract someone to me that way? Lonely or not, could I live with a virtual robot for 5 years, knowing that they're only with me because they're programmed to be? It takes the fun out of love, the adjusting and growing and learning. On the other flip side as a simple member of society with no personal stock in it, could I exist in a world where that sort of thing is okay, or would I want to do something about it? How would I feel if it were my loved one having to endure something like that for 5 years, being in various situations where I cannot save or protect them? How would I handle that? I enjoy that; I can't answer the question with a clear mind and I like the challenge it presents. The acting isn't always spectacular and sometimes that part's funny, but the camera and tech skills are on point. I also don't enjoy the plotholes too much because I find a few of them distracting and it can be confusing trying to keep up, but in general its a good show to watch when nothing else is on. Even though I see the potential that the show had to succeed, I can sort of see why it didn't. I don't think we were ready for anything of that caliber just yet; the interest level wasn't high enough. I wouldn't invite a date over to watch the show unless that's your sort of thing because again, its tech-savvy in a kinda campy sort of way and its not high on the humor factor, but in general its an okay show to follow for a little while.

Bitchy Rating: ***

Read More »

TV Renewals, Fenceriders and Cancellations

I know I said in June that I was on hiatus, and for the most part I guess I still am; I'm not going to go back to trying to review every damn thing like I was. I was getting overwhelmed and really needed the break. I'll review what I want when I get ready to, I guess. lol But I just got a hold of some cancellation news and had to post it. All upcoming show, cancelled show and fenceriding show information is from SideReel, so you're free to check and peruse their website as well. Without further ado...

Cancelled
Partners (CBS)
666 Park Avenue (ABC)
Last Resort (ABC)
America's Best Dance Crew (MTV)
Fairly Legal (USA)
Common Law (ABC)
X-Play (G4)
Animal Practice (NBC)
Made in Jersey (CBS)
3 (CBS)
I Just Want My Pants Back (MTV)
Jane By Design (ABC Family)
The Killing (AMC)
Trust Us With Your Life (ABC)

Fenceriders
The Mob Doctor (FOX)
Community (NBC)
Top Chef: Just Desserts (Bravo)
Hell on Wheels (AMC)

Renewed
American Horror Story (FX)
World's Worst Tenants (Spike)
Nashville (ABC)
Married to Jonas (E!)
Haven (SyFy)
Beauty & the Beast (CW)
Trickleberry (Comedy Central)
Chicago Fire (NBC)
Burn Notice (USA)
Kickin' It (Disney)
Long Island Medium (TLC)
Luther (BBC)
Regular Show (Cartoon Network)
The Amazing World of Gumball (Cartoon Network)
Covert Affairs (USA)
White Collar (USA)
Royal Pains (USA)
Wilfred (FX)
Jerseylicious (Style)
The Neighbors (ABC)
Scandal (ABC)
Elementary (CBS)
The X-Factor (NBC)
Vegas (CBS)
Homeland (Showtime)
Arrow (CW)
America's Next Top Model (CW)
Bob's Burgers (FOX)
The Mindy Project (FOX)
Go On (NBC)
Ben and Kate (FOX)
Revolution (NBC)
Suits (USA)
The New Normal (NBC)

Series Finales
Treme (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Fringe (FOX)
30 Rock (NBC)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
The Big C (Showtime)
Gossip Girl (CW)
Private Practice (ABC)
Pan-Am (which was already cancelled but is being brought back for the series finale to tie things up) (ABC)
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family)
Weeds (Showtime)
iCarly (Nick)
Political Animals (USA)
Attack of the Show! (G4)

New & Upcoming:
Malibu Country (ABC)
The Carrie Diaries (CW)
1600 Penn (NBC)
The Following (FOX)
Love You, Mean It with Whitney Cummings (E!)

Read More »

Hiatus

Well, not that anyone's going to read this post (just like nobody's been reading ANY of these posts for the last 3 yrs)but just in case some lone soul is (which I thank you for!), this post is necessary so it doesn't look like I fell off the face of the earth. Since I have had no feedback or response in all the posts I've made excluding a piece of not-so-constructive criticism, I have become a little busier with school and my current classes which has caused me to fall behind in my reviews, I have decided to put this blog on hiatus. I would love to say that it'll only be until I get everything situated and settled in my life, but the truth is that I really don't know. When you combine a lack of readers/attention with continuing to post to nobody at all with an overwhelmed writer and put this on repeat for a few years, it takes the fun out of it. I've got 12 posts in draft right now and have no desire to finish them. That's not good.

I write for pleasure, not a paycheck. I wish, however, that at least 1 other on the blogosphere would stumble across this and find the pleasure in responding; give me someone to share my tv thoughts with. I've promoted the blog on the social networks I'm part of, but to no avail. Since I've done all I can do and no longer have the desire, energy or time to continue to write knowing that I am writing to myself, I decided the best thing to do would be to put the blog on hiatus. Perhaps the joy of writing and relaying thoughts will return; I'd certainly like for it to, but then again it may not and this could be the very last post I write. Who's to say, really. Not trying to be dramatic about it at all, but I can't say whether or not I'll be back. Let me take this day by day and see what happens. Hope your journeys, paths and experiences are all blessed!

Auf wiedersehen!

Read More »

Playing Catch-Up

I'm a little behind on my reviews but don't worry, I'm going to try to get to them all within the next couple of days. I just started two new classes this week and they both carry a hefty workload so in an effort to stay on track, I had to scale back my tv viewing and really focus on my homework. (Don't worry, I DVR'd everything lol) So this week I'll be playing catch-up, both on homework and reviews. Bear with me just a little longer! :D

M

Read More »

Bitchy Review: Culture Clash Weddings

I found this show after watching My Fair Wedding and I love this premise. It puts a spin on the traditional wedding shows that air on We and any of its sister channels, and I have to say that it takes alot of courage to go through something like this. The show focuses on a couple who decides not to go with the tried-and-true method for their wedding and embraces another culture's traditions instead. The episode I caught was about a couple named Kristin and Brandon who scrapped their idea of a traditional American wedding in favor of an Indian ceremony because they wanted something more fun and unique for their wedding proceedings.

I can admire that courage; even if the American tradition gets boring, it's all we know. The formal ceremony, big white gown, lots of flowers, the first dance, the bachelor/bachelorette parties, those are the staples of an American wedding. The Indian way of marriage is so different; for many Indian couples the ceremony itself is on the last of a 5...yes, I said five...day celebration. The days leading up to it are meant to celebrate the upcoming nuptials, to bring the families together in an effort to bond, and to partake in normal Indian wedding activities, such as the henna and blessing ceremonies. Much different from ceremonies that Americans have.

Out is the big white gown; wearing white in India is actually the color of mourning, while our color of mourning here in America is black, which is not really favored at wedding ceremonies. The bridal color in India is actually red, as this symbolizes longevity. Gone are the traditional bridesmaids' dresses in the same color; in India the bridemaids all wear different colors. The fathers are actually dressed more formally than the groom, as they are the heads of the household in which the bride and groom were raised. Gone is the couple's big first romantic slow dance, in favor of a more upbeat Indian dance to kick off the reception. Gone is the quiet entrance of the groom to the point where he is almost unnoticed; in India the entire processional follows behind the groom as he comes into the ceremony on a horse, yelling and cheering. According to Indian custom, the rowdier the crowd, the more worthy the groom is. Gone is the ability to watch the bride walk down the aisle; the groom actually has a sheet put up in front of him as the bride walks down the aisle and sits down on the other side of the sheet, then the curtain is dropped. Elements are brought into an Indian ceremony and gone is the wedding ring exchange; a necklace is given to the bride by the groom instead. Instead of a raucous bachelorette party the night before, there is a blessing ceremony where the bride sits and all of those around her take turns putting a red blessing dot on her forehead and telling her about how they feel about her and her upcoming marriage. Gone is the princess cut of the gown, Indian wedding dresses are actually saris in which the stomach is usually left bare with only a small scrap of fabric connecting the top to the bottom of the dress.

These were just some of the differences that this couple had to accept mere weeks before their ceremony, which must have brought about a very large, well, culture shock. The bride's mother seemed to be the least receptive of the proceedings and the way things were supposed to go according to this new custom her daughter adopted for the ceremony and this bothered the bride a great deal, as she had hoped her mother would partake in these things with her. Eventually she came around a little, but this goes to show that even though the wedding is supposed to be about the bride and groom, everyone has feelings about it and sometimes those who end up dampening the time leading up to it are the couple's own parents.

Another difference between American and Indian ceremonies that had a negative effect on the couple was that according to Indian custom, the mother of the bride and the groom are supposed to spend time together before the ceremony. The bride's mother and the groom in this situation don't get along well at all, with the groom feeling as though the mother doesn't really listen to the bride's desires and the mother of the bride being protective of her daughter. Things that would normally be a kink in the plans became a huge obstacle with the added stress of a change in culture for the ceremony.

The concept for this show is a good one; bringing some variety to a ceremony by changing up the culture entirely is a big change. It's alot to take in; for your big day you want things to be perfect and the uncertainty of knowing whether an entirely new culture that you're not familiar with will mesh with what you want or even end up being what you want in the end. There aren't any re-dos, there aren't any take backs. It'll be what it is and that'll be the end of it. Those are hard realities to accept when you get to the nitty gritty and everything isn't all fun and games like you anticipated. Hell that's the case for ANY wedding planning but I would imagine the stress of that reality is tenfold when it's in another culture entirely and the added layer of not disrespecting people of that culture is thrown into the mix.

Bitchy Review: Like I said, I like the concept that this show's got going on for it. I like that they show the good and bad of the couple accepting an entirely new outlook for their wedding and I like that guides of the new culture are given to the couple instead of them going on the road alone and potentially disrespecting others of that culture or integrating certain elements without understanding the significance. The show is honest and candid and allows the couple to be as well. Apparently though, it was only a special to display how different the atmosphere can be for a couple's road to marriage when everything, down to customs, are changed. Brides to be, consider these things if you get cold feet about your current wedding plans and want to change anything up!

Bitchy Rating: 3 (out of 5)

Read More »

Bitchy Review: Mary Mary

 SN: I feel a little sacrilegious putting the word "bitchy" in the same sentence with Mary Mary considering that they're a gospel group, but I digress. That is the name of this site, after all, isn't it?

Anywho, Mary Mary debuted tonight as the replacement show for Braxton Family Values, which just wrapped up officially tonight. As I'm sure you all know, Tina & Erica Campbell make up the Grammy-award winning, 5 million album selling duo, with Erica being the older sister (surprising since I always had a problem telling them apart lol) and Tina being two years younger. Erica's husband Warren is the girls' producer, and Tina's husband Teddy is the drummer on the Tonight Show. Not bad, huh?

At the time of the debut episode, Erica was 7 months into her pregnancy (she has since had her child and Tina has announced that she is now pregnant) and their younger sister is their current stylist, much to the chagrin of the girls' manager, Mitchell. The show is about them trying to juggle full lives as mothers, wives to men who are also in the industry, their obvious duties as Mary Mary but more importantly, maintaining their relationship and bond as sisters.

I can see already that a large portion of the drama arc on this show is going to revolve around Mitchell and the ladies' sister/stylist--they do not seem to get along at all. The girls have a performance in this debut episode, and we're able to see that lingering tension, the fact that Tina is a perfectionist, causing them to run a little late, and that Erica is probably the calmer sister. What I enjoyed the most was that despite their tardiness, they still made the time to give all the thanks and glory to God. Most times when people are in a hurry, they put God on the backburner, with an "I'll pray later" or "He knows I'm grateful," instead of saying bump it to everything else and giving Him the thanks He deserves for even presenting the opportunity.

I gotta stay on topic. Anyway, my lawd these two can saaang! That's right, I didn't say "sing," I said saaaang. Listening to them always reminds me of my upbringing and childhood in the church, and it's always a pleasure to reminisce. It reminds me to always give my thanks to God in anything I do, no matter what. That's why I love gospel music so much and I think for no other reason, I'm going to love this show because I enjoy getting back to my roots.

The girls' manager waits until after their show to let them know they have an upcoming show in Atlanta for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, which has caused more than a couple of problems with Tina, as her kid's performance and her husband's gig on the Tonight Show are both the day before. Erica brings it up to her husband the next morning, who really isn't having it at first because all of his extended family will be there but (after a slight guilt trip lol) agrees to bring the kids out and spend the holiday with her. Tina's family can't make it and because of it, she doesn't want to do the performance because then she'll have to spend the day without her family, while Erica doesn't want to be alone and doesn't want to leave her family at home just because Tina's isn't coming. I sense a little lingering tension between these two as well, so hopefully like its sister show BFV, we'll see that explored a bit. Hopefully without the help of a family therapist on a permanent retainer; we already have Dr. Sherry. lol Tina's kids don't take the news well, which exposes Tina's guilt at being a successful performer because of her success at the expense of missing important moments as a mother. But the show goes on, and Tina's disconnection from her family hits her hard when she calls and everyone seems more busy with what they're doing than missing her--I kind of thought that was messed up. It must suck to have to be alone on the holiday and the only one who appears bothered at all is you. They're still busy, so they get off the phone with her and surprise her at the hotel instead, really lifting her spirits. Erica and Tina go on to have a successful show and end.

SN: I keep seeing previews for Shannen Doherty's new show Shannen Says and I cannot wait. The more previews they release, the bitchier they are making her look, and I'm still a fan from her days on Charmed. I want to see how different Prudence Halliwell really was from Shannen Doherty, and judging by the few previews I have caught, the two are night and day. I digress though, I love them both. Can't wait. lol 

A side story (and the focus of next week's episode) has been Erica's contractions, which are coming a little too early. Which is why I thank goodness that these shows are taped months in advance; Erica went on to have a healthy delivery--I wouldn't want to have to wait with baited breath to find out if the baby was born healthy. 

Bitchy (smh) Review: If you are expecting this show to be like watching Bobby Jones on Sundays on BET, sorry to say you're not going to find it here. Born again or not, there's gonna be some craziness on this show for no other reason than that they are so busy trying to juggle it all. There's going to be more impromptu singing so that's something these shows have in common; if you enjoy watching shows that genuinely put God first and don't hide it in an effort to cater to the needs of all of its audience, then this show could be something good for you. If you don't want a break from the craziness, however, then Mary Mary probably isn't for you. Fitting to the theme that March goes in wild as a lion and leaves tamed, the shift from the wild Braxton atmosphere to the tamer, calmer environment of Mary Mary fits as well. I don't know if I'd watch this every week, but I'm interested enough to give it a go.

Bitchy Rating: 3 (out of 5)

Read More »

Bitchy Review: The Vanilla Ice Project

I don't remember what I was reading a couple of days ago, but I remember reading that Vanilla Ice had his own show on the DIY Network and thinking, "What the hell?" Little did I know, the guy's been renovating homes for 20 years. Long way from VH1's Surreal Life: Fame Games, isn't it? But I caught two episodes of the show today and you know what, I like it. He actually knows what he's doing, and I was expecting something like an Xzibit/Pimp My Ride kind of thing where he stands around, cracking not-so-funny jokes as the real workers do their jobs. I was so wrong. He knows exactly what he's doing, what increases the value of a home, and furthermore, looks right at home <-- pardon the pun-- while doing it.

The concept for the show is far from new, taking something busted and making it awesome, but I like the crew's delivery. The show is like a Pimp My Home and specializes in renovating each room in a home that will later be sold on the market. The price tag for these renovations isn't cheap either; the first episode I saw was about renovating a garage and the doors alone were $45,000. Yes, I said $45,000. Why so expensive? Not only are the doors genuine wood, but they're also impact and hurricane resistant. For a location like Florida, this is a very sound investment to make on the home, which will also increase its value should the owner decide to sell it. So even though the price is a very hefty one, because of the location I believe it's worth it. That's something that I like about this show; in addition to renovating the room and making it much better than it was, throughout the show you see what features help increase the value of the home, such as the hurricane garage doors. The next episode was about renovating a room and turning it into a game room, then renovating the spiral staircase leading upstairs. Vanill--er, Rob--got the idea to get a mural of ships from back in the 1600s painted on the wall lining the staircase, with an old-style map painted at the bottom of the staircase. The guy came in and really did the damn thing; it looked amazing. They even brought in the crew from Mega Dens to help renovate the game room and the finished product was awesome, if I may say so myself.

I have to admit that I tuned in at first because I wasn't expecting him to know much. That's my fault. lol I think many people might have that opinion before watching the show, and after reading a review right before I started mine, a fellow blogger felt the same way. Except Rob does know what he's doing, and does it quite well. But while the other blogger felt that his experience will contribute to the cons of the show (ironically), I disagree. I think for those who expected one of the most ridiculed rappers of all time to be a complete waste on this show, actually seeing that this is probably his niche will be a welcome surprise. I can see where dude is coming from, but speaking from the viewpoint of one of those who tuned in for that exact reason, expecting Rob not to know anything, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I couldn't have been more wrong. And that just goes to show that assumptions are no bueno.

Bitchy Review: At 30 minutes long, a lot goes on in the renovating of the rooms in this short time and its interesting to see it all come together. You can tell these guys like what they do, and they enjoy working together on these rooms. It's a little more interesting than While You Were Out or Trading Spaces, think Pimp My Ride meets Cribs: Renovation Edition. lol On a more personal note, watching the show is good for me because I think Rob is cute. lol These guys do really interesting stuff for these rooms and I know it sounds weird, but I actually enjoy that they shell out the bucks to create quality amenities, which ultimately increases the home. It does teach you a bit about how to squeeze an extra dime out of your home should you ever sell it. Not to mention they do explain what they're doing, so if there's a bit of a DIY'er in you and you have some bucks to spare, go for it. I like the show, just came into it rather late lol (it debuted almost 2 years ago, the second season is out now) and if you enjoy watching shows like this, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Vanilla Ice Project.

Bitchy Rating: 3 (out of 5)

Read More »

Bitchy Review: Hollywood Girls Night

Check your local listings for airtimes

As I mentioned last week, Hollywood Girls' Night premiered on the TVGuide Network and once I was able to catch one of the replays, it was alright, but I could tell some of the chemistry at first was rather forced. I would have liked a little more talking, but the end segment of the show seemed kind of silly and this threw me off.

Again, as mentioned in last week's preview post, the debut brought out Tracey Gold, who most recently was on Celebrity Wife Swap, Kyle Richards from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Sheryl Underwood, host of CBS's The Talk. The theme for the night's show was secrets, the first question being who the biggest star was that the women had had flings with. The only one that seemed to give us any juice was Sheryl, who without revealing names mentioned that throughout her numerous flings with men in Hollywood, she managed to snag a couple of men in 2 Presidential administrations, as well as a lead guitarist for a rock band. Who knew Sheryl even liked rock? 

Next, the ladies took it outside, where they ate dinner and played a guessing game where they each dropped a secret in a hat and the ladies took turns guessing whose secret belonged to whom. The secrets weren't necessarily salacious or anything; the deepest secret belonged yet again to Sheryl, who confessed that she hates nudity, even alone, and will not allow anyone else to see her nude either. I've never heard that from another woman before, but I guess you do learn something new everyday. Ali L. confessed that she and her now-husband agreed to remain abstinent with each other until their marriage, Tracey confessed that her husband is the first man she fell in love with. I don't remember the other secrets lol, but they were all pretty tame in nature. The end segment featured a cameo by celeb stylist Ken Paves, and he let them all in on some of his most popular hair pieces and wigs. Honestly, a couple of them looked foolish, but Ali Sweeney's turned out great. They're probably expensive as hell, this is Ken Paves we're talking about here, but they seem worth it because they're very easy to put in and remove. I wonder if they have these options for chicks with naptastic tendencies. lol That's the only part I found silly, watching these women try on fake hair and pretend to be so wow'ed by it--Kyle Richards has absolutely beautiful hair. She doesn't need any of that mess. I also found it hilarious that Ken didn't single out Sheryl like he did with a couple of the other women--he knows we're already all up on that road. LOL The wig he put on Ali didn't flatter her at all; it looked completely fake and I wondered why she she pretended to be so awed by it when she had to know it didn't look that good. I'll agree that Tracey looked good with the bang style that Ken put on her, but the coloring was off and the piece was no good either. She looks better with natural hair and natural bangs. Minus that, however, and it was alright.

One note that I took during the show was that Ali Sweeney has a hard time allowing people to talk. lol It annoyed me to watch a little, as she did this several times. I understand being excited while talking, but to continually cut in and not let people finish, even in a group setting, can get rather irritating after awhile.

Bitchy Review: Sometimes the talking and chemistry between some of the ladies seems rather forced, and that's a little off-putting, but in general this show is a nice break from the catty, demeaning reality shows that we've become accustomed to over the years. These women clearly don't hate each other, some don't even really know each other, and hopefully the changing themes of each episode bring a weekly variety to the show so that the audience doesn't become bored. I also like that 3 different women from Hollywood are invited to the show every week in addition to this theme; just in previews I've seen Robin Givens, Kendra Wilkinson & Daisy Fuentes, and I like that they're not using lame product placement strategies or blatant promoting/shilling during the episode either. For once, women seem to be getting together to do what we like to do best--eat, gossip, drink and laugh. I can get with that. Next show has a cameo from Perez Hilton; let's see what he brings to the table. If you've read his site, you already know his tongue is laced with sugar-tipped razors. At times it is hilarious, and depending on his target, is a riot. I can't say I'm waiting with baited breath to watch this show every week, but I don't mind popping in from time to time so I can be nosy. lol Anyway, if you're interested in seeing what certain ladies in Hollyweird are up to these days and want to learn a couple of things along the way or be inspired to create your own version of Hollywood Girls' Night with your friends, watch the show. If gabfests aren't you and you've had enough of shows that resemble The View or The Talk, keep switching.

Bitchy Rating:  3 (out of 5)

Read More »

Bitchy Review: GCB

As I'm sure you know by now, GCB debuted on ABC to moderately positive reviews. A commenter on a review post I read said "ABC needs to stop making Kristin Chenoweth 'happen'," referring to her frequent appearances on ABC programs and her former role on "Pushing Daisies," where she played the role of Olive Snook. I have to disagree with this person--Chenoweth did an amazing job of introducing us to Carlene Cockburn. <---Perhaps I am immature, but that last name, especially for such a 'pristine' person, just leaves me in stitches. Personally, I've always been a fan of Chenoweth's, probably at least in part because she's my height lol, and I've always held certain affection for fellow pint-size punchpackers such as myself. :P Other than that, I just think she's great. lol

Anywho, the debut was delightfully bitchy (to me, anyway). And as expected, both the Christian and womens' communities went up in arms immediately. "Oh, they're depicting all Christian communities badly!" "This isn't believable!" Maybe not in your neck of the woods (goodness I'm country lol) it isn't believable, but in mine it is, very much so. And I loved it.

Amanda's subtle 'welcome home' message 

The beginning of the show was really something and for you soap heads, I'm sure you recognized Amanda's husband Bill--it was no other than ex-Lucky himself, Greg Vaughan! In a Ponzi-scheme recreation, Bill takes all of the family's money and plans to ditch town with his mistress to flee the law, but thanks to an ill-timed fellatic (its a word now, alright?) 'relaxation tactic,' the car ends up going over a hill and crashing, killing them both. Because her life as she knows it is over, Amanda and her children have no choice to relocate, bringing her back to her roots and riot of a mother in Dallas, TX. It comes out that Amanda was quite the mean queen in school, but as I mentioned in the preview post, a complete reversal of riches has hit in which the girls Amanda used to terrorize are now the "in" crowd and let Amanda know in no uncertain terms, partially thanks to the oh-so-subtle marquee outside of the church that it is time she 'reaps what she sows.' Amanda grew up and changed her ways, but her former victims are having none of it and refuse to turn the other cheek. Quite predictably, the target Amanda harassed the most, Chenoweth's Carlene, is at the forefront of the clique, holds by far the most venom where Amanda is concerned and couldn't be less interested in making amends. She wastes no time ripping Amanda a new one--through a prayer, no less--all through a perfectly veneered smile and chirpy tone. The jealousy is still evident from all of them as the men, most of them husbands to the clique, flock yet again to Amanda, just as they did in school--however in a very Desperate Housewives manner, now there are secrets that Amanda begins to uncover about all of them and their marriages.

Through multiple machinations, she and her minions effectively blackball Amanda from most of the reputable employers in the town until finally she gets the greenlight at a local dive bar. Thanks to some retrospect, Amanda realizes the smutty work environment she is now involved in is owned by no other than Mrs. Carlene herself, and in an equally snarky prayer at the end of the episode, she gives a very effective clapback to Carlene and exposes this little tidbit, leaving the latter slackjawed and ready for war. The photo above (which I borrowed, just as all others in this post from sheknows.com, thank you!) is Carlene's expression for about the remaining 5 minutes in the episode. I can't wait for next week.

On a more critical note, one inconsistency I noticed was the coming and going of Leslie Bibb (Amanda)'s Texas accent during the debut. When she was shown in California, there was little to no hint of an accent. Within two minutes of being back home, however, the country was screaming to come out. Now you could use the reason that when you're hiding or have outgrown an accent it isn't noticeable until you're around others with the accent. For example, many foreign actors who have now set up shop in the States over time drop most of their accent, and others lose it entirely. Yet when they return home, bit by bit the accent returns, until they leave, and over time the accent diminishes again. Okay, I'll take that--I normally have a bit of a country lilt but when around others with accents similar to mine or watching something like GCB where the accents are front and center, my own comes out swinging. It's terrible. lol Did anyone else notice what I was talking about with Leslie Bibb, though?

Accent fluctuations aside, I think the casting for this show was great. Annie Potts does a damn good job of playing Gigi as the cougar-ish, snarky yet wise in her way mother/grandmother (although she does not appreciate the 'gma' term lol) to advise Amanda that times have changed, and she is no longer queen of the town. She plays well off of Leslie Bibb, and I hope that the pristine appearance Amanda has in comparison to her down-home mother is a part of the plot to display the differences between the two, Gigi remaining in Texas and Amanda becoming accustomed to the Cali way of doing things. And can I just say, I love Annie Potts. Always have, always will.

Carlene, before & after the doctor's work

Like I said before, casting Kristin Chenoweth in the Queen Bee role on this show was genius. She's a sweetheart in real life, but I think she's got bitchface too. lol I swear on my life that is a genuine compliment, because I love a good bitchface. And she really knows how to call it out. As the puppetmaster of her 3-ring circus of vengeful ladies, Carlene has to be obviously, the most ironically prude and judgmental, all the while not practicing what she preaches. I can't wait to see what she does next week to get Amanda back for blasting her in God's house. lol My only worry is the same as any character on a new show that I love instantly--that the show, or Carlene, doesn't get written into a corner. I want to see genuine evolution of these characters as the show continues, or I don't think it'll have much of a future for it because we've already watched 8 years of the ladies of Wisteria Lane battling each other in gradually increasing outlandish plots--replacement show or not, can we stomach any more? Can they think of something we didn't already watch Bree, Edie, Susan, Gabrielle or Lynette do years before?

Cricket, then and now

The supporting players bring their own level of bitchiness to this show--Miriam Shor (Cricket Caruth) surprisingly is not bad at throwing shade at others; indie heads=remember her from The Cake Eaters? I mistakenly thought she hadn't worked much since then but her Wiki shows she's actually worked steadily since then. I should watch more television. Oh, the irony. LOL Cricket is quite the ice queen in a cowboy hat, and I love it, and Shor in this role. Cricket has yet to forgive Amanda for stealing Bill from her back in school, and for spreading various hateful rumors about Cricket around school, the most notable rumor that the latter had herpes. She wastes no time in turning Amanda away, just as Carlene instructed her to.

Sharon, in high school & currently

Jennifer Aspen (Sharon Peacham) does a wonderful job of playing the former town beauty queen-turned-reluctant lackey to Carlene's plots; makes you wonder where your former beauty/prom queen ends up before the high school reunion, doesn't it? I'm not familiar with much of Peacham's work, but like I said, she does wonderfully displaying the insecurity that plagues her as a former beauty queen and current doormat, simultaneously wanting her figure back and not (entirely) wanting to destroy Amanda's life, unlike two of her cliquemates.


Rounding out the cast of backup singers to Carlene's Diana Ross, Marisol Nichols (Heather Cruz) plays the predictable soft-hearted of the bunch, her character Heather being the first to accept Amanda's apologies and open the door to establishing a friendship with her. Heather, or 'Selena Girl' as she was nicknamed, has grown into a very successful real-estate agent, no doubt without help from Carlene who blackmails her with this info for being nice to Amanda, and doesn't see anything wrong with allowing Amanda to make amends. I see a friendship developing between these two.

As long as the show doesn't begin to follow a predictable format as far as plotlines go, I think it has a great future ahead of it. It debuted strong and for DH fans, this has enough spice to keep you entertained and interested because while the ladies of Wisteria Lane all bonded initially over the death of their friend, they all had their own secrets individually, and so do the women of GCB. One of the ladies' husbands still has the hots for Amanda, one of them is gay and in something I know will become a future plotline, the other knows Amanda's deceased husband, but has yet to say anymore. Exploring backstories like these and what each of them were up to in the years Amanda was away should provide some very interesting upcoming episodes. The writers did good with the way they introduced us to this lifestyle and these characters. I'll be watching!

Bitchy Review: In short, if you've got a sense of humor, aren't closed-minded and you're able to poke fun at some of these over the top religious communities (snarkiness doesn't discriminate; this could be broadened to each religion-they've all got 'em-, each close-knit community, hell even genders, then this show might be something you can deal with. If you're very religion-sensitive or have a hard time watching shows that poke fun at this sort of content, I wouldn't suggest this show. It's funny, its bitchy and has a great cast to give this show the dialogue and personality it deserves. I don't feel this show is 'anti-Christian', as Newt Gingrich said earlier this week. I think it is a lid off the top of fakery, dishonesty, grudge-holding and jealousy in Christian communities, where this sort of behavior is supposed to be frowned upon. It exposes the true contradiction between the flesh and the Spirit--those of you who are religious know what I meant by that--that is present in these types of communities, and how these people hide behind their religion to conjure and wish, then plot and later expose the downfall of others. I am a testament to the entire last sentence, so I can watch this show without becoming offended or feeling as though all Christians have been pigeon-holed into this image--its very clear that not all Christian communities behave this way. And thank the Lord for that. lol Anyway, if thinly veiled bitchiness is right up your alley, then so is this show.

Bitchy Rating: 4 (out of 5) deliciously bitchy!!

Look at the header pic for airtimes; GCB airs every Sunday on ABC.

All pictures in this blog entry are from sheknows.com; I have no ownership nor rights to any of the photos included.

Read More »

Two New Reviews Tonight!

So we've got two new shows debuting tonight that I'll be reviewing later but I wanted to give a little preview first. At 8EST, ABC's replacement show GCB debuts (it's not showing until 9 my time), and I have to admit I'm looking forward to watching it. The show, which is an acronym for Good Christian Belles, is based off the book Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin, but due to its move to television and potential backlash from both womens' groups and Christians, the show's title ending was changed to "Belles" instead and later shortened into the acronym. However, the show makes it very clear that the book's original title fit; the previews have been a hoot. This seems to be ABC's attempt at starting off early with a female replacement for the exiting Desperate Housewives, so let's see how this train rolls into town.

from the "Hollywood Moms Night" episode

The second show is on the TVGuide Channel every Sunday at 9EST called Hollywood Girls Night, in which Ali Landry & Alison Sweeney will throw a cocktail party each week featuring various ladies in Hollywood. Something tells me that this show had to have at least partially come about because of the Ali & Ali potential from the two hostesses. lol Call me crazy, but Hollywood loves alliteration. I'm almost 63% positive that the names were a factor. lol Anyway, tonight's episode features Kyle Richards (Paris Hilton's aunt, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Tracey Gold & Sheryl Underwood. Future guests for this show include Kendra Wilkinson, Robin Givens, Denise Richards and Niecy Nash, to name a few. The premise for this reality show is hardly unique as there are many shows about women getting together for drinks and gossiping but unlike those, this one looks like the mean girls were left at home. The devil's advocate in me says to invite the ladies of Charmed and see how that goes. LOL I know, I know. Not nice. I'm sorry. I love Charmed though! I would pay good money to see it. Or a revival of the show. I don't care. lol I would like to see a show about women who aren't backstabbing each other or only pretending to get along because a camera is in their face. It annoys me and I refuse to give the majority of these women even more attention than they already get. Unlike the next show on this preview post, these women aren't acting. They're simply getting paid to be themselves for a paycheck they wrongly think they are entitled to receive just for being the way they are. Ugh.

Sorry, I got a little distracted there. lol

The cast of ABC's "GCB" in a promo shot

Anyway, GCB stars Leslie Bibb as a former 'Mean Girl' named Amanda Vaughn (I swear, why are so many mean girls named Amanda? smh) who returns to her hometown in Texas as a single mother looking for a fresh start after a divorce and financial troubles. As she moves back home with her mother Gigi (played by Annie Potts), she encounters one of her former targets (played by Kristin Chenoweth, which I think was an awesome casting decision), who has since become the town's Queen Bee, which makes for a definite reversal of riches. The twist? The crowd that the former Mean Girl will be returning to is a large Christian community, so the snark is cleverly disguised behind fake smiles and Bible verses. Now you know there probably won't be any outright cursing or vulgarity, but that's the interesting part, seeing the various ways these women hide their hatred of the newcomer, who at one time teased or targeted all of them, behind their religion and Southern manners.

Now before anyone like the wonderful commenter from last week tries to rip me a new one from what I just said, my spirituality is a very large part of my life. None of what I am saying or going to say is directed at God in any way, not my relationship with Him, none of that. It isn't even about all Christian-based communities or Christians as a whole. This is simply about some of the people in some of those types of environments. I used to be part of one of these communities, with women who said they held God at the forefront of their lives but disguised their snarkiness underneath the Bible verses they assumed fit my life and smart remarks when my back was turned. These same women, these supposed figures of virtue and inspiration to other women who were either just like them or had such aspirations, were usually the ones caught out at the club on the weekends or cheating on their husbands behind closed doors, at very least simply not practicing what they preached. It would be comedic if it wasn't so ridiculous to watch some of these women work, but it was almost too refreshing after awhile of having to be in that type of atmosphere to finally find a group of women with the same values who treated everyone properly and with respect, to be able to just get together, share our love of God and make our lives something better as a result of our friendships and relationships with God. Shows like GCB simply expose this type of environment to everyone else but they have a bigger basis in reality than some like to say, and from experience myself, I want to see how true to form the show chooses to portray this lifestyle.

GCB comes on every Sunday on ABC at 10EST; Hollywood Girls' Night is on the TVGuide Channel at 9EST. Check your subscriber for your local channel listings.

Join me in a couple of hours when I review and let me know what you thought of the shows! I've got homework to do, so I gotta run. Be back in a few!

Read More »

Bitchy Review: Who The (Bleep?) Did I Marry?

Who The [Bleep] Did I Marry? debuted on the ID Network last August and from the previews I saw, it looked rather interesting but I was never quite able to catch it. I saw the newest episode on Saturday and wasn't disappointed. The premise of the show is about a couple who (obviously) gets married and not long after, one of the pair suspects something in the sink isn't quite clean about their new husband or wife. The story then unfolds, with commentary from the innocent party, from the beginning to their current state.

The episode I caught was about the former governor of New Jersey, James Greevey, and his marriage to Dina Matos. We all know how that story ended, so there's no need to rehash. The show's premise is certainly intriguing and even though I watched this particular story come out in full, humiliating detail in the press along with everyone else, there wasn't this much insight into it then so I still walked away having learned something about it. The press was mainly focused on the sordid details surrounding the entire situation, and since that is their job I can say they succeeded on making the story as juicy as possible. But underneath that, someone was still hurt--very much so--by having this happen to them, and in the public eye no less. When this story broke in its entirety, it went national immediately and in the blink of an eye, Dina Matos was no longer just the First Lady of NJ, she was a target. She was a target for meaner-spirited people who asked how she could not have possibly seen the signs sooner, for being a golddigger for marrying an "obviously" gay man to get in the public eye, but mostly she was a target for people's pity.

Personally, my heart went out to her, but it was because she had to maintain such a level of professionalism almost to the level of detachment about the whole thing because it was in front of the entire nation the whole time. She had no choice but to take the high horse and be quiet and that, I would imagine, has to be unbearable. There really was no way for her to save face except to pray for the next big story to come out so she can quietly fade away, which is exactly what she did following his resignation and their subsequent divorce. And sure enough, when the next sordid story hit the press, most of the national outlets forgot about her. Jim Greevey was thrown to the lions, and he deserved it. But people wanted to know about the jilted wife and what happened to her; Who The (Bleep) Did I Marry? answered those questions.

Bitchy Review: The show, although the enjoyment comes at the expense of the jilted spouse, is quite interesting because it shows that you never know who you're marrying. In this day and age, its not too hard to do your work and find out. It's not being suspicious or anything like that, its simply reassuring yourself that you're making the right decision in that manner. Of course, not everyone's life history is able to be found online so I suppose no method of investigating yourself is fool-proof. If nothing else, this show serves as a huge PSA to be careful of who you allow into your life. I like that the show is only 30 minutes; it's not full of irrelevant details, and is a firsthand perspective from who the events happened to, not third party commentary with speculations and assumptions. I would imagine also that for these people, this show gives them the chance to tell their story as it happened to them and how they got through it. Some of the craziest things you hear end up happening to these men and women--yeah, there have been more than a couple of these stories in which the woman was in the wrong, not the man. The show helps to end gender-based stereotypes as to which gender does dealbreaking things in a marriage and I enjoy watching it.

Bitchy Rating: 3 (out of 5) just bitchy enough

If you're interested, Who The (Bleep?) Did I Marry? comes on every Saturday at 8pm EST on the ID channel, that's Channel 192 for Dish subscribers and 285 for DirecTV subscribers. Repeats of the episodes will begin airing on the OWN Network next month as well; Dish subscribers will find this on Channel 189 and DTV subscribers on 279.

Read More »

FN Cancellation

For all FN foodies, a cancellation has hit the already beginning to plummet network. Remember that show "Dessert First?" The news was recently leaked that despite several episodes of the second season have already been taped, the network decided not to renew the show and air a second season. Why, you might ask? Because it came out that many of Anne Thornton's recipes were merely rip-offs of other recipes made famous by Martha Stewart and The Barefoot Contessa's Ina Garten, just to name a couple.

The article I read this from specified a couple of Stewart & Garten's more recognized and signature recipes and Thornton's "twist" on them, which for some cases was only a bit of orange zest on top or a fruit topping of strawberries as opposed to just syrup. I am guessing that someone tipped the network off that the similarities between these recipes were too striking and in a surprise move, FN actually listened. After reviewing Anne's cookbook against the recipes she was said to have plagiarized, the producers and the network became concerned as the wording was also more similar than they originally noticed. Upon reviewing the first season, there were simply too many common factors between the others' recipes and Thornton's. At that point, the network made the decision to yank the show from the air.

When asked about the cancellation initially, Anne responded that the show was pulled from the network strictly for performance and ratings reasons. Later on, she was asked about the "real" reason for the show's cancellation and she gave a rather basic response along the lines of that everyone pretty much rips off of others. The example she used was her lemon squares recipe, one of the recipes speculated to be a rip off of Ina Garten's lemon squares. She said that Ina Garten is one of her idols but that there are only so many ways to remake the same item. On that note, I can agree with her, because for many recipes, especially ones that are baked, the skeleton is pretty much the same. Other than minor twists to provide certain flavors, you can't remake lemon squares. The same basic factors have to be there, otherwise you didn't make lemon squares. I'll give her that point.

However, don't try to pass it off as your own when really, minus an ingredient or two, it's someone else's hard work that you're baking on national television. Admit where the inspiration came from, admit whatever twist or variation you may have implemented. Otherwise Anne comes off looking exactly how she did--like she stole it. Maybe she didn't intend to and she was honestly trying to put her own twist on it. That's fine. But not originally giving credit where its due is where she messed up and lost credibility, and her show for that matter. Ina Garten is already a very popular celebrity chef and FN has no problem giving her more airtime for specials and whatever other cooking related show they want her to do. Martha Stewart is doing quite nicely for herself on Hallmark. Why would they feature a ripoff of popular recipes when both originators are still on the air and capable of doing such themselves? This idea is especially true because since BC got revamped, Ina's been going through her old recipes and putting a new spin on them anyway--it's very likely that at some point she could have revamped her lemon squares herself. There would be no reason to have another chef on the same network airing repeats of recipes Ina made from scratch.

So to save face, FN yanked the show and hasn't spoken another red word about it. I can't say I blame them, their already slipping credibility would have taken another hit if more people had come forward with these accusations and they continued to ignore them. Not to mention that legally, both Ina & Martha could sue the network if they found credible proof themselves that Thornton's recipes were in fact plagiarizations of their own creations and the creators kept her on the air anyway. The entire fiasco could have been avoided if they had looked first to ensure there would be no issues before airing the show. I understand how is someone to know that certain recipes are actually someone else's handiwork, but at the same time people's reputations are either being established or tarnished here. Do the work. From the report, even the wording between cookbooks was similar--it sounds to me that these similarities would have been rather easy to spot had someone actually taken the time to look, instead of airing an entire season and taping another one before looking into it. I can't say that this was an honest mistake rather than simply the lazy slipping between the cracks of a network greedy to get more shows on the network, quality or content irrelevant.

It has been said many times that FN as a whole is slipping, and I'm prone to agree. I used to be an avid FN watcher and when they first started bringing on a couple of new faces, giving familiar faces new shows (Giada at Home ring a bell? How about one of Bobby Flay's many shows?) or changing up sets a few years ago (hello 30 Minute Meals!) it was something to get used to, but I was open to it. When they scrapped two hours of programming for more reality crap, got rid of the Fine Living Network and made it the Cooking Channel (or the former FN chef graveyard, whichever way you want to look at it lol) then proceeded to add even more  new faces to the lineup, I began to grow a little weary. I remember wondering around 2007 sometime if FN would ever figure out how to enter the reality world. Other than a few cooking or baking competitions, at that time FN was dominated by how-to programming, and I loved it. I am guessing I spoke too soon, because next thing I knew the disaster better known as Private Chefs of Beverly Hills was premiering. That, to me, was the beginning of the end. And indeed it was. Before I knew it, instead of ending the programming on the weekends at noon like they always did, it was ending at eleven. And then ten. Hell, one Sunday it ended at nine. After a Semi-Homemade mini-thon. Are you serious? The rest of the day was dominated by reality bs of varying kinds and that is how its been ever since. The Cooking Channel has been a somewhat less than acceptable substitute, but if there's more actual food related programming and less reality trash on there, I'll take it.

Back to topic though. In short, Anne may have had the honest intention of putting 'a twist' on recipes she enjoyed. All home chefs do, so who would I be to judge? That's completely fine. However, I am not only not writing a cookbook about said recipes, I am not taking them to national television and airing them--while the recipe's originator is on the same network. That was plain stupid on her part, and even dumber on the network for risking a lawsuit and not checking first.

Read More »

Bitchy Review: Unfaithful: Stories of Betrayal

The new season of this show is debuting on OWN tonight and I have to say, I like the premise of this show. Usually with stories of betrayal, it ends in a Snapped or Scorned: Love Kills type of manner. This show, however, focuses on relationships that survive the betrayal when a spouse commits adultery. Each episode features two couples, one of whom cheated on the other, with commentary on what lead into these events from both parties leading up to, during, and after the duration of the affair. Most times the couple's therapist serves as the third commentary of the show to explain the couple's problem and how they learned and eventually overcame the shock of the betrayal. Most if not all of the couples I have seen featured on the show went to counseling at some point to help them gain closure and come back together, something that I feel is always an A+ for effort step in the right direction. And all of them have said at the end of their episode that their relationship made it through the rough period; rather than merely surviving the marriage is now thriving and in this day and age where a couple divorcing hardly warrants a raise of an eyebrow, it is kind of inspiring to see the power of forgiveness and love, and lots of hard work. Genuine forgiveness is hard to come by but these couples have done it--the cheater forgiving themselves, and the spouse forgiving the cheater.

I like this show--many times when a spouse cheats, its immediate grounds for divorce. I don't condone cheating in any way, especially in a marriage. That bond is sacred to me and one that shouldn't be spat on in such a way as taking another to bed and actually establishing a relationship with said person is even worse. I was very interested to see how the possibility or appeal of an affair came up in these various situations and I was forced to change my own opinion on cheating after coming into more understanding. After watching a few episodes, I realized that I have been in some of those same situations and experiencing some of those same emotions myself in relationships. The difference is cheating goes so far against my moral fiber that I'd rather be miserable with them or alone than have that on my conscience. I learned an important lesson watching this show--it is entirely possible for a man or woman to cheat only once and honestly and truly regret it. And in that same token, it is entirely possible that their spouse has the opportunity to forgive them for it, honestly and truly. I was also able to learn that there is a difference between a cheating person and a person that makes a mistake, which is where my changed opinion comes into play.

Before I watched this show, I figured all cheaters were the same and I was a large fan of the old adage, "Once a cheater, always a cheater." I watched a couple of episodes of the show, however, and I had to revise that opinion. These men and women genuinely loved their spouses and their children. They had no desire to hurt them or destroy their marriages when they made the decisions that they did. The stories were realistic and their reasons ranged widely--boredom, loneliness, struggles within the relationship, fear, grief over the loss of a parent, financial struggles, feeling trapped--I haven't one time heard the reason for cheating that I am used to, which was that the person either got greedy and wanted to have their cake and eat it too, or that they just didn't care enough about their spouse to want to be faithful to them. I didn't condone what they did or how they handled their individual situations after hearing their reasoning or the path that lead them to feel this decision was right, but I was allowed more insight and it helped me to not be so judgmental. And contrary to what many say, sometimes the spouse of the cheater is, at least sometimes, partially to blame for their spouse straying. No, they did not force their partner to cheat. However, some of their actions may have contributed to their partner cheating and it usually took the couple visiting therapy for them to see where both may have played a part in the other's actions. At some point, most if not all of the spouses who were guilty of having the affair broke down when they realized the toll and the pain they put on the person they loved the most, or at the prospect of losing their families and all they had built. These are people who made mistakes and it nearly (and in some cases did for awhile) cost them their marriages and families. They committed themselves to rebuilding what they destroyed and are now happy, still married (or remarried) and best of all, faithful. Now if the person's inclination is more towards that of "I can have my cake and eat it too," then that's probably a cheating person and the old saying rings true. However, not everyone who cheats has that mentality and some are genuinely sorry for it. I learned that there is a distinct difference.

Saturday's debut focused on two couples--Rosalyn & Cregg, and Scott & Sherry. Rosalyn & Cregg were a former military couple who had just become parents when Cregg made the decision not to re-enlist. Finding work became more difficult and before long, they were in dire financial straits. He found a repair job working for a recently widowed neighbor, and some time after that she begins exchanging money for Cregg's bills for sex with him. I won't blow the ending but it's a biggie. Scott & Sherry were newlyweds and first-time parents, when Sherry noticed a disconnect and started asking Scott to spend more time with her and the baby. Scott, feeling trapped, began to view his marriage as a burden and eventually gravitated towards a receptionist he worked with, leading to an affair between the two. Just as Cregg did, Scott tells the details of the affair and his honest thoughts during that time, with Sherry & Rosalyn responding in their individual confessionals how they were feeling and acting on during that time. All in all, it was a good season premiere. 

I applaud this show for being honest and unbiased, and not sugarcoating either half of the story or victimizing the spouse or villainizing the cheater. I also like that the story is told firsthand from the individual's point of view and the cheater takes ownership of his/her decisions and explains their reasoning. The show is very candid and I would imagine that especially for the ones who have remorse or shame for their actions, being candid on national tv is no easy feat. It takes a certain level of honesty to even admit to oneself that there was a mistake, takes even more to admit it to one's partner, but to admit it to the world is another thing entirely and even though it is their own fault, I still commend the spouse who committed the adultery for being able to discuss the issue and take ownership in such a public format. Just because I or my loved ones know I made a mistake doesn't mean I want to admit it to the world, so actually I have to commend everyone who participates in the show. I still don't condone cheating in any way, shape, matter or form but now I have some insight. I have been able to see what real forgiveness can do, and that is always amazing to me. Cheating has been lauded for so long as the unforgivable sin, and these spouses loved their marriages and partners so much that they put on their rainboots and braved the storm. These couples buck the statistics every day and I enjoy watching the show.

Bitchy Review: I suggest this show if you are having trouble believing that forgiveness and love really save the day, if you (like me) have a problem forgiving because it is inspiring to see these people really fight for their marriages, or if you would like to see something other than today's norm of people getting married and divorced in the blink of an eye without really doing any work to save it. This show proves that it really is possible to recover after a spouse commits adultery. Unfaithful: Stories of Betrayal is honest even at the worst parts, candid, but inspiring in a way and I suggest you watch it sometime. The show comes on every Saturday at 9pm EST on the OWN Network, that's 189 for Dish subscribers and 279 for DirecTV viewers.

Bitchy Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Read More »

Bitchy Review: Zane's Sex Chronicles

Alright, so I got a day off from homework and whatnot so I thought I'd put up a review or two of some stuff I watched this past week. Last weekend the hubz and I were looking for something to watch and stumbled upon the show. Zane and the content of her books have been the subject of a friendly debate between him and I for awhile now, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to see his opinion on the show and expand our debate. My mom and I actually caught an episode of this show about a month before hubz and I moved in together and we found it hilarious; I'll explain why in a minute. Now before any of you raise your brows that I was watching a softcore with my mom, let me explain something and get a little sentimental for a second.

My mom and I have probably the most open relationship of any parent-child that I know and she truly is my very best friend. I can tell her any and everything, can discuss so many things with her, and I trust her with all I have. She knows when to be my mom and when to be my friend and acts accordingly, which I have appreciated so much through the years. We can watch something completely dumb, like softcore lite, and dissolve into giggles. Now if its something more risque, then of course this toes the line and we won't watch that. But something more along the lines of a simulation, then we're all on it--to ogle the man, to critique (or laugh at) the "acting"....or the woman lol, to analyze the plotline--whatever. And I'm trying to teach her about Zane and the world of erotica, so I figured why not watch and see what she thinks? Was hilarious to say the least. But yeah...my mom is my best friend and closest confidante..because our relationship has always been open so that I did not feel as though I could not talk to her about what was going on in my life, we can watch silly things like that without batting an eyelash. And I love it. Some kids, even grown ones, cannot even mention porn around their parents. But my mom is a total boss and that's why I can. lol

Now anyway, hubz and I saw that the program was on last weekend so we figured, what the hell, let's watch it. Within 5 minutes, both of us were a little on the 'wtf?' side of the spectrum. I've always pumped Zane up to hubz, because I felt that he had a rather stereotypical view of Zane and her books. He, like many other people, most of who have never even read an entire Zane novel from start to finish, classify her work as straight porn or think the entire book revolves around sex. I disagree--I just feel that the way she describes the sexual content in the book is better than most others I read because instead of rawdoggish degrading sex, she finds a way to make it sensual or romantic or whatever the mood in the novel suggests. If the characters in the book are actually making love, then the description and content sets the scene. If they are going at it like animals, you definitely know it. There is actually a plot to ALL of her novels, they just happen to feature--gasp!--sex.

With that said, the show differs dramatically. Patience, the lead character of the show, is based on Zane's own experiences with people who email her for advice, to try & cuss her out (lol), who update her on things they have tried, etc. but she falls flat. Zane, even on her FB page (please add her--the page is great)appears to be calm, yet somehow larger than life. The show's portrayal makes her seem as though she is this know-it-all who feels as though she is on some sort of pedestal, above her friends, and takes more of a 'scolding parent' tone with them. I wish Chronicles would show more of Zane the way we see her on her FB page. No offense to the actress (lesser known fact, she used to play one of the Avatars on Charmed a few years back), but to play someone based off of Zane, I just feel it needs more personality. The biggest thing hubz and I noticed though was that the plotline of the show itself needed more continuity, and more...well, you know...sex. lol It is hard, especially for those who have not seen all of the episodes, to come in and get a good feel for what's going on. The segues between the main characters were rather choppy and seemed to jump around, not to mention the actual dialogue wasn't all that great. This differed extremely from the books, where the dialogue was my favorite part, second only to the sex. LOL What can I say, I'm an erotica fan. However, I was pleasantly surprised at first to see that Cinemax didn't take liberties and turn Zane's excerpts into all out sexfests, but it turned to disappointment when I realized there was not only barely any sex at all, but the scenes that were featured weren't risque by any means. I felt that the show in general was, to be blunt, a very poor imitation and portrayal of anything I've ever read by Zane or heard from Zane herself. I'll say that its typical of Cinemax softcore in both content and sex, but compared to the novels and excerpts that I have read from my favorite erotica author and one of my favorite authors period, this was a poor portrayal. It's okay to watch if you have no expectations. But if you expect this show to just bring it with some chips because it has Zane's name on it, you'll probably walk away a little disappointed. Just my opinion. You had permission from the Queen of Erotica herself, Cinemax! You should have used that shit and created gold, not fool's gold. Random fact--I believe Zane has said she wasn't too fond of the "Queen of Erotica" moniker, but even though she isn't I believe it fits. If it weren't for her, many other authors doing the same thing wouldn't have gotten many places. I truly believe Zane opened the door for erotica as a genre to become such a force and has made it a watercooler topic, a go-to guide for your man (or lady) in the bedroom, or a wonderful escape. I love and respect Zane fully but I feel Cinemax could have done better with this series.

Apparently though, Zane's The Jump-Off will be premiering soon, so let's see how this one goes.

Read More »