By Carina Adly MacKenzie

May 17, 2012 11:09 PM ET

Follow @cadlymack on Twitter
 |  Google

The best way to describe Thursday’s finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” is to call it unsettling. We knew that there was a death on the way, and we knew exactly which doctors were in the devastating plane crash, but we still weren’t prepared for the raw agony of the episode.

Lexie (Chyler Leigh) died in the first 20 minutes of the hour, with little fanfare, aside from a powerful declaration of love from Mark. There were none of the emotional manipulation tools usually employed by Shonda Rhimes — it wasn’t held until the end of the episode, and there were no soaring musical montages. The moment relied entirely on writing and performances.

With such a jarring start to the episode, we expected some comfort by the end — but our heroes went unrescued. When we last saw them, Cristina was hungry, Meredith was exhausted, Derek’s left hand was so mangled that it’s hard to imagine him doing surgery again, and Arizona’s leg was badly broken. Mark was having trouble fighting for his life after experiencing such a terrible personal tragedy.

Back at the hospital, there was one moment of joy as Bailey and Ben got engaged. Unfortunately, it was hard to enjoy the romance given the dire circumstances elsewhere. The surgical residents had almost all made decisions to leave Seattle Grace, except for April, whose job prospects were looking very slim. Teddy, with some urging from Hunt, decided to take a job with MedCom, leaving Seattle Grace in need of a new Cardio God.

Season 9 is certainly going to be challenging. Is the plane crash enough to convince every wayward doctor to abandon their plans to move out of Seattle? Will Cristina take over Teddy’s position in the hospital? How will Meredith pick herself up after the loss of her sister? Will Mark be okay?

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/greys-anatomy-finale-sets-up-season-9-without-chyler-leigh.html

By David Eckstein

May 18, 2012 1:34 AM ET

Follow @david_eckstein on Twitter
 |  Google

Just hours after it was reported that Jennifer Lopez is leaving “American Idol” after this season, the pop star took to Twitter to dispute the story.

“There is no truth to reports that say I am definitely leaving Idol,” she writes. “All I said was I haven’t decided what I am doing next year.”

Lopez then adds, “When I know for sure what I’m doing I will let the #LOVE!RS know!”

The pop stars statements conflict with a report by E! that her departure from the singing competition is a certainty. The publication quotes a source as saying that Lopez is “too busy” to continue her judging duties on the program.

Lopez didn’t do herself any favors as far as the rumor mill is concerned when she went on “Ellen” to discuss her future. It is at this time Lopez complained about some of the problems of being a judge.

“I miss doing other things. It really does lock you down,” she says.

So Zappers, do you think that JLo will come back for a third season? Or would you like to see someone new evaluating talent?

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/american-idol-jennifer-lopez-denies-shes-quitting.html

By Jenna Busch

May 17, 2012 2:10 AM ET

Follow @jennabusch on Twitter
 |  Google

Betty White‘s roast was held on May 16, and most of the celebrity roasters kept it clean. Strange, considering her muffin sketch on “Saturday Night Live.”  Here are some of the best quotes of the night.

According to EW, there was definitely some rauchy stuff, but most people kept it clean for Grandma Betty. Here’s what they had to say:

“I invented the Skinnygirl Margarita. She invented Prohibition.” — Bethenny Frankel. White took her stiletto heel and replied, “This is longer than most of the men here.”

“[Betty was] the first woman to do Shakespeare in the Globe Theater — literally, she did him in the balcony.” – Barbara Walters.

“Betty is a Renaissance woman — she was born in 1543…. On her first game show, the grand prize was fire.” — Lisa Lampanelli.

“Betty, at your age, it’s a fine line between a roast and a cremation…. Betty is so old, she remembers the first days of Pompeii. She’s so old, she thinks I’m jail bait.” – Larry King.

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/betty-white-the-best-moments-from-her-roast.html

By Jenna Busch

May 16, 2012 11:42 PM ET

Follow @jennabusch on Twitter
 |  Google

“Suburgatory” has been renewed for Season 2 and Zap2it got a chance to chat with creator Emily Kapnek about what’s coming. Kapnek was surprisingly open about what the writers have planned, including a hook up for George (Jeremy Sisto) and Dallas (Cheryl Hines), and Tessa’s (Jane Levy) mother playing a prominent role.

Kapnek says she’s looking for the perfect woman to play Tessa’s mom and she didn’t want to rush by doing it in the first season. “When we come back, we’ll probably do a bit of a leap ahead and do some flashback stuff to how that plays out.”

She also tells us that, though it won’t be a joint custody thing, Tessa will be spending some time with her mom. George has a bit of empty nest syndrome, right about the same time that Dallas does. “This could set the stage for some really fun stuff.”

It doesn’t look like Eden (Alicia Silverstone) is going to be back very much, sadly. “Eden is probably going to withdraw from Chatswin. I would, if I were her. I don’t think she thinks in her heart that she can finish out her pregnancy in a healthy way there. We’ll reconcile some of their relationship stuff in snippets.”

Lisa (Allie Grant) just found out that it was her brother Ryan (Parker Young) and not her who was adopted, much to her chagrin. “Ryan really is the one that stands out from the family, and it would make much more sense … we’re thinking about who his birth mother is and having her surface and the frenzy that would create with Sheila (Ana Gasteyer) … you talk about great casting opportunities. Who is ‘the body’s’ mother?

She continues, “A lot of the stuff we talked about for Season 2 are these great parallels. Well if Ryan has — and we haven’t really decided if we’re going to have Lisa spill this information — I think there is something really great in her desperation. Of her saying to herself, ‘Okay, if he finds out, if there is any chance that he leaves, it’s just going to be. It’s going to just be me with them and that just can’t happen. So watching her trying to make Ryan happy for once and really cater to her brother for once is so delicious that I think it’s not worth spilling the big juicy secret.” But, keeping a secret like this will make Lisa’s head explode! We can’t wait to see what happens.

“I think they [Tessa and Ryan] have great chemistry,” Kapnek says. “It’s one of those things. We wanted to do that storyline early on, which we did, where Tessa hates herself for falling for this jock, and that was a given. What we really didn’t anticipate was how great their chemistry would be. And how endearing Ryan is… I think that one of the areas that I’m really excited about on the going forward basis is is exploring the idea of Tessa, not only missing Chatswin, but missing people in Chatswin that she didn’t expect to miss”.

She also says George and Dallas have a possible future in Season 2. “I really think that this is the season that is coming for them. I don’t want to drag it out forever. And it really makes sense to me, especially with the empty nest syndrome thing, that they would fall into that sort of pattern. I love the idea of, not embarrassment, but dating someone who you just didn’t see yourself with. I think about those parallels, for George and Tessa to have that common ground might be like, wow. It’s not what i anticipated, but I feel it. it’s real.”

Let us know what you think of these revelations below.

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/suburgatory-season-2-spoilers-from-creator-emily-kapnek-george-and-dallas-and-tessas-mom.html

By Jenna Busch

May 16, 2012 12:40 AM ET

Follow @jennabusch on Twitter
 |  Google

Maria Menounos and her partner Derek Hough were eliminated in the semi-finals of “DWTS” and Zap2it got a chance to chat with the pair back stage. Menounos was incredibly grateful for the chance to do this and proud of what she’s accomplished

We asked her about this week. “Everything became a huge obstacle this week, obviously with these
injuries, and the fact that the dances weren’t quite coming together and
didn’t until we were on the dance floor. Literally. So we finished last
night and I was so happy, I was over the moon and I said to him I did
what I had to do. And tomorrow Que Serra. Whatever happens from this
point on, I actually tweeted that, no one will ever know. But I did it.
I’m happy and I’m proud of what I did.”

These two have had incredible chemistry and we wanted to know why. Hough says, “I just fancy Maria,” who replied, “I think we saw that in a package. We had a lot of fun together and I
think because I was so much weaker than everyone else and we spent a lot
more time in rehearsals than other people, we did. They told us this
week that we rehearsed like 23 hours more per week than anyone else.”

We asked who they think will win, Hough said, “That is tough. They are all really strong. Everyone has the strenghts
and weaknesses, it depends on what the audience want to go for. If they
go for technique? Are they going for showmanship? It’s whatever the
audience picks because they all so different.”

Who do you think will take the mirror ball trophy? Let us know below.

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/dancing-with-the-stars-maria-menounos-on-her-elimination.html

By Liz Kelly Nelson

May 16, 2012 2:06 AM ET

Follow @lizkellynelson on Twitter
 |  Google

You know a show is good when the fact that its guest stars include Lindsay Lohan and Whoopi Goldberg is totally eclipsed by solid, entertaining TV. Such was the case Tuesday (May 15) when “Glee’s” third- and second-to-last episodes of Season 3 aired. With a two-hour double-dose that took us from the halls of McKinley High to Chicago and a long-sought victory at Nationals for New Directions, a LOT happened.

And, in case you missed it, go back and watch. It’s worth it.

After three years, Will Scheuster and his plucky band of misfit singers take the trophy at the National Show Choir Championship with a little help from Meatloaf, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga. Cue the slow-motion. Or we’re guessing that’s what showrunner Ryan Murphy said since the slow-motion is in fact cued to capture the glee on the faces of the best little show choir in the country.

Luckily, Goldberg — playing NYADA judge Carmen Tibideaux — turned up (even if she was dramatically late) to see Rachel Berry sing her heart out and finally get the message that Rachel really and truly is a star.

“This is your moment. Three years in the making,” Finn says to Rachel before she takes the stage. “Forget about everything else. Take it.”

And she did. So she’s New York-bound next season, we assume, along with soon-to-be-husband Finn (Cory Monteith, who looks just great for 30. Well, actually, he was 29 when the episode was filmed — but the guy is totally holding up.)

Rachel didn’t, though, win the MVP Award as advertised. That went — rightfully — to Wade “Unique” Adams, the cross-dressing Vocal Adrenalin Diva who rocked an amazing set that included Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” and Elton John’s “Pinball Wizards.” Unique also drops a hint that he/she may be transferring to McKinley next year. Please?

Mr. Schue, too, logged major wins — his show choir won nationals, he’s named McKinley’s Teacher of the Year (we assume he teaches for at least a few minutes each day when he’s not thinking up New Directions routines) and — best of all — he finally gets lucky with Emma.

Finally, The Glee-sters deserve major props for the first hour’s body-swap story arc. Cory Monteith’s impression of Kurt Hummel was literally the best thing ever.

Okay, what did you think of Tuesday’s episodes?

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/glee-new-directions-win-nationals-and-mr-shue-gets-lucky.html

By David Eckstein

May 15, 2012 1:05 AM ET

Follow @david_eckstein on Twitter
 |  Google

It’s been a remarkable season for “Two and a Half Men.” It started off with the great unknown experiment of rebuilding a show with a new lead character in Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) and dealing with completely different dynamics. It ended with a series that will likely finish the season in eleventh place, averaging 15 million weekly viewers. Not bad.

As for the finale, we see that Jake (Angus T. Jones) and Eldridge (Graham Patrick Martin) are completely, and not surprisingly, incapable when put into any position of responsibility. When they download too much porn, it breaks the computer system at Walden’s new company. This leads them to the only logical (in their mind) solution for their future, join the Army. This looks to be a decision that will come back to haunt them.

But the finale really takes a back seat to the bigger issue of remaking the show. Producers were able to, with a few hiccups of course, transition the comedy to a greater ensemble program. Helping to shoulder that load were Jon Cryer and Jones. It is this transition that helped “Two and a Half Men” leverage the initial curiosity about Kutcher and turn it into a long-term ratings success. This is precisely the reason the show secured an additional season.

But not everyone is a fan of the new version of the series. For better or worse, some people liked what EP Chuck Lorre called the “bimbo of the week” approach. The program thrived when Charlie Sheen led this iteration, but with Sheen out, drastic change was needed.

So how do you think Ashton Kutcher is working out on “Two and a Half Men?” Vote below.

How do you think Ashton Kutcher did on his first season of “Two and a Half Men?”

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/two-and-a-half-men-finale-was-ashton-kutchers-first-season-a-success.html

By Jenna Busch

May 15, 2012 1:05 AM ET

Follow @jennabusch on Twitter
 |  Google

“DWTS” was down to the wire during the semi-finals competition. Maria Menounos and her partner Derek Hough managed to grab triple tens for their amazing first dance. They ended at the top of the leader board for 59 total points.

Menounos says it was a really rough week, with Hough suffering an injury and lots of stress. She tells Zap2it on the press line, “Last night after 12 hours of rehearsing, and we didn’t eat for nine hours
straight we realized, we were starving, exhausted, then of course what happens …
I start to well up and was like ‘after all this good work we have done, tomorrow
we are going out there and I’m going to embarrass my family, I am so dumb. I
worked so hard and everything has hurt for weeks and this is how it’s going to
end?’

It was one of who saved her. She says, “Literally someone tweeted this to me this morning and I saw
it, printed it and put on my phone, here’s what it says: Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to
hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that is
true strength. I retweeted it, and then there was a woman who send me a
picture of her daughter praying. She said my daughter was praying and giving
you well wishes. I was like alright come on, I have to do this. My fans are
amazing. They have no idea how much it helps, the Twitter fans and the people
voting and then your friends to come to the audience.”

When we discussed the possibility of an All Star show, Hough said that host Brooke Burke Charvet couldn’t dance because she hosts. When it was mentioned that Menounos could do it, she says, “We could switch, that would be interesting! That would be a lot
of fun.”

We’d love to see Maria host. What do you think? The “DWTS” results show airs May 15 on ABC.

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/dancing-with-the-stars-maria-menounos-says-your-tweets-gave-her-strength.html

By Liz Kelly Nelson

May 14, 2012 2:23 AM ET

Follow @lizkellynelson on Twitter
 |  Google

After seeing everything that the new Mrs. Draper has — a beautiful apartment, an hourglass figure, a tender love Don never showed her — Betty Francis’ (January Jones’) knee-jerk reaction was to spray Reddi-Wip right into her mouth — then spit it out. After she gave things a little more thought, she came up with a better idea.

Sunday’s (May 13) episode of “Mad Men” was mostly about people — Betty, Don, Megan, Michael, Peggy, Pete — not getting what they want. A fittingly ironic theme for the show as the timeline rolled through Thanksgiving 1966.

Betty’s better idea was to drop a bomb — more of a grenade — on daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka); one that she thought would blow up in Megan and Don’s happy faces. But Betty — like husband Henry, who backed the wrong horse in his political career — miscalculated. Megan, as we viewers know, already knew about Anna Draper — Don’s “first wife” — and so it was that Betty Francis’ bomb blew up in her own face. Or, as Don would put it, under her own “fat nose.”

“I’m thankful that I have everything I want and nobody else has anything better,” says Betty at the Thanksgiving table, trying to convince herself it’s true. Bam a lam.

So who else didn’t get what he or she wanted?

Megan: She helped a friend run lines for a “Dark Shadows” (also the title of this episode) audition. Even though Megan goofs on the melodramatic material, she admits she’d kill for the opportunity to try out for the part.

Michael Ginsberg: The poor sap may be the biggest creative talent at SCDP, but thanks to an inopportune peek at his portfolio from Don, he becomes a hurdle in Don’s devilish race to prove to himself that he still has the creative juice to land an account. Don does, but in the process he also loses any respect Ginsberg may have had for him. “I feel bad for you,” Ginsberg says to Don in an elevator after confronting him about not presenting his creative to the Sno-Ball folks. “I don’t think about you at all,” replies Don.

(Note: The episode actually had a few great dialogue-driven elevator scenes.)

Peggy: She’s still screaming for respect. This time around, she’s annoyed that Roger Sterling asked Micheal, instead of her, to do a little under-the-table work for Manischewitz Wine. This leads to another fabulous elevator scene — this time between Peggy and Roger, aka The Bickersons.

Pete: He dreamed that a NYT profile would bring Alexis Bledel to his office clad only in lingerie and a fur coat. “I forgot you, then I saw you in the New York Times Sunday magazine,” she purrs in his dream. Right. (Note: The irony of Pete chastising Bledel’s husband for having a squeeze on the side is duly noted. — Team Trudy)

Roger: He thought he got what he wanted when he makes a conquest of Jane, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, in her new apartment. Wait — maybe he did. So much for the enlightened post-acid trip Roger Sterling.

Questions…

So was the air really toxic — as Megan states — on Thanksgiving Day 1966?
Yes — in fact, the “killer smog” (pictured below) was credited for killing 169 people. A year after 9/11, the New York Times ran this article about New York’s three worst smog events.

What poem was Ginsberg quoting when he was bragging about his Sno-Ball work?
The line was, “Look on my works, ye mighty and despair,” and Stan Rizzo advises Ginsberg to “read the rest of the poem, you boob.” We did. It’s “Ozymandias,” written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1818. If Ginsberg had read on, he’d have realized that Ozymandias’ words were hollow — an epitaph on a broken statue surrounded by a barren waste. (Note: Ozymandias is also the name of an ambiguously villainous character in Alan Moore’s super awesome graphic Novel “Watchmen.” — Future Bobby Draper)

What was that song at the end, with the great line, “If you want happiness just help yourself to some?“
Megan Draper (neé Calvet) might have recognized it as Maurice Chevalier’s “Sweepin’ the Smog Clouds Away”:

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/mad-men-season-5-episode-509-dark-shadows-bettys-big-fail.html

By Jenna Busch

May 14, 2012 1:36 AM ET

Follow @jennabusch on Twitter
 |  Google

Fangbangers, rejoice! We finally have a long trailer for Season 5 of HBO’s “True Blood!” It’s super juicy, with snippets that will have you intrigued. No fairy land here. We get shots of hottie Christoper Meloni saying, “I am the Authority!” Swoon.

So many moment to hook you. It starts with Sookie (Anna Paquin) and the moment of Tara’s (Rutina Wesley) death. But … Tara was in one of the recently released character posters. Zombie, perhaps? Ghost? And a possible Alcide (Joe Manganiello) kiss?

Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think. Are you excited for Season 5? If you weren’t, did the trailer change your mind? How badly do you want to see Meloni drop trou? “True Blood” Season 5 premieres June 5 on HBO.

Article source: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/05/true-blood-season-5-hbos-epic-new-trailer-makes-christopher-meloni-a-vampire-authority.html