Unwind & Rewind

It was the moment How I Met Your Mother fans have been waiting eight seasons to see. This week’s season finale finally revealed the identity of the titular mother. No, Ted hasn’t met the owner of the yellow umbrella yet but in the last minutes of the episode, the audience saw her walk up to the ticket counter—umbrella and bass in hand—and order one ticket to Farhampton, presumably to play in the band at Barney and Robin’s wedding. The lucky actress chosen to play the previously-unseen role is Cristin Milioti, who was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in the musical Once and also had a memorable, and very funny, guest part as Abby Flynn on 30 Rock. As How I Met Your Mother gears up for its ninth and final season, it’s still anyone’s guess when Milioti’s character will finally cross paths with Ted Mosby but we’re pretty excited to find out!

Article by:
Michelle Loeb

Ratings for this season of American Idol have been lower than the opening of Simon Cowell’s shirts on finale nights. While some of that is just due to the age of the show—can you believe Kelly Clarkson was crowned Idol’s first winner 12 seasons ago??— executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told Zap2it.com that there may be another reason why the show isn’t getting the viewership it used to. “I don’t think we have good chemistry with the judges,” Lythgoe said of this year’s panel, which includes Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Idol’s last remaining original judge, Randy Jackson. “Individually, every single one of them has something to offer but for me, it is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle that doesn’t quite fit. And that saddens me. They are good individually, but I miss the camaraderie we have had in the past.” While Season 12 may be remembered for the falling ratings and fights between judges, it will also be remembered as the first year a girl has taken the title since Jordin Sparks won in 2007 as the top 5 this year are all women.

Article by:

Michelle Loeb

New The Voice judge and “Underneath Your Clothes” singer Shakira has slipped right into Christina Aguilera’s big red chair, and she also appears to have gotten under the skin of co-judge Adam Levine. The two came to some friendly blows this week as 35-year old Latina singer Karina Iglesias took to The Voice stage to perform a blind audition of “I’m The Only One.” The Miami-based singer caught the attention of Levine and Blake Shelton, but Shakira failed to turn her chair around, surprising herself as much as the audience. “What’s wrong with me?’ Why didn’t I press my button?,” she said, speaking over Lavine as he was trying to talk to Iglesias. The Maroon 5 frontman then turned to Shakira and said “shut up” in Spanish. What could have been taken as a rude gesture became super charming with the use of Shakira’s native tongue. What did the singer have to say in return? “OK, that was pretty cool.” We think so too!

Article by:
Michelle Loeb

Could the King of All Media be coming to late night? That’s what The New York Post is hearing out of NBC, who is secretly grooming shock jock Howard Stern to take over Jimmy Fallon’s time slot when Fallon moves to The Tonight Show. Jay Leno’s contract is up in 2014 and despite his great ratings, the paper reports that NBC may push Leno out in favor of Fallon’s popular, youth-skewing late night shtick. If the network is so worried about attracting younger viewers, why are they interested in someone like Stern, who has been a media fixture since the ‘90s? According to the Post, Stern has developed a whole new generation of fans through his judging gig on America’s Got Talent. “We were in a hotel and all these little kids recognize him now as the judge from America’s Got Talent,” said Stern’s wife, Beth Ostrosky Stern. “Usually it’s their dads. But now it is screaming little kids. People are now seeing him for who he really is.”

Article by:
Michelle Loeb

The network announced that a big-name guest star is visiting the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana next February. TVGuide.com has confirmed that the Bored to Death star Jason Schwartzman has landed a guest-starring role on Parks and Recreation, portraying Dennis Lerpiss, the owner of the Pawnee Video Dome, which will undoubtedly become protagonist Leslie Knope’s (Amy Poehler) next mission to save as a historical landmark. As if NBC’s Thursday night comedy lineup wasn’t already great, with award-winning shows like 30 Rock and The Office, this news definitely makes for some Must See TV. We can expect to see Schwartzman on the Feb. 12 episode of Parks and Recreation, three weeks after the show returns on January 17 at 8:30/7:30c on NBC.

Article By:
Gabrielle Kalika

What does it take for a sitcom to reach a television milestone? Apparently it takes two physicists, an aerospace engineer, a microbiologist, an astrophysicist and a neurobiologist. Don’t believe me? Check out the comical sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory,” that drew 20 million viewers last week alone, a number that even television’s biggest hits strive to reach.
Even though critics have been predicting the death of the sitcom for years, “The Big Bang Theory” is pulling numbers not seen since the days of MASH and Dallas. The show wasn’t a hit right out of the gate, though. “The Big Bang Theory” finished its first season not in first, second or third place but in 68th place with 8.3 million viewers. Since then it has worked its way up to a lucky number five. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that by the end of the third season, the sitcom gained popularity through beginning to show reruns, adding at least 3 million viewers to their fan-base. Another part of the show’s success is how accessible it is, especially for a show about nerds. The quirky jokes, hilarious awkwardness, the cozy house setting and the fact that it’s family friendly, are all reasons that America has come to love this show. And who knows, maybe we are all just a little bit nerdier than we would like to admit.
Article By:
Naa-Shorme Aidoo

Out of all the comic book heroes to be portrayed through the live-action medium, Wonder Woman is definitely the hardest. As she made her debut in 1941’s “All-Star Comic #8” and receive her own comic in “Wonder Woman #1” which was released on June of the following year. Since then she has become a role model to female readers and became the main heroes of the Justice League. As her popularity rose, just like Superman and Batman whom spawn their own TV series, Wonder Woman receives her own in “The New Adventures of Wonder Woman” which aired from 1975-1979. Just like the Adam West’s Batman series, it was just as campy as the Batman show. But in the animated portion of the film medium, she was better portray, had a lot of emotional depth and she was never put below the other main heroes of the DC universe, in fact she was just as popular as the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight.

But her live-action portray have not improved since she was set to release a last year with a more edgy look of the iconic character, the show was immediately scrapped due to horrible writing, bad acting, terrible mis-cast and a complete botch of the iconic character in which the show never aired. So how would this show do Justice to the Amazon Princess, well copy a similar format the made CW’s Smallville popular by making it an origin story. Hence Warner’s Bros and CW are looking to bring the Amazon princess to the small screen with writer Allan Heinberg who wrote Grey’s Anatomy and the OC, but also made the Young Avengers comic book series from 2005. So maybe this Amazon warrior will return with open arms to the fans and show that Wonder Woman can kick but with Honor and moral justice.

Article by:
Bryan Vallejo

On Tuesday, September 5, 2012, Kelly Ripa introduced a new c-host, Michael Strahan during the broadcast of the newly-rechristened syndicated talk show. ‘Live with Kelly and Michael’ scored and impressive 3.9 Household rating, shooting up 44% over the year ago September 2011 time-period average (2.7/9) making the talk show ranked in No. 1 in the 14 top 15 U.S. Markets.

 
The Emmy award-winning show “Live with Kelly and Michael” scored the program’s top rated telecast since November 2011 (since 11/21/11), equaling its 2nd-highest rating since Regis departed the show. Additionally, it was the show’s highest rating in 9 years on the first Tuesday after Labor Day – best since 2003. We are all looking forward with Michael Strahan partnering with Kelly Ripa in this legendary Talk Show.
 
Article by:
Bryan Vallejo

Arrow is an action packed show that is based on the comic book hero Green Arrow. The comic book character (Oliver Queen) is brought to life by the tv shows star Stephen Amell. The new TV series follows Oliver Queen from his very beginning, starting with being stranded on an island where he develops his archery skills. When he finally finds his way home he is welcomed back by a corrupt city that is yearning for a vigilante to dish out some justice.

Article by:
Greg Polanco

Guys With Kids (NBC)
Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 8:30/7:30c

Tired of shows about women entering motherhood? Then check out this new refreshing comedy from Jimmy Fallon. It’s about guys with kids. Starring Jesse Bradford, Anthony Anderson and Zach Cregger. The three pals all live in the same apartment building and are learning the ropes of parenting together. It’s a whole new take on parenting mixed in with a huge splash of comedy

The Mindy Project (Fox)
Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 9:30/8:30

Funny woman Mindy Kaling is the creator and star of THE MINDY PROJECT. She plays a single woman whose career is blossoming. Mindy works as an OBGYN and is at the top of her career but can’t seem to get her love life at that same level.

Partners (CBS)
Premieres: Monday, Sept. 24 at 8:30/7:30c

Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick give us another pair of straight and gay BFFs, but there’s a twist, it’s a bromance! The series starts off with problems arising between Joe and Louis because Joe proposes to his longtime girlfriend Ali.

Revolution (NBC)
Premieres: Monday, Sept. 17 at 10/9c

From the creators Lost and Supernatural, Revolution is a mythology-heavy drama. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where there is no electricity. The series is about a group of people struggling to figure out how the technology vanished and who shall become the new leader of their people.

Stars Earn Stripes
Premieres: Monday, Aug. 13 at 8/7c

For the reality TV show lover, we have this military-style reality series in which nine celebrities compete in rigorous challenges adapted from actual military exercises. The star studded cast consists of Nick Lachey, Laila Ali, Todd Palin, Terry Crews and Dean Cain Priz. Everyone loves to watch celebrities endure pain and suffering. To top it off, the winner’s money will be donated to a military charity of the star’s choice. You just can’t beat that.

Article by:
Gregorio Polanco