July 31, 2009 | 12:55 pm

Remote Notes

Posted by  Shoshana Lewin Fischer

Fox is premiering the first season of it “Fame”/“High School Musical”/ “mockumentary” hybrid “Glee” will be Wednesday, September 9. One of the characters to watch is Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), who refuses to let a slight speech impediment get in the way of her singing. TPTB at Fox have wisely paired it with the premiere of the popular “So You Think You Can Dance,” which, I think, highlights a far more talented crop of young people than “American Idol.”

To watch the pilot episode that ran last spring, click here. For more information about the show, visit fox.com/glee.

It was grouper that brought down L.A. chef Suzanne Tracht on Bravo’s cooking competition, “Top Chef Masters.” The owner of Jar (8225 Beverly Boulevard), who chose Sova food pantry as her charity of choice for the show, won her slot in the second episode by defeating three other chefs, but was the first of the six chefs to be eliminated in the championship round (she lost by ½ a star). 

To check out Tracht’s take on Chanukah fare, visit epicurious. For more on “Top Chef,” which airs Wednesday nights on Bravo, visit http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters.

Over on “More to Love” aka “The Bachelor with more curves,” Luke has met the 25 women who were view for his heart and said so long to five of them. One of the remaining 20 is Tali, 26 (whose weight is listed as 190, although for a show that is supposed to be about more inner beauty, I can’t understand why we should care how much she weighs.) She is originally from Israel, now lives in New York and works as motivational speaker, which will probably come in handy as sone of the other girls on the show have little no self-esteem. Whether Tali makes it to the finals remains to be seen, however, upcoming scenes show Luke telling her something to the effect of “you knew starting this that you wouldn’t be the only girl I was seeing.”

The show airs Tuesday nights on Fox.  For more information and to watch the first episode, visit http://www.fox.com/moretolove.

USA has renewed Mark Feuerstein’s hit dramedy series “Royal Pains.” In it, Feuerstein plays Dr. Hank Lawson, a one-time New York surgeon who is now a “concierge doc” to the rich and famous in the Hamptons. Don’t forget: Characters welcome.

The show airs Thursday nights. For more information, visit http://www.usanetwork.com/series/royalpains.

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July 26, 2009 | 9:17 pm

It’s What You Can’t See

Posted by  Shoshana Lewin Fischer

I adore reality shows, specifically the love/romance/dating/wedding genre (I was even in the audience for “The Bachelor’s” first “After the Final Rose” special).

I also love “chick” shows—those fictitious romantic/comedy/dramas geared to those of us with two X chromosomes.

I get the best of both worlds this summer with two new series: “Drop Dead Diva” on Lifetime and “Dating in the Dark” on ABC.

“Diva” tells the story of a thin, blonde, beautiful party girl named Deb who dies in a car accident at the same time a heavy, intelligent, brunette attorney named Jane is shot by a vengeful former client at her firm. The soul of the blonde ends up in the body of the brunette—so Jane now has Deb’s memories, confidence and fashion sense coupled with her own intellect and knowledge of the law. The combo makes for some interesting and heartwarming scenes of Jane with her client, such as last week when she represented a waitress whose weight gain got her fired from her job at a hip L.A. bar. The twist is that Deb’s former boyfriend is the newest lawyer at the firm: Can Jane garner his love when she doesn’t look like Deb?

The premise of “Dark” asks: Can two people find love without ever seeing each other? Every week, three men and three women spend time in a house (different wings of course), without ever seeing each other. They all first meet in a room and then are told who they are most compatible with. They have several dates with that person, but can opt to go on dates with anyone. They date in a pitch-black room, learn about each other by checking out each other’s clothes and have only their other senses to tell them whether they are with Mr. or Ms. Right. At the end of the week they may choose one person of the other gender to see in the light—however, that person can’t see them at the same time. Once reality has set in, each couple has to decide if they want to continue the relationship out of the house by meeting the other on a balcony. On the first show, two of the three couples had a “happily ever after” (at least an implied one). What was painful to watch was the last couple: A nice Jewish boy named Seth got shafted and had to watch the non-Jewish girl he spent so much time with walk out the front door and down the driveway. Maybe he’ll end up on JDate?

I love that both of these shows focus on a person’s inside and not just their outside. How many of us have ever gone on a date—or turned down a date with someone—based totally on the way they looked? These shows go beyond “Beauty and the Geek,” which puts up contestants at both extremes. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle.

This week, Fox is debuting its new show: “More to Love,” which is being touted as a “Bachelor” for the size 12-14 set. The show was created by “Bachelor” developer Mike Fleiss and is hosted by “plus-size” model Emme.

A show for the “normal-size” girls?

Maybe we haven’t come as far as I thought.

“Drop Dead Diva” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.

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July 16, 2009 | 9:51 pm

Emmy Gadolah

Posted by  Shoshana Lewin Fischer

I’m a TV junkie. I come by it honestly: My mother rearranged her college classes around All My Children. But even I couldn’t wake up at 5:30 this morning to watch the nominee announcement for the Emmys, which honors the best and brightest on the small screen.

The Emmys are being held this year at 8 p.m. (which means 8 p.m. in Los Angeles and New York, as opposed to the 5 p.m. telecast for the Oscars). So to air at 8 p.m., the men and women of Tinsel Town need to be at Temple Beth Nokia by 4 p.m. for the red carpet; and 5 p.m. for the ceremony. Sunset on Sunday, September 20 is at 6:53 p.m. So thank you to the Academy for holding an award show for a heavily Jewish industry on the same day as one of the biggest holy days of the entire Jewish calender. Was Kol Nidre taken?

But back to the nominees.

The Emmys don’t have the prestige of the Oscars, the class of the Tonys, the fun of the Golden Globes or the sexiness of the Grammys. But they do have something special: the ability to honor televisions newbies and veterans.

Not since the mid-80s, when The Golden Girls was on the docket for Best Comedy have I been this excited about the nominees. I’m not going to rehash the list, but offer up special awards for some special shows and people:

Best Comedy or The “I Shouldn’t Be Laughing at This” award

Whether you find it offensive or hilarious (or both), the animated Fox show Family Guy pokes fun at Judaism on a weekly basis like no other (example: main character Peter Griffin sings “I Need a Jew” to the tune of “When You Wish Upon a Star). Its nomination for best comedy makes history for being the first animated show in this category since “The Flintstones.”

Changing channels: The five friends on “How I Met Your Mother” make you forget those six people who hung out at Central Perk. While finding out who the mother is has taken a few seasons, the journey is fun to take with this incredible ensemble.

Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media – Fiction or the “Just Five More Minutes Award”

I just wanted to call out this category for the concept. The online world of one of my favorite dramas, “Lost,” is nominated for its Dharma Initiative site, an online world dedicated to the mysterious group behind everything that is happening on the island. The show also touts a nominee for Outstanding Drama Series or the “Did You Just See That” award and an Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series or “Is He Good or Evil Award” nod for the mesmerizing Michael Emerson as “Other” Ben Linus.

Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Original Dramatic Score) or the “I’m Crying Again” award

You think Hallmark, you think tissues. Jeff Beal’s music for Loving Leah (Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation) defiantly contributed to my hankie use as I watched this story about at Orthodox Jewish woman and the relationship she develops with her late husband’s brother.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series or the “Make Me Laugh” award

If you haven’t watched this hilarious homage to geekdom, you are missing something special. First-time nominee Jim Parson’s Sheldon Cooper is a standout who excels in the world of science, and offers wry observations of the world around him.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series or the “Awe-some” award

He created a bracket to figure out which former girlfriend was stalking him and has developed more Loony Laws than any small town (Lemon Law, anyone), which makes Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson simply legen—wait for it—dary.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries or a Movie or the “Legends” Award

For fans of the “Indiana Jones,” series “The Mummy” and “Night at the Museum,” “The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice,” the third movie in the adventure-filled series, is the perfect TV alternative. Comedy genius Bob Newhart plays head librarian Judson, who seems to know just about everything.

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series or the “Legends II” Award

The folks at “C.S.I.: New York” cast veteran actor Edward Asner as Abraham Klein, a one-time Hitler Youth member who adopted a Jewish identity to escape arrest after the Holocaust. If that doesn’t intrigue you, how about the episode’s title: “Yahrtzeit.” 

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series or the “Legends III” Award

Everyone’s favorite former St. Olafian, Betty White, has stolen scenes in countless TV shows and movies, and her turn on “My Name Is Earl.” as Crazy Witch Lady, a woman Earl tormented when he was a teen, is no exception.

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series or the “Legends III” Award

The queen of comedy, Carol Burnett, takes a scary turn in this episode of “Law & Order: SVU,” where she plays former dancer Bridget “Birdie” Sulloway, who becomes slightly Norma Desmond-like (or Nora Desmond if you are fan of her hiccup-inducing variety program, “The Carol Burnett Show”).

After two days of trying to get in the Book of Life, maybe we are all entitled to kick back, relax and welcome 5770 with “L’Shanah Tova Tikatelevision.”

The Emmy Awards, with host Neil Patrick Harris, airs Sept. 20 at 8 p.m on CBS. For the full list of nominees, click here.

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June 2, 2009 | 12:00 am

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Posted by JewishJournal.com

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