Here We Go Again

Well, whaddya know? It's that time of the year for MediaCorp artistes to revel in another self-congratulating gaiety that no one else except the 'insiders' themselves care about. The widely watched shindig will again emanate from Resorts World Sentosa's Compass Ballroom underneath the Hard Rock Hotel and 'stars' will be ambling down the red carpet from 5.30 p.m. onwards. Can't wait!

WE ARE SINGAPOREANS

One of our most underrated local comedians, Hossan Leong, has returned to the small screen to host this wacky gameshow "about everything and anything Singaporean - from history to culture to trivia!". Hmm...sounds like a hoot already. Keep those send-ups coming, I say!

JERSEY SHORE

Seriously, the States is airing such reality television series as JERSEY SHORE and KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS that we viewers over here have never even heard of before. If it wasn't for World Wrestling Entertainment's engagement with the former's Snooki to guest-host Monday Night Raw next week, I'd still be living under a rock...

THE FLINTSTONES

The Flintstone family never fails to amuse me. Albeit not a fan of this old-time Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, I always get a kick out of watching the denizens of Bedrock 'power' their cars using their own feet.

Gettin' Down & Dirty

Is it because we begrudge their fame and fortune or do we disdain their partying ways so much that we find such immense pleasure in seeing Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie suffer the grime and the grub of THE SIMPLE LIFE? Could be due to both, I guess.

BREAKOUT

Every end of the year (barring any programming overhaul), loyal Channel 8 viewers can expect yet another 'beefy' (read: overbearing) Jeanette Aw-Dai Yang Tian blockbuster (*yawn*). Bethink THE LITTLE NYONYA in '08 and TOGETHER in '09. This must be LucasCorp's insistent idea of a 'golden pairing' at the moment. And we certainly hope the title doesn't point to Elvin Ng's pimple.

Oh, MAMA!

More than curtains fell on the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) - Channel U beamed the proceedings 'live' last night (in Korean, no less) - with its unforeseen share of dampening no-shows from SM Entertainment artists like BoA and Super Junior. In any case, I'm not acquainted with pop acts like 2AM, 2PM, 2NE1 and BEAST, so 'Hallyu' means only so much to me.

Call It Fate

WHEEL OF FORTUNE contestant Caitlin Burke had such a good feeling about it that she amazingly went on to solve a 7-word, 27-letter puzzle ("I'VE GOT A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS") with only a 1-letter clue - L. She won an instant trip to the Caribbean - along with US$53,000 in prize money - and the attention of a worldwide viewing audience. Fate or feat?

Survival of the Longest

Longest running, that is. After 20 sweaty seasons over 10 (less-and-less) lucrative years, the great grandmother of American reality TV apparently has no plans of calling it quits. Yet. So keep that bonfire burning for the next back-stabbing Tribal Council as CBS won't be snuffing out its own torch anytime soon. Doncha know? SURVIVOR 21: NICARAGUA is currently gracing our goggle-box, which prompts me to ponder: (1) Haven't the producers run out of remote islands to film? (2) Can they still afford the US$1 million payout in spite of flagging ratings? (3) Why hasn't Jeff Probst aged at all??

Another One?

Just when you thought prime-time LOVE (and its 'hooky' theme song) is the sole monopolizing soap opera hogging our airwaves to apparent perpetuity, you'll be stupefied to find out that another TAIWAN TORNADO is occupying the late-night slot, as well. The latter, which is comparatively 'compendious', is headlined by past-his-popularity Chen Zhao Rong and also has a character named Zhizhong. Pure coincidence?

Spike TV

Didn't know MediaCorp's Channel 5 was running the canceled TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN until last Sunday. Loved the Idiot Paparazzi segment, where bogus photogs hit the streets and ambush passers-by who vaguely resemble celebrities ("Hey, that's Hiro from HERO!"). Haha...

Omigosh!

DO MARK, IRENE AND BEATRICE REALLY THINK THEY'RE PIERS, SIMON AND AMANDA? IS ANDY WARHOL'S COINAGE REALLY WORTH FIFTY GRAND?

Spoiling the Market

As Mitch Pileggi (of Walter Skinner fame) so solemnly put it, the Masked Magician (later revealed to be one Val Valentino) was risking being blackballed by his own fraternity of illusionists when he signed up for Fox Network's controversial television specials BREAKING THE MAGICIAN'S CODE: MAGIC'S BIGGEST SECRETS FINALLY REVEALED, which all but exposed long-guarded trade secrets. From sawing a woman in half to surviving underwater for long stretches of time, you'll be surprised just how easy some of these 'stunts' are pulled off.

ROSWELL

When ROSWELL premiered on The WB tele-network in the fall of 1999, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was about the only other too-cool-for-school paranatural teen series around. Admittedly, I was a staunch follower of the show for the sake of Shiri Appleby, whom I thought was both sweet and strong as Liz Parker. Come to think of it, her relationship with Max Evans (Jason Behr) reminds me of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen in the Twilight series.

No Love Lost

Mudder is hopelessly hooked on LOVE, the 360-parter chronicling the trials and tribulations of two(?) Taiwanese families and their hotel businesses. What Guo Congmin, Hong Zhizhong...I simply can't be bothered -_-

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Mole, Ratty, Mr. Toad and Mr. Badger are few of the memorable denizens residing along Riverbank, "a mythical location somewhere in Berkshire". Do my same-age peers still remember this faithful stop-motion adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic children's literature? I doubt so...

THE VIEW

Who watches THE VIEW? This female-skewing morning talk show's been around since 1997, but I strongly posit that its core TV audience comprises only housewives, homemakers and domestic engineers (yes, they mean the same thing). For starters, aren't Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg a wee bit over the hill?

THE CENTURIONS

About the same time when the M.A.S.K.ed crusaders were working overtime fighting crime, our Centurions Max Ray, Jake Rockwell and Ace McCloud were donning exo-frames fused with assault weapon systems (supplied by Stark Industries?) to become "man and machine, Power Xtreme!" Kiddish? Yes. Do I kick myself for sprinting home from school to catch it? Of course not!

Oh My Dog!

Less maudlin than his predecessors Lassie (a collie) and the Littlest Hobo (a German Shepherd), Wishbone (a Jack Russell terrier) is a cheery and sprightly "little dog with a big imagination" who often daydreams about being the lead character of stories from classic literature like Robin Hood (see above) and Cyrano de Bergerac. Way cute!

Don't Forget the Lyrics!

From next Monday onward, THE MILLION STAR ( 百 万 大 歌 星 ) will be upsized (read: lengthened) to 1½ hours! Well done, U 频 道 ! And host Harlem Yu really rox!