Sony Pictures Television has declined to renew its contract with producer Dan Harmon, ending his tenure as showrunner of NBC's "Community."
Daniel Fienberg at HitFix explains the move:
In a traditional Friday news dump, word of Harmon's exit -- you can call it "firing" or just "Sony Pictures TV opting not to renew his deal" -- hit the Internet late evening Eastern Time along with the added information that "Happy Endings" and "Aliens in America" veterans David Guarascio and Moses Port will take over as showrunners for next season.
Under Harmon, "Community" became an Internet favorite. However, ratings were subpar throughout its first three seasons, leading many to speculate that the show might be cancelled by NBC. Additionally, New York magazine's Vulture blog reports frequent clashes between Harmon and Sony, and persisting questions about his managerial style. A high-profile spat with Chevy Chase, one of the show's stars, as well as "defections" on the show's writing staff, only intensified that scrutiny.
Vulture's Josef Adalian writes:
According to multiple people familiar with the production of Community, Harmon's flaws as a showrunner were at least partially responsible for much of the turnover the past few years. As one person familiar with Harmon's strengths and weaknesses told Vulture, "Dan is a brilliant at ideas, but he's terrible at [management]."
"Community," has been renewed for a fourth, and possibly final, season. NBC has ordered 13 episodes to air on Friday nights.
Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 7, Episode 23 of The CW's "Supernatural," entitled "Survival of the Fittest."
Reviewing a season finale is very different from reviewing a singular episode, and "Supernatural" finales are more challenging than most. The end of a season has to tie up loose story threads from the entire season preceding it, while still leaving enough dangling to create a compelling jumping off point for next year. Thankfully, despite a few (okay, more than a few) lackluster episodes this season, I think that the season finale managed to course-correct in a way that makes me truly optimistic for Season 8. The last couple of episodes didn't build up much momentum going into the finale, in comparison with the stellar runs at the end of Seasons 1, 2, 4 and 5, but a finale still needs to stand on its own merits, and against the odds, I felt like "Survival of the Fittest" did so.
I think that my main criticism with Season 7 as a whole -- and, in hindsight, with Season 6 too -- was an overall lack of focus. The ideas behind the Leviathans and Eve were good in theory, but in practice, there seemed to be too many standalone episodes to create a truly cohesive through-line from premiere to finale. When a season works as a whole, there need to be multiple unmissable episodes which deepen the mythology and drive the story forward, and looking back at Season 7, I feel like we could've watched the first two episodes of the season, "How To Win Friends and Influence Monsters," "Reading is Fundamental" and "Survival of the Fittest," ignored the rest of the season, and still gotten the overall gist of the story.
I'm not sure if that was because of internal concerns that the Leviathans weren't interesting enough to be the focal point of more episodes, or because the monster of the week stories just didn't feel fresh or exciting enough (though I did enjoy "The Mentalists" and "Time After Time") -- but aside from Robbie Thompson, Sera Gamble and Ben Edlund, a number of writers seemed to struggle with pacing issues in their stories this year, with episodes either dragging in the middle or ending abruptly.
Although this sounds like a criticism of Gamble, I don't really mean it as one; I think that any showrunner (perhaps even Eric Kripke) would've struggled to conceptualize a new arc for Season 6 after the original five-year story came to a close, especially since no-one knew at that point whether the show would be back for a seventh year. For a series as heavily serialized as "Supernatural," conceiving two self-contained story arcs for the past two years must have been a herculean feat, so in many ways, I don't blame the writers for having difficulties in making Seasons 6 and 7 coherent.
Similarly, the transition between Season 7 and Season 8 could prove equally challenging, since the series is once again changing showrunners, with Sera Gamble (who has written for the show since its first year) handing the reins to Jeremy Carver, who was with "Supernatural" from Seasons 3-5 before departing to launch the U.S. version of "Being Human" with his wife, Anna Fricke. I mourned the loss of Carver almost as much as I mourned the loss of Eric Kripke at the time, because I don't believe there is a single writer who grasped Sam and Dean's voices with as much style and confidence as he did, short of Kripke himself (alright, and Ben Edlund).
And while Kripke knew Sam and Dean, Carver knew story -- so many of his episodes remain my all-time favorites: "A Very Supernatural Christmas," "Mystery Spot," "In The Beginning," "Free To Be You And Me" and "The Point of No Return," to name a few. They weren't just well-written in terms of character, they were well-structured, too. Having a clearly defined beginning, middle and an end, and a coherent sense of pacing, is something that "Supernatural" has struggled with more in the past two seasons than it did in its first five years. I don't know whether that sense of cohesion was due to Kripke's influence or the product of a more experienced writing staff, but I'm hoping that Season 8 can recapture the lightning in a bottle that I haven't truly felt from "Supernatural" since Season 4.
So, enough waffling about the backstory; let's discuss "Survival of the Fittest." I'll admit, I never really connected to the Leviathans as adversaries after they left Castiel; I grew to appreciate Dick's smarmy corporate exterior, but I never felt that sense of dread or intimidation that I got from Azazel, Lilith or Lucifer. I suppose it's because those villains felt so otherworldly, so unconcerned with the trivialities of humanity, whereas Dick, by design, was a mirror of mankind's corporate greed and the soulless march of capitalism. We instinctively fear the unknown, the unfamiliar, but Dick and his cronies were all too familiar to us, because those one-percenter values (or lack thereof) are being parroted back at us from the campaign trail on a weekly basis. A few of us might want to punch certain political figures in the face, and some of their opinions may instill a sense of dread in us, but it's not really apocalyptic dread, is it?
It also doesn't help that Dick was focused on humanity as a whole, while the Winchesters' previous adversaries were focused on them (as any good TV villain should be). We're not watching the "random dude in Iowa eating a turducken sandwich" show, we're watching the Sam and Dean show, so the Leviathans viewing the Winchesters as an obstacle rather than the goal undeniably lowered the stakes for me. Sure, the Leviathans wanted to squash the boys like bugs, but how is that different from any other monster of the week they've had to face? I get that the writers wanted to give the boys another global challenge, to somehow up the ante from Lucifer however they could, but there's no denying that Azazel, Lilith and Lucifer worked in large part because they were focused on the boys (or, really, on Sam) and personal stakes are so much more compelling than universal ones. That's another area where Eve and her "turn humans into monsters" plan fell down, although Season 6's issues were more widespread than simply having a disappointing villain.
Because of that, as fond as I'd grown of Dick's snarkiness (and lord knows I would've been content to watch an hour of Dick and Crowley bantering) I was glad that Dean managed to take Dick down in the finale. They didn't outright destroy all of the Leviathans, so they can still present a challenge next season, but I felt that their endgame had run its course. The beauty of this finale -- especially this ending -- is that it's truly impossible to predict where the show might go from here, so we can spend the summer in rapturous speculation.
The Leviathans didn't work for me, but seeing them gone did, and so did most of the rest of the finale. I voiced my advanced enthusiasm for this week's episode in large part because it promised to utilize all of our favorite players -- Bobby, Castiel, Crowley and Meg -- and it delivered on that front. The episode was a fitting exit for Sera Gamble, who has always had a great grasp of Crowley's particular brand of wit, and all of the scenes involving the boys and Castiel, Meg and/or Crowley crackled with energy.
It's clear that the writers have been getting a lot of mileage out of Castiel's current lack of marbles, and Misha Collins did an excellent job delivering some truly bizarre lines. His fascination with board games -- Twister in particular -- was thoroughly enjoyable, and while I'm a little disappointed that we missed out on seeing the angel appear naked on Dean's car covered in bees, the mental image alone has a fair amount of value. I'm well aware that Castiel is a divisive character, so I'm sure there are some fans who dislike the fact that Dean and Castiel got zapped into purgatory without Sam, but to me, it's a good idea from both a creative and technical standpoint.
We might like to ignore this fact when we're selfishly enjoying one of our favorite shows, but Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles are pretty much the only actors on TV who don't have a full-time supporting cast to lighten their filming load. Padalecki has recently become a father, and I can attest from set visits that "Supernatural" is one of the most labor-intensive shows to film, in terms of the cast and crew's working hours, night shoots, stunts and special effects. The fact that these actors have managed seven years with practically no time off without having a meltdown is somewhat miraculous to me, and yet Ackles and Padalecki are still just as passionate and invested in the show as they were at the start. Splitting Sam and Dean up, as much as some fans may hate it, allows these hard working dudes a couple of extra days off a week to spend with their families, and if that keeps them from getting burned out and makes them more inclined to keep making the show for another couple of seasons, I'm all for it.
And from a creative standpoint: I've been with this show since the pilot in 2005, I adore the Sam and Dean dynamic and am wholly aware that the relationship between the brothers is the biggest part of "Supernatural's" success. But they've been together for seven years now, and there are only so many ways to tell that fraternal story without retreading old ground (some fans feel we've already retrod old ground a couple of times as it is). The fact of the matter is, adding new characters -- whether it's Jo and Ellen, Ruby and Bela, Bobby and Rufus or Castiel and Gabriel -- allow us to see Sam and Dean from new perspectives; they bring out new sides to the boys and force them to react in different ways than they'd react to each other.
We've seen Sam and Dean in sticky situations for years now, and we know how they respond when they're up the creek without a paddle, but we've yet to see how Dean and Castiel would react to being stuck in a foxhole together, or how Sam truly functions as Sam (as opposed to the diet, soulless version of Sam we saw in Season 6) without his brother. I, for one, am eager to see how Sam goes about rescuing Dean from purgatory now that no demons want to make a deal with him, and I want to see Dean tied back into the mythology the way he hasn't been since Season 4 -- not just as Sam's protector, but as someone who drives the mythology forward by acting instead of reacting (or drinking). The actors have recently expressed their desire to see Sam and Dean separated or old cast-members returned in various interviews, not because they hate each other, but because they want to explore new facets of characters that they've been playing for over half a decade. I think it's natural and I think the writers should be applauded for taking that risk. I highly doubt that any real separation would go on beyond a couple of episodes anyway, but if it means shaking up the status quo and offering a new perspective on such beloved characters, I'd say it's a worthwhile experiment.
That's not to say that things couldn't go wrong -- since every time Sam is left to his own devices he seems to end up chugging demon blood or cozying up to sociopaths like Grandpa Campbell, and in that way, the season finale also found itself retreading old ground. Will Dean's sojourn to purgatory be like his trip to hell at the end of Season 3? Time will tell, but Carver has a great track record with these characters so I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I was surprised (and pleased) that the episode chose to dispatch Bobby with comparatively little fanfare. Obviously, the character's first and greatest farewell, in "Death's Door," should be his enduring legacy, but I was expecting the episode to make more of a meal over Bobby descending into darkness. I'm glad Gamble didn't go that route, though -- having Bobby leave on his own terms was a fitting and poignant resolution, perfectly played by Jim Beaver and in-keeping with the character. I think it was perfectly reasonable for Bobby to refuse to let the boys go (and thereby avoid dying on the Reaper's terms) and for him to later nobly decide that he needed to leave before he ended up hurting someone and becoming the thing he once hunted.
It was nice that Sam got that moment with Bobby -- and I thought it nicely mirrored the Season 1 finale, "Devil's Trap," when Dean was being attacked by Azazel in John's body, before his father reasserted himself to avoid causing his son any further pain. Sam hasn't had many moments like that with Bobby, so it was nice that he got at least one, allowing Bobby to illustrate his love for Sam before the older hunter said farewell. I also appreciated the decision not to show Bobby's spirit burning up; the moment was far more resonant simply from witnessing Sam and Dean's reactions, because Bobby isn't some monster that we should relish seeing disintegrated. A part of me does feel like "Death's Door" should have been the character's last appearance, but I adore Jim Beaver so much that I was happy to take a little extra time, especially since the writers avoided compromising the integrity of the character.
And how fantastic was it to see the return of the Impala, triumphantly set to Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild?" Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder, and I just hope we'll never have to be without Dean's "baby" for such a long time again. I'm surprised he trusted Meg with it, though, even though she was playing the distraction. I don't love Rachel Miner's portrayal half as much as I adored Nicki Aycox's (Aycox had a lot more subtlety) but I'm still intrigued to see what Crowley has planned for her. Whatever it is, I hope when we next see Meg, we'll see the Meg of the first two seasons -- it's hard to reconcile the demon who possessed Sam and went on a killing and torture spree in the phenomenal "Born Under a Bad Sign" with the character we've seen in the past couple of years, and I'm far more enamored of the evil version.
I loved the pacing, the wit and the focus of "Survival of the Fittest," but I did have two complaints: first, the bizarre and, frankly, disturbing decision to make Polly the hapless human guinea pig take off her dress before Dick stuck her with the toxin -- it was narratively unnecessary and distractingly gratuitous, especially considering the episode was written by a woman. Second, the inclusion of Kevin the Prophet. Despite the racial stereotyping, I've actually enjoyed Kevin as a character, but I have to admit, he's seemed a little extraneous since "Reading is Fundamental." Once he translated the stone tablet, why was he useful to Dick? And why was he useful enough for Crowley to capture him? He didn't get to accomplish much this week or last, and Crowley's nabbing of him seemed abrupt. I wish the writers had found another way to decipher the Word of God (couldn't Cas have done it?) so that the prophet wasn't necessary at all -- better to never introduce him than to just have him present for the sake of it. I'm sure the writers will find a way to tie him into Season 8 in a more meaningful way, but it still felt sloppy in an otherwise tightly-plotted hour.
When "Supernatural" episodes are at their finest, the hour seems to fly by, and that was the case with "Survival of the Fittest." It was an engaging and tense hour from start to finish, with satisfying pay-offs for those of us that enjoy Castiel's inclusion in the story and his "profound bond" with Dean; a delicious return for Mark Sheppard, who can chew scenery in his sleep and steal scenes with the mere quirk of an eyebrow; and a suitably messy send-off for Dick. I love the idea of purgatory as some wild, uncharted forest, and I'm intrigued to see how much further Carver will explore that untapped resource next season -- hopefully allowing Sam and Dean to grow individually so that they'll have fresh, unique dynamics to explore once they're reunited. And, to close, I'd like to thank Sera Gamble for seven years of hard work and passionate writing, and congratulate the talented Jeremy Carver for getting the chance to continue Sam and Dean's inspiring journey -- I'll certainly be along for the ride.
What did you think of "Supernatural's" Season 7 finale? Were you pleased by the show's shocking cliffhanger? Saddened to see Bobby go? Share your reactions and predictions for next season below!
"Supernatural" returns in the fall with Season 8 on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 2, Episode 23 of The CW's "Nikita," entitled "Homecoming."
It's been a revelatory season for The CW's "Nikita." This year, the show shed the last vestiges of its procedural beginnings and wholeheartedly embraced its compelling mythology, drawing fans deeper into Percival Rose's treacherous web of politics and bloodshed, keeping our heroes on the run, outgunned, but never quite outmatched. We've seen allies become enemies, Oversight dismantled, Zetrov returned to safe hands, Amanda deposed and finally, Percy fallen once and for all.
It's easy to forget, in the halcyon glow of the show's renewal, that this episode could easily have been "Nikita's" series finale -- would you have been satisfied if it had been? From a storytelling standpoint, the narrative truly has come full-circle; this season has been focused on the concept of "home," and as both Nikita and Percy pointed out in this episode, Division is the only home Nikita has ever known.
"I grew up here, I learned right from wrong here, and I fell in love here," our heroine pointed out, effectively scuttling Michael's plans for retirement on a desert island, but also embracing the idea that Division had a hand in shaping her into the honorable, powerful woman she is today.
Yes, Division took away her life, but it also inadvertently provided her with a new one, with a destiny that's far more important than the one she left behind. Nikita was on Death Row, she was an addict with no friends and no future, and so -- in ways she's probably reluctant to acknowledge -- Percy's twisted agenda changed her life for the better, albeit by making her suffer through the worst. That doesn't excuse what he forced her and the other recruits to do over the course of their careers, of course, but it's a silver lining to one man's depraved cloud.
Just as last year's finale brought all of the seemingly disparate elements from Season 1 together to reveal the extent of Percy's Machiavellian scheming, this season's closer beautifully wove the threads of Nikita's Season 2 journey into a cohesive tapestry, illustrating that, in the end, running Division was not only the obvious choice, it was the only real choice for Team Nikita to make.
From Nikita's mentor, Carla, and the faith she had in the idea of Division as a place for rehabilitation and second chances, to Owen and his belief that Nikita's unique skill-set should be used for protection as much as aggression, Nikita's path this year has been inexorably leading her towards this outcome.
In our recent interview, Shane West pointed out that "Team Nikita has been put together for a reason," and clearly, that reason was to force Nikita into a leadership role that she never would've chosen on her own; to help her realize that she is capable of taking command without abusing that position of power, and to prove that, in learning to trust others and let her loved ones in, she's no longer making decisions for everyone else -- she's allowing them to demonstrate their faith in her by risking their own lives for her cause.
Alex, Sean, Ryan, Birkhoff, even Michael, all could've walked away from her at many points this season, but they stayed because they believed in Nikita and her ability to know right from wrong and to make hard choices without ever sacrificing innocent lives. Division truly has a chance to fulfill Carla's original aspirations for it with Nikita, Michael and Ryan at the helm, and I'm glad that the writers chose restoration over destruction when it came to solving the problem of Division and all of the equally helpless recruits that Percy and Amanda manipulated over the years.
The outcome of "Homecoming" was just another illustration of the grace that Nikita never could've discovered without going through everything she had to endure this season: almost losing Michael, Birkhoff and Ryan; actually losing Carla; being betrayed and manipulated by Percy and the man she had hoped was her father; facing Amanda and her own darkness after being captured by Brandt -- all instances of our heroine being thrust into the fire again and again, forging her into the person that Division truly needed to lead it.
While it was bittersweet to see Percy and Roan die (and aren't you impressed by all of the cast's misdirection in teasing the show's deaths?), their stories have run their course. As integral as Percy has been to "Nikita's" story for the past two years -- and as phenomenal as Xander Berkeley has been in playing such a memorable and formidable villain -- Nikita (both the woman and the show) need to evolve. It would have undermined Nikita's strength to have such a major adversary remain on the board after everything he's done to her, especially with Amanda still at large. I also assume that the enigmatic "Group" that Percy was trying to get into will feature heavily next season, so there are still plenty of battles for our heroes to fight. Having Percy end up back in his glass prison was a poetic touch, and I loved the image of him falling through the glass, shot from below -- one of many fascinating visual flourishes from director Eagle Egilsson in "Homecoming."
I loved that, in typically Percy fashion, he managed to turn the tables and force Nikita to work with him one last time in escaping Division -- the pair have such a dynamic, antagonistic rapport that it served as a fitting send-off for an iconic character. I'm sure that one of his final lines -- "I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it" -- will keep conspiracy theorists speculating whether he truly was Nikita's birth father, as some suspect. It was also surprisingly touching to see just how affected Roan was by his commander's demise, and I'm glad that he got to go out with a bang (literally) following another stunning fight scene with Alex and Sean.
I was especially pleased with the way writer Carlos Coto toyed with the audience's expectations during the episode. From the outset -- with Sean's attempts to ask Alex out on a real date -- those endearing emotional beats seemed to be positioning Sean as one of the episode's casualties, building up to the possibility of a tragic demise that would serve to motivate Alex next season. There was an undercurrent of tension in all of the pair's scenes together as the possibility of his death loomed -- further played up by Coto's decision to have Alex and Sean split up, to go against every horror movie scenario ever committed to celluloid. Even in their joint fight with Roan, Sean seemed poised to go out in a blaze of glory, defending the woman he loved before tragically dying in her arms. The fact that Coto so knowingly subverted that classic action trope only made the episode more delicious, even if it came at the expense of Roan. And Alex continued the trend of getting her arm broken during dramatic fight scenes; was that the same arm that Nikita broke at the beginning of the season, continuity buffs?
While the episode undoubtedly placed Nikita in a leadership role, it did the same for Ryan, and now that Noah Bean is officially a regular next season, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic evolves between him and Nikita. We saw the mild-mannered analyst truly stepping up to the plate this week; he effortlessly took command of Team Nikita early in the episode, directing Birkhoff and Alex and Sean in their tasks while Nikita and Michael took care of Division. As the team's only trustworthy link to the government left, I'm intrigued to see how Ryan will adjust to straddling the line between answering to the president and looking after Team Nikita's interests.
I was also pleased to see Michael interacting with the Division agents he'd trained when he and Nikita stormed the castle -- even as an "outsider," it was obvious that he found it easy to fall back into old authoritative habits, and Shane West perfectly portrayed Michael's confidence and resolve once he was back on the home field. I wonder if he'll be back to wearing a power suit when we see him next. We had a brief, obscured moment of friction between Michael and Ryan when they were debating Division's future, so I'm curious to see if that will continue next year. When we spoke, West also pointed out that their new living situation is ripe with possibilities for conflict between Nikita and Michael: "They're different; Michael's very conservative and Nikita's very liberal ... When you see how it ends and what their current destiny is going to be, they're going to have different opinions on how to handle the situation." Whether that means trouble for "Mikita," we'll have to wait and see.
Even though she was the show's calm, steely center last season, I think Maggie Q has truly come into her own in Season 2, and it's clear that episodes like the phenomenal "Wrath" have given her new confidence in portraying Nikita, just as the character herself seemed to reach a new level of self-possession after the events of that episode. She has such admirable poise now, clearly buoyed by the support of her team, that I can't wait to see how the character faces next season's challenges. But as thrilling as her rousing speech to the Division personnel was, I think my favorite moment of the episode was her quiet, sunset conversation with Michael regarding their future. It was an understated, but heartfelt moment between two characters who have suffered more than their fair share of heartbreak, and I was impressed by the understated, but potent emotion on Q's face.
That segued into Birkhoff finally getting some action with Sonya (and a welcome cameo from showrunner Craig Silverstein, who could be spotted talking to Ryan in the background) before Nikita effectively ruined yet another romantic moment between Sean and Alex, who really do need to have a proper date over the summer.
Having the finale end where the show began, with Nikita and Alex steeling themselves to change the course of Division's destiny all over again, proved a fitting punctuation mark, while still leaving the door open for more thrilling adventures next season. I, for one, can't wait to see where "Nikita" takes us next.
What did you think of "Homecoming"? Were you glad to see Percy and Roan exit while Team Nikita got to fight on for another day? Share your reactions and predictions for Season 3 below!
"Nikita" returns in the fall with Season 3 on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
WASHINGTON -- CNN's Anderson Cooper, playing on behalf of an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBT youth, won Friday's "Jeopardy!" Power Players, beating New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and NBC's Kelly O'Donnell.
The Trevor Project, Cooper's sponsored charity, won $50,000.
The 2012 Power Players series was taped last month at D.A.R. Constitution Hall in the nation's capital.
It was certainly a star performance by Cooper -- there was even one category titled "A.C."
Despite missing a Daily Double question about James Jones' "From Here to Eternity," Cooper answered a another Daily Double correctly and had a considerable lead heading into Final Jeopardy -- but not a complete runaway.
All three of Friday's Power Players missed the Final Jeopardy question about cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney, though Cooper said he knew the answer was the inventor of the cotton gin but just couldn't think of Whitney's name.
Kelly O'Donnell and Friedman both won $10,000 on behalf of their charities, the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation and Conservation International, respectively.
Who's showed their smarts on Jeopardy's "Power Players Week" episodes?
Tim Goodman 
The Six Pack is a new-school, cutting-edge radio show hosted by DJ Ben Harvey and comedian Dave Rubin. Distributed online and on SiriusXM, the show gives you a weekly dose of hot topics, celebrity guests, and brand new music, all packaged in six convenient parts. Ben and Dave take you on a journey through what's trending now, from news to views to dudes. Previous guests include Joy Behar, Andy Cohen, Fran Drescher, Steve-O, Congressman Barney Frank and many more.
Currently in its third year, The Six Pack is one of the top comedy podcasts on iTunes, with listenership in over 70 countries. Huffington Post Gay Voices will regularly feature episodes of The Six Pack.
Episode #95: "Pulling a Biden"
LISTEN:
Carnie Wilson and Lizz Winstead join us for a very girly edition of The Six Pack. First, Carnie tells us what it was like finding success so early in life, and about the insecurities that still stick with her. She also opens up about her born-again Christian bandmate Chyna Phillips and reveals how she feels about her reality show, Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On.
"There are things I don't like about [the show], but it's the way it is. It's reality TV," Carnie says of her reality TV show. "I hate that they have to make it where people don't want to change the channel. And unfortunately that takes either watching a train wreck or watching somebody get hurt feelings, and that sucks."
Next up, Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead gives us her thoughts on that bully Mitt Romney, and she ain't messing around. Her new book, Lizz Free or Die, also gives us some personal insight into Lizz's own life, including her childhood ambition to be a priest!
Catch The Six Pack Saturdays on SiriusXM OutQ channel 108 from 1 to 3 p.m. EST and as a weekly podcast on iTunes, sixpackradio.com, and now... Huffington Post Gay Voices! Listen to the entire podcast episode here.
Follow The Six Pack on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sixpackradio
Follow Dave Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rubinreport
AfterEllen.com is Logo's site for lesbians and bisexual women in entertainment and media, which means we pride ourselves on knowing all kinds of Sapphic pop-culture facts. Each week we'll share some of the best tidbits on The Huffington Post in our new series, "Best Lesbian Week Ever."
Here's who and what was on our raging gay radar this week.
Kara Laricks wins Fashion Star: Out contestant Kara Laricks was crowned the winner of Fashion Star, an honor that comes along with a $6-million deal with with Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, and H&M. The former schoolteacher told Rolling Stone.com, "The fact that it was me standing in the end is more than I could believe." Who says lesbians have no style?
Photo by Tyler Golden/NBC
New photos from Passion: Brian De Palma is remaking the the French erotic thriller Love Crime, about a powerful executive in a multinational corporation (played by Rachel McAdams) who hires a naïve young assistant (played by Noomi Rapace) and then promptly seduces her into some dangerous "games." Variety reports that Passion is "a return to the style of De Palma's early thrillers, such as Dressed to Kill and Blow Out." New photos released this week have us intrigued, and we're hoping that De Palma's Passion will dare to take the erotic relationship between the two women further than in the original.
Photo courtesy of Integral Film
MMA fighter Jessica Aguilar comes out as bisexual: While prepping for the biggest fight of her career (tonight in Lake Charles, La.) the MMA fighter talked to SportsIllustrated.com about how she discovered the sport and also about going public with her bisexuality. Aguilar said, "It's always been something I had to be very conservative about and it's something I've had to get more comfortable talking about ... If somebody doesn't agree with my choices, with all due respect, I just don't feed into it because that's negative energy. I'm sorry -- this is who I am."
Photo courtesy of JessicaAguilar.com
Ellen DeGeneres awarded the Mark Twain Prize: The Emmy-Award-winning comic and TV host has been named this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. DeGeneres reflected, "It's such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize. To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder ... why didn't I get this sooner?"
Photo Kevin Winter/Getty Images
The Bold and the Beautiful star Joanna Johnson comes out as a lesbian: In an exclusive interview with TV Guide Magazine, the daytime TV star discussed coming out alongside her fictional character, Karen Spencer: "When [executive producer and head writer] Brad Bell called and pitched the story I was kind of thrown. I just said, 'Oh.' And there was this very long pause. Then I said, 'Where'd you get that idea?' He laughed. I laughed. And I said, 'Just make sure you get me a hot wife.' And he did!" Johnson's "hot wife," played by Crystal Chappell, made her debut this week on the show.
Photo by Sean Smith/JPIStudios
Sasha Alexander talks Rizzoli & Isles lesbian subtext: The actress who plays Dr. Maura Isles on TNT's Rizzoli & Isles says that she knows all about the show's subtext-loving lesbian/bi fanbase. In an exclusive interview with AfterEllen.com, Alexander talked about her onscreen chemistry with co-star Angie Harmon and how said fans interpret it. She told us, "What works for me is the fact that regardless what the interpretation is, whether that's a sexual relationship or not, that these are two smart women who are positive role models. Women who are not these catty stereotypical types who are fighting over who looks cuter. The fact that we can dig deeper into a friendship that can have conflict, that can be funny, that can be sexy -- that to me is what I am like with my girlfriends. And I admit there is some boob grabbing going on on set. I am not going to lie and say there is not. And not just her and I, it's all the ladies on set."
Photo courtesy of TNT
If crazy Britney and troubled Demi Lovato don't deserve to be on the X Factor panel, who does? Watch me moan about it.
I started on this difficult topic last week, but Britney Spears and Demi Lovato aren't the first people I'd ask to judge anything. Literally anything. And because the institution of reality television is sacred, it pains me that Britney and Demi have taken up two valuable spots as judges on Simon Cowell's enormous freakshow X Factor. Will Britney burn the whole place down on day one? Will Demi do it and blame it on Britney? (Clever.) The possibilities for despair are endless. The question remains: If these two are wrong for the job, then who's right?
In this week's Weeklings, I tear apart all the other candidates for Simon Cowell's co-anchors. This means Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Sheryl Crow, Paula Abdul, Nelly Furtado, and the Jonas Brothers all come up and go down hard. Scared? Don't be! Unless you're Avril Lavigne.
You can find previous Weeklings episodes here.
The "Glee" Season 3 finale (Tuesday, May 22 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox) will be emotional and that's partly due to Gloria Estefan, who guest stars as Santana's (Naya Rivera) mom Maribel in the season finale. (Take a look at Estefan in her new role in the slideshow below.)
"She needed a supportive mom," Gloria Estefan told TVGuide.com about Santana coming out to her abuela earlier this season, which didn't go well ... at all. "That bugged me."
The season finale sees many members of McKinley High's New Directions prepare to move on as their senior year comes to a close. And that means Santana has to say goodbye to her girlfriend and fellow Cheerio Brittany (Heather Morris).
"For Maribel, the issue is not that her daughter is gay. The issue is that if ... she leaves and the other one doesn't -- how is that going to affect her decision-making?" Estefan told TVGuide.com. "She really wants Santana to be educated and go to college."
Unfortunately, Estefan said she wouldn't be singing this time around. "Hopefully I'll be back," she said. "In a way, I'm happy because once I'm singing, it throws me more into Gloria Estefan-land. You can hear me sing everywhere else." But she does throw around some Santana-esque zingers. "The apple doesn't fall from the tree," Estefan told TVGuide.com with a laugh.
"Glee" star Cory Monteith, who plays Finn, told ET Online earlier that the finale contains "a lot of cliffhangers, but it explains a lot too."
His on-screen (and possibly off-screen) girlfriend Lea Michele, who plays Rachel Berry, echoed his statements previously to ET Online. "It definitely does wrap everything up really nicely and let you know where everybody is going to be heading off to, but it does leave a lot open because a lot of people will be back next year," she said. "It leaves their storylines open to go to lots of different places for next season."
Click over to TVGuide.com for more form Gloria Estefan and click through the slideshow below to see photos from the "Glee" Season 3 finale, which airs Tuesday, May 22 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
Actors Dennis Quaidand Michael Chiklis appeared on CBS This Morning to talk about their new television series, "Vegas," premiering this fall on CBS. Dennis Quaid, making his television debut, will play Sheriff Ralph Lamb, and Michael Chiklis will play his mob boss nemesis in 1960's Las Vegas (maybe the two stars can weigh in on when the spirit of that decade truly ended).
Check out the video above for Quaid and Chiklis on riding horses, the "culture clash" between the old West and the mob, and meeting the real Ralph Lamb.
Truth be told, I haven't watched much of this season's Grey's Anatomy, but I did happen to catch last week's episode, which pretty much caught me up on all that I had missed. Or at least all that I had cared about. When last week's episode ended with our most of our favourite Seattle Grace doctors laying on the ground after the plane they were in crashed, I wasn't surprised. After all, this was the lead-up to a Grey's Anatomy season finale. And Grey's Anatomy season finales were nothing if not dramatic.
If you follow Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes on Twitter you would have known that this was not going to be a sunshine-and-roses type of finale, with Rhimes herself tweeting;
Warning: do not expect to be comforted or happy at end of the GA finale. I wrote it and even I found the ending to be very unsettling.
Uh, unsettling might be a bit of an understatement. The finale juxtaposed the crew that was in the plane crash to the doctors remaining at Seattle Grace, but I'm just going to focus on the plane crash because the rest didn't really matter to me. There are three things I learned while watching last night:
1) No one is safe in a Grey's Anatomy season finale, except for, possibly, MerDer. Rhimes is never afraid to kill off a beloved character (hello, George), so if you thought you were getting out with all your faves intact, surprise! No such luck.
2) Seattle Grace very well might be cursed. From hostage situations to bombs to plane crashes -- as Christina Yang said -- Seattle Grace is cursed and everyone needs to get the hell away. Just once I would love a season finale that wasn't about some kind of trauma-inducing incident. Or would I?
3) Christina Yang is the best damn character on that show, and Sandra Oh is a genius for playing her the way she does. From her constant ramblings about her missing shoe to the best line that was delivered the entire show -- "I've got PTSD so I'm unreliable" -- Christina Yang is the very best part of Grey's Anatomy and the Meredith/Yang relationship is probably the most true friendship on network television.
So, yes, Shonda, last night's episode was unsettling to say the least, but it got me wanting more, and wanting to know what the next season will hold for my favorite Seattle Grace doctors. Which, for someone who spent the better half of the season not caring about the show, is a welcome feeling. Watching last night, I felt like Yang when she said, "How does this keep happening?! How do we keep dying?" I felt like we'd seen it all before, but then I realized that this is when Grey's is the best. This is when Rhimes sucks you in and makes you care so much for the characters that she's created with such artfulness that you find yourself wishing the next few months away so that the season premiere would be here already. Yes, as much as I felt like I'd seen this season finale before, I realized that's how I like my Grey's Anatomy -- tragic, graphic and in crisis. This finale was worth the wait, and I will be back for more in September.
All curmudgeonly doctors must say goodbye sometime, "House" is no exception.
The Fox medical drama is coming to an end after eight years and things at Princeton-Plainsboro will never be the same.
Hugh Laurie wouldn't confirm or deny the rumors that he dies in the finale when he stopped by "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." "Speculation is good," he said. "Uncertainty is good."
Check out the three previews below.
Phillip Phillips -- one of the finalists on "American Idol" -- has been URGED by his personal doctor to get surgery immediately ... but Phillip wants to work through the pain and the risk so he can win next week.
Multiple "Idol" sources tell us ... when Phillip went back home to Georgia last Saturday ... his family doctor spent almost the entire stay by his side and was alarmed by what he saw -- Phillip wasn't eating and looked horrible.
Before the 37th season of "Saturday Night Live" comes to a close this weekend, you can now take a look back at all of the cast members who have graced studio 8H's stages over the years in one convenient infographic.
Aside from the names and photos of every cast member, the graph is peppered with notable sketches and information about the show's rich history. It clears up common misconceptions (like the fact that Steve Martin was never a cast member, just a very frequent host like Alec Baldwin) and contains juicy tidbits, like when and why Frank Zappa and Andy Kaufman were banned.
Take a look at the infographic below and click over to Cable TV to see an enlarged version.
LOOK:
Fox has announced the first wave of Teen Choice Award nominees, with "The Vampire Diaries" on The CW and "American Idol" on Fox leading the pack.
"The Vampire Diaries," starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, earned six nominations, while the singing competition show "American Idol" racked up five.
The CW's "Gossip Girl" also managed to pull in a few nominations, as did Fox's "Fringe" and "Glee."
Check out the full list of Teen Choice Award nominees below and tune into the ceremony, airing live Sunday, July 22 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
TELEVISION
Choice TV Show: Drama
"Bones"
“Gossip Girl”
“Pretty Little Liars”
“Revenge”
"Touch"
Choice TV Actor: Drama
Penn Badgley, “Gossip Girl”
David Boreanaz, "Bones"
Ian Harding, “Pretty Little Liars”
Kiefer Sutherland, "Touch"
Ed Westwick, “Gossip Girl
Choice TV Actress: Drama
Emily Deschanel, "Bones"
Sarah Michelle Gellar, “Ringer”
Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars”
Leighton Meester, “Gossip Girl”
Emily VanCamp, “Revenge”
Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
"Fringe"
“Once Upon a Time”
“Supernatural”
“True Blood”
“The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Jensen Ackles, “Supernatural”
Joshua Jackson, "Fringe"
Jared Padalecki, “Supernatural”
Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”
Paul Wesley, “The Vampire Diaries”
Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”
Ginnifer Goodwin, “Once Upon a Time”
Kat Graham, “The Vampire Diaries”
Anna Paquin, “True Blood”
Anna Torv, "Fringe"
Choice TV Show: Action
“Chuck”
“CSI: Miami”
“Hawaii Five-O”
“NCIS: Los Angeles”
“Nikita”
Choice TV Actor: Action
LL Cool J, “NCIS: Los Angeles”
Daniel Dae Kim, “Hawaii Five-O”
Zachary Levi, “Chuck”
Adam Rodriguez, “CSI: Miami”
Shane West, “Nikita”
Choice TV Actress: Action
Lyndsy Fonseca, “Nikita”
Linda Hunt, “NCIS: Los Angeles”
Grace Park, “Hawaii Five-O”
Maggie Q, “Nikita”
Yvonne Strahovski, “Chuck”
Choice TV Show: Comedy
“2 Broke Girls”
“The Big Bang Theory”
"Glee"
“Modern Family”
"New Girl"
Choice TV Actor: Comedy
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
Chris Colfer, GLEE
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Ashton Kutcher, “Two And a Half Men”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Choice TV Actress: Comedy
Miranda Cosgrove, “iCarly”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Big Bang Theory”
Zooey Deschanel, NEW GIRL
Lea Michele, GLEE
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Choice TV: Animated Show
“Beavis and Butt-head”
"Bob's Burgers"
"Family Guy"
“Robot Chicken”
"The Simpsons"
Choice TV: Male Personality
Nick Cannon, “America's Got Talent”
Simon Cowell, "The X Factor"
Cee Lo Green, “The Voice”
Gordon Ramsay, "Hell's Kitchen"
Steven Tyler, "American Idol"
Choice TV: Female Personality
Christina Aguilera, “The Voice”
Tyra Banks, “America's Next Top Model”
Carrie Ann Inaba, “Dancing With The Stars”
Jennifer Lopez, "American Idol"
Jessica Simpson, “Fashion Star”
Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
"American Idol"
“America's Next Top Model”
“Survivor: One World”
“The Voice”
"The X Factor"
Choice TV: Reality Show
“Dance Moms”
“Jersey Shore”
“Keeping Up With The Kardashians”
“Punk'd”
“Tia & Tamera”
Choice TV: Male Reality Star
Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, “Jersey Shore” and “The Pauly D Project”
Rob Dyrdek, “Fantasy Factory” and “Ridiculousness”
William Levy, “Dancing With The Stars”
Scotty McCreery, "American Idol"
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, “Jersey Shore”
Choice TV: Female Reality Star
Lauren Alaina, "American Idol"
Melanie Amaro, "The X Factor"
The Kardashians, “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”
Tia & Tamera Mowry, “Tia & Tamera”
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, “Jersey Shore”
MOVIES
Choice Movie: Action
“Abduction”
“Act of Valor”
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
“Red Tails”
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
Choice Movie Actor: Action
Tom Cruise, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
Robert Downey, Jr., “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
Tom Hardy, “Warrior”
Taylor Lautner, “Abduction”
Logan Lerman, “The Three Musketeers”
Choice Movie Actress: Action
Salma Hayek, “Puss in Boots”
Milla Jovovich, “The Three Musketeers”
Paula Patton, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”
Noomi Rapace, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
Zoe Saldana, “Colombiana”
Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
“The Avengers”
“The Hunger Games”
“Mirror Mirror”
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”
“Wrath of the Titans”
Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Robert Downey, Jr., “The Avengers”
Chris Hemsworth, “The Avengers”
Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games” and “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”
Taylor Lautner, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”
Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”
Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Lily Collins, “Mirror Mirror”
Vanessa Hudgens, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”
Scarlett Johansson, “The Avengers”
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games”
Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”
Choice Movie: Drama
“Drive”
“The Help”
“The Lucky One”
“The Vow”
“We Bought a Zoo”
Choice Movie Actor: Drama
Matt Damon, “We Bought a Zoo”
Zac Efron, “The Lucky One”
Ryan Gosling, “Drive”
Channing Tatum, “The Vow”
Justin Timberlake, “In Time”
Choice Movie Actress: Drama
Sandra Bullock, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Scarlett Johansson, “We Bought a Zoo”
Rachel McAdams, “The Vow”
Emma Stone, “The Help”
Choice Movie: Comedy
“21 Jump Street”
“American Reunion”
“Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
“The Muppets”
“What to Expect When You're Expecting”
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy
Jason Biggs, “American Reunion”
Ryan Gosling, “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
Jonah Hill, “21 Jump Street”
Chris Rock, “What to Expect When You're Expecting”
Channing Tatum, “21 Jump Street”
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Cameron Diaz, “What to Expect When You're Expecting”
Alyson Hannigan, “American Reunion”
Jennifer Lopez, “What to Expect When You're Expecting”
Emma Stone, “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
Reese Witherspoon, “This Means War”
MUSIC
Choice Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
Bruno Mars
Pitbull
Blake Shelton
Choice Female Artist
Adele
Jennifer Lopez
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Choice Music Group
Selena Gomez & The Scene
Gym Class Heroes
Lady Antebellum
LMFAO
The Wanted
Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist
Beyonce
Flo Rida
Nicki Minaj
Pitbull
Kanye West
Choice Rock Group
The Black Keys
Foo Fighters
Foster The People
Linkin Park
Choice Rock Song
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys
“Paradise,” Coldplay
“Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster The People
“We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know,” Gotye featuring Kimbra
Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist
DeadMau5
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Kaskade
Skrillex
Choice Single by a Group
“We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
“Hit The Lights,” Selena Gomez & The Scene
“Ass Back Home,” Gym Class Heroes featuring Neon Hitch
“Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock
“Moves Like Jagger,” Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
Choice Single by a Female Artist
“Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele
“Stronger,” Kelly Clarkson
“Dance Again,” Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull
“Part of Me,” Katy Perry
“Eyes Open,” Taylor Swift
Choice Single by a Male Artist
“Boyfriend,” Justin Bieber
“Take Care,” Drake featuring Rihanna
“Good Feeling,” Flo Rida
“It Will Rain,” Bruno Mars
“Give Me Everything (Tonight),” Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, AfroJack & Nayer
Choice Male Country Artist
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Hunter Hayes
Scotty McCreery
Blake Shelton
Choice Female Country Artist
Lauren Alaina
Miranda Lambert
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song
“Love on Top,” Beyonce
“Take Care,” Drake featuring Rihanna
“Wild Ones,” Flo Rida featuring Sia
“Without You,” David Guetta featuring Usher
“Starships,” Nicki Minaj
Choice Country Song
“Tattoos on This Town,” Jason Aldean
“Crazy Girl,” Eli Young Band
“Storm Warning,” Hunter Hayes
“God Gave Me You,” Blake Shelton
“Sparks Fly,” Taylor Swift
Choice Country Group
The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
Thompson Square
FASHION
Choice Fashion Icon: Female
Miley Cyrus
Zooey Deschanel
Jennifer Lopez
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Choice Fashion Icon: Male
Justin Bieber
Chris Colfer
Cee Lo Green
Justin Timberlake
will.i.am
Choice Female Hottie
Miley Cyrus
Selena Gomez
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Kate Upton
Choice Male Hottie
Justin Bieber
Ryan Gosling
Liam Hemsworth
Robert Pattinson
Ian Somerhalder
SPORTS
Choice Female Athlete
Kelly Clark (Snowboarding)
Maria Sharapova (Tennis)
Hope Solo (Soccer)
Lindsey Vonn (Skiing)
Serena Williams (Tennis)
Choice Male Athlete
David Beckham (Soccer)
Kobe Bryant (Basketball)
Albert Pujols (Baseball)
Tim Tebow (Football)
Shaun White (Snowboarding/Skateboarding/Surfing)
OTHER
Choice Book
“The Hunger Games” trilogy, Suzanne Collins
“The Giver,” Lois Lowry
“The Twilight Saga,” Stephenie Meyer
“Divergent” trilogy, Veronica Roth
“The Lucky One,” Nicholas Sparks
Choice Comedian
Ellen DeGeneres
Jimmy Fallon
Andy Samberg
Daniel Tosh
Kristen Wiig
Choice Twit
Justin Bieber
Miley Cyrus
Jimmy Fallon
Demi Lovato
Ryan Seacrest
Tune in to the 2012 Teen Choice Awards airing on Sunday, July 22 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
» read the full story and comment, or find the latest news about So You Think You Can Dance
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I never would have guessed last week that I would be writing about Desperate Housewives. In fact, when the show exploded in its first season, I told a reporter that I thought it had a short shelf-life. Mea Culpa! Although I was a fan from the beginning, slogging through seasons even the show's creator wanted to erase (lest we not forget the season they skipped ahead years to abandon failed story lines) -- my interest finally dwindled towards the end. On occasional Sunday nights I found myself watching Chopped Champions and I opted for the Survivor finale last Sunday, only flipping to Desperate Housewives during the commercials. However, I watched the last scene in full and I can't get it out of my mind; it was the antithesis of Sex and the City and made me long for Carrie and gang.
Here's a recap of the ending: the four friends (original cast members) play one last female bonding game of poker. They talk about their friendship and how they'll get together to play again no matter where life takes them. Then the narrator, their friend Mary Alice who committed suicide in the first episode, reveals that there will be no future poker game. The women all leave Wysteria Lane and start anew. We are then treated to flash-forwards of three of the characters -- all of whom are given fantasy futures. Lynette, reunited with her estranged husband after a season spent plotting and demeaning herself to 'win him back' (their marriage was troubled for the entire series and as a viewer I wished for years that they would divorce). She goes from stay-at-home mom to CEO when she moves to New York where she grows old amidst her kids and grandkids. Gabby and her husband move as he transforms her from a personal shopper into a boutique owner and their tempestuous marriage continues (despite the infidelity and other persistent issues in their marriage). Bree re-marries, yet again, and moves away to embark on a new career in politics. Susan is the only of the four original housewives not to receive a flash-forward. Recently widowed, Susan is not in a romantic relationship and thus we are denied a glimpse into her future. I guess without a man, the creator couldn't even imagine her future. It's sad, really, that a show about female friends so close they've gone through the birth of children, divorce, depression, alcoholism, infidelity, childhood abuse, suicide attempts and even covering up a murder together, ended by annihilating the bonds between these women in favor of futures focused on dysfunctional or new relationships with men. And then of course there's poor Susan, the original star of the show, whose future can't even be imagined.
Now of course the show has always been a satirical soap opera based on fantasy, exaggeration and melodrama and is certainly not expected to leave us with any 'positive' message. Nevertheless, after eight seasons of intense female friendship, heightened towards the end of the series, the flash-forward sequence was, for me, far from the fantasy the creator clearly intended. While years earlier the Sex and the City foursome all ended in romantic relationships (an error corrected in the first movie), there was no sense the friendships were diminished -- just the opposite.
After eight years of seeing the Desperate Housewives evolve from caricatures into characters, I was disheartened to learn they let their friendships fall away. Having said that, just this morning my husband and I were chatting about an upcoming work trip I'm going on to San Francisco. My husband asked if I was planning to extend the trip to visit my best and oldest friend Ally, in Los Angeles. I told him there wasn't time because I had to get back to Boston for work, our daughter and other obligations. Between work, spousal and parental obligations, as well as the expense of air travel, it's been years since I've visited Ally and I don't anticipate a trip in near future. Perhaps the conclusion of Desperate Housewives wasn't disheartening because individual families were privileged over the deepest of friendships, but because in the final scene, the totally unreal fantasy became believable.
Judge Judy Sheinlan has never shy about voicing her opinions, and Friday on "The View," (weekdays on ABC) she spoke out in support of gay marriage.
After telling the ladies that one of the most heart-warming marriages she'd ever presided over was between a gay couple, she declared herself an advocate for marriage equality. "If you're a good citizen, if you pay your taxes, if you work, you should have all the rights and responsibilities of everybody else," she stated.
It's not the first time Judge Judy has spoken out in favor of gay marriage. In 2009, when Proposition 8 was on the ballot in California, she expressed similar sentiments to Larry King. "We've got a lot of trouble in this country ... Why the state should be interested in proscribing the word marriage from two people who love each other, who are responsible tax-paying productive people who have created a family ... why the state would have an interest in proscribing that kind of conduct, I don't understand ... I don't understand the preoccupation with gays being permitted to marry."
Judge Judy also made a contrasting point about Nadya Suleman, known as the 'Octomom,' emphasizing that the issue should be viewed through the lens of personal responsibility. "I have an issue with anyone who has children who they can't take care of. You don't make somebody like that a celebrity to begin with."
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