pop cultured

Hills alum Whitney Port’s new series, The City, debuted on MTV this week. So how did it rate?

I personally like Whitney—more than the other Hills girls. But I feel for her in New York. She looks a little sad so far, her boyfriend Jay may or may not be a cad, and who is this Olivia Socialite person? Is she trying to be mean or does she actually like Whitney? I can’t tell yet.

The opening montage of the show looks like it’s straight out of Sex and the City, and one magazine even dubbed Whit  “the new Carrie Bradshaw’.

We’ll see if that’s the case. But after a double shot of episodes on Monday night, I’m sure this show will be a hit. With its New York city backdrop, The City is a refreshing change from The Hills and Laguna and Whitney definitely holds her own as the show’s lead.

As we approach the new year, my thoughts always turn to possible  New Year’s resolutions, the most common one being losing weight.  Back in the early 90’s. I was mesmerized by buzz-cut blonde fitness guru Susan Powter. Do you remember her “Eat –Breathe- Move” regimen? And her infomercials? I read a few of her books and I found her to be motivating, albeit a tad loud and maybe sorta tacky(okay, more than maybe).

Still, whatever happened to the author of “Stop the Insanity” and “”Pocket Powter”?  Apparently she’s still kicking around, still working on motivating women to get fit.  Although today she is significantly less famous than she was 15 years ago, her most recent book is called “The Politics of Stupid” and she is still dispensing advice via her over-the-top website, www.susanpowteronline.com.

I guess with all the excitement of Christmas I forgot to post about this. Last Monday’s season finale of MTV’s The Hills saw Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt face the fallout from their quickie Mexican wedding. Apparently the wedding in Mexico wasn’t legal- no surprise there- so Heidi had  a heart to heart chat with her broken hearted mother before heading off to the L.A. courthouse to make it official.

But something happened on the way to the courthouse. Spencer got a conscience, I guess. The couple decided to wait and plan the big wedding of Heidi’s dreams. So after all the media frenzy over this, Heidi and Spencer are officially NOT married. And technically never were!

The finale episode also featured an awkward reunion between Heidi and Lauren Conrad. They even hugged. Although they aren’t best friends again, at least they were cordial to each other. And all this aired just 2 days before Christmas—doesn’t it make you feel all warm and Christmassy inside?

New episodes of The Hills will air this Spring.

I know Christmas is over, but I just can’t let it go. To keep myself in the mood, I watched my favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, last night. Every time I watch it I notice something new.

I was curious about the scene in Martini’s bar on Christmas Eve. George is despondent and asking God to show him the way, and you can hear an Italian song playing in the background.

 I did a little research and found that the song is called “Vieni, Vieni”. A little more research turned up another fun fact: the a cappella vocals on that song were sung by Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Disney’s original Snow White (from 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).

 Caselotti was never able to fully enjoy her success as Snow White though, since Disney wouldn’t allow her to use her “Snow “voice anywhere else. Apparently they didn’t want the illusion of Snow White spoiled.  So after “Snow White”, Caselotti stuck to mostly uncredited voice and extra work, including her brief stint on “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

So there you have it. Something about “It’s a Wonderful Life” that you probably didn’t know.  I know you already know that Alfalfa was in it.

I love Christmas break, but what I don’t love is the lull in the TV programming. I can get through the month of December with all of the wonderful Christmas programming—in fact, I love it! But come December 26^th, even that disappears and all we’re left with are reruns (even on the live morning talk shows!). And all of my favorite reality shows have ended. No Survivor. No more The Hills.

Thankfully, January brings a new batch of reality programming.  So what can you look forward to for the New Year?

The Bachelor (ABC).  The latest installment features hunky single dad Jason Mesnick, whose heart was broken by that meanie Deanna Pappas. She’s single again now too, so karma!

American Idol (FOX). Join Simon, Randy, and Paula as they welcome a fourth judge to the show. Sources say that songwriter Kara DioGuardi will add a new dynamic to the show. Plus, after Paula’s been running her mouth to Barbara Walters about how stressful it is to work at Idol, it will be interesting to see if Simon even speaks to her!

The City (MTV). The Hills is on hiatus, but now Hills beauty Whitney Port has her own reality series—in New York City!  I’m looking forward to this one, as I think Whitney is the most polished and interesting Hills alum.

I wouldn’t normally think of the show “Grey’s Anatomy” when I think of Christmas, but the 2005 episode “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” ranks up there as one of my favorite television Christmas episodes of all time (I even have this episode on my IPod).

The whole team at Seattle Grace Hospital is pretty much in a Scroogey mood. Except for Izzie, that is. The opening scene of this episode features her decorating a gigantic Christmas tree, to the tune of Nat King Cole’s “A Christmas Song”.

There are several pivotal scenes in this episode. Derrick (Patrick Dempsey) is having a hard time adjusting to the holiday season, even though he is newly reconciled with his wife, Addison (Kate Walsh).

Alex (Justin Chambers) has to retake one of his medical exams, and he’s not motivated to study, until he gets support from an unexpected friend.

Yang (Cristina Oh) and Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) get into a tiff over his religious beliefs.

But it’s the final scene (and the music in this episode) that gets me the most.

When Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) walks in her living room and sees Izzie and George laying under the Christmas tree,  just looking up, she asks them what they are doing.

“Lights.” Izzie replies dreamily. 

And then Meredith joins them too.

Photo Credit: ABC

One of my favorite episodes of Happy Days is the 1974 Christmas episode, titled “Guess Who’s Coming to Christmas”. Fonzie, played by Henry Winkler, tells the gang that he has big plans with his family for Christmas. But on Christmas Eve, Richie finds him spending a lonely evening at the automotive repair shop. Richie invites him to spend Christmas with his family and Fonzie reluctantly agrees, but still insists that he has to head out of town.

Instead, Fonzie completely takes over the Cunningham Christmas traditions. From where to put the tree, to the annual reading of “T’was the Night Before Christmas”, Fonzie runs the show. When Fonzie ends up getting snowed in at the Cunningham’s house, it ends up being a Merry Christmas for them all.

The final show in my favorite trio of Rankin-Bass specials (along side “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, this one first aired in 1974. “The Year Without a Santa Claus” was a stop-motion special about the year that Santa was too sick to trek around the world and deliver presents.

The voice of Santa Claus was Mickey Rooney and his wife, Mrs. Claus, was voiced by the delightful Shirley Booth—that alone was enough to give this special some real star power.

But what was most memorable about this story? A duo of dueling brothers— Heat Miser and the Snow Miser, sons of Mother Nature. Their angry songs “I’m Mr. Heat Miser” and “I’m Mr. Snow Miser” have become pop culture classics and have turned them into Christmas icons.

It’s been a tradition for 9 years. TVLand, one of my favorite television networks, offers up a hefty serving of Christmas-themed episodes during their annual Merrython. Starting on Christmas Eve and all day Christmas Day, TVLand will air holiday episodes of some of its most popular shows.

This year’s lineup includes episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie, the Jefferson’s, the Cosby Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Scrubs, Green Acres and more.

I love having the Merrython on in the background during Christmas. It’s a fun way to catch your favorite television characters having a little holiday cheer.

Here is the complete lineup of the 2008 Merrython. Some of the episode numbers are listed as well:

Wednesday, December 24^th- Christmas Eve: 

4:00pm Gunsmoke 146

5:00pm Sanford and Son 104

5:30pm-7:00pm Good Times

7:00pm-8:00pm All In The Family

8:00pm-9:00pm The Jeffersons

9:00pm-10:00pm The Cosby Show

10:00pm Scrubs

10:30pm 3RD Rock

11:00pm-12:00AM The Cosby Show

12:00AM Little House On The Prairie 15

1:00AM The Brady Bunch 12

1:30AM The Andy Griffith Show 11

2:00AM-5:00AM The Beverly Hillbillies 13,14,50,153,211,212

 Thursday, December 25- Christmas Day: 

7:00AM-8:00AM M*A*S*H*

8:00AM-9:00AM All In The Family

9:00AM-10:30AM The Jeffersons

10:30AM-12:00PM Good Times

12:00pm Sanford and Son

12:30pm-3:30pm Beverly Hillbillies 13,14,50,153,211,212

3:30pm Green Acres 46

4:00pm Gunsmoke 146

5:00pm The Brady Bunch 12

5:30pm The Andy Griffith Show 11

6:00pm Little House On The Prairie 167

7:00pm-8:30pm The Beverly Hillbillies 153,211,212

8:30pm Three’s Company 20

9:00pm Scrubs 111

9:30pm 3RD ROCK

10:00pm The Cosby Show

10:30pm Scrubs

11:00pm 3RD ROCK

11:30pm The Cosby Show

12:00AM-1:00AM M*A*S*H*

1:00AM Green Acres 46

1:30AM Three’s Company 20

2:00AM-3:00AM Designing Woman

3:00AM-4:00AM Murphy Brown

 4:00AM-5:00AM Night Court

I first caught the remake of “the movie “A Holiday Affair” in the mid- 1990’s. It starred Cynthia Gibbs and  the handsome David James Elliot.  Tom Irwin was in it too, whom I recognized and liked as the dad from “My So Called Life”.  So I watched this TV movie once and pretty much forgot about it.

A few years later I wondered about it again. I remembered the movie’s theme centered around a train. I kept thinking it was called “The Holiday Train” or something. I wanted to track it down and rewatch it, but I just couldn’t remember the name.

Then, last Christmas Eve as I was wrapping some last minute gifts with the TV on in the background, on came the original version of this film on TCM, starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. So I watched that 1949 version that night—and  now  that I know the name of the movie, I have the 1996 version on tap to DVR this year.