It’s been awhile since we’ve posted here, but I’m back to watching tv so I might as well share some thoughts on what I’ve been watching. I’ll start with what I consider the most frustrating new show of the season, “Fringe” by Lost creator J.J. Abrams.

I keep watching it, convinced that it really should be good, but each episode it disappoints me.  The premise of the show is that stange, unexplainable things, referred to as “the Pattern”, are happening (although only around Boston, it seems). These involve mind-reading, flesh-melting viruses by clones, and strange super-fast ageing babies. (Seriously, I couldn’t make this up on my own).  Called in to assist is super-special FBI Agent and quiet talker Olivia Dunham, assisted by crazy old scientist Dr. Walter Bishop (who, as far as I can tell is actually responsible for developing all of these twisted phemenona - Nuremberg Code anyone?).  Assisting Olivia in dealing with his mad scientist father, and providing a slight bit of sexual tension, is Peter Bishop, played by good old Pacey from Dawson’s Creek, a.k.a. Joshua Jackson.  Rounding out the cast is Olivia’s boss, played by The Wire’s Lance Reddick.

So it has a relatively good cast, good creator pedigree - why does it kind of suck?  There’s an overarching “bad coorporation is at the root of everything theme”, but J.J. Abrams has said he doesn’t want to make Fringe the type of show that has to be watched from every episode.  He wants each episode to be “complex and accessible”.  The result, in my books, is a show where you want to know more about the overarching theme, but they spend the first 15 minutes of each episode recapping it, then they offer you a very very tiny piece of it at the end.  Completely unsatisfying.  Am I being too hard on it?  It just doesn’t strike me as quite as smart as it thinks it is.

I finally caught “Legally Blonde: Search for the new Elle Woods” on MTV last night.

This show is great!

(Photo: MTV)

A la “Grease: You’re the One That I Want,” the reality show seeks to cast one unknown aspiring actress in the leading role in Broadway’s “Legally Blonde: The Musical.”

Now this is a reality show! Taking a page straight out of the “America’s Next Top Supermodel” book, there are 10 hopefuls living together in close quarters in Manhattan, snarky judges who freely say what they don’t like about the contestants in vague, baseless claims (”I just don’t get an ‘Elle’ feeling from her.”), assignment sheets slipped under the apartment door, and PINK outfits galore.

The show is marginally “hosted” by “Broadway star (???)” Hayley Duff. You may know her as the older and less impressive sibling of Hilary Duff.  She looks like a giant grain of rice (bland and narrow) as she vamps into the apartment and gives the girls their next challenge.

Some nifty contestants too. Best of all is a girl named Lauren who looks like a combination of Britney Spears, Miss Piggy, and Mrs. Garrett from “The Facts of Life.”

Watch it! It’s the best thing going until “Entourage” comes back.

Here’s a pic of Rachel Bilson of The OC wearing a blonde wig for her role in “New York, I Love You” (currently filming).  Do you like it or hate it???

(source)

Okay, a little late on this bit of news, but as you may know, the Writer’s Strike was brought to an end last week. Hooray! What was the cost of the strike (besides our unquantifiable suffering at the mercy of unspeakable reality shows)?

As of Tuesday afternoon, a running tally by the producers’ alliance estimated that the walkout had cost writers about $285 million in lost wages and had cost workers in other film unions nearly $500 million.

It’s hard to get a sense of whether one side actually ‘won’, but my general opinion on any settled labor actions or when cutting a piece of cake: if both sides think they lost, it probably was fair. For a nice recap of the various strike-related stories, go to the NYTimes here.

But now to the important matter at hand: What’s happened to the shows?

It’s a mixed bag: Some shows aren’t coming back until next season, others will see a limited run.

For NBC, “Chuck”, “Life” and “Heroes” are renewed, but won’t come back until next season. “My Name is Earl”, “The Office”, “30 Rock” and “Scrubs” will have new episodes starting in April.

Most CBS shows are coming back for a limited run in March, including “How I Met Your Mother” for 9 episodes starting March 19th and all those CSI shows starting in April. For complete roundup see this blog post by a reviewer named Alan Sepinwall (which by the way, is an excellent tv blog).

At Fox, “24″ is going to be delayed until 2009. Arrgh. I was excited for this season - apparently they actually move the show out of L.A.! Their rationale is that fans want to see the season uninterrupted. I guess that makes sense. While “House” (Apr. 28), “Family Guy”, “Bones” (Apr. 14) and “The Simpsons” are being rushed back into production.

And at ABC, “Lost” has six episodes taped, and will do a shorterned season of 11 total this year. While “Pushing Daisies” won’t be coming back this year, but it has been renewed for next fall.

For a complete list (or as complete as I could find), click here.

And a final note: NBC has announced that it is moving to a 52 week schedule. This seems…well…smart? Doesn’t it? I’ve never quite understood why new shows end in May. People still watch tv in the summer, right? Maybe I’m missing something. In any case, welcome back writers!

Here’s LC and Audrina going out on V-day. Like the new haircut LC!

(Photo source: Pacific Coast News)

And here’s Heidi and Spencer in what can only be described as a Valentine’s Day PHOTO SHOOT in Marina Del Ray. I mean, this is so staged it makes me wanna puke. Check out the unlit candle. Who has a candle on the top deck of a boat???

(source: Socialites Life)

I can’t imagine that either knows how to sail. Jimmy Choos, Cristal, and a jerk. What more could she want?