Michael Jackson’s still making news, this time ensuring that his death was a tragedy. The official report out of the LA coroner’s office was that Jackson’s death was a homicide, brought on by the mixture of drugs he was being prescribed for his sleep disorder. So he very well may not have been too frail for those London concerts … but we’ll never know.

• In related news, A&E is going forward with the Jackson family reality show. Exploitation or honor? You decide!
• The passing of Ted Kennedy brought all kinds of specials honoring this last of the dynasty. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been following along at home — and if you count yourself as a Whedon fan, you have — you must be aware of the guest cast that is coming for season two of Dollhouse. We had already heard about Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica), Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica), and Alexis Denisof (Angel). The latest news is that Summer Glau (Terminator: TSCC) will be joining the show in a recurring role. That’s all great and I’m looking forward to seeing all of them. But then, I’m a Whedon fan from way back, and already sold on the show. The more troubling question is whether or not this list of guest stars is going to do anything to increase awareness of the show for those that don’t already watch. Read the rest of this entry »

Ghost Whisperer is one of those shows that’s pretty episodic. For the most part, you can come and go as you please, and you won’t be too lost. Unless you try to understand what’s going on with Jim/Sam. That one’s a bit of a headache even for people who watch it every week.

But what they’ve been doing of late is even more annoying. Rather than have any real character growth and development and progress within the context of each weeks’ stories, they’ve just tacked on these scenes at the end to take care of that for you. Last week, after the ghost went into the light, we got “Oh my god, I’m pregnant!” in an unconnected epilogue. This week, we got another major development the same way.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a bit of a tough week in the Dollhouse. The fifth round in the Friday night battle, “True Believer,” actually had a lot going for it. We got another good look at how management looks at the actives, some new questions about the wiping procedure, confirmation of a villain among the villains, an explanation about how the Dollhouse stays under the radar, and an engagement that made sense for Echo to be involved in. Unfortunately, all that good stuff was wrapped up in a rather dull and dated rehash of the Waco story. Not the worst idea ever, unless you are a show desperate to attract, and retain, every last viewer you can. Read the rest of this entry »

Dollhouse had its big premiere Friday night, and laid the groundwork for a whole host of mysteries. We’re going to have to wait to find out just what Caroline did that left becoming an active as her only option, where Dr. Saunders got those scars, what the backstory on Alpha is, how Boyd ended up working for criminals, and why Ballard is so obsessed. We did get the answer to one big mystery though… Thong.

Seriously, that’s not a dress. That’s a frilly t-shirt. And it left me wondering, did they take the T&A too far? Read the rest of this entry »

I imagine that the big event for the average TV viewer this week was probably the premiere of Survivor, or maybe the kickoff to the NASCAR season, if you swing that way (CliqueClack doesn’t judge). But if you are taking time out of your day to visit us here at CliqueClack, you’re no average viewer. You are one of those internet people. And if we know one thing about internet people, they love them some Joss Whedon. So, for our purposes here, the big event of the week is most definitely the premiere of Dollhouse.

The show hasn’t even launched yet, but it’s already such an interesting story: re-tooled pilot, script issues, naked Eliza Dushku promo pics, production shutdown, Grindhouse trailer, moved from Monday to Friday, and from being paired with 24 to being paired with Terminator:TSCC. Early reviews are all over the map, and Whedon’s history with Fox just adds fuel to the fire. What will it all mean when the ratings come in? With all that in mind, a poll seems to be in order. Read the rest of this entry »

(2/1 – 2/7)

Turns out, not much. If you watched the big game, you couldn’t have missed the heavy promotion for the new NBC Monday. Chuck, Heroes, and Medium all got plenty of exposure. There was even a song and dance number. The Office got its fair share as well, with the bonus of being the show that followed the game. At the end of the day though, throwing those ads at 98 million sets of eyeballs didn’t bring the ratings that the network was looking for. Read the rest of this entry »