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Leighton Meester Gossip Girl

Leighton Meester On Set Of "Gossip Girl" In Paris Actress Leighton Meester is seen on the set of "Gossip Girl" in Paris, France dated July 5, 2010.

Blimey. The shop's ain't half busy. I've been barged, poked, prodded, rudely moved aside, felt up, molested, sneezed on (ew. What happened to catch it, bin it, kill it?!), boob-bashed, growled at, hissed at, talked about on a phone loudly, cock-blocked and eye-stuck (by an errant baby's podgy fingers)! All while standing innocently in HMV fingering Gavin and Stacey (series 3 out already on dvd before it's even finished on tv)...(this was almost as bad as my festive "people" experiences from a few years back!) Anyway, back to the safety of armchair shopping, my gaze fell upon the quite exquisite looking Harry Potter Ultimate Collector Editions for films one and two. Only out in the states so far, but I'm there Christmas Day and have "multi regional" capabilities. I'm ever so excited about this development. Nearly as excited as Hogwarts opening at Universal next year. Oh how I adore Christmas cashing in when it's things I like (I note that as predicted last year, Mamma Mia is now out in a 2 disc edition)... On with the post!

CHRISTMAS FUTURE:

God bless Kylie Minogue. She really is quite smashing isn't she? Sure, everyone and his dog (including me) had an opinion on what should have been on X, what should have been a single from X and how it would have been more massive - but that's only because people care and just adore her. And fresh from her triumphant US tour (ooo that was a bit press releasy wasn't it!), she has quickly put together a live download package of every single blooming song she performed. And if that wasn't glorious enough, there are 3 new Steve Anderson studio versions of some her funkiest numbers - including Speakerphone 2009, (stream here). It's been wonderfully reswizzled and sounds ultra modern, seductive and sleek. Not only does it sound like it would work wonderfully as a live set piece, it works as a stomping dance number which is bound to get my annual festive bash pumping a week on Saturday :) Plus, I'm absolutely dying to hear Steve's new production of Light Years - from one of my favourite albums of the millenium... You can stream the album on Kylie's youtube from Sunday 12th and buy it from the 14th. Oh and if you are feeling particularly rich, there is a paperback version of the glorious coffee table tome Kylie by William Baker out now (£85!!!!). It's all so Gossip Girl Wealth Level Secret Santa Tastic!

CHRISTMAS PRESENT:

Talking of Gossip Girl (you might think I just throw these posts together randomly and often I do. Just sometimes I'm able to segue quite nicely and make it look planned), Leighton Meester aka ice queen of Manhatten Blair Waldorf has released quite a surprisingly rich and enjoyable version of Christmsa (Baby Please Come Home). I really like the tone of Leighton's voice on the song and the arrangement works really well for her. Surely there must be an opportunity for an all musical gossip girl where she sings this to Chuck "I look like i'd be absolutely filthy in the sack" Bass. That would please me very much indeed. Actually it's such a beloved Christmas fave, that I was worried that she would piss all over it, but no it's come out quite lovely. Phew.

CHRISTMAS PAST:

My god, how often have I written about the Barenaked Ladies singing the simply fantastic Elf's Lament (with Michael Buble)? The answer is every year since 2006, so apologies if you have been reading this blog since then, but you are going to have to put up with it once more. You know what Gregory Maguire did with Wicked - where he totally spun the world of Oz on it's head? Well that is what the Ladies have done in this song - taken our deeply ingrained image of happy little elves beavering (titter) away for the good of the world and given it an "up the union" type slant. Maybe working conditions aren't so great. Maybe the pay isn't as wonderful as it should be. Maybe the job satisfaction is minimal. It's all addressed here, with some grand harmonies, a kicking chorus and an infinitely catchy hook. And despite it being a good old moan (albeit with a slight wink), it certainly is one of the perkiest and upbeat (musically) Christmas songs of recent years. Quite simply marvelous.

CHRISTMAS MOVIE:

Well it's not a Christmas movie at all, but it does have a rather brilliant festive break in the middle of it. Mean Girls is one of those ace films I can watch almost anytime over and over again and be utterly entertained. The clip above alone is worth your time if you haven't seen it before - Lindsay, Claudia Party of 5, the dead one from Veronica Mars and uh, another one basically do a really slutty version of Jingle Bell Rock. In two mins they cram in so many comedy moments - the desperate to be young mom choreographing the whoreathon, the parents faces at the moment of ass slappage, the kicking of the cd player into the jock boyfriend's face - all leading to a lovely heartwarming singalong. Altogether now... "what a bright time, it's the right time..." No? Boo you whores :)

Hello everyone. Time for the mid week update special - purely because the US tv "season" has come to a close, and seeing as I watch so much of it I should probably do some sort of wrap up! As I do this, I am of course listening to Hotel Rival's Second Best To None (a-freaking-gain) purely because it is almost a pilot for a tv show itself. And if not then it is probably the ideal x factor finalists charity single for November (and so much better than a cover of Hero, n'est pas?). Anyway, as I so often do, I digress. So what of this tv "season"? Well at least it was more consistent than the strike-ridden last season, which I still hold responsible for killing (or at least gravely wounding) one of my favourite shows. So here is a brief run down of what shone, what stunk and everything in between...

SPECIAL MENTION:

Of course I have to mention my fave tv movie this season - Spectacular. Entirely enjoyable from start to finish and completely responsible for my current obsession of youtubing show choir versions of pop songs. And of course it featured Simon Curtis singing away in gold lame. What's not to love?! And while I (im)patiently wait for Spec2, there was quite an amusing episode of Hannah Montana this week featuring Simon. Now, despite loving See You Again and 7 Things, I've never taken the time to watch anything HanMontan, but for Simon i made an exception - I was surprised by actually how amusing (in a Saved By The Bell sort of way) the show is. The main scene that features Miley lusting after Simon is quite delightfully OTT, particularly when things start reminding Simon's character of his ex. Jenny! Artichoke Dip!! Check it out if you can :)

Shows that have lost their shine ~ I'm almost done with some of my old favourites. It's lucky that Prison Break finished this year (although a 2 hour wrap up movie has it's world premiere on Sky tv next week!) - i mean it was always a bit bonkers and illogical, but the third and fourth season really just took the piss. Ace for high octane thrills, rubbish if you wanted anything to make sense. And by god but Heroes and Ugly Betty became virtually unwatchable this year. Heroes may have won me back with the re-addition of Bryan "Pushing Daisies" Fuller and an interesting finale, but i think I'm dunzo with Betty. She has fast become the most unlikeable character on tv since righteous Krystle Carrington :(

Shows I might have left too late to get into ~ on behalf of my many friends who watch it and keep trying to convince me to watch it, thanks NBC for renewing Chuck. Yet it's one of those shows I keep meaning to watch but still haven't gotten around to. Also in that "interests me conceptually" category are 30 Rock (Adam Levine was in the freaking finale. ADAM LEVINE!), Friday Night Lights (with secret crush Kyle Chandler) and How I Met Your Mother (with Deb Gibson gal pal Dougie Howser!). If you were to recommend the dvds of just one, which would you go for?!

Shows I will be watching this summer ~ I do not trust US tv executives. Clearly most of them are stupid. In Britain (where admittedly we have shorter series runs), a show is rarely cut off midway through it's proposed run. The folks at Fox, CBS, NBC, CW and ABC just can't wait to throw the axe. So sometimes I am attracted to the idea of a show, but get this sense that it may not be long for this world. And as I am still mourning classic tv like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, Jack and Bobby et al I am cautious with my choices and often wait til a renewal notice comes through - that way I can either watch knowing a second season is a-coming, or at least be pre-warned I'm in it for only a set number of episodes. This year I totally didn't trust Fox to renew Dollhouse, but they totally did so I will be bugging DanUK and Adem with my opinions on it this summer. Ditto as I catch up on the Veronica Mars filled Party Down and mad as a box of frogs United States of Tara. And of course I am very excited about finally getting into Fringe :) I'm unconvinced by megasmash The Mentalist though - not sure I'm a CBS guy :P

Shows that totally have my attention for next season ~ Flash Forward, V, Eastwick, the amazing Glee (which aired after AI last night and was insanely and very "me") and possibly Day One and Happy Town (which sounds a bit Eureka doesn't it?)...


TOP TEN USA TV SHOWS OF THE 2008-2009 SEASON

10 ~ True Blood (HBO): Based on the actually very charming Sookie Stackhouse books, this HBO was everything Twilight should have been - sexy, funny, scary, dramatic and kinda romantic without ramming it down your throat. I'm suffering a Twilight backlash, so this nighttime soap is the perfect antidote. Bring on season 2...
09 ~ The Office (NBC): Oh, it's all (and always has been) about Jim and Pam. They are just too darn adorable together. Plus it continues to be one of the funniest observational shows on television on what used to be Must See Thursday...
08 ~ The Tudors (Showtime): Clearly getting more historically inaccurate by the day (Henry isn't getting fat, he just has a gammy leg) but a decent dramatic portrayal of my favourite era of history ever is always enhanced by the presence of Henry Cavill (yummers) who this season is all tormented by his king-ordered murderous deeds. Meanwhile, Henry is romping through wives and is already entertaining a fourth - the brilliantly cast unlikeable Joss Stone who plays the unlikeable Anne of Cleves. Ace. Final year though next year :(
07 ~ Grey's Anatomy (ABC): Once my favourite show, it then got all mired in the homophobia and tiresome Katherine Heigl moaning about wanting to be a movie star. Oh and bad writing. The Denny's ghost storyline, though explained, was still extremely unnecessary. But when it delivers it delivers, and the final batch of episodes were just brillo. Meredith having 007 written on her hand was just jaw dropping. And the whole show is still infinitely better than it's spin off (despite that having a killer cliffhanger...)
06 ~ Reaper (The CW): By this time tomorrow, Reaper may be in hell. It's not looking good with Sock having defected to a comedy. On FOX! I mean for crying out god's sake, how long do they usually last?! Smartly written, funny, well acted and always enjoyable, this was always the little show that could on The CW and while 90210 got all the media attention this year, this little gem is what people should have been watching :( I'll be tres sad if it goes...
05 ~ Greek (ABC Family): Greek sort of crept up on me and took me unawares. While Felicity and Undeclared remain the greatest college tv shows of all time, this is not far behind. Seeing as we don't have fraternities and sororities in the UK, i'm always fascinated by them and this show continues to be hilarious and heartbreaking all at the same time. Jesse McCartney was a decent cast addition but it's Max and Casey that have my heart. PS, this show sneaks in some of the funniest one liners - comedy writers could do a lot worse than to learn from these guys :P
04 ~ Brothers and Sisters (ABC): It can veer towards the sudsy side of soap on occasions but generally it's brilliantly written and wonderfully acted. Holly has to be the most understated villain on tv (a stark contrast to the hyper Wilhemena on Ugly Betty) and it's easy to see why Tommy wanted rid. The addition of Ryan as the latest bastard to join the clan has been intruiging and frankly who wouldn't want to boff Park Guy after how moody Rob Lowe has been lately? Funniest moment? Kevin and Scotty getting all passionate at the thought of a threesome :)
03 ~ Lost (ABC): If it pulls off it's final season next year with the same skill it has year five, then Lost may well end up not only as one of the best shows of the millenium, but one of the best shows on tv ever. While I constantly feel like I need to be taking notes, it's rich and textured story telling is full of easter eggs and hints that are now starting to pay off. The finale had some strange character interactions but ultimately bought on a bit of a game changer for the islanders before they soprano'd our asses with that white screen fade out. 2010 seems SO far away!!
02 ~ Gossip Girl (The CW): Six-seven years ago, this list would have been full of WB shows including Everwood, Felicity, Gilmore Girls and Buffy. Either i've grown up or the quality on that network has gone right down hill. Luckily Gossip Girl is more than which guy you would like to spaffle on (current winner: slutty Nate) and is a veritable melting pot of teen hormones, switching partners, unfeasible dilemmas, hot DILFS (hello Rufus) and the lovely voice of Veronica Mars. Yes it's all a bit bonkers and yes it's for teenage girl but I care not. I'm entirely hooked. OMFGG!
01 ~ Pushing Daisies (ABC): Sob. It came. It saw. It sadly didn't conquer. What it did do was bring a whimsical fairy story to life in a beautifully colourful and vivid way. Not only was the entire cast top notch, but the story telling whisked you away from the worries of life on a weekly basis (at least til ABC yanked it and the poor americans are still waiting for the final 3 eps that the UK aired in April). Seeing Ned and Charlotte find inventive ways to touch, smooch and hold each other was a delight. Hated the bodged together ending, would have preferred an open ended cliffhanger over that! Still, any show that has all of the above, plus a fascination with plurals (Darling Mermaid Darlings, C'ouer de C'oeurs, Boutique Travel Boutique) and Kristin singing Eternal Flame is a-ok with me. Am I mad at ABC for cancelling it - not really, i'm just pleased they allowed 22 episodes of quirky goodness into my life! Now bring on the zombie filled comics :)
Honourable mentions: Desperate Housewives; Dexter; Kyle XY; Supernatural; Smallville

What are your thoughts?!

Oh. My. Effing. God. Gossip Girl was bound to end up on the front of my fave mag Entertainment Weekly (they were the cover stars of the Fall TV Preview issue) but the guys on the front of my second favourite magazine Details? Too much! Well it's not really too much, but a conker (horse chesnut) fell on my bonce today still encased in it's spikiness, so I think I am feeling a bit stabbed to be honest with you. Anyway, I've been waiting for the effortlessly giddy Pushing Daisies to return before I evaluated what's good on the box stateside, so here goes...

10: Prison Break, Season Four ~ Oh it's gone beyond ridiculousness now with beheaded people being re-headed (so there is hope for Anne Boleyn then in season 3 of The Tudors) but ignore the gaping plot holes and it's actually quite a lot of fun...
09: Heroes, Season Three ~ Hmmm, Heroes is on probation with me. That Japanese in the past storyline from year two was uber boring. Still, I am quite loving the unemployed (Eli Navarro) and overemployed (Veronica herself) VM cast; and that punky little blonde speedster is ace of base...
08: Brothers & Sisters, Season Three ~ First off, I seriously love it when children blackmail adults. Secondly the actor that plays Justin got a lot hotter over the summer. Thirdly, it is back to bickering and backstabbing wrapped up in love. Perfect. And Sally Fields rocks...
07: Ugly Betty, Season Three ~ Thank God the sandwich maker and the nerd have gone. Betty is still veering on being annoyingly righteous all the time, but an appearance from part time lesbian Lindsey Lohan and a hot new neighbour the show still has it's footing...
06: Greek, Season Two ~ Well didn't this show just sneak up on me and get all engrossing and fun? It's far superior to the dull pregnant show and that weird Middleman nonsense ABC Family foisted on us over the summer. And it has gays kissing. Marv.
05: Entourage, Season Five ~ It's nice to see Vince be persona non gratis in LA while little Eric and Johnny Drama become the successful ones. Best bit of the show is Ari Gold and Lloyd ~ when Ari convincingly bitchslaps a colleague, Lloyd squeals "ooo Ari you've got fists of fury!!" Brilliant!
04: Desperate Housewives, Season Five ~ It's five years in the future. How One Tree Hill/Veronica Mars (had it not been axed) of it. Edie is back with a secretive hubby. Gaby's daughter is brilliant. The gays are still underutilised. Carlos is still blind. Susan is still annoying. Bree is still amazing. Ergo, Desperate Housewives still rules.
03: Grey's Anatomy, Season Five ~ Considering my undying love for this show and McDreamy, I don't get why I am so ambivilent about Private Practice. Anyway, GA is back, DerMer are finally together, there is the best use of an icicle since it was used as a murder weapon in Bad Girls and finally the constant shagging around catches up with the quality of the hospital much to whatsisname's chagrin... Love love loved the 3 wives in a car accident storyline. Quite touching. I sniffled.
02: Gossip Girl, Season Two ~ Frankly this would be number two on quotability alone. This week's gem included the amazing Veronica Mars voiceover opining "What's fashion week without a fashion victim? Better watch out little J - there is a bullseye on your back" and Dan responding to Chuck asking if he was gay - "that's WAY outside my comfort zone". I really don't need to say anymore, except shame on them for using the Nelly Furtado Maneater clone Poker Face song in the opening scene. Whatever next? The Saturdays promoting Ugly Betty? Oh....
01: Pushing Daisies, Season Two ~ Chuck and Ned return! And thank god the producers realise that they are better taking on the world together rather than taking on each other. And thank god for inventive solutions to not touching each other. And thank god for it being as whimsical and magical as ever. And thank god for Chi McBride adding some much needed salty sass to the proceedings. It's the most fairytale show on tv and that suits me just fine. PS Lee Pace I love you ever such a little bit...


Still worth a peek: Smallville (despite the fact that the storyline is now so convoluted you need a degree to access it, it's the final season and seeing Clark push up his glasses in the credits is kind of a thrill); Supernatural (now with added Jesus!); Dirty Sexy Money (it's firmly on it's way to becoming Dynasty of the millenium) and Friday Night Lights (tv's best least watched drama!)

Ones I've yet to watch: Dexter Season Three; True Blood Season One; Fringe Season One;


Back tomorrow with a massive pop wrap up....

1. Thank God. Gossip Girl is back. That is all I have to say about the marvelous occassion. Let's just say it was a lot better than the very unnecessary remake/spin-off/lack of originality show of 90210. Plus Penn Badgely has turned into a temporary slut in it! What more can one ask?!
2. Talking of spin-offs, yes 90210 so far (double opening episode) is completely and totally irrelevant. Instead the floundering CW should watch this rather brillo advertisement and get Charlotte Church to play an Alexis type bitch in Dynasty: The Next Generation. The reruns on soap net are bur-illiant. I have come to loathe Krystle and Blake. They are so self righteous. It's all about the bitches.
3. Vampires! I am finally, belatedly getting into Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series (despite the bad bad press surrounding the final tome) and of course the Adem recommended True Blood starts on HBO on Sunday. However, it just makes me wistful for Buffy. I caught the pilot again the other day, and was just reminded of it's excellence when Buffy was talking to Angel, he walks away from her only to reveal he was standing over a sign saying "Watch your step". It's the little things that count.
4. Autumn! Which means lots of lovely new clothes are in shops under the auspices of "fall/winter collection". My current personal favourite - this delicious little jacket cum sophistimacated casual evening top from the patchy but good when good River Island. (Bugger - can't link it as is in stupid flash. Go to the website, click on men, just arrived, and go to page 7. It's the only item for £59.99 on the page!)
5. It's all in the Details. Still my second favourite american magazine. Why oh why have they photoshopped and airbrushed harry potter into a mix of Elijah Wood and Zac Efron though>?? Nice shirt and tie set that i'm just sure he wore to commemorate ten years since the first book was released :)
   

• There are two very important single releases that are happening this week. First up is the effortlessly cool Red Blooded Women who are shacking up all over the clubs with the funky remixes to You Made Your Bed. I thought it might be rather difficult to improve on this slinky seductive pop number but I was wrong. They picked up some great remixes along the way and made the weeks cheapest but most brilliant video ever. God i love these dames...
• Also out this week is a rather slick radio remix of Oh Laura's very lovely indeed Release Me. I can't help but feel that this band are still teetering on the edge of something very massive and special indeed. They appeared on Radio 2 this week and just stunned me with the acoustic versions of some of their album's finest tracks. This band fails to do no wrong and yet they are not chart toppers. I sense it is a matter of time. Be prepared. Check out Release Me now. You know you want to. It's the most lovely piece of work since Bic Runga's Sway.
• Props to the junior admin staff at work who "the management" tasked with "extra responsibility" by assigning them the job of coming up with a layout for a new company newsletter (that sounds really patronising but actually it was laziness on our part as no one wanted to do it). They do a bonza job except that it was gently pointed out that "The [insert company name here] Rant" didn't really put across the positive message wanted (I even had to patiently google the meaning of "rant" for them and found "A rant or harangue is a speech or text that does not present a well-researched and calm argument" and "pompous or pretentious talk or writing" Oh my!) Eventually they settled on The ProClaimar which if you knew the name of the company is actually rather brilliant! (It's not really hard to guess after that is it?)
• What the bugger is going on with Timbaland and Madonna is the question on lots of people's lips. Personally I really like Hard Candy. I think it's rather good. I get why people don't think it's a great Madonna album. I think it's a good album regardless of whether it's Madonna or not. But as much as I love Madonna, i'm not as invested in her output as I am with other albums (I've been incredibly disappointed with one Deborah album and two Robbies!) so I'm not too bothered. Really, it is time to move on from Timbaland. For all popstars. Jadion needs to be the new producer of choice :) Though Four Minutes is fucking fantastic still!
• Oh 50 days of Big Brother (Why Bother) and it's getting incredibly dull. There is only so many times you can admire Stuart and Dales bodies (and sometimes dress sense). Darnell has gone slightly mental, Mikey and his washing testicular mass in a drinking cup repulses me, Luke is fucking awful and the rest of them bar Kat, Rachel and Sarah are the sort of egomaniacs you only normally find in the more pretentious London clubs. And everytime Bex is up for eviction, she decides to snog Luke which is repulsive to watch. It's like watching an overstuffed dog pouring over the remains of an emancipated chicken carcuss. Yet I cannot bear to look away :P
• There are lots of lovely Gossip Girl season 2 pics popping up all over the web. It all looks very exciting. You know you love me, xoxo, etc.