Critic's Choice Awards Nominations

The nominations for the 2011 Critic's Choice Awards were announced today. ABC's Modern Family led the pack with the most nominations (a total of 6!), followed by five nominations for Mad Men. Don't worry Gleeks, Glee was nominated for two awards, including Best Comedy Series and Jane Lynch for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The awards will air on ReelzChannel on June 22. Full nominations after the jump!


Did your favorite show get nominated?

Movie Junkies Galore at the Globe Theater

DeLorean Time Machine replica (Photo by Makena Hudson)

By Frances Vega

Willy Wonka’s last Golden Ticket was handed out nearly 40 years ago, yet somehow the ticket ended up in new hands.

On Nov. 6, Profiles in History made the original Golden Ticket from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory available to the public for the first time in years.

The ticket was part of an auction the company threw at the Globe Theater at Universal Studios to benefit Variety--The Children’s Charity of Southern California.

HBO Explores The L.A. Speakeasy

by Frances Vega 

  HBO kicked off the first night of its Boardwalk Empire promotion on Tuesday with free drinks and goodies for customers.

Boardwalk Empire promotion (Frances Vega)

    From 7-9 P.M. every person who walked into the Varnish in downtown Los Angeles received a free drink, salt-water taffy, and the really lucky ones also got a flask. The promotional staff only had five flasks to give out so they were eyeing customers to see who was really enthusiastic about the experience. The flask itself was a plain tin flask with “Boardwalk Empire” engraved on the front.

'Undercovers' delivers pretty cover but no story

By Frances Vega  

          J.J. Abrams newest series “Undercovers,” debuted its pilot episode on NBC Wednesday.

Courtesy of NBC

        The show stars Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Steven and Samantha Bloom, two CIA spies who leave the agency after getting married. They open up a catering company and five years after retiring their marriage becomes stale. Then someone from the CIA pays them a visit and next thing you know they are back on duty for a special case. Within minutes of starting the assignment the Blooms remember how exciting the CIA was and the adrenaline makes them feel sexy again. It’s kind of like TV’s version of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Except I never really got into that movie and this show wasn’t any different.

        There’s a point in the show where Mbatha-Raw must seduce a target. Before going in she makes up a nifty new spy term. “Sex-pionage always works,” she says. …No it doesn’t Gugu, no it doesn’t. Just because you’re both attractive does not mean the show is automatically interesting. There didn’t seem to be a real plot to the show, beyond good looking people kick some ass.

        I don’t know what it is about action shows this season, but casting hot people does not mean the rest of the job is over. It was especially upsetting to see that the show was produced by someone who usually does a great job with television. Abrams was responsible for popular shows like Felicity, Alias, and Lost.

        I’ll admit that some of the comic relief was pretty witty, but not enough to keep me watching. My guess is, if you like action and don’t feel like thinking much (if at all), you might like this show.

"Life Unexpected" Premiere Has Unexpected Twists

Photo courtesy of the CW

By Frances Vega

"Life Unexpected" came back for its second season on Tuesday, with new characters and more plot twists.

The CW’s newest family drama gained a decent following earlier this year and the network is doing everything it can to make sure viewers stay interested.

Last season ended with Cate (Shiri Appleby and Ryan (Kerr Smith) getting married and Baze (Kristoffer Polaha) busting in on the ceremony with hopes of breaking it up. Baze didn’t make in time to stop the vows and Cat, Lux (Brittany Robertson), and Ryan are now one big happy family. At least they seemed happy--for about five minutes.

New Nikita series fails to engage

Photo courtesy of Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW

By Frances Vega       

      The CW’s new show Nikita made its series debut on Thursday, with a lot to live up to.

        Though many of the CW’s target audiences are too young to remember the older versions of “Nikita,” the basic premise of this show has been done a few times before. The first version was the French film “La Femme Nikita” (1990), the next was the American remake ”Point of No Return” (1993), and the third was a TV series called “La Femme Nikita” which ran from 1997-2001.

Modern Family and Breaking Bad Sweep the Emmys

By Tom Dotan

Originally published on Neon Tommy


Change finally worked its way into the Emmys last night; unfortunately the Emmys does change like it does pacing: slow, uneven, and somewhat haphazard.

In the big categories, ABC’s "Modern Family" took home the Emmy for Best Comedy, ending "30 Rock’s" three-year reign.  AMC’s "Mad Men" held steady for Best Drama, and can now claim itself as a three-peat winner.