Britney Spears, Simon Cowell, Mariah Carey, dancers, sitcoms and more from Fox
MONDAY IN TWITTER
Selected Tweets from the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. - and a few additional comments.
"So You Think You Can Dance"
- #SYTYCD trio performing onstage. Hope none of the critics get hurt.
Hey, those three young men were swinging baseball bats. (I was safe a few rows back.)
- Nigel Lythgoe sez he has "no idea" why they never had two winners in previous seasons - one guy, one girl - on "SYTYCD."
Actually, he's right. It's tough to compare guy and girl dancers; the skills are different.
- Nigel Lythgoe sez he's sorry Steven Tyler left #Idol. Hopes JLo will return because she's only 99 percent sure she's going.
- Nigel Lythgoe himself is still in talks to return as executive producer of "AmericanIdol."
It was totally wishful thinking for Jennifer Lopez. Totally.
"The Mindy Chronicles"
- "Like, I'm going to turn into a monster. I can't handle it," Mindy Kaling says of her self-titled Fox show.
"The Mindy Chronicles" is pretty good. And creator/writer/producer/star Kaling hardly seems like the monster type.
- Mindy Kaling will return to #TheOffice for at least one episode, maybe more.
She'll wrap up the storyline for her character, Kelly, apparently.
- Kaling sez her character in #TheMindyProject is "not unlike Michael Scott." Scary.
The world - even the fictional TV world - does not need another Michael Scott. Fortunately, Kaling was joking.
"Ben and Kate"
- The press session for the new #Fox sitcom #BenandKate is actually more entertaining than the first episode of the show is.
No lie. I enjoyed the interviews; did not like the new sitcom.
Executive session
- #Fox prez Kevin Reilly "can't confirm anything" about new #Idol judges - except that they've closed the deal Mariah Carey.
Mariah fans found this to be big news. Meh.
- Reilly has Mariah on speaker phone with us. "I am so excited to be joining 'Idol,'" she sez.
Of course she is. It might jump-start her career.
- Although Lythgoe said JLo might conceivably be back on #Idol," Reilly sez no.
As expected.
- "Nobody was slamming doors on anybody in this process," #Fox prez Kevin Reilly says of #Idol. Just a lot of happy little chats.
Because Hollywood is such a nice town.
- #Fox prez Reilly sez #Glee in Ohio and NYC will be "seamless." I'll believe it when I see it.
- Particularly given that so few #Glee episodes were "seamless" when everybody was in Ohio.
Unless you find wildly gyrating plots and characters whose characteristics change from episode to episode - sometimes within an episode - to be seamless
- One new host for #XFactor? Two new hosts? Only Simon Cowell knows. Pretty much only Simon Cowell cares.
- Simon and Reilly, who has no news.
- New #Xfactor judge Britney Spears is "a spitfire." Demi Lovato is "feisty. I'm even less interested than I was last year.
'Nuff said.
"The Mob Doctor"
- #TheMobDoctor is here for #Fox. It's, um kind of bad. Not sure how well this is going to go.
Not as bad as I feared. Although there were moments when, not having any nice questions to ask, critics didn't ask any questions at all.
- According to #MobDoctor producer, #Fox has network standards for how yellow TV urine cane be. Pale yellow only, apparently.
I am NOT making this up.
- "The Mob and hospitals have similar family dynamics," sez #TheMobDoctor producer. You can't make this kind of stuff up.
Not making me want to watch more episodes.
- First good news about #TheMobDoctor - it won't be in black and white. Oh, wait. Perhaps that was metaphorical.
Oh, that was just snotty, wasn't it?
- Upcoming #MobDoctors plot -a "racehorse with an uncontrollable erection." And I'm out.
Again, I am NOT making this up.
Personal aside
From my BFF Candace Havens, president of the Television Critics Association: In case you forgot. You are evil. Just sayin.' :)
When she's right, she's right.
"The X Factor"
- So #XFactor judges - Simon Cowell, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid - are here. On satellite. Sigh.
Worked better than I expected. No glitches.
- From my friend Andy Dehnhart at RealityBlurred.com: Breaking: Britney Spears' voice has dropped 17 octaves and she now sounds like a possessed doll in a horror movie.
How mean. Wish I'd said it.
- Britney was "such a fan" of #XFactor she watched it "a couple of times."
Imagine if she didn't like it.
• Simon sez Britney is "a really, really good judge." And Demi "is a brat."
Britney and Demi are asked what other reality shows they enjoy. "Don't say 'The Voice,'" Simon sez.
• Have to say, banter among Simon, Britney and Demi is about a thousand times better than it was with Paula and Nicole.
That's faint praise. The bar was set low in Season 1.
- Simon sez there will be two hosts on #XFactor -one boy, one girl. Announcement coming "mid-August."
Two hosts is at least one too many.
• L.A. Reid speaks. Forgot he was there.
Oh, yeah. There's a fourth judge.
• From my BFF Candy Havens: I feel bad saying Britney looks bad. I think she might have a cold.
• Yes Britney def. has a cold. I'm just mean. My mom would be so mad at me. But Brit's makeup artist need to be fired. Just sayin'
Cold or no cold, Spears did not look good. Looked far older than 30.
- From my pal Gwen Reyes: You guys, Demi is listening to the radio. She knows the industry...uh, what?
Lovato actually said she has her finger on the pulse of the music business because she's started listening to the radio.
- Simon on Mariah Carey on #Idol: "I'm happy for her ... I like Mariah." But "I think she's going to find it difficult to say no."
She's just to darn nice.
• From my pal Bruce Miller: Britney Spears is not the deepest well on the new #xfactor.
That's such a polite way of putting it.
"Hotel Hell"
- At least #GordonRamsay isn't making critics participate in a cooking thing. That whole whipping cream thing didn't go well.
Others enjoyed it far more than I, apparently.
• "It's not all about yelling and screaming," Gordon Ramsay says of, well, all his shows. No, there's also bullying and crying.
He really seemed surprised that so many questions had to do with yelling and screaming. Apparently, Ramsay has never watched his own shows.
- From my friend Dan Fienberg: Honeymoon Suites at hotels are nasty, Gordon Ramsay says. Oh, he says more than that. But it's icky, icky, icky.
I can't repeat the tasteless comment. Can't do it.
- Gordon Ramsay gave us little blacklights to check out our hotel rooms. I don't think I want to know.
Seriously.
- Gordon Ramsay is asked to rate the hotel we're staying in. "What a [expletive] question," he sez.
Cpward! (I'm too afraid to say that to his face.)
"Fringe"
• J.J. Abrams thanked all the critics for #Fringe support. Most critics gave up on this show years ago. I hear it got better.
- From my buddy Gail Pennington: "Fringe" people keep thanking TV critics for their support. #notme #sorry
- Sort of wish I had stuck with #Fringe ... but there's only so many TV shows you can watch. Even if it's your job to watch TV.
And we're back at it tomorrow.
Follow along @ScottDPierce
Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
