OK, Ladies & gentlemen, it’s late, it’s Friday night, I’ve already been drunk once today (true story, not pretty), but I’m here now, clean & sober, and ready for another run at “The Weeksly Late Edition”. Lots of good stuff to get to this week, but in a very special first part, we really need to discuss the elephant in the room…….

My Television Is Trying To Kill Me

So, first thing Sunday morning, my wife brings in the newspaper, and the headline reads: “EVICTED”. Below that lovely tagline is a photo of three of the Australian “Big Brother” housemates, or more specifically – two guys and a girl. First thing that comes to my mind is of course, threesome. Then I think about it for a second…. They probably wouldn’t kick them out of the house for going at it ancient Rome style, and instead, the second thought comes straight away – these guys have done something bad to this chick. As it turns out, that’s kind of what happened, but not quite – let me be very clear, I’m a pretty liberal kind of guy, but Channel 10 were right to kick Ashley & John out of the house for their actions with Camilla, but then again, they may be setting a touch of a double standard when it comes to selective punishment. Ten are making a strange habit lately of bowing to conservative interests within the Australian political & entertainment circles, axing the “Adults Only” version of the show for starts (Shock horror! You actually got to see women’s tat-ta’s and boy’s hoo-hoos – I shall be warped forever into sexual perversity), and then in an immediate measure of spin, they shut down the streaming content on the “BB” website, and by mid-afternoon the next day, the two guys were gone. The event itself basically boils down to a late night “teabag”, “turkey slap”, “Roman helmet”, whatever you want to call it – John held Camilla down, while Ashley gave her a couple of taps to the face with his wang – not cool behaviour at all, and again, Ten exercised their moral obligation to do something about it. I just wonder if they applied those same standards a day earlier when Camilla was given the task of kissing every single housemate within an allotted time, and some housemates were resistant to it……..

With that out of the way, let’s get into the big TV news this week, which is the Emmy nominations. I’m more than a little annoyed that there weren’t any major nods towards “Prison Break”, “Lost” (Desmond! Yes!), “Entourage” (outside of the always great Jeremy Piven) or “Big Love”, but to each his own, and in the major categories, we have the following list of nominees:

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David as Himself
The King Of Queens
Kevin James as Doug Heffernan
Monk
Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk
The Office
Steve Carell as Michael Scott
Two And A Half Men
Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler
Rescue Me
Denis Leary as Tommy Gavin
Six Feet Under
Peter Krause as Nate Fisher
24
Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer
The West Wing
Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
The Comeback
Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish
Malcolm In The Middle
Jane Kaczmarek as Lois
The New Adventures Of Old Christine
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell
Out Of Practice
Stockard Channing as Lydia Barnes
Will & Grace
Debra Messing as Grace

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
The Closer
Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson
Commander In Chief
Geena Davis as Mackenzie Allen
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
Six Feet Under
Frances Conroy as Ruth Fisher
The West Wing
Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Arrested Development
Will Arnett as Gob Bluth
Entourage
Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold
Malcolm In The Middle
Bryan Cranston as Hal
Two And A Half Men
Jon Cryer as Alan Harper
Will & Grace
Sean Hayes as Jack

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Boston Legal
William Shatner as Denny Crane
Huff
Oliver Platt as Russell Tupper
The Sopranos
Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti
24
Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan
The West Wing
Alan Alda as Arnold Vinick

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Cheryl Hines as Cheryl David
Desperate Housewives
Alfre Woodard as Betty Applewhite
My Name Is Earl
Jaime Pressly as Joy
Weeds
Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes
Will & Grace
Megan Mullally as Karen

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Boston Legal
Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt
Grey’s Anatomy
Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang
Grey’s Anatomy
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Bailey
Huff
Blythe Danner as Izzy Huffstodt
24
Jean Smart as First Lady Martha Logan

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series
Extras
Patrick Stewart as Himself
Extras
Ben Stiller as Himself
Two And A Half Men
Martin Sheen as Harvey
Will & Grace
Alec Baldwin as Malcolm
Will & Grace
Leslie Jordan as Beverley Leslie

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series
Boston Legal
Michael J. Fox as Daniel Post
Boston Legal
Christian Clemenson as Jerry “Hands” Espenson
ER
James Woods as Dr. Nate Lennox
Grey’s Anatomy
Kyle Chandler as Dylan Young
Lost
Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series
Desperate Housewives
Shirley Knight as Phyllis Van de Kamp
Extras
Kate Winslet as Herself
Malcolm In The Middle
Cloris Leachman as Ida
Monk
Laurie Metcalf as Cora
Will & Grace
Blythe Danner as Marilyn Truman

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series
Grey’s Anatomy
Kate Burton as Ellis Grey
Grey’s Anatomy
Christina Ricci as Hannah
Huff
Swoosie Kurtz as Madeline Sullivan
Six Feet Under
Patricia Clarkson as Aunt Sarah
Six Feet Under
Joanna Cassidy as Margaret Chenowith

Outstanding Comedy Series
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Office
Scrubs
Two And A Half Men

Outstanding Drama Series
Grey’s Anatomy
House
The Sopranos
24
The West Wing

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Late Night With Conan O’Brien
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Survivor

Alrighty then, to wrap up this little section, I’ve been talking about a few shows that NBC have upcoming on their Fall schedule, and after recently partnering up with YouTube! (NBC that is), I can give you some quick little clips and pieces of the ones I'm looking forward to the most (click on the You Tube logo for a window pop up):

“Friday Night Lights”

“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”

“Heroes”

“30 Rock”

The Rehash

Getouddahere!
As if waiting 2 months in between fresh episodes of “Lost” wasn’t bad enough at the best of times came reports this week that Damon Lindelof is eyeing a feature length version for the cinema. Now look closely, here is the official comment from “Hollywood Movie Star” Clint Morris – “I don't see "Lost" working as a film. I mean, what can they really accomplish in a couple of hours?” – now take a look at one of his favourite films, and tell me which one you think would come out better in the end.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh baby
This is a flick that I’ve really been looking forward to, and AOL shat out the trailer for it this week, Ed Norton in "The Illusionist".

The Most Salacious Piece Of Tabloid Gossip This Week

Look, I love “Survivor” big time, and I can’t wait for the upcoming “Cook Islands” to start, but the guy in this week’s “Salacious” struck me as an absolute fucking nutter when he was on the show (still can’t believe that he won), but with thanks to the guys at the IMDB, this just further cements it:

'Survivor' Winner Arrested for Shooting Puppy
Brian Heidik, the $1 million winner of 2002's fifth season of US reality show Survivor, was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly shooting a puppy with an arrow. The 38-year-old was arrested in Douglasville, Georgia and was charged with battery and cruelty to animals and then released on bail. During the pre-trial bond hearing, Heidik told a judge he'd thought the dog was a coyote which had been harassing his pets. Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland, however, said it was indeed a puppy. Copeland explains, "At about 3am, his wife called to report that he was outside and that he shot a puppy that was on his property with an arrow and planned to shoot another one." When sheriff's deputies arrived, Heidik fled in his car, but was quickly apprehended. Heidik's wife and five-year-old son were home at the time of the incident. Copeland said there was evidence in the home to support a charge of battery for family violence, but would not elaborate on the nature of the evidence. The wounded puppy and the second puppy were turned over to animal control officials who were trying to locate their owners.

What’s That Called?

Here’s a look at some upcoming posters, for movies that I’m sure will be massive at the box office….. *cough*, anyway, we’ve got the new ones for Kal Penn, Brittany Murphy & Chris Kattan:

Weeksy’s Retro Review

"Dick Tracy" (1990)

Director: Warren Beatty
Starring: Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Madonna

The Story

Straight from the strips of Chester Gould’s classic comic, “Dick Tracy” focuses on the classic Detective (Warren Beatty) busting crime-lord Big Boy Caprice’s (Al Pacino) underworld empire. Assisted by nightclub singer “Breathless” Mahoney (Madonna), along with “Kid” (Charlie Korsmo) & his longtime gal Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly), Tracy also finds himself being framed for murder by the mysterious “The Blank”, and on the run from his fellow police officers while trying to clear his name, and wipe out big Boy for good.

The Release

One of the most anticipated aspects of the long in development “Dick Tracy” was the enormous cast that signed on to take part. Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, William Forsythe, Charles Durning, Mandy Patinkin, Paul Sorvino, Kathy Bates, Dick Van Dyke & James Caan just for starters, and that’s just the official list – the story goes that there are many, many more stars in there that are extremely heavily made up – anonymously.

“Dick Tracy” at various times had the likes of Jack Nicholson & Robert De Niro attached to play the lead, Martin Scorcese, John Landis & Tim Burton were all courted to sit in the Director’s chair, but by the time Warren Beatty finally cast his eye over the project, the studio eagerly took up his offer of both starring and Directing it after so long in “development hell”.

The production itself was one of the biggest that Disney ever staged, and Beatty decided to go so authentic with the tone & feel of the film, that he ensured it was also filmed only in the original comic strips six colours, red, blue, yellow, green, orange & purple (test it out for yourself, it’s all there baby).

Beatty was an admitted maniacal fan of Chester Gould’s original work and he put a whole lotta love into the film, and it showed upon its release date of June 15th 1990, opposite “Gremlins 2: The New Batch”. Roger Ebert gave it the big 4 out of 4, and had these kind words to say: “"Dick Tracy," which is a sweeter, more optimistic movie, outdoes even "Batman" in the visual departments. This is a movie in which every frame contains some kind of artificial effect. An entire world has been built here, away from the daylight and the realism of ordinary city streets. And "Dick Tracy" also reflects the innocence of the comic strip that inspired it. Unlike the movie version of "Batman," which hyped up the level of its violence to a degree that could have been truly disturbing to younger viewers, the PG-rated "Dick Tracy" contains no obscenity, no blood, and no "realistic" violence. It is one of the most original and visionary fantasies I've seen on a screen.”

The Box Office

On it’s release, the wave of hype that had been building for nearly a year managed to pay off big time at the box office, becoming both one of Disney’s biggest ever openings (at that time), and the biggest take of Warren Beatty’s career. Opening weekend saw big yellow take home just over 22.5 million (US), and by the end of it’s run, saw a nice little receipt of $103,738,726.

How Does It Hold Up?

It had been probably close to ten years since I had watched “Dick Tracy” from beginning to end, and when I did again the other night, I remembered how much I enjoyed it back when I saw it the first time – and enjoyed it just as much this time. If you’ve never seen it, “Tracy” is kind of like……ummmmmm…… alright, think “Sin City” for kids. It’s got the full feeling of the original strips, some of the best “exaggerated” physical make up work, and some great performances from the leads, especially the nutso over the top Pacino, Dustin Hoffman as “Mumbles”, and Beatty in the lead. As always, Madonna is less than stellar, but to put it into perspective, with the exception of maybe “A League Of Their Own”, this would definitely be one of her better “acting” jobs. The fact that she was bangin’ Beatty at the time probably didn’t hurt her exposure either. Again, this is a really good film, fun for watching on a Sunday night, it just stumbles a bit with Mads on the screen.

Rating :

It's Probably Fake.... But Kinda Cool

So, a buddy of mine over at Myspace had this litle pick on his site that is 99.99% probably faked beyond all belief, but it looks really cool. Topher Grace looking 6 shades of moody, with the symbiote creeping out - I like it. I can't think of where I've seen this pic before....... It reminds me of one of the teasers I saw for "Constantine".

The Official Weeks Seal Of Approval DVD Release Of The Week

I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of any of the “Star Trek” franchises. I did really enjoy “The Wrath Of Khan” & “The Voyage Home” from the original series, and I even recall being fairly entertained by the “Next Generation” outing “First Contact”, but that was about it. One set of episodes that I went crazy for though, was the two part “The Best Of Both Worlds”, and on that basis alone, I whole heartedly recommend this week’s pick, "Star Trek - Fan Collective: Borg", a four disc set – here’s the deal on it:

The fans have spoken! Star Trek fans voted online for their favourite Borg episodes which resulted in Star Trek: Fan Collective - Borg. Brace yourself for thrilling action and adventure as the Federation's best taken on the most dangerous and relentless enemy - the Borg.

Episodes:
Regeneration (Enterprise)
Q Who? (Next Generation)
The Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1 & 2 (Next Generation)
I, Borg (Next Generation)
Descent, Parts 1 & 2 (Next Generation)
Scorpion, Parts 1 & 2 (Voyager)
Drone (Voyager)
Dark Frontier, Parts 1 & 2 (Voyager)
Unimatrix Zero (Voyager)
Endgame (Voyager)

And the special feature goodness:

- Audio Commentary By Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong (Enterprise Regeneration - Episode #049)
- Text Commentary By Michael And Denise Okuda (Next Generation - Best of Both Worlds, Part 1, Episode #174
- Text Commentary By Michael And Denise Okuda (Next Generation - Best of Both Worlds, Part 2, Episode #175
- Text Commentary By Michael And Denise Okuda (Voyager Unimatrix Zero, Part 2 - Episode #247

For just shy of 60 bucks, it’s pretty friggin good. The Borg always kicked ass whenever I saw them.

The Funniest Friggin’ Thing I’ve Seen This Week

Not so funny this one, just something a little different. It’s a banned commericial, which seems to start out as a car advertisement, but things take a little bit of a turn – see if you can figure out why this might have banned:

That just about does it for this week boys & girls, and as it is getting late and I have renovations to attend to in the morning, I’m going to call it a night. Until next time rolls around, you can always feel free to drop me a line, or you can always stop by my brand new "Myspace", and check out my Music Video selection of the week, or just drop a comment.

Take care everybody, and I’ll see you next week.

Cheers,
Adam Weeks.