Sofa Chip » Commentary

Eliza Dushku of Dollhouse Dresses Almost Stylishly

Jessica Rae — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:28:20 +0000

Eliza Dushku arriving to tape "The Late Show with David Letterman" October 2009

Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku was on “The Late Show with David Letterman” this October. I’m loving Dollhouse, and I always love Dushku. But what don’t I love? This almost stylish look. I mean, the one-handed glove is just ridiculous and asking for trouble. Does she think she’s honoring Michael Jackson? His was sparkly. Anyway. The dress definitely needs the statement necklace there, but somehow it’s does not work. The dress color is a soft color, and to make up for that Eliza decided to cover every other aspect of herself in black. She still looks almost naked. The entire thing is almost a mess. But just almost. The hair saves it.

Have you entered my Heroes Contest yet?

You might also like: The 90210 Girls Get Inspired by Zebras for their Dresses

Season Six of Project Runway Has Stylish Drama (Three Overlooked Dresses!)

Jessica Rae — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:45:53 +0000

Winning Design! MyLifetime.com

Project Runway finally returned on its new network: Lifetime! While I usually am too quick to sneer ‘No, I don’t really watch reality TV – certainly I don’t follow any of those shows!’ I forget that I really do adore Project Runway. Then again I used to sketch dress designs when I was little, so it’s really up my interest alley. The season opener had plenty of goodies for us: Lindsey Lohan as a surprisingly insightful guest judge, Tim Gunn being amazing (can he be a therapist now?), and plenty of style.

I’m loving: Louise, Shirin, Carol Hannah

I’m not loving: Ari (eliminated), Johnny, Malvin

Watch the full episode of Project Runway at MyLifetime.com

There are three dresses that were passable (but weren’t discussed at length on the show) that I wanted to show pictures of, plus the winning dress which was just amazing:

Althea Harper

Carol Hannah Whitefield

Gordana Gehlhausen

The 'tough romantic' winning dress by Christopher Straub

Whaaat?: Heidi Klum’s Rings! She wore a LOT!

SofaChip’s Advance Notes on Melrose Place, The Beautiful Life, The Vampire Diaries and Life UneXpected

Jessica Rae — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:00:31 +0000

The CW has four new series that have been added to their lineup this fall. I was lucky enough to get an advance view of these, and now I’m here to share my studious thoughts on what you can look forward to. I just hope you like glamor, drama, and super (I mean, just ridiculously) attractive people! Anywhere, here are my thoughts for you. I’ve listed the shows in opposite order of what I enjoyed the most (oooh, the anticipation!).

Katie Cassidy as Ella, Shaun Sipos as David, Stephanie Jacobsen as Lauren, Colin Egglesfield as Auggie, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz as Violet, Michael Rady as Jonah and Jessica Lucas as Riley in MELROSE PLACE on The CW. Photo Credit: Richard Phibbs/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Melrose Place (MP): Like many of you, I never watched an episode of the original Melrose Place. So I wasn’t sure what to expect other than a group of people who lived in the same apartment complex. Which they do. For the longtime fans, you won’t be disappointed as there is at least one familiar face for you. For me the standout characters are ‘power bitch’ Ella Simms played by Katie Cassidy (Supernatural, Harper’s Island) and ‘lovable geek’ Jonah Miller played by Michael Randy (Greek, Swingtown). It’s not entirely relevant but Randy looks a LOT like Zachary Levi (Chuck) to me, which is just weird. But good-weird. I mean, Levi is more than just passably attractive. The thing I really noticed about the pilot episode? It leaves you wanting more. No, it wasn’t my favorite of the pilot’s. But I think lots of you will like it. Like all of these shows, I will definitely watch the second episode. (Of course, that IS what I do – TV is everything! And sometimes water or air, those things are important too…I guess.)

Melrose Place premieres Tuesday, September 8 at 9:00 p.m.

Nico Tortorella as Kai, Benjamin Hollingsworth as Chris, Mischa Barton as Sonja, Sara Paxton as Raina, Corbin Bleu as Isaac Photo Credit: Richard Phibbs / The CW © 2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Beautiful Life (TBL): If you are a fan of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) I would almost guarantee that you’ll like this show about the inside world of modeling. The fashion alone may be worth the watch. Mischa Barton (The O.C.) stars as Sonja Stone, and surprised me by looking really amazing as a brunette. Is it just me, or does Sara Paxton as Raina Marinelli look a lot like Barton? I suspect that may be on purpose. The show already has credible fashion links, as Zac Posen is in the first episode. Oh! I was so pleased to see feisty Ashley Madekwe from Secret Diary of a Call Girl in the first episode!

The Beautiful Life premieres Wednesday, September 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Vampire Diaries (VD): Be prepared for legions of fans to drudge up Twilight similarities, but ignore them. This is a more than decent show, and with Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek) at the helm I feel pretty safe. I mean, we KNOW he can write awesome love triangles (Dawson/Joey/Pacey!). Seriously though, the writing does shine through with wit – and sounds like real teenagers. I like that this is a show based in a cool little town as opposed to a sunny beach one. Luckily, mysterious vampires and equally mysteriously-appearing fog (one of the cheesier elements the show used) don’t work so well in sunny L.A. I think that Nina Dobrev as Elena is a rising star in her own right, but I can’t help but notice she reminds me of Amber Tamblyn with a dash of Sophia Bush and even some early Katie Holmes! Hopefully Dobrev has no plans to uh, go the Holmes Scientology route. Did Williamson have say in the casting? Paul Wesley as Stefan (the obvious love choice – the soul mate) looks like James Van Der Beek to me. I guess that means we can skip right to the chase and assume that we’ll like Elena with Pacey – I mean, Ian Somerhalder’s character, Damon. That’s who I’d pick. Anyway, Kevin Williamson on The CW feels like a homecoming since he played such a huge role in making the WB amazing. (Read more about this show via The TV Chick, I love her thoughts on it.)

Vampire Diaries premieres Thursday, September 10 at 8:00 p.m. followed by the season premiere of Supernatural. Talk about a match made in heaven – I mean, hell?

Life UneXpected - The CW

Life UneXpected (LU, LX?): I expect this will be my favorite new series on The CW. Shiri Appleby has certainly done things since Roswell, but seeing her on the The CW just feels right (again, because it’s what the WB was)! Kerr Smith (a Dawson’s Creek alum) is also back with us. Kristoffer Polaha shares the spotlight on this show, and while I looked at all of the projects he’s done I noticed he was actually once on Roswell! There’s a real problem here, though. Because I really like both of the love interests for Appleby’s character! Normally I can gravitate towards one right away, why do they both have to be so great? This show is about love, although the most important dynamic/relationship is the one explored through young teen, Lux, and her birth parents (Appleby and Polaha). If you only have time to check out one new show this fall, I highly recommend this one. And it looks like I’m not the only one who likes Life UneXpected.

Extra: Let’s just all worship Zooey Deschanel, cool? You down with that? I am.

“Saving Grace” Prepares for its Goodbye

Jessica Rae — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:40:58 +0000

As a young 20-something woman I’ve grown up with some very heroic role models in the media that I happily let permeate my reality. It’s actually frighteningly easy for me to forget that my Mom’s generation didn’t have this same blessing. While I had the fierce Buffy Summers and the brilliant Sydney Bristow, she had ‘cute’ beach bunny Gidget. Well, Gidget’s a pretty girl, but I’m just not very certain how much respect she commands. From what I’ve heard and personally observed – it’s been a consistent uphill struggle to let women actresses and female characters have a more powerful and substantial presence in movies and TV. But it’s being done!

The continually blossoming cable network, TNT, is a source of shows with intelligent and independent female characters like Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) on The Closer, and Nurse Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett Smith) on HawthoRNe. But of course, we could never forget about Holly Hunter as the tenacious, wild-haired Oklahoma City Police Detective, Grace Hanadarko, in Saving Grace. When it comes to powerful female characters on TV, Grace has got my vote (I’d even help her make campaign posters with puffy paint).

Holly Hunter as Grace. Photo by Jeff Reidel

The recipient of a prestigious Oscar, actress Holly Hunter has earned two Emmy nominations for her spirited work in the role as Hanadarko. Not only does Hunter portray Grace on the screen, Hunter also works behind the scenes as an executive producer for the show. If that doesn’t convince you of Hunter’s tireless work ethic, consider the fact that Saving Grace has been on the air since 2007. That’s a lot of committed, long hours of work. Believe me, I know it’s hard to believe that actors don’t always have it so easy, but if you watch behind the scenes features for TV shows on DVD you’ll see how unglamorous it can be. There’s no doubt that a lot of acting jobs seem pretty great, but the kind of dedication you see by people like Hunter makes a world of difference to the final product.

Fans have really been enjoying what Saving Grace has had to offer this summer. The ratings indicate that Saving Grace has averaged over 3.5 million viewers this summer. I may not be an expert when it comes to numbers (even if I wear my uber professional glasses), but I know those numbers are damn good. The current season will wrap up with its season finale on Tuesday, August 2009 at 10 p.m. Make sure you have plenty of popcorn, okay?

It has been announced that the next season of Saving Grace will be the final one. It will include a total of nine episodes. I know, I know – that doesn’t seem like enough! We want more, because we’re greedy! But I do have faith that the Saving Grace team will send our girl Grace off by delivering the same distinctive caliber of TV they always do. As for who the next new powerhouse woman on TV might be – that’s anyone’s guess. The important fact is that I’m certain there will be more of them. So we thank you, Grace, for contributing to – well, you’d just think this is cheesy. But we still thank you anyway. We’re hooked till the end.

From: The Heart of a Cop

“Elderly” Celia Ammerman will not be America’s Next Top Model

Jessica Rae — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:24:10 +0000

This past week, yet another hopeful model was booted off of The CW’s successful show, America’s Next Top Model. While I’ve only seen one prior episode of ANTM cycle 12, I still greedily dug into this guilty pleasure show. Why? The final episodes of a cycle are usually some of the best. The tension, the drama! I love it.

Did Celia upstage Ciara? - The CW

Allison, of the HUGE eyes, is my favorite. She looks like a Blythe doll! But I don’t think she’ll win because her lack of confidence is painfully obvious. And this is a view I apparently share with Celia Ammerman, who was the latest contestant to be eliminated. She told the NY Post that, “Allison is my soulmate — I really would love her to win, but I think Teyona will.”

It’s sad to see Celia go because she really had the drive and dedication that you expect a model to have. However, one of the judges told her that she wanted it TOO much. (Is that possible? Well, I guess if you get too obsessive and mechanical…)

Celia proved to be the most fashionable contestant, not just of the cycle, but perhaps to ever be featured on the show. Judge Paulina Porizkova remarked she’d like Celia to style her. While I saw that as a brilliant option and saw doors opening for Celia in her future career as the next Rachel Zoe, Celia isn’t seriously interested.

While Tyra suggested that Celia could have a blooming career in fashion/styling, Celia insisted she wants to pursue modeling, her first passion. Anything else would really be more of a ‘well, I guess there’s still this’. Little-known model or successful stylist? Which would you choose?

The reason for Celia’s elimination? The judges felt was just “too old” at 26 for the modeling business. What isn’t emphasized enough is that not only is Celia’s age a factor, the problem is that she photographs and looks much older than she even is. (And while no one addressed it: she looks rather like a creepy cat.)

This photo was strong, but not strong enough to keep Celia in the competition. - The CW

Jennifer Garner Chatted with David Letterman About her Daughters, Ben Affleck, and her new movie ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’

Jessica Rae — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:20:16 +0000

The Jennifer Garner interview on The Late Show with David Letterman just aired. I’m an East coaster, so I’m hopefully able to now give you one of the first recap/reviews of the interview. For reference, this is the Jennifer Garner/David Letterman interview from April 29th, 2009.

Jennifer Garner on Letterman

The outfit? A very chic black shift dress with a square-cut necklace, black belt and matching heels. The look may seem somber, but Garner livened it up with her sparkly eyes (I’m not in love with her, her eyes are just so damn shiny!), a red pedicure, and some simple jewelry. She looked very fresh-faced, and this is definitely a look she won’t view as a ‘mistake’ in the future.

Then again, when does Garner ever disappoint when it comes to looking gorgeous? She may not take many fashion risks, but I respect the fact that she stays true to her classic nature when it comes to dressing for the red carpet or interviews such as this.

Garner was promoting the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. When she came on the stage, she was holding a cup of tea for Letterman, who was suffering from a sore throat. “Dave, you’re just a wreck,” she said as she put honey in the tea. Dave congratulated her on her new baby girl. He then said she looked just like a kid, like she was nineteen. Her response? “Get out of town!”

Explaining baby Serafina’s name: Violet apparently really, really wanted to name her little sister Sarah. Because the baby looked so angelic, they liked the name ‘little angel’. And they also hadn’t named the baby a week after she was born! So the baby became Serafina. And if I’m not mistaken, her middle name is Rose. Serafina means angel in every language, which Jen said her and Ben really liked. Serafina is now three months old, while her older sister, Violet, is three years old.

“It’s get to a point where you’re so tired you think to yourself as a comforting thought, I could always kill myself.” – Letterman
“I thought that just before I got out here.” – Garner

Jen said that Ben (Affleck, but you knew that already, huh?) used to be so delicate with the first baby, and now he’s so comfortable that he’s slinging the new baby around. Garner also said, “If we could only all be second time parents the first time around!”

Does Violet Affleck like her little siter? Jennifer said yes, she does. About specifics, Jennifer joked, “I’m not going to out her here on national television.”

Garner described her new movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past as “A good movie. I’m so happy to be in it.” It does look suitably cute, I’ll probably check it out eventually.

At the end of the interview, Letterman brought out some Neosporin and generously applied it to some of Garner’s bruises/scabs on her leg and elbow (she fell while running). As a token of appreciation, he let her keep the tube. Free stuff, woo! You can’t tell me that being a celebrity makes getting free stuff any less cool. Otherwise, I need to seriously rethink my five year plan!

Can Sylar be Killed? What does Frak mean? Is Michael Scott a genius? The Best TV of Last Week!

Jessica Rae — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:27:20 +0000

So, I don’t know about YOU, but I really love when TV Guide posts their Top TV Moments of the Week. Heroes, 30 Rock, and The Office all need major shout-outage for their awesomeness last week.

Pam on The Office - NBC

Shortest Cliff-Hanger: Heroes’ Sylar seems plenty dead after a knife to the back of his neck from The Hunter. But no, he’s right back in action – before his would-be killer can even call in a cleaning crew. And so The Hunter becomes The Hun– you know where we’re going with this, right?

I say: Okay, but how predictable is this? Sylar’s been changing too much so the spot is either gone or lost. He may be unkillable! Even moreso than Claire!

Best Catch Phrase: In a cultural-reference filled 30 Rock episode (”My real name is Dick Whitman!” Kenneth chokes while succumbing to a strawberry allergy), Salma Hayek’s Elisa reveals her deep-dark secret while wearing a “What the Frak?!” T-Shirt. “I’m so sorry to tell you such a dark tale while wearing such a silly T-shirt,” she says.

I say: I may really only love the word ‘Frak’ because it was referenced on Veronica Mars, but I still love it, okay? If you want to learn more about Salma Hayk’s character visit the website La Viuda Negra!

Fiercest Negotiating: Who knew the man who once burned his foot on a George Foreman grill is the guy you’d want on your side during intense labor negotiations? The Office’s Michael Scott treats David Wallace like the AMPTP did SAG, extracting not only a job for himself, but a promotion for Pam and Ryan’s rehiring. And he does it all on a masterful bluff, since the Michael Scott Paper Company is broke. Now that’s a burn..

I say: I beamed with surprised joy when I saw Pam doing the same as Michael totally wiped the floorboards with Wallace!

Noteable to me: Dollhouse! The episode Haunted kicked some serious ass. But instead of gushing about it, can I just tell you the problems I had with it? I need to vent.

Where was Echo’s handler when she was almost getting killed?! Standard protocal, people! And if a certain son used the same Dollhouse as his Mother, shouldn’t Adelle have warned her that he might be able to pick up on that? And ‘Julia’ was allowed to stay in the house, in the deceased woman’s room? I think this family would have insisted she go to a hotel! Also, I think she (Margaret) wouldn’t be able to do her same handwriting in a different body, but I guess that’s just nit-picking.

Male TV Show Creators vs. Female TV Show Creators: Who Carries the Weight and Why?

Jessica Rae — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:01:18 +0000

So, I took a random survey of 25 TV shows currently on TV to see how many of the series creators were male versus female. My disappointing assumption that the male creators would greatly outweigh the females creators proved to be very true. Of the 38 names compiled (with more than one creator for some shows – my math isn’t THAT bad), 31 of the creators were males, while only 7 were female. That’s pretty…not okay!

Dean - I still love you, don't worry. Kripke, too.

QUICK STATS:
25 Current TV Shows Listed
38 Creators (According to IMDB.com)
31 Male Creators
7 Female Creators

Now, before any science majors or statistics people come after me – my total disclaimer is: I did not use an exact science to pick the shows I used, I just made sure they were current, and tried to use a variety of different networks. I’ve never been anything close to a scientist (I never even got to make one of those volcanos that explode with baking soda!), and if you went about this in a different way, including many more cable shows (and reality TV shows, which I excluded from this – because well, they suck) the numbers might be more balanced.

I guess the point is that the majority of major network shows are indeed created by males. Should I be …surprised? I suppose not, although it still annoys me. This may not be the era of Mad Men, but as far as I know a woman still makes less than a man! Like, really? It’s so ridiculous it seems it shouldn’t be true.

Another disclaimer: I did not list the writers, producers, or other people that make up a show. I want to emphasize that this was purely a little study of TV show creators.

I just wonder why all the names at the ends of shows are male. It occurs to me that the TV entertainment industry might be much harder for women than I could ever guess (with my vast experience being a TV show creator, unbelieveable huh!).

The women who do get their shows made are all large successes, and generally well-known names: Tina Fey, Diablo Cody, Shonda Rhimes etc. It would be my totally unscientific guess that people are more likely to take a chance on an unknown male name than a female one. You know, cause the world is all biased and sucky like that. Um, just saying. Maybe we’d have to live through less suckdom in pilot season (and spared things like The CW’s ‘Valentine’) if women had a fair chance. And also if the women had jet packs! …Just ’cause.

Tina Fey

The List of TV Shows:

Desperate Housewives
Series Creator: Marc Cherry

Lost
Series Creators: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber

Dollhouse
Series Creator: Joss Whedon

Samantha Who?
Series Creators: Cecelia Ahern, Donald Todd

The Office
Series Creators: Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

30 Rock
Series Creator: Tina Fey

My Name is Earl
Series Creator: Gregory Thomas Garcia

Supernatural
Series Creator: Eric Kripke

Gossip Girl
Series Creators: Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz

90210
Series Creator: Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah, Gabe Sachs

Heroes
Series Creator: Tim Kring

How I Met Your Mother
Series Creators: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

Two and a Half Men
Series Creators: Lee Aronsohn, Chuck Lorre

Chuck
Series Creator: Chris Fedak, Josh Schwartz

Medium
Series Creator: Glenn Gordon Caron

Bones
Series Creator: Hart Hanson

United States of Tara
Series Creator: Diablo Cody

Weeds
Series Creator: Jenji Kohan

Big Love
Series Creators: Mark V. Olsen, Will Scheffer

The Tudors
Series Creator: Michael Hirst

The Closer
Series Creator: James Duff

Saving Grace
Series Creator: Nancy Miller

Trust Me
Series Creators: Hunt Baldwin, John Coveny

Scrubs
Series Creator: Bill Lawrence

Grey’s Anatomy
Series Creator: Shonda Rhimes

NBC’s New(ish) Thursday Night: A Success!

Jessica Rae — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:44:56 +0000

Thursday night was once NBC’s “Must see” TV night (greatly due to Friends and Will & Grace). And while NBC struggled for a while to regain that ground, I think they’ve finally done it. The lineup includes My Name is Earl, Kath and Kim (both two shows I find ‘meh’ but whatevs!) The Office, 30 Rock, and (up until recently) ER. Thursday has officially become my favorite TV watching night. Although, I am sad that Scrubs couldn’t find a place in that lineup. Of course, I’m a huge TV geek (TV enthusist?) so I do spend a lot of time watching TV. And if that wasn’t apparent before, it soon will be…

Jim Halpert, The Office - NBC. Otherwise known as the most crush-worthy fictional boy EVER.

Oh-h-h! Thursday nights are also the nights that Bones airs (FOX)! Just one more reason not to go to bed at 8 p.m.

Bones FOX. Let's uh, dance?

Other Great TV Shows on a TV screen (probably) near you:

Greek on ABC Family (watch Greek episodes online):

Greek on ABC Family

Secret Diary of a Call Girl on Showtime (Secret Diary of a Call Girl):

Secret Diary of a Call Girl

Secret Diary of a Call Girl featuring Billie Piper

Party Down on Starz (Watch the first episode online):

Party Down on Starz

United States of Tara on Showtime (Showtime website for United States of Tara):

United States of Tara - And you thought YOUR life was fractured...

Sofachip.com: Subscribe today!

My Advance Review of Saving Grace: The Heart of a Cop (Christina Ricci Guest Stars!)

Jessica Rae — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:00:32 +0000

Christina Ricci - The Heart of a Cop

Starting Monday March 2nd at 10/9c p.m. new episodes of Saving Grace will be returning. TNT graciously allowed me to preview some of the upcoming Saving Grace episodes, including the episode that will air on March 2nd, entitled The Heart of a Cop. What can you expect? While I can’t tell you everything, I certainly can’t leave you hanging without a taste of the eppy.

Grace has become very restless, and she’s missing Ham. Earl is more concerned with another guy, and that would be Leon Cooly. Cooly recently moved up the date of his execution, so time is of the serious essence.

But there’s hardly time for Grace to angst over her denial of her ties to Cooly when a serial killer is running amok. (Doesn’t that word always make you think of Hocus Pocus?) In fact, the prospect of a serial killer cheers Grace right up, giving her a reason to want a nice ol’ cigar. This…might be found peculiar behavior by most. That seems to include Grace’s new partner, Abby Charles (Christina Ricci).

Saving Grace - The Heart of a Cop

Grace isn’t initially impressed by Charles, who shows up late on her first day. What kind of respect to the job is that, you know? Does she have a legit reason? I can honestly say that you’ll never guess why she was late. You might think you know, but oooooh no, you don’t. Trust me. And while Grace is struggling with Charles, another new partnership is having problems.

Ham has joined up with Butch since they both are currently without a partner. Did you ever wonder how they’d react as partners? Well, their chemistry doesn’t work. If they were on eharmony.com or match.com or jdate (whatever!) – they would not choose each other. It’s actually not a matter of being too different, but too similar. With new partners come new challenges.

I also want to just say this: pillow fight. Yup.

Saving Grace - The Heart of a Cop

Two tidbits:

If I have a secret admirer, I’d like Secret Diary of a Call Girl season one on DVD!

“The point of The Oscar’s is to glorify movies that no one has seen, or will see.” – I have no clue who the dude who said this is but…AMEN!