Gossip Girl: Ok I love love love this show. I mean I thought I’d like it when I wrote about it earlier this week for my Fall TV Preview but boy did this show knock my socks off. Voice over narration can often be clunky and annoying but I found my ears perking up for every little tidbit from Gossip Girl and it wasn’t just because Veronica Mars provides said voice. The narration was an especially effective way to introduce the cast of characters. The show started strong out of the gates thanks to the narration and the immediate chemistry between the “it” couple of the show. Seriously, any show that has you cheering for a couple like Serena and Dan after 1 episode holds incredible promise in my book. Like The OC, I also enjoyed that the teen’s parents were actually interesting and seem to have potential for their own story lines. CW I think you’ll have a hit on your hands once word of mouth starts going.
Kitchen Nightmares:Sad to say that on the strength of Gossip Girl and the buzz on Bionic Woman this will be the first show to go off my schedule and that’s too bad because last night’s premiere was pretty entertaining. Like Gordon Ramsey’s other show, Hell’s Kitchen, the food is secondary to the drama. I’ve seen the UK version of the show and in that, Ramsey spends a lot of time with the chef’s perfecting their cooking where as here he spent more time as a family counselor, and a bad one at that. Last night’s restaurant in question was straight out of The Sopranos especially if Artie Bucco gained 150 pounds of muscle, and grew a spine. Hopefully the US version will follow its UK counterpart and do follow up episodes 6 months to a year down the line however I’m guessing Ramsey’s stale act and the high level of competition (did I mention the Grey’s spin-off is also in this time slot) will kill this show early. Oh and one final gripe to the producers, please don’t recycle the over dramatized music from Hell’s Kitchen on here again.
Dropkick Murphy’s- The Meanest of Times: One of the highlights of 2007 was standing in the balcony of the Avalon Ballroom as the Dropkick’s took the stage on March 16th in Boston, Mass. I had seen the band over half a dozen times prior to that night but that was something I’ll never forget. Their latest album brings back memories from that night and captures everything about the band I love. There are punk covers of traditional folk songs, including the rousing Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya and (F)lannigan’s Ball featuring guest vocals from Spider Stacy of The Pogues and Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners. Then there are the originals that make you want to dive into the pit like Famous for Nothing and Breakdown. There’s even a song that’s tailor made for the rumored prequel to The Departed (a film that utilized the Dropkick’s Shipping Off to Boston in spectacular fashion) called The State of Massachusetts which features the meanest mandolin work I’ve heard in years. The last two Dropkick albums have taken some time to grow on me but this one grabbed me right off the bat and will be in heavy rotation for weeks to come.
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