Lord of the Rings
Dominic Monaghan Doesn't Like Cars, Breaks the Speed Record on 'Top Gear' Anyway (VIDEO)
As an actor, Dominic Monaghan specializes in playing characters who take part in an impossible quest ... of one kind or another. In 'The Lord of the Rings,' he starred as a hobbit engaged in a thousand-year struggle to destroy the One Ring of Power. On 'Lost,' he was a musician who tried to unravel the secrets of a tropical island (and who died in the process). But on the racing show 'Top Gear' (Sun., 10PM ET on HIST), his job was much, much easier.
Dominic doesn't like cars very much -- he calls them his "least favorite form of transport." Nonetheless, on the new 'Top Gear,' he shattered the old celebrity racing record. In the process, he beat out a real-life hero: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Dominic Monaghan Talks The End Of 'Lost' And The Physics Of 'FlashForward'
Dominic Monaghan has played his share of "troubled" roles. On 'Lost,' he broke viewers' hearts as heroin-addicted musician Charlie Pace, sacrificing himself in the show's third season finale. Now, he's on yet another ABC sci-fi series 'FlashForward' as misunderstood physicist Simon Campos, who may be partially responsible for a global disaster.
Monaghan talked to TV Squad yesterday about 'Lost's' series finale, the physics of 'FlashForward' and his other artistic pursuits. The actor also recently starred in a short film that was written, produced and crewed entirely by teenagers for the "Fresh Films" project, which you can watch and vote for on their web site until May 3.
Though it sounds like he's staying pretty busy, the 33-year-old Brit goes into surgery today for a broken foot, which will lay him up for at least a couple of weeks. But don't worry; he's got big plans for his down time: lots and lots of football.
'The Big Bang Theory' - 'The Precious Fragmentation' Recap

(S03E17) This was one of the best episodes of 'The Big Bang Theory' in a while, not because of all of the 'Lord of the Rings' references (I never got into those movies), but because the writers finally figured out a way to get all of the characters together in one plot. Even though Wolowitz and Raj furthered their weird relationship by snuggling during a nap (which was actually only in Sheldon's dream, which raises even more questions), they weren't shoved off to the side in a b-plot.
We got back to the season one dynamic of the four guys having a story, while Penny interacts with them on the periphery. Since Penny has become such a big part of the show, this won't work for every episode, but it's nice to see what made us love the show in the first place. Especially since we needed all the happy thoughts in the world to replace the image of Sheldon as Smeagol. Congrats to the makeup crew, but dear God, I never want to see that again.
Sheldon Goes All Gollum on 'Big Bang Theory' (VIDEO)
We laughed out loud when Sheldon called the ring "my precious," then looked in the mirror to see that he's become Gollum from 'Lord of the Rings.'No other show does the geek factor as well as 'The Big Bang Theory' (Mon., 9:30PM ET on CBS), which is why we love both it and Sheldon Cooper. We're onboard for as long as it lasts.
Let's just hope Sheldon doesn't start seeing a big fiery eye in the sky.
Watch the video after the jump.
Right now on Cinematical
The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:- Did you know that ten members of the Wayans family makes appearances in Dance Flick? Read the review here.
- If you remember, when Heath Ledger passed away, he was in the middle of filming the Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. It premiered at Cannes this week; you can read the review here.
- Michael Moore's next film sets its release date. It's a look at the current financial crisis, and comes out October 2, a year and a day after the $700 million Wall Street bailout.
- I'm saying right here and right now, that I have zero interest in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I would already be in trouble. Cinematical asks, "What films would you break up over?"
- It's been getting mixed reviews, so Cinematical asks how you rate Terminator Salvation.
Brought To You By ... Steve Carell, Jason Alexander, and a hobbit who loves cheese - VIDEOS
This month we're taking a look at celebrities who did TV commercials.Whenever you get into any profession, you have to start at the bottom. The TV business is no exception. The stars you see in prime time today probably cut their teeth working in TV commercials. Heck, some of them still do TV commercials even after they become big stars (but it's often overseas...shhhhhhhh).
After the jump, a sampling of TV commercials from years ago that star celebrities who are now household names. If you're old enough to remember these commercials, you'll probably say to yourself, "Oh yeah, I remember this ad, but I didn't realize that he was in it!"
Nielsen cable ratings for the week ending December 16
Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.
Now there seems to be three episodes of Monday Night RAW in the top ten. Or maybe it's the same episode and three different hours, or maybe it's two different episodes, with two of the hours of one episode and one hour of the other episode making the list. I'm not sure. I've always been a little confused on exactly why separate hours of the same episode of a show is counted as different shows. Then again, if I ran television, Eyes would still be on the air.
1. Monday Night Football (ESPN)
Video interview with Lost's Dominic Monaghan
OK, so maybe you're letting your Tivo take the reigns tonight because you've got a hot date with someone you love. That's fair.
But some of us only have love for Lost on Wednesday nights.
For all you counting down the hours until Lost airs tonight, here is a video TV Tattler interview with Dominic Monaghan. He answers some great questions, such as which one of his Lord of the Rings buddies actually watches Lost, and offers some insight on what he'd like to see in the new season. But I must admit, he's looking kind of rough, as if he was really stranded on an island. Regardless, it's a great interview and a great way to kill the time between now and Lost.
Out of the Blogosphere
Ken Levine has a bunch of great stuff at his site this week, including a story about working with Peter Boyle, his opinion of the PBS Pledge Drive, and a Traci Lords family show. - Aaron Barnhart has one question about The Golden Globes: why?
- Star magazine has their list of The 50 Most Annoying People of 2006, and it includes Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and...Jennifer Aniston?
- Rocco DiSpirito: Broadway star?
- What do you get when you add a baby vampire with Legolas from Lord of the Rings, a mummy, a raccoon dog, the T-1000 from Terminator 3, and Sharon Stone? Best Week Ever has the answer.
TNT will air entire Lord of the Rings trilogy
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will make its network television debut on December 15th on TNT. The cable network has already aired the first two movies, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers over the last two years. The Return of the King, for those of you living under a rock, wraps up the series. TNT is airing it in HD. It'll be available on VOD beginning Dec. 24th.As is customary with TNT, The Return of the King will air for three nights in a row. And, on Sunday December 17th, it will be preceded by the first two movies. With commercials, that's more than eleven hours of programming. I pity the fool who sits down to watch that. I mean, yes, Viggo Mortenson and Orlando Bloom are super hot in all three movies, but if you're going to spend that much time watching television, why not just buy the DVDs?
Previously on Cinematical: Bond, Batman, and Bruce Campbell
Our regular roundup of what's happening over at our sister blog, Cinematical.
- Check out the new trailer for Casino Royale. This film is going to kick some serious ass.
- Get ready for Mummy 3.
- If they make The Hobbit, will Peter Jackson direct it?
- Mark has info about the Fantastic Four sequel.
- Bruce Campbell talks about Spiderman 3.
- Heath Ledger will play the Joker in the Batman Begins sequel. But who wants to play the Penguin? Bob Hoskins!
McKellen and Gervais to share onscreen kiss
BBC/HBO's Extras has some fantastic A-listers lined up to guest star in the upcoming season. Among the big names are Chris Martin (Coldplay), Daniel Radcliffe, Orlando Bloom, David Bowie, and Stephen Fry. Sir Ian McKellen from X-Men and Lord of the Rings is also set to make an appearance, and, the word is, he's going to share an onscreen kiss with the star, Ricky Gervais. McKellen's a funny guy... I remember when he snuck a kiss from Jimmy Fallon when he hosted Saturday Night Live a few years ago. It threw me, a Fallon fangirl at the time, into a fit, but it was hysterical.
Do you watch TV movies even though you own the DVD?
I always do this. Last night, I was watching The Fifth Element on TNT even though I own it on DVD. The profanity was edited out and it had commercial breaks, yet I kept watching it instead of putting the DVD in and watching it all the way through. (Probably because Lelu kicks ass!) I've also been known to watch O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Lord of the Rings, even though I also own those on DVD.Does anybody else do this? What movies do you find yourself watching on TV even though you own the DVD?
Previously on Cinematical: Hobbit love and hating Hollywood
Martha watches some of TBS' new promo spots and really likes what she sees.- Is
Christian Slater going to star in a remake of
On The Town?
- Robert reviews The Notorious Bettie Page.
- Erik finds another reason to hate Hollywood: Breakin' 3!
- What's going on with the Star Trek franchise anyway?
- The winner of Cinematical's birthday contest is announced.
What's on tonight: Tom Cruise, Paula Abdul, Bernie Mac
ABC has a new ep of Extreme Makeover at 8,
followed by new eps of Primetime (with Tom Cruise) and 20/20.- CBS has repeats of Ghost Whisperer, Close To Home, and Numb3rs.
- Over on NBC, a repeat Deal Or No Deal at 8 (see? they're running out of eps already), a repeat Las Vegas, then a new Conviction.
- FOX has a new, hour long Bernie Mac, followed by a new Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy.
- TBS has The Lord of the Rings at 8.
- Nick has a new ep of Avatar: The Last Airbender, also at 8.
- IFC has John Malkovich in Ripley's Game at 8.
- Larry King talks to Paula Abdul on CNN at 9.
- Discovery has a new Science of Survival at 9.
- Also at 9: HGTV has a new Double Take, followed by a new Freestyle.
- At 10, Fox Movie Channel has All That Jazz.
- At 10:15, AMC has Tremors 3: Back To Perfection.
- IFC has a repeat Dinner For Five at 10:30, with Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Ernie Hudson and Laura Dern joining host Jon Favreau.
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