danny

What is wrong with NBC? And don't say "Jeff Zucker", because that's too easy.

The network is currently airing You're the One That I Want, which is a contest to choose the new 'Danny' and 'Sandy' for Grease on Broadway. The show keeps proclaiming that America will choose the winners, but on Sunday night, the judges on the show nullified America's votes. Instead, they kept the bottom vote-getters and tossed the second-to-bottom vote getters off the program. NBC is proudly calling it a "twist" but it sounds more like a "sham" to me.

I'm sure Americans would be super pissed off about this incident if anyone was actually watching the show. If this happened on American Idol, there would be rioting in the streets by now.

I keep seeing promos for NBC's new reality show, Grease: You're the One That I Want, and I wonder whether anybody is going to watch it. Based on the promos alone, it looks as though NBC is capitalizing on the popularity of the early episodes of American Idol where we get to see a few good, but mostly very, very bad performers audition before the three judges. In this case, it's an open casting call for the new Broadway run of Grease. The casting directors need two actors/singers for the lead roles of Sandy and Danny. The first two episodes will feature all the auditions and then the group will be reduced down to 12 contestants on which the public will vote each week.

No doubt it'll be heartwarming to see some talented people finally get their shot at a Broadway audition. But... Grease? How popular is that? How annoying will those songs get after we've heard them over and over? I'm still on the fence about whether or not I'm going to watch. I think I may give this Sunday's premiere episode a whirl.

Tell me... do you plan on watching? Why or why not?

While it's always great to see characters and references to the old, great West Wing (tonight's opening had scenes from past episodes and the return of Danny Concannon), it clashes with the new West Wing, which is all cynicism and bitchiness and tension between C.J. and Josh and the boring character of Kate. But at least there's a glimmer of that old West Wing, if simply because the White House was prominently featured. When there's more scenes in the White House than on the Santos campaign trail, that's a good thing (even if it means Donna isn't around.)

Last time on The Real World Austin, Danny's mom died, and Danny blamed himself (it wasn't actually his fault or anything - he's just sensitive like that). On this week's episode, Danny flies home for the funeral, and the rest of the castmates stay in Austin and think about what life, death, family and love mean to tham. So, in short, this is the most emo reality show episode ever.

Back in Texas, Wes and Nehemiah eat burittos and talk about parents.  Nehemiah mentions that he's never met his dad, and that his mom is a life-long drug addict, currently in rehab. Wes gives him this crazy look, as if to say, "Oh shit, I forgot - you're a minority" - Wes has obviously never actually met anyone with a past anywhere near as "unfortunate" as this. This scene is fantastic, because with all of Wes' intolerable frat boy bravado, just that shot of the look he gives Nehemiah is enough to jab at how spoiled and sheltered and afraid of the world the guy actually is. He is, essentially, street-smarts wise, The Token Country Virgin.