Life Is Wild Episode 1

Life Is Wild is one of The CW’s new shows this season, about a family that moves to South Africa. The father is a vet, and his ex-wife (now deceased) lived there as a child. Replacing 7th Heaven (and before then, the only show to ever work for The WB on Sunday night, Charmed), it’s got some big shoes to fill. Based on the UK series Wild at Heart, the show has been referred to as African 7th Heaven by some.

The show starts off with the family driving through Africa. They pull over to take a rest, only to realize an elephant is charging toward them. Everybody hides in the car, but the father, Colin (Calvin Goldspink) is like Dr. Doolittle and calms it down.

Katie (Leah Pipes, also the narrator) has a flashback to why they’re there in the first place. The parents decided to move to South Africa as a chance for the stepfamily to get closer. They go to stay at her mom’s father’s “cutting edge” lodge, which is not quite what everyone was anticipating. When they get there, they’re greeted by a drunk, half conscious grandfather, Art (David Butler), who informs them of the snakes and warthog.

Katie tries to convince herself the year will just fly right by despite the lack of her friends and a computer but tells her father she’s blaming him if everything goes off track. He promises her she’ll thank him one day. Jo (Stephanie Niznik, Everwood/Nina), meanwhile, is upset it’s not a modern facility that she could actually assist with running. After her little tantrum, she says they’re there because the oldest son Jesse (Andrew St. John) got expelled and almost arrested because New York wasn’t working for them.

A villager comes and drags Colin off because they are in desperate need of a vet and can’t wait a couple days for him to start. He brings the two oldest children (his daughter and Jo’s son) with him and tells them to stick together, which may present a problem considering they don’t like each other. She quickly bails on him. Colin arrives to a line of people waiting for him with their pets.

Katie takes the time to walk around town with Tumelo (Atandwa Kani), one of the locals. Jesse, on the other hand, tries to steal some whiskey and takes off without telling anyone where he is. Not good news with a wounded lion on the prowl. When he finally does come home, Jesse’s drunk and informs Colin he’d rather be in jail with his real father than there with him. Unlike Jesse, Katie is very mature for her age, even if that means keeping everything bottled up.

When going to retrieve a soccer ball from their front yard, they run into a baby lion, who Art believes was abandoned. They take it to a nearby (functioning) lodge so Colin can examine it. And of course, the guy there has teenage children, the obvious love interests for the main cast. Jesse strikes out with Emily right away, but Katie doesn’t have much trouble with Oliver. He tells her the place is paradise and will grow on her.

Upon arriving back home, Katie figures out where the injured lioness is. She ransacked the area trying to find food. The youngest son Chase (K’sun Ray) thinks she was looking for her cub. After Katie gets back from her friend Tumelo’s, who brings her to play with a cheetah, they find out that Chase has wandered off to release the cub to its mom. Katie runs off hoping to catch Chase, and Jesse follows her. The only problem is they don’t have much trouble running into the lioness. Somehow, Jesse also channels Dr. Doolittle and saves them. Colin returns after having found Chase, who got lost, and Art shoots the lion with a tranquilizer dart so she can be operated on. Colin needs help from someone other than the drunk Art, so Jesse gets stuck, but it goes without saying that he’ll learn something from it and it will bring them closer together.

Toward the end of the episode, Art finally answers Katie’s question about why he and her mother stopped talking. She hated apartheid, but he didn’t. He says times have changed, although there was some indication from Tumelo that they haven’t changed for everybody. He gives her a bracelet that belonged to her mom, causing her to finally get emotional and say she can feel her there.

Not knowing what will happen, after the operation, they take the cub back to the lion, who Chase believes is his mom, and in the end, it all works out okay. Following that, the family sits down to their first meal without fighting and insults.

The timeslot this show has been put in seems like an instant kiss of death, but if it can overcome that, it has the potential to be a good family show, complete with the amazing animal safari that only filming in Africa can offer.

Life Is Wild premieres Sunday October 7 at 8/7c on The CW. Want to watch the premiere online before it airs on TV? Click here.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of Life Is Wild episode 2, which airs Sunday at 8/7c on The CW.

Mark Burnett Jingles

CBS has ordered 8 episodes of Mark Burnett’s newest show, Jingles, reports Variety. In this show, teams will have jingle writing assignments each week, and they must then perform them for America’s votes.

“This show is sort of like ‘America’s Got Talent’ but with a purpose,” Burnett said. Apparently the purpose is to shove product placement on us like The Apprentice has devolved into lately.

“It’s a very organic way to give advertisers what they’re looking for,” Burnett said. “It’s totally family- friendly, it’s noncontroversial, and (the product placement) is very organic. It’s not about pushing something that doesn’t belong.”

No airdate has yet been set.

America’s Next Top Model 9 Episode 2

Episode 1 saw a bunch of people running around like madwomen and ultimately being narrowed down to the final 13. This episode should have a bit more direction and control to it.

Top Model goes green, with a 100% biodiesel vehicle made of recycled materials. I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to be impressed with their ethical treatment of the environment.

While the rest of the girls have fun going into the pool with their clothes on, Heather holds back and is writing on her own.

The photo shot is a public service announcement for why smoking is bad. They are first shot with a cigarette in their mouths, followed by an overexaggerated shot of the bad side effects. Mila thinks the whole situation is hilarious, which it is because it’s so over the top and in your face. Heather actually looks really good with makeup but has trouble doing the shoot with another girl, Saleisha.

When it’s all done, Lisa says Bianca is insecure and conceited (uh, aren’t those two opposite things?), which is followed by a catfight. Bianca later only apologizes for what she said about Lisa being an exotic dancer because she thinks Tyra will look poorly upon her if she doesn’t apologize (as if then admitting that to the camera somehow helps her position).

Ms. J. comes out and gives them a lecture about style and tells them they’re going to go to Old Navy. The judges will determine at panel who did the best job of shopping. They have 10 minutes to rip apart the store and choose an outfit for the next day at panel.

Heather becomes the center of conversation multiple times throughout the night because she’s shy and awkward. She calls her mom and tells her she doesn’t feel like she can trust them, which she’s absolutely right about for the most part. Only a couple girls have a positive attitude about giving her a chance.

Chantal is told her accessories are distracting. They’re overall pleased with her but are concerned with her bedroom eyes. The judges are pleased with Jenah’s emotion in her picture. Victoria says she’s not insecure, even if she is soft spoken. Mila is told her outfit looks like a sack and that they have trouble with how she looks in the picture (because it was a ridiculous picture with a stupid concept). Bianca is told she needs to study and look in the mirror, and getting rid of the purple hair couldn’t hurt. The judges love Ebony’s outfit but don’t like her photo shoot as much. They tell Heather she needs to be more confident. Saleisha wins the best outfit prize, a shopping spree and ad for Old Navy.

Tyra announces that this is a no smoking cycle. As of the next day, smoking has been banned from the show. Then it’s time to reveal who moves on.

Heather
Lisa
Chantal
Sarah
Jenah
Saleisha
Ambreal
Victoria
Janet
Kimberly
Bianca

So it’s between Mila and an already emotional Ebony. Tyra tells them it takes more than just being a pretty girl to be a model. Ebony is safe. Mila is the first one to go home. Mila ultimately got screwed by a ridiculous PSA that, while it was a good message, was just overdone, to the point where it became comedic, which is why she couldn’t stop laughing. They seemed to be more interested in making a (bad) horror movie than giving a message that smoking is bad.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for a recap of America’s Next Top Model 9 episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW, with Encore presentations at 9/8c on Sundays.

30 Second Commercial Costs

What’s it cost to buy an ad on the top shows? MediaWeek revealed the top 10. Unsurprisingly, American Idol takes home the big prize by a large margin as usual.

1. American Idol Tuesday (Fox) – $700,000
2. American Idol Wednesday (Fox) – $700,000
3. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – $465,000
4. Desperate Housewives (ABC) – $378,000
5. Sunday Night Football (NBC) – $350,000
6. Heroes (NBC) – $330,000
7. The Simpsons (Fox) – $300,000
8. 24 (Fox) – $300,000
9. CSI (CBS) – $290,000
10. House (Fox) – $290,000

Moonlight Is No Angel

I’d read the early criticisms about this show but tried to go into it with an open mind, since I had been a big fan of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and later Angel. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it’s about a vampire PI with a soul dressed in a long black coat driving his convertible around town saving innocent people but unable to get close to anybody because of what he is. Sounds familiar.

Sounded familiar to David Greenwalt, co-creator and writer of Angel, too, and somehow they managed to get him onboard. Unfortunately, that lasted all of two months before he left and the show began falling apart again.

What the producers of this show apparently failed to realize is that Buffy and Angel weren’t cult favorites because they were vampire stories. Like the rest of The WB’s dramas, it was the comedic aspects, the witty banter and quick quips, that made the shows so enjoyable. Sadly, Moonlight has none of that. The handful of good lines are overshadowed by dragging excessive seriousness, and most attempts at humor fall flat.

I started getting into it about 50 minutes in, but for the most part, I found my mind wandering. I’m okay with the stolen story. I just wish it were told better. If you want a good vampire story, you’re better off just picking up Buffy and Angel DVD’s.

So with that said, I ask The CW, which sucked last year but appears to be finding its way back down the path where The WB was a couple years back: can we get a Spike spinoff already?

CSI: Season 8, Episode 1 – Dead Doll

Season 7 ended when the CSI team caught the miniature killer, Natalie. As her last miniature, she planned an attack on Sara, as a way for her to get back at Grissom for leading the only man (her adopted father) she ever trusted to suicide. Sara’s disappearance forced Grissom to admit their relationship out in the open.

As a clue, Natalie made another miniature that displayed a car wreck in the desert, with a miniature of Sara under it. The season opens as the team searches for Sara and Grissom, while studying the miniature, discovers that she only has a few hours left before she drowns when the rain floods up under the wrecked car.

As the rain continues to poor, water under the wreck car fills up, while Sara tries to get out from under the car without any success. The CSI team discovers Natalie’s car and tracked down its GPS system to determine which locations she went recently.

Down at the station, Sophia Curtis and Jim Brass led Hodges to swab Natalie for DNA and trace because she has wounds on her scalp. Natalie is experiencing all the signs of a psychotic breakdown – delusions, hallucinations, which could last days or months.

Upon receiving the surveillance tapes from where Sara was abducted, Grissom learned that Natalie used a stun gun to bring Sara down.

(In a flashback scene) Natalie drives the car, while Sara is locked in the compartment.

Brown investigates the car and discovers that Sara climbed her way up to the backseat of the car from the compartment. The scene suggests a fight between Sara and Natalie.

Sara attacks Natalie while driving and jumps out of the car. She was left on the dessert without any energy to fight back. Natalie tied her up again as they drove to another location. Sara was drugged and slowly loses consciousness. She woke up to find out that Natalie was placing down a car on her, pushing her arms to the ground.

While checking out Natalie’s apartment, Stokes found a clue written on the wall – a contact number of Desert Diamond Auto Yard. Jim Brass immediately went to interrogate the crew of the auto yard to find out that Natalie asked them to tow a red convertible. The man from the auto yard gave directions to the desert site and rescue teams along with Grissom’s CSI located the red car.

Upon reaching the car, Stokes and Grissom dug up the dried sand where Sara was supposed to be. They discovered that Sara was able to climb out of the car when the rain got high enough for her arms loosen from the car’s weight and swim her way out.

Now without the rain, Sara is trying to search for help while walking through the deep and wide desert of Las Vegas. She is dehydrated, disoriented and tries to leave clues behind for the team to follow. She eventually collapses on the ground.

As Stokes and Sophia roamed through the roads of the desert, Stokes’ attention was caught by a glare in the middle of nowhere. As a survivor that Sara is, she brought along a side mirror of the red convertible to signal for help. Without a pulse, Sara is treated by paramedics and brought to the nearest hospital in a helicopter, with Grissom by her side. Sara eventually regains consciousness to the sight of Grissom’s name on his vest.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of CSI: Las Vegas Season 8 episode 2, which airs Thursday at 9pm on CBS.

Watch CSI Online!

CSI: NY Season 4, Episode 1 – Can You Hear Me Now?

There’s no better way to start a CSI: New York season than to place a crime scene at the city’s # 1 icon – the Statue of Liberty. Mac was on his way home from his London vacation when he was greeted with an extraordinary sight – blood dripping down the Statue of Liberty’s face and a murder of security officer Georgia Morse (who died with a slashed throat). Another security guard named Charles Price was supposed to be on shift ended up missing. Is he the killer?

The CSI team investigates the entire scene as Danny gets blood samples hanging hundreds of feet from the Statue itself. The blood from the statue was not from one victim alone – whether or not the blood came from a person or animal, the team has yet to figure out. Mac discovers two inconsistent blood drops from victim’s arterial splatter, while Hawkes recovers a sticky substance from the vic’s body, which Lindsay later determines as condom spray.

In between their investigation, Stella asks Mac about his trip and he tells her about the mysterious calls he received in London at exactly 3:33 every night, which all ended up without answers.

The team discovers a viewing station with blood on it and wire tied to keep it from moving. As Mac looked through the viewer, he discovered a man sitting across the water, which Mac and Stella first thought to be the killer staring at them. They were shocked to find out that the man, named Damion Brock, was dead with words “two more will die” written under his shirt and wounds on both the sides of his neck. Dr. Hammerback discovers that the 2nd victim was embalmed with a cleaning liquid, which explained his abnormal orangy color, and finds another piece of the puzzle — a small metal object stuffed in his mouth.

A new character appears. Kendall, a lab tech tries to one-up Adam (and vice versa) by discovering new evidences and leads. Kendall discovers that the wire from the viewing station was from a piano (for an “A” key), while Adam explained the tiny metal object was from a music box, customized to play a Mozart tune. It was made specifically for a musician named Nova Kent.

Danny and Stella interviews Kent, but she insists that she lost the music box while moving four times in a year.Danny was not convinced of Kent’s statement.

Mac eliminated Charles Price as a suspect when he studied the blood splatter and learned that Georgia’s blood only bounced off of his security badge. Dr. Hammerback found the missing security guard, but only his severed arm reached the lab when a group of boaters reported the sight.

Flack and Stella checked out Damion’s apartment to look for clues. Stella experiences dejavu as she enters the apartment. Morton Brite, the landlord, lets them into Damion’s room and Stella recognized him as the prime suspect of an unsolved murder of Marie Cousmira that she investigated a year ago. Flack finds that Damion was embalmed in the bathroom while still alive. Stella and Flack listened to a chilling call that has just came in – it was Damion’s terrified voice recorded before he died talking about a license plate.

Stella found a viewfinder toy in Damion’s apartment, which led to another victim – Lee Nakashima with his tongue cut out, who Mac and Danny found stuck in a drum at a popular music hall. The team found a video with Nakashima (before he had his tongue cut out) describing a man’s eyes, height, built. Since both Nakashima and Damion both lived in the same apartment a year ago, Mac put the pieces of the puzzle together and Stella says that the two may have been witnesses of Marie Cousmira’s murder.

The piece of paper found in Nakashima’s mouth revealed a ticket concert of Nova Kent. The team rushed to discover a man holding flowers for her, which they immediately arrested. Anthony Colton confessed on murdering Marie and threatening Kent, but strongly denies killing the security guards at the Statue of Liberty.

Stella visited Morton Brite to tell him about the good news that the CSI eventually solved Marie’s case. Inside Brite’s apartment, Stella discovers that his piano is missing an A string. Stella puts it together that Morton was angered that his girlfriend died and three witnesses shut their mouth and chose not to report the murder to the police. Morton pours Damion’s blood over the Statue’s face to get the police’s attention and lead them to Marie’s killer. After Stella shot Morton before he could escape, he shouts: Can you hear me now?

Back at the CSI lab, Mac is still working when he recieves a phone call exactly at 3:33 am. Who can be calling Mac? A killer he didn’t catch? An innocent person put in jail? What can be the significance of that time? Let’s find out in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of CSI: NY Season 4 episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 11/10c on CBS.