Nostalgia, Pt. 48

Plastics 4ever!

Can you believe it has been more than a decade now since we first fell head over heels for Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls? Since we discovered the knows-few-bounds talent of Rachel McAdams in the Tina Fey-written hit and cult comedy? Since Lacey Chabert resurfaced for a moment of zeitgeist-y bliss, and since Amanda Seyfried last played a third banana to anyone?

Crazy, right?

Ten years later, the cast of Mean Girls has been reassembled for a very special issue of Entertainment Weekly (on stands later this week).

And all I can think is...this. Is. So fetch!

Photo: EW.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 47

Aside from Friends, know what other seminal TV show is celebrating an anniversary (its 10th) today?

Lost.

Like...guys, remember how riveted we were when we first started discovering the Island?

Photo: GoPixPic.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 46

Happy 20th Anniversary, Friends!

OMG, can you believe it has been two decades since we met and fell in love with Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross?

Could they’ve been any more fun for us to spend the first 8 o’clock half-hour of NBC’s Thursday nights with? (Ah, put your lighters up for Must-See TV, too!)

Thank you, Friends, for always being there for me. Numerous times a day.

:)

Photo: FanPop.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 45

Yo, kids – do you remember the Got Milk? campaign, which once upon a time featured the likes of Britney Spears, Hugh Jackman, Ellen DeGeneres, Danica Patrick, Reggie Bush, Dara Torres, Harrison Ford, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and Sarah Michelle Gellar (pictured here)?

Yeah?

Well…it is now a thing of the past.

It was announced today that the Milk Processor Education Program has adopted Milk Life as its new campaign slogan.

Which is clever, alright, but also the end of an era.

Photo: TheComicsCode.weebly.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 44

There has been a dearth of Michael Fassbender news in my life lately.

And I do not enjoy!

Sure, the Fass will come back into the spotlight with the upcoming releases of the oh-so-buzzed-about 12 Years a Slave and The Counselor this fall, and he has been working on X-Men: Days of Future Past and Macbeth, but still....

I need my Fassbender, so, quick, somebody take an end-of-summer shirtless-and-wet pic of the man double-pronto or som’in’.

It will be deeply appreciated.

Photo: HollywoodReporter.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 43

’Cause it’s just that kind of day, in a way: a little Adele.

It’s “Don’t You Remember.”



Emotional cutting session now over.

Nostalgia, Pt. 42

Alrighty then: It really is like you blink and, poof, you’re 15.

Whaddya gonna do.

Not much except be totally gracious about it...and maybe sneak a flirtini – or a classic cosmo! – and celebrate how far you’ve come, for, indeed, it was 15 years ago today that HBO gave us Sex and the City and introduced us to four of our favorite modern-day heroines of TV: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, making bona fide stars out of Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon.

Not to mention Manolo Blahnik.

I mention the shoemaker not because I think the essence of the show can be summed up in its award-winning fascination with expensive high heels but because I believe that it earned its need for sky-high footwear by reaching the goals it set out for itself.

That stylish New York City-loving, pun-making machine was a trend-setting ground breaker that combined comedy and drama to great effect. I am not going to give you examples of moments that  I think helped changed anything that we can see because I think that, yeah, Sex and the City, on the surface, is about those instances but, more importantly, that show was and is about how those moments change(d) ya. Nudge(d) ya. Personally.

But I will say that I really loved and love that show and those girls, and so today, I salute them and their indelible footprint. 

Photo: SplashOfOurWorlds.blogspot.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 41

So 10 years ago, just as Beyoncé’s solo career was taking off, my girl Buffy Summers was ending her TV run (she went on to live a healthy life in comic-book form, though).

Thanks for reminding of that one, Entertainment Weekly!

Anyway, I would be remiss and an all-around bad Buffy the Vampire Slayer if I didn’t take a hot sec to celebrate a clever, clever show that made me laugh, cry, a little frustrated at times (mostly during Season 6), smarter by osmosis, and plenty proud about having discovered it (a little late during Season 2).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t perfect, but it was gosh darn pretty close.

Like, very close.

I mean, that high school-is-hell metaphor stuff? Brilliant. That humor? Fantastic. And that cast? One of the best I have ever seen on television (and I watch a lot of TV).

I miss Buffy and the Scooby Gang and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And I am hella grateful that it exists.

Photo: EmpireOnline.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 40

Thanks to the good folks at HuffPo, I now know that today marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Beyoncé’s first hit solo single, “Crazy in Love.”

Time sure flies when you’re having fun, huh.

So let’s take a moment and think back to that slightly simpler time, yeah?

What...was I doing 10 years ago today? Had I had my first car accident yet? Not sure.

I definitely was having tall glasses o’ water already. Or talking about it. Said tall glass o’ water later tried to teach me how to drive a scooter, which ended in a broken nose (not mine).

And I certainly was having way more fun than I shoulda with B’s choreography for this one.

Photo: MetroLyrics.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 39

Top this, Beyoncé:



Now, I bet Queen B will put on a terrific show, but in my book, the chapter to end all chapters when it comes to Super Bowl halftime shows was written by Madonna last year.

That’s it, that’s all; #longlivethequeen; game over.

Oh, and hey, don’t forget that Elementary is airing after the big game, OK.

Nostalgia, Pt. 38

Remember Diet Coke Man Lucky Vanous?

I don’t, so this one’s for anyone who does.

Now, Vanous may have been before my time, but I can appreciate his oeuvre, which is why I am celebrating Coca-Cola’s homage to the guy and what he did for the company as seen in its latest commercial for Diet Coke starring the rippedlicious Andrew Cooper.

Talk about your effective marketing – ’cause one look at the guy and I bet everyone can only say what they say after taking a sip of the drink: “More.”

Photo: Towleroad.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 37

Remember when the MTV Video Music Awards mattered, when the show and all of its antics were a must-watch and a must-chat-about the day after?

Yeah, those were the good ol’ days....

All I know about last night’s show is that Rihanna and Chris Brown shared a very public embrace (ew) and that Pink rocked the house as it has become her wont when she performed her latest hit, “Blow Me (One Last Kiss).” Am I right?

Get More: 

P!nk, Blow Me (One Last Kiss) (Live), Music, More Music Videos

Other than this, I couldn’t tell you who won, who was there, who wore what – and the sad thing is I really don’t give a. (Click here if you do.)

My, how things change (when you get older).

Nostalgia, Pt. 36

Cher and Josh. Josh and Cher.

Aw, Clueless....

It seems like just yesterday that comedy revolutionized the way American teens acted, dressed, spoke, but it was – oh, I’m so not going to finish that sentence. As if!

It seems like it’s been ages since we last saw Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd together, though, and that’s probably because it has been, but there they were, at Rudd’s Our Idiot Brother premiere in New York last night, looking like not a day has passed them by, huh.

She’s still such a Betty, and he’s still very much a Baldwin.

Work together again, you two!

Photo: People.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 35

I used to find them simply irresistible (and still do) and find any just-because excuse to blog about them, but now Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry are dunzo...and I’m sad.

“Halle and I have decided together to separate at this time,” Aubry confirmed today.

“She is, and will forever be, one of the most special and beautiful people that I have ever known, and I am certain that we will continue to have only love and respect for one another.”

I kinda love that Aubry is back on the market, though. Maybe now he can make the switch....

Photo: UsMagazine.com.

Update: Halle, girl – tell me this isn’t true...that you did not call Gabriel “a loser” for not being on your, quote unquote, level.

Nostalgia, Pt. 34

Oh, Whitney Houston, why, why did you have to f--- it all up?

I mean, yeah, the following now-vintage performance of “I Will Always Love You” is not even your best, but girl, you can’t even touch it anymore.



So, so sad.

Crack is whack, indeed, and it messes you up for good, kids. One day you’re on top of the world, and the next you’re not even fit for an early-season episode of American Idol.

Nostalgia, Pt. 33

Oh, Michelle Branch – where are you?

You used to be “Everywhere,” but now I feel like I should say “Goodbye to You” for good.

I can barely “Breathe.”

Photo: TheCouchSessions.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 32

As family and friends prepare to say their final good-byes to Michael Jackson, today we remember the late King of Pop.

Yes, we’ve been remembering him every single day ever since we heard the news of his untimely death late last month, but today’s different.

Today’s final.

We remember MJ with a little more respect today, and as the Rev. Al Sharpton said we should this morning on the Today show, with a little more attention paid to the legacy of his work as one of the world’s most iconic entertainers.

Michael Jackson never was a visceral experience for me.

I listened and danced to “Thriller” at parties, and just FYI, I never dared recreate his moves in the video.

My older sisters used to needle me with a version of “Beat It” they’d reworked just for me.

And I never saw him perform live, although I once came close when he toured the world in support of his HIStory, a show that would not go on and make it to South America because of one his many legal troubles in the ’90s. I remember my mom went to return the tickets to this department store, and came back home with a new washer and dryer and a new sofa. “It was either that or store credit,” she told my dad, who was not amused.

The MJ I knew best wasn’t the headline-maker of “Bad,” “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” or “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Sadly, I came to know him as the embattled headline-grabber who, on rare occasion, put out a good song like “Black or White,” or “Scream,” his duet with his sister Janet.

Once upon a time, at the height of his popularity, he was the King of Pop. Jackson reached across borders, bridged differences between people, and, indeed, made billions of people feel like one. He had such singular power. He cared about us, and we really did care about him.

Until the very day end, ever the consummate entertainer, Michael Jackson was good for a memory, for a laugh (be it well-intentioned or mean-spirited), so let’s let today mean something good.

In MJ’s words, let today be a day when “we stand together all around the world joined in a common purpose to remake the planet into a haven of joy and understanding and goodness”:



I think Michael Jackson truly wanted to make this world a better place. As he once again brings billions together, I can only hope we can all remember we can heal the world.

It’s what he would’ve wanted.

Long live the King!

Update 1: I thought Jennifer Hudson performing “Will You Be There” (the Free Willy song!) was fantastic.

Update 2: Seeing MJ’s daughter Paris address the crowd at the Staples Center moved me:

Nostalgia, Pt. 31

Called it!

Mark-Paul Gosselaar was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night, to promote the second season of Raising the Bar, and he did the interview in character as Saved by the Bell’s Zack Morris (a full-cast reunion, he said, is not out of the question):



How cool is Gosselaar! He even brought in props, namely Zack’s signature grey brick cell phone.

Nostalgia, Pt. 30

The last Saturday of May was alright for the first of the last three episodes of TV’s Pushing Daisies.

ABC finally decided fans of the show had waited long enough to run the eps – which it had to in order to release the show’s second season on DVD. With little to no promotion to boot. I only found out online late on Friday afternoon.

Shame on ABC for treating Pushing Daisies like stale ol’ pie when it’s the sweetest confection they’ve had in recent years!

I’m going to love watching this coda to this always brilliant, colorful, inventive, amusing, and smart show. But I’m going to hate that it’s not coming back.

Photo: ABC.com.

Nostalgia, Pt. 29

I am sooo going to miss Nicollette Sheridan’s bitching Edie Britt on TV’s Desperate Housewives.

Sheridan’s character met her maker on last night’s episode, which served as a moving eulogy for one of the show’s most quotable, if underused characters.

Edie’s death took place in the first few minutes of the show, which left off cliffhanger-style a few weeks ago with her crashing her car into a utility pole, and then getting the shock of her life.

“To add insult to injury, I was electrocuted!” Edie said in a voiceover. “What can I say: it was one of those days.”

As all the housewives gathered around, Edie said, “I died just like I lived – as the complete and utter center of attention!”

Even in her final moment, Edie had to deliver a line that would put everyone back in their place. As a fan of her and the show, I wouldn’t have had it any other way, natch, especially because Sheridan relished it – you could tell.

Throughout the rest of the episode, we got to see, though various flashbacks, how Edie, may she rest in peace, either came to know some of the housewives (i.e. Teri Hatcher’s Susan) or surprisingly lifted them up from their lowest points (Felicity Huffman’s cancer-stricken Lynette).

And seeing her go cleavage to cleavage with Eva Longoria Parker’s Gaby for men’s attention at club (pictured at right)? Priceless.

It was sad to see her leave, but it was great to see her go that way.

Photo: ABCNews.Go.com.