American Idol

CHICAGO – Almost laughably trying to blend FOX hits “American Idol” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” the new cooking competition show “Masterchef,” which debuts on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010, is nowhere near as interesting as either and falls ridiculously flat when compared to the excellent “Top Chef.”

CHICAGO – Ellen DeGeneres has always been a woman of many hats. Whether taking a seat as host (or featured dancer) on her Emmy Award-winning talk show “The Ellen Degeneres Show”, offering musical insight to hopefuls on “American Idol”, or lending her voice to the LGBT community, DeGeneres has become a trailblazer of the entertainment industry.

CHICAGO – The networks announce their fall schedules this week and the first one out of the gate was the one that will likely see the least upheaval as the 2010-2011 schedule for FOX looks a lot like the 2009-2010 season.

CHICAGO – Ryan Murphy’s brilliant “Glee” is not only the best new show of the year, it’s off to one of the best starts for any series in the last several fall seasons. Much closer to Alexander Payne’s “Election” than Disney’s “High School Musical,” this is a clever blend of satire, pop tunes, laugh-out-loud comedy, and rich, interesting characters that you simply shouldn’t miss.

CHICAGO – The networks announce their fall schedules this week and Eliza Dushku fans will be happy that her on-the-bubble show from TV genius Joss Whedon, “Dollhouse,” got a last minute reprieve from the TV gas chamber and will be on the FOX fall schedule. While “Dollhouse” made the cut, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” was shown the door.

CHICAGO – Much closer to Alexander Payne’s “Election” than Disney’s “High School Musical,” the pilot for Ryan Murphy’s “Glee” is one of the best of the last several years, a clever blend of satire, pop tunes, laugh-out-loud comedy, and rich, interesting characters. The one thing I kept thinking during the pilot of “Glee”? This is too good for network TV. It will never last.

CHICAGO – Ryan Murphy is not a TV writer who believes in following the rules. He reached nearly iconic status from the loyal followers of FX’s “Nip/Tuck” and is trying to create water-cooler TV yet again with FOX’s very unique “Glee,” a show that we’ll review later this week (but you can check out a great clip here if you’re impatient).

CHICAGO – Last night’s “American Idol” featured an exclusive clip from the August 21st release of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” starring Brad Pitt, B.J. Novak, Eli Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, Cloris Leachmen, Mike Myers, and Diane Krueger. We have the clip for you below that was reportedly too hot to air on primetime TV during “American Idol.”

Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – If you’re like most people who own a television, you’ve probably seen “American Idol” at least once in its near-decade of ratings dominance and thought that you could do better than the pop star wannabe on the stage. Now you can try and achieve “AI” dominance on your own with “Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2”. Practice your Mariah Carey note runs.

Television Rating: 1.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “The Mentalist” is the only significant new hit for the 2008-2009 season and the number one rule in TV is that if something works once, try and replicate it. Viewers can expect to see dozens of clones of the Simon Baker series in the next few years. It is into this atmosphere that Fox hopes their newest crime series, “Lie To Me,” can find a loyal audience.