Category Archives: TV Shows

The Ward el Khal “Scandal” is an LBC Prank

Remember the video that surfaced online a few days ago and featured Lebanese actress Ward el Khal going into a cat fight with a woman who accused her of sleeping with her husband?

If you don’t, then here’s the video.

A few days later, Blog Baladi wrote about Ward el Khal filing a lawsuit against the woman in question. Drama, drama. Literally.

It turned out the whole video is a prank, staged by LBC, who wanted to advertise their new TV station: LBC Drama.

While the prank sure got people talking, I have to say it’s a very cheap shot and I’d be worried if it actually represented the content of what LBC Drama will air.

The new station will go on air starting August 20th.

“The idea was that of brilliance, leading viewers to feel and live the moment and the drama,” Ward el Khal said regarding the video.

I guess some people have a low standard for what’s brilliant.

This is Ward el Khal letting you all know:

LBC are proud by how viral the video went. What I don’t get is how that will benefit them in whatever they were trying to do.

 

Lebanese TV Presenter Maya Diab – Before and After

Even though Maya Diab, currently hosting MTV’s “Hek Menghanné” is a great looking woman, many have been sure that she’s had a few plastic surgeries to help her.

And what’s “better” than to have an old TV appearance of Maya Diab come back to “haunt” her.

This is her in 2001:

And this is her today:

No need to watch the whole thing. The first minute should be enough.

They should make a “spot the difference” game out of this. It’d be her whole face – literally.

Once Upon A Time – TV Show

I recently started watching a new American TV series titled “Once Upon A Time,” brought to us by the creators of one of our generation’s best TV shows: Lost.

The premise of the show is highly interesting and, even though it starts off weirdly, picks up right at the middle of the first episode and enthralls you. A testament to that is the show catching my brother’s attention as he was engaged with multiple Facebook chats with his friends. You know teenagers and their chats can go on forever. He stopped them to watch.

The show is a modern twist on the fairytales we’ve heard over and over again as we grew up: Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, etc…. On the day of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming’s (Joshua Dallas) wedding, the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) barges in and threatens them with a curse where no one would have a happy ending, except her. Months later, a pregnant Snow White goes to Rumplestiltskin who tells her that the curse can only be broken by her unborn daughter, as she turns 28.

As the events in that alternate world take place, we are introduced to Emma (Jennifer Morrison) who lives in our world, on the day of her birthday. She was turning 28. It is then that her biological son finds her and tells her that he lives in a town in Maine called Storybrooke where people are the characters of those fairytales, brought to our world by the Evil Queen’s curse without them knowing who they are or where they come from. None of them can leave the town and none of them have an inkling of their past.

Emma, who gave up her son Henry for adoption ten years prior, drives him back to Storybrooke to give him back to his adopted mother and, without intending to, finds herself wanting to help her son out of his “crazy” fantasies, not knowing that her presence there is changing everything.

The overall story might look childish for many (the foundation is a fairytale after all) but the execution is captivating, which is expected from the creators of Lost. They managed to continue the stories of those fairytale characters that we all know and add another dimension to them – one that transcends the magic in which they live, making them look raw and real.

The performances, mainly that of House‘s Jennifer Morrison, are great as well. Morrison portrays the cynical Emma but keeps her character sharp enough as to not repel viewers. She makes the transition to a caring “mother” and makes it look fluidly easy.

All in all, with three episodes in (the fourth one set to air this Sunday November 13th), Once Upon A Time is definitely one of the better new shows to be introduced. It’s a must watch that will surely spark the imagination of million, just as I’m sure its creators intended. Even the fairytales we thought we knew keep surprising us by having links between all the different stories. And if you’re attentive enough, you’ll notice allusions from Lost, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and other Disney movies there.

Start downloading…

 

Game Of Thrones

I recently finished watching the first season of HBO’s newest series: Game of Thrones, based on the book series “A Song of Fire and Ice” by George R. R. Martin.

The series is a fictional medieval drama, set in the seven kingdoms of Westeros. Each section of those kingdoms is ruled by a different lord, all of whom have to obey the king who sits on the Ivory Throne.

The show’s main protagonists are the Stark family, one of the noble families of the Kingdom, and the rulers of the North. Lord Ned Stark, the father, is soon appointed hand of the king, Robert, when the former hand dies in mysterious circumstances and is, therefore, forced to leave his family and relocate with his two daughters to the kingdom’s capital, leaving his wife and oldest son to care for his people in the North. But in a world where treason is a way of life, where insincerity and lies keep you alive, Ned Stark doesn’t fit – especially when he learns the truth about the king’s son.

Another storyline taking place in the show happens at the far North of Westeros where Lord Stark’s bastard son (yes, he is referred to as such in the series) joins the Night’s Watch, a brotherhood that protects the built barrier in that location against “The Others” that exist beyond it.

Moreover, in the neighboring realm of Essos, the two remaining members of House Targaryen strike a deal with vicious barbarians in order to reclaim the Iron Throne, which was taken away from them when king Robert took charge and exiled them. Princess Daenerys soon finds herself leaving the fragility of her former life and assuming the firm role of Khalissi, head queen of the barbarians and my favorite character. But her family heritage remains in her blood, making her a hybrid between both cultures, and another claimant to the Iron Throne.

This is Khalissi:

Game of Thrones is, in the bigger sense, the game between the different Lords to claim the Iron Throne. It is a show about power struggles and about the basic human nature quality of striving for more power. It showcases how badly some people handle the power given to them and the cruelty that may arise when such people reach powerful positions.

The show is highly engaging. And at ten episodes for the first season, proceeds rather quickly with its plot. One of its strong points is its ability to focus on the many storylines taking place without it getting stuck on one of them. Moreover, there’s an impeccable element of professionalism in the series: the cinematography, art direction, locations… everything is chosen with the utmost consideration of details, making the series beautiful to look at as well.

Game of Thrones is, as every HBO production I’ve watched, a raunchy series. The episodes are filled with many sex scenes where more than basic human anatomy is revealed. However, unlike other TV shows where such scenes are only used for shock-effect, in Game of Thrones, they serve the plot and are, at some points, pivotal moment for the plot’s advancement and serve as a way to reveal hidden motives with many characters.

All in all, Game of Thrones is a highly recommended series. You will enjoy it even if you’re not even remotely interested in medieval shows or blood and gore (yes, there are way too many bloody scenes of decapitations and the like). However, it remains a show with an impeccable storyline that feels more cinematic than TV-like. The makers’ decision to translate the books into a TV series, not a movie, is a great decision and will allow them to remain true to the books and include more and more details that we, as viewers, would have missed otherwise.

True Blood – Season 4 Premiere: She’s Not There

This post contains a few spoilers. So if you haven’t watched the episode, proceed at your own risk.

This is the first time I had to wait for a True Blood season. I watched all three previous seasons back to back last December and I was hooked.

The accurate description for a show like True Blood would be vampire porn. There’s more nudity in it than any other show you’ve watched and it’s about vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies and other fairytale elements.

Well, season 4 premiered on Sunday with a brand new episode titled “She’s Not There” and the episode sets the tone for what is looking to be a great season ahead.

At the end of season 3, Sookie found out that she’s half fairy and that vampire Bill Compton had a mission by the queen of Louisiana to get her trust so they can harvest her blood and soon enough, she was transferred to some sort of parallel realm full of similar fairies. But she starts to get suspicious in that realm, as season four starts. Something doesn’t feel right. And soon enough, she finds out that these fairies are harvesting humans. She escapes and gets back to Bon Temps, her hometown, only to find out that the ten minutes she was in that realm are equal to a year on Earth.

I never thought True Blood would go the time jumping route but it simply made sense. Imagine Sookie going back to her hometown only ten minutes after the end of season 3? It wouldn’t have left any room for substantial plot advancement. And the plot advances considerably to basically allow the viewer to have some sort of “blank” slate for season 4, one that doesn’t need to strongly build on previous seasons. This also marks the first time there’s a substantial time difference between True Blood seasons. The previous two picked up where the one before them left off.

Her friend Tara is apparently now a lesbian who goes by the name of Toni and has moved out of Bon Temps. Sam Merlotte is going to a weird anger management program and his brother is very much still alive, albeit being shot in his leg and needing physical therapy. Jessica Lamby is still with Hoyt but their relationship is struggling as they try to get used to the differences between them: her being vampire and him being human. He takes her out to Fangtasia, the show’s favorite pub, where she meets a human that entices her but she stops herself from acting on her impulse.

Lafayette is still dating the male nurse/witch and they go to a seance, with a very interesting twist, signaling a very substantial role for witches this season. The leader of the witch coven is a named Marnie, played by Irish actress Fiona Shaw, known for her role as aunt Petunia in the Harry Potter movies.

Jason Stackhouse, Sookie’s brother, is now a cop. He has also sold her house because he thought she was dead and the house had too much memories for him to take.

Bill Compton is now the king of Louisiana and has a new love interest in the form of Any Belfleur’s sister: Portia, a local lawyer. Eric Northman is the one that has changed the least and as he tells Sookie, he’s the only one who was sure she wasn’t dead. The vampires are still battling for their civil rights and Eric starts playing a role with the PR of the movement.

The premiere had a few off moments though. How could a fairy godmother be a guy with a six pack is the first WTF moment of the season. Add to that seeing Tara/Toni making out with a girl in a dark alley somewhere and you start wondering: when did she decide to turn lesbian?

All in all, it was a highly entertaining season premiere. But get this, next week’s episode looks to be much better!