Video: More Britney and Barney...
Britney Spears makes her second appearance on "How I Met Your Mother" tonight and The Hollywood Reporter says in today's edition that she might be back for a third guest spot!
Britney's character of Abby, a receptionist obsessed with an uninterested Ted, has rebounded into the arms of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) Here is a scene:
This seems like a win-win situation for Britney and for the show which now seems certain of a fourth season. Ratings have been way up since her first appearance and she has shown that despite the very public troubles she has had in recent years, she clearly seems to be on the road back.
The show's co-creator Craig Thomas told The Reporter that Monday's episode was written to leave the door open for the pop singer to make a return appearance next season: "She was better than the first time and I think the fans will enjoy it because her return answers a larger mystery set up earlier in the series. So there's a good plot reason why she's there. And when people watch Britney's second appearance on the show they'll see that the door is still open for her to come back."
After spending much of the first season mostly making fun of Betty and scheming with his boss Wilhelmina, Marc (Michael Urie) will have plenty of reason to be a nicer person during the second season of "Ugly Betty." Marc will get involved with Cliff, a young photographer at MODE magazine. Cliff will be portrayed by David Blue/ His previous credits include guest spots on "Veronica Mars," "Scrubs," and "Dirt."
Just spoke with sources at ABC. The story about David Beckham and Robbie Williams playing a gay couple on "Desperate Housewives" is, as I suspected, bogus.
I wish I could say this is my scoop but I'm trying to have a rare vacation day today (posts will return to regular levels tomorrow) but these belong to Chicago Tribune television critic Maureen Ryan who paid a visit to the set of "Ugly Betty" and came back with all kinds of goodies. I offer you a sampling...
The new gay pair means Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) won't be getting a new boyfriend anytime soon although Cherry says he will be involved in one of the early plotlines involving Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and her bout with cancer.
Wayne Brady is just THE MAN today. He was a terrific guest on "The View" this morning and tonight, be sure to catch him on a repeat of a classic episode of "How I Met Your Mother." As you know, Barney, played by out actor Neil Patrick Harris, is a real skirtchaser. Wayne plays his brother (they have different fathers...duh) who is the gay version of Barney...a real dudechaser who finally decides to settle down. Barney is not happy about it.
It would be really cool to start doing weekly "Desperate Housewives" recaps next fall when the show begins its fourth season. But it won't happen unless Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom) re-emerges as a prominant gay character again. To have him be one of the most interesting characters for two seasons then reduce him to glorified extra is puzzling and certainly not unnoticed. I am staying with the show, for now, because it's still entertaining but the season finale last night, in which Andrew had maybe two or three LINES, is one reason why I am wavering. 
I hope next season brings them some fun storylines and less melodrama because these two actors have terrific chemistry and could be a real delight pratfalling their way through life for awhile.
And then there was the absolutely delicious comic creation that was Perry Pearl, the gayest "straight" man on the face of the Earth. Sam Harris, best known for his powerhouse singing, was a blast in this part and I loved doing recaps of this show each week - especially the parts involving Perry.
When I saw "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry working the press line at Saturday night's GLAAD Awards, I was ready to let him have it. I've been bitching for several months now about how the character of Andrew Van de Kamp has gone from a sexually active gay teenager (whose a bit of a sociopath!) to this sweet Wally Cleaver kid. 
Then it was time to talk to Marc Cherry...
Just for kicks, I also saw Andrea Bowen who plays Andrew's neighbor Julie Meyer on the show and asked her what she thought of Andrew's love life: "I want him to have a boyfriend! I want Justin (Ryan Carnes) to come back on the show. I am so proud to be on a show that portrays gay characters and is very open about it. So, I root for Andrew, I'm right there."
What a ripoff. Maybe the show has plans to have more flashbacks with Boone making out with Jack (Matthew Fox) or Sawyer (Josh Halloway). I'd forgive them anything if we had that. But since neither Sawyer or Jack are gay (that we know of!), that ain't gonna happen. If I were a gay guy trapped on that island, i don't know how you don't fall for Jack.
And Ian showed in the indie gem "Rules of Attraction" that he isn't afraid to play gay or do a same-sex love scene. His kiss with co-star James Van Der Beek was semi-hot but even hotter was a sexy dance he did on the bed in his hotel room with another guy whose name I don't remember. But he was really gay in "Rules" and went after who and what he wanted. 
It's always a happy day when you have reason to post a picture of Robert Gant. And if he happens to be shirtless in that picture, all the better! Gant, who came out publicly while a cast member of Showtime's "Queer As Folk," is going to appear in tonight's episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" in an episode that involves a string of showgirl murders, according to Brian's Blog on AterElton.com.
Last night's episode of the new sitcom "The Winner" (pictured above) had star Rob Corddry becoming friends with a recently-single (and rather hunky) gay man whom he refuses to believe is gay because the guy likes football, among other "straight" things. Two nights earlier on "The Wedding Bells" featured Stephen Guarino (pictured, left) as a flamboyant groom who everyone is sure is gay.
I've already written about the "Old Christine" episode that aired on Monday so click 
The first show that aired on Monday was a repeat but I had never seen it before Old Christine's ex-hubby Richard (his new girlfriend is known as new Christine to avoid confusion) has a really hot brother named Joe who is played by Charles Esten. Joe is struggling with being gay but realizes, after kissing his former sister-in-law Christine, that he is indeed gay! He's not ready to come out to big bro but old Christine, always the blabber mouth, spills it. A series of lies and misunderstandings follow and it is all very funny. New Christine even blurts out that she was briefly a lesbian while in college. 
Shortly after Isaiah Washington won the NCAAP Award last Friday for best actor in a drama series, Entertainment Weekly tracked him down to ask whether he'll be back at Seattle Grace next season. 
After Nicole's husband Yonk has had a heart attack (just before she was to leave him for Duncan) and is in the hospital, the gang is in the hospital waiting room looking grim. In flounces perky Perry. He checks in on Nicole and says: "I don't know how you're holding up in this light?" Then he takes one look at Nicole's obnoxious, complete slob of a stepdaughter (the running joke was that she kept eating vending machine food the entire episode) and says ever so sarcastically: "It's like Audrey Hepburn is back among us." 
So at episode's end, do we get to see a reunion of the happy couple and once again gaze upon the beautiful Chrisitian de la Fuente who played the role for half the season? Uh no. (the photo is from an long ago episode) We get to see the back of some random actor's head with hair similar to de la Fuente's! He coulda been hugging someone from the studio audience for God's sake.
I have been disappointed though that Kyle (Sean Maguire) started the season with a hunky boyfriend (Christian de la Fuente pictured at right) but the boyfriend went missing around November. I hear he will re-appear fleetingly in tonight's episode.
When I saw Brian Austin Green several months back on the red carpet at the DVD release for "Beverly Hills 90210." he playfully smooched former co-star Jason Priestly for photogs. Now I realize he was just rehearsing! According to The Hollywoodwood Reporter, Green will play a gay man in a new comedy pilot from the creators of "Will & Grace." The untitled CBS project, from David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, is about two friends and writing partners, one straight and one gay (Green), and the women working with them (Jessica Capshaw, Vanessa Lengies). The project is loosely based on Kohan and Mutchnick's friendship.
This is the kid who, at the end of last season, she dumped on the side of a road! This is the scheming kid who blackmailed his mother, who let his boyfriend sleep over just to tick off Bree, and who, driving recklessly, ran over neighbor Carlos' mother with his car. He was so much FUN!
Some other thoughts on the latest installment of DH: this was really the "Dixie Carter Show" and the woman who played the lovely Julia Sugarbaker for so long on "Designing Women" showed us how evil and murderous a character she can be. In a flashback scene, her character of Gloria kills her son's mistress. He walks in on the bloody scene. She looks at him, holding a wrench and says very matter-of-fact: "It was self defense. What's done is done." As the two prepare to bury her, Gloria grabs a pair of pliers and starts yanking out her teeth: 'You don't want her to be identified by her dental records do you?" she asks her incredulous son. Fast-forward to the present: Gloria laces Bree's soup with sleeping pills then tries to drown her in the bath tub. When Andrew tries to stop her, she knocks him out with her cane. Son Orsen, hospitalized after falling off the roof of a hospital, finally bounds in to save Bree from his mother who then promptly has a stroke.
The final scene is of mother and son at the hospital when Orsen says to Gloria with barely contained glee: 'Good news mother. The doctor says your stroke has left you completely paralyzed."
"...make Chicken Piccata!"
He doesn't talk about his personal life but his professional life is fair game. This item was in Marylin Beck's column that I thought I'd share: "How I Met Your Mother" regular Neil Patrick Harris says his character, Barney, on the CBS sitcom is becoming an homage to the late John Ritter — who was also a master at physical comedy. "I've suddenly become Jack Tripper," says Harris, referring to Ritter's character on the '80s series, "Three's Company." "I begged them for pratfalls, and I'm getting them. We've got some really, strangely funny things coming up." Harris admits since the addition of the more physical comedy, "I took some headers … I bruised my legs up a lot recently because I couldn't move my legs in the episode we were doing, so I was doing wacky walk for a while." He adds, "I can hurt myself, but if I laugh at myself when I watch the DVD, then it's all right. It's all for the sake of comedy, and the bruises heal."
Unless a post-gayhab Isaiah Washington pops off again (hey, you never know), it seems that it is back to business on "Grey's Anatomy." My guess is that we might see his role minimized ever-so-slightly from here on end but I base that on nothing but a hunch. At any rate, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the medical drama-soap opera had its highest demo rating since its September premiere carried ABC to a primetime win Thursday even as the premiere of "Survivor" came out ahead of ABC's "Ugly Betty" and NBC's sitcoms at 8 p.m. The demo win means most viewers between the ages of 18-49, the group advertisers most covet since, I guess, people 50 and over don't spend money? They've never seen my mother at the mall!
"Grey's Anatomy" averaged 24.9 million viewers and a 10.7 rating/25 share in adults 18-49; it was its highest rating in the demo since its premiere in September. That came in ahead of "CSI" (22.3 million, 6.8/16) at 9 p.m.
This week's episode had Kenny going out on a date and Dave has a talk with him about safer sex. He does so because wifeVicky (Anita Barone) , when realizes Kenny has a boyfriend, insists Dave talk with him about safe sex because she’d “…like to keep him from getting AIDS.�
I was just lamenting a few days ago about how Perry Pearl, the gayest "straight' man on television, had disappeared from the CBS sitcom "The Class" along with Kyle's boyfriend. Well, Kyle's boyfriend is still MIA but Perry, played with much hilarity by Sam Harris. will be featured on Monday night's show. According to TellyNelly (see my blogroll for a link), while redecorating their spacious pad, Perry ends up stuck at Yonk and Nicole’s home and makes the most of the storm by cooking an elaborate meal for Duncan and Nicole. Meanwhile, Kat and Kyle get stuck at Ethan's apartment.
Those were the days...
Then we have the CBS sitcom "The Class" which I still like but liked a lot more when the gay character on the show, Kyle (played by Sean Maguire) was actually in scenes with his boyfriend. The boyfriend has been absent for several episodes as Kyle becomes closer pals with the straight Ethan (Jason Ritter). Also absent from the show has been openly gay actor Sam Harris who was showcased each week as Perry Pearl, the gayest straight man ever. Some people had trouble with Harris' character who seemed so obviously gay to everyone but himself and his high-strung wife. But I personally thought Harris was hilarious in the role.
Show creator Tim Kring has said in an interview before the show's debut that Zach, played by Thomas Dekkar, is gay. AfterElton said that Dekkar's management insisted the character of Zach not be gay. Kring later told the Web site that indeed, the character was changed from gay to straight but said the change occurred only because of the needs of the story. 
Network television officially gets another gay teen tonight when Kenny (Rami Malek) comes out to his friend Larry on Fox's "The War at Home," according to Advocate.com.