Showing posts with label MTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MTV. Show all posts

April 17, 2015

Last week during the MTV Movie Awards, the network premiered the first trailer to the upcoming television show based on the Scream film series which is set to air on June 30. My first reaction, it's pretty disappointing. I mean, I wasn't expecting much from MTV to begin with but they really gave me nothing to look forward to in this trailer. Take a look for yourself.



Annoyed you didn't see the Ghostface mask anywhere in the trailer? You're not the only one. You won't be seeing it anywhere on this show. MTV stepped in and made a "creative decision" to customize their own mask for the show, much to the dismay of fans and Wes Craven, the director of the film series. (I'm just now realizing the graphic I used for this post is very mis-leading, but it looks too nice to pass up on)

Oh and get this, none of this takes place in Woodsboro, the town from the original 1996 Scream. Nor does it have any connection to the film's heroine Sidney Prescott. It doesn't have the mask, the location is different, and there's no ties to Sidney, Gale, or Dewey. So how is this even Scream? Short answer, it's essentially not. It only shares the same name for branding purposes. Otherwise this is a completely different story from the one we're used to. So why are we supposed to care? If the trailer was made of the best scenes they've got, than this shows absolutely no promise. I say cut this buffoonery and just give us Scream 5 with the original returning cast. Scream just isn't Scream without Ghostface or Sidney Prescott.

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Scream: The TV Series Coming to MTV in June
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Scream: The TV Series Coming to MTV in June

January 29, 2015


Winter break is like a blessing for the TV addicted college student. It normally allows me to binge-watch all the shows I missed over the course of the semester. Over this break, I discovered Catfish: The TV Show. I was aware of what it was but had never sat down and watched an episode. I binged all three seasons in a matter of a few days thanks to Amazon Prime Video. 

If you’re unfamiliar, the show focuses on these two guys, Nev and Max, who travel around the country helping people meet their online loves. In many cases, these people are not who they say they are on the internet and eventually are forced to come clean on the show. The series was created by one of the hosts, Nev. His own catfish story was documented in the 2010 film, Catfish.  

Maybe I’m cynical, but I absolutely love how blind some of these people are. “Oh yeah, we’ve never video chatted or spoke on the phone. Actually, he doesn’t have a phone. But we’re in love!” When confronted that their one true love may not be who they say they are, these people are absolutely shocked to their core. What? Someone lied on the internet? You don’t say? 

In their defense, some of these fakers go above and beyond the typical online troll. However in some instances, they do have feelings for the ones they are catfishing and are only doing so because they are ashamed or insecure with themselves in some way. There are a couple episodes where you actually find yourself sympathizing with the catfisher.

My favorite part of the whole show though is how serious Max and Nev get sometimes. You would think with the way they conduct their research that they have some top-secret software to find these catfishes. Nope. They literally just use Google and Facebook. It's the greatest thing ever.

Season 4 of Catfish is premiering next month and I thought it would be fun to countdown their six best episodes. 

No. 6 - "Sunny & Jamison"
Sunny is a great example of one of the "blind" people I mentioned earlier. "RJ" told her that he was a model, TV show assistant for Chelsea Lately, and that he was going to school at night to become an anesthesiologist. At no point did any red flags pop up for Sunny. Not only that, but she and her sister actually FOUGHT over him as you can see in the clip above. Turns out, it was an 18 year old bisexual woman named Chelsea the entire time. This might easily be one of my favorite catfish reveals ever. "We're looking for Jamison" "It's me." Classic. I bet her sister is ecstatic that it was Sunny and not her who showed up at Chelsea's door.

No. 5 - "Cassie & Steve"

This was an interesting episode because the catfish came from a sincere place but got out of hand quickly. After her father's death, Cassie began following a dark road. In hopes to save her from herself, her best friend Gladys created "Steve." The two began a relationship on Facebook and it soon escalated to phone sex and eventually an engagement. That's right. They hadn't even met yet were already engaged to one another. Now how did they have phone sex without "Steve" exposing his identity as Gladys? Well, Gladys enlisted the help of her cousin to keep the relationship going. While initially Cassie was shocked and hurt over the entire situation, she forgave Gladys and understood why she did what she did, resulting in one of the more heartwarming episodes of the series.

No. 4 - "Jasmine & Mike"

This is one of the more ridiculous episodes they've ever done. Jasmine and "Mike" talked for two years but had never spoken to one another and had never video-chatted. When they finally met, it was revealed that Mike is actually Mhissy, the new girlfriend of Jasmine's ex-boyfriend, Triggs. This is probably one of the most memorable meet-ups we've seen on the show so far. "She didn't take my flower. That's sad, huh?" Their bad blood continued after the episode ended and they almost got into another altercation at the end-of-season reunion. I personally find myself sympathizing with Jasmine here, as ridiculous as the whole situation was.

No. 3 - "Ashley & Mike"

















This was the most infuriating episode to watch and had me actively rooting against the person who was seeking Nev and Max's help. Ashley contacted the duo in hopes of meeting her online beau, Mike. In this case, both Ashley and Mike were catfishing one another. While Mike was sending her fake pictures, Ashley was photoshopping her images to make herself look increasingly smaller than she actually is. While Ashley had said earlier in the episode that looks are not important to her, she changes that tune when she finally meets Mike. After almost a decade of friendship between them, she barley gives him the time of day because of his weight.

Are you kidding me?  People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. She even commented that she was upset he did not have a six-pack. The absolute hypocrisy Ashley displayed was unbelievable. If you're not attracted to him then so be it, but at least give him a chance as a person. He deserves it after seven years of friendship. She was cold throughout the entire meeting. Sadly, Mike passed away about a month after the episode aired due to a pulmonary embolism. All clips from the episode have been removed from MTV. RIP Mike Fortunato.

No. 2 - "Artis and Jess"

This is probably the most entertaining and shocking confrontations ever seen on Catfish. Artis believed he was talking to a woman named "Jess." Both were currently in unhappy relationships and sought a way out with one another Well, it turns out "Jess" is actually a man named Justin who is so hell-bent on exposing cheaters, he went to catfish-lengths to do so. I can't even articulate how insane Justin comes across during the meeting and post-meeting interviews with Nev and Max. My favorite part about it all though is Nev trying to act tough with Justin, "you better back up!" You tell him, Nev!

Funny thing about this episode though, it turns out that Artis and Justin buried the hatchet after the show aired and have since become best friends. They are planning to produce their own show although no plans have gone through as of yet.

No. 1 - "Antwane & Tony"

Oh man, where do I begin? Antwane met Tony on an adult chat-line and regularly kept in contact with him for three years via phone. They never met face to face nor did they ever video chat. The relationship was based on their voices alone. Antwane's cousin, Carmen contacted Nev and Max to help seek out Tony. After doing some rigorous Google research, Nev and Max came up with a few leads. Unfortunately they all seemed to lead nowhere. That is, until Carmen revealed that SHE is Tony. That's right. Carmen catfished her cousin for three years. The reasoning? Three years ago Antwane called her a "fat ass Kelly Price." So in retaliation, she catfished him for more than a quarter of a decade. Even going as far as disguising her voice to sound like a man. Iconic.

All episodes of Catfish: The TV Show can be found on the MTV website. Season 4 premieres Wednesday, February 25th at 10 PM. 

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The 6 best episodes of Catfish: The TV Show
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The 6 best episodes of Catfish: The TV Show

June 19, 2014


I think it's time I do a story on the single greatest moment in television history. I'm talking of course about the "Like a Virgin/Hollywood/Work It" performance from the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Remember when the VMAs were actually fun to watch? Sadly the quality of the show has dropped dramatically over the last decade. Because lets be real, without Britney Spears - the VMAs are nothing. She's owns them. Why anyone would want to watch the VMAs without Britney is beyond me.


Remember this performance? Remember the media coverage it received? Oh man. I remember going back to school and it was all anyone was talking about that entire week. To commemorate this iconic moment in television and music history, I've put together a little photocap of this performance. 



I was, and still am a huge Britney fan. I remember being so shocked she was performing because it wasn't exactly announced beforehand. So let's go through this performance, shall we? Britney comes out and is fierce as hell, strutting her stuff to "Like a Virgin" in true Madonna circa-1984 attire. 


The crowd goes wild with excitement. 


Then this other girl comes out and starts singing along to "Like a Virgin" with Britney. 


Mary J. Blige does not approve of this unknown singer. Maybe it's because of this.


The music stops and wedding music begins to play. This shocks both Britney and the other girl. 


... Madonna then ascends from a wedding cake, and begins to perform her non-charting SMASH HIT, "Hollywood"


Myah approves of this performance.



So Britney, Madonna, and the fan who won the contest to perform with Britney and Madonna make their way down the stage. 


Justin Timberlake tries to play it cool in the audience. Oh boy, you don't know what's coming. Mary J. Blige continues to be disgusted. 


Britney and Madonna lock eyes, it's about to happen. 



I love the three completely different reactions in the image above. Mortification, disgust, and excitement. 



Missy Elliot then appears and the song breaks from "Hollywood" into "Work It" ... ya'll remember "Work It"? Let me work it, I put my thing down flip it and reverse it, it's YAHFIPPYFIPPYNAHNAH ... I never understood what that lyric was. So after a quick Google search, I learn it's the former lyric reversed. Wow. The song makes so much more sense now, doesn't it? She literally flipped it and reversed it. 


The performance ends. Britney, Madonna, Missy, and the fan do a final bow. 

Over a decade later and this is still one of the most talked about performances in history. Other pop girls can try but they will never reach the magnitude of something like this. This just reiterates the point I made to begin with, the MTV Video Music Awards are nothing without Britney Spears. 

Throwback Thursday: 2003 MTV Video Music Awards [Photocap]
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Throwback Thursday: 2003 MTV Video Music Awards [Photocap]