Two Black 'Views' Is Better Than One

One of the two new hosts of ABC's The View has just been confirmed on this morning's show! (Curses! My sources failed me!)

Pic Credit: Just Jared

Whoopi Goldberg will join the show next season for a fact, filling Rosie's spot. However, no mentions of Sherri Shephard just yet. If Sherri gets the gig, the ratio of black to white on the panel will now be even! LOL!

In all seriousness though, ABC should have sought after someone from the latin community to co-host. I agree with Star's point, [made here] in that the panel should "look like a fabric of society".

Check out a clip of today's show here.

Congrats to Whoopi! See you in The Fall!

(Don't let this announcement sway your vote. Continue to cast your votes at the poll to the right.)

Washington & Jones Still Gettin' Paid

In recent news, Isiah Washington has been slated to join the cast of NBC's Bionic Woman due to air in the Fall. The former doc of Grey's Anatomy is said to be in at least 5 episodes of the remake of the 70's classic. According to The New York Post, Washington has also pitched to NBC an action series starring himself. If made a go, that show would air in the Fall of 2008.


And Jill Marie Jones is still grinding. As you may recall, the ex-'girlfriend' had a couple of unimpressive gigs lined up this year. Well now Jones has been casted in the movie, "Major Movie Star" with Jessica Simpson due out next year. For more on the plot, click here.


Black Thoughts:

On Jones: While Simpson movies are not known for being blockbusters the blonde does get a lot of attention. Hopefully Jones can gain some good exposure from this that can lead to bigger and better.

On Washington: Hollywood can be so unforgiving at times and so I am glad to hear of Washington's attempt to bounce back. I wish him luck.

Star Jones Says 'View' Isn't Black Enough!

Pic Credit: Bossip
Ok..well maybe that wasn't the exact words of The View former co-host Star Jones but she did have this to say as reported by TV Guide:

"There is no person of color that has been placed as a permanent member of The View....You need to make it look like a fabric from society. That’s the only thing I would encourage, is a permanent person of color that is a professional, [who] would bring facts to the table."

I agree with her 100%. Babs and the folks over at ABC clearly forgot what brought folks to the morning bitch-fest in the first place. Five white women views on daily happenings is hardly a 'view'.

Since Jones' departure there has been several sisters invited to add some color to the panel. Whoopi Goldberg, Sherrie Shephard and Gayle King have all held the black seat as guests and are to date being considered for the seat on a permanent basis.

Funny, I don't recall it taking this long to replace Lisa Ling with Elizabeth Hasselbeck or Meredith Vierra with Rosie O' Donnell. What are they trying to say? It's harder to find a 'professional person of color'?

Ex-Girlfriend Goes Big Screen: Good Look or Hood Look

For all you Jill Marie Jones fans out there wondering what she's been doing besides being seen on some red carpets looking a mess since her departure from CW11's Girlfriends...well there is no need to wonder any longer...


Here she is!

Why is Jones looking so homely you ask?

This photo of Jill was taken on the set of her forthcoming romantic comedy movie (yes, movie) entitled, Redrum where she plays Tanya Diggs. Tanya is married to Brian (played by Kenny Young) and the movie in short is about a nerdy couple starved for excitement who then realizes committing murders fulfill them when nothing else seems to work. I have to stop here. I refuse to give anymore insight on what already seems to be a stupid plot!

Clearly this movie was either made for TV or will go straight to DVD. But regardless, is Jones that desperate for work that she had to choose this? I understand that to make it in movies after having success on TV sometimes require starting at the bottom. But this is ROCK BOTTOM!

Here's some other photos from the set.




Yeah...definitely a hood look! I wonder if Jones regret leaving Girlfriends yet?

But let's not judge too quickly because Jones do have some other big screen stuff in the works. Before Redrum, Jones will play a supporting role in Universal Remote, a movie that will be featured at The 8th Annual Hollywood Black Film Festival in LA on June 5th. And following Redrum, she will star in Perfect Christmas, a movie said to be starring Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut and other black Hollywoodsters.

Now that's a good look!

'Girlfriends' Season Series Finale?

So last night I caught the 1 hour season finale of CW11's "Girlfriends" and all I kept wondering was..is this the season or series finale? Hhmmmm..makes you wonder doesn't it?


I have been speculating over the last few episodes that this may be the final season of Girlfriends. While I have heard some rumors, there has been no definite mention of the sort but the way everything seems to have come together for Joan, Mya, Lynn and even Monica in these last few episodes speak volumes. I love how writers can drag a story line or issue out for months but when they are ready to tie up a show it can be done in a matter of an hour. I dont know how I feel about this. Sitcoms that have been on this long deserve a more solid ending vs. the "happily ever after" quick wrap up some of the longest running shows in history tend to give us. Let's look closely at this:


Monica (Keesha Sharp), who grew on me more and more with each episode, has been refusing to take William (Reggie Hayes) back after separating from him only minutes after saying "I Do." But for a "quicky" wrap up, she jumps William's bones after feeding him some food while working at the restaurant. And so for the balance of the episode, Monica and William get their freak on until she decides she wants him back. This happy reunion was rather anticlimatic if you ask me. But nonetheless, I enjoyed Monica as the replacement for Toni Childs this season.


Speaking of Toni..where the hell was she? Couldn't CW11 offer Jill Marie Jones a temp gig and allow her to be present for Joan's (Tracey Ellis Ross) engagement moment? But then again, I doubt Jones would even consider coming back to the show seeing how her 'girlfriends' supposedly stabbed her in the back.


But anyhoo, Joan was finally getting the proposal of her dreams and her husband-to-be invited everybody under the sun to celebrate. Am I the only one who thought Toni was going to be one of the familiar faces at the party?

The drama leading up to the proposal was great though. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Lynn and Mya as they aided Aaron (Richard T. Jones) with the proposal.

As for Mya (Golden Brooks), my favorite of the bunch, she gets her dream house....yet again!


After getting knocked up, Mya and family packed up and headed back to LA where they stayed with Joan until they find the perfect home. Darnell (Khalil Kain) at the last minute is given a career oportunity of a lifetime which is to buy, own and operate his own garage. Not sure if he should make this purchase or if he should buy a house for his growing family becomes Darnell's plight for the show.


In the end, he buys the garage but was able to work out a lease-to-own deal with the owner of Mya's dream house making it possible for both dreams to be realized. Yet another perfectly wrapped ending. All I want to know is does this new house have a gym because Darnell is need of one. Im just saying, does the role of Darnell require that you be out of shape, with no muscle definition and have a slight gut? And if so, why the wife beaters? But in all fairness, this brother is 42 years old and can easily pass for 29 maybe even younger if he shed a few pounds.


And last but not least there is Lynn (Persia White)who last week finally got a real singing gig after damn near 8 seasons of being a struggling artist. Another anticlimatic ending if you ask me. I think Lynn should have gotten a record deal at some point during this show, and maybe even end up being dropped due to poor record sales. This is the way I would have developed her story line to keep it fresh and current over the last couple of years instead of giving her pointless relationship and job ventures.

So the verdict is still out. Season or Series Finale? I guess we will just have to wait until the fall to see if the "girls" will still be our "friends" for another season. But if not, I commend the creator and writers of this show for giving the black community exactly what the whites gave theirs when they created "Sex In The City". Too many times we see successful white sitcoms on TV that I know can be just as successful and just as entertaining had the cast been all black.

Star Jones Brings 'Law & Order' to CourtTV?

So it seems former ABC's "The View" co-host Star Jones Reynolds will be putting her law degree to use once again. Or maybe not. Or maybe so? I'm confused.


Word on the street is Star Jones just landed her own TV show on Court TV. I rarely ever watch this channel so unless this show makes big buzz, I doubt I will be seeing it.

Star is also scheduled to make a guest appearance on the season finale May episode of my favorite detective, clue finding, shoot 'em up, bang bang, missing person/murder mystery, drama series, NBC's Law & Order: SVU. Now that I will be watching! Star is said to be playing the role of a lawyer. Yeah, that's a stretch! I think I would have rather Star played a crack head who gets busted for running a ghetto brothel in BK or something.

This same episode is said to also feature hip hop's favorite, Ludacris. Go ahead Luda! This will be his second time on the show. Ice T better watch it. I predict Luda will have a successful career on TV just the same.

Tonight's episode of Law & Order was ok. Just ok.

It was a repeat that I had never seen before. Both Ice-T and Tamara Tunie appeared in this ep but we also had a number of other black faces too.


In short, the killer was a black pimp. Then we had his ghetto girlfriend who couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. We also had the ghetto mother of the girl who was killed by the pimp. She was a classic! (Let's just say she was more concerned about getting food stamps than finding the person who killed her daughter.) And of course any show where you find a black pimp you will have a few black extras playing hookers. But don't get it twisted we had some "good" black characters as well. A black nun was also in the mix but she gets her face beat in by the pimp eventually. If all of this sounds like a lot for one episode, trust me...it was!

All in all I felt like the plot was very basic but the writers kept throwing different situations in the story to mix things up. But this was just another pimp beating his hookers to death story. Been there, seen that, next!

If you missed it you can catch the highlights here.

Kudos to the writers though on the developing story lines between Det. Olivia (Mariska Hargitay) and Det. Stabler (Christopher Meloni). The drama surrounding Olivia and her half brother is a must see!

Black Monday: The Good!

So yesterday was what I like to call "Black Monday". CW11 gives us two primtime hours of nothing but good straight-up black humor. But is it all good?

Everybody Hates Chris was very good last night. The writing on this show can be hilarious but I have a friend who beleives the show is too over the top at times. For example, a teacher (Orlando Jones) coming to your home in the hood to give you an exam. How likely was that to happen back in the 80's? Well, maybe not. But the areas where the show is relatable is what makes this show a must see. For example, Rochelle's (Tichina Arnold) wardrobe is always on point! Everytime I see her I immediately get flash-BLACKS! (You read correctly...that was not a typo.)



Girlfriends last night was one of my all time favorite episodes! And I hate to admit it but I dont miss Toni (Jill Marie Jones) at all. At first I didn't think the show was going to last without the sassy one but I was wrong. The switch to 3 'girls' was as seemless as when Destiny's Child decided to ditch their fourth becoming the modern day Supremes.



Siderbar: Speaking of The Supremes...check out today's Black Watch!

Anyhoo...

Last night, my favorite character on the show, Maya, (Golden Brooks) suspects her newfound neighbor, Alicia (China Shavers), is being beat by her husband Ray (Carl Anythony Payne). But while her 'friends' dismiss her suspicions it turns out something was "going on up in the Haciendas"! The show ends with the battered wife turning to Maya and Darnell (Khalil Kain) for help after repeatedly denying and hiding the truth. So what happens now? If my TV Predictable Radar (TVPR) is correct, I sense the battered wife will take up residency with the couple until she can get back on her feet. But during this time, I foresee some sexual tension brewing when Darnell and Alicia end up living under the same roof. What yall think?



In closing, let me just say that this episode of Girlfriends embodied everything I hope to achieve while writing my script. Mixing humor with serious issues such as domestic violence is not easy. And I paid attention closely yesterday as the show transitioned us the audience back and forth from seriousness to laughter. All I can say is...well done.

Stay tuned later as I dish on Black Monday: The Bad!