E! might have promoted Ryan Lochte’s new reality show ‘What Would Ryan Lochte Do?‘, but even having it follow Ryan Seacrest interviewing the Kardashian family couldn’t save it’s premiere episode. As predicted, Lochte fever has dwindled and after over getting 807,000 viewers for it’s highly marketed debut this past Sunday, don’t expect the Kardashian network to be renewing it for a second season. It’s 11 PM encore pulled in another half million viewers, but we’re hearing that E! will see how the second episode does before deciding whether to quickly burn off the remainder.

Reviews for the show weren’t very good, and it was just as bad as they said. For anyone who’s grown weary of the Jeah! fashionista, this show will only make you grow more weary. The opening scene alone was just Lochte showing off one of his shoes and he says, ”These are my shoes, that I designed from top to the very sole to the very top to the bottom– F***! Lace. These are …”

We then hear an off camera producer telling him to ‘Start it again,’ making us realize us even more how much practice the Olympic medal swimmer needs in just his everyday life. The Hollywood Reporter said he came across as the ‘worst stereotype of a frat boy’, but I have to say that that was an insult to all fraternities. The scenes were he talks about dating women just felt forced and unbelievable. When he’s hanging out with his male friends, Lochte comes across as much more relaxes and like Jake Gyllenhaal, he seems to have way more chemistry with his men than with his women onscreen.

Other not so surprising scenes from the show were when the swimmer/fashionista admits to not knowing what Obamacare is even though he was a vocal supporter of Barack Obama’s reelection. He doesn’t know why so many people call him a douchebag, but then he also admits to not knowing what that word means either. So, this is that reality show that’s solely for the hardcore diehard Lochte fans who’ve got a masochistic streak in them to sit through this dreckitude. It airs 10PM E.T on E! every Sunday or until they cancel it like the other dreadful reality show Ready For Love.

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Shanka Cheryl

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She writes it as she sees it and many have the war wounds to show for it. When I say 'sources' unlike other sites, I mean REAL life sources!

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Mimi Imfurst stayed true to her name and nature as she sashayed away just as quickly as she came onboard RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Edition taking a very disenchanted Pandora Boxx with her. Check out some of the images from the premiere episode below.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is back for a shorter season (6 – 8 episodes), and they turned the twists all around this time right from the start after all the returning queens made their entrances along with Chad Michaels doing an homage to Jennifer Lawrence’s Hunger Games. This evil little twist really changes the dynamic of the show as the 12 queens were told that they’d be paired up into teams of two for the entire run. This means that if one has a bad week, then the other goes down too, and not in the good way!

The way they were chosen was to make a choice of who they’d like to be paired with and in each round if the other person chose them also, it was set. This has an evil little side as people knew that they might not have been the first choice of the team they’re in like Manila Luzon and Latrice Royale. Manila chose Latrice each round, but it wasn’t a mutual thing. As with each pairing up on reality shows, Mimi Imfurst, trying hard to erase the memory of her bizarre Lipsync For Your Life meltdown, was last on everyone’s list to be paired with and Pandora Boxx wound up with her.

Here’s how the teams landed:

Team Rujubee: Raven and Jujubee

Team Shad: Shannel and Chad Michaels

Team Brown Flowers: Nina Flowers and Tammie Brown

Team Latrila: Latrice Royale and Manila Luzon

Team Yarlexis: Yara Sofia and Alexis Mateo

Team Mandora: Mimi Imfurst and Pandora Boxx

Pandora was expectedly not happy, but it wasn’t near as bad as what the social media made it out to be. It felt more like she gave up pretty much right from the start after that which wound up working against her and the team. This was one episode where Untucked was actually more interesting that the episode since it answered some questions we had here about why Mimi had another dress on under her outfit during the Lipsync For Your Life. The other thing that told us Pandora had given up was letting Mimi go up against Chad Michaels, the queen of everything.

If you don’t usually watch Untucked, watch it. You’ll see how the queens really ganged up on Mimi as she began resorting to those demons that plagued her in Season 3. I was expecting her to flame out and after the contestants brought up what many felt was questionable votes that got her on All Stars and apparently poaching Alexis Mattea’s gig at a Florida club, she took off. It took Chad Michaels to kick Pandora in the ass and run after her teammate so as to have a slight chance of staying on for another week. That’s what I absolutely love about Chad. Where many queens would be delighted that their competition darted, he wants to win not by default but by earning it.

Just from tonight’s show seeing how the teams were relating, I won’t be surprised if Team Rujubee takes the crown followed closely by Team Shad. Team Latrila is a bit of a wild card since they are drastically different, but I’m rooting for Manila since she’s been one of our favorites here.

I’m curious how they’ll bring in Sharon Needles for an episode since they have to, but I was thankful that Shangela didn’t pop in again, and Willam Belli was a fun little surprise on Untucked as was Tammie Brown who can bring crazy back anyday! RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars airs every Monday on Logo at 9 ET/8 CT.

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Shanka Cheryl

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She writes it as she sees it and many have the war wounds to show for it. When I say 'sources' unlike other sites, I mean REAL life sources!

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I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic with Ryan Murphy’s first season of American Horror Story, but American Horror Story Asylum is an entirely different story, and the first two episodes set a very strong pace for the show. Now I’m actually looking forward to what happens next!

Last season of American Horror Story, I just wasn’t as impressed as everyone else was, especially with that ending, but Ryan Murphy has brought me around with the new season of American Horror Story: Asylum, and I couldn’t find anything to complain about in the first two episodes! I gave him kudos for creating some good ole R rated horror for tv, but now, I can give him kudos for the show itself, and not just the idea of what he’s going for.

Doing a complete reboot of the series was brilliant, and it turns each season more into a mini-series event so there’s no dragging on of storylines season after season. Some of the cast members from last season return, but thankfully not that boring couple that you couldn’t wait to get killed off until they became ghosts, making me more afraid that they’d be returning with their incessant whining and nagging. Not the case this time, and Jessica Lange is given a much better role as the vicious Sister Jude, where she walks that fine line of cheesiness with some of the lines but never crosses over. She truly enjoys this role and refuses to chew scenery like last season.

This new season is set in Briarcliff Manor, a New England mental asylum during the 1960′s, and finally Murphy has a show that feels very cohesive with some great direction narratively speaking. Murphy has a problem on his shows with going all over the place viewer be damned, but he’s learned from last season’s problems, and the setting of an asylum really works perfectly. The entire cast seems to have embraced the high drama of the situation without going over the top. Zachary Quinto brilliantly underplays his role as a psychiatrist, and in the mouths of lesser actors some of the dialogue would make you unintentionally laugh.

I knew that Adam Levine would be used for some type of sex scene, and the Maroon 5 & The Voice sexy geek plays exactly the type of role you’d expect from. He and his new bride Teresa (Jenna Dewan Tatum) are visiting the 12 most haunted places in America, not just to get scared silly, but to do each other silly. As you’ll see in the clip below, his bride talks him into taking a video of a locked door while she keeps her mouth busy on him until his arm appears to get yanked much harder than his other tool.

This is where Murphy has played it smart with this show. It’s all about casting, and he’s giving some truly great actors bigger than life roles, and they’re enjoying every minute while making us believe the entire experience.

My biggest complaint of last season was that Murphy and writers felt the need to jam every classic horror homage down our throats so that it felt more like a guessing game of which scene was from Rosemary’s Baby or another movie. This time around, they’re used sparingly but they work with the show rather than against it. You don’t feel like ‘Uh oh, here’s that scene from A Clockwork Orange or The Exorcist.

The big recurring themes are that horror comes no matter what year or place it is along with the fears of desire and of how many people want to be seen as good. This also has the rub as being raised to be ‘good’ can result in that tendency to rebel against social norms, and Murphy shines a light on how some feel the need to enforce what they feel is the only right way by using fear and shame as their emotional weapons. There’s a few scenes that reminded me of Roman Polansky in The Tenant where people begin to question whether what they are seeing is real or if their mind is making them crazy. But then when you realize that you may not be crazy, and the events that are occurring are so freaking scary, being crazy would be a delight.

The rest of the characters are: Kit Walker (Evan Peters returning from American Horror Story for more tormen), who’s accused of being the serial killer Bloody Face but insists he’s innocent because feeling that aliens are responsible; Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson, another American Horror Story returnee), a reporter attempting to investigate the asylum’s shady practices by pretending to write a feature story about its bakery; Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell), the mad doctor whose commitment to science clashes with Sister Jude’s faith; Shelly the Nymphomaniac (Chloe Sevigny) who is exactly what her character’s name implies; and finally, Sister Jude, who believes “mental illness is the fashionable explanation for sin” yet also secretly wears racy negligees underneath those holy robes. Murphy’s use of people who cry foul at something loud enough always have something hidden deep in their closets.

This is a review of only the first two episodes of American Horror Story Asylum, and Murphy’s not always been known for consistency, so it will be quite the balancing act with this season. I’m rooting for it since he’s off to a winning start. Please don’t let me down, you converted me with those brilliant trailer shorts that Shanka religiously posted every day, and I’m ready to jump in for the rest of this season.

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Curt Johnson

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Filmmaker and movie reviewer who loves giving the spotlight to some not so well known films ignored by the mainstream media. Also loves dark twisted comedy like House Of Yes while also enjoying Working Girl.

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SyFy has renewed it’s shockingly creey series Paranormal Witness for a third season and a big twenty episodes. This is the only show that has creeped me out nearly every episode! Latest clips below to check out.

The docuseries Paranormal Witness truly deserved a bigger season on SyFy, and thankfully we’ll get twenty episodes in Season 3. This was one of those shows that I stumbled on late on night, and after getting really creeped out, I had to see all of them. Season 2 has only had four episodes, and three of them really got under my skin. I’ve watched those celebrity paranormal experiences which are so dull, so I was expecting the same.

What a difference this show is. It’s based on true stories, but even if it wasn’t, this thing would stand on its own just as a horror series for tv. American Horror Story Season 1 could’ve learned a lot from this one. Anyone who’s ever had that odd experience during childhood or even in adulthood will easily relate and just feel your skin crawl while others who love horror will truly enjoy this one. It’s really that good.

This season they ran an indepth piece on the Dibbuk Box which was an ebay phenomenon and then Sam Raimi made it even more famous with the Possession movie in theaters now. What sounds like a hokey story to the average person really gets good treatment by this show. The reenactments are really well done, but they also have the actual people interviewed talking about their experience and some of the freakier episodes use video and photographs taken by the people.

Paranormal Witness is like the creepiness of Paranormal Activity squared. Any horror fan will love this one, whether you believe the reality of the stories or not, and I dare you to find fault in either of the two season. It airs on SyFy on Wednesday nights, and below is a preview clip of this week’s episode The Apartment…which won’t have Shirley Maclaine in it.

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Filmmaker and movie reviewer who loves giving the spotlight to some not so well known films ignored by the mainstream media. Also loves dark twisted comedy like House Of Yes while also enjoying Working Girl.

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Danny Boyle’s 2012 London Olympic Games opening ceremony was jam packed with stars like Paul McCartney, David Beckham, Kenneth Branaugh and Daniel Craig’s James Bond was led out by Queen Elizabeth II.

Who knew that Queen Elizabeth II could have a sense of fun, but she showed everyone at the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony when she parachuted in (at least her stunt double did that hard part!) with James Bond (Daniel Craig’s stunt double also for the live shot)! But that was indeed Queen Elizabeth sitting in her quarters, welcoming James Bond and accepting his invitation to the Olympics in Danny Boyle’s three-minute film. It’s believed that this was the very first movie she’s ever appeared in. Boyle and his crew were given unprecedented access to her quarters for a one-day shoot this past April.

This was the big surprise that we reported on back in June, but when once the video of a car driving up to Buckingham Palace appeared, everyone knew James Bond was going to be making an actual appearance.

So here’s how it went down…Daniel Craig as James Bond got out of the car and walked in — only to be led to the room of Queen Elizabeth II. “Good evening, Mr. Bond,” she said. “Good evening, your majesty,” he responded.

They then took off in a helicopter that flew over London as people on the ground – and even a statue of Winston Churchill – waved. The video then seemingly showed the Queen jumping out with a Union Jack parachute to the Bond theme. We knew Boyle would pull out all the stops for this one, and the producers of Skyfall are very very happy with the results.

James Bond wasn’t the only character from the world of film and literature to make an appearance at the Opening Ceremony. Mary Poppins, Lord Voldemort and Mr. Bean were all featured prominently in Danny Boyle’s abstract salute to England. It’s quite a site of his film, and it felt very British as it should!

Below is the full 2012 London Games Schedule broken down by events so you can easily know when your favorite event will be on.

If you missed Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte with the USA Olympic Swim Team doing their version of Call Me Maybe, it’s worth the watch.

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Shanka Cheryl

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She writes it as she sees it and many have the war wounds to show for it. When I say 'sources' unlike other sites, I mean REAL life sources!

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Last year’s surprise summer hit ‘Falling Skies‘ is finally back, and naturally, the action is bigger than ever along with some new characters, including Brandon Jay McLaren who provides some love interest for Lourdes (Sychelle Gabriel).

When I first saw ‘Falling Skies‘ last season, I wasn’t expecting much. I think it was more because I’d gotten used to Noah Wylie playing that action-geek librarian so much so hearing that he’d be playing a hero type leader in a sci-fi action series just sounded odd. So I don’t know if it was just lowered expectations or what, but I really got hooked on the show. You can definitely tell that Steven Spielberg has a hand in it as those aliens have quite the familiar look from his ‘War Of the Worlds‘, but this show is way more interesting. Plus Noah Wylie is actually more believable in this role than Tom Cruise was. (naturally his couch bouncing at the time made it harder to watch him play this type of role).

Fans of the show, and even those that still aren’t purely sold on it will have a pleasant surprise with the first four episodes of this season. The great ending for last season had Tom Mason (Wylie) getting onboard the spaceship with Karen (Jessy Schram) against his better judgement leaving us wondering where in the world would this show go from there. The Season Two premiere, ‘Worlds Apart‘, kicks off three months later with the 2nd Mass, weary and ragged but still kicking alien butt. Tom’s son Ben (Jessup Connor) will definitely have the spotlight on him as he’s gone from last years walking zombie to action hero style and he takes a lot of aggression out on those aliens. If you recall, he was once taken by them and given that special back clamp to phone home.

Captain Weaver (Will Patton) is still the Alpha Male in charge, and then one night, Tom comes back only to get shot. Just like in ‘The Walking Dead’, the 2nd Mass’ safe haven of the school is history, and they’re forced to be constantly on the move, but they’re getting more pissed than angry and fighting back hard. The aliens aren’t always the brightest, but they adjust which always forces the team to reconfigure and then someone else gets a chance to take over and be Alpha Dog until Weaver goes crazy again like last season.

While Mason is recovering, we begin to learn some of what the aliens did to him. He also is faced with some doubts about where he stands with the group since he doesn’t remember everything that was done to him on the ship. I don’t think we have to worry about anal probe talk on this show at least! The premiere is actually two episodes back to back, but they always love to say ‘a 2-hour season premiere’ anyway.

The second hour lets Pope (Colin Cunningham) get some spotlight as he plants seeds of doubt about Tom and why he was allowed to even come back after communing with the aliens. At this point, even Tom isn’t sure whether to trust himself. Pope is that character every show like this needs who just cares about his own safety and has not problem saying things that everyone is thinking privately but afraid to admit. Ben’s hatred of the aliens grows to seething proportions, and he’s like a little human supremacist now as he and older brother Hal (Drew Roy) grow further apart. It’s almost like after knowing that the aliens had controlled him last season, he’s taking out all his pre-teen anger and anxiety out on them.

Lourdes (Sychelle Gabriel) finally gets some loving this season as ‘The Killing’s‘ breakout star, Brandon Jay McLaren, comes on the show to play Jamil, the 2nd Mass’ engineer whose career was just about to explode before the aliens changed everything for him. McLaren has become quite the actor who brings so much to every role he takes on (even that dreadful ‘Harper’s Island‘) so Lourdes should not be so lonely this season.

Episodes 3 & 4 will be introducing some new characters along with a new location for the 2 Mass to finally settle in, but naturally there’s problems as usual. Everyone hoping for some Hal and Maggie action will get their wishes fulfilled this season too. She’ll talk more about her past so naturally that always leads to some bonding. Season 2 will definitely be grittier and darker as the 2nd Mass has noticeably dwindled down, but they still have that fighting spirit!

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Curt Johnson

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Filmmaker and movie reviewer who loves giving the spotlight to some not so well known films ignored by the mainstream media. Also loves dark twisted comedy like House Of Yes while also enjoying Working Girl.

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‘True Blood’ Season 5 kicks off this Sunday and for those of you worrying that it won’t be as intense as promised, you have nothing to worry about. Alan Ball is proving that he’s going out with a bang, and the first four episodes are very intense. There’s a couple of very very light spoilers so stop here if you don’t want to know anything.

Plenty of ‘True Blood‘ fans complained about last season, but I thought it was fun, but Season 5 gets very serious and intense…and we finally get to know what Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) is all about. Giving this season a sense of urgency, it picks right up where things left off last season. I was still shocked and surprised with Tara’s death along with Lafayette killing his man Jesus (Kevin Alejandro) while possessed by Marnie. Thankfully, Lafayette is a medium so we know Jesus will be back to visit this season. The first four episodes of this season take place in just one week so you know they’re stirring the pot hard down in Bon Temps.

For everyone wondering what will come of Tara, since the show picks right up after she took that shotgun blast to the head, you’ll get your answers. We’ve reported already what happens, but I don’t want to put any major spoilers in here. Alan Ball is great with flashback scenes, and we get to see the young Sookie and Tara being just as hardcore and kickass as we’ve always seen. It shows how strong their bond’s always been and why what happens next happens. It’ll satisfy all ‘True Blood’ fans who were pissed that she got killed off.

As we already showed, the newly vamped Reverend Steve Newlin is back for this season and the first episode is a funny as hell scene with Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) that’ll easily make the YouTube rounds quickly. Newlin is back with a vengeance, and he’ll be making some marks this season. As with everything on ‘True Blood’, sometimes you have wait for what you’re really wanting and Christopher Meloni’s entrance as Roman and Russell’s return from the cement grave will be on the second episode. Trust me, you’ll enjoy this Sunday’s so much, you won’t mind the extra week of waiting.

Tina Majorino (Veronica Mars) will have some fans feeling envious as her first appearance is with a shirtless Bill (Steven Moyer) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), but better is her character will play a pretty key member as the Vampire Authority support staff. Don’t piss off your Administrative Assistant! I’m looking forward to seeing Jacob Hopkins make his appearance as the 9-year old vampire who gets to taunt the other vampires and humans. Kids playing vampires are always creepy and dangerous and from the interview we did with Hopkins, I think we’ll be getting both!

From what we’ve gathered, everyone is expecting Russell to immediately go after Eric and Bill, but he’s smart enough to know when to hold off on vengeance since he’s got forever to exact revenge. Don’t be surprised if he joins forces with the dynamic duo to fight off the Authority. Remember, he wasn’t too hot on them to begin with.

So you’ll be getting plenty of sex, action, violence, and ‘True Blood’ nudity this season, and just from judging the first four episodes, this one will be a memorable one!

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Curt Johnson

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AMC is stepping into the reality show world to mix with their scripted shows, but as ‘The Pitch‘ shows, the world of advertising seen through the eyes of ‘Mad Men’s’ Don Draper is much more interesting and creative.

I do enjoy AMC’s ‘The Pitch‘ and can understand why they decided to save some budget money to go with an unscripted (which still seems stupid to call when someone gets a writing credit for these shows) series to tie in to their popular ‘Mad Men‘. That was the obvious reason why they did Kevin Smith’s ‘Comic Book Men‘ to tie in with the crazy popular ‘The Walking Dead‘. The problem is that most people that love the Mad Men glamorous look at the ad biz will find the reality of it just plain dull with advertisers choosing the safest and uncreative pitch. Just the images above show you the some realities for those expecting to walk into an ad agency to find busty Joan when you get the frenetic Skyler Mattson.

Each of the campaigns that I’ve liked the most for being more creative seem to be the losers with the more bland and safe routes winning out which will show consumers why most tv ads are so damn boring and make them count their blessings for DVR’s to speed through them. Even the ads that run during the show just aren’t very inspired. Being on the creative end, I love watching a show focusing on the process as this one does, but for most mainstream American’s, it’s just not so thrilling. On Mad Men you get the drama and everything is scripted so there’s a way out of scenes that go nowhere. This is one reason why most reality shows interview their people after the shooting is complete to fill in gaps. And many may wonder why there’s not been a reality show based on this world done before after the success of Mad Men, it’s been tried and it has failed. The Oxygen show, ‘Ad Fight,’ had some major production support from the Ben Silverman-founded Reveille Productions, aired only once and was pulled. The 2008 CBS attempt ‘Jingles,’ with judges Linda Kaplan Thaler and Julie Roehm, never became reality enough to see the light of day.

One thing to note is that the producers of the show had a really tough time finding ad agencies to take part which isn’t so surprising since a show like this can be a double edged sword. Naturally the larger firms don’t want to risk alienating their clients or embarrassing themselves since the creative process isn’t so cut and clean. It gets messy, people argue, and feelings get hurt. Donald Trump’s ‘Celebrity Apprentice‘ is able to take the creative drama and make it enjoyable since it’s just celebrities being bitchy. Ad agencies are just as focused on their own image as their clients. I’m actually glad that the show got smaller and mid-size agencies since those are going to be the most aggressive and hungry for any account thrown at them. Here’s who wound up signing on.

The Ad Store: Paul Capelli’s boutique has been a New York fixture for decades. He last made headlines offering vacations in his Italian villa to new clients, after complaining about that country’s bribe culture. Capelli goes all the way back to the mailroom at Ally & Gargano—a statement whose significance you’ll only understand if you’re about 50 years old.

Bozell: For many in advertising, the reaction here will be, “Bozell still exists? No way!” Bozell Worldwide, founded in 1921, was once the eighth largest ad agency on the planet, but it was merged with Lowe Worldwide in 2001 and essentially ceased to exist—except for the managing partners of the Bozell office in Omaha, Neb., who cheekily bought themselves and the name from Bozell’s corporate parent, Interpublic Group. Clients include First National Bank and a lot of Omaha companies no one has ever heard of.

DiMassimo Goldstein (a k a DiGo): Mark DiMassimo has been a thing on the New York ad scene since the 1990s. He traces his roots back to the Chapman Direct unit of Young & Rubicam in 1988. This shop is the latest incarnation to bear a variation of his name. Has done work for Nike and Comcast.

Bandujo Advertising and Design: Small, low-profile agency with a lot of regional New York clients. Its biggest clients have been Chase, Citi and Smith Barney, but the shop has only done small direct mail pieces for those companies. Founded in 1993.

Kovel/Fuller: This Culver City, Calif., agency’s key clients include Sizzler and Pacific Life. You’ve probably seen the humpback whale ads on TV.

Muse Communications: Another Culver City, Calif., shop. This one does minority targeted work for clients such as Honda and Wells Fargo.

WDCW LA: Yet another Culver City, Calif., agency, This one is a branch of Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener. Clients have included ESPN and the NBA. Unlike most agencies on the show, their web site is honest about the fact that most of their work has been done on a project basis for their clients—in other words, they weren’t the lead agency on the brand.

Conversation: Super-trendy new media agency based in New York. Clients include Children’s Place and Svedka. The shop lists a dog, Winston, among its executive leadership. Watch for staffers with mohawks, vintage glasses, gauge earrings and other hipster accoutrements.

SK&G: based in Las Vegas, this shop specializes in hotels and casinos.

Womenkind: Another New York shop, but this one specializes in marketing to women. Clients have included Post and DSW.

McKinney: All eyes will be on McKinney as this Durham, N.C., agency is probably the biggest name in the show. McKinney made its name running the Audi account for a few years. It currently works for Nationwide and GNC. McKinney has most at risk in the show—if it doesn’t win anything the other agencies will be able to brag that they kicked the big agency’s ass. Don’t doubt the shop’s cojones, though: Management bought itself back from holding company Havas in 2008—a rare move.

BooneOakley: Based in Charlotte, N.C. Was named Ad Age’s “Southeast Small Agency of the Year” … in 2009. The shop is best known for persuading Ruby Tuesday to blow up the last of its old-style restaurants on video to prove its relaunch was serious.

FKM: Don’t mess with Texas! This shop has three offices in Houston, Dallas and Austin. It will be interesting if it pitches Waste Management because FKM’s web site currently names the garbage removal company as a client. Hmm.

The Hive: This Toronto based agency was hoping to get their big break getting into the U.S. by taking part on the show.

Jones Advertising: Big in Seattle. Jones was one of Starbucks’ first ever ad agencies from back in the day when no one had heard of Starbucks.

It’s quite the mix and ‘The Ad Store’ appears twice during the season and I kept finding myself rooting for them. They’ve got a cool story as the owner’s been around the block and works with his long time partner while also creating his own olive oil brand from his families estate in Italy. In the second episode they are competing for Waste Management contract and The Ad Store’s idea for was simple, elegant and ended with the words Trash Can. The pitchers from their rival, Las Vegas-based, agency, couldn’t get the DVD player to work and then talked over each other, rendering their copy incomprehensible. Naturally, guess which one they company went with? Yup the problematic one that just felt like what’s wrong with so many creative enterprises; too many decision by committee which always takes the spirit and life blood out of many great ideas. The Ad Store shows up again in the fifth episode, and you wind up rooting for them again even though the rival company has a great story with their presenter who’s new to the company and nervous as hell. The client is Frangelico, and I found it interesting that while The Ad Store had the gumption to tell them they needed to change their bottle (even after they said that was a deal breaker), if you look at those bottles in a liquor store today, you’ll see that they look just like what Paul Capelli suggested.

Even in the first episode with Subway as the client, they wind up going with a chubby white rapper to sell their breakfast sandwiches over an interesting ‘Zambie‘ idea which ties in perfectly with AMC’s other hit show “The Walking Dead”. It wasn’t a perfect idea, but the franchise stated they wanted ‘outside the box’ thinking, but I’ve learned when companies say that, they just want a Power Point presentation.

So after all my blather, I do enjoy the show, but viewers haven’t been keeping their tv’s tuned after ‘Mad Men’ as AMC hoped. They’ve already switched it to Monday night and then back to Sunday night, but it’s bleeding viewers fast than the CW’s ‘The L.A. Complex‘. I’m just waiting to see if AMC will attempt a reality show about the makers of Crystal Meth to tie in to the final season of ‘Breaking Bad‘ which would definitely garner much more press and audience. So c’mon AMC, you could cook up an amazing ad campaign for that show without ‘The Pitch’ competing for it!

Best Movies Ever Rating: B
While I enjoyed ‘The Pitch’, it’s definitely proven to not be a show for most people and it proves more to be a cautionary tale for kids thinking about going into the ad biz after seeing too many episodes of ‘Mad Men’. Like with most creative ideas, they don’t just pop out of thin air, and there’s a lot of bad ones to weed through before the good ones hit. ‘The Pitch’ shows this rather well, but the advertising clients prove that mediocrity still rules.

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Curt Johnson

Editor-in-Chief at Best Movies Ever Entertainment News

Filmmaker and movie reviewer who loves giving the spotlight to some not so well known films ignored by the mainstream media. Also loves dark twisted comedy like House Of Yes while also enjoying Working Girl.

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