invisioner | Trance producer

As a hard-hitting entertainment journalist, I make it my business to check out as many television shows, movies and new albums as I can. Because of this, I'm a discerning viewer and it takes a lot for a show to stick. The only shows I'd say I'm a regular viewer of are "Glee" (which is currently enjoining a reprieve after a dramatic season-to-season improvement), NBC's weirdo gems "Parks and Recreation" and "30 Rock," "Louie" (which wrapped up its amazing second season a few weeks back) and Emmy-winner "Modern Family." Late last season, I also decided to get back into "The Office," an old favorite that I'd given up, and am glad I did. Did you see the season premiere last week? It felt like a return to form.

(Note: I know I also should also be watching "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," but I have a harder time getting into dramas, especially particularly heavy ones like "Bad." I like my drama on the uplifting side, like sadly departed "Friday Night Lights." Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!)

One show that popped on my radar last season was "Happy Endings." I enjoyed the show, but it was never must-see TV for me. I watched it when I caught it, but it never got a place on the DVR. Then this summer I caught up a bit online and found that beneath the occasionally manic dialogue and slightly overdone premise (six wacky friends living it up in the big city!) was a truly funny little show that deserves a fighting chance.

I can see why some people might have trouble embracing "Endings" – the whip-fast dialogue can feel a little less than natural and the situations can be borderline absurd. But once you settle in, you start seeing that the strange little quirks shows like "The Big Bang Theory" go to great lengths to fake come naturally and its cast has something that is sorely lacking from the other sitcom ("Up All Night") I really wanted to work this season – chemistry.

I'm not arguing that "Happy Endings" is perfect, but it's good enough that it deserves some time to find its groove. Remember, both "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" were a little rough in their first seasons too – before audiences warmed to their shooting style and premises and the wonderful actors could move to center stage to give viewers someone to connect with.

In last night's season premiere, Jane (Eliza Coupe) encourages exes Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) and Dave (Zachary Knighton) to be more honest with each other, which sends both on an insult rampage and forces Jane into a lie-off with both because she's too afraid to take sides and confirm Alex and Dave's failings (she's careless and can't cook, he's a terrible songwriter with bad taste in footwear). Meanwhile, Max (Adam Pally) worries that something is amiss in his friendship with Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.) because Brad has started cancelling their bro-sessions. At first, Brad says he's just networking, which forces unprofessional Max to toss on a suit, but we later learn that his real motivation is his desire to hang out with other black guys for a change, that he sometimes needs a kind of camaraderie that Max just can't give him. (That's kind of big stuff for a sitcom, no?)

While all this is unfolding, Penny (Casey Wilson) moves into a fantastic new condo but begins to worry she's become too independent and successful for her own good and that she will die a spinster.
All these situations are ratcheted up with all-out, balls-to-the-wall sketch comedy that finds cats taking over Penny's condo, Jane paying the price for trying to handle Alex and Dave with kiddie gloves and Max behaving like a manic, spying on Brad and eventually crashing his hangout session.

Everything plays out with occasionally laugh out loud, rapid-fire dialogue that isn't afraid to go for the jugular – when Penny unexpectedly finds her DVR overwhelmed with episodes of "The View" and "The Good Wife" she says those shows are for "lonely women who talk to themselves," and Alex tells Dave that his "stupid webbed barefoot running socks … weren’t bad for your calves. They were bad for my ability to want to have sex with you."

The back-and-forth can be a bit much, but it's ultimately endearing and the characters' hearts are always in the right place – which brings me to an important point. You actually care about these characters. As out there as they can be, there's enough truth in each character's situation that it grounds the absurdity. Some gay men worry that their sexuality will interfere with friendships with straight men, a la Max and Brad. A successful and single younger woman may fret that her success is intimidating to men. There's a hot-button aspect to both of those topics, but "Happy Endings" handled both with ease because it didn't introduce them as "very special episodes." It's just part of the narrative, part of what these people would deal with daily, and it's interesting that a show that revels in the outrageous can handle such delicate topics with such ease.

It makes me excited for what the show has to offer going forward.

Teen star also announces Christmas album's release date.
By Jocelyn Vena

Justin Bieber on the set of his Christmas album video shoot
Photo: Justin Bieber/Twitter

Start decorating your Christmas tree! The holidays are coming early this year for Beliebers everywhere. On Wednesday, Justin Bieber tweeted updates about his music video for the lead single off his holiday-themed album, which drops in November.

Bieber and his team kept fans up-to-date about what was going down on set. "Video shoot today for Christmas album. #mistletoe," he wrote, before confirming the name of the track and a release date for the album. "On the set of #mistletoe. Christmas is coming early this year. #nov1st."

The shoot wasn't kept under wraps, and Bieber didn't mind the crowds that gathered to watch him celebrate the holidays a few months early. He also tweeted a photo of himself with Santa Claus and wrote, "doing the #dougie with santa. #real. haha. #mistletoe."

It seems everyone involved with the shoot is pretty stoked about it. "Getting incredible reports from the @justinbieber #mistletoe video ... seems like this is going to be a big song and a big video. #superstar," Scooter Braun tweeted, with director Alfredo Flores adding, "4am and we're still out here putting in work! This video is going to be magical! @justinbieber is killin it! #mistletoe."

While the album title hasn't been confirmed, online retailers like Amazon are already pre-selling the album with the tentative title Under the Mistletoe and a November 1 release date.

In addition to confirmed duets with the Band Perry and Boyz II Men, as well as rumored collabos with Taylor Swift and Sean Kingston, Bieber confirmed that his mentor Usher will also appear on the album.

"Just finished a late nt in the studio for the Christmas album ... it is OFFICIAL ... my big bro @UsherRaymondIV is on the album with me! #EPIC," he tweeted. "This duet with me and @USHERRAYMONDIV for #christmas is CRAZY!!!"

• Justin Bieber

Teenagers ruled final audition episode before Boot Camp.
By Adam Graham

L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell on "The X Factor"
Photo: FOX

Fox's "The X Factor" wrapped up its audition rounds Thursday (September 29), sending its final batch of singers — including more than a few teenage contestants — to its version of Hollywood Week, known as Boot Camp.

First up was Brian Bradley, who definitely had the X factor, if the X factor is massive self-confidence.

The 14-year-old pint-size Brooklyn rapper stepped in front of the "X Factor" judges with the ego of a 10-times-platinum superstar. He said the reason he hadn't yet been signed to a record deal was "politics, man," and then picked a mock beef with Simon Cowell that led to him performing his original song, "Stop Looking at My Mom." With its old-school boom-bap and instantly catchy hook, "Stop Looking at My Mom" came on as strong as Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" did the first time you heard it, and the judges were instantly sold. Four "yes" votes later, Bradley was headed to Boot Camp.

Bradley mixed brash overconfidence (he said his contemporaries were Jay-Z and Kanye West, and claimed in five years he'd be "better than Jay-Z") with an endearing teenage innocence. After he was passed through, he said his plans to celebrate involved going home and jumping up and down on his bed.

Bradley had so much confidence he could afford to let Jazzlyn Little borrow some. The 16-year-old was so meek onstage in front of the judges that it looked like if there were a hole for her to climb into, she would have happily disappeared from view. But when she sang Mary J. Blige's "I'm Going Down," the shyness melted away, and she gave one of the most powerful auditions we've seen on the show thus far. L.A. Reid praised her "superstar voice," and Paula Abdul dubbed her "a little brilliant gem." Of course she's headed to Boot Camp, where her biggest obstacle will be belief in herself.

The teenage parade continued with 17-year-old Cari Fletcher, a classically trained vocalist whom Cowell dubbed "boring" after her version of Heart's "Alone," though he decided to let her through anyhow; and Ausem, a duo made up of two 15-year-olds, Austin and Emily. The pair performed Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts" and the judges had much more confidence in Austin than they did Emily, but since they were a package deal, it was all or nothing. After much debate, Nicole Scherzinger gave them the "yes" they needed to advance in the competition, though it came with much reservation, and Emily already seemed nervous about meeting the challenge ahead.

Viewers were also briefly introduced to 14-year-old Nick Dean, a Justin Bieber type who earned passing marks from the judges for his original song "Walk Away"; the Brewer Boys, a brother duo made up of 13-year-old and 17-year-old siblings; Paige Elizabeth Ogle, an 18-year-old whose animated version of Lady Gaga's "Yoü and I" earned her what Cowell called his "easiest yes so far"; and Emily Michalak, who at 12 just barely met the show's age requirement but passed through to Boot Camp anyhow.

While they hogged the spotlight, Thursday's episode wasn't all about teenagers. High marks were also earned by Kelly Warner, a 22-year-old hairdresser at a nursing home whose bubbly disposition and sturdy vocal chops made up for her choice of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," one of the most overdone songs in the singing-show genre. Liliana Rose Andreano, a 26-year-old office worker who looked a bit like Olive Oyl, overcame her atypical pop-star looks and was called "magical" by Abdul after her winning version of "You Are My Sunshine." If "The X Factor" doesn't quite work out for Brennin Hunt, the 26-year-old already has the soap-star good looks to get cast on any number of daytime dramas as the brooding singer-next-door. And Tora Woloshin, a 21-year-old student who looked like Nicki Minaj by way of Amy Winehouse, was already feeling like a star during her version of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back."

With auditions wrapped, "The X Factor" Boot Camp begins next week, where the pool of contestants will eventually be narrowed to 32 and split into four categories: Boys, Girls, Over 30 and Groups. Each judge will be assigned to coach one of the groups, and singers will be picked off until eventually we get down to one singer who has that elusive X factor.

What did you think of Thursday's episode of "The X Factor"? Let us know in the comments!

• Nicole Scherzinger

Kutcher and Demi Moore's marriage is reportedly on the rocks.
By Jocelyn Vena

Ashton Kutcher on "Two and a Half Men"
Photo: CBS

Ashton Kutcher is already stirring up trouble at his new network. As the new star of "Two and a Half Men," Kutcher reportedly angered CBS when he allegedly promoted Foursquare, Flipboard, Hipmunk, GroupMe and Chegg on Monday's episode, using stickers with those companies' names on his character Walden Schmidt's laptop

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kutcher holds investment stakes in each of those properties and used his time on the show to promote the sites for free. The network reportedly wanted compensation for the airtime, though they are now downplaying the report.

"This was not part of any advertising transaction with CBS," a network rep tells E! News. "Our policy is to disclose such financial interests in a credit at the end of the broadcast."

The news comes as Kutcher and his wife, Demi Moore, are rumored to be having marital problems. Fox News reported that Kutcher and Moore have been spending time apart and that on Wednesday, the same day the news of the split broke, security was called to the couple's home. Kutcher allegedly had an affair with a woman, who is reportedly trying to sell a story about the relationship.

While the pair has not directly commented on the rumors of a split, they have danced around them on Twitter. Late Wednesday night, perhaps as a reaction to all the gossip surrounding his personal life, Kutcher tweeted a link to the Public Enemy track "Don't Believe the Hype."

Meanwhile, Moore, still using the handle Mrs. Kutcher, had everyone speculating that she was ominously commenting on a split days ago in a flurry of tweets. One reads, "I see through you ...," and includes a photo of her laying in bed with her eyes closed.

Days before that, Moore tweeted, "When we are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself & study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. — Epictetus."

By Josh Wigler

We’re only three weeks into “Survivor: South Pacific” and already Brandon Hantz is in the running for most unhinged contestant of all time. His big dirty secret came out of the bag in this week’s episode, and despite attempts to shirk his Russellness, Brandon proved to his tribe that he’s still a true blue Hantz in the end. Details on that, some hidden immunity idol shenanigans, the first Redemption Island duel of the season and more await you past the jump!

The episode kicks off as Christine, voted out last week, arrives on Redemption Island and meets her new bunkmate, Semhar. Any meaningful bonding is put aside in favor of dwelling on their own reasons for being ousted from the game. For Christine's part, she believes she was voted out because her tribe didn't want to play the game. She's half right: they didn't want to play the game with her.

They might not have a choice, however, as Christine proves her worth by winning the first duel on Redemption Island. The challenge involves balancing a totem at the end of a pole, with the contestants occasionally adding to the length of the pole until one of them drops the totem. Both Christine and Semhar swap the lead back and forth, but in the end, the spoken word artist can only spit out air, not victory: Semhar is sent packing as the first official boot of the game, and Christine's earned herself another night on the beach in exile.

Elsewhere, at Upolu, "confession" is the name of the game as Brandon, feeling guilty about his "blatant lie" (not to mention failed attempt) to get Mikayla out of the game, comes clean with his tribe and reveals his connection to the infamous Russell Hantz. "I'd rather make friends out here than a million dollars," he reasons, but his fellow tribe mates are skeptical, to say the least. Mikayla understandably does not care for Brandon at all, and Coach thinks Brandon made a mistake in outing himself. "He lets things get to him and weigh him down," he observes, though Coach claims to still trust Li'l Hantz.

Following his revelation, Brandon, claiming to be nothing like his uncle, proceeds to act exactly like his uncle by continuing to rip into Mikayla in front of his whole tribe, treating her as though she were "the whore of Babylon." He calls a group meeting and warns Mikayla that she's on the outside of an alliance and better act accordingly. In private, both Mikayla and Brandon break down in tears, the former because of being bullied, and the latter because of… being a bully? Maybe? Who knows with this guy, but I’ll tell you what: crying in secret after antagonizing an innocent competitor for purely delusional reasons? Oh, Brandon — you must be a Hantz!

At Savaii, meanwhile, a very different secret comes to the surface: Ozzy confesses to Keith that he's found the hidden immunity idol. He reasons that he's got to reveal his possession of the idol to somebody eventually (protip: he doesn't), so it might as well be Keith, his closest ally. As it turns out, his closest ally is no dummy; Keith turns right around and tells Whitney about Ozzy's idol. They agree to keep the knowledge secret — for now.

During an immunity challenge involving kickboards, spinning wheels, grappling hooks and puzzles, Coach leads Upolu to victory (and milk and cookies) by being "phenomenal with the grappling hook," as Probst assesses. (Is anyone surprised? Dragon Slayers are notoriously phenomenal with grappling hooks!) That means Savaii is headed back to Tribal Council for the second time in this game, and someone's going to be paying Christine a visit on Redemption Island.

Papa Bear immediately identifies himself as the group's target, and he's not wrong. In a bid to keep himself in the game, he rushes off into the jungle in search of the immunity idol, not knowing that it's already been found. Since he can't find the damn thing, Papa Bear jerry-rigs his own false idol and does his best "is that an idol in your pocket or are you just happy to see me" routine to convince his tribe to oust NuCochran in his place.

The plan, of course, is a failure, and Papa is voted out of Savaii in a nearly unanimous and mostly event-free decision, the first truly clear-cut ousting of "South Pacific" thus far. But the retired NYPD detective isn't down for the count just yet: if he can beat Christine in next week's duel, Papa Bear might find that redemption suits him juuuuust right.

Next week, NuCochran proves to be the new mastermind of Savaii with an apparent attempt on Ozzy's life in the game. At Upolu, Brandon continues ruffling feathers and making his uncle proud.

Tell us what you thought of the latest "Survivor" episode in the comments section!