Would you ever want your child to get into acting? It seems that most kids who break into showbiz at an early age end up in bad shape before too long. There are so many tales of drug and alcohol abuse that it’s become a clichè at this point. Some young stars are able to get through the tough times and maintain high profiles in the biz. Drew Barrymore is a good example of that. Others seem to avoid the drinking and drugs altogether while still getting consistent work — like Alyssa Milano, for instance. And a good number manage to fade into a “normal” existence and wind up selling health insurance in NC or becoming a corporate lawyer or something.
But there are so, so many who end up hooked on drugs and never regain any degree of normalcy. Their entire lives seem to get screwed up just from being in the spotlight from such an early age. It’s so sad to think of all these lost childhoods — and adult lives cut short. Dana Plato, Brad Renfro, River Phoenix, Jonathan Brandis… the list could go on and on.
One thing’s for sure: I’ll never let my kid become an actor while he’s underage!
Amy Adams is one of my favorite actresses these days. It was cool to see her out at the Golden Globes on Sunday. Take a look at how big she is now! Wow, I hope she’s been taking her 
HIMYM 5×13 — “Jenkins”: This was a decent stand-alone episode. I’m usually not much of a Marshall fan, but I was reasonably interested in what was happening with him and Lily. I especially liked their dialogue about the reacher and the settler in a relationship, but didn’t agree that Lily was the settler. If they were going on looks alone, then yes, she could be considered the settler. But what if they went by job? Marshall is a corporate lawyer and she’s a kindergarten teacher. Who’s settling there? How about salary? Same thing. And Marshall didn’t become a lawyer by getting one of those 
Back in its earlier seasons, Entourage was one of the best shows on television. It provided a unique look at what happens in the life of an up-and-coming Hollywood A-lister, and viewers simply couldn’t get enough of Vincent Chase, his friends, and all his cool toys. Throw in an amazing Jeremy Piven as super agent Ari Gold and some cameos from top celebs, and the show was a hit right from the start. Sure, it has done downhill since then (no television program can sustain originality for very long), but those first few seasons were awesome!
There were a few new releases this weekend that I want to check out, including The Lovely Bones (which I’ll go see during the week) and The Book of Eli. I also want to catch Sherlock Holmes at some point. Initially I was against this version of Holmes, strictly based on the previews, but it’s doing so well at the box office and with critics that maybe I should give it a chance instead of just judging it from a few clips.
It was great having 30 Rock back the other night, and even better to have two brand-new episodes to watch! I didn’t have a chance to watch them on Thursday, but thanks to the miracle that is TiVo, I got around to them this morning. Anyway, both were solid, but I definitely liked the first one better.
House 6×11 — “The Down Low”: Now this is the kind of episode I expect from a show like House! I thought the House/Wilson storyline was hilarious, and loved that Wilson found a way to beat House at his own game — by proposing in a crowded restaurant, no less! I couldn’t figure out who the love interest was and where I’d seen her before, but reading about the show later on revealed that it was Sasha Alexander, who played Kate during Season 1 of NCIS. She was good too. I wonder if she’ll have a recurring role?
Castle 2×12 — “A Rose for Everafter”: I didn’t realize how much I missed this show during the hiatus until I saw it again! Castle is hands down my favorite television program right now. This was another strong episode with a nice guest performance by Alyssa Milano. It’s hard to believe that I used to watch her on Who’s the Boss back when I was in junior high… now we’re both grown up and in our mid-30s lol. I thought Kira and Castle had some decent chemistry, and though I am still all aboard the Castle/Beckett ‘ship, it was nice to see Beckett battle a little jealousy there. Hopefully the tables will turn soon and Beckett can have a handsome date to make Castle jealous! Anyway, fun episode all around. I’m really looking forward to next week as well!
Bones 5×11 — “The X in the File”: Meh, this episode was kind of boring. I think it might be time for me to give up on Bones. With all the other shows this week, I found that I was happy to see the characters again, and probably would have enjoyed the eps even if they weren’t that great. But with Bones… nothing. I was expecting a lot more out of this one because of the X-Files, but the writers came up short. Maybe I’ll give this one up and just tune in again when I hear that Bones and Booth finally get together.
Criminal Minds 5×12 — “The Uncanny Valley”: This was a really creepy episode, but it was a good one! Of course, taking the women, paralyzing them, and dressing them up like dolls was such a memorable M.O. for the killer, and I liked the way the writers managed to make the unsub somewhat sympathetic in the whole thing. The father, on the other hand, deserves to burn in hell.
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Burt (played by John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are a 30-something unmarried couple who learn that they’re going to have a baby together. Upon receiving this news, the two start to seriously consider their future for the first time. They can’t imagine raising a child in their dilapidated little home, so they decide to travel the country (with a trip to Montreal thrown in) to find the best setting to begin their new lives.
I know New Moon premiered a long time ago, but I’m still seeing people walk around with all kinds of themed merchandise. T-shirts and