America's Got Greek

Allow me to steal a few cliches ..."writing what you're thinking" ... "I catch what falls through the cracks." What else? How about this as a mission statement?

"Wasting my time on the internet so you don't have to."

Perfect.

For the 7 of you who read DonniEgo, the site and its creator(s) are considering a name-change. A couple reasons for this ... "donniego" is not only a clever way of combining my name and my "ego" ...it is also the Polish version of Donnie (which I wasn't aware) ...BUT, "donniego" is also a Slavic word in some Slavic language and I don't know what it means. A name change isn't exactly imminent. But probably will happen. Oh, and the other reason? "Donniego" doesn't mean anything and, if ever I wanted to be published or marketed, I should have a better name.

OK. Onto the entry.

The Apprentice will be back on NBC. This time as The Celebrity Apprentice. I think this will further destroy a show that is mostly-completely-destroyed. My friend at ANFTSJ thinks it will give the show a boost. Personally, I like to see wanna-be-pseudo-celebrities embarrass themselves weekly on TV. I don't like watching has-been-celebrities try being funny, faining humility, and awkwardly going about "winning" a game show which won't pay as much as the checks they get from their old show's syndicated re-runs. Yes, if The Apprentice gets Rosie O'Donnel, that could be good. But that can't happen, can it? I'm sure we'll be treated to celebs with ex-reality-star status and the Joe Rogan-slash-Kathy Griffin caliber. As I told ANFTSJ, a TV-junky like him or me will watch. But will our Moms? Will our co-workers watch? Probably not. And will the show be good? He argues it will likely be both a train-wreck and awesome at the same time. I think I'll stop watching by the second week. We'll see.

Update: I got my Docksiders for my birthday. I'm happy. Please! Someone! Invite me to a backyard BBQ party asap. I'm dying for an opportunity to wear them. Or, if you are making an 80s-movie (preferably with a frat-guy character), call me for an audition. These shoes, khaki shorts, and a blue blazer with gold-buttons will be perfect.

Speaking of frats, there's Greek. I've gotten mixed reviews from those of you I've browbeaten into watching. Some say its un-entertaining. Well, I'm here to say, "you're wrong!" The show is clever, the characters are like-able, and some of the college things are dead-on. Do you know how many times TV has failed in trying to depict college and college life? 90210? Saved By the Bell: The College Years? Growing Pains? These shows wreaked of middle-aged sitcom writers challenged with writing their aging stars into a college atmosphere. Somehow, being completely wrong about high-school is OK with mass audiences. Highschool, for whatever reason, is about the same now as it was in the 80s as it was in the 60s. And whether its Happy Days, Growing Pains, 90210, Saved By the Bell, Never Been Kissed, She's All That, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, or High School Musical, as long as you have some good looking kids and a few funny lines, you'll be all right. But writing college, historically, has proven more difficult.

BTW, - High School Musical 2 will air Aug. 17 on the Disney Channel, and, yeah, I'll Tivo it for when my teenaged nephews and nieces come visit, for them to watch ..."them" I said.

Greek is nailing it. The Ultra-Christian roommate is the story of countless freshman across this country's great University landscape. The prep frat is preppy, but not too preppy. The laid-back frat is exactly like my old frat. No, I'm not kidding. And my frat brothers would agree. When Casey (Spencer Grammer) had sex with her old boyfriend as revenge on her boyfriend who cheated on her and then had to walk through the formal room where all the guys were blowing off class, playing video games, they heckled her. That was like watching an old movie of my frat. Don't get me wrong, I can write the ending to the show already, but that's OK. Sometimes predictable and fluffy is necessary on TV. I love this show. Unlike many shows attempting a similar story, I suspect this show has one or two ex-frat boys on the writing staff.

Just a couple more thought provoking links to check out. I'll have more on these topics, soon.

• AC/DC, Metallica stay strong
• Dean Martin didn’t play Woodstock

If you didn't catch Greek on Monday, set your Tivos for Friday on ABC. Then, Season Pass this show.

Look for future posts where I'll explain why I jumped on and then off the America's Got Talent bandwagon quicker than Paris Hilton jumped in and out of the philanthropic world, I'll finally review some American Idol CDs (Elliot Yamin, Daughtry, Clarkson, McPhee, Hicks), and I'll tell you what else I'm keeping track of on the web.