Lori Acken, Author at StayTuned Magazine

“Dance Moms” recap part one: Ode To A Whole Bunch Of Clowns

March 21, 2012 Lori Acken

Oh fer the … First Lifetime takes away the next-day full-episode video on their own website and now it’s gone from iTunes and Amazon, too? And just when I was starting to enjoy being able to exchange the laptop for a bowl of popcorn (snackies AND missiles that can be launched at Abby without harming the flatscreen!) and call the play-by-play come morning at my desk. A fistful of greasy kernels in your general direction, Lifetime. You guys know my memory’s not that good. Cough up those shows. In any case, I’m guessing this one may have a laundry list of […]

“Dance Moms” recap: Warts, Miami And All

March 14, 2012 Lori Acken

Or Dance Moms recap: The Pony, The Swim and A Jerk. Again with the decisions! Whatever you want to call it, this week’s episode begins with Abby blaming last week’s loss at Fire & Ice Elite on the girls, rather than the fact that they did her choreography flawlessly despite having to do it in their judge-mortifying, fan-dancin’ underpants. Which is everyone’s fault but the girls’ and that’s a fact. The pyramid is a complex affair with lots of qualifiers. Bottom of the bottom is Big Mac, who, says Abby, should act “bigger and longer.” A perfectly zen Mac looks like […]

“America’s Most Wanted” gets additional 20 episodes on Lifetime

March 13, 2012 Lori Acken

Bad news for bad guys on the lam! With 12 criminals apprehended since America’s Most Wanted returned to television on Lifetime in December, the network has announced that it will air 20 new episodes of John Walsh’s long-running series. The partnership’s latest arrests, New Mexico fugitives Rufus Byers and Elizabeth Kay Gade, were apprehended less than a week after being profiled on an AMW sex-trafficking special that aired Feb. 24. Byers and Gade were wanted in connection to separate human trafficking and prostitution cases. “America’s Most Wanted has made an immediate impact on Lifetime and, more importantly, John Walsh’s courageous fight to raise much […]

Jeremy Rosado on his “American Idol” ouster

March 9, 2012 Lori Acken

Speaking with journalists via conference call Friday morning, Jeremy “Jer-Bear” Rosado — the first American Idol contestant to be ousted on the Season 11 competition — lived up to his teddy bear with a heart of gold reputation, having nothing but kind words to say about the AI judges and producers and his “brothers and sisters” who remain to sing on. “I cried and prayed and called my mom,” Rosado said when asked what he did when the cameras stopped rolling. “I’m still devastated. But I was so tremendously blessed to have been on the show.” Even before he and […]

“Dance Moms: Miami”: first pics

March 8, 2012 Lori Acken

Well, things certainly look happier and more cooperative. Maybe it’s the balmy air and sunshine. Or maybe it’s an illusion. Lifetime has released the first pictures from its upcoming spinoff, Dance Moms: Miami, which will premiere April 3 at 10:30 ET following the 90-minute spring finale of the network’s runaway train wreck hit Dance Moms. Based at the sultry south Florida city’s Stars Dance Studio, Dance Moms: Miami follows the triumphs and travails of the school’s owners, renowned contemporary dance teacher Victor Smalley (an instructor on Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance) and choreographer Angel Armas as they train a diverse group […]

“Dance Moms” recap: Bra Ma Bull

March 7, 2012 Lori Acken

I actually lost sleep last night thinking up titles for this episode’s blog, for there was so much from which to choose — not the least of which of was Cathy proclaiming her husband “The Sausage King of Canton.” “My Beef With Jerkies” was a close runner-up. But for all the hoopla with “Chloe In The Dried-Meat Cat Suit” — easily Cathy’s biggest vengeance victory yet — it was pretty hard to ignore the “I See London, I See France-tastic”-ness of those “Topless Showgirl” outfits Abby dreamed up for the group dance. Which — if you’ve been watching Dance Moms […]

Oprah interviews Whitney Houston’s family Sunday night on OWN

March 7, 2012 Lori Acken

In their first interview since the pop singer’s Feb. 11 death, Whitney Houston’s daughter; Bobbi Kristina, her sister-in-law, Patricia Houston; and her brother, Gary Houston talk to Oprah Winfrey on a special episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter that will air this Sunday, March 11, at 9/8pm CT on Winfrey’s OWN network. The trio will share personal memories of Houston, their hope for her legacy and their feelings about Bobbi Kristina’s father, Houston’s ex-husband Bobby Brown. The family will also tackle the rumors surrounding Houston’s stunning death at age 48. Click here to watch a preview of this emotional special. Photo: © 2012 OWN: […]

TLC premieres “My Crazy Obsession” March 7

March 5, 2012 Lori Acken

On the heels of its wildly popular My Collection Obsession, which aired last fall, TLC presents the 8-episode series My Crazy Obsession Wednesday nights, beginning March 7. The show marks the first time that many of its subjects have allowed cameras into their secret world of bizarre habits, rituals and obsessions. Among those featured are a woman with a wig obsession; a man who prefers mannequins to humans; and a couple who consider themselves parents to more than 5,000 Cabbage Patch Kid dolls, for whom they plan play dates and parties — and even built a doll-sized amusement park. My Crazy […]

“Dance Moms: Miami” will premiere April 3 following “Dance Moms” season finale

March 5, 2012 Lori Acken

Dance Moms fans, if you’re counting down the episodes and fearing the fast-approaching finale, take heart. You won’t have to go without for long. In fact, you won’t have to go without at all. Lifetime announced today that its newest member of the Dance Moms franchise, Dance Moms: Miami, will premiere April 3 at 10:30pm ET, immediately following the 90-minute spring finale of Dance Moms. • DANCE MOMS music guide According to the network, “Dance Moms: Miami will go behind-the-scenes at Miami-based Stars Dance Studio, where the school’s owners and renowned contemporary dance instructors Victor Smalley (pictured at left) and […]

BIO Channel remembers Davy Jones with a pair of encore specials

March 1, 2012 Lori Acken

Cheer up, weepy fans. To commemorate the unexpected passing of pop icon Davy Jones, tonight BIO Channel will help the former Monkee’s multiple generations of devoted fans remember their heartthrob with back to back hourlong specials devoted to the man and his band. Biography: The Monkees premieres at 8pm ET followed by BIO Remembers: Davy Jones at 9pm ET. Brought together as the members of a fictional band at the heart of their eponymous TV series, The Monkees insisted on touring as a real musical act and, for a time, sold more records than the Beatles. Though The Monkees aired just […]