Articles by Lori Acken

About Lori Acken
Lori just hasn't been the same since "thirtysomething" and "Northern Exposure" went off the air.
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Lifestyle

TLC’s “My Strange Addiction” launches third season by teaching you a new word!

February 13, 2012 Lori Acken

… and the word is “mechaphiliac.” The man who is one is 27-year-old Arkansas resident Nathaniel who met his dream partner — “Chase” — 5 years ago in a used car lot. Problem is, Chase IS a used car, a shiny red Monte Carlo that Nathaniel calls “handsome man” and treats to dates and, er, romantic time. Nathaniel is a mechaphiliac, a person who is sexually attracted to mechanical objects. A broader term for the disorder is “objectophilia.” He’s also the star of the third season premiere of TLC’s My Strange Addiction, which launched last night with back to back […]

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Movies

Lifetime airs “The Bodyguard” tonight to honor Whitney Houston

February 13, 2012 Lori Acken

To honor the late Whitney Houston, who died Saturday at the age of 48, Lifetime will present her major motion picture The Bodyguard, costarring Kevin Costner, on Monday, Feb. 13, at 8pm ET/PT. In the 1992 romance, a former secret service agent (Costner) is assigned to serve as security for a superstar singer turned actress (Houston) and the duo develop a bond of trust and love that neither expected. The film received Academy® and Grammy® Award nominations for its songs “I Have Nothing” and “Run to You,” both performed by Houston.

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Family

19 more kids and counting for TLC!

February 10, 2012 Lori Acken

Move over, Bob and Michelle Duggar. Way, waaaaay over. On March 27, the Duggar’s longtime friends and occasional costars Gil and Kelly Bates will introduce their own 19 children (all by birth, no adoptions in the bunch and no multiples!) on an as-yet unnamed hourlong TLC special. […]

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Reality TV

“Dance Moms” recap: Privates ’n’ Benjamins

February 8, 2012 Lori Acken

We begin with this episode with a field trip, Dance Mom Nation! Because Brooke has invited Abby out for tea and creme puffs at a place that looks like a dollhouse and is called “Flowers In The Attic.” I’m going to take a momentary pause here for those of you in my age demographic to skeeve out over the part where someone in Pittsburgh felt compelled to name their posey-shop-slash-café after the 1979 V.C. Andrews novel that made catastrophic familial dysfunction a middle-school must-read and caused us all to be just slightly nervous about our mothers and grandmas for a […]

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Interview

“American Idol” exec Nigel Lythgoe talks Hollywood Week and more

February 7, 2012 Lori Acken

On the eve of American Idol‘s Season 11 Hollywood Week adventures, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe fielded conference call questions from TV journalists. And though we were politely urged to keep it to Idol, the queries stretched just a leeeetle bit to encompass X-Factor, Smash, The Voice and the future of rising entertainment mogul Mr. Ryan Seascrest. Straight out of the gate, Lythgoe revealed that last year’s much-admired — and blessedly effective — contestant mentor uber-producer Jimmy Iovine would be back, along with other guest mentors he wouldn’t name. Surprisingly — at least to me — he also compared Iovine to […]

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Drama

Oren Peli talks “The River” and how long he hopes it will flow

February 6, 2012 Lori Acken

If you’re not yet familiar with the name Oren Peli, just find yourself a scary movie fan. Even horror flick aficionados who thought they’d seen it all (I live with several) got the bejesus scared out of them by Paranormal Activity, the spare, terrifying 2009 mind-bender that the Israeli-born Peli shot in his own San Diego area home for around $15,000. The film grossed more than $107 million worldwide and has spawned three sequels, the latest of which — Paranormal Activity 4 — will hit theaters in October. Now Peli has paired up with Steven Spielberg to bring his unique […]

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Comedy

“Cougar Town” Season 3 spoilers from creator Bill Lawrence!

February 6, 2012 Lori Acken

Cougar Town fans, this one’s worth repeating without any rewrites or editorializing. Here’s what appeared in my inbox on Sunday — from the highly entertaining guy who also threw an unsanctioned cocktail party for TV journalists at January’s winter TCA press tour. Enjoy a sweet 10-minute laugh, courtesy of Cougar Town co-creator Bill Lawrence Hi TV Writer Friends, I’m posting our Season 3 highlight reel, Spoilers and all.  Feel free to do same (obviously no obligation).  Trying everything, we just all like our job too much.  Getting in trouble with ABC legal left and right (walk on contest, free wine, posting show clips, […]

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Reality TV

“Dance Moms” recap: Bully for you! And you! And you!

February 1, 2012 Lori Acken

Forgive me, Dance Moms nation, but I must begin this one with a big bucket of editorializing. I just must. Is it just me, or has this season begun to give off wafts — OK, big ol’ smoggy clouds — of having been stripped of the one thing that made all of the adult theatrics palatable (or at least survivable)? That is, the dignity of the little girls who — no matter what behavior in which their parents or the truly insufferable Abby Lee indulge — go out there and dance with preternatural grace and maturity, and treat one another with […]

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Magazine Archive

Full Life: John Stamos talks 30 years of good TV vibes

January 31, 2012 Lori Acken

Here’s the thing about John Stamos: Everybody knows him. Kindergartners getting their first look at kid-cuddling, mullet-rockin’ musician Uncle Jesse Katsopolis on Full House reruns approach Stamos on the street to ask why his hair’s so short. Mom and Dad both recall Stamos as Uncle Jesse from their own youth and also as ER’s paramedic-turned-intern Dr. Tony Gates as they got older. And Mom and Grandma likely share feverish memories of Stamos’ entrée to television as raven-haired rock roll runaway Blackie Parrish on General Hospital. And then there are generations of Beach Boys fans who hope Stamos will appear with […]