Lifetime Archives - Page 25 of 49

Coming up on Dance Moms …

April 5, 2014 Lori Acken

Just because next Tuesday’s is the LAST EPISODE BEFORE THE MIDSEASON FINALE!, that doesn’t mean we’re on the brink of being Dance Moms-free, Dance Moms nation. On the heels of the April 15 mid-season ender, Lifetime will air a pair of the reunion specials we’ve come to know and, er, love, despite our better judgment. But the best news is, the girls get the last word, via a Mom-free, Abby-free special of their own. To give you plenty of time to clear your calendar, turn off your phone, stock up on sedatives and warn your loved ones, here’s how the […]

Dance Moms Season 4 episode 14 recap: “Family Comes First”

April 1, 2014 Lori Acken

On tonight’s Dance Moms, Abby Lee realized the error of her tyrant ways, gave everyone solos that showed off their best strengths, hugged all the mothers hello and good bye, called Kelly to make amends and realized a whole new team would just be dumb. What? It’s April Fools Day, people! Actually my husband suggested that I post my favorite recap from Season 1 and make that my April Fools funny, but I think he mostly wanted to revisit the glory days of Hubby Rik’s participation. Hubby Rik don’t watch along, Hubby Rik don’t get to play along, ain’t that […]

Devious Maids Season 2: Marc Cherry, Susan Lucci and Judy Reyes talk the tidy success of Lifetime’s sensational soap

April 1, 2014 Lori Acken

Devious Maids is cleaning up for Lifetime. The deliciously soapy nighttime drama, created by Desperate Housewives scribe Marc Cherry and co-executive produced by Eva Longoria, defied ABC’s rejection and early concerns about racial stereotyping to become the network’s fastest-growing scripted series ever, thanks in large part to a devoted tribe of fans who call themselves the Devious Army. “We understood that we were treading precarious waters doing a show about maids with all Latinas,” says Judy Reyes, who plays controlling mom and maid Zoila Diaz. “But we all knew that it was a moment to seize, because it was something […]

Dance Moms recap Season 4 episode 13: A 17-!@#$ salute!

March 25, 2014 Lori Acken

So here’s the thing, Dance Moms nation. Remember when this show used to be an entertaining end to a Tuesday? No? Not anymore? Well, try. I can wait. Because there was a time that, whether or not we agreed with Abby and her methods, or the mothers and their madness, the show still somehow managed to, well, at least do no harm. Or not much anyway. Now Dance Moms can ruin a perfectly good day — and frequently seems to delight in doing so. As I’ve said before, I still have to blog this show as part of my job, […]

Dance Moms recap Season 4 episode 12: Sisters are doing it for themselves

March 18, 2014 Lori Acken

We’re a dozen episodes into Season 4, Dance Moms nation, and a few themes seem to be emerging. The obvious biggie is that one not-so-fine day, Abby is going to assemble a new competition squad. Unless it’s simply a fresh way to instill terror into her current dancers, while parading a steady stream of other dancers in front of the cameras. Whether or not said new team will truly be assembled and what it might mean to the show and the existing team remains to be seen. But in the meantime, it’s as inescapable as a butt rash. And just […]

Dance Moms recap Season 4 Episode 11: Fallon A Little Short

March 11, 2014 Lori Acken

And still no screener, Dance Moms nation. Sigh. Can Abby and Kelly please kiss and make up so all is right in the Dance Moms universe and I can have my screeners back? Because a recap without screen captures is … well, a recap without screen captures. And we’re about to suffer another one. We start out with Abby telling Gia all about her new import Fallon Chapman and Fallon’s mother Cheryl. They’re from somewhere near Orlando Fla. Fallon is 11. She’s won 4 titles. When you type in Fallon+Dance Moms, you get this. Jimmy Fallon kind of looks like […]

Dance Moms Season 4 episode 10 recap: From Rags to Bitches

March 4, 2014 Lori Acken

First things first, Dance Moms nation. I would like to thank those of you who pointed out Kira’s newly-missing facial mole because now it is all I can think about whenever she is onscreen. No mole no mole no mole. Also, Christi’s hair changes length every time she’s on screen. Long hair. Shoulder length hair. Long hair. Bob. And since we’re sweating the minutiae, why are Kelly and the Hyland girls still in the intro for this show? I am sure they most of all would be happy to be removed from anything that has anything to do with Dance […]

David Arquette chills as Happy Face Killer Keith Jesperson in Lifetime film

February 27, 2014 Lori Acken

In March of 1995, Canadian truck driver Keith Jesperson’s five-year, eight-victim murder spree ended, but his notoriety had just begun. Livid when a woman falsely confessed to the first killing as a way out of an abusive relationship, Jesperson had sent letters detailing his crimes to prosecutors and media outlets, signing them with only a smiley face — leading one reporter to dub him the “Happy Face Killer.” This month, Lifetime dramatizes Jesperson’s story in the harrowing original movie Happy Face Killer, starring David Arquette in the title role. “It’s a social study and an examination of what leads to […]

Dance Moms recap Season 4 episode 9: This Bites. Some More.

February 25, 2014 Lori Acken

Hey Dance Moms nation! Did you know that everyone is replaceable on this team?! And also that no one is safe?! Have you heard? About a million freakin’ times?? I gotta hand it to whomever titles these bad boys, though. This one was actually officially called “Nothing’s Fair in Abbyville.” So at least we’re no longer pretending it is. Maybe next week’s can be called “Nothing Makes Sense in Abbyville” and the one after that “Nothing is Fun in Abbyville.” Admitting you have a problem is the first step, people. Anyway, we start out in LA where Abby and the […]

A “Bountiful” Life: Vanessa Williams and Cicely Tyson take The Trip To Bountiful from Broadway to TV

February 21, 2014 Lori Acken

Shortly after The Trip to Bountiful wrapped its celebrated Broadway run last October, cast members Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams, director Michael Wilson and producer Hallie Foote (daughter of Bountiful’s scribe Horton Foote) took a trip of their own — to Atlanta to begin work on Lifetime’s film adaptation of the production. Set during the final years of the Jim Crow South, Bountiful chronicles spirited elderly widow Carrie Watts’ (Tyson) mission to escape the stifling Houston apartment of her overprotective son Ludie (Blair Underwood) and his prickly wife Jessie Mae (Williams) and make a final visit to Bountiful, her beloved […]