The Slug

It's Been Nice Knowing You

(AP Photo/HO/Disney/Gene Duncan)

In the year since launching The Slug, some unimaginable stuff occurred within the realm of popular culture. Anna Nicole Smith died. "Survivor: Cook Islands" divided their tribes by race. Bob Barker retired. And we blogged about it all. We hope we kept our original promise to "simultaneously investigate and celebrate all thangs pop culture." Even if you don't think we did, well, we've totally had a blast trying to, anyway. Remember folks: Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.

Happy Halloween from The Slug!

(AP Photo)

It's the day we've been excited about and/or dreading for months! Today is both Halloween and the death of our pimp: asap, The Associated Press' premium multimedia news service. Celebrate this bizarre day with this YouTube link to Tim Curry's performance from "The Worst Witch." For those of us privileged enough to have had HBO back in the 1980s, you can't deny you squealed fervently every time this came on.

Loose Ends

(AP Photo)

Look out! asap's endingstravaganza has begun! The Associated Press' premium multimedia news service is nearing its final hour with content all about conclusions. Online now, you can find a list of great literary outcomes, a story about the death of indie rock, an essay discussing the end of a meal and videos about the finales of wars and movies. Stay tuned. Later today, The Slug will reveal our favoritest TV finales.

Changing the Channel

(AP Photo/HO/Fox)

Most fall TV shows have either settled into their timeslots or disappeared altogether. (Bye, "Nashville" and "Viva Laughlin"!) This season, The Slug's digital video recorder has been so heavily weighed down with new and returning programming that we've had to toss a few overboard to keep chugging along. Here's the four shows we've downgraded on our DVR so far this season. Oh, in case you were wondering, we never started recording "Cane," "Big Shots" or "Life" in the first place. 

"Prison Break." Two episodes of that Panamanian hell house were enough for us! Everything that happened during the first two seasons to the Schofield brothers was seemingly dropped, so The Slug decided to invest our time in new shows instead of staying locked up with the twists and turns of "Prison Break."

"Journeyman." Technically, we're still DVRing this "Quantum Leap" look-a-like so we can catch every second of the "Heroes" preview, but we not actually watching Kevin McKidd bounce around the 20th century anymore. We love the oh-so-moody opening credits of "Journeyman." The plots that follow 'em? Not so much.

"Moonlight." Will that human reporter and vampire private investigator ever get together? We'll never know because somewhere around the third episode, it dawned on us that "Moonlight" didn't feature enough of "Veronica Mars" alum Jason Dohring — and it's possibly the most boring vampire show ever. Yes, even moreso than "Dark Shadows."

"Bionic Woman." This one pains us the most because it was one of our favoritest pilots from the new fall TV season. Unfortch, "Bionic Woman" has lost her momentum over the course of the first five episodes. The dialogue is clunky. The action is  slow. And her kid sister is more annoying than Dawn from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ever was.

The Beginning of The End

(AP Photo/HO/Lucasfilm)

Boo! As you may or may not have heard, The Slug's pimp — asap, The Associated Press' premium multimedia news service — is scheduled to die this Halloween. We're fairly certain asap is taking The Slug with it to the netherworld, so we're gonna spend the next few days looking back and examining the ends of thangs within the pop culture universe (as will all of asap). Don't get weepy on us just yet. The end isn't really always the end. Just ask George Lucas.

The Slug Buys It Now

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Last night, The Slug attended eBay's Game Show Night, a press event featuring Andy Ritcher and Paul F. Tompkins as hosts of a made-up eBay-themed game show — complete with podiums, flashing lights and prizes. It was cute and fun. Unfortch, we weren't selected to come on down. However, we were clued into the auction site's cool new features, which include a handy-dandy countdown page (no more hitting refresh only to learn you've been outbid by someone in Montana) and the ability to embed video in listings. Time to go shopping for old Yaz records!

Halloween Costumes Ideas

(AP Photos)

The Slug's favoritest holiday is just around the corner. That means it's time to dress up like a celebrity train wreck and hope everyone else in the room gets it. The Slug suspects lots of folks will be Anna Nicole Smith and Paris Hilton, so we're opting for other topical pop-culture icons. This year, we're keeping it simple (and cheap!), so all our ideas consist of just three elements. Let us know which of these five characters you think would garner us more tricks than treats.

• Bee Hive Wig + Black Tooth Makeup + Illegal Substances = Amy Winehouse
• Computer Chip Contacts + Cleavage + Sagging Ratings = "Bionic Woman"
• Bad Weave + Glittery Bra and Panties + No Facial Expression = Britney Spears
• Wallet Chain + Suicidal Tendencies Shirt + Farting = "Evel" Dick Donato
• Ponyhawk Wig + Microphone + No Talent = Sanjaya Malakar

Let the World Cyber Games Begin

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

The World Cyber Games Grand Final — could that name be any longer? — kicked off here in Seattle last night with an Olympic-like ceremony. We've covered gaming competitions before, but we've never seen any video game contest as epic as the WCG Grand Final. Competitors from all over the world are battling each other  in multiplayer matches in games like "Gears of War," "Counter Strike" and "WarCraft III" throughout the huge Qwest Field Event Center. You can be a spectator online or in person. The action continues through Sunday.

Sleepy in Seattle

(AP Photo/Cheryl Hatch)

So how much did you love "Pushing Daisies" last night? And who won "Top Chef"? You'll have to tell us later because The Slug is on assignment in Seattle for the rest of the week. Posts will be more sporadic than usual. In our absence, keep yourself busy with some AP reading material about a reality TV tussle, a "Desperate Housewives" controversy and the latest chapter in the Britney Spears custody trial. Check back later for our first report from the World Cyber Games Grand Final, which is being held at the Qwest Field Event Center this weekend.

Pushing "Pushing Daisies"

(AP Photo/HO/ABC)

The facts are these: Everyone loves "Pushing Daisies." And rightfully so. The Slug hearts the ABC show about a pie maker who brings people back from the dead so much that we've watched the pilot episode three times! It's is the most perfect television experience ever. The direction is magical and innovative. The cast is impeccable and endearing. The plot is involving and fast-paced. The dialogue is snappy and funny.

Unfortch, you can't watch the first episode of "Pushing Daisies" online before the Oct. 3 premiere. Boo. Despite that, we implore you to please, please, please pay more attention to this comedic gem when it finally airs — ahem, Oct. 3, if you're not paying attention — than you did "Wonderfalls," "Arrested Development" and "Knights of Prosperity," especially if you're a Nielsen home.

Our Four Favoritest Moments from the Emmys

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Despite our best liveblogging efforts, this year's Emmys drew the second-smallest audience in the show's history. Now that we've had more than 24 hours to digest exactly what went down in the round at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday night, we're ready to reveal what we actually liked about this year's ceremony. (In case you were wondering, what we didn't like was that awkward in-the-round stage, Ryan Seacrest's lame jokes and the lack of loser nominee reaction shots.)  Our four favoritest moments:

Steve Carell's phony win. Our biggest and most genuine chuckle came when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced they were giving Ricky Gervais' Emmy to their "friend" Carell. If that wasn't funny enough, the "40-Year-Old Virgin" gleefully jumped up from the audience and embraced his "Daily Show" alums. Why can't the rest of the ceremony be this silly?

Ryan Seacrest's screen time. When we first heard that Seacrest had been tapped to host the Emmys, we were frightened that the ceremony would turn into an "American Idol" clone. Although he was ultra-annoying every time he appeared on screen, those moments were refreshingly brief. Thankfully, comedians such as Ray Romano, Lewis Black, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and even Wayne Brady picked up the slack.

Kathryn Heigl's name checking. Most stars would probably act like they didn't hear the the silky smooth Emmy announcer completely mispronounce their last name when introducing them. Not Heigl. Before she launched into her TelePrompTer presentation, the "Knocked Up" star corrected the announcer. Later, after Heigl won for a supporting actress trophy, she gave the announcer props for getting it right the second time.

Sally Field's acceptance speech. Like a typical mother, Field rambled on and on during her best actress acceptance speech. Just when we started hoping Field would be drowned out by the orchestra, the "Brothers & Sisters" matriarch sprang some saucy language and an anti-war rant on the audience and Fox censors, who cut away from the winner. We really, really liked Field for giving us something to talk about the next day. 

Is the Letter Opener as Mighty as the Sword?

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

We get some weird and sometimes awesome mail here at The Slug. Definitely file the above object under awesome. It's a letter opener from Sony in the shape of the "Heavenly Sword," their new "God of War"-style action game for the PlayStation 3. However, we don't think we'll be slicin' open your letters with this baby. That's because we played the game this weekend — it was good, not great — and learned that the cursed sword actually drains your life force when you wield it. So please just e-mail us your letters 'cause we need all the life force we can get. For more video game news, unsheathe the latest episode of "Up Down Left Right."

Chatting with Nick from "Big Brother 8"

(AP Photo/HO/CBS)

The showmance is over! Nick Starcevic was evicted from the "Big Brother 8" house last night following a week of divine intervention (God giving Jameka the Power of Veto), violence (Dick dumping his tea on Jen) and outside interference (fans sending airplane banners over the house). Let's ask the good-natured evictee about the America's Player twist, double-crossing Amber and what exactly he and Daniele were doing under the covers.

"Inland Empire" Side Effects

(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

This blog post probably isn't going to make much sense because we're about to write about David Lynch, one of our favoritest cerebral film directors. We've been ill for the past few days and decided to pop in our review copy of the "Inland Empire" DVD — which comes out Aug. 14 — after taking a doctor-prescribed drug. Big mistake. By the end of this three-hour epic, the walls were caving in around us and we were questioning our reality. We'll never be able to look at screwdrivers or bunnies the same way again. We're not sure who to blame: the pills or Lynch.

Like his other ground-breaking films and TV series "Twin Peaks," this movie has a transportive effect that's thought-provoking and totally trippy. Laura Dern stars as a "woman in trouble" who wanders around Los Angeles and Poland. Yep. That's about as much of a plot as we could decipher. The entire movie was shot by Lynch with a shaky digital camera instead of standard filmstock, so the imagery in "Inland Empire" has an unsettling is-this-for-real vibe. While we enjoyed "Inland Empire" — we think?! — it wouldn't be a bad idea for pharmacists to add "David Lynch films" right after "dangerous machinery" on drug warning labels.

Swimming with Shark Week

(AP Photo/HO/Discovery Channel)

Last night, The Slug had the pleasure of entering some shark-infested waters at the 20th anniversary party for Discovery Channel's Shark Week at Chelsea Piers' Pier 60. Can you believe there have been 20 years of eduterror (yes, we just made that word up) about these watery predators? Shark Week partygoers had to cross a makeshift bridge over some flat-screen TVs on the floor featuring shark footage to get inside the event. Scary!

After being baited with some preview footage from "Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever," a doc from this year's Shark Week about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945, we noshed on sushi, poke and chocolate ganache — no shark meat! — and mingled among stars from Discovery Networks shows such as Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs," Jeff Corwin from a gazillion different Animal Planet shows and Clinton Kelly from "What Not to Wear."

Favoritiest Photo of the Week: He's Heeere

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

While The Slug was delving through upcoming video games (and partying) at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Santa Monica, Calif., Becks and Posh were attracting a media circus on the other side of town after they touched down in the good ol' U S of A. It's like "Footballers Wives" but real! We're lovin' this image from AP photographer Mark J. Terrill of David Beckham amid a sea of out-of-focus paparazzi. Here's the original caption. Cheers:

England soccer player David Beckham smiles at photographers as he arrives at Los Angeles International Airport, Thursday, July 12, 2007, in Los Angeles. Beckham has signed to play for the Major League Soccer team Los Angeles Galaxy. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

E3 Ya' Later

(AP Photo/ Damian Dovarganes)

The Slug is off to Los Angeles this week to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3. This year's show has been downsized is more exclusive, with only about 5,000 folks invited instead of 60,000. This week, asap's gamer video "Up Down Left Right" will be totally devoted to all the wacky E3 happenings. Check back Thursday for a link. Of course, we'll try to keep you tapped into the gaming goings-on right here on The Slug.

Attending the Reality TV Convention

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

The Slug is cashing in some vacation days in Nashville, Tenn., this week to celebrate our great nation's independence so we won't be blasting off posts until the Black Cats and Roman Candles have all cleared. Speaking of fireworks, we stopped by the second day of the second annual Reality TV Convention at the Radisson at Opryland yesterday. Attending this "convention" had to be one of the bizarrest experiences we've had in a looong time.

Blame Johnny Knoxville

(AP Photo/HO/Paramount Pictures)

So sorry we didn't post a thing yesterday! We were out late celebrating Paris Hilton's release from jail. Actually, our laptop has been on the fritz and finally went into the shop. We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We'll try to make up for that lack o' posts today. Coming up on The Slug: Our thoughts on Leonid the Magnificent's return to "America's Got Talent." And later, we'll be previewing "Jackass:  The Game." Yes, we can't believe they're making that either.

What Lurks Inside This Swag Bag?

(AP Photo/Hillary Rhodes)

Time for another trip inside The Slug's mailbox, a recurring feature where we examine stuff sent to us by publicists, fans and our mother. This one's a surprise from the Discovery Channel in honor of the 20th anniversary of Shark Week. That bag above came sealed with the following instructions: 1. Cut along dotted line. 2. Empty contents. 3. Turn gift bag inside out. 4. Enjoy your earth friendly tote bag. Ooooh. This is gonna be like watching a good episode of "Lost." Let's go!

Make Fred Willard Make Us Laugh

(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

We're interviewing Fred Willard on Thursday for an upcoming asap video. He's the comic genius from Christopher Guest films like "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show." He's voicing the character Professor Ed Warmer in the upcoming "Brain Age" game for PSP. He'll also play a wacky weatherman in Fox's "Back to You" sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton this fall. Do you have any questions for him — or just stuff that we can say out loud that'll inspire him to crack jokes? Send 'em to theslug@ap.org if you do.

The Slug to Paris Hilton: Call Us! Collect!

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Dear Paris: If you can somehow read this on a smuggled-in Sidekick or your mama is printing out blog posts for you or whatever, call us! We'll accept the charges! We desperately need to know if you were acting dumb when we interviewed you in your hotel room in 2005. If so, how would you have really answered our questions, you know, now that you're vowing not to act dumb? Also, forget everything we said in this asap story. We totally wrote it during your briefer-than-brief house arrest last week. Now that you're back in the clink, we think you're gaining street cred each passing day. Seriously! Now that you're in with Babs, you just may get Rosie O'Donnell's spot on "The View."

We've Got "Pac-Man" Fever

(AP Photo)

Don't expect any power pellets from The Slug tomorrow.  We'll be attending the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship in Times Square for most of the day. The top 10 Xbox Live Arcade "Pac" players will attempt to devour each other in World Cup-style tournament. Among other things, The Slug will be interviewing "Pac-Man" creator Toru Iwatari for asap. Got any questions (in English or Japanese) for this gaming icon? Shoot 'em to The Slug at theslug@ap.org.

What's in This Envelope?

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

Thanks to everyone who solicited their favorite pirate-themed video games a few weeks ago. Check out this week's installment of Up Down Left Right, asap's weekly gamer video, to see if your booty made the cut. Speaking of treasure hunting, let's take a looksie inside The Slug's mailbox again. Well, what do we have here? A mysterious black envelope with the "Pirates of the Caribbean Online" logo from the game's press kit. But what, praytell, could be inside?

Which Games Shouldn't Walk the Plank?

(AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

We need your assistance, matey. Our next installment of Up Down Left Right, asap's weekly gamer video, will be a treasure chest full of commentary on pirate-themed video games. Let Cap'n Slug know yer favoritest pirate wares at theslug@ap.org so they be included in our round-up. ("Age of Pirates," the "Monkey Island" series and "Sid Mier's Pirates!" are already aboard. Argh!) And, in case you missed it, check out this week's Up Down Left Right starring this summer's scurvy movie adaption titles.

Project Runway

(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok/Mary Altaffer)

The Slug is a pop-culture blog and not really a celebrity blog mostly because there are already plenty of great celebrity bloggers out there and, well, we just ain't into that sort of thing. To us, "Lost" and reality TV are more fascinating than Brit Brit's latest antics. We were reminded of this last night while attending — as a guest, not a reporter — the celebrity-soaked grand opening of Runway, a glitzy new nightspot here in New York, for two reasons:

2007: A Television Odyssey

(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)   

We're grinning ear to ear! The Slug finally made the complete high-definition plunge this weekend. As of Saturday, we're now fully equipped with an LCD flat screen and HD cable. After spending a copious amount of cash on our high-tech TV last month — only the best for The Slug, baby — we were trying to hold out on the HD cable upgrade but just couldn't stand the fuzziness any longer. Now we can't believe we were watching TV any other way! We can finally see the rich detail in stuff like the Discovery Channel's impeccable "Planet Earth" series and every Teri Hatcher wrinkle on "Desperate Housewives."

To Have and To Hold This Press Kit

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

It's been a while since we've let you inside The Slug's mailbox. (Amazon.com purchases, Entertainment Weeklies and W-2 forms ain't all that interesting.) But we thought the press kit for Court TV's first scripted show "'Til Death Do Us Part" was just too neat to keep to ourselves. The show, which premieres March 19, is an anthology series sorta like "Tales from the Crypt." Instead of the Crypt Keeper, cult director (and mixmaster) John Waters narrates the tales about married couples involved with murder.

The press kit contains the usual suspects: press release, DVD screener, etc. The most interesting thing is that the package is split into two sides. One flap contains congratulations cards; the other has sympathy cards. There's even some custom "'Til Death Do Us Part" stamps. Cool. We sent one of the sympathy cards to our aunt. She's not married, but her dog recently died.

Sweatin' to the Oldie

(AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

We don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out by what happened to us. As soon as The Slug stepped out of the elevator at the Mattel showroom for this asap Toy Fair report, we came face-to-face with Richard Simmons — yes, Mr. Deal-a-Meal himself — who said, and we quote: "Well, aren't you cute!" Uhhh, thanks? Later, after Simmons was finished hosting the launch event for Fisher-Price's new stationary bike for preschoolers, the 58-year-old fitness guru told us we looked younger than we actually are — and we've never aerobicised a day in our life! 

Not Until You Eat Your Vegetables

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

When The Slug found out we were coming to Vegas, we told ourselves we would exclusively take our meals at The Strip's buffets. If we wanted to dine at the likes of Le Cirque, Mesa Grill or Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, then we didn't have to leave the Big Apple. Thus far, they've all been similar smorgesboards starring piles of crab legs and cocktail shrimps.

All that changed when we feasted our eyes on the Bellagio buffet's dessert bar with its mini carrot cakes, creme brulees, chocolate-dipped strawberries, cheesecakes, pastries and much, much more. Intricate. Cute. Flavorful. Yummy. If Willy Wonka had a dessert bar in his chocolate factory, we think it would look and taste something like this. Daddy, I want a dessert bar now!

What Happens in Vegas Won't Stay in Vegas

(AP Photo/HO/NBC)

The Slug is going to Las Vegas! Tomorrow, we'll be hopping on a plane bound for Sin City. Don't worry. Once we arrive, we'll be blogging live from The Strip about all the pop cultural golden nuggets we come across during the trip. (For example, The Slug will be attending the World Shoe Show and sneaking a peek at the new Pussycat Dolls Casino. Start loosening up your buttons now). Got any suggestions on other stuff we should see or do in Vegas? Send 'em to theslug@ap.org. Before we head out west, we're attending Microsoft's sure-to-be-over-the-top Windows Vista launch event today in Times Square. Come back later for our take on all the hubbub.

It's Back to Work We Go

(AP Photo/HO/Disney)

Welcome to 2007 at The Slug! We're a little under the weather today — no, not hungover — so we have zero energy to make any resolutions. We'd probably break them all, anyway. Instead, we'll just promise to keep bringing you as much pop culture news and commentary as possible in '007, you know, in-between doing our day job at asap. As always, you can vent to theslug@ap.org. We're here for you. When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day again?

Our Favoritest Things in 2006

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Our long national nightmare is almost over! The year-end lists that plague this time of year will be null and void at the stroke of midnight Sunday. So before we take off for a three-day weekend full of speculating and drinking, here's, um, yet another year-end list! We skipped the crap and just went for our favoritiest pop culture nuggets from 2006. If you disagree or think there was something better, we probably didn't see it — or you're just wrong.

Favoritest Viral Video: Reverend Alecia. She simply spun, spun, spun around on a gold lamé-covered office chair to "give praise to the name of the Lord," but there was something so hilariously beautiful about it. And just when you thought you've had enough, she spins via split-screen.

Favoritest Song: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Sure, it's played out now, but we remember when, we remember, we remember at the beginning of the year when the infectious beat and repetitious lyrics shook our tush. While OutKast was busy making a movie, Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo filled the genre-spanning void with the bestest ditty of 2006.

Favoritest Commercial: Little Richard for Geico. Usually we cringe at celebrities shilling in ads. (Case in point: Alan Thicke offering a "second honeymoon" at the Tahiti Village in Las Vegas. Oh, brother.) But Little Richard steals the show while hawking car insurance with the best description of Thanksgiving dinner ever. Whooo!!!

Favoritest Reality TV Show: "Survivor: Cook Islands." It started with a scandal and could've gone horribly wrong. Instead, viewers of this aging reality show were treated to a season of interesting twists that had nothing to do with that racial divide. By season's end, we were left with a dominating multicultural alliance who concluded the potentially viscous game with more integrity than any previous season.

Favoriest Movie: "Borat" and "The Queen." We know. We know. We're lame for the tie, but we couldn't pick just one. Surprisingly, we sorta loved both for the same reason. These scathing looks at two very different cultures successfully undulated between real and fake, fact and fiction. "Borat" did it for laughs. "The Queen" did it for chills. And we're better for watching both.

Favoritest Roller Coaster: Tatsu. Opened in April, this soaring Japanese-themed coaster, which suspends riders horizontally, whirls 170-feet above Six Flags Magic Mountain's other rides and — gulp! — the ground. When we visited Los Angeles in October, we rode in the front and truly felt like Superman.

Favoritest Game Show: "The Price is Right." You can keep "Deal or No Deal," "1 vs. 100," "Identity" and all those other prime-time game shows. They're boring and, frankly, seem phony. We'll take the crazy everyday men and women who compose "The Price is Right" audience any day of the week. And although Bob Barker announced he's retiring next year, we think he's still got it.

Favoritest Scandal: Clay Aiken's hand. When the "American Idol" runner-up put his hand over Kelly Ripa's mouth on "Live with Regis and Kelly," it ignited a firestorm across daytime television. We're surprised it didn't cause any havoc in Harmony on "Passions."

Favoritest TV Show: "Heroes." While "Lost" was busy dragging out its tiresome mysteries — there, we said it — this superhero drama moved forward with superhuman speed, improving upon a very ehhhh first episode and veering clear of copying "X-Men" by focusing intriguing they-could-be-real characters. We can't wait until 2007 to find out if we're on the list!   

Favoritest Video Game: "Loco Roco." Our favorite game this year wasn't on Wii or PlayStation 3. It was on — gasp! — the PlayStation Portable. With spirited graphics, addictive soundtrack and innovate gameplay, we think this gelatinous puzzle game was more vanguard than anything on those next-generation consoles.

Favoritest Blog: Adrants. We love this marketing and advertising blog for exposing bizarre commercials, flogs and silly P.R. campaigns. In a year when the line between entertainment and advertisement became even thinner, Adrants was there to point its finger and giggle. (And no, we didn't pick Adrants because they linked to our HeadOn post.)

Favoritest asap Story We Did: Waiting for Cats. This past year, we had the opportunity to create stories about amazing people (Mr. T, Bazooka Joe), amazing animals (Lassie, mascots), amazing places (Costa Rica, Flea World) and amazing things ("Second Life," Mardi Gras), but our favoritest was simply tailing a group of talented teenagers who were putting on an amateur production of "Cats."

What a Card!

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

Merry Christmas from The Slug! We're peacing out for the next few days. Check back next week as we'll continue to preview midseason shows. Enjoy the holidays. As our Christmas gift to you, we're gonna let you peep at some of our favorite holiday cards that we received from various networks, record labels, media outlets and public relations firms. Come inside and make yourself warm.

How to Come On Down

(AP Photo/Ric Francis)

Lookie here. There's a letter in The Slug's in-box about our favoritest game show.

Thanks for your info on "The Price is Right." I have a quick question for you. I am going to the show in February and am wondering what the producers asked you when you were being filtered through the line. Like where are you from? What do you do? Also, did you get a sense of who they picked and what kind of answers they gave to the producers?

Thanks a million!
Jeff   

Hey Jeff. Thanks for the great question. The Slug was not selected to come on down, so we can only share our personal experience of not getting picked. If you crave more, go ask the folks over at the Golden-Road.net message board. They have far more expertise about "The Price is Right" than us.

Say something interesting. In order of arrival, audience members were brought out in front of producer Phil Rossi (that's what his CBS badge said his name was) before going inside the studio. Phil went down the row and asked everyone where they're from and what they do. That's it. Sometimes he asked further questions (like when we told him we were a journalist, he queried: "Are you going to write about us?") and sometimes he laughed at people's responses or seemed really into them, but they didn't get picked. We suspect Phil cleans up at poker.

Don't be like someone else. During our episode, no young men were selected to come on down. It was mostly women. That's peculiar. Why? Well, some wise people in the audience told us that a young guy won both showcases on an episode filmed the day before. So perhaps demographics are at play? If that's the case, it might be out of your control, Jeff.

Don't have the name of someone else. We've never seen an episode of "Price is Right" featuring two contestants with the same name. So if another Jeff gets called to come on down, you can probably give up hope of playing Plinko. Perhaps you should consider changing your name to something totally unique.

Make 19 friends. The last thing we can recommend to increase your chances is to go in a group. At "The Price is Right," a group is considered 20 or more people who make prior reservations. During our episode, one person was picked from each "group." Good luck getting in the audience and on the show, Jeff. Even if you don't get picked, you'll still have an awesome experience.

The Slug is "Right"

(AP Photo/Ric Francis)

Today "The Price is Right" episode that we attended last October airs on CBS. The Slug is sitting third row, stage right if you care to see how ugly we looked. (Hey, we got in line for the show at 3 a.m. No time for hair and makeup, baby.) Unfortunately, The Slug didn't get a chance to come on down, but it was a thrilling experience nonetheless. Expect a historic game of Half Off, winners wearing lots of denim and Brandi Sherwood (by far our favorite Barker's Beauty) running in heels on a treadmill. Oh yes. Get all the Bob Barker you can before he's gone, folks.

Slug Gift Guide: Our Lips are Sealed

(AP Photo/Hillary Rhodes)

Yesterday we recommended a nifty gadget for grandma. Today we're suggesting a gift for somebody you don't like. (If you don't like your grandma, get her both. And why don't you like your grandma!?!?) It's lip gloss called Lip Venom. The company line says Lip Venom is a "spicy, tingly gloss that enhances lips' natural color and shape with a blend of essential oils including cinnamon, ginger, and wintergreen, in a jojoba oil base."

The Slug says it's the Cover Girl equivalent of Chinese water torture. Once you apply this stuff to your smackers, your lips irritatingly tingle for hours. (We should know. We tried it.) But darn. They do look good. (We should know. We looked in the mirror.)

Slugshots: Somebody Cover Barbara Walters' Mouth

• First comes Kazakh Club of Art Patrons Award buzz. Then comes Oscar buzz.
• If Brit and Paris actually had Thanksgiving together, we don't need anything for Christmas.
• Ah, to be a rich movie star.
• We wish we had these issues in America.
• This would've been more interesting had it been Isaac Mizrahi.
• Who died and made Barbara Walters referee?
• Even if you don't like Tenacious D — how could you!? — at least listen to the end.
• Oh really? Sounds like "Working Girl" to us.

While We Were Out

(AP Photo/Robert Evans)

No, The Slug wasn't secretly attending the TomKat wedding in Italy. We really were on an Asian vacation in Malaysia, away from American pop culture. And then we attended the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism in Boston. (Shoutout to all the journalists-bloggers we met.) Besides the Cruise-Holmes wedding — someone tell us why Brooke Shields was there?!?! — here's what else we missed:

Gamers went absolutely nuts for the PS3 and Wii launches while The Slug's B.F.F. and asap reporter Ryan Pearson made himself sore with the Wii. Get jealous. We had a PS3 review unit waiting for us at our desk when we got back so we'll dish on the games, graphics and that ol' fashioned controller this week.

There were several shockers on "Survivor." First, there was that mutiny. Hello?! Doesn't anybody see that Jonathan Penner is sooo obviously this season's villain? Somebody vote him off already! Second, that mysterious bottle revealed a two-for-the-price-of-one Tribal Council. Buh-bye to Brad Virata, Rebecca Borman and Jenny Guzon-Bae. Now it's getting good!

Emmitt "Twinkle Toes" Smith won "Dancing with the Stars," and we couldn't be happier. While Mario Lopez looked hotter in ballroom garb than in A.C. Slater acid wash denim, we were rooting for Smith because he was having more fun. (And he's from our hometown of Pensacola, Fla. Holla.)

"Desperate Housewives" is back to its old self. After that amazing hostage episode — told you Laurie Metcalf was awesome — the show's latest two outings felt fresh, mysterious, sexy and sudsy. What do you think is going to happen with that alleged pedophile neighbor? We think the sister in the wheelchair has something to do with it.

"Casino Royale" opened with the blonde Bond — and it didn't even get the No. 1 spot at the box office. We weren't able to get to any preview screenings so we have zero thoughts on why an animated film about a tap-dancing penguin beat 007. This news has left The Slug shaken, not stirred.

Justice League to Don Disguises on "Smallville"

  (AP Photo/HO/Cartoon Network)

What's wrong with superheroes these days? Just look at "Heroes" and "Smallville." They never wear formfitting costumes anymore! Actually, that curse will be broken when the quasi-Justice League forms during Episode 11 of "Smallville" in February. When The Slug spoke to executive producer and co-creator Al Gough for this asap story about superhero team-ups, Gough revealed that Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg — we've already seen the Green Arrow's garb — will appear in "disguises." There'll also be hints to their future monikers. Sounds ripe for a spin-off, right? There's been talk, Gough told The Slug. But after his Aquaman-centered "Mercy Reef" didn't get picked up by The CW, he's gun-shy about the possibility of "Justice Leagueville."

LISTEN: Al Gough dishes on Justice League costumes.

Do They Have "Big Brother" in Malaysia?

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

The Slug is going to Malaysia to shop and eat and sleep and ride roller coasters inside skyscrapers for a week. You know we love — well, really like — you. So we'll try our hardest to keep you posted on what's going down in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, we won't be able to talk to whomever has their torch snuffed on "Survivor" tonight. But if you're into men in tights or "Smallville," check back tomorrow because we will have some juicy news about the Justice League. Selamat tinggal!

Diet Cherry 7UP Discovered in L.A.

(AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

As you may remember, The Slug was desperately seeking Diet Cherry 7UP a few months ago. Not 7UP. Not Cherry 7UP. And definitely not 7UP Plus. No, it had to be Diet Cherry 7UP. Despite what a spokes