Flintstones Set to Return to Fox!

After almost 45 years of absence from primetime television, they’re back: the Flintstones! Fox will be picking up the new version of this popular animated show. Like the old version, the new will still features the same characters, with the same friends, in the same village of Bedrock. Executive producer Seth Macfarlane says that Fred Flintstone was the first character he drew at the age of two. Kevin Reilly, the President of Entertainment of the Fox Broadcasting company, is ecstatic about the show; “The Flintstones are among the funniest and most beloved characters in television history, and we can’t wait to introduce them to a whole new generation on FOX,” he says. He also mentions a few of the iconic families that began on fox, including the Simpsons and the Griffins, and seems to be quite sure that the Flintstones, and even the Rubbles, will fit in rather nicely. I grew up watching the Flintstones every day on cartoon network, and cannot wait to see what producers have in store when it comes to the new episodes. However, much to my disappointment, the article I read concerning the topic ended with the following sentence: “The series is set to air on FOX in 2013.” What a bummer!

Update: Top Three on Idol

Yes, another American Idol update. However, regardless of how many I’ve already posted, this one is completely necessary. James Durbin, the metal/rocker powerhouse on Idol, was sent home in a shocking elimination last Thursday evening. Personally (and after reading many online reactions, I know most of the other viewers share my opinion), I would not have been surprised to see James win the competition. He always puts on quite a show, and portrays many different sides to his rocker style. But what’s up with America not feeling it? Fox news blames his level of maturity and, thus, lack of ability to relate as a sole reason. Considering two of the remaining contestants are in their teens, I can understand this theory. Fox also references, but does not clearly blame, Durbin’s disabilities—high functioning autism and Asperger’s— for his elimination. I do not see how these conditions hindered him in any way, especially since we all learned early in the competition that, oddly enough, James never shows symptoms of these while performing. If anything, persevering through the competition, all things considered, is miraculous, and quite inspiring.

Just in case the thought wasn’t caught, yes…it upset me to see James go. I looked forward to his performances and what different element he would bring to the stage each week. Wednesday night’s show will seem like it’s missing something (maybe because it is!).

FarmVille Goes Gaga

What do you get when you mix Lady Gaga with FarmVille? Yeah, I don’t know either…but the singer has turned to yet another odd method of expanding her fan base.  Gaga has made the decision to release some of the songs from her new album on FarmVille before allowing them to be heard anywhere else. There will be a special “farm”-like profile created on the game called “GagaVille”, where the users can visit. Once there, there will be daily tasks for the users to complete in order to unlock another new exclusive track from May 17^th to May 19^th. Starting May 20, users can continue to complete tasks in order to unlock songs, however, the songs they unlock will not be exclusive to FarmVille. Zynga, creator of FarmVille, declares the brevity of the event; “GagaVille” will only be available until May 26^th, since it is simply a celebration of the release of the singer’s new album “Born this Way”. In addition to “GagaVille”, Zynga is also offering Gaga-based goods to players on their other games, as well. Neither party would enclose on whether or not any type of money or financial exchange would occur.

Fourth Season of "Jersey Shore" Faces a Setback

It looks as though the next season of Jersey Shore could be in jeopardy. As the cast members entered the Newark airport to prepare for the flight to Italy over the weekend, they received news that several filming permits had suddenly been pulled. These permits included permission to film scenes in the Uffizi art gallery, the Boboli gardens, and the symbol of Florence, Palazzo Vecchio. This season was meant to include all the veterans—Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino, Paul “DJ Pauly D” Delvecchio, Vinny Guadagnino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, and, of course, Sammi Giancola and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro. Production for the fourth season was set to begin today, but this set-back has put the show on hold—indefinitely, might I add—until the situation is worked out… (Pun not intended.)

Will Charlie Sheen be a "Winner"?

According to Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Charlie Sheen teamed up with Snoop Dogg and Korn guitarist Robert Patterson to record a song titled “Winning”, named after the catchphrase repeated nonstop by the actor through interviews and tweets. Sheen told his Twitter followers to “get ready to rock the Sheenius”, as the hit will be aired on Tuesday. However, Patterson’s stand on the song is a little less enthusiastic; he claims he does not want people to take the song seriously, because it is “meant to be fun and entertaining.” The lyrics were written by Snoop Dogg solely 45 minutes before heading to the studio to record it, and the actual recording itself took no more than two hours. The beginning of the song features a cameo from Carmen Electra, who is engaged to Patterson. Sheen seems to be optimistic about the song’s future, asking the rhetorical question “Who doesn’t like winning?”

Gaga's New Hit Offends

Just two days before the start of holy Week, Lady Gaga’s new single “Judas” leaked onto the internet. Needless to say, many Catholics aren’t exactly pleased about this song, nor it’s not-so-timely release—in fact, most are down-right outraged. The song lyrics exert Gaga’s love for Judas, who is infamously known for betraying Jesus: "Jesus in my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to...I'm just a holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel, but I'm still in love with Judas baby.” Crazy enough, Gaga, herself, was even raised Catholic. She seems to be taking after artists such as Madonna and Sinead O’Connor, both of whom also adopted offending religious innuendos and imagery in their performances and videos. Some of Lady Gaga’s previous acts were offending—such as dressing as a nun and swallowing a rosary on stage—but her new single portraying her “love” for Judas tops that event in the eyes of many viewers, according to the New York post.

American Idol Update: Top 5

The Season 10 American Idol finale can be seen just over the horizon. With only five contestants left, every performance 9along with every vote) is crucial. Last night, the top 5—which consists of James Durbin, Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, and Jacob Lusk—each performed two songs, doubling their chances to win over the much-needed votes from the audience. And if I were a judge, I would have responded the same way Jennifer Lopez did at the closure of the night, when she exclaimed she was glad that it was up to America, and not her. At this point, the competition is anyone’s to win. Each contestant comes out week after week with a strong performance, which just piles up the pressure as the number of singers left dwindles away. One faulty performance is all it would take at this point to knock someone out of the competition, and based on last night’s show, I’ve made my prediction as to who will be leaving tonight: Jacob Lusk. Although I’ve always favored him quite highly, I feel he has strayed too far from his intense, gospel genre (although it almost seems as though the judges pushed him away from it), and has set himself at the bottom of the pack.

New Record Set on Twitter

As well as being broadcasted non-stop on almost every news station, the death of 9/11 terrorist Osama Bin Laden has been overflowing Twitter, setting a new record on the media site. Users posted, on average, 3,440 tweets per second from 10:45 PM to 2:20 AM (Eastern Time) on the night the news was released. The peak occurred at 11 PM, with a staggering 5,106 tweets per second. This is not the highest number of tweets on record, however. On New Year’s in Japan, there was a record of 6,939 tweets per second, but this rate only lasted about 4 seconds, which is a significantly lower sustained time frame when compared to that involving Bin Laden’s death.

Yes, the death of Bin Laden is a big accomplishment for our country; just as Obama stated in his announcement speech, “Justice has been done.” However, there’s only one fact that has me uneasy…Although Obama was the main mind behind the 9/11 attack, he was not alone. One has to wonder whether or not any type of retaliation is in the cards for the U.S. taking this step.