Catherine Tate Christmas Special - Nan's Christmas Carol

What can I say? The man is brilliant! And I'm not being biased. ;) And to think, this man is a well-known, well-respected Shakespearean actor, trained and performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company! And the best Doctor ever! ;)

And Catherine Tate ("Nan") and David Tennant are going to rule the world. ;)

"Doctor Who: End of Time" - Part 1

Most of you know how much I love the sci-fi series "Doctor Who" and how much I'm in love with its star, David Tennant, who plays the Doctor in the series. So, when the news of him leaving the role to move on to bigger pastures came out, I was sad. Christopher Eccleston was the one who turned me onto this show when they had revived the show in 2005, but David Tennant was the one who hooked me.

Tonight, they aired the first of the 2-part special of "Doctor Who: End of Time", in which David's incarnation of the Doctor (a.k.a. "Ten") faces his end, and eventually regenerates to the 11th incarnation of the Doctor (which will be played by Matt Smith). I have seen the trailers for this, and after actually seeing the whole of Part 1, I am a mess! I was crying, I didn't think it would be that emotional. But it was! I really can't talk about the episode because I have to back-track all the way back to Series 1, it really wouldn't make sense unless you follow the show already. I can't wait to see the final part, which will air on January 2nd! It will be sad to see David Tennant leave the role, but excited to see how it will all happen on the tube.

This video clip is part of the Part 1, this particular sequence made me cry. It's very sad.

If you have not seen or don't know anything about "Doctor Who", I suggest that you queue it on your Netflix, or watch it on Youtube. It's a brilliant show, and it's for the whole family.

Part 2 of "Doctor Who: End of Time" is on Saturday, January 2nd, 6pm PST on BBC America!

"The Sing Off" Finale - my 2 cents.

First off, let me just say that I really hope this show gets picked up for the Spring or Fall season. I was a bit underwhelmed by the contestants for this pilot "mini"-season. Honestly, outside of the professional a cappella groups that I know and I've seen, there are other groups out there that are so much better than the groups they had on. However, not all of the groups on the show were complete unknowns to me. I have heard of Voices of Lee, the Bubs, and Maxx Factor, from various a cappella festivals and competitions all over the U.S. and they have developed reputations and recognition over the years, so they already have some fans out there.

Anyway, I missed the first 30 mins of the show, but got home just in time to see Nota sing "Stand by Me". I'm sorry, but I wasn't a fan of Nota (still am not). Yes, they have flavor. Yes, they can perform. But most of the time, someone in the group would either be sharp or flat. Their harmonies were not as tight and smooth as that of Maxx Factor or Voices of Lee. Very underwhelmed by them. But I suppose they have the potential to be marketable in mainstream music, that's probably why the public votes for them.

Voices of Lee performed "Pocketful of Sunshine" with Natasha Bedingfield. I love the arrangement they did, and they all sounded amazing, including Natasha! The harmonies are balanced, no one was sticking out like a sore thumb. The arrangement was tasteful, it wasn't overly done, not too many bells and whistles, just voices. Very tasteful. But, was it just me or did Natasha lose count somewhere in the middle of the song? Maybe she did it on purpose, I'm not quite sure. I love Voices of Lee. They were my faves.

I skipped the Bubs' performance. Singing with Nicole? Yeah, that's a channel changer. "You Don't Own Me"? I smelled "cheese" a mile away. I switched the channel to HBO and watched "Alex Rider: Stormtrooper" for a little just in time to see Damian Lewis shoot Ewan McGregor! :(

I also skipped Nota's performance with Smokey Robinson. I love Smokey, but I was just over Nota altogether.

Boyz II Men. My boys, my boys! What happened?! They were shaky. They weren't blending very well. And their sound wasn't full! They need Mike McCary back! They were able to pull it together towards the end, singing "End of the Road" but they were definitely missing the bottom. That's OK, Mike's rejoining the group next year. Very excited about that! How I wish I was there at the studio live, singing along though. :(

BOBBY MCFERRIN. I have to agree with Jake Moulton with what he said on his Facebook status page that Bobby saved the night. He did! Mr. McFerrin IS the king of a cappella and is simply a musical genius. The improve was great. But Bobby definitely schooled everyone in that studio with his talent. He should've done the Bach Fugue and had the audience sing along to "Ave Maria". Or he could've done "Mere Words", which is one of my favourite Bobby songs from "Bang! Zoom!" He didn't win 10 Grammy's for nothing, and not a lot of people know that he's more than the "Don't Worry Be Happy" guy. He is so much more than that. Way more! HE was definitely the highlight of the night for me!

Voices of Lee was voted off, leaving Nota and the Bubs to duke it out in the finals. Obviously, I was disappointed.

I basically skipped out on the rest of the show. I did catch a glimpse of the finalists performing with judge Ben Folds, avec piano. Shame on you, Mr. Folds. No instruments allowed at an a cappella show. SHAME.

So, "who won?" you ask. Nota. Their closing song: "Down" by Jay Sean. Ummm... I was so underwhelmed.

Overall, I'm glad that a show like this has finally seen daylight, and I really hope it gets picked up for a regular season. I'm not a complete fan of this show just yet. But I'm glad this has shone the spotlight on a cappella.

My thoughts on "The Sing Off" (Pilot Episode)

I'm no a cappella expert, in the sense that I haven't performed enough a cappella music as a singer. However, I have been exposed to the world of contemporary a cappella (a.k.a. non-barbershop, non-doowop) in the past 10 years, have seen the pros who do it for a living, the amateurs and the collegiate groups that I could probably form a very informed opinion on the subject matter.

Tonight, was the premier of NBC's "The Sing Off", a music competition like no other, in that, it's all about a cappella music, in various forms. The show is hosted by Nick Lachey (of 98 degrees). And it also has a panel of judges: Ben Folds (of Ben Folds Five), Shawn Stockman (of Grammy award-winning music group, Boyz II Men), and, oddly enough, Nicole Scherzinger (of the Pussy Cat Dolls). My first thought regarding their choice of Ben Folds was, "why?" I've always know that he's a wonderful musician, and he did release an album recently of all a cappella tunes called, "University A Cappella", so I thought, the producers must think he's an a cappella expert. However, after watching this show, I have to say, he knows his a cappella, and he has great ear. One example is the key shift that the SoCals did, when the bass went sharp. I thought I was just imagining that, but he did hear it and so did Shawn. Wasn't sure if Nicole caught that, being a "solo" artist (yes, she is in a "group", but have you noticed that she's the only one who sings? And as far as harmonies are concerned, PCD is not known for harmonies).

Shawn Stockman. I understand this choice. Boyz II Men (or Unique Attraction as they were known before they became uber-famous), started off as a 4-part harmony a cappella group at the Philadelphia High School for the Performing Arts. Shawn has enough knowledge and a cappella experience to be a judge in this show. And I did wonder (and so did my friend, Sherry) if he still remembers (let alone, keep in touch) with George Baldi III (Rockapella's bass, and former member of Unique Attraction).

Nicole Scherzinger. This choice was a complete puzzler. OK, so they probably needed a pretty girl in the mix, and after watching the episode, she has been dubbed as the "Paula" of the trifecta of judges. But what's her experience as far as a cappella is concerned? As I've mentioned before, PCD is not known for harmonies, nor a cappella for that matter. They lip-synch 99% of the time in concerts, and Nicole sings ALL of the solos. Her comments were pretty much a echo of the other two judges', and then she tells them they looked good, had the spirit, had great outfits, etc...

The groups. My initial favourite out of the first set was Face. And they were booted off! What was that all about?! They sounded the most "professional" out of the 4 (all 8, actually). I thought Nota should've left. The guy didn't even know the lyrics to "I'm Yours" which is a no-no, especially for a Jason Mraz song. The man is known for his lyrics, his "wordplay". Piece of advice: LEARN THE CORRECT LYRICS! Out of the 2nd set, my favourite was the Beelzebubs, I'd have to say. They were cheesy, but they were fun to watch, and they sang their a%%es off.

Honorable mentions:
- Maxx Factor
- Voices of Lee
- SoCals

I still haven't completely jumped on this show's bandwagon, but I am hopeful that it gets picked up and the network orders a full season of it in the spring. I'm excited because a cappella is definitely a genre close to my heart and I'm glad that it's starting to gain some popularity. I hope it continues.