Instant Star executive producer Steven "I'm married to the chick who created Degrassi" Stohn has announced that the upcoming season of my favorite Canadian sing-a-long show will be its last. That's him next to Tommy (in case you were wondering if Jude's dad got recast). I guess Alexz Johnson wants to get on with her recording career. I'd bitch, but last season was such a bomb that I can't blame her for getting out. And with that sassy new bob, she's really going places.
You know what's not sassy? Spiederman's overall appearance. It's pretty much skeeving me out. Seriously, a tank top? This is kind of ruining all those Spiederman tracks on the Season Three soundtrack. Just kidding. Nothing could ruin those tracks. And look at Jamie in the back trying to pretend he's not rocking a mullet. Sadder than me listening to Spied at full volume in my car? Maybe. But definitely not as sad as the fact that Karma's still on the show and partially obscuring Kwest, who is so far in the back that he might just be a cardboard cutout used when the real Kwest has better shit to do. Like visit Portia in the clink.
I’m not sure how Kaya, MTV’s new “scripted drama” (I love that they have to advertise that now since EVERYTHING else is a Laguna Beach spin-off), has not incited a lawsuit from the folks over at Instant Star. My guess is that MTV and The N being under the same corporate umbrella helps.
In addition to the similar premise (young girl becomes overnight rockstar), Kaya’s got an aspiring fashion designer BFF named Kat… er, Nat, an overly involved dad, an absentee mom, and a hardheaded music producer named Tommy… er, T. But it’s not like she and T have any sexual tension now that they’ve slept together.
The fact that she went ahead and had sex with the inappropriately older producer is what kind of sold me on the show. It’s like Instant Star with more grit and drugs and dead sisters talking from beyond the grave. Wait, I kind of loathe that last part. But I do like that the stakes seem astronomically higher for Kaya as she and her band yell their way through No Doubt-like tension and deal with bottom line-loving music execs in an attempt to make it beyond one hit wonder status.
I also like the flashbacks to the days when the band first got together. It’s nice to see their youthful exuberance juxtaposed with the jaded anger and resentment that came with making it big. And the music? Pretty damn catchy*. Check out the official video below. It’s been stuck in my head all day.
*Full disclosure requires me to admit that Alexz Johnson (AKA Instant Star’s Jude) is the most played artist on my iTunes playlist and that I recently purchased an import of Season 3’s soundtrack because I couldn’t wait until it was made available in the States. Please feel free to judge or commiserate as you see fit.
I'm as happy as the next Canadian 13 year-old that Cassie Steele (Degrassi's Manny Santos) has joined Season Four of Instant Star, but does she have to have such bad hair? I get that her character is named Blu, but not even Pink takes her name that literally anymore. And it really does nothing for her olive complexion. Don't even get me started on her new Degrassi hair. Blonde with mini bangs? The only explanation that I can come up with involves her and Emma merging into one hormonal, sorta slutty pregnancy scare waiting-to-happen. Her hair on the Best Years was fairly normal (save the scenes with the Wonder Woman tiara), but her character has disappeared and so has my interest in the show. Not even Paige ODing on coke and twitching on the floor was enough to stifle my yawn.
Miss Instant Star herself Alexz Johnson, Magda Apanowicz (Kyle XY's cancer-stricken Andy) and Degrassi's Emma and Alex (Miriam McDonald and Deanna Casaluce) will star in the Lifetime original movie Devil's Diary. Mark your calendars: September 22.
So I was watching Greek the other day, enjoying a fun episode about date parties and sex, and I noticed nods to both Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty. Not surprising since they’re both on ABC, Greek’s parent channel. What struck me as strange was that Grey’s Anatomy was referenced as a show that the characters watch, while Mode, Ugly Betty’s employer, was referenced as a magazine that everyone reads. Following that logic, Ugly Betty and Greek exist in the same universe. Spencer could be Betty’s summer intern. Zaniness could ensue.
Over on The N, things get even stickier. Aubrey Graham and Stacey Farber of Degrassi appeared as themselves on an episode of Instant Star. So in the universe of Instant Star, Degrassi is a popular Canadian show. But on a recent episode of Degrassi, the characters were singing a Jude Harrison song at Karaoke. So in the universe of Degrassi, Jude’s a rockstar. Logically those scenarios should negate one another and the Epitome Pictures back lot should implode, leaving a blackhole in the middle of Toronto. Though logically, I shouldn’t think this deeply about a show that isn't Lost.
Need two reasons to watch Smallville next year? Michael Cassidy (Hidden Palms's Cliff, The OC's Zach) is all but confirmed as a new Lois love interest and Laura Vandervoort (Instant Star's Sadie) will be Supergirl. So yes, I'll be swallowing the bile that rises every time I look at Lana and tuning in. The addition of Canadian Vandervoort is especially fun since one of my favorite TV games is Spot the Working Canuck Actor. Vancouver-based shows like Kyle XY, Battlestar, Eureka and Men in Trees are positively chock full of Canadians you never knew you always loved.
In sad casting news (not Fillion on DH sad, but close), Sam Huntington is going to be on ABC's Geico Cavemen sitcom. Maybe it'll be a savvy parody of modern racism. Maybe Huntington will bring the same wide-eyed humor he rocked in Not Another Teen Movie and Veronica Mars. Or maybe he'll be buried under mounds of prosthetic makeup and bad jokes. No matter what, I'll now have to give it a courtesy look. Damn my loyalty.
She's a teenage pop singer, he's a rapidly aging tabloid darling. They're star-crossed to be sure, but in the love triangle at the heart of Instant Star, Tommy will be the last beau standing. The proof is in this scene from season two.
Her first album has tanked, Jude's frustrated and her home life sucks. But when she gets into the studio with Tommy to work on her new album, that frustration washes away. She's bubbly and relaxed. And look at Tommy. Lord Squinty Frown has never looked so happy as he does when he's goofing around with his favorite starlet. Jamie's a great guy, definitely better than his rival, but when all is said and done, Tom's the best for Jude.
Yes, I'm willing to admit that I may have put too much thought into that. But it's what makes me me.
I've had a busy couple of weeks, but never fear, I've still got my priorities straight and I've made time for TV via Tivo and the internet. Let's start with VERONICA MARS. Veronica, Studio 60 called and they want that preachy sermon back. I did, however, enjoy the 15 minutes that were devoted to Logan and Parker's functional relationship and Piz mustering the balls to make a move. Finally!
Speaking of Piz, apparently he works out, as witnessed by his buff turn on GREY'S ANATOMY. The spin-off has possibilities although if any man ever said, "I'm going to kiss you. With tongue. So you feel it," to me in an empty stair well, he'd be getting a knee to the balls for being equal parts creepy and cheesy. You know what kiss was neither creepy nor cheesy? George and Izzy! Am I the only one who's totally on this bandwagon? Cause I LOVE it. Almost as much as I hate McDreamy for his sudden ambivalence about Mere. I'd forgive it if it really had to do with her lack of will to live and not the fact that he wants to further his career. Ass.
I don't talk about it much, but UGLY BETTY is a seriously solid show. Who said Rebecca Romijn as a lonely transgendered ice queen wouldn't play in Middle America? Also on ABC, OCTOBER ROAD. The show is full of holes and silly twists. It pisses me off and yet I watched every damn episode. I actually care about the stupid characters, especially Eddie and Janet. I even like Laura Prepon and she used to bug the hell out of me with her perpetual post punchline smirk on That '70s Show.
Speaking of things that bug the hell out of me... INSTANT STAR'S still flirting with mediocrity. Let's be honest, I think mediocrity has gotten to third base at this point. Here's my thing about the Jude/Jamie/Tommy triangle we're inexplicably revisiting: Jude will never be in love with Jamie. Yes, he's the better guy, but he's not her guy. She invited him on her first tour AFTER Tommy turned her down. She hooked up with him because Tommy was with Sadie. She wrote White Lines about Tommy while she was dating Jamie. It's not really a love triangle, it's a set up for disaster.
Shows I've recently tried on for size: HEROES - last night's episode was a little assy and I'm a bit creeped out by the dynamic between Peter and niece Claire, but I've caught the last few eps and I'm intrigued and looking forward to watching it from the beginning. I'm also eager to get further into WILDFIRE on ABC Family. Yes, I love shows aimed at tweens, but this one's really good. I'd caught episodes before, but now several eps at a time are available on abcfamily.com. Ever wonder what happened to Degrassi's school shooter? He's on an ABC Family show called Falcon Beach. It's pretty unwatchable, but Degrassi will be back (sans Rick, of course) this summer.
Oh and last night's HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was super cute. That's all I've got for now.
Just a week after I'd decided it was back, Instant Star let me down again. Everything felt forced, from Spiederman hiding his solo demo from the band to Jude firing Tommy. The opportunities for real drama (Sadie's reaction to finding out Jude and Tommy were running around behind her back) were ignored. Jude was a brat, Spied's song wasn't that good and I didn't buy for a second that Portia was going to join forces with Hunter and his man-bangs of evil.
Why am I still holding out hope that the season will take a turn for the better?
Ah, remember the good ol' days, when the only thing keeping Tommy and Jude apart were those pesky statutory rape laws? Now she's 18 and to keep everyone's favorite (Canadian) starcrossed lovers apart, the writers have come up with...Hunter. Fresh from prison (where I'm sure his male model looks made him quite popular), he's shown up to seek revenge on Tommy because "revenge is the best revenge." I'm gonna go ahead and guess that Hunter didn't earn a degree in English while behind bars.
Jude and Tommy haven't told anyone about their blossoming affair, but her dad finds out and after giving Tommy a good talking to, tells Jude that she has to be the one to tell Sadie she's dating her ex. Her dread about telling Sadie is exactly why Jude doesn't want to go along with Tommy's idea to sing a song he wrote at her birthday party.
Jude tries to tell Sadie, but it quickly becomes clear that big sis is still hung up on Mr. Q. Sucks for Kwest, who has presumptuously rented a room at the hotel where Jude's soiree is being held ("Happy birthday, Jude! You're sister and I are going to consummate our kind of iffy relationship!") and has no idea that his girlfriend is still pining for his former buddy.
At the big party (inexplicably themed "Dirty Thirties"), Jude decides she's gone too far with the whole "Don't tell anyone about Tommy thing" and after talking to her Dad, she decides to serenade her man in front of everyone. Little does she know that her new pal Hunter has a homicidal vendetta against Tommy and he's vowed to destroy everyone Tom loves.
Her jazzy rendition of Tommy's new song tips off Hunter (and the rest of the room) to the Celine et Rene dynamic of their relationship. Desperate to protect Jude, Tommy tells her (in front of her friends, family and the press) that she’s drunk and making a fool of herself. Jude proves how far she’s come since her similarly humiliating Sweet 16 by brushing him off and pretending the song was for her dad, which would actually be super creepy, but whatev.
Instead of privately explaining that Hunter's EVIL, Tommy proceeds to get pathetically drunk and Sadie, having just responded to Kwest’s declaration of love with “Thank you,” takes away his car keys and leads him to his rented room. Jealous Portia (remember, she used to be married to Tommy before he cheated on her with Hunter’s dead sister Angie) tells Jude where she can find him. Our girl walks in to see her sister kissing her boyfriend (yeah, I'm pissed for Kwest too). She tells Tommy it’s over and leaves with her dignity.
Meanwhile Pagan’s getting to know Jamie via his super-sad “my girlfriend’s dead” itunes playlists. The aging rocker gets him to open up about his feelings and together they pen and “I’m sorry I blamed you for Patsy’s death” missive to Jude. Deciding it’s not too late to be a part of his best friend’s birthday, Jamie rushes to the hotel just in time to whisk Jude away from her Tommy-inflicted trauma.
They go to her rehearsal space to eat take out, dance and reconnect as buddies. He gives her a priceless Pagan guitar-strap and the letter. She’s touched, and gives him a sweet, but platonic kiss. I love Jude and all, but if she hurts that boy again I will wring her scrawny neck myself.
Speaking of people who deserve a nice bitch slap, kissing Tommy has made Sadie understand that she’s in love with Kwest. Too bad Kwest doesn't buy the lame claim that the affection test was "for us." Meanwhile Spiederman wants the world to know that he’s with Karma (I'm not sure why either). She's against this, but ultimately decides that since he’s Jude’s guitarist, their romance will generate press interest in her upcoming record. So then it's cool to come out as a couple. You know who's a bigger bitch than even Karma in this situation? Spiederman.
Next week: Hunter's still homicidal and Jude fires Tommy!
Awesome: Jude and Tommy finally get together, despite his troubled past and the fact that she's not quite legal.
Not Awesome: Tommy may or may not have seen a ghost from his aforementioned troubled past; Darius left his part-time receptionist in charge of a major record label while he was out of the country; new artist Pagan's quirky for the sake of Quirk; and we still don't really know much about Tommy's Angie, other than that she's dead and she had terrible taste in jewelry.
Questions answered: Is anyone still in school? Yes, Spiederman's working on physics homework. Why is he working on it at the studio? That went unanswered along with why did Kyle have a tape of two rodents mating in his car? And did Boyz Attack only have one damn song?
Frankly, if it hadn't been for Jude and Tommy finally kissing and not immediately regretting it, this episode would have a gotten a D in my book. And I have to give props to Tim Rozon for elevating Tommy out of the muddled character motivation the writers provided and making me really feel for a 25 year-old dude scamming on his teenaged protégé.
Next week: Tommy writes Jude a song for her birthday! And it kind of blows.
Darius tries to sign a new client, a down-on-his-luck rock legend named Pagan Smith. But when Jamie publicly questions the idea of having his former idol play soft-seaters to an aging demographic, Darius puts him in charge of signing Pagan. He unkindly reminds Jamie that he's the only A&R Rep (junior or no) without any clients. Seems the man's good will in the wake of exploiting Patsy's death has gone out the window. Awesome!
Jamie ends up telling Pagan that if he wants to sign with someone he can trust, G Major isn't where he should be. Then he barges into Darius' office to quit. D's the voice of reason, telling Jamie that he's got a gift for connecting with musicians and asking if he's gonna let Patsy kill that too. Jamie quits anyway and calls him "baldie" on the way out. It would have been awesome if Darius just murdered him on the spot. But he didn't. And Pagan liked Jamie's refreshing honesty, so Jamie uses Pagan to leverage a new title and an office out of Darius.
In the land of people Jamie's barely speaking to: Jude has decided to organize a benefit for a Homeless Youth Shelter in memory of Patsy on what would have been her 23rd birthday (really? 23? I guess we'll just chalk it up to hard-living and move on). She's in over her head and asks Sadie to help. But by "help," she meant "do it all," and when Sadie encounters the mall manager from hell and barely loses her temper (after A LOT of bitch baiting), Jude gets pissed and accuses her sister of trying to sabotage her to make her feel better about her own crappy life.
Apparently Sadie being jealous is so two seasons ago and she doesn't have time to be treated like a doormat. She's going to be an intern. At the UN. In New York. Huh? Jude bitches to Tommy, who makes her see that Sadie's one of the only people she will always be able to count on and that she's taken her for granted (true). It's a lot like Jamie's "It's time to grow up" speech and I like that Jude has the maturity to take it to heart and apologize for her bratty behavior. Meanwhile, Sadie's been talking to Kwest and has realized she should cut her little sister a break on account of the crushing guilt of Patsy's death.
The formidable Harrison sisters work together to defeat the evil mall manager and put on the benefit. Jude pulls Sadie up on stage to thank her, tell her how much she'll miss her when she's in New York (like she'll actually go) and make her play the tambourine (Manny Santos style). Later Jamie breaks my heart a little when Jude gets all hopeful, saying she's glad he came to the benefit and that she thinks Patsy would have loved it. He gets that cold look he's been wearing a lot lately and says, "A concert in a mall? I don't know about that," before walking off. The boy seriously needs a hug. Not that he'd let anyone give him one.
In other news: Sadie and Kwest are officially in a committed relationship, Mr. Harrison can't pay his bills and is selling off old Dylan albums, I'm pretty sure no one goes to school anymore and I suspect Darius is assembling an army of squeegee kids as part of an underground drug cartel (though as of yet, I have little proof).
Next week: Tommy and Jude totally make out. In a church. Hot!
On Instant Star we learned that boys all grieve in different and strange ways. In the wake of Patsy's death Jamie is angry, Kwest is contemplative and Spiederman can't stop making jokes.
Meanwhile Darius is trying to leverage his most cantankerous artist's self-implosion into marketing millions, making her a Gen Y Janis Joplin. Jamie is too numb to do anything but go along with a memorial that's basically a record release party, but Jude and the SME boys decide to be totally punk rock and break Patsy's urn out of G Major for a memorial of their own. We later find out Spiederman got the keycard to Darius' office from the man himself, so it was officially sanctioned punk rockitude. I'm not sure why we need to know that deep down Darius has a heart. I like it better when he's a mercurial impresario keeping everyone on their toes.
Another thing I'm not sure about: the timeline leading up to the memorials. Do they break into G Major in the middle of the afternoon? That's the only explanation for Jamie wearing the same suit when Jude asks for his help with the break-in and at the memorial. And if it was night, then what the hell was Tommy doing there? I know brooding is his 9-5 gig, but does home slice ever take a break?
The episode is rather blah, but Kristopher Turner is excellent as Jamie, all muffled rage and sadness. Nothing else rings as true as when he tells Jude he doesn't care if Patsy would have hated what Darius is doing, "Because right now? I kinda hate her." At least while everyone else is waxing poetic about her free spirit, someone close to her has the sense to be pissed that she caused her own death.
Official prediction time: Tommy seems to know a lot about the signs of addiction, no? And in the first season, he mentioned that he had a Jude/Jamie relationship with his former bestfriend. So my guess is that said BFF died in a totally tragic manner.
Next week: Looks like we're finally going to deal with Sadie's jealousy towards her sister. I hope the whole stealing thousands of dollars from Jude thing comes up, cause seriously? Uncool.
Patsy's totally going to die. Everyone's favorite alienating alcoholic spent the episode alternately charming and pushing away her nearest and dearest. She walks out on her record and breaks into G Major to find and destroy her contract. At Tommy's ecouragement, Jamie tries tough love and ends up being pushed into Darius' fancy glass liquor tray. Jude bandages him up and keeps him from going after Patsy.
Unfortunately Patsy, who's older brother we learn is a heroin addict and the family's "true musician," climbs drunkenly behind the wheel of her land yacht and plows into a cement divider. The scene would have had a much greater impact (no pun intended) had we not known it was going to happen from the previews and had she not been strumming her guitar. Cause, seriously? The show's portrayal of drunken antics should be quite sobering for its teenage viewers. Seeing Patsy snark and slur in the studio was a nice demonstration that being completely blitzed is neither cute nor funny.
In Shut up, Sadie-ville: Sadie wishes Kwest had punched Tommy back at the Bar Mitzvah and Kwest is gracious enough not to tell her that he didn't get hit for saying anything about her, but rather for taking a low shot about the true owner of Tommy Q's heart. Then, the second everyone's favorite Québécois smooth-talker invites her to translate Italian at a business dinner, Sadie jumps at the chance. Portia informs Kwest, who shows up at dinner with a flower and a kiss instead of fists of fury. Let's hope she's impressed.
Next week: Patsy's in surgery and grief makes Jamie cuter.
Yes, Jude’s still gotta end up with Tommy. Yes, I’d still wanna end up with Spiederman. But suddenly I’m getting why so many people dig Jamie. He’s grown up a lot since the first season. In addition to ditching the spiky hair and nerdy punk gear, he’s also turned into a mature, devoted guy. And yes, I’m aware that I’m talking about a character on a teen show.
This week we saw how much Jamie loves Patsy. Remember when she was a superfun punk cartoon? Well now she’s a supertragic alcoholic. And the awesome thing is, it makes total sense. On the verge of losing her record contract and his job, Jamie coaxes Patsy to lay down the vocals of a promising track and then he and Kwest bring in a horn section to make it the commercial single Darius demanded. Patsy’s horrified and she walks out on Jamie, ending the show in a bar, way past closing time.
In Jude and Tommy land: they’re doing a bickering little dance that means they will soon hook up. So that’s awesome. He wants to branch out as a producer and work on Karma’s album. She wants to branch out as an artist and co-produce with him. By the end, they both get their wish and continue to make schmoopy faces at one another.
Next week: Jamie makes Patsy choose between his adorable ass and the bottle. Also, it looks like our favorite punk rocker gets into a drunk driving accident. Dun dun dun!
My Degrassi expectations have plummeted to a new low. Apparently for Emma, one of the stages of grief is Rancid Bitch. Still reeling over the death of JT and rocked by the revelation that Manny’s parents want her to come back home, Emma focuses her anger on Manny and the Spirit Squad. Apparently they’re not supposed to move on and perform in their first city-wide competition because the mascot’s dead.
Since he goes to the same school, Emma blames Damian (AKA the first guy since JT to treat Manny like anything but a collection of orifices) for JT’s death. TeenMom insists that Damian is actually friends with the stabber, but we’ll see if anything comes from that claim.
Looking back, the idea of watching Emma handle her misplaced anger had a lot of potential, but he execution was clunky and painful to watch. It was the worst episode since Sean found out Emma went down on Jay and lost all capacity for reason.
On to Instant Star... I’m not sure how long it’s been since Tommy left, telling Jude he didn’t think he’d be coming back, but since then, Liam has also fled G Major to find himself in South America and Jamie’s gotten seriously cuter.
We begin with Jude judging the new Instant Star finalists. She’s eager to shed the “instant” part of her label and grow up as an artist, distancing herself from the show that made her a household name. Darius is surprisingly supportive, but then the drunken pictures of her from last season’s finale surface with a blackmail note. Jude tries to handle the situation on her own, but she tells one of the IS finalists, Karma, about the blackmail in a spontaneous act of bonding. The newbie rats her out to Darius in the name of “Instant Star sisterhood.” And Jude soon finds herself performing on the IS finale and Darius handling her problems for her.
The night of the finale, Tommy shows up with the little girl we saw in the last episode. Jude jumps to the same conclusion as the rest of us, assuming he has a daughter with Portia. She ignores his plea to listen to him, throws a tantrum in her dressing room and refuses to perform. Jamie comes in and demonstrates his own maturity, gently telling her that she's the only one to blame for always ending up the victim. She cries and he holds her, but doesn’t back down, telling her that it’s time to grow up.
Jude performs a killer new song, rocks the finale and then tells Darius that she didn’t pull it together for anyone but her fans. She’s a pro and he’s going to have to start treating her like one. She walks home through the rain as we see Karma named the new Instant Star. Back at home, Jude uploads to blackmail photos to her own webpage and says goodbye to her good girl image.
In the second part of the premiere, Jude deals with the aftermath of everyone seeing the blackmail pics. Darius tells her that she has to address her possibly alienated fans at Karma’s first press conference. Jude apologizes for offending anyone and tries to deflect attention back to Karma, who sweetly says that when she looks at the pics, she sees a talented artists who’s not afraid to be real. Bitch. Then she underlines the differences between the two performers: Jude’s into punk guitar riffs and in addition to having a soft spot for ballads, Karma’s a virgin. The members of the press collectively look to our 17 year-old protagonist and ask if that means she’s not. The look on D’s face is priceless.
Jude declines to comment and then finds out that she’s been pulled from performing at a Bar Mitzvah, which was part of her Darius-prescribed penance. Seems the kid’s record exec father want someone a little more pure, like trashy Karma with her tats and faux-chastity. Jude decides to crash the party with Punk Rock Patsy to tell the man that it’s not cool to judge women based on their sexuality. She ends up playing dueling diva onstage after Karma claims Jude couldn’t make it due to her “struggles with promiscuity and the bottle” and then launches into one of our girl’s songs. As usual, Patsy is hilarious, spitting out the virgin drinks and flashing her boobs in an attempt to gain entry to the party.
When Karma insults Jude onstage, Patsy shoves her into the giant cake and Karma reaches out, pulling one side of Jude’s top down with her. Then Patsy gets the classic line: “Jude. Your boob’s out.” So if you’re not keeping track, Jude has now shown the public drunken pictures of her rolling around on a hotel bed, made her fans question her virginity and accidentally flashed a bunch of tweens. Luckily, the party made headlines and Darius seems okay with his young star’s “wardrobe malfunction.”
In star-crossed lovers land: Kwest and Sadie have a tentative relationship and Kwest and Tommy have tension based on the young sound engineer moving up as a producer. At the Bar Mitzvah, T sees the new couple kissing and after Sadie leaves to check on Jude, he rips into Kwest about guy code. Kwest points out that Sadie’s not even the Harrison sister that Tommy wants and says that if Tommy ever did get Jude, it would be the worst thing that ever happened to her. Tommy punches him and Sadie comes back just in time to think the fight is about her.
When Jude finally finds out that the little girl she saw is Darius’ kid and not Tommy’s, she apologizes and he insists that she’s not off base in thinking that he’s a mess. Is it me or does he owe her an apology for being cryptic and leaving her hanging for no real reason? She doesn’t seem to think so and when he calls her a kid, she points out that she’ll soon be legal. Awesome.
In the land of tarty hypocrites: After flirting with Spiederman all episode, we see Karma gather her clothes and leave Jude’s rehearsal space while Spied’s still naked and asleep on the floor. Meanwhile, when pushed by Sadie to reveal who she slept with, Jude admits that she’s actually a virgin.
Next week: Karma moves in on Tommy and bitch better step off if she doesn’t want to see how scrappy Miss Harrison can really be.
This is the penultimate episode of last season. It features my favorite Instant Star song, "White Lines," and a kiss that made 14 year-olds across the Great White North squeal with glee. The new season starts Friday, February 16 and remember, it's not just for 14 year-olds. I'm serious. Stop laughing.
...and you know I do, then you have got to watch Instant Star on The N. Leading up to the Season 3 premiere on Friday, February 16, the-n.com is adding a few earlier episodes each week to their online player The Click.
The show's genius premise is that Jude Harrison is the winner of an American Idol-style competition and is thrust into the spotlight at 15. She's got a jealous older sister, a best friend who wants to be her boyfriend and an ex-boyband member producer with whom she shares a forbidden attraction. Plus (as if you need one), each episode features a totally catchy song and at the end of the season, they release an album.
I didn't get into the show until the second season, so I'm getting to enjoy all the plots that launched the drama I've already seen. In the episode Won't Get Fooled Again, Jude sings a raw ballad about her heart being broken. The song’s not about the producer who spurned her after a hot kiss on her birthday or her cheating rapper ex-boyfriend. It's about the fresh discovery that her beloved dad's cheating on her mom. And suddenly the show's not just about fun songs and escapist fantasies, but a hurt little girl with a whole lotta angst.
Instant Star executive producer Steven "I'm married to the chick who created Degrassi" Stohn has announced that the upcoming season of my favorite Canadian sing-a-long show will be its last. That's him next to Tommy (in case you were wondering if Jude's dad got recast). I guess Alexz Johnson wants to get on with her recording career. I'd bitch, but last season was such a bomb that I can't blame her for getting out. And with that sassy new bob, she's really going places.
