Official Book Club Selection is in stores today
Buy Kathy Griffin’s book Official Book Club Selection. That’s really all you need to know about the just-released memoir because if you are already a fan of the comedian’s, then you probably have a good idea what to expect in her writing. Does she trash talk about celebrities? Yes. Does she recount her early days breaking into comedy? Yes. (Griffin has got to be one of the hardest working people in show business) Does she reveal her sexual indiscretions? Of course! More importantly, unlike some memoirs, once you finish Official Book Club Selection you’ll feel as though you’ve gotten to know Kathy Griffin even more.
Griffin has never been shy about talking about herself, her family and pretty much everyone in Hollywood but she writes candidly about her failed marriage to her money-stealing ex-husband and she is honest and open about an older brother who she ended up having to turn her back on due to indications of pedophilia and his drug addiction. Kudos to Griffin for not just making the book an extension of her comedy act. While there are several laugh out loud parts of the books, the honest, not-so-funny happenings in her life definitely give the book weight.
The only chapter that didn’t necessarily need to be in the book is the chapter on her relationship with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak which is made up solely of email correspondence during their courtship but there’s no revealing look about how Kathy really felt about their relationship. Nevertheless, the book is a winner and while Oprah will probably never pick the book as an ‘official book club selection,’ go pick up your copy of Official Book Club Selection, which is available in bookstores today.
The new Melrose Place cast
Melrose Place – do or don’t? I have to admit that I groaned out loud when I heard that the CW was dipping back into the Aaron Spelling vault and reviving Melrose Place much in the same way they brought 90210 back last year. I didn’t like the 90210 reboot and blasted it every chance I could but, alas, viewers showed up and the show was deemed a hit by CW standards. So, obviously, my expectations were low with the reboot of Melrose Place. How does the new version stand up? After watching the first two episodes I have to admit the show is not bad at all.
Smartly, the writers of the show start the show off with a bang and shake things up immediately. We get to meet the new residents of the famous Los Angeles apartment building right off the bat and who is everyone talking about but Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton, aging very well and channeling Sydney beautifully). Sydney, always the trouble maker, hasn’t changed a lick and she has obviously gotten her hands in many a MP pot and on many a man since returning from the dead. (In true soap fashion, the fact that Sydney died in a car crash on the original series is pretty much glossed over).
Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro are back in Melrose Place
It’s no secret that it’s Sydney’s death (this time it looks like it might take) that is going to drive the stories during the first season via flashbacks. It’s simply delicious that everyone inevitably has a motive to killing her, including Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro, another holdover who slips back into his role with ease). Like 90210 (which lured back Jennie Garth, Shannon Doherty and Tori Spelling back during its first year), watch for Josie Bissett (Jane) and Daphne Zuniga (Jo) to also pop up during the inaugural season.
The key to the success of this version is that the producers pay just the right amount of homage to the old show without trying to recreate a mirror of the parent series. The cast that has been assembled grabs your attention and gets you on the MP roller coaster quickly. Sure they are vaguely modeled after the original cast (the wide eyed young married couple, the conniving blonde, the hardworking med student), but the actors actually appear to know how to act a little bit and intend to make their characters (and the show) their own. There’s Ella (Katie Cassidy from Harper’s Island), the will-do-anything publicist who is the closest in the cast to Heather Locklear’s Amanda Woodward; David (Shaun Sipos), the bad boy and also happens to be the son of Mancini; aspiring filmmaker Jonah (Michael Rady of Greek) and his girlfriend Riley (Jessica Lucas), who may have to watch her fiance once Ella casts an eye Jonah’s way; Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen), the med student who turns to escorting to pay the bills; and the brooding Auggie (Colin Egglesfield) the chef who looks awfully guilty in terms of Sydney’s death. And what about new resident Violet (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz)? Like any good Melrose Place character, she is hiding a lot about why she’s there, which comes to light more in the second episode. (I should note that Simpson-Wentz doesn’t suck on the show so there’s hope that her addition to the show isn’t mere stunt casting)
It’s always a good sign when, by the end of the first episode of a new series, you have a good idea who everyone is and, even more important, you want to come back for more. After watching the first two episodes, I found myself wanting to know what will happen next and my DVR has already been set appropriately. I have a feeling yours will, too.
Until next time…keep watching!
Jim Halterman spends his days interviewing the top tier of talent and creative forces in the television world and then, because he's that kind of guy, he brings it all to YOU! And, because we all like free stuff, check back often for giveaways!! 
