The Return of LOST and: The PIANO MAN RETURNS (sort of)

EXCLUSIVE: Billy Joel Shares Love Song for His Wife (NEW SONG FROM THE PIANO MAN!!!) (interview reprinted w/out permission from http://www.people.com/ )
By Liza Hamm

In 2005, Billy Joel, 57, wrote a ballad for his wife Katie Lee Joel, 25, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Now, he's releasing that song, "All My Life," as a single – and PEOPLE has the exclusive first listen. (Click here to hear the song.) In honor of the occasion, the Piano Man spoke to PEOPLE about the makings of a great love song. "It's not a typical "Billy Joel song." I thought it would be great for Tony Bennett. I hope he does it, anyway. I recorded it with a full orchestra – a real old-fashioned session just like they did in the '50s. And I dressed like Frank Sinatra. I took on a whole other persona. Why try a different kind of music?I was always a little wary of being termed a balladeer. [But] at this point in my life, I don't care. I don't think a love song is substantial if it's all candy. There's a good deal of regret in this song. I have regrets in my life. Anyone who says they don't have regrets hasn't really lived. Are you a fan of Valentine's Day?It depends. When you're in love, it's great. When things aren't going well, it's a bah humbug day."

Joel also shared his five favorite love songs:1) "Whole Lotta Love," Led Zeppelin: "It's a slamming hot love song."2) "One for the Road," Frank Sinatra: "Even when I was a kid and heard that song, I got it."3) "Symphony No. 6," Beethoven: "You can hear that he was passionately in love when he wrote that."4) "In My Life," the Beatles: "I don't know why. It's like being in love. You don't know why. You just are."5) "Lay, Lady, Lay," Bob Dylan: "It's very languorous and he is such a great songwriter."

DIGITAL COUCH SAYS:
Well, this doesn't happen too often - a new Billy Joel song. The first one since 1991's RIVER OF DREAMS. That's 16 years. Long time. So last night, I thought I'd check the site a day early (it was supposed to come out today (Friday.) And I kind of stopped everything I was doing and sat down to listen to the first original Billy Joel song in 16 years. I don't think it's fair to share my impression of it just yet - rather, go to the link if you're interested - it's the PEOPLE web site - and scan down and hit PLAY - cou can't miss it and it's ez. I'll do a review of the song for Monday's blog.
Go HERE for the link to hear the new BILLY JOEL song:
http://www.people.com/people/static/h/package/billyjoel/


LOST (ABC)
LOST returns to the schedule with a very tight, well crafted episode that went pretty far in explaining a lot about THE OTHERS. I'm still anxious to get back to the Island with the characters we love, this was a pretty good way back into the show, which really seemed to be falling apart a few months ago. Still, someone should probably tell Sawyer to stop acting like a typical action hero with the typical action-comedy lines that went out with Schwarzenegger. His bad quips during and after the action have GOT to go. Otherwise - an impressive return. Although - didn't the communications guy say he sailed on his boat for 2 days and didn't see anything? That's why he returned. You'd think he would've seen the other Island. Or I could be thinking about it too much.
Grade: B +


THE BAD GIRLS CLUB (OXYGEN)
My God - this show is da bomb. I just watched the one hour pilot and was blown away by how entertaining this is. Put together by the same producers who do REAL WORLD, this is the same idea, except all the girls in the house are HOT young strippers, models, nasty socialites - really bad girls. Far too much goes on in any given episode to give a proper run down, but just watch this when you get the chance. It's utterly addicting - and these girls - truly - are mentally insane.
Grade: A

I just came across this other review of BAD GIRLS and felt compelled to reprint it here - it does better justice to the Ripsy drunken incident:

Why did I just discover this show? It debuted a couple of week’s ago on the Oxygen network and it seriously is going to sweep the Emmy’s next year. The premise is taking 7 “bad girls” aka drunk hos and putting them up in a Los Angeles house and giving them lots of booze. It’s The Real World without annoying gays and homophobic frat dudes.
The greatest moment ever in TV history comes when Ripsi drinks a whole bottle of Tequila and starts attacking Kerry (the bad girl of country music) for absolutely no reason. She honestly chokes the ho and tries to kill her! The other girls rip Ripsi off of Kerry and put her down on the sofa. Ripsi passes out for about twenty seconds and suddenly gets up and starts throwing apples at the windows. She takes her fury upstairs and starts attacking a sleeping girl named Jodie (the wannabe Pamela Anderson.) I mean Jodie is sleeping and minding her own business when Ripsi tries to tear her weave out and punches her in the eye! She passes out and wakes up not remembering a thing! I mean…
I’m telling you…this show is the stuff dreams are made of! This clip is long, but it’s worth every minute. Ripsi deserves an Oscar and a Grammy.

The Ripsi fight really does have to be seen to be believed. Ripsi is drunk and doing yoga - the next thing you know, she's drunk and angry and fighting the entire house - you gotta watch this here: now Ripsi and her friend, Zara, were drunk, doing Yoga, then suddenly Ripsi starting attacking this girl KERRI, screaming "You're so beautiful and perfect and a hider!" - she was mad at Kerri and Jodi (who she fights later) for being pretty. This clip (they didn't post the whole thing yet) picks up after the initial attack and they throw the drunken Ripsi in the pool - it only gets crazier from there.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vZT8NTGP3kU


UPDATE: I got sucked in and watched like - 7 of these half hours. It's even better than I suspected.
The saga of Zara/Tomak/Aimee has to be seen to be believed. Ripsy's drunken tirade belongs in DAWN OF THE DEAD and is one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen on a reality show.
Revised Grade: A +


I watched Conceited MchPhee on Kimmel last nite. I just hate her so much I could barely stand it. She is so full of herself - she's a disrespectful young girl. She made fun of Meatloaf and other Idol contestants in the past - thinks she's just the bomb, says she don't need IDOL to be famous - and on Jimmy's show made fun of Dane Cook's haircut. Not that Dane Cook is any genius, (far from it) but at least he struggled to become well known. And he is a genius at manipulating MY SPACE to make the world believe he's funny.

The psuedo commercial for BABE RUTH on Kimmel's show the same show was hilarious. Probably funnier then any SNL commercial parody all year.


STUDIO 60 (NBS)
Part 2 of "the harriet dinner" kind of renegged on everything I liked about part 1. Not a great finish. The idea that the Asian guy spoke English the whole time was insulting, as was the general direction of this whole thing. And I don't think I could bare one more shot of a lovelorn Mathew Perry. In fact, if they run with that shot again - I might die.
Grade: D

THE OFFICE (NBC)
Phyliss' wedding episode. Mostly very funny. This ep felt a little different in that the humor was a bit more subtle. Whenever this show is subtle, it reminds me of the much better, funnier and heartfelt BBC version - but last night the humor was small - so the laughs were big.
Grade: B +

40 GREATEST REALITY MOMENTS (vh1)
Pretty fun rundown of the last 10 years in reality tv. Certainly not nessessary viewing, but if u're truly bored, this could be the ticket.
Grade: C


PRARIE HOME COMPANION (DVD)
Boy, could I not get into this movie. Lindsey Lohan is torn between being good and REALLY sucking - but the movie is just (I think) mainly for fans of....I'm not sure. I guess Robert Altman.


AMERICAN IDOL (FOX)
I'm ready for the competition to start. But that one contestant at the end where they brought her back was a nail-biter.
Grade:B


DATELINE: TO CATCH A PREDATOR (NBC)
Always saliciously great.
Grade: A


THE DESCENT (ON - DEMAND)
I watched a full-screen version of the unedited version of this film with a friend the other nite - this is a great modern day horror film that could've used about 20 minutes edited out of the middle, but nonetheless, the movie is a horror knockout. The last half hour is awesome. Make sure you get the unedited version.
Grade: B +


THE DAKOTA FANNING SKETCH (SNL)
So - I wasn't the only one who loved the DAKOTA FANNING sketch on SNL - POPWATCH, EW's online blog has THIS to say about it:
In case you missed it ('SNL' edition)
reprinted without permission / Feb 5, 2007, 05:26 PM by Whitney Pastorek
The obligatory Saturday Night Live post from me this week goes out to Amy Poehler and her masterful impersonation of Dakota Fanning and what would happen if she were given a talk show. Pynchon references and physical comedy? It quite simply gets no better. Dear SNL: As I know you're listening, please do make this weekly. Thank you.

To see the entire hilarious sketch, go here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AcNDzrfU0Ss

THE WHITE RAPPER SHOW (vh1)
Eh.
Grade: C


THE JANICE DICKINSON SHOW (Oxygen)
Janice uses the shtick of a Catskills comedian badly, then litearally stands back and waits for a laugh track. Just what I need, an absolute older hottie model who has brain damage and is trying to be Eddie Murphy.
Grade: C -