The Cutest Guys of the New TV Season

By Kate

Here in southern California, the average high temperature in August is 85 degrees. In September, it’s 83, and at night it gets down into the mid-sixties. We can’t exactly say “Fall is in the air.” No, here in the motion picture capital of the world, we say “Fall is on the air.” The change of seasons in sunny southern California happens on TV.

It takes a lot to tempt me away from my books. And by “a lot,” I mean “cute guys.” And if there are a lot of cute guys on the show, I’m even more tempted! Here is my take on the Top 10 TV Shows of Fall 2011, based entirely on the cute factor of the male actors on the show:


Hawaii Five-0
Alex O’Loughlin in swim trunks. ‘Nuff said.




Castle
While “researching” this article (sighhhhhhhh……), I discovered that there’s a Castle Convention in Los Angeles on November 12. They have a website and everything: Castle Convention. Alas, Nathan Fillion won’t be there!



Blue Bloods
Tom Selleck still curls my toes! This is a man who has aged very well.



NCIS
Mark Harmon, another example of a man who got better with age.



Covert Affairs
A non-traditional hottie, Christopher Gorham.



White Collar
Matt Bomer. Ohhhhhh, Bomer!
I love you so much,
I want to write a poemer.



Dancing with the Stars
Who cares about the celebrities when we can watch Maksim dance? The man can moooove!



The next three shows are brand new. I haven’t seen them, but I’m tempted to watch because the cute guy factor is off the charts!

A Gifted Man
Doesn’t Patrick Wilson look a *lot* like Paul Newman? I’m a sucker for blue eyes!



Grimm
David Guintoli looks man enough for the job of capturing or slaying storybook creatures.



Person of Interest
Jim Caviezel in a slick weekly thriller, produced by J.J. Abrams? I’m there!



Best show of the summer: Suits
Gabriel Macht is an honorable lawyer with a slickster veneer. Love him!



Who do you think are the hottest guys on TV today? Let’s play a game. Tell us what book you're reading right now, and what actor you picture in the role of hero. I’m reading Maya Banks’ THE DARKEST HOUR and I picture … mmm … decisions, decisions ... I picture Alex O’Loughlin in the role of the hero, Ethan. (Oh heck, I picture Alex O’Loughlin in almost everything!) Okay, your turn!

The Guys from Oz

by Nancy

Those of us who are, as the saying goes, "of a certain age" probably remember music's British Invasion of the 1960s--the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits (fronted by that cutie, Peter Noone)--with hordes of screaming girls outside hotels. Now we're in the midst of a quieter invasion, this time of Australian actors, who inspired today's topic of guys from Oz.

There are also prominent actresses from Australia, like Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, and several up-and-comers, but I'm in the mood to discuss guys today, so that's the territory we're covering.

We're all familiar with that Lair favorite Hugh Jackman, right? Guy who turns up--sometimes sporting adamantium claws but usually in a tux--at every party we throw? I realize many of us would be happy if I just stuck up a bunch of pictures of Jackman. I'm sure we could all find a lot to say.

But wait!--as the informercials like to say--there's more! In fact, there are a lot more.

Of course there's Russell Crowe (born in New Zealand but residing in Australia), who has his own rooting section, especially when it comes to his role in Gladiator. Our gladiators get kind of huffy about that movie, but they'll just have to deal. And Crowe is a big star, albeit a little short for my personal taste. He also gets points for being able to wear a tunic and not look silly.

So we have Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, not exactly a bad duo to start with. There's also Mel Gibson, maybe not as big a star as he once was and also a bit short for my personal taste but with a long and distinguished resume.

Brian Brown, who costarred with Jackman in Australia, was hot in Hollywood for a while in the 1970s or 1980s but then apparently went home. David Wenham, who also costarred in Australia, was fabulous as Faramir in LOTR, but that was filmed in New Zealand and so doesn't count as invading the US. Of course, there's also the fabulous Geoffrey Rush, but today we're focusing on romantic leading men--just 'cause that's what I'm in the mood to talk about.

Terminator Salvation featured Sam Worthington, who was wonderful as a terminator who believed he was human and clung to his humanity even after he had to accept that he was a machine. Worthington was also a hit in Avatar, but he was harder to recognize, being blue and all. He was again recognizable, and convincingly earnest, in the remade Clash of the Titans. He also gets points for not looking silly in a tunic.

As anyone who saw Trish's movie blog knows, Chris Hemsworth, another tall Australian, has stepped into the boots of Marvel Comics' Norse God of Thunder, The Mighty Thor. The movie will open in May. And he certainly does look the part.

I remember him from the opening sequence of Star Trek, when his portrayal of George Kirk sending his pregnant wife to safety while he drove his crippled ship to its doom brought tears to my eyes. I think Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, is in good hands.

I loved the Thor comic and am cautiously optimistic about the movie, though my favorite Thor love interest, the warrior goddess Sif, doesn't appear to have as big a role as I might like. I expect to see Thor (if you click on the link, wait after the hammer appears and the dust settles - the trailer will load) for Mothers Day or my birthday, and possibly several more times.

I recently learned (via a YouTube clip) that hunky Alex O'Loughlin, formerly vampire Mick St. John on Moonlight, was also Australian. He's now Steve McGarrett on the revived Hawaii Five-0, after a detour to play Jennifer Lopez's love interest in The Backup Plan.

I'm old enough to remember the late Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, and with all due respect, I think O'Loughlin's portrayal will be warmer, perhaps because we no longer expect our police officers to be icemen. The old McGarrett didn't have many scenes trading punches with the bad guys, but the new one does that a lot.

I have a special soft spot for Hawaii Five-O (even though we usually watch Castle on Monday at 10 since it hooked us first) because, of course, I played the theme from Hawaii Five-O in marching band. Didn't every high school marching band in the country play that? In the version our band used, clarinets actually had a melody line along with the cornets and trumpets, unlike the version my college pep band used.

Anyway, off of memory lane and back to the topic at hand. We also have Simon Baker of The Mentalist. I remember him from The Devil Wore Prada, too. He has lots of fans in the Lair and among our buddies.

Less well known is Matt Passmore, star of A&E's quirky cop show The Glades. His character is a Chicago detective who didn't play so well with others and so departed for the quirkier climes of Florida. Near the Everglades. It's a fun show, a little offbeat and, well, quirky.

Liam McIntyre is taking over the role of Spartacus on the Starz network show because of original star Andy Whitfield's unfortunate health problems. Ryan Kwanten plays Sookie Stackhouse's lamebrained brother, Jason, on HBO's True Blood (which I find a lot more intense than the books).

I've noticed that Australian and British actors, like Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber, the only non-Australian who gets a picture here today, seem to have no trouble with American accents while American actors often cannot sustain any other accent. (We won't even think about what they do to the Southern accent, also American but apparently incomprehensible to Hollywood.) I think the Australian proficiency with American accents is the reason I didn't realize some of these guys were Australian until I started researching.

I know there are others out there. I did do some research, as I said, but the list is so long as to be intimidating.

If you had to pick a date from among these guys or the characters they play, which would you choose, and why? If you were choosing one to be the hero of a book you've recently read, which would you choose, and why? Do you have a favorite actor who's not a U.S. native?

(The comment hook is below today's healthy heart tip and other info.)



The healthy heart tip for February 26 is: Snacking isn’t bad if done in moderation and eating a little throughout the day can actually keep you from overdoing it at meal times. Check out some of our heart-healthy snack ideas.

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(Go Red For Women is trademarked by the American Heart Association, Inc. Romance novel downloads provided by Belle Books.)

Time For A Top Ten List

by Beth

Tomorrow is Father's Day here in the States which, for some unknown reason, has me thinking about some of my all-time favorite Movie/TV Dads! (I know. It's scary how my brain works. Let's just go with it, shall we? *g*)

So here, in no particular order, are my Top Ten Favorite Movie or TV Dads:

1. Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) of TV's Castle. So far I've only caught a few episodes of this show but the thing that struck me right from the beginning was Castle's relationship with his daughter Alexis. Alexis is actually more mature than her dad but their love for each other is clear *g*

2. Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) in Definitely, Maybe. I'm a huge Ryan Reynolds fan (and I can't wait to see him with Sandra Bullock in The Proposal!) and this movie about a single dad telling his daughter about his past was very sweet :-)

3. Jack (Michael Keaton) in Mr. Mom. Oh, how I love this movie! Jack loses his job and soon embraces his new role as a stay-at-home dad. Anyone else remember this scene where he's trying to get his son Kenny to give up his woobie (security blanket): "I understand that you little guys start out with your woobies and you think they're great... and they are, they are terrific. But pretty soon, a woobie isn't enough. You're out on the street trying to score an electric blanket, or maybe a quilt. And the next thing you know, you're strung out on bedspreads Ken. That's serious."

4. Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) in Sleepless in Seattle. As much as I love the romance in this film, I also love the bond between Sam and his young son Jonah.

5. Robert (Patrick Dempsey) in Enchanted. I can't get enough of this movie and Robert is such a cynical New Yorker but his love for his young daughter pushes him to bring fairy tale princess Gieselle home.

6. Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) in TV's Bones. Seeley is a tough FBI agent AND a caring father. And he's easy on the eyes, too ;-)

7. Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) in TV's Friday Night Lights (one of my fave shows!) Love how sexy Eric is with his wife and how wonderful he is with his daughters. Plus, as a football coach, he's a role model/father figure to many of the boys on his squad.

8. John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) of TV's Supernatural. Before JDM was in Watcher's, he played Sam and Dean's father and I have to admit, I fell hard for this tough guy who would do anything to protect his sons.

9. Daniel (Liam Neeson) in Love Actually. The story line of Daniel and Sam is my favorite of this fabulous movie. Seeing their relationship grow after suffering a huge loss is so bittersweet.

10. (TIE) Richard White (James Marsden) and Clark Kent/Superman (Brandon Routh) in Superman Returns. Young Jason White couldn't ask for two better Dads!

Who are some of your favorite Movie/TV Dads? Which star would win your vote as sexiest dad? I know we have a few Hugh Jackman and Johnny Depp fans out there *g* Let's hear it!

From Kirtles to Kicking Butt

by Nancy Northcott

There's a reason Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, and every super-heroine since Wonder Woman wore catsuits or some variation thereof. Kicking butt in a kirtle would be pretty much impossible. The clothes, of course, suited the image of The Ideal Woman in their eras. In the Middle Ages, for example, Woman was supposed to be demure, devout, and dominated. This condition persisted until the late 20th century. In some parts of the world (and some regions of the United States), it's alive and thriving. This isn't a political blog, though. I suspect most of us, at least in the United States, get more than enough politics to suit us just by turning on the television. It's a fashion blog. Today we're going to look at the ways clothes reflected and do reflect the lives of the women wearing them.

The Middle Ages and the concept of courtly love certainly didn't include women slaying dragons. The woman shown here certainly couldn't. Her skirt would catch on fire, and that would be that. The man slew dragons, hags, and assorted other evil-doers. He, of course, wore the literal and figurative pants, sometimes armored. In fact, this woman would be hard pressed to clean her own kitchen. She'd be tripping on that skirt all the time. As for leading armies, forget it. Aside from the sheer physical power required to wield a lance or sword, not to mention the need for at least some maneuverability (though true medieval broadsword battles more closely resembled those in A Knight's Tale than those in my beloved Errol Flynn move, The Adventures of Robin Hood), there'd be all that fabric to manage.

The Middle Ages did, however, give us the first real-life action heroine, Joan of Arc. I discovered her via a Classics Illustrated comic book when I was in second grade (and if I still had it, I'd have a valuable contribution to the boy's tuition fund, but that's a subject for a different blog). Joan was cooler than any woman I'd ever seen. This was the age of TV moms who wore pearls in the kitchen and never seemed to wield a vacuum cleaner, only advice. My little comic book geek heart adored Joan. However, the men of her time, included my much-admired English, did not. They put Joan on trial, for heresy if I remember correctly, and part of their reasoning was that she wore men's clothes. This may be the only fatal fashion faux pas in history. At least Joan got sainthood, albeit posthumously, out of the deal.

From the Middle Ages, we move to the Renaissance, or supposed rebirth of learning and culture. For women, many of whom were well educated if they came from the upper classes or the nobility, the era offered more of the same. Except with better and more ornate fabrics. I have to admit I love the elaborate gowns of the Tudor period. The Henrys, I could do without, but their women were extremely well dressed. I'll probably have to see The Other Boleyn Girl just to look at the costumes. Wearing all this fabric did make a lot of sense, as did the cumbersome clothes of earlier periods. Whether you lived in a castle or a hut, your home wasn't draft-proof (hence the heavy tapestries hung on so many walls and sometimes over doors or windows). The Tudors presided over an exciting era, what with Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries and Elizabeth I's sponsorship of explorers/privateers like Sir Francis Drake, but Elizabeth did most of her butt-kicking via surrogates.

Things didn't improve much for women in the active wardrobe department over the next several centuries. We had bum rolls, farthingales, hoops, corsets, bustles, and other assorted impedimenta designed to interfere with actual living. Granted, most of the fashion extremes were popular among--indeed, only possible for--the very wealthy, but they were held up as ideals of everyone. Around World War I, when things were starting to loosen up, the talented and imaginative Paul Poiret gave (or inflicted upon, depending on your viewpoint) women the hobble skirt, which narrowed at the bottom. After the war, things loosened up considerably, thanks to Chanel and the flappers, but narrow skirts alternated with full in haute couture for the rest of the century. Still popular, judging by Sunday's red carpet coverage at the Oscars, is the "mermaid dress," which fits tightly through the body and hips but flares at the knees. Thank goodness it's not as extreme as it used to be, but can you imagine Sidney Bristow of Alias taking somebody on in an outfit like that?

Women in movie serials like The Perils of Pauline, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and The Hazards of Helen broke the mold with derring do, but that adventurous spirit didn't last. On television, Emma Peel was the first real action heroine. I still have a soft spot for Dame Diana Rigg because she was so dynamic. After Emma came the 1960s TV version of Batgirl, who had a few restrictions in the interest of being "ladylike." (Fewer restrictions prevailed in the comic book. The talented and agile actress who portrayed her, Yvonne Craig, just kicked people because the producers didn't think viewers would like to see a woman hitting people. Regardless of their methods, though, each of them frequently wore a catsuit. They had to if they wanted to move freely. Well, okay, maybe it didn't absolutely have to be a catsuit but they needed something less restrictive than a poodle skirt or a pencil skirt.


Then came Linda Hamilton as a super-buff Sarah Connor fighting to defend her son and Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully and Catherine Bell as Col. Sarah McKenzie on JAG. For eleven years, Amanda Tapping has played Col. Samantha Carter of Stargate SG-1, frequently appearing in camouflage gear with automatic weapons. I have to admit to a certain bias in favor of Carter, who's the prototype for the heroines I'd like to have seen on television when I was growing up. With shows like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, and Stargate Atlantis on the air, the action heroine and her wardrobe seem safe for the near future.


What's the most ridiculous or cumbersome outfit you ever saw? Was there one you owned? And yes, bridesmaid dresses count.

Who's your favorite action heroine on TV, in movies, or in books?

By the way, vote for Trish! http://www.romantictimes.com/2008/02/american-title-vote-on-best-romantic.php