If the Jonas Brothers had tighter pants

Cover your ears and guard your loins. The tweenagers are amuck with good news. Not only is there a New Moon trailer, but Hannah Montana just got a fourth season (according to Breaking TV News on Twitter). The only thing that could make this day better would be if the Jonas Brothers had tighter pants.

(Ok, so this post isn’t really about the Jonas Brothers, but if you do want to read about them, I’ve got some posts here, here, and here. Or just search for them in my search box below.)

I know I’m not exactly a breaking news kind of blog, but I thought I’d share this little tidbit of information. I find it a little strange that the same day that Miley Cyrus tweets about how she’s working on the last episode of season three, we find out that there’s a season four on the way. So much for “the last song,” as Miley put it.

I remember the days when Disney Channel had a three-season limit for their shows, mainly because if they did more, the characters would be too old for the target audience. I lamented the end of Lizzie McGuire and thought there was potential for more (sans singing).

How are they going to do a fourth season of Hannah Montana, though? I mean, Jackson’s already sitting around at home looking for colleges and only working at Ricko’s. Are we going to transform him into a sad sack? He really is too old for the target audience, and his buddy system with Rico’s getting kinda old.

Meanwhile, Lily and Oliver are together, and everyone seems to be going through high school with ease. Add in the movie, and what else is there to do? We have happy ending written all over the place.

The renewal is a little disappointing. The freshness is gone. The acting has become overacting. And I think it’s just lost its flavor.

But in the end, it’s the fans that matter. And the fans like the show. More so, the fans buy the merchandise. Who knows, maybe we’ll see Miley get married one day. As long as there’s a person to buy the T-shirt, I think we’re set.

Update: This just in: Apparently, it looks like the show will be changing locations, which will allow for a new setting and new characters. I guess it’s nice to give the change, but does that mean we’re losing Lily and Oliver? If we lose Rico, I certainly won’t be disappointed, but I’d say that Lily is one of the strongest driving forces of the show. For one thing, she can actually act.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see. You nervous? Excited?

Oh Mercy Mercy me

I’m slowly going through the trailers for this fall. It’s not that I’m not excited about the new stuff, but if I go through them fast, I have nothing to write about all summer.

So next up: NBC’s Mercy.

Here’s my one-liner about the show: I was skeptical about this series–and still am to a degree–but I think it will succeed.

NBC’s tapping into an idea audience for them. They’re competing directly with the new TNT series Hawthorne, and actually, this show will probably start right as Hawthorne is ending its season, so people will want to see more shows about nursing. Plus, it’s tapping into the audience of ER, which has recently been cut free. Add in a little romance for the Grey’s Anatomy lovers, and you’ve got yourself an ideal audience-pleaser.

However, there is one problem. Michelle Trachtenberg. As you know, I’m a big Buffy fan. And as a big Buffy fan, I am of the consensus that she was very annoying in Buffy. And to be honest, she’s very young. If not young in reality, she’s at least young-looking. So I really can’t see her as a nurse.

I realize that this is probably her attempt to break out of her itty bitty tweeny roles, but still, it just seems like miscasting. I thought all of this before watching the promo, which you can watch below.

Ok, so it’s a little better. She’s a newbie–a newbie that covers herself in Hello Kitty and cupcake scrubs, one that no one takes seriously. That helps. And she’s cute; that helps, too. I’m still skeptical, though. I think she’s got a better case for being on it, but I’m still seeing her as the downfall to the series. Maybe I’ll be surprised.

I can’t say this is an entirely new premise. It’s just another hospital show to me. I appreciate the Ally McBeal-like relationship, where one person follows their sweetheart, only to discover that they’re happily married (enter tension), but it’s not really new–well, except that she was in Iraq. That’s interesting, though sadly, they probably won’t play it up enough.

I’d say this is a safe show. I think it can–and likely will–succeed. And maybe I’ll check out an episode or two to really see if Michelle can step up or if it’s anything different. But if you’re looking for something spectacular that’s about nurses, I’d probably suggest Hawthorne. I think it will get more to the gritty underbelly of complex plots, while this one’s just a surface crowd-pleaser.

OMG. A ‘New Moon’ trailer! Squeal giggle faint.

You knew it was coming. You didn’t know when, but you knew it would. And it has. The trailer for New Moon.

It was premiered at the MTV Movie Awards last night, though I don’t know if it was leaked before. It was introduced, of course, by the heart-throbby Robert Pattinson, a lackluster Kristen Stewart (seriously, she looked like she’d rather be having a root canal than introducing the promo), and the freshfaced Taylor Lautner. Watch it below.

Sadly, this video doesn’t include the swooning and screaming of the teenage girls watching it at the MTV Movie Awards. Apparently, while Robert Pattinson might make girls faint, a shirtless Taylor Lautner brings about explosions of teenage hormones in girly glee.

To be honest, I’m not that impressed with the trailer. I mean, I read the books. I wasn’t that impressed with the books, but they certainly have some interesting things to show. So just showing Jacob turn into a wolf (sorry, had to laugh at that effect, though at least it’s better than Edward’s glittery skin) and the party just seemed lame. I guess it’s an attempt not to give anything away, but it seems like a missed opportunity.

I know, I know. Teenage girls everywhere are going, “There was kissing and a shirtless Jacob! That’s enough for me!”

Don’t get me wrong. I’ll probably end up seeing it. Not in the theaters, but on Netflix. If you recall, I enjoyed the first one, given that I didn’t take it too seriously. In other words, I had to laugh at it from time to time. But I enjoyed it, and I’ll probably check out New Moon.

I wonder, though, if they’re really taking it to where the books took the story. I mean, Bella really had a dark transformation in this book, and (to an extent) so did the pansy Edward. I can see them playing up Edward, but I’m not sure that they will really put the darkness in Bella that I think it really needs, solely because of the young audience. Reading is one thing. Seeing is another.

But I guess we’ll see. In the meantime, please continue to replay the trailer. Just warn me before you squeal.