Lady Gaga Joins RuPaul for Season Premiere of Drag Race

Well, it looks like Gaga survived that jump off the Super Bowl roof after all.  This morning, I got the email from Citibank about pre-sale tickets for her "Joanne" world tour.  (The pre-sale starts Feb. 8).  And now, Logo has announced that Gaga will be joining RuPaul to judge the season 9 premiere episode of Drag Race.

Check out the announcement video and press release below:

COME THROUGH, MOTHER MONSTER

Logo’s Emmy® Award-Winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Lands Lady Gaga For Unforgettable Season Premiere

Snatch The Moment This March

  

NEW YORK, NY – February 7, 2017 – Fresh off a stunning Super Bowl halftime show performance, Lady Gaga is set to appear on the season premiere of Logo’s Emmy® Award-winning competition series,  "RuPaul’s Drag Race."  Logo today announced that the new season will kick off with “Mother Monster” and RuPaul this March.  

The season nine premiere event features a shocking opening that will go down as one of the most jaw-dropping moments in “Drag Race” history.  Additionally, the premiere event will unveil a court of cut-throat Queens each competing to snatch the crown and strut away with a $100,000 cash prize and the coveted title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar.” Along the way, they’ll face an unpredictable competition and deliverwatercooler moments as these talented ladies of drag join the fabulous 100 Queens who fought for the crown before them.

The 13 previously announced Queens include:  Aja (Brooklyn, NY), Alexis Michelle (New York, NY), Charlie Hides (London, UK), Eureka O’Hara (Johnson City, TN), Farrah Moan (Las Vegas, Nevada), Jaymes Mansfield (Madison, Wisconsin), Kimora Blac (Las Vegas, Nevada), Nina Bo'nina Brown (Atlanta, Georgia), Peppermint (New York, New York), Sasha Velour (Brooklyn, New York), Shea Coulee (Chicago, IL), Trinity Taylor (Orlando, FL) and Valentina (Los Angeles, CA).

"RuPaul's Drag Race" season nine is produced by World of Wonder Productions with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangsang and RuPaul Charles serving as Executive Producers.  Tim Palazzola serves as Executive Producer for Logo.

After an epic Super Bowl halftime show performance that still has the world talking, Lady Gaga announced the Joanne World Tour set to begin this summer.  For dates and tickets, go to http://www.ladygaga.com. 

That's Not What Your Girlfriend Says!

The greatest thing about this past weekend: the debut of the new Snickers commercial starring the 88-years-young Betty White. I won't give it away, but there's a surprise appearance at the end by another elder TV veteran that's equally hysterical.

With commercials like these, it almost makes it worth watching whatever sports thingy -- something with Roman numerals -- during which this aired yesterday. Almost. (Thank God for YouTube!)

Forget the Saints and the Colts -- I'm for Team Betty!

I've always said that, even now at age 88, Betty White is still an energetic force of nature who can do anything. And that includes taking to the field for a game of touch (hopefully just touch!) football. Check out this sneak peek of her hilarious Super Bowl ads for Snickers, debuting this weekend during the game:

The Office Jumps the Shark?

Back in the old days, networks used to use the Super Bowl as a launching pad for brand new series.

Sometimes, it worked.  (Remember the premiere of The Wonder Years in 1988?)  And sometimes, it didn't.  (Remember Davis Rules in 1991?  Anyone?)

Then later began the super-sized, "special" episode phenomenon.  Following the big game in 1996, Julia Roberts turned up on Friends.  People at the time criticized the episode for being overblown, overwrought.  Me, I still kinda liked it.

But tonight's The Office?  The weakest episode of this normally amazing series I've ever seen.  I had read interviews with some of the show's producers, who claimed that they wanted tonight's one hour installment to be more of a "standalone" episode, so as to draw in fans who don't already know, for example, the saga of Jim and Pam.  But what they ended up getting was a meandering and overblown (not to mention not very credible) storyline, with its non-sequitur elements pressed together with so much adhesive tape.  

It must be hard to write a show like The Office, to find new ways for Jim to torture Dwight, for Dwight and Michael to show their social ineptitude, without going over the top.  The show has approached -- and maybe even crossed -- that line before.  Remember Michael's atrocious behavior at Phyllis' wedding?  At the time, I didn't believe that even someone as socially retarded as Michael would make such a scene.

Now tonight -- and this is my largest problem with the episode as a whole -- I think we have the clearest example of The Office going too far.  Dwight has officially crossed the line from inappropriate to murderous and sociopathic.  Luring Phyllis several miles away from the office and leaving her there, so as to force her to walk back (as Dwight did earlier this season) is one thing.  But setting the building on fire, and jeopardizing his coworkers' lives?

And here's the other thing you learn about corporate America:  it's very hard to get yourself fired for cause.  If you're hard-working and competent, you'll often get screwed, blamed for something, laid off.  But if you're crazy, or if you drink, you're pretty much safe.  UNLESS: you do something like set the office on fire.  If your actions leave the company vulnerable to a lawsuit -- and it's an amazing oversight that Stanley, as he mentions not being able to afford to retire, doesn't even THINK of suing -- you would definitely be fired.  David Wallace would never have given Dwight a second chance.  And DEFINITELY not a third, after he stabbed and disemboweled the CPR dummy with a concealed knife in the workplace.  Another big no-no.

And then suddenly, after all that, tonight's storyline morphed into being just about Michael and his sudden self-knowledge.  For one thing, did anyone not see it coming that Michael would be offended by the roast?  And that would be forgiveable, had the roast been at all funny.  The Office excels in a combination of awkward-funny.  The roast was just plain awkward.

All that said, there were moments I loved -- Dwight's tricking Phyllis into giving her signature, and anything involving Cloris Leachman, of course.  

But what did you all think?  (And by the way:  Hilary Swank:  hot, or not?!)