'Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23' Finds New Home on Logo TV

Logo TV

After going through various title tweaks, "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23" premiered on ABC on October 11, 2011. With its bawdy humor, New York setting, and odd couple roommates, the show combined the mismatched roommates of “Two Broke Girls” with the outrageous style of “Will & Grace.” The show managed to survive two seasons before ABC gave it the boot. Logo’s breathing new life into the defunct comedy by airing the entire series, including eight previously unaired episodes.

Pilot Plight

The pilot was a bit jarring as viewers immediately saw Chloe (Krysten Ritter) at her worst/best, scamming June (Dreama Walker) and stealing her boyfriend. Her outrageous antics were on par with Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) from "Will & Grace," but the unfamiliar character felt more shocking and repulsive than funny. Between the show's title and Chloe's personality, it seemed the show was leaning too heavily on a one-note string of bad behavior too narrow to bolster a TV series.

The B’s Flipside

Instead of stagnating, “Don’t Trust the B-----” managed to get better and better as the show went on. The world of roomies June and Chloe grew to include a quirky cast spotted with self-deprecating cameos from the likes of Busy Phillips and Dean Cain. As the show continuously pushed the limits of the friendship between sweet, naive June and morally-bankrupt Chloe, meandering plots created a genuine bond between the two women. Self-centered Chloe showed a loyal, protective side and became more relatable without losing her edge. Meanwhile, June’s doe-eyed princess persona gave way to a more street smart New Yorker.

The Beek

As a parody of himself, James Van Der Beek’s character alternated between being a stereotypically insecure, vapid actor and a spiritual guru offering guidance to June and Chloe. At times his two-in-one persona was a convenient plot device, but it allowed the show to entertain both fans and foes of The Beek with campy comedy and “Dawson’s Creek” references.

Check Logo TV for air dates.

'Raising Asia' premiere: Why is this 8-year-old dancer as fierce as a drag queen?

Lifetime is taking little Asia Monet Ray beyond "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition" and "Dance Moms" to her very own docuseries, "Raising Asia." Mmk, it sounded like a decent idea for a reality show. The dance prodigy is a natural entertainer who seems interesting enough to carry her own show. It would be a light and uplifting with a bit of drama courtesy of her stage mom Kristie, right?

Wrong! The premiere episode of "Raising Asia" was tough to watch. The Ray family is split in half as Asia and Kristie travel the globe, often leaving dad and 5-year-old sister Bella Blu to fend for themselves. It is unsettling to listen to Kristie talk about helping Asia meet her potential when it seems to come at the family's expense.

Initially, Asia's commentary is upbeat and fun as she describes her family and their talents. It soon enters Bizzarro world as Kristie goes on to say people don't understand what it takes it to raise an extraordinary child like Asia. By the end of it, mom seems unreasonably controlling and peppy Asia sounds rather bratty. Plus, viewers are left to decipher mysteries like why Asia drinks from a toddler-style sippy cup and can't have egg yolks.

Is Asia the next Christina Aguilera?
Asia is the kind of performer whose sheer dedication and enthusiasm draw you in. She is an expressive child prodigy who doesn't need any gimmicks, but they keep trying to elevate her to some adult-level fierceness worthy of RuPaul's TV shows. Her team, particularly Anthony Burrell, can't seem to navigate the huge variety of age-appropriate dance styles that fall somewhere between Shirley Temple and dirty girl Xtina.

Somehow, mom and Anthony decide it's a good idea for Asia to wear a pound of hair and makeup, knee boots, and a bikini as she wields a whip to imitate a lion tamer training a bunch of shirtless backup dancers who close the routine by pawing at her body. Lifetime edited it down a bit, but the uncomfortable tone of the dance remains the same.

The lion tamer concept is good fit for Asia's personality and style, but it needs careful tweaks. Her costume should be a bit more modest, the tiny top and tiny bottom were a bad combo. The repeated use of the whip and her hair as props hurt her performance as she stood on the stage posing instead of dancing. Her vampy moves were awkward, uncomfortable, and most of  all unnecessary since she knows how to command an audience with her dance skills.

Anthony is a creative choreographer, but his appearances on "Dance Moms" and "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition" show that he seems to choreograph routines to suit himself, not the dancers. (Remember when he tried to make one of the Candy Apples wear a little Speedo as part of his Pinocchio costume?) His artistic vision works better as an abstract concept than a custom routine for a talented 8-year-old dancer.

"Raising Asia" continues its 14-episode stint Tuesday nights on Lifetime.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta': NeNe and Cynthia Blame Editing and Kenya for the Big Brawl

There is plenty of blame to go around after the big brawl on “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” but Cynthia and NeNe are blaming Kenya and the show’s editing. While NeNe most likely didn't intend to start a physical fight, she definitely instigated at every opportunity. (Why were so many cronies on her guest list?) These two are trying to save their careers and sway fans.

Cynthia on “Watch What Happens Live”
The same night “Pillow Talk” aired, Cynthia appeared alongside La La Jones on “Watch What Happens Live.” La La did her best, but it was obvious that Andy Cohen really wanted to address the fight. Cynthia waved her hands around and apologized on behalf of everyone. She said she didn’t want to say who was responsible for the fight unless Andy asked, which he eagerly did.

Cynthia said everybody was rolling with their awkward questions and having a good time, but Kenya stood up and caused a chain reaction. She subtly blamed the editing and said Peter wasn’t as involved in the fight as the episode made it look.

After watching the episode twice, I’m not ready to go back for another viewing to search for editing clues. Peter was definitely getting agitated during the lap dance convo with Kandi. That exchange looked like it was ready to turn into something bigger until Kandi said it didn’t matter to her what Peter did. Editing didn’t make Peter’s voice and demeanor change. It didn’t seem like anyone was having fun except for the few times they were laughing and cheering when someone else squirmed while answering the pillow talk question.

To be fair, the fight scene with Brandon and Peter did have some quick cuts that may have made it seem longer. But Peter was pretty heavy handed in the way he handled Apollo. Editing didn’t alter that.

My thoughts abt last nite's episode! Let give a round of applause 2 the editing team👏… http://t.co/dJ23rIbMje
— NeNe Leakes (@NeNeLeakes) January 28, 2014

NeNe’s Twitter Protest
The cast usually tweets during the episode, but NeNe boycotted because she “CAN'T & WONT support violence or lies.” She followed up with a blog post that began like an infomercial for Pillow Talk: The Game. (Not that anyone wants to buy that game or watch her host a gameshow or whatever she was hoping for, but Pillow Talk definitely sounds like something that belongs in Kandi's business empire.) She gave her version of events, suggesting that viewers read between the lines:

"In my opinion Kenya was the spark that lit the fire. Whenever she’s around, we have the worst times! I’ve been on this show from the very beginning and we have NEVER had a physical altercation on this show! I am all about a good read, throwing shade and even getting you together when need be but violence is never okay to me. I think it’s a sad display of behavior and I think it is sad to the black community to be a part of such negative activity! I am bigger, I am better and for that I apologize!

Here's a few questions I would like to ask you: why do you think they let Kenya narrate the whole fight scene? Why do you think they took the part out when Kenya was charging across the room? All the housewives would say we were having a good time! Why do you think they showed it as if we were not?"

I’m not watching this episode again. Really. But I recall seeing Kenya storm toward Natalie before Christopher intervened. That wasn’t edited out. Her narration didn’t affect my perception. I do wonder about the party, though. It had some awkward moments, but it’s hard to believe that all of those people would sit through it if it were as bad as it seemed. And Porsha looked like she was having a good time when she was laughing, dancing, and loosing her neon headband like she was an audience member at "Showtime at the Apollo."

“Real Housewives of Atlanta:” Damage Control
Still, it’s hard to believe NeNe 100% when she seems to have forgotten her alleged choking incident with Kim. NeNe and Sheree also had a pretty aggressive encounter with Kim that led to the infamous wig pull. It seems like the cast is scrambling to avoid any major consequences. Remember the backlash VH1’s “Basketball Wives” received for brawling? It lost sponsors while public figures, including Star Jones and Wendy Williams, condemned the show.

Will fans and sponsors say “no, no” to NeNe after the big fight?

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' Recap: Did Apollo Forget About His Parole?

"Real Housewives of Atlanta” Season 6 seems to be using a two-part formula of provoking drama by bringing in some so-called friend to start rumors. After problems percolate, the gang then finds themselves sharing close quarters during an outing or party. So, why did the men and women of the show fall into this “Pillow Talk or Pillow Fight?” mess?

Cynthia told Peter that Kandi claims to know about his past. Of course, she conveniently forgot to mention Kandi did so in response to Cynthia and Natalie talking about Todd. Peter's gut reaction was that Kandi said he was having an affair. Huh? Cynthia glossed over it, but that reaction was really suspicious.Now, Peter is mad at Kandi and wants to confront her.

Back at the Kandi Factory, Kandi informed Todd that Natalie called him opportunistic and said he always dated up. Todd and Kandi both dismissed the rumor, but Kandi was obviously bothered to be in the midst of more gossip. With everybody up to speed, it was time to attend one of NeNe's fabulous soirees.

Agent Provocateur
NeNe matured quite a bit since her wig-pulling days, especially when her acting career took off. She still got out of control at times, but she had a growing sense of grace and dignity. Since the cancellation of “The New Normal,” she is falling back into her old ways and it isn’t pretty.

As the grand dame of the show, she keeps hosting get togethers and trips with surprise guests, like Marlo and Mynique, who tend to cause problems. Her so-called pillow talk party was a thinly veiled way for her to escalate the recent conflicts in the group. She invited everyone to a co-ed pajama party at a fancy hotel so she could play marriage counselor. Nobody seemed to mind that this didn’t really make sense for the singletons who came with a buddy instead of significant other. Instead of using light, hypothetical pillow talk questions, she addressed very specific scenarios that applied to the party goers.

Everyone sat close to the floor on beanbags while she trotted around them like an angry horse, complaining about Kenya’s lateness and barking out questions. If ever there was a time for Phaedra to, yet again!, mention breastfeeding and duck out, this was it. Instead, everyone continued to participate as the party went from awkward to hostile.

Tardy for the Party
When Kenya and her hired assistant, Brandon, finally arrived, NeNe shut the door in their faces. Kenya put on a fake smile and walked right in. She kept that fake smile on while NeNe kept yelling at her for being late without at least texting to let her know.

Things got heated when Peter and Apollo argued about their right to go to the strip club. NeNe suddenly revved it up by bringing up the winery conversation under the guise of clearing the air so everyone could be around each other without a problem. NeNe the peacekeeper? Everybody took the bait, and Christopher stood up to put Kenya in her place while his (common law?) wife, Natalie, yammered in the background.

Christopher grabbed Kenya’s arm when she charged toward Natalie, and Brandon jumped up to defend her. Gregg and Todd grabbed Christopher. Although Peter held Brandon, Apollo decided to slam Brandon right back on to his bean bag. Then Apollo and Brandon ended up brawling, losing their shirts in the process.It almost sounds funny, but it was intensely violent.

The cast and crew split everybody up, but NeNe followed Kenya and said the entire melee was her fault for getting out of her seat. Did we miss the part where flight attendant NeNe told everyone to stay seated? Why was it okay for Christopher to stand over everyone and confront Kenya? What did NeNe expect to happen between her weird guest list and hostile attitude?

Other Plots
Before the big party, this episode centered on Dwight and Phaedra’s gaudy party for Baby Dylan’s blessing ceremony. The presidential theme was so silly, that some of the guests and Apollo looked on in horror. Apollo and Phaedra’s marital discord was apparent throughout the celebration.

The other big subplot followed Kenya’s efforts to learn more about her fertility options. This felt like it was stretched out so the big party fight would spill into the season finale.

Since “Real Housewives of Atlanta” is taking the night off for the Super Bowl, viewers will have to wait until February 9 to see the finale. The preview shows Peter and Kandi arguing at the pillow talk party. It looks like NeNe might need to join Kandi's play and use her acting income to pay for damages to the hotel room.