Category Archives: TV
20-year old Berkeley native competes on Jeopardy!
In 2004, when Matt Olson was 12, he was captivated by Ken Jennings, the 30-year old man who won 74 Jeopardy! Games in a row. It was the longest-winning streak ever on the popular game show and Jennings’ success catapulted him into national celebrity.
Ever since then, Olson, now 20, has wanted to compete on Jeopardy! When he was a student at Berkeley High, he took the online test to get on the show, but didn’t make it. In 2010, when he was a freshman at Stanford, he took the test another time. Again he failed.
But in 2012, Olson beat 12,000 other college students to win a spot on the Jeopardy! College Championship, which runs through February 14. If Olson triumphs (and he is contractually required not to reveal the outcome of the contest) he will win $100,000. His first appearance on the show is Tuesday Feb. 7. The show airs at 7 pm on KGO, channel 7.
“I’ve watched Jeopardy! Since I was a kid,” said Olson, now a sophomore at Stanford majoring in Symbolic Systems. “I’ve wanted to be on the show for a really long time. It’s pretty cool. I got my dream.” … Continue reading »
Cal frat boy Kyle Crews a hit with Jennifer Lopez & co
American Idol fans know that when a judge says “you’re going to Hollywood”, that’s very good news. These words were spoken by former Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler to UC Berkeley undergraduate Kyle Crews recently when he auditioned for the show in San Diego, which also happens to be his hometown.
Crews, who dedicated his rendition of Monica’s “Angel of Mine” to Tyler’s fellow judge Jennifer Lopez (telling host Ryan Seacrest beforehand that he couldn’t stop thinking of her “voluptuous lips”), made an impression despite his loud plaid shirt (“you’re going to have to lose that shirt,” said Tyler). Third judge Randy Jackson simply whooped and declared: “That’s crazy. You sound nothing like you look.”
The 19-year-old, whois an enthusiastic member of Cal’s Kappa Alpha fraternity, will now go through to the next rounds in Hollywood. … Continue reading »
Berkeley-raised rapper goes commercial with Hyundai
David Wittman, aka DJ Dave, had a viral hit in June with his rap about the Whole Foods parking lot (although many Berkeleyans preferred the localized version by Lae Charles). Innocean, the ad agency for Korean car manufacturer Hyundai seems to have taken note, because Wittman and his creative collective, Fog and Smog, are the stars of the latest commercial for the Hyundai Elantra (shown above). … Continue reading »
Berkeley High’s Kehlani and PopLyfe fall at final AGT hurdle
Berkeley High junior Kehlani Parrish and her group PopLyfe reached the final four of America’s Got Talent this week. But the six-member group was the first to be voted off on last night’s results show.
Despite that disappointment, PopLyfe had a thrilling performance of “Higher Ground” with Stevie Wonder on the show. When told they would be performing with Wonder, the usually composed Parrish was clearly thrilled. “He’s the reason I started singing,” she said.
Following the performance of … Continue reading »
Berkeley High’s Kehlani Parrish performs in AGT finals
Kehlani Parrish, a 16-year-old Berkeley High junior, performed Tuesday night with her band Poplyfe in the finals of this season’s NBC show America’s Got Talent.
After a stunning run-up to the show’s finals in Las Vegas, Poplyfe got mixed reviews from the judges for their medley of Queen songs last night, and Parrish was in tears after the performance.
“I thought some of the performance of the singing was a bit off,” said judge Piers Morgan. “But you [Parrish] … Continue reading »
“He’s so hot” — aka, the Tony Taccone adulation society
It seems the Artistic Director of the Berkeley Rep has something of a “following”. In fact, read the comments on a story we ran about him last week, and it becomes clear a certain group of fans is positively smitten with Tony Taccone, speaking with more than a little hyperbole of his brazen attractiveness, his warm personality, handsome features — even his prowess as a lover.
Berkeleyside has reason to believe these people might know … Continue reading »
Doctor Who fans: did you spot TARDIS in Berkeley?
Fans of British cult science-fiction TV series Dr Who were in for a treat recently when the iconic TARDIS police box, through which the aforementioned doctor takes his time- and space-traveling journeys, made a brief appearance in Berkeley when on a surprising journey of its own.
The blue kiosk was photographed on the roof of Birge Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on January 29.
Berkeleyside’s on-campus spies climbed to the top of Sather Tower yesterday to try … Continue reading »
Berkeley boys’ video paean to Giants goes viral
Those Berkeley boys whose creative antics are the brains behind the successful web-TV reality show, White Collar Brawlers, have scored another success.
Their video honoring the Giants’ playoff games has gone more than viral in the last few days. It was uploaded on October 10 and since then has gotten 843,000 views on YouTube – more than the population of San Francisco itself.
Nate Houghteling and Kai Haisson produced the video and set lyrics to the tune … Continue reading »
“Mad Men”: A TV show considered worthy of study
We freely concede this is just an excuse to run photos of beautiful people in gorgeous mid-century clothes, but wouldn’t you want to be a student again if it means you can study “Mad Men”?
This fall, UC Berkeley is introducing a two-unit English course in the campus’s DeCal program focused on the “thematically, symbolically, and historically rich television series “Mad Men”.
For those of you who have been locked in a closet for the past few years (even if you don’t have … Continue reading »
Berkeley boys aim to be web sensation
Why would two 26-year old Berkeley natives, one a graduate from Yale, the other from Harvard, give up their cushy desk jobs to train to be boxers?
To reinvent web television, of course.
On September 21, Nate Houghteling and Kai Hasson, who were born and raised in Berkeley, debuted an interactive web documentary series called White Collar Brawler. For the next three months, viewers can watch these former office workers try and transform themselves into elite amateur … Continue reading »
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