Who can turn the world on with her smile? Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? If you don’t know, you really need to watch more TV Land. And I do mean Moore.

The producers of Lipstick Jungle are hoping Mary Tyler Moore can use her TV charm to bring a new dimension – and a new audience – to the series. Moore will guest star in several episodes as the retired mother of Wendy (Brooke Shields) – no doubt due to the actresses’ remarkable resemblance.

Moore’s character, Joyce, is a former high-powered executive who will challenge Wendy’s belief that she doesn’t have to choose between professional and personal success. Moore already is a big fan of the show, as she told the Hollywood Reporter:

"I'm fortunate to have had a front row seat to the evolution of working women on television. It's been great fun to watch the strong female characters of 'Lipstick Jungle' go at it week after week. I absolutely adore Brooke and I'm delighted to be a part of a show which is so well written."

Yeah, that’s why most of us watched – for the writing. … continue reading

As promised, Lori and I are finally back on the interweb with a new episode of She Made Me Watch This!

This week, we talk about that ridiculous lesbian kiss in the Lipstick Jungle season finale; the new Judy Greer comedy Miss Guided; Marlee Matlin and Kristi Yamaguchi on Dancing with the Stars; the status of the queer women currently on Survivor and Top Chef; and the tragedy that was Marvita's haircut on America's Next Top Model (A mullet, Tyra? Really?)

We also wander off-topic to discuss how Lori spent her time in Alaska; why the apartment is completely re-arranged every time I come home from work these days; and how I supposedly don't treat my iPods very well (is it my fault they don't like being dropped?). There's also a near-miss with one of the bunnies that gives Lori a mild heart attack on-camera. Good times!

One apology: Because we had to marathon the last few episodes of Lipstick Jungle in order to talk about it for the vlog, we didn't get started on filming this until late in the evening, and by the time we got to a decent take, we were more than a little sleepy (I think it was around 2am). So we're sorry if our energy was a little low on this one — we're definitely going to start earlier next time!

Speaking of next time — if there's interest, we thought we'd add a segment at the end of SMMWT! answering reader questions related to TV and movies (so, not questions about AfterEllen.com in general or personal advice questions, more like "when is X show coming out on DVD?" and "why did they cancel [fill in the blank], or "What do you think of the show Y?"). So if you have any questions like that, please feel free to leave them in the comments and we'll try to answer them in the next episode or two.

I haven't gotten around to watching Lipstick Jungle yet, despite the fact that its leads make a gorgeous three-way trio.

The reviews have not been kind, just as our resident TV ranters, Sarah and Lori, predicted. But an upcoming guest may motivate me to give the show a chance.

Lorraine Bracco plays Janice Lasher (love the name), a venomous, Judith Regan–like book publisher with a grudge against Wendy Healy (Brooke Shields) and a tell-all manuscript by Wendy's former nanny. In a funny scene on a show that takes itself too seriously, Bracco delivers a meta zinger when Wendy tries to convince Janice not to publish the book. Wendy goes on and on about the trials of trying to balance the demands of being a movie mogul and a good mom. When she finishes spilling her guts, Janice waits a beat and says, "You must have me confused with your shrink." You go, Dr. Melfi. … continue reading

I'm not sure whether this is an alert or a warning, really. Lipstick Jungle, the new show from another Sex and the City alum, premieres tonight on NBC. (The other show from a SATC alum is Cashmere Mafia. But you knew that.)

The reviews haven't been great so far. Here's one choice snippet from The Oregonian:

... just beneath Lipstick Jungle's swank veneer lies, well, nothing. Cliches and abstractions. Vague gestures in the direction of neo-feminism. All of which you've seen before, just never quite as lame as it is this time around.

Well. The critics don't seem to agree, though, on whether Cashmere or Lipstick is the superior of the pair. I'll confess to being intrigued by Brooke Shields, maybe just because I know she once had the privilege of kissing Cherry Jones. But I doubt she'll be enough to hold my interest — not that anything on Cashmere Mafia is holding my interest lately, either.

Why is Sex and the City the gold standard for female-centric TV, anyway? Surely Cagney & Lacey, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Popular and Maude deserve more praise when it comes to female, even feminist, characters. Not to mention The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman, but I think they broke the mold with that one.

This weekend, Super Bowl XLII went down as one of the biggest upsets in football history, and I came in for one of the biggest shocks of my own recent history: I actually cared. It might make me a bad lesbian, but I'm normally the one who goes to the parties for the Cheetos and party favors (not to mention the real competition — who can score the craziest commercial). This time I found myself obsessively checking in online. I blame being overseas: As an expat, I find myself being called upon to explain everything from sloppy joes to Mitt Romney, so I sometimes feel a little nostalgic for the things I never really understood in the first place.

But Popsugar.com has posted something in a football spirit that I can understand. I personally like the ref outfit.

Yes, Brooke Shields recently posed in a pinup-style football spread for Parade magazine. The photos took me for a pleasant stroll down memory lane; I still remember her early Calvin Klein commercials. I mean, wow.

In an accompanying article, Shields discusses being fortysomething in life and in Hollywood, after growing up as a child star. I'm morbidly fascinated by stars discussing aging in a business (heck, a culture) that worships youth and beauty, so this article didn't disappoint. … continue reading

Brooke Shields attended the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony to promote NBC’s Lipstick Jungle, which will premiere Thursday, February 7, in ER’s slot (after ER runs out of original episodes).

Along with Shields, the series stars Kim Raver and Lindsay Price as three high-powered executives in New York City. It’s based on a bestselling book by Candace Bushnell about a jungle full of lipstick-wearing animals. Or something like that.

While we’re generally happy to see series that feature strong female roles, Lipstick’s review by our resident TV critics, Lori and Sarah, was not exactly stellar. OK, they hated it. Hop over and view the preview, then join me in saying “eww.” … continue reading

Leading off the first segment of our video blog this weekend, Lori and I detail the many reasons we hated the pilot Lipstick Jungle (NBC), the mid-season drama from Sex and the City's Candace Bushnell that stars Lindsay Price, Brooke Shields, and Kim Raver as high-powered business women who "aren't looking for Mr. Big, they are Mr. Big" (we wish!).

Then we discuss the latest episodes of Damages (FX), The Closer (TNT), and The Best Years (The N), the South of Nowhere (The N) season premiere, and what we'd do if we had Ashley's $12.5 million inheritance. … continue reading

Yesterday at NBC's upfront presentations in New York, the network announced that it would add four new scripted dramas and one comedy to its fall prime-time slate. In sad but not unexpected news for Sarah Paulson fans, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was not included in lineup, and the last six episodes will be air beginning May 24 on NBC. But perhaps the news that Sarah Shahi is part of one of NBC's newest shows, Life, will brighten your day. Here she is as Det. Dani Reese:

Life, which will air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m., is about Det. Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) who returns to work after spending several years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Shahi's character Dani Reese is described as "skeptical" and "demanding," aka typical female cop stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that!). The show also features Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane of Deadwood) as the "hard-hitting" Lt. Karen Davis. … continue reading

Brooke Shields has just been cast as one of the leads in the NBC pilot Lipstick Jungle, based on Candace Bushnell's novel Lipstick Traces, about three rich, power-hungry professional women in New York. Shields, who plays a movie studio president and harried wife and mother of three, is the first of the three lead roles to be cast. Gina Gershon was previously attached, but no longer appears to be involved with the series.

Alas, none of the three lead characters are lesbian or bi, but the audiobook version of the novel is narrated by Cynthia Nixon, which sort of makes it kinda gay, no?