The SAG Awards, once again, is not an award show for those who have resisted cosmetic surgery, though I think that we should award people for such. That the SAG Awards have become a big deal, however, is a tribute to each member of the actors' union who continue to press the issue that it's important because it's an award from other actors. Saying it over and over again seems to have worked. This is what a union does, it protects its own.
One of the members of that union, Rizzoli and Isles star Angie Harmon, is THE social media ambassador of the show, meaning she'll be tweeting during the show. I get that, she's a star on a TNT show that's returning soon. She's also a Republican, and Republicans don't much like unions. I of course cordially invite Angie to leave the union and see if she can get an acting gig without her SAG card.
Okay, enough of that. I did reasonably well with my Golden Globes TV predictions so I thought I'd try again. And it's all after the jump.
Continue reading "My SAG Awards TV Predix -- Tonight at 8 Eastern TBS/TNT " »
If your interviews this AM were so frickin' exclusive, what about this ...
this ...
and this (though the clip embed doesn't seem to be working, but trust me, they had Hillary in the same suit saying the same things) ...
or this?
Huh? And don't even get me started on "breaking news."
Just call me. For the rest of the day today if you call me I'll tell you how long (in your area, I can add and subtract) how long you have to wait until Syfy premieres tonight's movie event, Mega Python v. Gatoroid.
(If you're waiting for the premiere of Mega Pine-Sol vs. Gatoraid, however, you need to call someone else.)
What's my number? Uh, 737. Yeah, just dial 737 from anywhere in the world and I'll pick up. Sure.
Anyway, the braintrust at Syfy really gets it when it comes to these movies, tongue is firmly planted in cheek and the stars come out. Which stars? The stars of my high school pop soundtrack, of course, Tiffany and Deborah Gibson. And you can hear them talk about this movie and their pasts in the interview clip from Syfy I posted after the jump along with a trailer for the movie.
AND ... Mickey Dolenz, as himself, apparently only for a short time as I've been informed that he meets a tragic end in this. What? You're not surprised about that? Or you don't know who Mickey Dolenz is? You're so young, he was one of The Monkees.
Directed by Mary Lambert (Pet Sematary) and written my Naomi Selfman, this is a pretty estrogenic production for a way-out-there science fiction monsterfest. Selfman is also the writer of Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus so she has experience in writing for mega animals. And her other films include 18 Year Old Virgin and #1 Cheerleader Camp so ... uh ... there should be plenty of trashy fun.
Yes, including a catfight between our leads ("Somebody has bitch for breakfast"). You may have already seen parts of it but just for kicks you can click here for some of that girl-on-girl you just gotta have.
Sure, some of you are laughing, but ... (NY Times):
Routinely high ratings have helped make the movies an indispensable part of the Syfy schedule. An average of two million people watch, according to Nielsen, with some of the movies (“Pterodactyl,” “Dragon Storm”) attracting more than three million, on par with Syfy’s biggest hit series, “Warehouse 13” and “Eureka.” The Saturday night mayhem also fits snugly with the channel’s effort to broaden beyond science fiction. In 2009 the channel re-branded itself Syfy (dropping the Sci Fi Channel name) in a bid to capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment: the paranormal, the supernatural, action and adventure, superheroes. Recent movies have tackled unexplained phenomena (“Stonehenge Apocalypse”), furry beasts (“Red: Werewolf Hunter”) and horrific experiments with nature (“Mega Piranha.”)
And now click over the jump for some interviewy stuff and a trailer. Tonight at 9 on Syfy.
Continue reading "What? No Mega Python V. Gatoroid Countdown Clock? Here's a Solution" »
When Barry Diller gets stuck in the snow in Central Park he doesn't call the auto club, he calls "rich people auto club," where a waiting room of celebrities including Jeff Garlin, Mary-Kate but not Ashley Olsen, former New York Yankee Bernie Williams, Bernhard Goetz, and Isadora Forman respond in tow trucks covered in Swarovski crystals.
The thought being, "If I have to be inconvenienced by life like all the other schlubs I should at least get a good story out of it."
And for Katie's part, all her proceeds go to colon cancer research so it's all good.
And yes, before you ask, there's a stripper program, too. Though in the winter they can't be expected to answer calls in a g-string.
Good morning, sorry about all the snow, Northeast US. Here in beautiful North County San Diego it'll be in the 70s and I'm watching the sun caress the 14th green at LaCosta outside my kitchen window.
I. LOVE. THIS. SHOW.
Okay, so it's a show about a guy who talks to a dog, a dog that steals the neighbors' marijuana plants and can make a bong out of a Gatorade bottle. That's my dream life.
Or maybe Ryan (Wood) is the only one who can hear him. Maybe Ryan is the only person who sees Wilfred as a guy in a dog suit who looks like Jason Gann, one of the Australian co-creators (with Adam Zwar) of the show.
Or, maybe Ryan is hallucinating all of this. After all he took all the anti-anxiety meds, the whole bottle, that his sister prescribed for him instead of showing up for his first day of work as a contracts administrator in the hospital sis works in. Maybe this dog next door, Wilfred, who lives with the lovely Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann), is just a dog.
In any event, we'll have thirteen half-hours this Summer to try to figure it out for ourselves.
I watched the Australian version of this show last year on IFC and Sundance, and I think it might work even better here. There's something about Gann being the only person with an accent that makes his interaction with Wood even more compelling. Gann's also much taller than Elijah and that's always good for visual humor. And maybe, though it might just be his voice juxtaposed with all the American accents, Wilfred seems even more subversive now.
Ethan Suplee (My Name is Earl) appears as the neighborhood's resident weed-growing, Harley riding nuisance, who by the end of the pilot has a target for his rage and it's not the dog. Of course it's not the dog, why would a dog break a window and steal two huge pot plants? How would he, how could he?
Wilfred premieres this Summer on FX in a hour block of comedy that will include the second season of Louie. I'll keep you in the loop until then with previews as they come.
My mom would have loved Downton Abbey. In fact, I believe it was another show that it gets compared to, Upstairs Downstairs, that was PBS' first Masterpiece Theatre program I remember her being passionate about.
(And of course come April Masterpiece will bring us a new Upstairs Downstairs with Jean Marsh. I imagine Mom would have been very excited about such.)
For the residents and employees of Downton Abbey there is an urgency to every day's events as it is the early 1900s, the world is on the verge of many changes and the future of the Earl of Grantham (Robert) & family (Cora and the three girls Mary, Sybil and Edith) and their stewardship of this grand home and the people who serve them is at stake.
In the early 1900s in Britain there were a number of marriages both established and pending that were based on the desire of American women who came from wealth to have titles and the desire of British families with titles and grand estates like Downton to marry money to maintain these homes, the adjacent villages nearby and the structure of their local economies.
There was an urgency among the custodians of these estates and their families to keep it going, not just for their collective well being but to save the jobs of those who served them from local farmers to their footmen, butlers, cooks and other servants and the people who lived in the adjacent villages. Robert Crawley first answered this urgent call when he traveled to the US to find and eventually marry Cora (a flawless performance from that lovely American actress Elizabeth McGovern) who saved Downton with her considerable wealth in exchange for her title, but then grew to love her husband and tolerate his mother.
Much more, including some video from the series' press tour in the UK, after the jump.
Continue reading "Video -- The Exquisite Quiet Urgency: Racing to Save Downton Abbey" »
You could call it media fracturing or disintermediation or fractured culture or fragmentation of culture, according to the NPR report from Elizabeth Blair you can listen to after the jump.
I call it the end of the TV watercooler because with viewers having so much choice of product and of viewing method the moment at the office where the gang discusses that touchstone sitcom just doesn't happen. Two of those people are now watching The History Channel's Hitler marathon (watch those two when your company moves to downside, they'll annex your desk), three more spent the night smoking weed and watching a marathon of SpongeBob episodes via Netflix (their ganja-fueled creative thinking in meetings will earn them promotions to the corporate office) and that bitch who told your boss you didn't come back after lunch last Friday is ... probably poisoning orphans or puppies or Nick Lachey.
The point is made that where The Cosby Show played to a large segment of the public (over 30 million viewers in season three) where the top sitcom now (Two and a Half Men) plays to a little more than half that. On the other hand, however, the same segmentation that makes the top sitcom half as valuable as it once was makes a show like 30 Rock a Top 25 show in the 18-49 demo with a 2.7.
Click this link to read or listen to the piece, though you'll have to do your own impersonation of kids TV superproducer Dan Schneider if you choose to read and I don't know that your Schneider is good enough, frankly.
So, is your Schneider up to it?
So apparently the nation's trade deficit has precipitated some extreme measures resulting in our sending our Guidos and Guidettes to Italy in order to even things out.
Man, are they in for a surprise.
“While the stateside ‘Jersey Shore' locales have become iconic for our audience it's really the constantly evolving dynamic amongst the cast that keeps them coming back each season and Europe is a fresh spin on a show that continues to reach new heights for us,” said Chris Linn, Executive Vice President of Programming and Head of Production for MTV. “The cast is headed to the birthplace of the culture they love and live by. We can't wait to see what erupts as a result.”
Only one problem ... the birthplace of the culture they love is not Italy. Certainly not Italy. Go ahead, get on a plane and go there and seek out the fist-pumping juicehead Guidos.
You'll be looking for a good long time. They aren't there.
It's not like they don't love to drink and party and all that, they do. Their president is a big fan of all the stuff they love, too. Drinking? Sure. Parties? Big ones. Sex? Please and thank you.
But this overlay of Dees, Dem and Does and the steroid use and the orange skin and the fighting ... that's all America. I don't think the Italians are gonna be too happy about that. I also think the cast should have looked into the legal system in Italy before they agreed to this because there's so much of which they could run afoul.
And maybe Snooki should read up on Amanda Knox before she samples any of the local talent.
Snooki can read. She wrote a book you know (cough cough).
From today's Hollywood Reporter piece noting that Keith Olbermann will tweet something apparenly important enough for him to schedule it (8 pm eastern, when his show used to air), I bring you this Phil Griffin quote, which reads:
In an interview Saturday, MSNBC President Phil Griffin wouldn't address Olbermann leaving but stressed, "We're in great shape ... I don't think we'll lose a beat. I love what we're doing and I love what we've achieved as a network. I'm confident about our future."
You really are? Then you really have no frickin' idea what you're doing or you're lying. I choose B.
Griffin, poor dude, will have more than this with which to deal. If this was Comcast's firs move one has to wonder how many days it will be until Rachel or O'Donnell run afoul of their new corporate masters.
Outstanding performance being positive for the press, however, especially in light of losing your highest rated show. Wish there were video so I could critique his delivery of said remarks.
Now that I've posted about Olbermann can you guys stop sending me emails asking why I haven't posted on Olbermann? Thanks.
It's way overproduced, she's way overcostumed and the song is a dance version of Hey Big Spender from Sweet Charity. Having said that, it's ... well it's terrible of course but you didn't expect too much so that's ... okay.
Hey, her 15 minutes seem to be lasting a little longer than expected. That's, uh, something.
The idea to dance-ify this particular song isn't such a bad idea. Darrell should have taken some of that personal appearance coin she's been making (video link) and had someone construct some decent beats for it.
Her vocal is actually not too bad, but then again it's not a challenging song. Watch the clip after the jump.
Continue reading "Video -- Idol's Bikini Girl Katrina Darrell Has a Single/Music Video" »
I'll be honest with you, it's not a cheap ticket, but look at who you get for the price. Jerry, Colin, Attell, Norton, Lou Black, Judy Gold ... if you wanted to see them separately all it would cost you more.
It's Feb. 9 at the Beacon Theatre.
And if you've ever laughed at something that Greg Giraldo said you might feel additionally drawn to the event as proceeds from the show will set up a trust fund for his kids. Greg passed in late September leaving three children and their mom from who he was in the process of separating.
Ticketmaster is handling ticketing, click here for that. Go to this. After the jump a couple of my favorite Giraldo clips. If you've never seen Greg's stuff uncensored from the Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers you gotta click over the jump.
Continue reading "In New York February 9? Here's the Funniest Thing You Can Do" »
That's the question. Are we looking at the set of a late night talk show? Or did cameras catch a rare moment when a portal opened into another dimension, a dimension where Lisa Kurdrow always gets a chroma-blue background and chyron?
I'm just sayin'.
A ha! I think I know what's going on now. It's all starting to make sense.
UPDATE: I had no idea that Rudd had a film premiering tonight at Sundance. My Idiot Brother doesn't have a trailer online yet, but you can read more about it by clicking this. This first image, btw, is from that movie.
Hippy bear Rudd arrested by Bob Stephenson, one of my favorite working character actors. Sweater? A classic.
Addressing world issues with Elmo.
A private dance for Dave. He dressed so well for it, I hope Paul got tipped well.
Doing his best Tom Ford impression. Rogen, Segel and Hill not doing as well.
More Paul Rudd pics as I get lazier and lazier.
I was the first guy out here who cheered when NBC hired a SUNY Binghamton grad to run the show after the departure of rich boy and Elisabeth Murdoch yachting pal Ben Silverman .
State University of New York grad, middle class guy from Queens, regular ol' Jeff, your go-to guy when it comes to finding a no ego guy to roll up his sleeves and ... order up a private toilet worth $200,000? What? The? Fuck?
When Gaspin was promoted to run NBC in July 2009, he decided he didn’t want to share a bathroom with the other executives on the 11th floor of the Wasserman building, according to a knowledgeable insider.
So he ordered the construction of an opulent privy in his own office. How big was it? He displaced two finance executives to make room. I’m told the shower alone is large enough to house a small family. How expensive? I spoke to someone who saw the numbers – more than $200,000.
Gaspin was rather paranoid about this expenditure – understandably so, since he demanded it even as some 40 people were being laid off. He instructed workers to do construction at night, so as not to draw attention to the ostentatious addition.
But Steve Burke got wind of it and took note. Comcast is a notoriously homespun megacorporation; Brian Roberts used to share hotel rooms with his father on business trips. At the recent CES conference in Las Vegas Roberts was spotted standing in the taxi line even as town cars and limos with NBC logos went cruising by.
That wasn’t the decisive factor, but it was the beginning of Burke’s disaffection with Gaspin.
Yeah, I'd fire him too.
Oh Jeff, so frickin' shortsighted of you. That's not what we learn at SUNY, Mr. Gaspin. We learn to get by with what we have. We share bathrooms with the finance guys, we don't worry about fart noises and having to fraternize with our employees.
We are people who wanted Syracuse University but couldn't afford it, we are Princeton-level students on a community college budget that we're trying to stretch. We don't spend foolishly.
And now you've ruined our rep. With everyone, what with the big high profile job. Shame on you.
Media companies, listen up. Hire a SUNY grad. Today, even. Just pluck a resume out of your backlog of them and give that person a job. They've earned it.
And forget about Gaspin, he was an outlier.
Go SUNY.
Indeed the US versions of the BBC sci-fi outing Being Human and UK's E4 channel's Skins aired Monday night on Syfy and MTV respectively and there were no death knells for the creative process nor acts of terror committed by drama department goth American highschoolers who took on British accents when they discovered these two shows on BBC America.
Now the cheerleaders and the football jocks at their schools have their own American versions of each show without the pesky accents that need decifering nor the slang and pop culture references that might require a little work to understand.
And sure, they could have turned on the subtitles for either UK version and gotten on just famously ... if it weren't for the reading part. "Reading? Why have a TV if you're just gonna have to read it."
Well, so much for the kids.
The shows themselves were ... fine. Liked Being Human more than Skins, which reverses my positions on the British versions.
(One thing, though. I have to admit to never having understood the title of Skins. Now that I've seen the US version and heard one of the kids ask for and get one I realize it's slang for rolling paper, though I don't think we called it that in my day).
Click over the jump for my thoughts about both these shows.
In other news, Paul can be seen in the upcoming Falcon Videopac #254 (inside joke).
Just out of camera range? A very stiff sock. Stands up on its own.
Oh Paul, so scrummy, so funny ... and married. Ugh.
Brooks, of course, is the multiple Oscar and Emmy-winning producer/director/writer who could be shepherding a new era of multi-camera sitcoms to television but instead is making poorly received films with Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson instead.
(Yes, Rudd is in the thing, too, but Paul Rudd can do no wrong and just you forget about dissing Rudd here.)
No Garry Marshall, you are not off the hook. You should also be shepherding a new era of multi-camera sitcoms to television instead of making poorly received holiday-themed romantic comedy anthology films.
Another thing Brooks is doing is tweeting about "his friend" Charlie Sheen. This is collected from three successive tweets today:
Actual CBS exec quoted reason for support of Charlie Sheen "It's a hit show." It's much better than "deep down he's a bunny."
Charlie called and I take him at his word...deep down he IS a bunny.
Tough being Charlie's bf. I tell -- urge -- him to stay quiet, but he says I have no idea how tough that is till I've walked a mile in his whores.
So there's that. BFs? Really?
Seen here with Kelly and his best friend from high school, Regis Philbin announces today that he's leaving his show sometime this Summer.
(Yes, I capitalize seasons. I realize that's not appropriate AP style but I always thought the seasons deserved it, so I do it.)
I say it'll be Kelly's hubby Mark Consuelos who gets the gig. I think ABC/Disney likes him and they seem to be a solid enough couple to hold it together. Plus, they already work together so ... well, we'll see.
Others mentioned just don't make sense, those people have other jobs on other coasts or just don't have the time.
More as we get close to the end. Photo, btw, is a still from a banking commercial Regis and Kelly shot with an Abe Lincoln impersonator.
I think I know why Simon Cowell is a constant source of fascination to Americans, or at least THIS American. I think it's because Cowell makes an enormous amount of cash and no one quite understands why.
If you ask people what Cowell does, they'lll tell you he's a judge on a talent competition. Go a little deeper, ask them why he's judging singers. What qualifies him to decide who becomes a pop music star? Does he sing? Write music? Read music even?
Looking in from outside, it seems Simon Cowell is a guy who gets by on saying yes or no to people. But that's not all he does. Richard Rushfield has a new book, American Idol: The Untold Story (goes on sale tomorrow at your local bookseller or Amazon, see below) about the show and the people behind it, which you can pick up by clicking directly below.
Newsweek has an excerpt from the book posted and after the jump, read a little taste of that, or click over to Newsweek now and read the whole thing. It's a look into the relationships that created the show, the people who were left back when the show took off and friction caused when money is involved.
Continue reading "Simon Cowell Watchers, Here's the Insider Stuff You've Been Wanting to Know" »
Here he is, girls. More pics of Biebs at the Globes rehearsal day at this link to the Golden Globes site.
Note that the background of the image indicates that Justin will be sitting at a table with Halle Berry. I predict that by 7:00 pacific time there will be a rumor on Twitter that Halle is pregnant with his baby and five minutes after that girls on Twitter will make death threats on Halle.
Because it's 2011 and that's the world we live in.
Okay, enough Bieberpimping. Click over the jump for my TV predictions. I'm never right, but it doesn't stop me from trying.
Continue reading "Video -- In Which I Attempt to Predict Golden Globes TV Winners & BIEBER NEWS" »
Not to worry, I've got it handled for you. Above is an image of my living room so I'm all set, but some of you might not have this set up.
First off, if you're watching football on the east coast today just dismiss this whole post. I can't figure out your optimal viewing strategy if you're committed to a show that has no definitive end time.
The big event is of course the Golden Globe Awards on NBC despite the kerfuffle with Dick Clark Productions and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and between the HFPA and the guy who came forward with allegations of wrongdoing in the organization.
By the way -- and you know I'm serious here because I haven't used the acronym btw -- it cracks me up that once again someone has come forward with allegations against HFPA. Duh, of course there's wrongdoing, we've kinda known that for a long time. Pia Zadora, remember? Sure these people may be lining their pockets and they are also hardly journalists and certainly not at the level of the the people who do that job here in the US. But the Globes is a Teflon brand, nothing sticks and nothing stays, and I think the reason is twofold: 1) The Globes ceremony itself a party-riffic event perfect for TV that NBC wants to hold on to without injury to it, and 2) No one really cares enough to do anything about the irregularities and the allegations of corruption.
Here is the west coast we are enjoying our second year of watching the Globes live (previously only the Academy Awards aired live here), which is fortunate because there is so much more tube to watch tonight.
More after the jumperoo, with clips.
Continue reading "Lotsa Clips -- So Much TV Tonight You Need a Professional Schedule Consult?" »
This is not Frankie Muniz rehearsing his lines from an upcoming episode of Breaking Bad where he reunites with former TV dad Bryan Cranston.
I repeat, this is NOT that. So what the fuck is it?
He tweeted this pic with the words "I'm starting to go crazy in the studio! Step back MOFO!!!"
Studio? I hear he dabbles in music, which btw is a great way to waste your "I worked my entire childhood and now I'm gonna go nuts" money.
Seriously, dude? Does this make you a big man? Because you can't even bring yourself to type the word "motherfucker" with your phone and that's kinda lame.
This week, could we just lay off the guns a little? Till Monday, anyway?
Why? Because watching television should not be this painful.
I had the screener for this but after watching the first episode and a few minutes of the second (which I realize you haven't seen and I'm gonna try not to spoil) I knew my headline would read something like this. I didn't want to dissuade sampling, though, so I didn't post till today.
There is almost nothing wrong with the execution of this idea ... it's shot well and solidly written with some great performances, most notably from lead Holt McCallany as a former heavyweight champion facing much bigger challenges.
My problem with the show is that the very likeable lead character in Lights Out is heading toward, well, big big major amounts of shit.
He's a guy who walked away from a fight career because his wife feared for his life, but he was particularly ready to go. There's unfinished business between him and everyone; the guy who took his title, his manager dad (Stacy Keach) who had him pull back in the final round of his last fight and not go for the knockout which cost him the title, his brother who he's put through business school and who has dropped the ball, the wife who's gone on to fulfill her dreams in medical school and leaving him behind.
He's a man who's peaked rather early in his life and now finds himself emasculated to some extent, he's experiencing mental deficits from getting hit in the ring, will more than likely descend into dementia in the next couple years, he's got no money, his support system is failing him and his brother has pushed him into a very bad decision that will result in his downfall, which for me started about ten minutes into the second episode when the cops come a-callin'.
(And, btw, that bad decision and what happens during how that plays out? Would never happen in real life. Famous people, like a former boxing champ, know that they can't work as muscle for a bookie because they are instantly recognizable. It's actually the only hole in the pilot script, though it's an awfully big one.)
I just don't want to see this happen to someone I like. I don't want to spend 13 hours in the next 13 weeks living this with this very well-meaning guy and the what's about to happen to him. At the end of the day one has to decide what kind of television one wants to watch between dinner and sleep.
The producers of this show have done a great job. For a lot of people this show will be very compelling. Ultimately, however, I am choosing to spend my leisure time doing something less painful.
Finally, let me say that the producers did an excellent job casting the guy who plays Showtime boxing analyst Steve Farhood. The guy looked and sounded just like him. Damn, where'd they find that guy?
Very well done show. I'll pass. Respectfully, though.
From the Discovery Channel press site, today:
Job Requirements: Must enjoy exotic, waterfront locations, buff bodies in bathing suits and having the bejesus scared out of you. Looking delicious in a wet suit is a plus. Sense of humor required.
Salary: Chump Change (we spent an hour coming up with that!)
Benefits: Lots and lots of insurance and some great dentistry, naturally.
Job Description: Discovery Channel is looking for a fun‐loving, fast‐swimming personality to be the first ever Chief Shark Officer for this year's Shark Week. As we circle in on our 24th year, Shark Week has captured the zeitgeist that began with Jaws and is synonymous with summer. As the CSO, you will be required to swim with sharks (accompanied by professionals, of course), attend Shark premiere parties in NY, LA and Miami (accompanied by celebrities, of course) and help spread the word about the world's most misunderstood predator.
Please forward resumes, audition tapes and blood type to Discovery Channel c/o Eilzabeth Hillman.
Her email address is: elizabeth_hillman@discovery.com.
Sounds like what Craig Ferguson did this past year for Shark Week. Does this mean there will no longer be a celebrity host? Does anyone know?
This is a great deal from Amazon. How great?
Yeah, that great. It's a 51% savings. So go, buy. It's such a deal, you really should. Click the icon and you'll be transported to that page.
I found the on The Comedy Store's Tumblr blog. I have no idea why it was taken but it pleases me to no end.
So, who has a lederhosen fetish? Anyone? Bueller?
Paul Rudd is the definition of sublime. And Rogen makes that white leather work. Or werk. Or whatever the girls on the runway are saying these days.
Because I love you (yes, you, there in your underwear wiping your nose on your sleeve, I'm talkin' to you).
The episode is embedded after the jump for your viewing pleasure. Also, because I love you (deep, passionate love that includes sonnets but which also requires scented lube) I'm gonna give you a little heads-up about the upcoming Science Channel series An Idiot Abroad, starring the same three people and scheduled for a January 22 premiere.
From what I gather, Merchant and Gervais send Karl Pilkington out into the world and then they sit in a studio with the video shot of Karl and they ... well, they make fun of Karl like they do on the animated HBO show.
But, if you go to YouTube to check out clips of the upcoming Science Channel show, know that in one segment Karl ends up in a tent with someone with facial deformities so severe that I almost threw my laptop against the wall.
Seriously. I'm not kidding. Do not surf the YouTube clips of An Idiot Abroad without first bracing yourself for ... wow, just the ... I can't even describe how I felt looking at that.
Or, if that's something you're into ... click this. Please don't let this be something you're into.
Like I said, the episode of the HBO show is after the jump, enjoy.
Hat tip to Chicago Now's Show Patrol blog.
Continue reading "Watch Here Now!!! The Season Premiere of HBO's The Ricky Gervais Show" »
I've been following the progress of the US version of Shameless for years so you'll excuse me if in the back of my head I don't really quite still believe that it's going to air tonight on Showtime. But it really is, William H. Macy leading a cast of unknown kids and Emmy Rossum as the drunken patriarch of the Gallagher family who live under the L in Chicago.
It's just that the British version of the show with David Threlfall in the lead seemed undoable on US television. And that's why it's on Showtime, because it really would be completely undoable otherwise, as there's a lot of drugs and drinking and sex and generally untoward behavior.
Your show summary from Showtime.com:
Frank Gallagher is full of Irish love and pride for his large brood, but that's about it. He's usually partying or passed out drunk, mom is AWOL, and the kids are basically raising themselves. When we first meet the Gallaghers of working-class Chicago, the three oldest kids are all hot and bothered, in one form or another. Fiona is being pursued by Steve, a rich player with a flashy car and a loose credit card. Lip is tutoring neighbor Karen, who repays him in kind. And Ian is grappling with homosexuality, and being grappled by a co-worker. Meanwhile, the electric bill is due, there's no money, and someone has to look after baby Liam... It's one day at a time for this crazy dysfunctional family, but their mutual love and support for each other always see them through.
Heartwarming tales of debauchery? I'm totally in. Do you have twenty minutes? Wanna start watching the show right now? Just click here and you can.
Before Shameless at 10 there's the debut of the comedy Episodes at 9:30, which is getting much better notices than I thought it would after I watched the first two episodes. This is the series about a British writer-producer team (Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig) who sign a deal to bring their highly acclaimed show about a British boys school to the US, which you might think is a good thing for them until they find out their lead actor will be Matt LeBlanc, who is neither British nor suitable for the role.
The big problem with the pilot episode is there's almost no LeBlanc, though that's remedied in the second ep and it certainly helps to have him on screen more. He's quite good here. I imagine it's difficult to find the proper tone in playing one's self or even a version thereof (a version, btw, that reportedly has very large penis). It's quite the risk, playing yourself on a TV show where everyone else has character to hide behind.
(Oh yes, this is one of two characters on TV -- the other being Cougar Town's Andy -- for which one of the character traits is an unusually enormous member.)
The episode airing tonight (9:30 eastern) will set you up for what's to come though it's a scene you've seen in the past -- network exec with little regard for the medium (John Pankow) meets our lead couple at a party, blows smoke up their asses about how he loves their show (that he's never seen) and somehow it builds to a series deal and then the two get railroaded into handing LeBlanc their lead role played by Julian Bullard (Richard Griffiths from The History Boys) in the British version of their show.
Stick with Episodes and I'm confident it will deliver. Watch a behind the scenes thing from Showtime by clicking here and an interview with LeBlanc at this link.
The series comes with a great pedigree, it's from out writer-producers (and real-life couple) David Crane (Friends) and Jeffrey Klarik (Mad About You), and Showtime has done well in the half hour category with a bunch of female-led series, so I'm very very hopeful.
There's lots of new TV tonight, I'm going with the shows that I think will stick around.
Oh, there's a new season of Californication starting at 9 eastern. I'm not a fan, but have at it if you are. A side of Duchovny (I usually ask for mayo).
Where are you monday night at 9 eastern? In front of your TV, I hope
Pee-wee Herman and Anderson Cooper, Monday on AC360. They'll be discussing Arizona governor Jan Brewer's defunding of the state's transplant program and ... oh, sorry there's been a change, they'll talk about his return to the stage and the filming of that show for HBO.
They kind of have the same smile, don't they?
Yeah, they're on a roll. Wallander, Sherlock, Framed and now this.
Starting Sunday on PBS (check your listings) their Masterpiece franchise brings what you might think is a familiar story for them about the monied Brits who live in those giant Victorian homes and the people who serve them. You can see them at the top of this post, the privileged on top and the servants below, or upstairs and downstairs if you will.
There you go, it clicked in. And, if it did click in your probably know PBS and the BBC are bringing you a new Upstairs Downstairs later this year (and with both Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh (right), 34 years after originating their characters).
The confusion is natural, of course, and the similarities haven't gone unnoticed by those involved in the productions. Like ...
The two shows have already had a skirmish in the press, with Jean Marsh (from Upstairs Downstairs) making disparaging remarks about Downton Abbey that provoked a response from Hugh Bonneville (from Downton) on the social networking website Twitter.
The spat started with remarks made by Marsh in a BBC interview to promote Upstairs Downstairs - of which she is also the co-creator - in which she suggested that the idea for Downton Abbey had been lifted from her show.
“I think we were all surprised,” said Marsh. “The new Upstairs Downstairs had been in the works for about three years. We were trying to sort out … 40 years of rights and then it also started – Downton Abbey – in the Edwardian era, which Upstairs, Downstairs did. So it might be a coincidence and I might be the queen of Belgium.”
Bonneville then posted on his Twitter feed: “I thought Jean Marsh was bigger than that – running down Downton while bigging up Upstairs? Downton never downed Up when upping Down. The consensus seems to be that Ms Marsh needs a big huggle in the friendly chair. Last thing we need is a face-off at the Albert memorial.”
Dra-a-a-ma!!! Although when it's Brit v. Brit it always sounds more composed than when we Yanks get at each other.
If you need some Brit v. American drama however, we got a bit of that, too. You know how I love the Daily Mail, the UK paper that has never met a rumor they didn't love enough to throw on the front page? They came out with a piece that basically said that Downton would run in an edited form in the US because Americans are too impatient and stupid to sit through the whole thing. Not true of course, it's shorter because ITV is a commercial station, and all edits have been made by the producers of the series and not PBS. And as you'll see if you click over to the Mail article there has already been a correction.
Anyhow, back to the drama on the screen ... Upstairs Downstairs, currently airing on BBC One in the UK doesn't reach us via PBS until April so back to Downton. Instead of reinventing the wheel I'll link to a bunch of stuff I found online, and that's after the jump.
Continue reading "Preview Video, Links -- On a Roll, PBS Masterpiece Imports ITV's Downton Abbey" »
No, they're not the glasses above, those are Prada frames (just for illustration).
However, at CES there's a company called Pixel Optics (their website) that are making these glasses which you can find out more about by clicking below and watching the clip.
Very cool stuff, especially for those of us just getting into progressive lenses.Check out the PC Magazine feature written by Lance Ulanoff, who is the guy in the clip demonstrating the glasses.
Hat tip to Grayson Thagard, the Headline News producer I follow on Twitter.
C'mon porn industry, the thing just writes itself after you title it Boners.
Forensic anthropoligical sexologist Virtuous Brendon works at the Madisonian Institute where she identifies bodies based on the size, shape and alignment of those bodies' rigor mortis-caused boners.
She teams up with an FBI agent names Stall (not Booth but Stall) and they solve sexy crimes along with the Madisonian staff ... chock full of hot chicks, horny interns and ... Hodgins. It's always fun to have a conspiracy theorist around, imagine his take on Brendon's vaunted penile vascularity theories.
I haven't quite figured out the science part of it. I would imagine if it got to the production stage the company would just hire a technical consultant, someone who could tie together all the loose ends re: rigor mortis, penises ...
I haven't seen any other XXX parodies of TV shows (they're not as big a deal in the gay porn biz) but I'm sure there's not a high threshold for scientific accuracy.
Still, I'm sure that this XXX parody (call me, Vivid Pictures) would give a whole new meaning to the Gormogon storyline, and would probably limit his diet to one specific bodypart.
Hey, maybe this SHOULD be a gay XXX parody.
Porn Parody 3Dots -- There are a lot of them, but it seems most of the XXX parodies come from a company called New Sensations and you can click this to see their site (certainly not suitable for work) ... At YouTube you can see some trailers from the company, click this or this for that ... The most noted actress in this sub-genre might be Lisa Ann, star of Naylin' Palin, NSFW website at this link, and she might also be the one woman out there who could pull off the role of Virtue Brendon.
Bones 3Dots -- One of the joys of finding a show later in its run is having lots of episodes available to watch. Between my local Fox station, WGN and TNT I've managed to consume about a third of the series since about Thanksgiving ... As difficult as it is to keep timelines straight (you might not wanna try this with Lost, for example (which is also the reason you don't see stations clammoring for that show in syndication) it's much easier with a procedural, albeit a procedural with prominent character arcs (Zach, for example) ... The one thing about watching Bones on TNT that really pisses me off it that TNT doesn't have the HD version of the show, they just widen out the 4:3 ratio print. That sucks. You shouldn't be able to call yourself an HD channel if you cheap out like this.
The One Thing You Need to Watch Tonight -- I cordially invite you to skip the People's Choice Awards (Latifah, what the hell are you doing involved in this, did they give you a piece of the action?) and enjoy the fine comedies on ABC, or at least the two of them that air after 9 pm, since I don't consider the others fine at all. If I was forced at gunpoint to whittle it down to one show I'll pick Cougar Town every time, which I find much more fun that the also quite good Modern Family. I realize this places me in the minority but I'm used to being there so it's okay.
Yea! We did it. A round of applause, a slap on the back, a toast to our perseverance. In 2010, according to Nielsen we sat on our asses and watched more TV than we ever have.
Woo hoo!
That's right, even with all the distractions of work and family, great books and music, tumultuous world events ... even with all that going on (including the Bieberpocalypse) we topped our record number of hours per week of viewing.
Americans watched more television than ever in 2010, according to the Nielsen Company. Total viewing of broadcast networks and basic cable channels rose about 1 percent for the year, to an average of 34 hours per person per week. The generation-long shift to cable from broadcast continued, but subtly, as the smallest of the big four broadcast networks, NBC, still retained more than twice as many viewers as the largest basic cable channel, USA.
Lucky for NBC that they also own USA Network, huh? At least the cable channel nipping at their heels is a "sister network."
Of course I take issue with this number. First of all, I watch so much more TV than that. Secondly, I contend that the average American might spend that amount of time in front of TV sets that are turned on, but I don't think they're always watching.
Another stat from Nielsen this year had to do with how many of us are watching TV and browsing the net at the same time and it's a lot us and growing (.pdf file, new window). I've tried watching TV with my laptop in front of me and I invariably have to hit the rewind button on the DVR as I get sucked in by my Twitter timeline. I don't get how people do it.
Of course there are so many more program choices these days it's no wonder viewership is up. The shame of it is that there's much less chance that show you wanna talk about around the watercooler at the office was seen by any of your friends. That kind of thing used to bring people together and that doesn't happen as much anymore.
After the jump are five things I particularly liked that happened in or on TV this past year ... I was too lazy to do this when everyone else did needed some time to ruminate.
Continue reading "My High Five -- Notes on 2010, Our Most Television-Watching Year in History" »
Sounds good, huh? Well you can't touch you can only look and listen. I oughta smack you for what you're thinking, wayward straight guy who's clicked over inadvertantly to one of the gayer TV blogs.
She's my pal Carrie Keagan. No, you can't have her number. You can watch her on VH1 every weekday morning at 10 am, though. She'll fill you in on cool stuff in music, on TV and at the movies and have some fun with the people who make that stuff.
Regulars here know Carrie from her work for No Good Television (like, f'rinstance, her sitdown with the stars of Tron: Legacy which you can watch by clicking this link). She's also a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. and her experience in the music industry just about qualifies her as a hotter, blonder more female Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly.
And with a much bigger rack. Ken's boobies just don't compare. Sorry Ken.
As I format this post I'm watching the end of the Bette Midler HBO Special The Showgirl Must Go On. Maybe Bette has lost a half a step over the years but it certainly doesn't bother me. I wasn't tuning in for the swift stage crosses and footwork anyway. In fact I don't even expect her to sing the hits in the keys they were written in as long as there's some heart behind it, and that's one thing Ms. M has in spades. Great show, you gotta love her ... Coming this Saturday night to BBC America is an episode of Graham Norton with guests Cher and Dawn French, both of whom have considerable gay fan bases worldwide, preview clips by clicking here and here ... I was particularly distressed about a couple of omissions from the Golden Globes and SAG awards for outstanding performance by an actress in a drama. No Bones star Emily Deschanel? Are they high? And what of Anna Torv's dual role on this year's Fringe? Watch these very strong eps from this season (Bones here) (Fringe here) and see for yourself.
A new season of Triple D? I'm so in. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network returns tomorrow at 9 eastern on the Food Network and fans of the show in the Sacramento area should be on notice that your fave haunts will be featured, including the Golden Bear (their website here). Monday's episode also marks what I believe is the first appearance of tofu (yes, tofu) that I've seen. I'm skeptical, but I'll be tuning in.
See you tomorrow.
And geek Romeo and geek Juliet are still up a tree? Seriously? That's some crazy wormhole-appearing, dinosaur traveling, cast disappearing British sci-fi show, huh?
So, if you're either absolutely crazy or the American version of Ty Davies you've been camped out in front of the tube for a couple days already watching EVERY SINGLE EPISODE SINCE 2005 of Doctor Who back to back, including the 2009 specials and a 90-minute version of Planet of the Dead (Kylie is NOT my favorite companion).
Since you're already there and probably sticking fast to whatever furniture you're sitting on why not stick around of the series four premiere of Primeval, the best show about prehistoric beasts sliding through wormholes to wreak havoc on British citizens since, well, since series three of Primeval, which happened so long ago now that I really don't quite remember much more than Abby and Conor (seen in the image above) getting caught up that tree with nasty creatures snapping at their naughty bits, possibly before those naughty bits snap at each other.
And btw, can that happen this series? Can poor ol' geeky guy Conor get some? Because it's been, it seems, a long long time. I don't even think Caroline from the second series came across, did she? Wasn't she just a tease?
Other new cast members were discussed in a previous post, this link.
There are prequel webisodes to get you up to speed as well, linked below, just click 'em and the clips should run right here:
The clips are another way of introducing yourself to the new cast members, have at it.
Blogger, DVR superuser, comedy fan, sci fi guy, occasional period drama enthusiast, newshound ... also at http://www.facebook.com/TVJoe.
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