Author Archives: Jeremy Einbinder
Sharon Osbourne is Leaving America’s Got Talent
After a dispute with NBC involving her son, Sharon Osbourne has decided to quit America’s Got Talent. Obsourne has been with AGT for six years. Her reasons for leaving NBC may be justified, but another change is going to be hard to handle. Sharon Obsourne wasn’t a great judge. She was too lenient with the contestants, even the terrible ones. She always wanted to be nice to the contestants and apologetic to the ones who had no talent. It may not have been reasonable, but it was part of the show. The AGT judge panel thrived on polarity. The other judges’ harsher personas have been at odds with Osbourne for her entire tenure. It was always good television. The classic arguments will be gone. The instinct of telling the men to “behave” will be gone. Howie Mandel is about to become AGT’s longest tenured judge and he has only been on the show for three out of its seven years. There is a huge possibility that a lot of the entertainment value will be gone from the show once Osbourne departs. Of course, it all depends on who replaces her, which has yet to be determined.
Episodes: The Lincolns’ Relationship Slowly Recovers
This week, Episodes was very blunt and was filled with both serious and absurd conflicts. The show opens with Matt entering his house late at night to find his stalker, Labia topless in his kitchen. He is shocked that she even found a way into his house. Labia has a very calm response to Matt’s anger. She is very aware that Matt does not like her, but she does not care. She is just excited to tell him that she made cookies. Labia still thinks of Matt as a childhood crush who kept her spirits up when she had cancer. She uses her cancer as a way to get sympathy from Matt. Matt tries to calm her down somewhat nicely. He explains that she had cancer, but she survived and is now healthy. Under the circumstances, Matt has no problem screaming at her to get out of his house. She then says that she would die for Matt. He acknowledges, almost regrettably, that she did not die. Finally, Matt threatens to call the police. Labia promptly puts her clothes on and leaves. The beginning was not particularly relevant to the rest of the episode, but it did a great job setting up Matt’s bitter attitude that he would have for the rest of the episode.
Episodes: A Stalker, a Trip, and a Misunderstanding
After the end of last week’s Episodes, it looked as though Sean and Beverly’s relationship may be on the mend. However, the show is quick to demonstrate that none of the characters’ relationships are even remotely healthy. Sunday’s episode began with Matt and Sean in a diner as Sean starts staring at an attractive female customer behind them Sean urges Matt not to turn around. Of course, Matt proceeds to do so immediately. He then notices that the woman is Labia, his internet stalker. He can’t afford to be nonchalant as Sean asked. Instead, he is “very chalatnt.” When Matt confronts Labia aggressively, Labia mentions that Sean and her have been in touch on Facebook. Matt had told Sean to “unfriend” her but Sean doesn’t know how. Labia is weirdly accommodating and explains to Sean how to “unfriend” people. She assured Sean that she would help him remove her as a friend by posting instructions on his Facebook wall.
Sullivan & Son: The 50th Anniversary
Thursday’s episode of Sullivan & Son was enjoyable at times, but very little actually happened. Since the bar seems to be the only major setting, there is hardly any action. Instead, the characters are free to have very stressful conversations. While this leaves possibilities for the characters to have revelations, there is very little effort to move the story forward. Episodes that are full of dialogue can be funny at times, but they can also get boring. Despite the potential for Sullivan & Son to be humorous as well as deeply thematic, exclusively relying on slow moving episodes that are full of stress can be a bad idea.
It is the 50th anniversary of Sullivan & Son and things are getting complicated for Steve and his childhood friend Melanie, known as Mel. It is revealed that Mel’s grandfather originally owned the bar and lost it in a poker game against Steve’s grandfather, Jack. Despite this having nothing to do with Steve, Mel holds a grudge for some reason. Of course this is illogical and Steve had nothing to do with the loss of the bar. Mel acknowledges this and is still mad at Steve. Mel’s acknowledgement of her own hypocrisy is supposed to be funny but it is actually very annoying, There is absolutely no reason for this to be a story. In fact, neither of them were aware of it until Jack brought it to their attention. The fact that it was a plot line shows the drawbacks of relying on one location for an entire episode.
AGT Results Recap: July 25th
Cher Lloyd
Despite the limited success in showcasing true talent on AGT this season, Tuesday night was obviously the best performance night in the quarterfinal rounds. It’s a great thing that America got to see some talent, but it’s a problem when it happens so rarely on a show called America’s Got Talent.
The first result was between Ulysses, Olate Dogs, and David “The Bullet” Smith. While Smith and Olate Dogs have genuine skill, Ulysses is nothing special because most people who have heard television theme songs are able to badly mimic them. His act has never been worthy of a live performance. As for Smith, a human cannonball act may be scary and dangerous, but it is not suitable for Vegas. Out of the three acts, Olate Dogs advanced to the semifinals, which they deserved. These dogs are truly unique and their trainers work extremely hard to get them to a level far above other animal acts.
AGT’s Last Quarterfinal Performances
William Close and the Earth Harp
The 36 acts that have performed during the live shows on America’s Got Talent have been disappointing to say the least. A lot of terrible acts have been through to the Top 48 and even some of the acts that have made it through to the semifinals did not deserve it. I have said from the very beginning that the judges did not find 48 talented acts. They followed protocol anyway. That is, until last night. Tuesday’s show proved two things: some people in America have talent and also that putting them against other people who do not is a bad idea.
David “The Bullet” Smith
There’s no question that David “The Bullet” has a unique ability. However, watching him fly through the air out of a cannon ball can only be done so many times. He got shot out of a cannon ball and landed on a net, just like he did in his audition. There’s no way this could sustain itself as a Vegas show. It’s just one of the acts that could be seen at the circus. Risking one’s life for the public’s amusement has been part of American culture for a long time, but it can get boring.
Episodes Takes A Dramatic Turn
So far this season, Episodes has been enjoyable, but relatively simple. When last week’s episode ended with Merc Lapidus taking a phone call at his own father’s funeral, it’s not surprising that the following episode would be a bit cynical. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t funny. It just got darker than usual. In a way, it’s good for the show. It demonstrates that it can expand its tone. However, those who were looking to laugh without having to think will be disappointed.
The fourth episode of the season opens with Merc and Carole discussing the ratings of Pucks!, which have been steadily declining. This isn’t so much a well directed or well acted scene as much as it is a way to comment that they are in a show about a show. When Carole says that she and Merc are always running into problems with the show’s that are failing, Merc quips rather angrily,”Why don’t we make a show out of it.” This is obviously meant to call attention to the premise of Episodes, but it doesn’t work well. The running joke continues to be the network’s disdain at the success of an unnamed show about a talking dog. It can get a little old, but Episodes’ sense of good and bad television premises should be commended.
John Oliver’s NY Stand Up Show Returns To Comedy Central
John Oliver
John Oliver’s NY Stand Up Show began its third season on Comedy Central last night. John Oliver hosts this show, which features short sets from both established and up-and-coming comedians. It once again succeeded in showcasing one of the barest forms of entertainment. There is something very enjoyable in watching one person share his or her observations in an attempt to make strangers laugh. This is the ultimate form of creative control.
John Oliver is a British comic and is well-known as a correspondent on The Daily Show. As host of this show, it almost seems he wants to be portrayed simply as the opening act. The truth is, he deserves more credit than that. Not only is he funny, but his show gives comedians a chance to gain a larger audience.
Sullivan & Son: Crass, but Pretty Funny
The promos for TBS’s new sitcom, Sullivan & Son seemed crass, stereotypical, and at times cringe worthy. There was very little context, so I really wasn’t sure if I was going to like this or be offended by it. There is a lot of shock value in the show. It is crass, stereotypical, and cringe worthy. It just also happens to be pretty funny. The series opened with two episodes last night that both showed potential.
Steve Sullivan is the son. He is a workaholic corporate attorney on Wall Street who is visiting his family in Pittsburgh for his father’s birthday party. The party is being held at Sullivan & Son, a bar that the Sullivan family has owned for generations. Steve is bringing his girlfriend of 8 months to the party. It is his first time back home since they started dating and she is obviously more serious than he is about the relationship. This type of dynamic seems to really establish Sullivan’s character from the get-go. Steve is portrayed by showrunner and comic Steve Byrne. He is a man who is simply going through the motions of life. He has a “big and important” job (which he has to describe several times throughout the show) and a girlfriend who assumes they are going to move in together. He is following a safe and conventional path, but that isn’t what he wants. In this sense, Steve’s character seems very real as he struggles to grow.
Wait! What's A Dial? 