Author Archives: Jeremy Einbinder
AGT Results Recap: Tuesday July 3
The CMYKs’ Monday Performance
A less-than-stellar crop of acts were facing elimination on last night’s results edition of America’s Got Talent. This whole season has been a disappointment and the performances are not really getting better. Even though four of the 12 acts were advancing, it seemed not even four of them deserved it. Once again, an average act looks fantastic against relatively poor competition. This continues to be the case this season.
The first result featured Michael Nejad, Shanice and Maurice, and Nikki Jensen. It really wasn’t hard to know that Shanice and Maurice would be the ones making it to the Top 24. They were clearly the best of out the three. However, that says very little about their actual talent. They were adequate on a night when Jensen’s singing went downhill and Nejad was horrible. They got lucky this time.
AGT’s First Night of Live Performances: How did they Stack Up?
Edon
America’s Got Talent began its live shows last night and there really wasn’t much to be excited about. This season has clearly been a disappointment. Subpar talent got through Vegas and is now performing for America’s vote. Some of the acts were mildly entertaining, but I don’t know if four of them deserve to go through. Acts that would face a tough elimination against serious talent in past seasons are now simply the best of the mediocre. The show opened with an unnecessary half hour “countdown” with audition footage and outtakes. It served to remind the viewer just how lackluster this season has been. The performances didn’t start until 9pm.
Distinguished Men of Brass
The group performed a marching band style rendition of “Crazy In Love.” Once again, they were sloppy and disorganized. Howie said they had to take it beyond a marching band or a halftime show. Unfortunately for them, the act is pretty much a marching band and not much more. There is no way they can win the competition and I’m surprised they got through Vegas. Then again, the selection in Vegas was never good anyway. This act is not horrible enough to eliminate, but the competition is probably over for them.
Episodes Returns Without the Sophomore Slump
The second season of the Showtime original comedy Episodes premiered on Sunday night and the show continues to be fantastic. The production of a low quality television show generally serves as only a minor plot point, but that’s okay. The main driving force remains the character interaction.
The show opens with a scene of Pucks! being shot. After the scene wraps, Sean and Beverly Lincoln exchange some witty banter and it almost seems like all is forgiven. Then, they say goodbye and head off in separate cars. This was a very cleverly written scene. It kept the viewer guessing and then revealed what appears to be the main conflict of this season: that there is still a struggle for everyone to coexist as colleagues.
The next scene features Beverly and Head of Programming for the network Carole Rance. Beverly still needs to vent about her situation with Sean. The situation is hard for her because it is Sean’s birthday. It is their first one apart and it feels weird to her. Sean has gone from her husband to “some boy who may or may not still like [her].” The interaction between Beverly and Rance is very enjoyable. As much as Beverly hated the idea of Pucks!, she still finds a friend in the process. The relationship is an effective contrast between a neurotic person in crisis and a no-nonsense perspective. Beverly adds that “if [she’s] ever feeling like the craziest person on Earth,” she should have dinner with Rance. The rapport between these two will probably get stronger as the season goes on.
First Season Recap of Episodes
The Showtime original comedy series Episodes is returning for a second season tonight and there’s a lot to look forward to. The first season was excellent. This series follows husband and wife comedy writing team, Sean and Beverly Lincoln. The couple comes to Los Angeles to remake their hit British sitcom Lyman’s Boys. The problem is they lose control of the show along the way. The network retools the premise without their permission.
Assuming the star of their British show will continue to perform the role in America, the Lincolns offer him the part. He is asked to audition anyway in an American accent and fails miserably. With no star lined up, the network goes a completely different direction by getting Matt LeBlanc to play the lead. Instead of following a headmaster at an elite prep school like the original, the U.S. version follows a smooth-talking hockey coach and is retitled Pucks!. The pilot gets worse every day. This show has done a great job of satirizing how difficult it is to work with a television network, but that isn’t what makes the show. It’s the characters’ chemistry.
Epix Announces Comedy Unbound
Comedian Jim Norton
The premium cable channel EPIX has announced a new monthly comedy showcase called Comedy Unbound. The show gives EPIX alumni a platform to perform new specials. The showcase kicks off with Jim Norton: Please Be Offended premiering on tonight. Each special will air on the last weekend of every month.
CEO Mark Greenberg said that the network has had great success with their original comedy specials since its launch and that the network is committed to featuring the most talented comedians today. He wants them to feel free to test boundaries as they please.
Comedian Jim Norton said, “My experience with EPIX has been unlike any other network. I’ve worked closely with the EPIX team throughout the entire process, including promotion, which is an incredibly rare luxury for a performer.” Other comedians feel the same way.
Comedy Unbound will also feature Kevin Smith, Austrailian stand-up Jim Jefferies, and Ben Stiller. Sherri Shephard, Eddie Griffin, and Lewis Black will also perform specials. The show will air new showcases on the last weekend of every month.
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Censorship on Broadcast Channels
The Supreme Court recently ruled in further policing the content on broadcast television, saying the the Federal Communications Commission has standards for indecency that are too vague. This essentially means that the FCC is being asked to place more specific restrictions on TV’s content. Network television stations are only fined after something is deemed indecent. They do not need to be further censored and deciding what should be censored after the fact is unfair. Also, censoring network television at all isn’t needed.
In this day and age, when free expression is so valued and uncensored content is so readily available, a move like this seems counterproductive. An instance known as a fleeting expletive or a fleeting image has happened many times in recent history. This excuses accidental indecent material on live television. The exception no longer exist. Janet Jackson’s well-known “wardrobe malfunction” and cursing on live award shows will no longer be protected, even if accidental. Any nude scene, such the one in a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue, will now face harsher penalty.
Anger Management Needs Therapy
Charlie Sheen as Charlie Goodson
Charlie Sheen got his shot to return to television and it’s already not working out. Anger Management opened with two episodes on Thursday night and there wasn’t really much chance it would be a huge success. An FX comedy is probably not enough to fix a disgraced career and the type of actor Sheen is just seems unappealing. After two episodes, it’s certain this is going to be a failure. The fact is the show could not have been any worse. There was not one moment worthy of laughter for the entire hour.
Sheen stars as Charlie Goodson, an anger management therapist who has anger issues himself. This should actually be treated as a serious conflict and the fact that it is portrayed comically just makes it seem wrong. Of course, comedy seeming wrong would be okay if it was funny and innovative. This was neither. This was just boring. The laugh track only made it worse.
Game of Thrones Alters Bush’s Head
The Bush Head Before and After Alterations
After the controversy surrounding the use of a mask depecting former President Bush’s head, the HBO series Game of Thrones has made some changes After HBO pulled the episode and stopped DVD production. The producers then apologized saying it was out of necessity and that they had to use the heads available. Now that the story went viral, the production team has altered the George W. Bush mask. It’s chin, nose, and face are now considerably smaller.
The changes to the mask may not erase the inappropriate mistake that the Game of Thrones staff made, but it is at least a step in the right direction. By altering the mask, the show did the right thing in trying to make amends. It acknowledged its mistake. Of course, the staff should not have made the mistake in the first place but at least it was handled with some grace.
For those who are aware of who the mask originally depicted and were offended, changing the mask may not help because the damage has been done. Using the mask of a former president to depict a beheading will always be inappropriate, but trying to alter the head was the right thing to do. The mistake will still be remembered, but so will the correction.
Did HBO and the Game of Thrones do enough?
AGT Asks Viewers to Standby in Vegas
The All Ways
I didn’t know what to expect for Wednesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent. On the one hand, the first night of Vegas performances were terrible. I’ll never understand why the judges were willing to let 25 of the acts go to New York. On the other hand, Tuesday’s episode proved that the show is capable of getting better. Day three in Vegas was mixed. Some acts were impressive and some acts were a disappointment but none of the acts were amazing. The meager selections of The Top 48 this season leave a lot to be desired.
The magic acts were first. Magicians have never been great on the show and now they are definitely below average. Hawley Magic started with a cheap looking levitation trick, but made it through anyway. The most impressive act of this category was Jarret and Raja, but that is not saying much. The magic acts this season are for the most part unexciting. They have never been great, but even compared to the sub-par acts this season has had, the standard of magic is low.
AGT’s Second Night in Vegas
Tom Cotter
I was really not looking forward to Tuesday’s America’s Got Talent. After a very disappointing showing on Monday, I didn’t really have any expectation that it would get better. Fortunately, I was wrong. Tuesdays performances were not great, but it was a considerable improvement compared to these awful last few weeks.
The show opened with the magic category. First up was mind reader Eric Dittelman. He was entertaining in his initial audition, but also very intimate. His act seemed a bit small for Vegas. It still might be. As the judges agreed, he’s not a great showman. Nonetheless, overall he was impressive. At this point, the show was already far better than the first night in Vegas. Next up was one of my favorite acts, escape artist Nate Horseman. He was a bit better in his initial audition, but watching him escape from a glass box underwater was still exciting to watch. On the plus side, there might have been higher risk for serious damage, but escaping from a straightjacket is still more exciting. Both Dittelman and Horseman will get a chance to further prove themselves in New York.
Wait! What's A Dial? 