Category Archives: Comedy
FX Brings Us Brand X
Last night, Brand X with Russell Brand debuted on FX. Either I misread the press releases or FX did not make clear the concept of Brand X. I thought it was going to be talk show, possibly along the lines of the short lived Talkshow with Spike Feresten. It wasn’t, but that isn’t a bad thing.
The show is basically a half hour comedy special with a lot of interaction with the audience and Brand’s sidekick, Matt Stoller. If you’re a fan of Brand, you’ll love it. If you hate Brand, Brand X won’t change your mind. If you’re like me, you were somewhere in the middle to begin with and this will leave you on the fence.
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.
Fox Takes New Girl On The Road
New Girl, the Fox sitcom starring Zooey Deschanel, is hitting the road with “The New Girl True American Bus Tour.” The tour will feature the party school bus that Jess borrowed for Schmidt’s birthday and will visit various cities all over the country. At each stop, fans will be able to watch exclusive videos and various New Girl merchandise, such as Jess’s signature glasses and New Girl T-shirts with logos and catchphrases from the show. Some of the catchphrases available on the shirts are “Pink Wine Makes Me Slutty” and “Schmidt Happens.” You will also be able to reenact the New Girl‘s opening theme song in a photo, eat Jess’s cupcakes, and play “douchebag jar” pong for prizes.
The tour is in Atlanta this weekend. Here is the schedule: (Keep in mind the schedule may change.)
FRIDAY, JUNE 22 (ATLANTA)
9:00 – 10:00 AM
Live Appearance on “Good Day Atlanta”
11:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Brewhouse Café
401 Moreland Avenue Northeast
The Emmys Needs to Change Eligibility Rules For Animated Shows
On Monday, Simpsons writer Al Jean wrote a letter to The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences asking them to consider reworking the organization of Emmy nominations. In it, he criticized the lack of recognition for the individual achievements in animation. According to Emmy rules, a show nominated in the animation category cannot also be nominated for a writing award. The Academy’s reason for this is apparently because of the collaborative efforts in animation. If the show so chooses, it can be nominated in the comedy category. Jean took issue with this, citing that NBC’s Community was given a one-time exception to this rule. Because it was a significant format change, it could technically be classified as a standalone special. I saw it and it did not seem like a standalone special to me. Besides, Jean is right. Animation may be collaborative, but so is everything else in television.
This rule seems to ignore the hard work that multiple writers invest into an animated show. Animation is just as legitimate as the live action medium. Of course, it is a newer format, but that should not make it any less respected. The production of an animated series is much harder than that of a live action series. The writing is certainly not any easier. It makes no sense to have to ignore either one of these achievements.
Weekly TV Update: June 18
Former reality show star and son of Sharon and Ozzy, Jack Osbourne is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
On Wednesday, ABC Family will air an all day marathon of Melissa and Joey. Old episodes will air from noon to 8pm with a new episode debuting immediately after.
CBS has ordered a Ryan Seacrest produced pilot based on the popular Zynga game Draw Something. The show will follow in the tradition of Win, Lose or Draw and Pictionary.
MTV has a rundown of five key moments from last night’s True Blood.
USA Today has a synopsis of the second season finale of The Killing, which reveals Rosie Larsen’s killer.
Charlie Sheen Stars in Anger Management Promos
You’ve probably heard that Charlie Sheen is coming back to television with Anger Management, which is based on the movie of the same name. Yesterday, FX released six commercials, each one featuring a punchline from the show. However, they are not really funny because the promos at 10 to 20 seconds each don’t provide any context for the joke.
The first commercial is the longest and doesn’t actually have anything to do with the show, except for the fact that it stars Charlie Sheen as Charlie Sheen. At least he gets in a good, albeit overused, joke in at the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ouFFugNfxU8
Previewing ABC’s Fall Season- Part 2
ABC hasn’t found a hit show since the writers strike of 2007-2008, which dealt a big blow to the network. In the last five years, many of the shows introduced on ABC did not live to see a third season. The new shows introduced at the time of the strike were disrupted and most were cancelled. Now that Desperate Housewives is gone, ABC will have to rely on the untested once again. Below are reviews of three more of its new shows.
Malibu Country
In Malibu Country, Reba McEntire returns to television for the first time since Reba went off the air. This time she stars as Reba Gallagher, a country singer who moves to Malibu with her family after she discovers her husband cheated on her. The trailer had some funny moments and some sentimental ones. It left me wanting Gallagher to succeed. There was great chemistry between Gallagher and her mother, who is played by Lily Tomlin. The rapport for these characters, as well as Gallagher’s kids, seems to work. Gallagher also realizes that her heartbreak can provide great inspiration for a resurgence of her singing career. I don’t know if this show will be hilarious, but it will probably be enjoyable.
Previewing ABC’s Fall Season-Part 1
Lately, ABC tends heavily on its existing lineup. The network may struggle now that Desperate Housewives is gone and Grey’s Anatomy seems past its prime. Recently, ABC’s new shows have caused many midseason replacements to be placed on the schedule early in the season. Many of the replacements were also unsuccessful. The network has added 10 shows to its lineup with 5 debuting in the fall. The other 5 shows will be midseason replacements.
The Neighbors
The Neighbors is a “comedy” that revolves around a suburban family moving into a gated community that turns out to be inhabited by aliens. The show sounds absurd and profoundly stupid to the point that I refuse to believe it is real. No viewer will be able to identify with it and the acting seems sub-par.
TV Shows Get Meta on Facebook
Some really loyal fans of classic shows like Hogan’s Heroes, Mash, Bonanza, and Highway to Heaven made Facebook accounts that are written as though the fictional characters are real people. It gets bizarre, but is also really funny at times.
On Colonel Robert E. Hogan, the following message was posted today.
“Newkirk just told me that the actor who portrayed him on the show about our missions, Richard Dawson, passed away yesterday at the age of 79. R.I.P Mr. Richard Dawson. A truly great actor.”
Don’t think about how meta that is because your brain will hurt. However, I will miss Richard Dawson. He was in a lot of things I grew up watching in reruns, but I digress.
So far Corporal Peter Newkirk is the only other Hogan’s Heroes character that has a page. Other characters that have pages are: (Those with asterisks are regularly updated as are Hogan’s page and Newkirk’s page.)
From M*A*S*H:
*Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce
From Bonanza:
Joe Cartwright
Carmen Sierra Cartwright
From Highway to Heaven:
*Jonathan Smith
Anglophiles Get Out Your Costco Cards
The Costco Connection has an article about some of the British television shows that are now available at Costco’s across the country. As Costco likes to say, not all of the titles are available in every warehouse. Also, this may not be a complete list.
Wait! What's A Dial? 