America’s Got Talent: The Wildcard Show
Todd Oliver and Irving
America’s Got Talent has been filled with disappointment this season, so on a show where the judges bring back 12 eliminated acts, it seems logical that this would be the worse show yet. Strangely, it wasn’t. There were still some sub-par acts, but Tuesday’s wildcard show was a good night overall. It was a shot at redemption and some of the acts made their case quite well. Fortunately, no act was a complete waste of time unlike previous nights.
Spencer Horsman
Spencer Horsman is an escape artist, who was extremely disappointing in his quaterfinal performance. He was behind a blank screen performing his escape, so the audience could not see what was happening. Clearly, he had more potential, so Howard brought him back. Horsman showed his potential this time and has proven himself to be a fantastic act. This time he trapped himself in a glass box and filled it with an excessive amount of wet cement. He was attempting to escape the box before he buried himself alive. He was able to keep the crowd on the edge of their seat because the danger level was higher than ever before. Horsman will be back. Howard made the right decision to reinstate him.
Amy Schumer Shines in Her First Comedy Central Special
An hour of stand up comedy can be hard to sustain, but Amy Schumer certainly did not show it. In her first solo television event, Amy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff, Schumer demonstrated that no matter how inappropriate she was being and no matter how uncomfortable the crowd got, she could still make them laugh. Schumer is a relatively young comic who still seemed to be establishing her identity in show business. On Saturday night, she finally got the chance to be the center of attention and did not disappoint. As the title of the special suggest, the humor is sexually explicit. It may dissatisfy some viewers, but the special clearly solidified Schumer’s audience type.
The special started off slow, but it picked up nicely. Schumer’s comedic style involves a lot of shock value and it is presented in such a way that it’s not always funny as much as it is simply offensive. It all depends on the premise of the joke. The good news is that there’s plenty of humor to make up for the weak points.
Comedian Phyllis Diller Dead at 95
Phyllis Diller died today at 95 years old. We can go on and on about Phyllis Diller being groundbreaking and fantastic. However, The Los Angeles Times sums up the woman perfectly in its article on her death.
Instead of repeating what everyone else is saying, here is an episode of The Phyllis Diller Show with John Astin.
Parts 2 and 3 are after the jump.
Episodes: Beverly Tries Dating Again and Merc’s Job is in Jeopardy
Elliot Salad
In the first season of Episodes, the Lincolns’ marriage fell apart. Throughout this season, their communication has been awkward, yet they certainly bond over work and their mutual disappointment in Matt. As Sunday’s episode opens, Matt wakes up with Labia at his side and immediately puts his hands over his eyes in despair.. His remorse shows that he can show human qualities, but also has a personality that Sean and Beverly feel compelled to chastise repeatedly. Sean, Beverly, and Matt are able to enjoy each other’s company, even though at the main reason is to point out Matt’s shortcomings.
It’s very clear that Matt cannot take control of his own life. Sean goes into Matt’s dressing room and sees that Labia is in the room. He walks out quickly and calls for security, only to have Matt tell him that he brought her into work. Once again, Matt cannot understand the consequences of his actions. Sean jokingly reflects fondly on the memories of Matt ruing the Lincoln’s marriage. Sean and Beverly seem to have a civil and enjoyable relationship within the work setting. It’s been enjoyable to watch the Lincolns’ relationship evolve, but it hasn’t been smooth.
Tribune Stations Go Dark on Cablevision
Last night at midnight, four Tribune Broadcasting stations, two My Network affiliates and two CW affiliates, went dark for Cablevision customers because of a disagreement on retransmission consent fees. The affected stations are WPIX in New York, WPHL in Philadelphia, KWGN in Denver, and WCCT in Connecticut.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cablevision says, “The bankrupt Tribune Co. and the hedge funds and banks that own it, including Oaktree Capital Management, Angelo Gordon & Co. and others, are trying to solve Tribune’s financial problems on the backs of Cablevision customers. Tribune and their hedge fund owners are demanding tens of millions in new fees for WPIX and other stations they own. They should stop their anti-consumer demands and work productively to reach an agreement.”
AGT Results Recap: August 15th
Gabby Douglas hosts with Nick Canon
After one of the worst performance shows of an already disappointing season, twelve acts from YouTube were facing elimination on last night’s America’s Got Talent. Of the 12 acts, only two really deserved to move on to the semifinals. This has been the pattern all season. There was a small chance that AGT would find a star through YouTube who would enter the competition and save the season, but this was unfortunately not the case. Instead, most of the acts that performed on Tuesday night were terrible, which made the results far too easy to predict.
The show opened with host Nick Cannon introducing Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas as a guest host for the hour. She received standing ovation from the audience. It was a bit unnecessary to have Douglas appear on the show and her presence seemed a little awkward, especially when she was asked to read from the teleprompter. Nevertheless, AGT had to try something to attract its viewers since talent has been lacking, but having Douglas on the show just didn’t work.
Cool TV Video Of The Day: Jon Stewart on Crossfire
The following is a clip from the cancelled CNN show, Crossfire. In the video, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart makes an appearance in which he criticizes the very style of the show. Crossfire is meant to be a political debate show. Stewart correctly points out that Crossfire hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala engage in partisan hackery rather than serious political discussion. Stewart said that Crossfire is not a debate show but “political theater” and that Carlson and Begala are wasting an opportunity for serious debate. In turn, the hosts criticize Stewart for his lack of journalistic integrity. Stewart dismisses this, saying that The Daily Show is on Comedy Central rather than a serious news outlet. Watch Stewart tear Crossfire apart in the clip.
Wait! What's A Dial? 