Blog Archives
CBS Wants You to Have a Good eBag
CBS is giving away episodes of 9 popular shows as a way to say “Thank you for continuing to make CBS America’s Most-Watched Network.” The shows offered are Blue Bloods, CSI:NY, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Good Wife, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii Five-O, and Survivor as well the classic Job Switching I Love Lucy episode and The Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder”. You can download these shows through iTunes, Amazon, or Vudu.
A thank you video featuring LL Cool J, Neil Patrick Harris, and Pauley Perrette can be found on the CBS website.
Previewing NBC’s Fall 2012 Season- Part 2
Every year, countless writers work sleepless nights, most likely putting themselves virtually under house arrest for several months, just for the outside chance of getting their pilot produced for television. Even six shows greenlit for NBC seems like a lot for the upcoming fall season. As discussed in Part 1, considering the network’s limited success producing long-running shows in recent years, the very deliberate effort to introduce new shows concerns me a bit. New shows do tend to interest me, though. I’m relatively young, and there have not been many chances for me to say I was a regular viewer of a really quality, long running television series from start to finish. This year could be my shot.
Animal Practice
Animal Practice revolves around Dr. George Coleman, a veterinarian at Crane Animal Hospital in New York City. The premise is relatively simple: he’s a prestigious veterinarian because of his kindness and care toward animals, but just doesn’t have the same kindness toward people. With that brief description, one might be inclined to chuckle in somewhat of a forced way. “He would be so likable if he cared about people that much, but he doesn’t! How amusing!” Upon watching the trailer, however, it becomes clear that this sentiment is nothing more than a misguided hope in the minds of the show’s creators. Dr. Coleman’s lack of sympathy and utter disinterest for anything human dominates the trailer. From the get-go, after Coleman, with no emotion, explains to a customer that he thinks her cat tried to commit suicide. At that moment, I knew the rest was not going to be promising. As it progresses, his boss calls him a lousy director so he says, “My system may not be perfect, but I help a lot of animals and I meet a lot of girls.” After a beat, he says excitedly, “My system is perfect!” The unsympathetic comedy protagonist has proven successful in past shows, but those kind of characters should be at least somewhat enjoyable. Most importantly, the characters and their surrounding situations should be funny and the attempt at humor seems very forced. Basically, I really don’t see Animal Practice lasting.
20th Anniversary of Johnny Carson’s Last Tonight Show
I know for some people it is hard to believe that Johnny Carson has not hosted The Tonight Show in 20 years. While I am too young to remember Johnny, I am aware of his legacy. As a David Letterman fan, I constantly hear Dave talk about how Johnny is the only true King of Late Night. To remember Johnny and his legacy, here is his appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Johnny even brings his own desk.
Part 2 of the video is after the link.
Howie Mandel Does the Watusi
First things first: Why does this exist? I love Howie Mandel, but “I Do the Watusi” makes no sense. You may hate me for this, but just watch it.
The video is so bad, it’s good or just bad. I can’t decide, if I am laughing because its funny or because I can’t believe I’m watching it. When Howie says, “I’ve got some questions.” I’m thinking the same thing. Only they don’t go off in whatever zany direction inspires, “What do you do if you receive three harpoons from France?” and “What do you do if you find 42 vacation brochures in your underpants?”
I didn’t grow up in the 80s, so I have no idea what would possess Howie to make this video.
Money, you say? Ok, it has to be money.
Five Favorite Clips Featuring the Women of SNL
In honor of Kristen Wiig decision to leave Saturday Night Live, I have chosen my five favorite clips featuring the SNL‘s women. This list is very Weekend Update heavy because that is they type of humor I find funny. If you have a favorite SNL Clip that did not make my list, please share it in the comments. I would love to watch it.
5. Weekend Update: Tina Fey Montage- Tina Fey
Tina Fey was fantastic as anchor of Weekend Update. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find a whole sketch on the Internet. While this clip is no where near the funniest, Tina Fey does make a point about scientific research that gets a few laughs.
4. Weekend Update: Jane, You Ignorant Slut!- Jane Curtin
Point/Counterpoint is a classic because of its catchphrase. You just know when Jane Curtin is finished making her point that the first thing out of Dan Aykroyd’s mouth is going to be “Jane, You Ignorant Slut!”
Introducing Our Newest Blogger: Stewart Norton
I have a degree in advertising. Therefore, I enjoy watching the SuperBowl more for the commercials. I am a huge fan of nostalgia, especially everything from 90s Nickelodeon.
Some current shows that I like are The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Family Guy (and the other Fox animated sitcoms), South Park, and anything with Gordon Ramsey.
I also am fond of Nintendo, especially Mario Bros., and Pokemon as well as Pixar and Toy Story.
Weekly TV Update: May 21
Each week we bring you stories from around the Internet that you might have missed.
The Wall Street Journal reports that network “TV Embraces Its Dark Side” with new shows inspired by the success of The Walking Dead and Dexter.
For more news on the upcoming Fall season, check out Philly.com.
Less than a week since Dan Harmon was fired, Community has new showrunners.
Kristen Wiig leaves Saturday Night Live.
The series finale of House is tonight. The Tampa Bay Times has some observations about the show.
Previewing NBC’s Fall 2012 Season- Part 1
Upon hearing that Community got renewed for a fourth season, I was excited, but also a little disappointed in the size of the order. Thirteen episodes means less of a chance of further continuation (six seasons and a movie!), but given the fact that NBC needed room to budget its new shows it wasn’t a surprise. It also got me very curious about the upcoming Fall season.
Most shows produced for network television never see the light of day. A lot of them get cancelled after a few episodes. Some get really bad time slots, others get terrible lead-ins. A lot of times, it’s just a bad show. The point is very few shows get respectable runs, especially in recent years. On NBC, the only truly stellar run in the last 5 years has been The Office, which is clearly on the decline. Not since the ending of Friends could any show on the network truly be considered a “classic”, so there’s a certain degree of skepticism in my mind when there are six shows debuting in the fall and many more set to debut afterwards.
Go On
Lately, Matthew Perry has made a career of less than promising movies and sitcoms that go no more than 15 episodes. It’s just not the same as when he was Chandler. Hopefully that will change because Go On is looking promising.
As Ryan King, Perry portrays a slick, sarcastic sportscaster who, after the death of his wife, is ready to get back to work. However, his boss will not let him back on the air until he goes to group therapy. King’s goal is really just to get back on the air as soon as he can, but it seems that his less-than-caring approach seems to work for him and the group. Perry’s character resorts back to what worked best for Chandler: a tragic backstory and the use of humor as a defense mechanism.
The highlight of the trailer was a sequence of Ryan holding a contest for “Who has the best sob story?”, known as “March Sadness”. With its snarky attitude, a caring story, and what seems like a solid supporting cast for Perry, this show looks like it could last a while. NBC is advertising this series as Matthew Perry’s return. Here’s hoping it’s a bit more triumphant than the last attempt, which was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in 2007.
NBC’s Community Loses Dan Harmon
NBC’s Community officially lost its creator Dan Harmon. Earlier today on his blog, Harmon announced that Sony Pictures Television fired him from his position as showrunner. While Dan Harmon is still a consulting producer, his role with the creative aspects of Community is over.
Head over to Vulture for the full story.
Time magazine’s James Poniewozik has an analysis of Dan Harmon’s impact on Community.
Wait! What's A Dial? 