(S02E06) 'You can't sugarcoat that turd.' -- The Great Herrmann to Ned
Magic and the macabre, a recipe for a perfect Pushing Daisies episode. This one also had the virtue of Fred Willard doing a terrific guest star turn as 'The Great Herrmann.' Considering how misused Fred has been on some other shows (Back to You last season, for instance), it was refreshing to see him really shine here. His heart-to-heart with Ned, making Ned feel uncomfortable emotions because of the memories of his father's abandonment, was a high point of the show.
Ned accepts an invitation to watch his half-brothers -- Maurice and Ralston, the family Ned didn't know he had -- at The Conjurer's Castle. Their act is called 'Two for the Show,' and they're actually illusionists. Later on, their sleight of hand expertise helps solve the case.
The cable network is developing a new documentary series (Link NSFW) about the world's oldest profession. They're looking for call girls to live in a Hollywood mansion and have cameras film their every, um, move. Not sure why this is called a documentary and not just a reality show. If it's a true documentary then I don't think they'd go the Big Brother/Real World route; they'd just film their real lives and what happens to them. Seems the show is having a hard time finding cast members.
There's no title for the series yet, but I have a few suggestions.
19 Nov 2008 06:03:00 | Bob Sassone | americas next top model,carson daly,charlie rose,colbert,conan obrien,craig ferguson,criminal minds,csi ny,dirty sexy money,jon stewart,kimmel,knight rider,late night talk shows,law and order,leno,let | Comments
Fans might remember the original TV show Cupid, which starred Jeremy Piven long before Entourage made him a household name and he won a bunch of Emmy awards. It was about a seemingly ordinary guy who might just have been the magical guy who gets lovers together (or maybe he was just crazy). There's a new version coming to ABC from Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas, and the trailer for the show is after the jump.
This one stars Bobby Cannavale, and it seems to be...quirkier than the original? Not that the original wasn't quirky, but there was something very down to earth about it. This one seems like it might be forcing that quirkiness. I'm not sure if it's going to be a comedy, a drama, or the dreaded dramedy, so I'll throw it in both categories. It has a good cast though.
Studio 60 fans will recognize Sarah Paulson. I'm sure her character will be just as beloved in this show as she was in that one.
19 Nov 2008 04:05:00 | Bob Sassone | americas test kitchen,challenge,cnbc,cooks country,featured,fine living network,five shows you should be watching,food network,pbs,spike,suze orman,unsolved mysteries,whatever martha | Comments
I think that in the most grossly general way, TV shows can be separated into three groups: the shows that get a ton of viewers and everyone knows about (American Idol, Two and a Half Men,Lost, etc), shows that don't get quite as many viewers but are well-known anyway (30 Rock, Burn Notice, Mad Men, The Shield), and a third category of shows that are more niche. They're probably on cable or public television and may even be on at odd times. They have their fan base, but a lot of people probably don't even know they exist.
That's what this list is, the five shows that I've been enjoying lately, away from the more mainstream shows that I watch every week (The Mentalist, 30 Rock, Lost, Mad Men, Burn Notice, Chuck, Heroes, The Simpsons, 60 Minutes). They're quirky, interesting, and they're probably shows you should check out too.
The series, titled The Middle, centers on a family in the Midwest, and Heaton will play the mom. I know, that's a really generic description. I might as well say Heaton will play a human being in a comedy that will feature humor and talking.
Ricki Lake was originally cast in the role when the show was first developed a couple of years ago, but things changed later when the network wanted Heaton in the lead role and held the show until a deal with Heaton was finalized. That means the show has been on hold since even before Heaton starred in the short-lived FOX comedy Back To You with Kelsey Grammer. A lot of people thought that show would come back for a second season since it got OK reviews and had two big names attached. But FOX canceled it and now Heaton has a new job.
Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor is history, the great John Glover is no longer chewing the scenery, and the last few seasons seemed to stretch the 'Young Man of Steel' concept about as far as it could go. If you're like me, you stopped DVR-ing Smallville even before last season's dismal Kryptonite gum episode, 'Hero,' which brought the show's penchant for product placement to an all time low. But, for me, Smallville has always been like a Quarter Pounder value meal from McDonalds -- cheesy, full of fat and empty calories, but wholly familiar and comforting. That's probably why I tuned in to watch this season's opener back in September, and I'm glad I did.
19 Nov 2008 01:12:00 | Brad Trechak | social networking,SocialNetworking,World Wrestling Entertainment,WorldWrestlingEntertainment,WWE,WWE Universe,WweUniverse | Comments
Usually known for their violent soap opera on television and pay-per-view, World Wrestling Entertainment has quietly launched their own social networking site called WWE Universe.
The article mentions that they already have 200,000 members without spending any money on advertising. Well, they have two shows weekly which have among the biggest audiences on cable television. One casual mention on those shows and they get advertising without spending any additional budget. Ditto for mentioning it on their website, which is one of the most popular destinations on the Internet.
(S05E08) What is Foreman's role in House's little kingdom? From the deep recesses of my dusty brain I recall a conversation he had with Cuddy that his job was to be some sort of monitor to make sure House didn't, you know, rip the lungs out of a live patient just to make sure they were really and truly pink and healthy. But, to be honest, I haven't seen much monitoring going on over the last few episodes.
I have seen lots of sitting and moping and an all-around indecisiveness in Eric since he returned to Princeton-Plainsboro. Maybe he was regretting the decision he made, maybe he was still trying to learn from the feet of his mentor, or maybe he was reliving his past life as suicidal County General doc Dennis Gant from ER. That may have changed this week as, finally, he decided to branch out on his own.
19 Nov 2008 00:02:00 | Mike Moody | bill nye,BillNye,dave foley,DaveFoley,david hewlett,DavidHewlett,sci-fi,scifi,stargate,stargate atlantis,StargateAtlantis | Comments
Do you know what a dilithium crystal is? Ever use the term 'cosplay' when discussing your weekend plans? Own more than two non-Star Wars action figures? If you answered 'Affirmative!' to any of these questions, then you'll be staying home this Friday night, because you're a nerd. It's cool. That means you'll be able to catch this week's ep of Stargate Atlantis, with guest stars Dave Foley, Bill Nye the Science Guy and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. All nerds, by the way.
Kids in the Hall vet Foley plays a professional rival of Dr. McKay (David Hewlett), who invents an anti-global warming device that, instead of ending global warming, almost kills everybody at a swanky party, including Nye and DeGrasse Tyson. Not intrigued? Gateworld says there might be a scene with Jewel Staite stuck in a giant freezer. I know. It's a good show.
18 Nov 2008 23:33:00 | Jane Boursaw | abc,charlie gibson,CharlieGibson,good news,GoodNews,news,nightly news,NightlyNews,spirit of america,SpiritOfAmerica,world news with charles gibson,WorldNewsWithCharlesGibson | Comments
I'm almost afraid to watch the news anymore. Let's face it - there's awful, horrible, tragic news everywhere, and most of the time, that's what the networks focus on. Are they TRYING to get us all depressed? Because it's working!
'Even with the economic crisis and the problems that affect so many people, we're trying to show that people can make a difference, both big and small,' said World News executive producer Jonathan Banner.
There's a real problem brewing for the Daytime Emmys. The annual broadcast which has been switching off from year to year between ABC and CBS, may not make it to prime time because CBS has decided to skip its turn...and ABC is not ready to step up and take on the award show.
To some this is simply a symptom of the decline of interest in daytime dramas, which dominate the awards. If you check out my post from last year's show, my assessment is not that the broadcast is the problem, but rather it's the nominations. There are too many repeat winners, too many actors who are overlooked in the nominating process, and too much sameness. The Daytime Emmys problem starts with the awards, not the show.
Still, what about the foreseeable future and the 2009 awards -- will they be shown on TV?
I went to see Quantum of Solace over the weekend anxious to see the second Daniel Craig iteration as James Bond, and had the chance to see the big screen full trailer for J.J. Abrams' re-imagining of Star Trek. Of the latter, I'd be very skeptical. After reading many of Abrams comments --like 'I've never been a fan of Star Trek' -- my Trekkie (not Trekker) heart fears that the Lost/Alias creator had bungled the ST that I know so well.
So, now that I've seen the trailer, I'm even more concerned. Oy vey, what has Abrams done to the Trek universe? The trailer looked more generic sci-fi that ST to me. And where was the iconic music? Why was Kirk using his middle name; I don't think he ever did that on the TV series!
J.J. addressed the media and shared some clips and information -- but no photos -- of the feature which won't be hitting theaters till May 8, 2009. I'm a little more relieved by the description of the scenes. Here's the gist of what they're about:
(S01E08) Maybe I'm just in a weird mood, but tonight's episode was heartbreaking. Seeing Walter go back into the mental facility and have to spend the night wondering if he'd be stuck in there again -- it just made my heart ache for him. I didn't really get the hallucinations he had of seeing himself in various places, though. Maybe just his mind playing tricks because of the intense emotional state he was in ... ?
There are so many things that happened in this episode that brought to mind a lot of thoughts and questions:
Blair Underwood is extremely sexy. Admit it: male or female, gay or straight, no matter what your 'type' is, there's just something about him.
Playing the mysterious Simon Elder on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money -- not to mention past screen-steamers like Jonathan Rollins on L.A. Law, Miranda's boyfriend Dr. Robert on Sex and the City and New Adventures of Old Christine's hunky teacher Mr. Harris -- it's no wonder Underwood ranks so high on the TV's 50 Hottest TV Hunks -- Ever countdown over at AOL Television.
Underwood dished to us about his love for Donald Trump's reality TV show, his Barack Obama connection and what kind of trouble is coming up on Dirty Sexy Money.
(S07E12) 'How much memory does that thing got?' - Vic
One down and one to go.
Victor Samuel Mackey. Hard to believe, that after seven seasons, we didn't even know Vic's full name. If you think about it, there's a lot we don't know about him and his past - other than what we've seen him do. A list of deeds that's now on record with the United States federal government. Uncle Sam just gave Vic a free pass.
When I spoke with Shawn Ryan recently, he mentioned that in all his research about dirty cops, when two of them went off the radar like Vic and Ronnie did, one eventually looks out for himself and turns against the other. So while it was shocking to see Vic hang Ronnie out to dry, were you really that surprised?
(S01E07) After reading the premise for tonight's The Mentalist, I can't tell you how forward I was looking to seeing Jane at a seance. How could that not be fun? Yeah, well, it was just OK, since he rigged it and all. But we got more from this episode than just Jane's antics.
In fact, I think the Jane antics have died down a bit, and I miss them; he was definitely more outrageous at the beginning of the series. That said, Jane seemed to have met his match in the spiritual advisor this week, and that was fun to watch.
(S07E19) The big question coming into the results show this week, obviously, was who would make it through to the finals. That, on its own, was probably enough to get most of the crowd to tune in. The powers that be could have just banked on it and tossed any old random segment out there to fill up the first 50 minutes of the show. Some Jimmy Kimmel here... a highlight reel there... the numbers would have still been huge. Lucky for us, that's not what they did, at all. It was the biggest musical event the show has ever seen. Along with those big results, we saw performances from Leona Lewis, John Legend, Julianne Hough, and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. If that wasn't enough, reigning champ Kristi Yamaguchi stopped by to dance. It made for a fun hour. The results, and a look at all of those performances, after the jump.
Hey, want to know something super-sad? For most of seventh grade, I came home every day from school and, before doing anything else, watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail from beginning to end. I also spent a great deal of middle school reading everything I could about the troupe, filling my brain with pointless trivia about Sam Peckinpah's 'Salad Days' and Spam.
This not only caused me to develop a type of hardcore social awkwardness that was extremely rare outside of the 70s and 80s, but forever instilled in me a deep love for Monty Python. Since the boys are very busy with their individual projects these days, it's a thrill to see any new Python stuff to come around, even when it's in the form of an extra-short YouTube clip and they're never actually shown to be in the same room together.
That's right, the group has finally jumped on the YouTube bandwagon and started uploading high quality videos of various sketches and movie clips to their own Monty Python channel. There are only 24 videos right now, but the channel is barely five days old and there's plenty of room to grow. Since the pathetic nature of my wallet and apartment size combined does not allow much room for a massive, cohesive Python DVD collection, this channel will have to do for now.
Here, I've embedded their big YouTube announcement and a classic sketch from Flying Circus, 'Argument Clinic.'
I might be in the minority here, but I actually like Dan Fogler.
I won't deny that the dude's earned the 'Poor Man's Jack Black' title thanks to his roles in Good Luck Chuck and Balls of Fury, but I think he'll break out of that shell soon enough.
Fogler is slated to play Alfred Hitchcock in an upcoming Ewan McGregor thriller and, Variety reports, HBO just hired him to play Sam Kinison in Brother Sam, an upcoming TV biopic about the controversial stand-up comic.
Fogler will do his best Kinison interpretation for Tom Shadyc, director of (shudder) broad comedies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Evan Almighty. Shadyc's involvement might not be a plus for this project, but there's still hope. The Brother Sam script was written by Shary Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, writers of American Splendor, the great 2003 Harvey Pekar biopic. That movie was praised for two things -- it's inventive storytelling and Paul Giamatti's amazing lead performance. Of course, Berman and Pulcini directed American Splendor, but maybe Shadyc won't disappoint.
Austin Powers director Jay Roach, also known for broad comedies, did a great job with Recount, HBO's tense political drama about the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Maybe Shadyc will repeat that formula and deliver an awesome tribute to Kinison. Maybe.
(S02E06) 'You can't sugarcoat that turd.' -- The Great Herrmann to Ned
Showtime is looking for call girls.
At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
Fans might remember the original TV show 
I think that in the most grossly general way, TV shows can be separated into three groups: the shows that get a ton of viewers and everyone knows about (
Everybody Loves Raymond star 
Usually known for their violent soap opera on television and pay-per-view, World Wrestling Entertainment has quietly 
Do you know what a dilithium crystal is? Ever use the term 'cosplay' when discussing your weekend plans? Own more than two non-Star Wars action figures? If you answered 'Affirmative!' to any of these questions, then you'll be staying home this Friday night, because you're a nerd. It's cool. That means you'll be able to catch this week's ep of Stargate Atlantis, with guest stars Dave Foley, Bill Nye the Science Guy and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. All nerds, by the way.
I'm almost afraid to watch the news anymore. Let's face it - there's awful, horrible, tragic news everywhere, and most of the time, that's what the networks focus on. Are they TRYING to get us all depressed? Because it's working! 
There's a real problem brewing for the Daytime Emmys. The annual broadcast which has been switching off from year to year between ABC and CBS, 
I went to see Quantum of Solace over the weekend anxious to see the second Daniel Craig iteration as James Bond, and had the chance to see the 
Blair Underwood is extremely sexy. Admit it: male or female, gay or straight, no matter what your 'type' is, there's just something about him. 
(S07E12) 'How much memory does that thing got?' - Vic
Hey, want to know something super-sad? For most of seventh grade, I came home every day from school and, before doing anything else, watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail from beginning to end. I also spent a great deal of middle school reading everything I could about the troupe, filling my brain with pointless trivia about Sam Peckinpah's 'Salad Days' and Spam.
I might be in the minority here, but I actually like Dan Fogler. 
