Your cable TV just got a little more obsolete
Apple has been adding new TV shows to the iTunes Music Store like crazy these days, and some of the best content has been coming from Comedy Central. TUAW spotted The Showbiz Show, which joins a whole bunch of other stuff like Comedy Central Stand-Up, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, South Park, Drawn Together, and a ton of other stuff. The season/monthly passes are a good idea, if you really need to see only one or two shows, because after that, you’re throwing your money away, since cable isn’t that expensive.
There’s some more Disney/ABC content up now too, including long-overdue season passes for Desperate Housewives and Lost.
Geeks’ paradise
Ricky Gervais’ much-anticipated episode of “The Simpsons” airs tonight on FOX at 8 p.m. “The Office” creator wrote the show, and also stars in it as Charles, a man who engages in a reality TV-style wife swap with Homer.
If Gervais wasn’t the scribe behind this show, I might have found myself watching Dickie V scream about the Final Four tonight, as I find this “Simpsons” premise to be a bit tired. Then again, the premises are never what make “The Simpsons” funny — it’s more the situations, characters, dialogue and one-liners like, “Don’t have a cow, man.”
UPDATE: Eh.
I loved the plasma high definition screen party at Lenny’s pad (and Homer’s ensuing infatuation), but overall the episode was a bit disappointing. Gervais just seemed to resurrect David Brent with his character.
The Whammies Finally Got Him
Unfortunately, more news of the depressing kind, as Peter Tomarken was killed in a plane crash yesterday in Santa Monica. Tomarken was best known as host of the immortal PRESS YOUR LUCK, one of the most recognized game shows of the 80’s.
Tomarken was in my opinion, a very underrated game show host. I thought that PRESS YOUR LUCK was a lot of fun, and he added to that. As a kid, I couldn’t resist those cute cartoon whammies. Of course the fact that there was a lot of luck involved made it appealing, as skill or knowledge only played a partial role in the success of a contestant. Tomarken got to be part of one of the most famous game show incidents of all time, when Michael Larson hustled the show for thousands of dollars. Also, check out the whole of the Classic Press Your Luck Homepage. It is very well socked with fun stuff.
‘Arrested’ released to Showtime
The New York Post is reporting that Showtime has picked up “Arrested Development,” which had been canceled by Fox, and ordered 26 more episodes.
OK, this show is great and all, might be the best on TV, blah, blah, blah, but I wonder if it can hold up under the weight of expectations of sustained excellence and the hype that has come with this media onslaught. To be honest, I think I’ve been fed all the “Arrested Development” I need, as well as all the “‘Arrested Development’ needs to be saved” stories I can bear. I like the run it had. I like where they left off. It didn’t become too stale.
That being said, I’m not about to argue against more episodes, thus more GOB.
But I’m not about to order Showtime either.
Loony Tunes in Power
We all know China is a bastion of human rights violations and government control. Political dissidents are routinely jailed, and even the Internet is heavily censored. (which means Crapfilter might not work there…those bastards!) But those things seem unimportant now, as it has come to light that Chinese citizens can’t even get their Jessica Rabbit fix!
According to an article in today’s Daily Variety by Steven Schwankert, the Chinese Government has decided that films and TV shows that portray humans interacting with animated characters are forbidden. Movies like “Space Jam” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” are apparently dangerous for the Chinese public. Some claim this is a move to bolster domestic animation production. If that is true, one would think they would just ban all foreign animation, rather than isolating human/cartoon interaction. Are movies like “Mary Poppins” known to encourage dissent? This government also banned the film “Babe”, because talking animals were thought to be confusing to viewers. Way to go China. Hey international community, let’s all reward this government for their lunacy by giving them the Olympic games. Oh wait…
Let us not forget that the U.S. states that voted for the government in power now (the one that likes domestic wire-tapping sans warrants) are referred to as “red” states. Just a reminder.
Development, Arrested
Hey all, just a quick reminder that one of the great reasons to watch TV is (temporarily?) shifting off this mortal transistor coil tonight.
GOOD NEWS: Two hours of Arrested Development.
BAD NEWS: They’re the last two hours of Arrested Development.
Continues after the jump »
Chappelle keeps quiet about disappearing act
Who wouldn’t want to know what’s up with Dave Chappelle? Well, James Lipton for one. The bafflingly old Lipton and Chappelle play a two-hour game of softball on the latest installment of “Inside the Actors Studio.”
The Hollywood Reporter has slightly more:
Why did Chappelle hightail it to Africa? He said it’s because the Hollywood environment is “a little sick,” and the more successful he became, the less he enjoyed it. In Africa, he said, he found anonymity, reassessed his career and thought about not coming back.
What made Chappelle decide to return? What’s he doing differently now? How did he resolve things with Comedy Central? You won’t find out by watching, but you will learn how much the comedian admired Bugs Bunny.
Ground breaking stuff. Catch it Sunday at 9 on Bravo.
‘Sopranos’ Season 6 snitching
HBO came out with the first official overview of the plot for Season Six of “The Sopranos,” which begins March 12, and an article in the New York Post has the tease.
“New challenges abound for Tony Soprano as his life grows increasingly complicated,” a release announcing the show’s sixth season stated. “Now that he and Carmela are back together, they must face the reality that their kids are no longer children, but not yet grown. And with [New York mob boss] Johnny Sack in prison, the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families are strained even further.”
Yawn.
Hey, Boston Herald, do you have anything else for me, possibly involving the Boston Celtics somehow?
Our well-placed rats report that one of the show’s “big characters” is going to get whacked in Boston — known on the hit HBO mob drama as “Scranton with clams.” The hit goes down during “The Sopranos” sixth season, which debuts March 12.
Oh, but wait. There’s more.
Conan…in the beginning!
Because you like your late night hosts young and insecure, a poster on A Special Thing has uploaded the very first episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien on YouTube.
See:
-Conan fidget nervously with his hair!
-Max Weinberg looking 60 years younger!
-Jokes that would get applause breaks in today’s comedy climate fall on silence from a crowd not ready for what they received!
-ANDY! ANDY! ANDY!
(Thanks to The Apiary and A Special Thing.)
Revisiting “The Office”
It’s gonna happen. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will break down and write an episode for the American version of “The Office,” according to various reports.
It should be interesting to see how American wankers react if just one British term is uttered, or if one joke that doesn’t involve a slapstick gag is used.
No word yet on whether Gervais or Merchant will appear in the episode, but it has to happen in some capacity, right? Michael Scott has to meet up with David Brent. I mean, Jason has already met Freddy and Alien has faced Predator.
Keeping it real gone wrong
Dave Chappelle is set to be the guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” this Friday, but don’t expect Chappelle, who disappointed millions of fans by bailing from his Comedy Central hit “Chappelle’s Show,” to get the James Frey treatment from Oprah. And ironically enough, don’t expect to get the truth as to why Chappelle dropped everything.
That’s because Oprah’s image was not tarnished, thus not put in financial danger, by Chappelle’s mysterious departure. Nor did she have any stock in the show doing well, unlike with Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces,” which was named to Oprah’s Book Club.
So expect a total love fest mixed in with softballs Friday, and big ratings. Anything but the truth.
Temper your excitement
Jeff Garlin is getting his own show and I don’t know what to think. On the one hand, he plays the best character in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” not named Larry David, but I just can’t see him being more than a supporting guy.
And I’m also not a fan of variety shows. Neither is America for that matter.
Garlin will shoot a pilot of a variety show, aptly titled “The Jeff Garlin Program,” that harkens back to the “Jack Benny” show of old-time TV. Like that classic, “Garlin” will have a show-within-a-show concept that follows the on-camera and off-camera exploits of a slightly exaggerated version of its star.
“I play Jeff Garlin, the biggest variety star on television, and pretty much the show follows me getting into trouble each week,” Garlin told industry trade Daily Variety. “This is the show I’ve wanted to do since I was little.”
Hmmm, kind of sounds like “The Larry Sanders Show” if you ask me, unless they try to make this totally surreal, whereas “Larry Sanders” was going more for reality.
And does Jeff have Tony Danza Disease? Can he only be referred to by his real first name in anything he does?
Dr. Pepper + Twizzlers = Not As Good
It never ends, does it? The progression of Lazy Sunday is not stopping. The uber-popular SNL sketch has reached critical mass. Now there is a new rap sketch circulating the web that totes the virtues of chillin’ on the west coast. It is not really a copycat, since they clearly state they are responding to the Naria rap. This is more like saying, “Yeah, you rap in NYC, well, we gots that in LA too dawg.” A cute idea, although a little bit of a misfire.
So what are we to make of this? Certainly in terms of quality, this is no Lazy Sunday. It is cute to see my LA landmarks and such (I adore Color Me Mine), but the comedy is not as fresh, and the rap is weaker. It falls far short of its predecessor. The more disturbing question is why is Mark Feuerstein making a video like this? He is not on SNL, and he is not an unknown/up and comer looking to break in. So is this what his career is now? Is he reduced to praying for T-shirt sales, since “Good Morning Miami” was axed, and his scenes from “Two Weeks Notice” were left on the cutting room floor?
Check this sketch out for yourself and decide which coast you like better. Despite the worse rapping, LA’s gots the bomb weather yo!
UPDATE!!-Here’s another new vid called Lazy Monday, this time performed by some cute little kiddies.
The CW rises
According to a press release coming out today, the WB and UPN television networks are going to cease to exist. In their place, CBS and Warner Bros. are announcing the advent of a “5th Network”, to be called the CW.
While the WB has improved over the years, I have just gotten used to bashing UPN! Now I have to learn new jumbles of letters to represent the crappiest of television programming! And how is the the “5th Network”? It is like they are admitting that the WB and UPN are so disrespected now that they are not even considered network television.
(Sigh) I am going to miss those UPN Girls…
‘That 70s Show’ is history; ‘Malcolm’ at its end
File this one under not-totally-unexpected, but the “That ’70s Show” will be history come May. Fox is cancelling the sitcom, along with “Malcolm in the Middle.”
“That ’70s Show” is never terrible, but the show sort of fell apart once Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher left. God, that sounds bizarre. It’ll have a long life in syndication, so fans of the show have that going for them. “Malcolm” doesn’t do too bad for itself in syndication either, but Frankie Muniz just ain’t the cute little kid he was in 1999. It’s good to see the show ending before they jump the—er, get desperate, and add a new kid. Oh wait, nevermind.
Meanwhile, there’s some new news on the “Arrested Development” front. The news is “don’t get your hopes up.”
Futurama and more after the jump! Continues after the jump »
‘7th Heaven’ is still on?
I’m proud to say I have never watched the WB’s “7th Heaven.” But a lot of you have been, or did at one point, because it’s been the network’s biggest hit during its (holy shit!) 10-year run. That includes putting the wholesome smackdown to “Dawson’s Creek,” “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and other teen dramas with insanely unrealistic dialogue.
Well, I hate to break it to ya, but the show is being canceled due to escalating production costs. The WB is losing $16 million this year because of the show. Featuring Ashlee Simpson as a cast member would have been enough for me to give it the axe. Continues after the jump »
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TV hosts make the news
First, Stephen Colbert of the Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” coined the word “truthiness,” which ended up being the American Dialect Society’s word of the year for 2005. The AP tried to ignore the role the fake TV newsman played in inventing the word and Michael Adams of NC State claimed that “truthiness” was already a word, but Colbert fought back by putting the AP in the top spot of his “Threat Down” and putting Adams “on notice.”
Now comes word that NBC late night talk show host Conan O’Brien could help elect the president over in Finland.
O’Brien has thrown his support behind Finland president Tarja Halonen (pictured) ever since noticing she’s an exact clone of him, except for the male-female thing. Continues after the jump »
Chappelle to stand up and deliver
Dave Chappelle will hit TV before clips from the infamous third season of “Chappelle’s Show” will, according to EURWEB.com.
Comedy Central is set to air a stand-up special featuring everyone’s favorite AWOL comedian that will run later this month.
The comedian, who walked away from his record-setting Comedy Central deal and successful television show almost a year ago, will return to Comedy Central on January 29th with brand new stand-up material, which hits on such topics as a black Santa Claus delivering presents on CPT, landlords using rent money to fund drug habits and sex as an Olympic sport.
It’s a good thing he backed away from his show before the jokes became too stereotypical and detrimental to his race. Continues after the jump »
Everything you never wanted to know about Alicia
Alicia Keys is one of those artists who wins gazillions of awards, gets her songs played a hundred times a day on pop radio, and yet I don’t think I know anybody who actually listens to her music in any other context. Well since you’re probably not actively listening to her, the powers that be have decided that you need to be fed more Keys.
The coming-of-age story will follow a girl from a biracial family. Keys, 24, was born to a white mother and a black father, who split up when she was two. She was raised in the gritty Hell’s Kitchen area of New York by her mother, started learning classical piano at six, and frequently ventured up to Harlem to absorb the lifestyle.
The story of a girl from a biracial family growing up in the gritty Hell’s Kitchen rapidly gentrifying Clinton neighborhood of New York sounds like it might be interesting, but why Alicia Keys? I hate the say it, but who the hell cares? Why take a half decent premise for a show and ruin it by attaching a non-compelling celebrity name to it that can only serve to limit the scope of the series?
For more fun with Alicia Keys, check out the Wikipedia discussion on her entry there. It makes me wonder if the show planned for UPN will cover her actual life, or the more interesting life that she/her publicist/her label have concocted for her.
One more celebrity gets ‘real’
Reality TV just keeps getting better and better — I think. It’s really hard to say what’s better and what’s worse. It’s hard to even say who qualifies for “washed up celebrity” status these days.
You can add Gene Simmons to the list of famous people willing to put his life on display.
= “Gene Simmons Family Jewels,” featuring Simmons; his partner, Shannon Tweed, a former Playmate of the Year, actress and model; and their kids, Nick and Sophie. Dubuc described the kids as “articulate, funny and bright,” which contrasts with their “wild and crazy” parents. This project follows a one-hour special on Simmons that aired under the “Biography” banner.
Simmons, who is married to the aging, often-naked and sort-of-famous Shannon Tweed, joins the ranks of Nick and Jessica, Reverend Run, Britney and Kevin, Paris and Nicole, the Osbornes and about a thousand other quasi-celebrities who have decided that they’d rather act like asses at home than just perform, like famous people used to do.
I have a feeling that 10 years from now, the music, television and movie studios will have perfected the science of creating new hit singles, TV pilots or teen movies so the latest faces can get their first 14 minutes in, and then quickly shuffle them over to UPN and the WB so they can ride out the remainder of their 15 minutes of fame.
Get ready for “Crap Filter: Unfiltered” coming this fall on Fox.
A fish called Will
I hate to say it, but you people brought this upon yourselves. By “you people” I mean those of you who decided that mixing Superman with Dawson’s Creek would be a good idea. Well you reap what you sow. And you’ve got another prime time superhero. I present to you your new Aquaman:
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Newcomer Will Toale, who appeared in the recent Broadway revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” will play the title character in “Aquaman,” the WB Network’s drama project based on the DC Comics character.
“Aquaman,” from “Smallville” executive producers-showrunners Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, is described as a contemporary reinterpretation of the character who lives in the deep sea and enlists oceanic creatures to help him in his crime-fighting endeavors.
Worm has turned up in England
So this is going to be Dennis Rodman’s career after basketball: reality TV star. I know I know, a pretty original and adventurous route. Before you know it, he’ll be getting into fights with Omarosa and “hooking up” with Trishelle.
I already knew that Rodman is slated to be in “Pros vs. Joes,” an upcoming Spike TV reality show that is pretty self-explanatory. Now comes news that the former rebounding machine and one-time aspiring bride is on “Celebrity Big Brother” over in the U.K.
Here’s his highlighted quote from his bio page.
“Three weeks without having sex. That’s gonna really suck.”
And now we know he’s talking about doing it with a girl because on Day 2 of the show he confirmed to a housemate that he was ‘straight as fuck.’
Outside of Traci Bingham, any help you could offer in figuring out who the other housemates are would be welcome. It’s scary enough that I know who Traci Bingham is.
NBC showing their anti-Christian bias yet again
Leave it to those fucking fucks at NBC to show us how much they’re out to destroy Christianity [insert drawn-out sign here]….again. What is it this time, you ask? NBC Nightly Satanism? Must-Burn-Cross Thursday? Nope, this time it’s far worse. This time it’s “The Book of Daniel,” an insidious show that makes Jesus out to be a gay-lovin’ sin-forgivin’ “namby-pamby frat-boy-guru.
For fuck’s sake, NBC, why can’t you just leave the good Christians of this country the fuck alone? What’s with the fucking war on Christians anyway? Why do you hate Christians, NBC? Why the fuck are you trying to destroy Christianity, you fuckers?
This is fun. Anyway, let’s see what else our good buddies at Focus on the Family have to say about this little piece of prime-time perversion. Continues after the jump »
Letterman takes on O’Reilly
Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was put into the no-spin zone in his recent visit to “The Late Show With David Letterman,” as a seemingly fed-up Letterman decided to take O’Reilly to task on his views on Iraq and Cindy Sheehan, and his questionable journalism.
(You can watch video of the interview here and read the transcript here.)
O’Reilly has been on Letterman’s show numerous times before, but Letterman has never attacked O’Reilly with the ferocity with which he did during this most recent encounter. Continues after the jump »
The second coming of ‘Futurama’
Sweet zombie Jesus! Could it be for real? Yet again, another tidbit of information about the possible resurrection of “Futurama” finds its way to us. This time, it looks like talks are actually happening (endure a brief flash ad for the article).
It’s not all in the clear, however:
Before “Futurama” comes back into being, however, 20th first must secure deals with the show’s production team, as well as voice stars including Billy West (Fry), Katey Sagal (Leela) and John DiMaggio (Bender).
That’s probably the biggest hurdle to get over. Billy West and John DiMaggio are fairly important voice actors. If they’re busy, that could be the end of this ride. And that’s not to mention the huge production costs for each episode. For me, at least, a big part of the appeal of “Futurama” is that it’s easily the best looking American animated series ever produced, and I’d hate to see the quality of the animation suffer in order for the producers to save a buck.
I’m getting hopeful, but I’m still not convinced.
Kill career
This Thursday, Quentin Tarantino will appear on “The Tyra Banks Show,” or “Tyra” as those of us on the inside know it. That would have been fine and all (not really) since he’s promoting his new project, the horror flick “Hostel,” which he produced. But he apparently makes a startling admission on the show, according to Jeannette Walls’ gossip column on MSNBC.com.
The edgy “Kill Bill” director was a guest on the former model’s talk show, which airs on Thursday, when he confessed that he’s “hooked” on her talk fest.
After Banks gushed to Tarantino that she’s a fan of his, Tarantino replied, “Thank you so much. Well I actually feel the same way because I watch your show every day.” He continued: “I kinda got hooked on the show … I see the Tyra show at 10 [a.m. in L.A.], and then … there’s the other one at five [p.m.].”
What a freak. I only watch it like once a day.
The show will also feature an America’s Top Foot Model competition (a spoof on Tyra’s other show — “America’s Next Top Model”) which Tarantino, who has a raging foot fetish (see Uma Thurman in his movies), will judge.
There’s also a nice tidbit in the same gossip column about Gwyneth Paltrow being convinced that her London home is haunted.
More of a public favorite now
Flavor Flav’s third VH-1 show is set to premiere tonight. That’s right, his third. First he appeared on “The Surreal Life 3,” then came “Strange Love,” and now he’s set to star in “Flavor of Love.”
VH-1 explains the premise of the show, which is set to kick off tonight at 10 EST:
After his failed romance with Brigitte Nielsen, Flavor Flav is ready for a new and true romance. In “Flavor of Love,” 20 single women from all walks of life, selected for their expressed love for Flav, will move into a “phat crib” in Los Angeles and vie for his affection. With help and advice from Big Rick, Flav’s gigantic body-guard and chauffeur, Flavor Flav will date all of the women, weed out the ones who are only after his fame and fortune…and in the end will choose his one true love.
So not only is VH-1 trotting out a hackneyed celebrity in their “Celebreality” tradition, but the channel is also throwing him into a totally tired dating show, ala “The Bachelor.”
So you might have noticed that Flavor Flav has decided to take a somewhat different route than his former Public Enemy bandmate Chuck D, who hosts his own show on Air America Radio, launched a Web site called Rapstation.com to further hip hop music, started his own record label — SlamJamz. He also writes, does public speaking and is politically active.
But yeah, I’ll probably check out “Flavor of Love,” boooyyyyyyy.
Speaking of torture…
Did anybody catch ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” last night? If not, then good for you. The party I was at put it on for the ball drop, and let me tell you, it was painful to watch.
I honestly don’t understand why they decided to bring the guy in this year. His voice was horrible and creepy and sometimes he didn’t even make sense.
I mean, I understand he’s sort of this institution that is popular with a certain segment of America and he likely pushed to be on this year, but all he ended up doing is making the audience really uncomfortable. Viewers were left worrying about his state, which took their attention away from blissfully ringing in the new year.
But enough about Ryan Seacrest, the Dick Clark moments were pretty awkward too.
That’s some weird science
I’ve never gotten into the whole “Celebrity Fit Club” thing over on VH-1, mainly because it seems like a last gasp for fame for people like the Snapple Lady. It also seems like a way for pathetic losers to make themselves feel better by taking pleasure in the misfortune of C-list celebrities.
But I might have to tune in this time around. That’s because Kelly LeBrock, a ravishing sex symbol from the 80’s and respectable hottie later in Steven Segal films, is gigantic now (ok, 175 lbs., they claim). Continues after the jump »
Another ‘Lazy’ day
You-know-what made an appearance on CNN this morning. That’s right, the “Lazy Sunday” skit from “Saturday Night Live” which is catching immense fame on the Internet, so much so that the New York Times, New York Daily News and Village Voice all felt the need to write articles about the faux rap and its breakout star — Andy Samberg.
Peep this from the Times:
“I’ve been recognized more times since the Saturday it aired than since I started on the show,” said Mr. Samberg, 27, a featured player in his first season on “SNL.” “It definitely felt like something changed overnight.”
The Times article goes into the history of the skit, as well as the background of Samberg and his two comedy-writing friends, all of whom now work for “SNL” (Samberg as a featured player, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone as writers). The threesome produced many similar shorts for their Web site — LonelyIsland.com — which created a buzz on the Internet and caught the eye of “SNL” talent scouts. The rest is history, and perhaps a new direction for the stale “SNL.”
If you haven’t gotten over there already, I highly recommend viewing the material on LonelyIsland.com, which includes a pilot for a Fox TV series titled “Awesometown.” Despite a sweet introduction by Jack Black as George Washington, “Awesometown” feels a bit amateurish and you can see why it wasn’t picked up. But the musical videos on the site — most notably “Just 2 Guyz” and “Ka-Blamo!” — are hilarious. There’s no doubt this is where their talent lies.
Festivus for some of us
A group of people in Erie, Pa., is taking pop culture a little too seriously, as it has gone to the trouble of celebrating the holiday Festivus, which was made famous on the 90’s hit sitcom “Seinfeld.” This AP story has more:
Residents were preparing to celebrate “the festivus for the rest of us” Friday with a night of airing grievances, feats of strength and, of course, the aluminum Festivus pole.
“It’s all in good fun,” said Jeff Boam, 36, a math teacher from Millcreek Township and longtime “Seinfeld” fan.
“More than anything else, it’s a great excuse to get together with friends and have outrageous fun,” said George Klapsinos, 38, a senior technical service specialist for Lord Corp.
Everybody hates Santa
Viewers of the UPN hit “Everybody Hates Chris,” a show inspired by the childhood of brilliant comedian/bad actor Chris Rock, were shocked to find out in a recent episode that Santa Claus actually doesn’t exist.
“Everybody knows there’s no Santa Claus,” Drew said to Tonya on the UPN sitcom. “Come here, let me show you something. I’m taking you to the toys … Santa doesn’t come down the chimney. We don’t even have a chimney. We have radiators.”
Later on the show the Easter bunny and tooth fairy were also exposed as elaborate hoaxes.
Thankfully, the show is on UPN, so only like six kids were watching at the time, and I’m pretty sure they were all Jewish anyway.
‘Desperate’ actor got a bad rap
Do you remember reading or hearing about that guy that got fired from “Desperate Housewives” for reportedly flashing some of the crew members?
Well, Page Kennedy, who played someone being held captive in a basement on the show (bravo again, network TV), is fighting back… through the power of rap. That’s right, following in the trashy footsteps of Kevin Federline, Kennedy has released his own rap song on his Web site to clear his name.
I won’t tell you whether the song is good or not. I’ll just leave you with one of his lines:
“The media seems to stick together like fat guys and super-sized fries.”
The protest song is back!
Half-baked theory?
Was Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show” put to an abrupt halt by a group of notable and powerful African-Americans?
Is the sky blue?
Actually, this is likely all bogus, but this link to The Chappelle Theory sent to me by my boy Chris is definitely worth a read (albeit a long one). It claims members of “The Dark Crusaders” were unhappy with Chappelle’s portrayal of the black race in his show and used their influenced in order to get his pop culture smash to halt production before a third season could come to fruition.
Here are the members of the “Crusaders,” according to the site, which you might expect is run anonymously:
Al Sharpton
Jesse Jackson
Louis Farrakhan
Bill Cosby Continues after the jump »
Is ‘Lazy Sunday’ the new ‘Cowbell’?
Only three days removed from its airing, “Lazy Sunday,” the digital short by Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell from this past weekend’s episode of “Saturday Night Live,” has already reached cult status.
In reviewing the show for CF I no doubt noticed that the gangsta rap about going to see “The Chronicles of Narnia” was the strongest skit of the night, but I didn’t think it would generate as much feedback as it has. Nor did I expect to see a link to the clip highlighted on the home page of NBC’s Web site with this description:
You asked for it… you got it. Here’s the Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia!
The “More Cowbell” sketch from a few years back took some time to evolve into the cultural phenomenon it became. Wired magazine even provided a timeline of its meteoric rise.
I just hope the suits at NBC don’t ruin “Lazy Sunday” by over-airing it and over-hyping it. Leave that to us.
Snack-attack muthafucker!!!!
In true TV tradition
In watching some horrendously boring NFL games on Fox this weekend I had the misfortune of seeing ads for “Skating With Celebrities.”
Don’t assume off the bat that this show is a rip-off of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars,” which is also set to start up in January after a very successful first season. One has dancing, and the other has skating. One has stars, the other has celebrities. HUGE differences.
Well, I guess they’re even now after “Lost” copied “X-Files”… which copied “Twin Peaks.” Actually, I’m pretty sure they’ve stolen each other’s ideas a hundred times over now. It’s par for the course for network TV. Continues after the jump »
Jack Black hosts ‘SNL’
I realize I’m the guy on here who attacks the moribund “Saturday Night Live” any chance I can get, yet I can’t stop writing about the show. But I just had to contradict myself one more time because comedic genius Jack Black, who’s currently starring in the larger-than-life “King King,” is set to host the show tonight.
Black has hosted the show twice in the past with hilarious results. His first time around was probably the best because it featured the skits “The Bass-Off” and the “Happy Birthday Song.” The former especially sticks in my mind because it featured Black and Will Ferrell engaged in a battle of 80s-style bass guitarists. Sadly, I’m pretty sure the sketch has been dropped in the shortened rerun version of the episode that airs on E!
Here’s hoping tonight’s show will also be kick-ass!
Oh, and the musical guest is Neil Young. Continues after the jump »
Bitter man leaves for biased network
Everyone’s favorite grizzled political analyst is leaving CNN and heading over to Fox News Channel to give the station a much-needed conservative voice. That’s right, Robert Novak, famous for name-dropping CIA operative Valerie Plame in his Chicago Sun-Times column a while back, will end his 25-year run with the station when his contract expires December 31. His new tenure with Republican News begins in January.
Novak’s separation from CNN was supposedly mutual, but anyone who saw him throw a hissy fit on air a few months back knows there’s no chance this is the case. The Hollywood Reporter has more:
[Novak] had been off the air since early August, when he walked off a CNN set during a live interview after uttering an obscenity. He served a suspension and apologized but never returned to CNN.
Of course, I have provided a link to the video if you haven’t seen it already.
Novak, who will turn 75 in February, has also seen two shows on which he was a prominent fixture — “Crossfire” and “Capital Gang” — be canceled, so that didn’t help matters.
Borat has a posse
Borat, everybody’s favorite fictional Kazakh reporter played by Sacha Baron Cohen on “Da Ali G Show” has gotten an unlikely ally. International watchdog group Reporters Without Borders is calling for Kazakhstan to chill out and stop harshing Borat’s fictional mellow for his use of a .kz domain to embarass the proud nation (home to cleanest prostitutes in whole of central Asia).
That move led the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders to issue a statement Wednesday saying that the government’s decision to block Cohen from a “.kz” domain name is censorship. The group also expressed concern about “the politicization of the administration of domain names.”
Cohen’s Borat Sagdiyev has upset the Kazakhstan government with comedic statements suggesting that Kazakhs make wine out of fermented horse urine, shoot dogs for fun and consider incest and rape popular hobbies.
Apparently their distaste for borders goes so far as to include fiction. It’s nice to see real reporters sticking up for a fictional one. They do know he’s not real, right? It would be delicious if they didn’t, but it’s nice to see that they’ve got his back either way..
Titans of comedy clash
Trouble’s a-brewin’ in South Park. Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the brains behind such comedies as “There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb and Dumber,” “Kingpin” and others say that a 2004 episode of “South Park” in which Cartman pretends to be mentally retarded to get into the Special Olympics is a ripoff of their upcoming movie, “The Ringer.”
“When you think of a premise so radical it’s unmakable, you hang in for seven years to see it through, it is a shock to the system to have people on Websites saying, ‘You hack, you stole this from South Park,’ ” Blitt tells Variety. “I set this up so long before that episode was conceived. It is bad enough to have your idea taken: It’s 1,000 times worse when you are then accused of stealing.”
Damn, them’s fightin’ words. I don’t know what they hope to achieve. There’s probably no way to prove it was stolen, and calling out Trey Parker and Matt Stone is only going to cause them to respond, most likely with an episode where a couple of angry movie directors come to town and steal Cartman’s idea for a movie, and then hilarity and an abrupt ending ensue.
I’m sort of torn on who to believe here. Not having seen “The Ringer” yet, I’m suspicious as to how similar the plots really are. You could probably easily peg this as a cry for publicity from the Farrellys, but I don’t think they’d sink to that, nor do I think they’d make the claim unless it was really, really warranted. At any rate, I’m more interested to see the movie now.
‘Lost’ mistake found
Ah, those mistakes we all made before we became famous TV stars. Well, I guess, those mistakes famous TV stars made before they became famous TV stars.
It appears during her more desperate acting days “Lost” star Evangeline Lilly filmed some sweet ads for a dating chatline called Livelinks… not that I discovered this by watching TV at 2 a.m. some weekend or anything. I swear. I ran across this information over on SFgate.com.
“Lost” beauty Evangeline Lilly’s past has come back to haunt her, as commercials she filmed for a dating chat line three years ago are being revived on TV.
The sexy actress, currently romantically linked to her TV show co-star Dominic Monaghan, appeared as the spokeswoman for Livelinks in 2002 before finding worldwide fame with the hit TV show.
But since her show, which features a cast of individuals stranded after a plane crash, has proved popular with international audiences, the “fun” and “flirty” party line has decided to capitalize by continuing to run the ads on late-night TV.
I’m pretty sure this is her all over the Livelinks site as well. There’s even a commercial with Evangeline on the site that you can view.
Pay up, bitch!
Everybody’s favorite spaced out comedian, Dave Chappelle might end up having to pay up for his mystical journey to South Africa if his ex-manager has anything to say about it.
DECEMBER 13—Claiming that Dave Chappelle has stiffed him for at least $864,500, the comedian’s former personal manager has sued the star, opening a window on the performer’s finances and his lucrative Comedy Central deal. In a breach of contract complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Mustafa Abuelhija claims that he and Chappelle last September entered into a management agreement, though the deal “was never reduced to writing.”
“Never reduced to writing?” Good luck with this one, bud.
Read all about it at The Smoking Gun.
Positive ‘Development’
OK, so maybe the third season of “Arrested Development” hasn’t been the greatest with the Charlize Theron plot line and all, but even when it’s at its worst, the show is still one of the best on TV. Therefore, it’s nice to see some good news thrown the way of “Arrested Development,” which has experienced more threats of cancellation than a elementary school in Buffalo before a snowstorm.
Showtime, a pay station on which you can swear and shit, is now considering picking up the Emmy-winning comedy from creator/executive producer Mitch Hurwitz, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Sources stressed that the talks are still exploratory and that it would be a big financial commitment on Showtime’s part to pick up the show in its current form with a large ensemble cast.
Granted, all these characters are instrumental to the success of the show, but all I really need is G.O.B. doing the chicken dance.
The creative freedom allowed by being on Showtime would no doubt help “Arrested Development” flourish, but it still needs to build up a bigger audience in order to survive. Why is it that everyone I talk to seems to always deem this their favorite show, yet no one is apparently watching it?
Suicide halts ‘Daily Show’
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stweart” has shut down production for the rest of the calendar year due to an apparent suicide of one of its staff members, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Bill Clarey, 25, took his own life over the weekend, according to the network. A former “Daily Show” intern, Clarey also worked as a receptionist at the program’s offices.
The show was scheduled to shoot a week’s worth of new episodes before suspending production. Repeats of the program will run instead.
Edward R. who?
Katie Couric needs to be stopped.
As I type she’s angling to become the anchor of “CBS Evening News,” which would mean taking over the spot from the departed Dan Rather and interim crusty newsman Bob Schieffer. And supposedly CBS is also throwing in appearances on the venerable “60 Minutes” as part of its reported $20 million per year offer.
The cast of “Today” recently held a conference call with reporters to celebrate its 520th straight week as the top-rated network morning news show, and of course all anybody wanted to talk about were rumors that Couric was leaving NBC for CBS. This column from Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune details the response from Katie, who did her best to defuse the the rumblings while keeping them alive at the same time:
“In terms of my own future, I know there’s been a great deal of speculation in the press and while I appreciate the interest—kind of—I just thought I’d say off the bat that my contract ends in May and I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do,” she said preemptively.
Dancing with career poison
Sorry, I missed the first season of ABC’s surprise hit “Dancing With The Stars,” but was able to catch commentary on VH-1’s “Best Week Ever,” so I pretty much got the idea of it. But I’m still confused over the appeal of it, as it entails just stars (suspend disbelief for a moment) that are dancing.
And no, I’m not planning to watch the second season, which starts January 5, but I had been waiting with bated breath to find out which C-list celebs would be making fools of themselves on a national scale this time around.
Well, the list is out and here it is:
Tia Carrere - So you’re telling me “Relic Hunter” didn’t work out?
Giselle Fernandez - Huh?
George Hamilton - This might call for an extra coat of fake tan.
Stacy Keibler - I thought elves weren’t real. Continues after the jump »
I’m not too sexy for ‘Project Runway’
Repeat after me: There are no such things are guilty pleasures.
Again: There are no such things are guilty pleasures.
I’m sorry, but you either like something or you don’t, or you sorta like something or you sorta don’t. You should never have to be ashamed either way. Well, unless you’re in high school or something, where it’s imperitive that you put all your time and energy into being cool. How people view you is very important to your survival during that period, so lay off on expressing your fondness for “Gilmore Girls” for a couple years.
Most high school males wouldn’t be able to get away with admitting that they watch “Project Runway,” even if they said something like, “Dude, I watch it for the hot chicks.” But I’m free from all that bullshit now, so I can admit that I am looking forward to tonight’s season premiere of “Project Runway” at 10 p.m. on Bravo without getting a beatin’.
Right? Continues after the jump »
Apple adds more TV shows to iTunes
I love it when the big guys do something good for the little guys. I think that’s what’s happening here, anyway. NBC, Sci-fi, and USA networks, in all their infinite wisdom have realized that people these days are actually willing to pay for content.
In addition to music videos, the iTunes Music Store also features select NBC Universal, SciFi Channel, USA Network, Disney and ABC television shows, ready to download. For $1.99, you can own the latest episode just one day after it airs. With full seasons of “The Office,” “Law and Order,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Monk” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and more at your fingertips, you’ll never miss your favorites. Plus, you can sync shows to the new iPod and watch them on the go. Just try that with your big-screen TV.
I still can’t decide if downloading TV shows is a good thing or not. On one hand, you can’t beat the convenience. If you miss an episode of Lost, it’s no big deal to lay down $2 and just download it on iTunes. Plus, it’s all ready to go for your video iPod, if you’ve got one. But there’s a flip side. I can get all of these shows and more for free with Bittorrent. Thing about Bittorrent is that it’s slightly harder than just using iTunes, and the videos you do get, while usually HDTV rips and much better quality than iTunes, won’t be iPod ready.
Each has drawbacks, but for my money, you usually can’t beat free. If the one that cost money was clearly better, I’d be more than happy to pay. In the mean time, I’ll stick to Bittorrent when I miss a show, but your mileage may vary.
So long Tyra, Jamie Lee
I’m here to announce the end of two storied eras: The end of Tyra Banks’ modeling career and end of Jamie Lee Curtis’, well, career.
Yup, not only is Tyra appearing in her final runway show tonight as part of “The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show,” which airs on CBS tonight at 10 p.m., but she also claims she’s done with modeling altogether, as this article on Yahoo! Entertainment details.
“It’s my final walk ever! I’ve been modeling since I was 15, and I’m 31 now, so it’s half my life. I’m walking away from modeling in general — I might just be a little emotional.”
So will the public, Tyra, but America will just have to move on. Continues after the jump »
Chappelle to return… kinda
No, Dave Chappelle hasn’t returned from Crazytown yet. He’s still keeping it real, and as a result everything has gone horribly wrong for his career and his fans.
However, “Variety” is reporting that Comedy Central will give “Chappelle’s Show” addicts a much-needed fix by airing some new finished material that was salvaged from the taping of the now infamous Season 3, which was supposed to debut last May before Chappelle went diva on America. The episodes will first run on the Comedy Central’s broadband network, MotherLoad. But for us simple folk, the station will start airing the material sometime next year. Continues after the jump »
Thanks for showing up, ‘SNL’
And it goes on.
The celebrated fat suit made an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” last night, this time of the spoof variety. Not so surprisingly, “SNL” was a couple weeks behind on a trend that, incidently, Crap Filter brought to the attention of the public.
Rachel Dratch, who’s fast reaching “Christ, she’s still on the cast?” territory (ala Darrell Hammond), put on the fat suit in order to make light of the hard-hitting segments by Tyra Banks and Vanessa Minnillo.
In typical neo-“SNL” fashion, tired racial stereoyptes were in full force, albeit ironically. All the black guys Rachel ran into on the street were totally into her oversized booty. Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” came out in 1992, so that should give you a sense of “SNL“‘s comedic progression, or lack thereof.
Hey, hey, hey, it’s fat Al
And here I thought actors jumping over to politics (Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Frist, etc.) was a dangerous trend. Now someone wants to try the reverse.
I’m tellin’ ya, pretty soon you won’t be able to tell the difference between celebrities and politicians. “Nightline” will merge with “Entertainment Tonight” and become “Entertainment Tonightline.” (Maybe this was what “The Simpsons” was trying to get at when they had Homer run for mayor while wearing a salamander suit in a recent episode. We might never know with that one.)
Reverend Al Sharpton wants to be a sitcom star. I wish I was kidding.
Sharpton is in talks with CBS to star in a family sitcom, according to Variety. If that isn’t enough, in a move that should make Norman Lear proud, the show will apparently be called “Al in the Family.” Continues after the jump »
Luscious ‘Lost’ lushes lose licenses
Associated Press is reporting that police in Hawaii nabbed ‘Lost’ actresses Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros on drunken-driving charges.
Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Ana Lucia, and
Cynthia Watros, who portrays Libby, were arrested in separate cars within 15 minutes of each other in Kailua after they were spotted weaving on Pali Highway, which connects Kailua and Honolulu, police said. Both women failed field sobriety tests, they said.Watros was arrested at 12:05 a.m. and Rodriguez at 12:20 a.m., according to police records.
Lay off the road sodas, kids.
Saint or Sinner?
Scott Stapp was recently invited to co-host Spike TV’s “Casino Cinema”, one of the 10,000 movie shows that plays a movie and break for vignettes that center around some theme, in this case gambling. (I personally prefer TBS’s “Dinner and a Movie”, but that’s probably due to the fact that I am a fat guy and really REALLY like to eat!) Turns out that Mr. “Arms Wide Open” Stapp likes to hit the bottle… and hard.
Maybe rocker Scott Stapp - former front man for the very pious Christian rock band Creed - was possessed by Satan when he showed up for a taping of the Spike TV show “Casino Cinema” on Tuesday afternoon.
According to multiple sources on the set, the 32-year-old Stapp appeared intoxicated when he arrived at the show’s upper East Side studio and proceeded to terrorize hosts Beth Ostrosky and Steve Schirripa, the producers and the crew members alike with his boorish and vulgar antics on- and off-camera.
Please, don’t stop there!
So it looks like Matt LeBlanc’s reign of terror MIGHT be coming to an end. As reported by the AP, “Joey”, the show that made us all search for hemlock, is being (at least for now) removed from the airways.
This hopefully is just the first step. As it says in the article, they are likely going to bring this show back on Tuesdays or something. Please, write your congressman! Write to NBC and tell them no! This show should dissappear forever.
Matt LeBlanc will bear much of the blame, but it is really not his fault. When you have an ensemble cast, choosing who to spin off is tough. The most obvious thing is, DON’T CHOOSE THE DUMBEST MOST ONE-DIMENTIONAL CHARACTER!
Now I’ll admit, when I first heard Frasier was getting his own show, I was like, “What? Norm is funnier!” But I was a little kid, and honestly, can you picture a show just about Norm? What could you do with that character? He could find another bar, I suppose. Then he would drink beer… in a place where no on knew his name? Seriously, the characters to build a show around should be halfway intelligent, so you can have good stories built around them. Multi-dimensional characters always work better than one trick ponies.
So good bye Joey…for now.
Less Oprah, more Uma
Yup it’s been awhile, but Bonnie Raitt will finally make a return appearance to “Late Show with David Letterman” tonight on CBS at 11:35 p.m. ET.
Wait. My bad. I mean Oprah. Oprah Winfrey will be making HER return appearance to “Late Show with David Letterman” tonight. I always get those two mixed up.
As a result, the Earth will stop rotating on its axis for 20 minutes.
It’s been 16 cold years since the two appeared together on a Letterman talk show. Back then, Dave was still on NBC and actually cared about his job, while Oprah was going through the latest fad diet I’m guessing. Continues after the jump »
Return of the fat suit
You didn’t think Crap Filter was done talking about the fat suit, did you?
Thankfully, Vanessa Minnillo is a little too fond of the fat suit. She’s back in the fake lard (Did she even take it off?) for another segment on “Entertainment Tonight” that will air tonight. This time she’s off to the dreaded nail salon.
“It’s the story I just couldn’t let go of,” says Vanessa. “I’m back in the fat suit and fighting for overweight women all over again!”
I hate to break it to you, Vanessa, but the only people who watch “ET” are fat chicks, and they’re still gonna be called names, laughed at and have their faces punched in by strangers 50 years from now.
Still, we’re assured to have material as long as you keep wearing the fat suit.
I want my MTV and nothing else
This appears like it could be the most awesome thing ever for cable television consumers, like ever. CNN/Money is reporting that the Wall Street Journal (home of evil, only-if-you-pay-for-it content) is reporting that FCC wants to let cable subscribers choose the channels they want.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission is expected to suggest that cable companies could best serve their customers by allowing them to subscribe to individual channels instead of packages of several stations, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The newspaper said that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is expected to announce Tuesday that the commission will soon revise the conclusion it reached in the report it issued last year on “a la carte” pricing in the cable industry.
Citing an FCC official familiar with the revised report, the Journal said the report will conclude that buying individual channels could be cheaper for consumers than bundles and that themed tiers of channels could be economically feasible.
Halle-fucking-leujah. Continues after the jump »
If by fascinating you mean awful
It’s that time of year when we, the public, get bombarded by meaningless year-end lists and awards. Former Fly Girl Barbara Walters is set to kick it all off tonight at 10 p.m. ET on ABC with her special “The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005.”
Nine of the 10 names have already been revealed, but the identity of THE most fascinating person of 2005 won’t be announced until tonight. If you can’t wait until then, I’m sure you can check your Barbara Walters message boards for spoilers.
Anyway, here’s who we know of so far:
Dakota Fanning - Enjoy it while it lasts, kid, because here comes the Puberty Fairy.
Jamie Foxx - If you look closely you can actually see his head getting bigger.
Condoleezza Rice - Apparently mass murderers are not excluded from consideration.
Teri Hatcher - She’s hot. Continues after the jump »