What better way to celebrate the independence of your country than to recap it’s founding with a little clip from Schoolhouse Rock:
Happy Fourth everyone!
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One can only expect fun and fireworks when two former Daily Show correspondents get together. And that’s just what we got when Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell got together at NYC’s Apple Store for a sit down about Carell’s Get Smart. The pair shows off their wide range of talents when they decide to sing the National Anthem, in harmony! Check it out:
If you’re anything like me the final moments of The Sopranos still bothers you. A while back I linked to a really good theory about what happened. Well here’s an even more thorough breakdown of the finale, presenting very compelling evidence that the cut to black was Tony dying, having been shot by the guy in the Members Only jacket.
This explanation works for me. But David Chase still gets a big “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”.
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NBC is bringing Britain’s favorite car show, Top Gear to the States. If you’ve never seen the show, it’s a group of regular, funny guys who do cool things with even cooler cars. For example, in this clip they test the advertised top speed of a Bugatti Veyron:
Kick ass! The British version stars three guys most Americans have never heard anything about, so it’s probably a good thing that NBC hiried Adam Carolla, Tanner Foust and Eric Stromer to host the American version. Corolla should be a particularly good fit. He’s got the sense of humor too keep everything light.
If you’re looking to watch whole episodes of Top Gear tune into BBC America. For more info on the American version, check out TV Squad.
NBC has released another promo for the upcoming third season of Heroes. We get a glimpse of Hiro’s new nemesis, Speedster, and we get to see some behind-the-scenes stuff. Nothing too drastic though. Check it out:
Steve Carell hosted Saturday Night Live last night, and unsurprisingly The Office was up for parody. What’s surprising is that it was actually funny. They got Ricky Gervais involved, and showed original inspiration for his British version of The Office, a show from Japan. Check it out below:
For those of you going through withdrawal from 24 there’s good news: you won’t have to wait until next January to catch up with Jack Bauer. On November 23rd Fox is going to air a two-hour special in November that will show you what Jack and CTU have been up to between seasons 6 and 7.
The special was shot on location in South Africa and follows Jack as he (wait for it) saves the work from an international crisis. It should help bridge the gap between LA, which has served as home base for all six previous seasons, and Washington, DC, which will be the setting for season 7.
The real question is whether people are actually clamoring for 24s return. It’s been a year since the show was last on the air, and even then it was wrapping up what was generally regarded as a weak season. With the long layoff and the major changes to the show’s setting and cast, are viewers going to come back? Are you?
Looks like the latest attempt to cash in on 80s nostalgia is the beloved Jim Henson creation Fraggle Rock. The Weinstein Company announced plans to make a live-action musical version of the show for the big screen. The movie will reportedly take the main Fraggle characters outside of Fraggle Rock, where they’ll interact with humans. No word yet on when we can expect this shameless attempt to part nostalgic twenty and thirtysomethings from their disposible income.
Just like Ron Burgandy in Anchorman, Charles Barkley will read anything you put on a teleprompter. His co-host knows this, and hilarity ensues:
That’s tuuurrible.
NBC posted a promo today for the third installment of Heroes. The season is titled “Villians”, and from the looks of it we’ll have a hard time telling the “good guys” from the “bad guys”. Check it out:
In other Heroes news, actress Brea Grant will be joining the cast as Hiro’s nemesis, Daphne (aka Speedster). She’ll steal something from Hiro, and he’ll spend a lot of time trying to deal with her. Or, to put it another way:
“Her character is supposed to be Hiro’s Joker,” said Masi Oka, who plays Hiro. “Batman has The Joker. Hiro has Daphne. This is the season where Hiro finally finds his arch nemesis, and it happens to be this Speedster. I kind of equate it more to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, except Daphne says more than ‘meep-meep.’”
This May’s season finale of Lost is going to be so big they just couldn’t fit it into one hour. Or two. It’s going to be THREE HOURS. That’s as long as The Godfather! It’s set to air over two nights, with the one hour part one on May 15th, and the last two hours on May 29th. In reality that sounds like a one hour episode and a two hour season finale, but really it’s just semantics.
The producers say they decided on the extra hour to allow more time to reveal some of the show’s secrets. I’ll believe that when I see it. In any case, anytime we get more Lost it’s a good thing in my book.
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Bryant Gumbel, the worst football play-by-play announcer EVER has been fired by NFL Network.
What made him so bad? Watch this:
Notice how he screwed up the sponser of the postgame show AND he called Tony Romo “Rick”. Adios Bryant. You won’t be missed.
Star Trek veteran George Takei is a contestant on CBS’ Secret Talent of the Stars. Apparently his “secret talent” is sucking at singing. Here’s a clip of Sulu taking on the Willie Nelson classic “On the Road Again”:
Now that we have three members of the original Star Trek cast to dabble in singing, let’s have an Enterprise Talent Contest!
First up is William Shatner with his epic performance of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”:
Finally we have Leonard “Spock” Nimoy singing the world’s greatest ode to a fictional midget, “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”:
Now that you’ve seen the evidence,
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Remember that spinoff of The Office we talked about a while back? Well NBC announced their fall schedule today, and listed in the Thursday 9:30 timeslot is “The Office [Spinoff]“. According to TV Squad the network isn’t sure what the show is actually going to be yet, but they’ve committed to doing it. Interesting. Does anyone else smell suck?
Once again Jenna Fischer proves that she’s just as talented as she is cute. In this clip the cast and crew of The Office recite Jenna’s “10 Things You Don’t Know About Women” (NSFW language)
This classic Saturday Night Live sketch is one of my favorites from the Dana Carvey/Phil Hartman/Chris Farley/Mike Myers crew. The sketch starts off pretty weak, but around the 1:50 mark it becomes pants-wettingly funny. As I remember it was one of the sketches very late in the episode, a spot usually reserved for weird or weak sketches. This was both, until the magic happened. It’s a perfect demonstration of what can go wrong on live TV.
Today’s my second-favorite holiday that honors a guy that allegedly drove snakes from a place that had no snakes (my favorite of course being Whacking Day). In honor of “Saint” Patrick, here are the three most musically gifted Muppets — Beaker, Animal, and The Swedish Chef — preforming “Danny Boy”, a song that everyone thinks is Irish but actually isn’t.
Jack Bauer will be making his comeback to TV a couple months earlier than anticipated. Fox is working on a prequel to next January’s season 7 of 24, focusing on the two years between seasons 6 and 7.
Once the writers strike started Fox announced season 7 would be postponed, since the show is typically presented with no repeats or breaks in its schedule. The prequel will be two hours long and will appear in the fall, with the full season following in January.
I, for one, welcome any excuse to enter a world patrolled by Jack Bauer. What do you think?
I actually watched Kimmel last night post-Oscars, and this had me almost in tears from laughing. Hilarious. See if you can spot all the celebrity cameos:
My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. These words were spoken by President Gerald Ford on his inauguration day, but they are just as applicable today. For today marks the beginning of the end of reruns, reality tv, and crappy game shows. It marks what President Harding called a “return to normalcy”. It marks a countdown to quality entertainment. For today, this day, this glorious day, marks the end of the WGA strike.
Ok, enough reveling. Let’s get down to business. We’re all wondering when our favorite shows are going to be back. TVGuide breaks it all down for us. Hooray Lost!
File under “BOOOOOOOOO”….
Apparently the fact that Will Arnett does commercials for GM means he can’t be the voice of the new Mustang-powered KITT. Arnett bowed out of the role citing a conflict of interest. So who replaces him? Iceman himself, Val Kilmer. I’m sure Kilmer will do a very professional job as KITT, but I was really looking forward to what the former Gob Bluth could bring.
This bad news of course comes on the heels of the news that an Arrested Development movie is in the works.
Is it just me, or is late night TV actually funnier without the writers? If you haven’t heard about the latest late night feud let me catch you up. Conan and Stephen Colbert both take responsibility for Mike Huckabee’s popularity in the Republican primaries, and neither is happy with the other taking credit. This has led to verbal sparring matches between the two. Then Jon Stewart got involved, claiming that he is responsible for Conan’s whole career, and therefore he is truly responsible for Huckabee’s success. Last night this all boiled over, with segments on all three shows. But the one from Conan is the definitive battle, with Stewart and Colbert crashing the show for a rumble. All I can say is “Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean, that really got out of hand fast.”
From time to time a TV show comes along that breaks boundaries, gains critical accolades and a devoted fan base, and still fails to get good ratings. This was the case with Fox’s Arrested Development. The show’s ratings were never good, though one could argue that part of the reason was the network’s decision to move it to about 14 different time slots in its three seasons. Despite the ratings, critics absolutely loved it, as did the few people who actually watched it. Its fans were disappointed when Fox pulled the plug in the middle of the third season, sinking so low as to run the last four episodes in one block, opposite the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
But buck up fans, for there is news of hope. Executive producer Ron Howard and stars Jason Bateman and Jeffery Tambor have reportedly said that a movie is in the works. Once the writers strike is over creator Michael Hurwitz will apparently start work on a script. Hooray!
I think I’m going to watch a couple of episodes now in celebration…
Before we get to the video, let’s go over a few things. First of all, Sarah Silverman has been dating talk show host Jimmy Kimmel for over five years. Second, Kimmel has a long-running “fued” with Damon, where he asks him to appear on the show, then runs out of time before Damon gets any airtime. So, with that in mind, here’s Silverman’s clip from Kimmel’s show:
It’s a crying shame that more people don’t watch The Wire. Maybe living in Baltimore (where it is filmed and set) has me a little biased, but I have to say it’s one of the best shows of the last 10 years. The writing is absolutely incredible, constantly challenging the viewer to keep up with multiple characters and story arcs. HBO is currently airing the show’s fifth and final season.
In addition to just being a great show, The Wire has a history of giving back to Baltimore. Which is probably a good idea since it (accurately) portrays the city as a drug, crime, and corruption filled dump. Every year the show’s producers have thrown a big party to raise money for The Ella Thompson Fund, which attempts to give kids something productive to do with their free time and beautify the city by planting gardens in vacant lots.
This year the show is taking an extra step by auctioning off merchandise to benefit The Ella Thompson Fund and The Baltimore Museum of Industry. You can check out all the auctions on eBay . Items include copies of the first four seasons of the show on DVD, autographed by the entire cast, custom-designed hoodies, and more.
If you’re a regular reader you already know how much I love a good mashup. It’s the audio from the episode of Friends where Chandler and Joey take on Monica and Rachel in a trivia challenge. Only now the video is supplied by The Flash, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Robin. Oh, and Ross is Superman. Hilarious.
Ok, so the picture has nothing to do with the story, but when I did a search for images to use for this story, this was the second one that came up. Seriously. And how could I pass it up? You gotta love a celebrity that’s not afraid to get completely hammered and do stupid things. Speaking of which…
Kiefer Sutherland, the real-life alter-ego of Jack Bauer, was released from jail today, having served 48 days. He was in the clink for a DUI and breaking the probation from his first DUI. I couldn’t find a picture of him after he got released, so I’m going to have to assume he looked like Jack did when he got out of Chinese prison.
Recently I’ve become hopelessly somewhat addicted to Guitar Hero III, so this video made me chuckle. Conan annoys his writing staff while they’re playing Rock Band, then sings The Beastie Boys’ “Sabatoge”, as Edith Bunker. A match made in heaven!
Turns out Conan’s not a bad guitar player. Keep on Rockin’ in the Writer-Free World Conan!
Tonight another year slips into the mists of memory like mime into quicksand. And to celebrate, here’s what those of us a PCWEI think are the best things to remember about 2007:
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How powerful is David Letterman? His tears cure cancer. Except he’s never cried. Oh wait, that’s Chuck Norris…
Letterman has negotiated his own deal with the WGA so his writers (and the ones for network mate Craig Ferguson) get to come back to work on January 2nd. Letterman and his production company Worldwide Pants worked for the last two weeks to hammer out an agreement. So like Leno, Kimmel, and Conan, Letterman will come back on the 2nd. But unlike the others he’ll have his writing staff. Advantage Dave.
via TV Squad
I’m proud to present, through the miracle of YouTube, the sneak preview of Heroes volume three: Villains that was shown at the Jules Verne Film Festival:
My Lost-lust has officially set in. Why? Watch these two videos, then we’ll discuss:
30-Second Trailer
Longer Trailer
Holy Schnikes. Ok, so after the videos what do we know?
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NBC officially unveiled the car that will be KITT in the new TV movie version of Knight Rider, and just like we thought, it’s a Mustang. They also had the cast on hand at the unveiling, so we get to see the folks who will be behind and against KITT. TV Squad has all the details, with pictures and story details.
The highlights are that Hasselhoff will make a guest appearance as Michael Knight, the main character will be his son, and the really cool part, KITT’s voice will be played by Will Arnett (who played Gob on Arrested Development). So KITT should have a sense of humor. And possibly perform illusions.
Knight Rider premiers on NBC on February 17th, 2008.
The first trailer for the straight-to-DVD movie version of Dead Like Me is out, and it shows a few interesting things. First we get to see Henry Ian Cusick as Rube’s replacement. Then we get to see Sarah Wynter replacing Laura Harris as Daisie. Overall, while it’s good to see the reapers again, it doesn’t give us a lot to work with. Check it out:
For more news about the movie check out this post at TVSquad.
If you’re anything like me you’re a big fan of Scrubs, and you think that one of the funnier characters on the show is The Todd. Well here’s The Todd, rapping a song about his favorite body part, uninhibited by NBC’s puritanical rules:
For the full story behind this video head on over to TV Squad
The Office’s receptionist and resident hottie Jenna Fischer is writing an indie movie. She’s not willing to give any details yet, but she’s hoping to have Walk Hard co-star John C. Reilly to star in it, because she would “actually like to do every single film with John C. Reilly for the rest of my career.”
This won’t be Jenna’s first foray into the writing world. She wrote and directed the mockumentary LolliLove with her husband James Gunn (that lucky, lucky bastard…). LolliLove follows the couple’s quest to give back by wrapping lollipops in inspirational messages and handing them out to homeless people. And it’s actually pretty funny. At least I think I remember it being funny. I’m pretty sure I lent my copy to someone and never got it back. If you have my copy please drop me a line 
via MTV Movie Blog
Last night’s season finale of Heroes wrapped up some loose ends, but in typical fashion it left a number of unanswered questions. The show’s creator Tim Kring offered up some answers in a TV Guide interview.
Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers here. There are some in the article though, so consider yourself warned.
The role of KITT in the new Knight Rider movie and series won’t be played by a Pontiac like the original. Instead it will be a Shelby GT500KR Mustang. Jalopnik not only has the news, but they have actual pictures of the car.
The new Knight Rider is coming to NBC in 2008 as a made-for-tv movie. If that does well the network will pick it up for a series, sans Hasselhoff.
Pro Wrestler and reality TV star Hulk Hogan might want to start paying attention to those uber-irritating eHarmony commercials. Hogan’s wife Linda filed for divorce this week, and it what can only be seen as a bad sign, the Hulkster found out about it from a reporter seeking comment. Yoink.
Hogan and his family have been featured on the VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best for the past few years. Recent episodes showed Hulk and Linda attending counseling, but also showed them reconciling. Guess that didn’t work out.
No problem Hulkster. Just say your prayers and eat your vitamins and everything will work out.
I’m traveling for Thanksgiving, but here’s a little post-holiday turkey to chew on. The famous Simpsons couch scene rendered in sand…
As Mr. Whipple actor Dick Wilson implored generations of shoppers not to squeeze the Charmin. Wilson died today at the age of 91. He made over 500 Charmin commercials over a 25 year span, an amazingly consistent advertising campaign. In addition Wilson made guest appearances on sitcoms ranging from Bewitched to Alice.
I propose a 21 squeeze salute as a tribute. Or, failing that, let’s at least watch a couple of his famous commercials…
Have you ever wanted one of Isaac’s paintings from Heroes? Or maybe one of the props from The Office, 30 Rock, or Friday Night Lights? Well now’s your chance.
NBC is launching an online auction on Monday to sell props and memorabilia from some of it’s most popular shows. Included are three of Isaac’s paintings, Claire’s cheerleading uniform, melted props, and a comic book from Heroes, warehouse shirts and Michael’s Timex watch from The Office, and jerseys, footballs, and helmets from Friday Night Lights.
I would imagine that some of these items are going to fetch a pretty penny from some over anxious fanboys. Interestingly, only a portion of the proceeds are going to The United Way. It doesn’t say what’s happening to the rest of the proceeds, so I can only assume NBC is saving up to pay the writers and end the strike…
College Humor put together this mockup of what an episode of 24 would have looked like if the show was set in 1994. Check out the hilarity as Jack Bauer and the CTU team tackle pagers, floppy disks, dial-up internet, and pay phones:
The writers/cast members of The Office are of course on strike with the Writer’s Guild of America. In this video they attempt to explain some of the reasons for the strike, in their own humorous way.
When ESPN sent a crew to New Mexico State University to cover a football game they sent Rob Stone to shoot a little flavor piece for the broadcast. Unfortunately for Rob the flavor was OUCH. NMSU is where they grow the world’s hottest chili pepper, the Bhut Jolokia. Rob was game for trying one. So he did his lead in to the story, then casually took a bite of the pepper. Watch to find out what happened next…
Fox announced today that the upcoming seventh season of 24 will not start on January 13th as it was originally scheduled. Due to the ongoing Writers’ Guild of America strike Fox is postponing the show indefinitely. The show has traditionally run uninterrupted seasons, and with no end to the strike in sight I guess Fox didn’t want to risk having a break in the middle of the season. Boooooooooooo
Heroes creator and writer Tim Kring apologized to fans for the series’ slow start this season. He admitted that the writers have made some mistakes in how they’ve handled the storylines and characters thus far. Specifically he admitted that the pace has been too slow, they’ve mishandled introducing new characters, they didn’t establish the stakes soon enough, and they left Hiro in Japan too long.
I agree wholeheartedly with everything he’s owning up to. Last season Heroes had me anticipating the next episode. This year I almost forget to watch it. Apparently I’m not the only one that has issues with it. The ratings are down 15% so far this season. Hopefully for Kring admitting there’s a problem is the first step to fixing it.
Check out the full story at Entertainment Weekly
Get used to reality TV and news shows. The Writers Guild of America officially went on strike today, meaning that many of our favorite TV shows will be in reruns for the foreseeable future. Talk shows like Leno, Letterman, Conan, and The Daily Show will be in reruns immediately. Scripted shows will take a little while since they have completed shows they can air.
There’s lots of coverage of various aspects of the strike and its effects. Here’s a sampling:
- Heroes taped an alternate ending to an episode set to run in December. Will use that as season finally if strike goes too long.
- Writers are hitting the picket lines
- Some writer/actors put in tough spots, like many members of the cast of The Office
Let’s hope that they can work this out quickly and get us back to mind-numbing entertainment!
NBC has put production of Heroes: Origins on hold before production has even started. The network claims that the impending writer’s strike is the reason, though it’s feasible that the poor ratings for this season’s Heroes
This is a bummer since Kevin Smith was set to write and direct the first episode. Probably a good idea though, since the writers of Heroes don’t have their shit together right now.
TV Guide is reporting that NBC is going to spin off The Office into a new series. Apparently several new characters will be introduced this season, and those characters will be the core of the new series. NBC is looking for a big name star to lead the show.
So, is this a good idea? Honestly I don’t know. On one hand, the current show is among the best on TV. It’s consistently funny and inventive. However I’m not convinced they can replicate that. What do y’all think?
Singer and actor Robert Goulet died today at age 73. Goulet was best known to older folks as the star of Camelot on stage and from his appearances on Ed Sullivan. My grandmother loved him.
But since this site isn’t for my grandmother, here’s Will Ferrell’s take on Robert Goulet singing modern rap classics:
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I love watching Gordon Ramsay on TV. I get some kind of sadistic pleasure watching him rip into aspiring chefs on Hell’s Kitchen, and I like seeing his less ferocious side on both the British and American versions of Kitchen Nightmares. But I really don’t see how a video game adaptation of Hell’s Kitchen could possibly be entertaining.
Canadian video game developer Ludia is out to prove me wrong however, as they’ve announced they’re developing games based on the show for platforms ranging from PCs to mobile phones.
How’s this going to work? You somehow use a keyboard to try and cook, and if you fail Gordon calls you a wanker? Hmm. On second thought that could be entertaining…
Here’s the official trailer for the upcoming season of 24:
Based on the trailer we seem to know:
- Keifer Sutherland really appreciates us fans
- Washington isn’t happy with Jack
- Jack isn’t sorry about torturing people
- CTU isn’t around anymore
- Tony Almeida isn’t dead?!?
- Tony is a hell of a hacker
- With CTU out of the equation, the FBI will be providing the mole
- Tony knows air traffic control lingo
Is it just me or is this a little underwhelming? We’ll have to wait until January 13th to find out if they can improve on last season.
Robot Chicken put together a great spoof of 300. Playing on the fact that the movie isn’t historically accurate, the twisted minds of RC gave another historical tale the same treatment. So watch as George Washington, John Hancock, and the rest of the founding fathers kick some serious British ass!