Entries Tagged 'Announcements' ↓

NBC’s shaking up its Thursday comedy lineup for the rest of the season. 30 Rock and Scrubs are swapping time slots, with Tina Fey and Co. moving to 9:30 p.m. and the Sacred Heart-ers filling the gap at 8:30.

There are two main reasons for the move: 1) A recent 30 Rock episode featuring the reality show parody MILF Island drew criticism from, I assume, people who haven’t seen prime time comedy since Full House went off the air; and 2) Since Scrubs is in its final season anyway, giving up-and-comer Rock the cherry post-Office slot makes good sense (even though it’s just keeping the 9:30 spot warm for next year’s Office spin-off, which, after last week’s ep, I’m thinking will probably be Life With the Halperts).

Problem is, Scrubs is barely tolerable this season. Before you twitter angrily about me in all caps, you should know I used to love Scrubs. It was a great show. But after sitting there stone-faced, week after pre-strike week, I couldn’t do it anymore. Since then, my Thursdays have been a neat 90 minutes of comedy, ending with a channel change at 9:30. But now, things won’t be so easy. I can try to avoid Scrubs, but it’s gonna be hard. I just know I’ll check in a few weeks to see if The Office has started yet, and there she’ll be:

“Oh,” I’ll say. “Hi… I didn’t know you’d be… well maybe I should…”

“No,” Scrubs will say, “Maybe I should…”

“Well, it’s good to see you again.”

“You, too.”

“You look… funny.”

“Thanks.”

“Um, well, maybe I can watch you sometime, if… if you’re in… you know… syndication or something.”

“Don’t bother.”

And that would be it… Thanks NBC. Thanks a lot.

I repeat:

Holy.

Frak.

A show that has generally been a tad on the dark side suddenly gets a lot darker. To emphasize that fact, the episode opens with one of the more adorable scenes in the series, with Adama reading a potboiler to Laura as she’s receiving her chemo.

A lot’s going on in this episode, so let’s get to it: Continue reading →

I just saw the obit for Stanley Kamel, who played Adrian Monk’s psychiatrist. I’m not sure how they’re going to handle it on Monk, but I’m hoping they leave the character of Dr. Charles Kroger alive. Having just watched a Magnum, P.I. set and seen how Robin Masters lived on for years after the death of Orson Welles, I think it’s probably the best way to honor a deceased actor in a light mystery series.

Forget the iTunes Store and NBC.com, I’ve recently become hooked on one of the coolest places to watch television on demand: Hulu.com.Hulu is like a cross between the iTunes Store and YouTube, allowing users to watch tons of video clips, episodes and even entire movies. I’ve primarily been using it to watch episodes television shows when I’m on my lunch break. It’s a great way to catch up on new episodes of The Simpsons, or revisit the entire run of Arrested Development. The video quality is a cut above YouTube, while not necessarily built for full-screen viewing (although you certainly have that option).Hulu, according to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, is a joint venture between NBC Universal and Newscorp. This explains the large number of NBC and FOX television shows on there. The shows do have commercials, but thankfully it’s just a short 30-second spot per break. The Hulu videos also allow you to fast forward, jump to chapters, and dim the rest of the page for “dark room” viewing.If you’re trying to kill some time, or quench your curiosity about a show without buying it, check out Hulu.com. My current favorites are:

Happy April, loyal television viewers! This has been a rough few months, with the strike annihilating our viewing schedules and dousing us in mediocre reality-themed programming and re-runs. But fear not! Today is April 1st, and April will be a fantastic, fantastic month, because the vast majority of hiatus shows will be returning to the airwaves! Rejoice!

Just to recap, below is a list of shows returning in April, so get your calendar cleared:

April 2 - Criminal Minds, CSI: NY
April 3 - Without A Trace, My Name Is Earl, CSI
April 4 - Battlestar Galactica, Numbers, Ghost Whisperer
April 8 - NCIS
April 10 - The Office, 30 Rock, Scrubs, ER
April 11 - Moonlight
April 14 - Rules of Engagement, One Tree Hill, Bones
April 15 - Law & Order: SVU
April 17 - Smallville
April 20 - Brothers & Sisters
April 21 - Gossip Girl
April 22 - Reaper
April 23 - Law & Order
April 24 - Lost, Ugly Betty, Supernatural, Grey’s Anatomy
April 28 - House
April 29 - Shark

Shows missing in action until next Fall: 24, Private Practice, Heroes, Friday Night Lights (if it doesn’t get canceled)

April is going to be a busy month. My Tivo has been dangerously under-used lately. I hope the poor girl can take the strain.

(via EW)

While so many others bailed on The Simpsons years ago, and the Internet is rife with debates over when people think it stopped being funny, I for one have stayed faithful to Homer and company through the good times and bad. I thought Season 18 represented an upswing in quality, I really enjoyed the movie, and what I’ve seen of Season 19 has been pretty great. Let’s take a look at the episodes that have aired so far in 2008. Continue reading →

As Paul Harvey would say, this one is “partly personal.” For those in the Los Angeles area, comedian Jason Stuart, whose first television special Making it to the Middle premiered last night on here! TV, is headlining a benefit for Life Works Mentoring on Monday, April 14 at The Showcase Theatre (614 N. LaBrea, across from Pinks Hot Dogs), alongside Alec Mapa, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Wendy Leibman, Chad Allen, and Bruce Vilanch. For more information and to order tickets, call 310.724.6300.

Last year ABC’s runaway hit DANCING WITH THE STARS came under some critical fire. People alleged certain contestants had unfair advantages because their “day job” included choreography and learning of dance moves. Whether it was the Cheetah Girl, the Spice Girl, or the “little bit country” girl, there was no denying many of them were trained as part of what they did before to pick up steps quickly and execute them all too well.

Well… this year, although we do have an Olympic medalist ice skater and a Broadway Tony winner who both know choreography, the dancing is not quite as advanced or slick. Poor poor Monica Seles who looks like a jock in a dress, and moves as stiffly as she is fierce on the tennis court. Wow! She’s bad, and looks like she’ll be leaving soon. But guys like Adam Carolla and Penn Jillette aren’t posing much of a threat to her. It’s decidedly the most amateurish group of dancing stars ever.

Personally, as good as Kristi Yamaguchi already is, the one I am cheering for so far is Priscilla Presley, who is the oldest contestant ever. For a grandmother she looks great, and her dancing is awesome. She’s the big surprise! Shannon Elizabeth is surprisingly good too. Steve Guttenberg looks dazed and confused but somehow hopelessly happy. I want some of whatever he is on. And who knew NFL star Jason Taylor would take the lead so easily? Most courageous and inspiring goes to Marlee Matlin, who is at a disadvantage with her deafness. Yet somehow she is always the one on the beat.

I hate to admit I watch this show, but I am sort of hooked. I guess it’s just one of those shows you can’t help but smile through. But this year I doubt we will hear much controversy about professionals in an amateur contest. Apart from Yamaguchi, they all look like they have never stepped on a dance floor before.

My prediction is that Monica Seles and Adam Carolla go home all too soon… I hope Penn sticks around long enough to make me laugh harder.

Trey and Matt craft yet another brilliant homage to ’80s pop culture with this week’s new episode of South Park entitled “Major Boobage” (Ep. 12003). This time, the target is Gerald Potterton’s animated male fantasy Heavy Metal…

Kenny is skipping school and the other boys are sure it’s because he’s hooked on the latest drug craze that’s popular with the junior high and under crowd. Meanwhile, Kyle’s parents become concerned that their son is getting high when they find contraband in his room.

“Major Boobage” premieres Wednesday, March 26 at 10:00p Eastern and Pacific on Comedy Central.

I’m sure more of my Generation X contemporaries are drooling over the prospect of a new Knight Rider series, but I’ve been keeping my eye on the potential return of an earlier action series. Among the people involved in a pilot movie for a new TV version of The Saint to star James Purefoy (Rome), according to Hollywood Reporter, are Barry Levinson (who will direct the pilot), Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life in the Street) and Roger Moore, one of the many actors (including Vincent Price, George Sanders, and Val Kilmer) who has portrayed Leslie Charteris’ infamous Simon Templar over the years. There’s no U.S. network lined up, though.

“One of the things we lost a little bit of in the movie but want to bring to the TV series is that Simon Templar is [a] very funny character with great lines and situation humor, and I don’t think there is anybody better than Levinson to tackle that,” Bill Macdonald, one of the Templar Entertainment Group founders, told Hollywood Reporter.

Read more about it here.