I’m a huge fan of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer — the series, not that movie with Luke Perry — and damn proud of it. Four years ago, Jane Espenson and Eric Wight were developing a Buffy animated series that never really got off the ground. The only known footage of the series that would have been recently popped up on YouTube. Watch it before it disappears.
(read more and watch the video)
Unlike the majority of fan-made YouTube videos, this tribute to Arrested Development was seamlessly edited and perfectly synced to the most appropriate song — “Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger. Who knew?
My first ever magazine subscription was to Entertainment Weekly. I enjoyed reading about the latest in movies, television, music, and books for a while but after a few years I canceled my subscription. EW became too sarcastic and full of themselves — no doubt an attempt to appeal to the young male demographic. The stereotypical young male demographic.
Well, the glossy magazine filled with pretty pictures of fake pretty people recently released a new classics issue, featuring what they foolishly believe to be the best modern classics from 1983 to 2008.
EW’s list of the best 100 modern TV shows is a sloppy concoction of naivety at best. The Simpsons ranks first, Seinfeld is third, and I can’t say I disagree with that entirely, but from there the rest of the list unravels like the frayed tassel of an imitation Persian rug.
Long time megorites know that I used to be obsessed with The Jack Bauer Power Hour, better known as 24. Well, after the miserable and laughably bad sixth season, I have moved on. The seventh season was set to debut back in January but due to the writer’s strike, FOX pushed it back to January of next year. To fill the gap, FOX is producing a two-hour prequel to air in November.
In the meantime, someone has taken 24’s second season and turned it into a musical, of sorts… I’ve only listened to a few songs, and while the voices aren’t anything like the originals, it’s still pretty damn funny. Mad props to “Damn it! (The Longest Day of My Life)” and the David and Sherry Palmer duet, “Back Where I Belong.”
Another Dharma Initiative video, this time detailing the station known as The Orchid.
Also, have you ever noticed that they say “What?” a lot on LOST?
Oh, how LOST continues to raise the bar and many, many questions. Questions that burn…
Is Claire dead? She seemed rather creepy in the cabin with her and Jack’s daddy, Christian, last night. Personally, I think she died in the cabin explosion. Miles gave her a quizzical look last week, as if he knew something the others didn’t.
Matthew Abaddon called Locke “Mr. Locke.” There’s only one other character on the show that calls him that: Walt. So, is Matthew Abaddon a grown-up Walt? Walt is special. Mayhaps, like the never aging Richard Alpert, Walt can teleport and time-travel too…?
And, how exactly does one move an entire island?
Is John McCain a Cylon? The resemblance between BSG’s Colonel Tigh (Michael Hogan) and Republican Presidential candidate John McCain (Grandpa Munster) is uncanny, save for the eye-patch. Tigh led the insurgency on New Caprica. I wonder if McCain is leading the Iraqi insurgency? Chris Palmer has more speculation.
I love when SNL turns in a nonstop laugh riot from start to finish. It’s a rarity these days, but it does happen. Christopher Walken ranks up there with Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, and Justin Timberlake as the best modern SNL hosts. This past week’s show was no exception either. Walken was brilliant, even if he was just playing a caricature of himself.
Here’s just one of the memorable sketches:
If you haven’t checked out hulu, you should. It’s the future of internet television.
At the end of the third season of LOST, Desmond told Charlie that he had one of his flashes and in it he saw Claire board a helicopter with Aaron and leave the island….
[[SPOILERS LURK BELOW]]
Now that the Writer’s Strike is over, the TV industry, can start picking up the pieces. According to The New York Times, some shows will resume production immediately, while others will sit out the rest of the season.
24, which already had the start of its seventh season delayed indefinitely, will now sit out the entire year and return next January. Heroes will not be back on the air till the fall. The best new show of the season, ABC’s Pushing Daisies, also won’t return until the fall. But at least it won’t have to deal with American Idol.
The worst news is that ABC will (probably) cut LOST’s season order from 16 to 13 segs. This is a step-up from the 8 episodes that were completed before the strike shutdown production. So, at least we’re getting a little more.
Saturday Night Live will probably be the first weekly scripted show back on the air and could return as soon as February 23. Daily shows, like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, should have their respective writers back this week.
According to Variety, powerhouse shows — like Desperate Housewives, The Office, CSI, and Two and a Half Men — will likely be back on the air by the end of March. They’ll probably produce four to eight episodes for broadcast this season.
Lastly, the San Francisco Gate has a piece that talks about how even the writers won the strike, they might still lose in the long run.
One thing’s for sure, the industry will be feeling the effects of the strike for some time to come.
Last night’s episode of LOST was by far one of the best in the show’s history. It raised a lot new questions but, more importantly, it answered a lot too. It’s apparent now more than ever that the writers and producers know where they’re going. Before I offer my own insight, I shall warn those who haven’t watched last night’s episode of the spoilers that lurk below.
(spoilers ho!)
Who says you need writers to be entertaining? Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O’Brien showcased their improvisational skills last night on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The feud started around, of all things, who created Mike Huckabee. (The answer is God.)
THE BEST
1. 30 Rock
No show was more consistent this year than NBC’s low-rated Tina Fey/Alec Baldwin darling. 30 Rock won the Emmy for best comedy this year, beating out the more deserving The Office, which had a superb third season. But once you factor in the new season, 30 Rock reigns supreme. Alec Baldwin is so good that I completely forgot he’s a horrible father.
2. South Park
South Park is like a fine wine; with age it just keeps getting better. This year had everything, from Bono’s raunchy giant turd to the “Imaginationland” trilogy. But the best moment had to be the season finale’s callbacks to the early years with Kenny dying and Stan throwing up on Wendy.
3. Pushing Daisies
With a compact cast of spot-on actors equipped with jocular dialogue that could make Aaron Sorkin smirk, Pushing Daisies is not only this season’s best new show but also the most original show on television. It’s gimmicky and cute but it works. Chi McBride as knitting private detective Emerson Cod steals the show. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the episodes “Pie-lette” and “Bitches.”
4. LOST
LOST has always had its ups and downs but the third season made up for any lackluster moments from season two. Many new questions were raised but many were also answered. Charlie died but so what? LOST recognizes when a character has served his or her purpose and knows when to pull the plug. For the most part the cast remains top-notch, with Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson clearly standing out.
5. Battlestar Galactica
Lasts year’s best show got a bit sidetracked halfway through its third season as we had to endure a few filler episodes. But in the end, BSG rebounded nicely with multiple twists and a cliffhanger that should set up a dynamite final season.
6. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
FX’s crude comedy about five losers whose lives revolve around a shitty bar in Philadelphia delivered again in its third season. The standout episode had to be the season finale, “The Gang Dances Their Asses Off,” where almost every character spends the entire episode dancing. Not since the days of Seinfeld has there been a show about a despicable group of friends who revel in meddling and sabotaging the lives of others.
7. The Office
Don’t get me wrong, The Office was great this past year, but those four hour-long segs that started off the fourth season stretched good material a bit thin.
HONORABLE MENTION to new shows: Mad Men on AMC, Burn Notice on USA, Damages on FX, and The Discovery Channel’s beautifully filmed Planet Earth.
THE WORST
1. 24
What a difference a year makes… Last year I was singing the praises of 24’s fifth season. But after the laughable sixth season, 24 has tumbled into the abysmal abyss of television. The early praise from critics, not to mention my own, only applied to the first four hours or so. Once Jack killed Curtis and the nuke went off, it was all downhill from there. Long-time fans were introduced to Jack’s extended family that we never knew existed. Jack’s brother was bad, so was his father. But the family woes weren’t limited to the Bauer family. Palmer 2.0, as in Wayne Palmer, was entirely unbelievable as the President. And the Palmer sister, yet another contrived character, seemed to serve no real purpose. Watching the sixth season, it’s obvious that the writers and producers saw the direction the story was headed and decided to repeat past clichés, which only made things worse. If not for Peter MacNicol’s scene-stealing Tom Lennox, I would have bailed.
2. Heroes
Forever the example of a show that doesn’t learn from its own mistakes, Heroes took a steaming dump, in the form of reverse character development, on viewers this season. The lackluster first season finale led into a boring second season that culminated in nearly every character reverting to their original state. Even the characters that die can come back to life. There are no consequences whatsoever. The conclusion to the second volume basically ended where the first volume began. Nothing happens on this show. The acting is atrocious and it’s the worst written show on television.
3. Family Guy
When did Seth MacFarlane learn to suck his own dick? The once hilarious Family Guy can’t make me laugh even with the assistance of mind-altering substances. Every episode of has always consisted of just a few minutes of actual “plot” crammed between random gags and humorous callbacks to memory’s past. But now most of those aren’t even that funny. The best example is the hour-long Star Wars spoof they did a few months ago. When you remove the actual sound effects, music, and dialogue taken directly from the original film, the episode amounts to about twenty minutes of fluff. The Simpsons have been on the air thrice as long and can still churn out quality episodes more often than not. Family Guy could learn a thing or two from the predecessor that they frequently rip-off.
The WGA Strike is still going strong but late night TV returns tonight, some with writers.
The Chin returns, sans writers. Can Leno improvise the whole show? He’s not very funny to begin with. Among Leno’s guest tonight will be Jesus’ BFF and Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee, who will “graciously submit” to an interview. Conan also returns, sans writers.
Letterman and Craig Ferguson returns, with writers, after the Worldwide Pants and the WGA reached an agreement. Hillary Clinton will make a surprise appearance on The Late Show.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report return Monday, sans writers.
HBO has unleashed four unique promos for the fifth and final season of the best show on television.
The Wire returns in January.
Read more »»
This week saw the best comedies on TV bow out. South Park, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia all ending their respective seasons, while The Office aired its last completed episode. And with all of the late night shows already in reruns, things are only going to get worst before they get better. 30 Rock, which is having one hell of a second season, remains the last remaining beacon of LOLs out there, but it too is limited. With the strike still casting a great shadow over Hollywood, it’s only a matter of time before other shows start to drop. The studio execs need to wise up and realize how much money they’re going to lose once quality TV vanishes. There’s only so much Dancing with the Stars America can tolerate. At least, I hope there is.
Fox announced today that 24’s seventh season, which has already been riddled with several production delays and a rehashed premise, has been postponed indefinitely. Instead of launching the new season in January with the 8 completed episodes, Fox will hold off until the writer’s strike is settled. If the strike ends soon, 24 could return in the spring, but if it doesn’t it might not make it on the air until next season.
Fox became the first network to unveil a strike contingency schedule which includes moving new shows around to fill gaps and, of course, more reality TV. 24 isn’t the only show being affected either. Once new episodes of House run out, Fox will replace them with a new run of Hell’s Kitchen.
