Posted Feb 9th 2010 2:28PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free
At one point in history, MTV was known for being on the cutting edge of young programming and was quick to pick up on change. However, the network seemed unusually reluctant to stray from its original Music Television name, despite the fact the rest of the world was well-aware that their "music" programming was virtually non-existent. This reluctance was even more weird when MTV's final bastion of music videos,
'Total Request Live,' had the afternoon spot wrenched from its weakened hands.
Well, MTV has finally caught up, making a visually minor but symbolically huge change to its logo: No more "music television."
Continue reading MTV Finally Drops 'Music Television' From Its Logo
Posted Feb 7th 2010 11:33AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S35E14) There was a different tone to this episode. The writing was a bit more ambitious than usual, going out on a limb a few times to tackle an idea that would require a little more work to get the laugh. It was admirable, sure, but a lot of the sketches still fell flat this week. It was strange. I also realize it's extra-weird if one considers my review of Ashton Kutcher's last stint on 'Saturday Night Live', in which I pondered out loud about whether or not he and the writers could have afforded to get a little wackier.
Kutcher's enthusiasm was nice to watch but the episode really felt mediocre. Maybe the low end of mediocre. Is that even a thing? Well, it is now.
Continue reading Review: 'Saturday Night Live' - Ashton Kutcher/Them Crooked Vultures
Posted Feb 5th 2010 3:02PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Industry, OpEd
For years, Hollywood bloggers have been aggressively demonstrating that they are a force to be reckoned with in the industry, so it's really about time that some channel like HBO attempts to glamorize the whole situation with
'Tilda,' a half-hour comedy about the blogging scene.
The usual jabs about bloggers involve the mental image of a college student hunched over a laptop, wearing PJ bottoms and slow-nursing a Starbucks mocha. Well! First of all, joke's on them, because I can't afford Starbucks. Second of all, Hollywood-specific online journalism is a completely different area of the blogosphere, and there's plenty of material for HBO to dramatize. With Bill Condon and Cynthia Mort behind the wheel, it is going to be interesting to see if a pilot sticks.
Continue reading HBO Developing Comedy about Entertainment Blogger
Posted Feb 5th 2010 12:45PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E05) Y'know the way you've been frantically scribbling in your diary for the past few years about how badly you want to see Thomas Lennon and Ron Perlman voice animated characters together? Yeah. I bet you thought you would keep writing forever. But 'Archer' sensed the secret wish in your tear-stained pages and made it a reality.
This episode wasn't quite as rapid-fire funny as some of the previous ones but it was still fantastic. It's clear that the writers are having a lot of fun with the characters, even the ones that pop up for only one mission.
Continue reading Review: 'Archer' - 'The Honey Pot'
Posted Jan 31st 2010 10:32AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S35E13) The first time
Jon Hamm hosted Saturday Night LIve, back in 2008, it was before I had seen his work on
Mad Men and
30 Rock (the latter was due to the fact his guest appearances didn't exist at the time). I was super-excited that the seemingly perpetually serious Hamm actually turned out to be hilarious, and his performance led to one of the best episodes of the entire season. Taking all this into consideration, I was walking on dangerous ground as I prepared to watch Hamm's return to the
SNL stage.
Were my expectations too high to be met? Did Hamm's pre-
SNL beard somehow take funny away from him (I've heard beards can sometimes do that)? As it turned out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Hamm did yet another stellar job as host, bringing a level of charm and commitment that made just about every sketch work.
Continue reading Review: Saturday Night Live - Jon Hamm/Michael Bublé
Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:30AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E04) Ah, yes. Yet another fine episode of
Archer. This show has been steadily funny, which is good. I'm still waiting for it to do something outrageous and surprise us with a particularly extra-hilarious or an especially terrible episode, but I don't mind watching something that I can rely on for decent laughs, even if it doesn't leave me rolling on the floor.
Continue reading Review: Archer - Killing Utne
Posted Jan 22nd 2010 2:02AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E03) Considering
Archer's previous episodes, the title "Diversity Hire" should have allowed you plenty of time to prepare yourself for lots of groan-worthy racial jokes. And yeah, that was definitely what we got. Overall, it was a pretty solid episode; the thirty minutes really went by in a blur because those jokes came rapid-fire.
This week, the ISIS lost yet another non-white agent and needed to make a diversity hire to get some sweet tax action (or not get tax action, I guess). Enter, Conway Stern, a black Jewish agent who is so nice and efficient, it is borderline suspicious.
Continue reading Review: Archer - Diversity Hire
Posted Jan 17th 2010 11:15AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S35E12) First of all, Sigourney Weaver looks incredible. Believe it or not, she turns 61 this year, so that's something to think about as we slowly weep into our young but round, Cheetos-stained fingers. Secondly, Weaver managed to play a variety of characters that explored a wide range of wackiness, all without humiliating herself (it was a dangerous moment during that "Fifty and Freaky" sketch but we all knew Weaver's still a classy lady).
The writing was pretty consistent and suited Weaver well, and it was fun to see her do so many goofy things. It's not often
Saturday Night Live brings in someone that of her status.
Let's be honest here.
Continue reading Review: Saturday Night Live - Sigourney Weaver/The Ting Tings
Posted Jan 15th 2010 3:02PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E02) FX, those bunch of sneaky so-and-sos. Their new hot piece of animated action was set to premiere Thursday night, but instead of airing the "Mole Hunt" episode that quietly previewed after
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia a few months ago, they pulled a fast one and showed an all-new episode first. I guess "Training Day" is to be considered the proper series premiere at this point? Even if it's really the second episode? Question mark?
If you'd rather hang on and revisit "
Mole Hunt," our own Jonathan Toomey took care of that. Here, we're going to take a look at "Training Day."
Continue reading Review: Archer - Training Day
Posted Jan 13th 2010 11:02AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Early Looks, Reality-Free
There is only one really bad thing about
Archer, and that's the fact it's going to make my Thursday viewing line-up very, very full. Way to not anticipate my needs, FX. Geez.
I just sampled five episodes of FX's new animated offering, including the pilot that quietly aired a few months ago (
reviewed by Jonathan Toomey here), and I already love it. There are a lot of appealing things about
Archer: It's 60s-style super-spy adventures plus hilarious writing that maintains a great pace for the entire half-hour. Oh, and puns. Lots of puns.
Continue reading Archer -- An early look
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