"Total (Lack of) Recall": Either the House Judiciary Committee loves talking about torture or they haven't been getting any answers during their hearings. Last week, they managed to pull John Ashcroft in for questioning, but they might as well have stayed at home. I can't look at John Ashcroft without thinking of "Let the eagle sooooar", so I'm glad that Jon Stewart brought it up. No mention of Robert Wexler's fantastic "I enjoy cocaine because it's a fun thing to do" from The Colbert Report, but we know everyone was thinking it.The Daily Show: July 22, 2008 - VIDEOS
"Total (Lack of) Recall": Either the House Judiciary Committee loves talking about torture or they haven't been getting any answers during their hearings. Last week, they managed to pull John Ashcroft in for questioning, but they might as well have stayed at home. I can't look at John Ashcroft without thinking of "Let the eagle sooooar", so I'm glad that Jon Stewart brought it up. No mention of Robert Wexler's fantastic "I enjoy cocaine because it's a fun thing to do" from The Colbert Report, but we know everyone was thinking it.Continue reading The Daily Show: July 22, 2008 - VIDEOS
The Daily Show: July 21, 2008 - VIDEOS
"Obama Quest: The Legend Begins": I guess the political comedy world has decided that the go-to digs on Barack Obama will be about the pressures of his golden boy image. Unfortunately, I can't say my middle school days were spent quite the same way, dealing with people making fun of how awesome I am. There are definitely worse ways to be mocked, is what I'm saying. Anyway, Mr. Obama has made his way to the Middle East for the first time, providing the Daily Show graphics department with the opportunity to make the most freakin' epic clip to accompany the report. Awesome. This trip also gave the media a chance to eagerly await a major cross-cultural faux pas. As it turns out, Obama has fangirls and fanboys all over the world.Continue reading The Daily Show: July 21, 2008 - VIDEOS
The Venture Bros: Tears of A Sea Cow
(S03E08) After a surprisingly Jackson Publick heavy run, we finally got another Doc Hammer solo with this episode (the first was "The Buddy System"). Apparently, the first half of the season just worked out to be a lot of Publick episodes and we'll be getting a lot more Doc Hammer scripts in upcoming episodes. Right on, right on.This episode felt more like a Venture Bros. episode than the backstory-tastic stuff that has been dominating this season. Many hilarious moments, beautiful character interactions and gross-out moments were had.
Continue reading The Venture Bros: Tears of A Sea Cow
The Daily Show: July 17, 2008 - VIDEOS
First up, congratulations to The Daily Show for their multiple Emmy nominations! Hey, Jon Stewart even grabbed a nomination for hosting the Oscars. Well done, well done. Awards night will definitely be interesting, as The Colbert Report also got lots of Emmy attention, but in the very same categories as Jon and his team. I'm so torn between the two that I may have to avoid the issue all together and just blindly root for some other show.Secondly, if you saw The Colbert Report last night and felt a little embarrassed for Stephen Colbert for interrupting Rush's performance of "Tom Sawyer"... It was a planned joke about the length of the band's songs. I cannot believe the number of people who went online to rip on Colbert for being clueless enough to do that. Come on, as if Colbert would screw up Rush's first American TV appearance in 33 years with something like that. I feel silly for even having to clear this up.
Continue reading The Daily Show: July 17, 2008 - VIDEOS
The Daily Show: July 16, 2008 - VIDEOS
"It's the Stupid Economy" (or, the slightly more hip "Mos Deficit"): Everyone has their own opinion about the state of America's economy. President Bush recently delivered a speech at the oddly specific time of 10:20 a.m., seemingly to overshadow the Chairman of the Federal Reserve's own speech that was being delivered at the same time. The difference between the two men's words was pretty remarkable. President Bush seemed to think that we're doing all right, which I guess is sort of true, because when you don't have a car or a home, you do get more air and exercise. If you had listened to Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech, on the other hand, you probably had a much darker view, "Wow! One is like a glass half-full kind of guy and the other is an expert on the economy."Continue reading The Daily Show: July 16, 2008 - VIDEOS
Feist plus Sesame Street equals adorable - VIDEO
Man, oh man. I love counting. Sometimes I do it just to do it. I know I'm often alienating some of my less-educated friends (toddlers) when I start spitting those numbers, but I can't help it! Counting is wonderful.In fact, the only thing I love more than counting is the sound of a breathy Canadian singer. Imagine my delight when I was sent this video of Feist singing a special version of her famous "1 2 3 4" (aka "That song from the iPod commercial where there's a chick in something blue and sparkly") with some lovable faces on Sesame Street (as we mentioned a few months ago).
Continue reading Feist plus Sesame Street equals adorable - VIDEO
Project Runway: Let's Start from the Beginning (season premiere)
(S05E01) Despite Bravo's ridiculously shoddy half-attempts to advertise the new season and my sour disappointment in the last group designers, I tuned in for a fifth go at Project Runway. Fingers crossed that I don't hate the world when this is all over.Before we jump into the episode itself, I must rant. Yes, "must". As we all know, Runway is moving from Bravo to Lifetime after this season. I don't believe this is a smart move for the show, and it looks like Bravo is pretty annoyed about it too. Instead of overloading the media with promotional material weeks and weeks in advance to get hype in the system like they usually do, they didn't release designer bios and photos until days before the premiere. Plus, they've posted a full episode guide online, revealing all the guest judges. The season is barely off the ground and Bravo is insanely bitter that Runway isn't its baby anymore.
Continue reading Project Runway: Let's Start from the Beginning (season premiere)
The Daily Show: July 15, 2008 - VIDEOS
America's terrorist watch list just hit the 1,000,000 mark. Yay! Sort of. Not really. Jon pointed out that Nelson Mandela was only recently removed from the watch list. He said it in a way like Mandela had no business being on the watch list on the first place, which I thought was a bit unfair. Sure, striking Mandela from the list was a move that probably should have happened over twenty years ago and his motivation was anti-apartheid, but once a guy has been the leader of a sabotage against his own government and military, that kind of makes the big boys of other countries nervous about having him around too. I'm just saying.Continue reading The Daily Show: July 15, 2008 - VIDEOS
The Daily Show: July 14, 2008 - VIDEOS
Has it really been two weeks? I hope you all have been coping better than I have. There were a lot of night terrors and failed McCain jokes along the way, as I coped with my withdrawal. Well, Jon Stewart (and Stephen Colbert) are back and, while they didn't talk about everything I expected them to cover (FISA? The weird reactions to the latest New Yorker cover?), there are only so many minutes in each episode.Continue reading The Daily Show: July 14, 2008 - VIDEOS
The Venture Bros: What Goes Down, Must Come Up - VIDEO
(S03E07) Now, that was a Venture Bros. episode. In fact, throw the cake and eat some confetti, because I think I may have a new addition to my top five favorite episodes. After my less-than-confident review of last week's episode, "Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman", this was a very pleasant surprise. The episode didn't have any real ties to previous ones, but we got the chance to explore yet another part of the compound and some dark secrets of the original Team Venture.Gallery: The Venture Bros: S03E07
Continue reading The Venture Bros: What Goes Down, Must Come Up - VIDEO
Has Daily Show withdrawal kicked in yet? - VIDEOS
We are nearing the end of The Daily Show's two-week hiatus, but I'm suffering from a serious case of the political commentary shakes. In a desperate attempt to curb my withdrawal symptoms, I spent most of July 4th cracking jokes about the FISA Bill, but nobody wanted to hear it and drowned me out with lots of Roman Candles and exploding beer cans. Hopefully, other fans have been coping better than I have, but just in case you aren't, here are a few things to hold you over a few more days.
Continue reading Has Daily Show withdrawal kicked in yet? - VIDEOS
Reality celebrities and their unfortunate existence
In the early days of reality TV as we know it, when the Real World was less of an alcoholic sex romp and more of a genuine social experiment, the "usual" way for talentless people become famous was to either be born into obscene wealth or fall down a well. Or both. Then, some time around the appearance of Survivor Season One, normal folks realized that they could capitalize on exaggerating their personalities on television. "Richard Hatch walks around naked? And he's gay? And painfully manipulative? Yes, I will sacrifice my time and attention to watch your crappy show."Continue reading Reality celebrities and their unfortunate existence
The Venture Bros: Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman
(S03E06) I'm not sure what I just watched, and I'm not sure if I liked it. I recently realized that my anticipation from week to week has been less about looking forward to another episode and more about waiting for something as awesome as "Escape to the House of Mummies, Part II" or "Twenty Years To Midnight" to come along. The show is still amazing and all, but it's not packing the same punch as before. Last season, I had a new favorite just about every week, but this time around, I have to watch the episodes multiple times before I really like it. It's like I've built up a tolerance to The Venture Bros. Soon, I'll have to cop four or five viewings a week, just to get that same high.Gallery: The Venture Bros: S03E06
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Nine people who must host SNL next season
If there were a way to completely stop people on the Internet from saying, "Why do you keep watching this? Saturday Night Live hasn't been good since the days of Gildaphil Belushikroyd Normfeyrrell!", I would punch that button (or that person). Thinking a little more optimistically, there can always be better days ahead, for SNL is forever renewable, with an ever changing cast and crew. The thing that gets the fastest turn-over is the host, who has the opportunity to bring something new and exciting from week to week. Now that the so-so 33rd season is over, I like to pretend everyone at SNL has kicked aside all the beach time and BBQ invites to plan something exciting for their return. Picking good hosts is an important part of having a successful season, so I've compiled my own list of nine people that must host, just in case SNL decides to re-work the entire show based on blog responses. I'm just covering all my bases, all right?
Gallery: Saturday Night Live: 2007 - 2008
Continue reading Nine people who must host SNL next season
Why wait? Get Venture Bros. commentary now!
Once again proving that I will listen to any nonsense Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer spit, I fought crippling 3AM sleepiness just to get through this commentary (hidden under the "Extras" buttons) for the latest Venture Bros. episode, "The Buddy System". That's right, no need to wait for the Season Three DVD to come out, because you can learn about Doc and Jackson's thoughts on above ground pools right now. Best of all, it's video, so we feel the full impact of their wildly off-topic conversations and also get to admire how these two look more like rock stars than the minds behind Metalocalypse. Compared to their DVD commentaries, though, they managed to offer quite a bit of episode-specific information.
Continue reading Why wait? Get Venture Bros. commentary now!
The Dharma Initiative wants you - VIDEO - Comic-Con Report
Forget the Knight Rider movie, say the series creators - TCA Report
Giveaway Monday: TV Funhouse
