Way back when, Ricky Gervais did a hilarious podcast cleverly titled 'The Ricky Gervais Show.' Then suddenly, he stopped it and between that, New Coke and the cancellation of 'Hank,' the world found another reason to stop smiling.
Now HBO is returning that joy to the world with an animated version of his podcast starting Feb. 19. Here's a little joy appetizer, but don't get too full because the main course is right around the corner.
(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.
(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.
(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.
I can't imagine the amount of tireless work and toil that goes into a stop-animation show like Robot Chicken, but I can imagine the feeling of heaviness on the animators' shoulders when they realize they have a 40 episode order ahead of them. That's because as a young boy, John Goodman once fell on me.
When Ricky Gervais hosts the Golden Globes this Sunday (NBC, 8PM EST), don't expect any pre-taped pieces or large choreographed numbers. Gervais, speaking to the press on a conference call, said he is avoiding all of that. He has planned what he wants to do, but he won't rehearse it, alone or with anyone on the show.
"I want to host it a little bit more like someone from the Rat Pack would host it," he says. "You know, just off the cuff and just playing the room and having fun with the people and roasting a few of the A-listers and hopefully it'll be fun for the room and the people at home."
"I do want people to have the feeling that anything can happen," he adds. "I want to be reactive so I don't want to just go out there and read an alter cue and do a very staid joke and have that sort of polite sort of titter."
It turns out that blaming all of the world's ails on Jay Leno didn't just become America's favorite pastime last week. It has been a rich and beloved sport way back when he first took over The Tonight Show.
Here's a clip from the short-lived but beloved animated sitcom The Critic featuring a rip on Leno as critic Jay Sherman and his boy make a visit to Hollywood. USELESS TRIVIA ALERT! Leno's voice was provided by one of the show's writers, Judd Apatow, before he found success in mining humor from the folds of Seth Rogen's body fat.
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.
Forgive me, Simpsons, but I don't watch you as often as I used to. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point, watching The Simpsons slipped from an every-week ritual to catch as catch can.
I'm sure I'm not unusual in that respect. I'm sure there are people who were with The Simpsons from those very first shaky frames, who saw them adopt No. 9 and laughed at Homer botching Christmas songs on the closing credits, and faithfully watched for several years, maybe even a decade before they dropped off.
But one of the best things about the show is, you can always come back. The Simpsons never forget. Yesterday's episode and the 20th Anniversary Special that followed was a nice reminder of that. The episode wasn't the funniest I've seen, but I did realize there has never been an episode of the show that wasn't worth at least a few laughs.
The Cartoon Network's Ben Ten franchise is surprisingly good, and I had no idea what it was until Ben Ten: Alien Swarm arrived in my mailbox to review in December. It's out on DVD now, and has popped up on Cartoon Network's schedule again, as well. Here are my thoughts.
Venture Brothers, the funniest and best written show that -- inexplicably -- nobody watches, is getting its own line of toys and collectibles.
The appropriately named Bif Bang Pow!, a collectibles manufacturer, announced today a deal with Cartoon Network to make a new line of toys based on the Adult Swim animated comedy. Fans can look for a collection of action figures, bobble heads, vehicle models and other goodies.
This is a great sign for a show that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. As well-written as The Simpsons or South Park, Venture Brothers shows off spot-on parody and multi-layered jokes in every episode.
In the never ending, epic battle between TV and movies, Wired helped score another death blow for TV.
The magazine's Underwire blog named their picks for the greatest man to ever don the ab-flattering Batman costume and the man who provided the voice for the title character of the awesome 90's animated version won the top spot.
Voice actor Kevin Conroy has not only voiced Batman and Bruce Wayne for Batman: The Animated Series, but also for six animated movies, three other animated series and three video games including the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum. Anyone who is familiar with the dark, gravely voice that brought more depth and range to the character than anyone other should not be surprised that his performances have topped the list.
I'm sure it's making George Clooney grow greener with envy by the minute.
Between The Rock's bizarre guest appearance on Family Guy, and Stan's dirty deed on American Dad, it was a strange week in the twisted mind of Seth MacFarlane. But in a twist M. Night Shyamalan would be proud of, it was Family Guy's Meg Griffin who had the most memorable stand-out moment of the night. Uncomfortable, but memorable.
We also got the first episode of American Dad in the 16:9 widescreen ratio for the first time, and they didn't take advantage of the change to make any modification to the intro sequence at all, or spotlight it in any self-aware way. I still wish last week's epic could have been in widescreen, but with Family Guy now the only holdout on Animation Domination, the whole thing feels a little weird. Shouldn't the marquee show for Seth MacFarlane be in widescreen before its offspring?
(S21E09) You can always count on The Simpsons for a timely reference. Why it was only back in 1997 that Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie book came out, so it's high time we riff on it. Wait, that TV movie with Hank Azaria they referenced? That's more recent. 1999 recent!
449 episodes later, The Simpsons may no longer be the source for the most cutting edge humor, but at least they've reclaimed a lot of the heart this season that was missing early on. Next week is the big 450th episode celebration, which not-so-coincidentally is the week FOX has opted to celebrate officially the 20th anniversary of the stalwart comedy.
For those tired of Seth MacFarlane dominating the Sunday lineup, next week, it's a reversal of fortunes, as The Simpsons is joined by an hour-long special and the only MacFarlane show to make the grade is his own version of a "traditional" family sitcom: The Cleveland Show.
I don't laugh much at The Cleveland Show, but I laughed at this from last night's episode. It opened with a flashback to 1984, and the show riffed on shows and movies that do everything they can do make us understand what year it is, from having songs from that year on the soundtrack, references to things in the news, and the clothes that the characters are wearing. I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!
I can't imagine the amount of tireless work and toil that goes into a stop-animation show like Robot Chicken, but I can imagine the feeling of heaviness on the animators' shoulders when they realize they have a 40 episode order ahead of them. That's because as a young boy, John Goodman once fell on me. 
When Ricky Gervais hosts the Golden Globes this Sunday (NBC, 8PM EST), don't expect any pre-taped pieces or large choreographed numbers. Gervais, speaking to the press on a conference call, said he is avoiding all of that. He has planned what he wants to do, but he won't rehearse it, alone or with anyone on the show. 
Forgive me, Simpsons, but I don't watch you as often as I used to. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point, watching The Simpsons slipped from an every-week ritual to catch as catch can. 
Venture Brothers, the funniest and best written show that -- inexplicably -- nobody watches, is getting its own line of toys and collectibles.
In the never ending, epic battle between TV and movies, Wired helped score another death blow for TV. 
(S21E09) You can always count on The Simpsons for a timely reference. Why it was only back in 1997 that Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie book came out, so it's high time we riff on it. Wait, that TV movie with Hank Azaria they referenced? That's more recent. 1999 recent!
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