TVSquad

"Super News Blaster Breaking News Update": Reminding grumpy Republicans everywhere that the Daily Show considers the unfaithful on both sides of the aisle fair game, the show took on the latest sex scandal to rock the Hill. As it turns out, the allegations about Senator John Edwards having an affair with his former videographer were true. True! Over the weekend, I was briefly intrigued, but then found myself staring intently at her interesting fashion choices. I recall seeing her in a black top with a sequined peace sign at one point. Classy. As for me, superficial? Boy, am I!

One day in 2001, I was having lunch with a friend and we were talking about the new fall shows. We discussed shows that we thought weren't going to make it as well as shows we really enjoyed. Towards the end of the meal we started to discuss The Tick and how we were both excited to see the live version that was premiering later in the season. I remember turning to my friend and saying, "Isn't there another show premiering on FOX later in the season?" We couldn't think of which show it was and so went back to discussing The Tick.

The show we were trying to think of was The Bernie Mac Show and five years after The Tick had come and gone Bernie's show had become one of the funniest family sitcoms on television.

Sad news coming out of Chicago this morning; Bernie Mac has died. Mac had been in the hospital for the past week battling pneumonia. The 50-year-old comedian and star of Fox's The Bernie Mac Show had previously battled sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder that can affect the lungs, but that disease was said to have been in remission.

Rumors regarding the severity of Mac's illness swirled around the internet last weekend when a family member reportedly said that his condition was "very, very critical." However, Mac's publicist came out on Thursday and said that her client's condition was "stable."

In addition to his TV work, Mac was probably best known for co-starring with George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Ocean's 11 and its subsequent sequels. The Bernie Mac show ran for five seasons on Fox before it ended in 2006. I always enjoyed his Cliff Huxtable-as-a-movie-star take on The Bernie Mac Show as well as the different comedic sensibility he brought to the table in the Ocean's movies. Mac had a lot of comedy left in him, and I'm sorry to see him go.

Does this really surprise anyone? Sanford and Son, Redd Foxx's sitcom from the 1970s, might be made into a feature film with Bernie Mac taking on the role of Fred Sanford popularized by the late Foxx. The film has been kicking around the studios for a few years now, and is currently at Sony. Nick Cannon is also slated to play Lamont Sanford, Fred's son.

I'm not a big fan of TV to movie adaptations, but I do recognize that sometimes they can work. The movie Charlie's Angels, which I found rather insipid, was at least based on three crime-fighting chicks, a concept that lends itself to a full-length movie. I'm just not sure how Sanford and Son could be stretched beyond half an hour, taking into consideration the show was essentially built around Foxx and his comedy. The show could have taken place in a bicycle repair shop and I don't think it would have made much difference. Unless some filmmaker out there has something truly amazing in mind for this flick, it seems better to just let it go.

Chicago native Bernie Mac will be appearing in ads for the Illinois State Lottery. His paycheck for the two and a half days of work it took to create the ads? $500,000. If that amount seems a bit excessive to you, you're not alone. Some state officials feel it's way too much and that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Lottery officials disagree, however, citing Mac's appearance in lottery ads in 2004 for which he was paid $420,000. The increase in sales allowed the lottery to donate $30 million to a school fund.  

Of course, it should be noted that Mac does support some charitable causes. I'm not sure how much if any of his own earnings he donates, however.