TVSquad

Is it too early to name Archer as one of my favorite shows of 2010? It's hard to judge sometimes how good an animated show is going to be, but if Jonathan's review of the pilot and the video clips below for Archer are any indication, it's going to be all kinds of awesome. I like spy shows and movies anyway, and this animated, modern take looks really funny. It debuts on FX on January 14 at 10 p.m.

(S01E01) "Oh god, with the curry again. This shirt smells likes Indira Gandhi's thong." - Archer

I should preface this review with something basic - I am in no way whatsoever an animation buff. I didn't watch a lot of cartoons as a kid and now that I'm a big boy, my Adult Swim knowledge stretches about as far as Aqua Teen Hunger Force with the occasional episode of Sealab 2021 tossed in. So... I guess I know a little. Enough to say that Sealab's mastermind Adam Reed definitely has a hit on his hands with his first stab at a half-hour show in FX's Archer.

So if you're looking for a treatise one why Archer's flash animation or cell-shaded stop motion freeze-frame whatever-it's-called is superior vs. parochial and clunky, then this is not the review for you. I'm basing my review on content alone and seeing as how Archer won't be back for its official premiere until January, we were very fortunately given more than enough to whet our appetites.

When FX initially picked up six episodes of its first foray into animated comedy, the plan for Archer was to pair it with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Since that greenlight, two things happened.

First, FX got trigger-happy and greenlit a whole bunch of other shows (from the likes of Louis CK and Don Cheadle). Second, and more importantly, according to FX it turns out that from start through post, it takes almost a whole month to complete one episode of Archer. With Always Sunny premiering this Thursday night at 10PM ET on FX, slotting in Archer's six eps suddenly became impossible. So the plan has changed. Instead of pairing Archer with Sunny mid-season, FX plans to launch its fantasy-football themed sitcom The League instead. However, if you were looking forward to seeing Archer, I've got some good news.

The pilot casting is coming fast and furious now.

Chris Parnell has been cast in the new CBS comedy Big D. He'll play a preacher who is the brother of a woman who moves back to her hometown of Dallas with her husband. Hopefully this doesn't mean that Parnell won't be able to reprise his role of Dr. Spaceman on NBC's 30 Rock. Too much Dr. Spaceman could be too much, but it's really great to see him every once in a while.

More pilot news after the jump...

To celebrate the release of The Lonely Island's debut album "Incredibad," we've compiled this list of the top ten Saturday Night Live Digital Shorts. For almost four years, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer have brought us these videos, and they've managed to keep us laughing and humming their tunes weeks after they've aired. We hope this countdown makes you feel just as SNL-y in your digital shorts as when you first saw the videos, and if not, that's okay too. We're glad you're here anyway.

Of course, the rule is that they must have been prefaced by the "An SNL Digital Short" card to qualify. We know how much you love "Virgania Horsen's Hot Air Balloon Rides," but it's not happening. Sorry.

I liked it. I laughed. Sure. I also laughed last week, but I can't quite remember what was so funny. These specials are pretty forgettable, bleeding into my Saturday Night Live memory and then dropping into the recesses of my mind. Again, I understand the need to jump on the debate coverage as soon as possible, but I honestly could have held on until Saturday. Or maybe they were worried that everyone would be sick of Joe the Plumber by then. Well... too late.

Well, that was a little strange... and maybe a little unnecessary. All right, it was definitely unnecessary. I wasn't quite sure how they were going to work out these Thursday election specials, because even though they called it "Weekend Update Thursday", I didn't believe they were just going to show a twenty-some minute long "Weekend Update" segment. As it turned out, the special consisted of one cold open and the rest was "Weekend Update." This is where I got super-confused. Half of these jokes had absolutely nothing to do with the election, leaving me to wonder if there is anyone out there that could not have waited until Saturday night to hear the relevant jokes. I don't think anyone's going to forget the election or the economic crisis any time soon, let alone by Saturday.

With seven separate nominations in the Guest Actor and Actress categories, it's hard to believe that any 30 Rock guest stars were left off this year's list. The men nearly swept the nominees list for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, earning four of the five available spots. The ladies made up half of the Guest Actress category; not bad!

Still, a few brilliant and hilarious performances were left out. You can't argue with nominations for Will Arnett and Elaine Stritch, but I'd swap one or two of the nominees with a few of my own favorites. Check out my list of overlooked 30 Rock guest stars after the jump. And yes, I left out Jerry Seinfeld. Emmy got that one right.

TV Squadder Paul Goebel reviewed the series premiere of the ABC comedy Miss Guided. He wasn't sure what to make of the show after the first airing and I must admit that I also had my doubts about this new comedy. Judy Greer is a joy to watch as guidance counselor Becky Freeley but the comedy was predictable and the cast way too beautiful to portray a real high school. However, I decided to stick with it and ended up enjoying the show's storylines and characters as well as the interview-like tidbits.

The series aired its season finale last week and is now awaiting ABC's upfronts to know if it'll come back next season or have to close the books. To help ABC make its decision, here are some reasons why Miss Guided should be renewed.

(S01E01) I'm not quite sure what to make of this show. It's hard to decide what I like and don't like considering that the show is really not that unique. For example, I've always been a fan of Chris Parnell but his work on Miss Guided pales in comparison to the stuff he does on 30 Rock. The same goes for Brooke Burns but if I had to choose, I'd rather see her in those jeans she wore on Dog Eat Dog.

Judy Greer is super funny. Her guest spot on Two and a half Men was brilliant in my opinion. So when she got her own show, I was interested to say the least.

A sketch has surfaced over at FunnyorDie.com starring Conan O'Brien. It appears to be a sketch from the Saturday Night Live episode that he hosted in 2001. The sketch was cut from the live airing of the show and hasn't been seen until now.

While watching the sketch you get the feeling that it was something that he always wanted to do on his own show but could never fit it in. The premise is pure Late Night but the sketch is way too long and too involved to have worked on a talk show.

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Parnell is moving up in the television world from guest-star/recurring character to prime-time regular. He has just been picked to star in ABC's mid-season comedy Miss/Guided.

Guided stars Judy Greer as a former high school wallflower who returns to her alma mater as a guidance counselor. Parnell will play a fellow counselor. Whether he'll be a friend, enemy, lover, sprout horns, or channel Tom Brokaw (one of the characters he played on SNL) is unknown. What is known is that he'll be joining other cast members Brooke Burns and Kristoffer Polaha.

Parnell was part of SNL for nine years and was let go in 2006 during the semi-purge of the cast. This past season he had a recurring role as Dr. Leo Spaceman on the NBC comedy 30 Rock, where he shared the screen with former SNL buddies Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan.

As the rumors were flying around about who was going to leave SNL, Keith and I were thinking about putting up a "The Five" post that went over the "Categories of former SNLers."

But it looks like the LA Times beat us to it; writer Deborah Netburn details the seven career paths most former SNLers take. I'll admit she did a nice job. The only thing I really disagree with is her classification of Johnny Dangerously as a disaster for Joe Piscopo. I happen to think that it was a very funny movie, and anyway, it was more a Michael Keaton vehicle than a Piscopo vehicle. The other thing she overlooks is: in which category would Chevy Chase fit? His career has been tough to classify, but it does seem like he went from the first category (superstar) to the second category (not funny) somewhere around 1987, doesn't it?

Anyway, what do you think is in store for Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, and Finesse Mitchell? Let me know in the comments.

[via Mediabistro]

Zap2It is reporting that Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell and Finesse Mitchell will not be returning to Saturday Night Live next season, and we'll assume that's true, though the only one we can be absolutely sure about is Sanz, who left a message on his MySpace page yesterday saying he would be leaving the show:

Hi my Dear fans and friends alike,
I have decided to not return to Saturday Night Live this season. I wish the best to everyone at the show and expect them to have a great season. It's been a wonderful eight years and I am grateful for all the friends I was able to make and all the great people I had the pleasure of working with. I want to give a big thank you to all my fans for your kind comments and well wishes. I look forward to making you laugh in the future, and hopefully not behind the counter at Burger King. Goodnight my dears!
XO,
H

Whether "I decided to not return" means he did this of his own volition or was coaxed to leave is for anyone to surmise, but the bottom line is that he ain't gonna be on the show no more.

In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were busy being depressed about the end of summer -- here are some highlights from the last week at TV Squad:



Breaking News

• Cronkite to introduce Couric; Schieffer to sing some folk.
• K-Fed to try to act on CSI.
• Here is the new version of Megatron.
• John Mayer will also be on CSI.
• Bob Evans might sue Entourage.
• Racially-divided Survivor ticks off NYC officials.
• Forest Whitaker will do a guest stint on ER.
• Taylor Hicks suing over the iTunes release of pre-Idol material.
• Patty Hearst to guest on Veronica Mars.
• Horatio Sanz thinks he'll remain on SNL.
• Others aren't so sure: rumor is Sanz, Parnell and Thompson are out.
• All we really know is that four SNLers are out.
• Here is the new Survivor cast; teams to be divided by race.
• USA renews The 4400 for a fourth season.
• Jimmy Kimmel to host game show.
• ABC News specials now on iTunes.
• Cuomo named news anchor at GMA
• ABC moves up premiere of Men In Trees.
• Study finds that there are not enough gay characters on TV.
• Zach Braff thinks this is last season on Scrubs.
• Stargate SG-1 cancelled.
• Music video banned by MTV for blatant product placement.
• Here's (snicker) Kevin Federline (chuckle) rapping (heh) at the Teen Choice awards.
• Giamatti to play John Adams in HBO miniseries.
  

Discussions

• Did The Colbert Report rip off a web show?
• Keith gives a "State of TV Squad" address.
• Is there a possibility Stargate SG-1 will live on?
• What shows should be cancelled immediately?
• Can you find any clues in the Lost season three poster?
• Enter our latest contest by telling us which show will get sacked first.
  

The Five

• Awesome TV jerks.
• Reasons why I don't care about the Emmys.
• Five interviews with cool dead guys.
  

Opinions

• I call out a phony press release about the "new" Sci Fi Channel.
• We catch you up on The 4400 before the finale.
• I'm worried about The Daily Show after Corddry's departure.
• Here's a look at the press kit for Standoff.
• Joss Whedon lists TV's best characters.
• An early review of Dexter.
• Bob doesn't like MSNBC's new graphics.

Retro Squad

• Sports Night: "Sally"
• The Simpsons: "Lisa's Wedding"
• Angel: "The Prodigal"
• Seinfeld: "The Boyfriend"
• The Prisoner: "Living in Harmony"
• Futurama: "When Aliens Attack"
• The X-Files: "Lazarus"

Episode Reviews

• Monk: "Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert"
• Stargate Atlantis: "Common Ground"
• Psych: "Shawn vs. The Red Phantom"
• Stargate SG-1: "Counter Strike"
• Rock Star: Supernova: Week 8 Elimination
• Rescue Me: "Hell"
• Eureka: "Dr. Nobel"
• Vanished: "Pilot"
• Kyle XY: "Overheard"
• The Closer: "Borderline"
• Prison Break: "Manhunt"
• The Venture Bros.: "Love-Bheits"
• Entourage: "What About Bob?"