Fox-related stories
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 10:32AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Law and Order, Casting, Reality-Free
More good news out of NBC's top drama.
Wentworth Miller is guesting on Law and Order: SVU, and this time he's not going to be behind bars. The
Prison Break actor will star in the September 23 premiere of
Law and Order: SVU, which is kicking off its 11th season on the NBC.
Wentworth Miller's casting comes on the heels of
NBC re-signing of Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni to two-year extensions as the show's mainstays, Detectives Benson and Stabler, as well as the return of Stephanie March as Alex Cabot and a four-show arc for Christine Lahti. I'd say that the powers-that-be are stacking the deck with prime talent to make sure
Law and Order: SVU maintains its top quality status.
Continue reading Wentworth Miller goes from Prison Break to Law & Order: SVU
Posted Jul 3rd 2009 10:03AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Programming, The Simpsons, Video, Animation, Celebrities, Reality-Free
"Stark Raving Dad," the season three opener of
The Simpsons, is a hilarious and heartwarming half-hour. It reminds me of the show's best days when it delivered that perfect blend of bizarre humor, social commentary and unexpected sweetness. I'll be one of the millions tuning in this Sunday when
Fox re-airs the ep as a tribute to uncredited guest star Michael Jackson.
Like Joel
reminded us last week, the King of Pop provided the voice for Leon Kompowsky, a large and loveable brick layer who says he is Michael Jackson. In the episode, Homer is charmed by Leon and brings him home from a mental institution, where the rest of the family eventually falls in love with him. The sweetest moment comes at the end when Leon and Bart perform a birthday song for Lisa.
Continue reading Fox to re-air Michael Jackson Simpsons episode
Posted Jun 30th 2009 12:03PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Were you charmed by the first sweet and funny season of
My Name is Earl? Me too. And did you just about give up on the show after it eventually lost most of its charm and became a depressing, unfunny raunch fest? Me too. That's probably why I'm not too excited about
Earl creator
Greg Garcia's new show.
Fox just picked up Garcia's untitled single-camera comedy. The show will revolve around a young man raising an infant, the result of a one-night stand with a death row inmate, with the help of his dysfunctional family. Garcia tells
Variety that his new characters will be "the same type of people" we saw in
Earl and that they'll inhabit a world not unlike Earl's hometown of Camden.
Count me out if the show will rely on the same mean-spirited bathroom and gross out humor we saw in the last few seasons of
Earl. Hopefully, Garcia will deliver something fun, fresh and clever instead of rehashing the same crude jokes and stories that got his old show cancelled.
Posted Jun 29th 2009 2:43PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free, Comic-Con
It seems like a no-brainer that television and Comic-Con would go together like peanut butter and jelly. But TV has actually been a bit slow to the game and viewed their presence at Comic-Con as something that goes together like peanut butter and regular butter (trust me, I've tried peanut butter and butter, and it's not good).
This year, studios have recognized the importance of the annual geek con-fab and are presenting more shows and panels than ever before. There is going to be more TV at the Con than you can shake a stick at, so don't forgot your shaking sticks.
Why so many?
Variety reports that studios and networks are recognizing the buzz they can generate at the convention through electronic social networking and good ol' word-of-mouth by showcasing and premiering exclusive screenings of their shows.
Continue reading Comic-Con turning more TV on
Posted Jun 27th 2009 2:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: The Simpsons, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Michael Jackson's impact on TV's infallible mammoth
The Simpsons goes far deeper than we
previously suspected. In fact, Jackson is probably one of the many creative minds who helped the show and its characters move into more musical territory and become an even deeper part of global pop culture. When you're a king, you have all sorts of powers, so you might as well use them for the good of your kingdom.
That's why when I become king, I will order all television networks to play nothing but
Top Gear and
Robot Chicken and that episode of
Married...With Children where Al meets a stripper named Rocki Mountains. Anyone who tries to stop me will be thrown into a cell without the benefit of trial and forced to watch reruns of
Cop Rock and
AfterMASH until their eyes stop working and/or melt right out of their skull. Whadaya gonna do about it? I'm the frigging king!
Continue reading Michael Jackson's connection to The Simpsons runs deeper than you think
Posted Jun 26th 2009 10:03AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Obituaries, Alumni
In the wake of his surprise death yesterday,
the networks scrambled to cobble together retrospectives of Michael Jackson's life and works and get them on the air as quickly as possible. I expect we'll see more carefully planned tributes coming down the road. But none perhaps more bizarre than
Fox's proposed tribute to the King of Pop, coming up this Monday, June 29 at 8 ET.
They've decided to air an encore of the Michael Jackson themed episode of
American Idol from this past season. In it, the
Top 13 contestants performed from Jackson's catalogue. It's a bizarre choice, because despite a few good performances, notably from Kris Allen, Alexis Grace and Allison Iraheta, most of the performances were either okay or downright terrible. I'd think you'd want some good singing of perhaps some of his better known works to honor the man.
Continue reading Fox offering up a bizarre MJ tribute Monday: a repeat of American Idol
Posted Jun 25th 2009 5:25PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Video
A while back we told you about a new FOX reality show titled
The Fatchelor. That was actually a cute nickname for the show
More To Love, which features an overweight guy looking for love with an overweight gal. Or maybe any gal, though this preview below does seem to say that he wants one with more meat on her bones. But the question is, will you watch this? And if so ... why?
Posted Jun 25th 2009 2:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Early Looks, Reality-Free
I really wish I could have liked the pilot for
Virtuality. It was Ron Moore's first new series since the end of his
Battlestar Galactica relaunch that wasn't related to that series. Unfortunately, the pilot seems to fall flat and is unlikely to lead into a series.
The concept is solid. It's about a group of 12 space travellers (each of whom could be mistaken for an underwear model) who are on Earth's first interstellar spacecraft, the Phaeton. Earth has become all but unlivable and they are traveling to a nearby star for ten years (five there, five back) and try to save the planet.
Continue reading Virtuality -- An early look
Posted Jun 24th 2009 5:30PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
The first bit of news is that there's actually going to be
a 21 Jump Street movie. Jonah Hill is writing a big-screen adaptation of the 80s FOX drama where young-looking cops go undercover to bust bad guys. He wrote a cameo scene for Depp, and Depp thinks such a cameo would be "hilarious." Depp wouldn't be playing his 21 Jump Street character, he'll actually play Jack Sparrow, his character from
Pirates of the Caribbean. That's the weird twist to the cameo.
Well, no. Though Hill hasn't said what role Depp would play. I can only assume that he'll be playing the same part as he did years ago, though who knows. He could be playing Johnny Depp playing Tom Hanson, one of those meta "TV-show-within-a-movie" things. Hill does say that the show's theme song will be in the movie.
If you forgot what that theme song sounded like, take a listen after the jump.
Continue reading Johnny Depp would love to appear in the 21 Jump Street movie
Posted Jun 24th 2009 10:01AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Animation, Reality-Free
I was one of those people who bought the
Family Guy DVDs and helped bring that show back to Fox. As such, when word came out that Seth MacFarlane was branching out with a new show, I was beyond excited about it. And yet, try as I might I just couldn't get into
American Dad. I didn't make it past the first season, and hadn't checked in with it since. Maybe it was too different than what I was used to.
When a friend of mine told me that
Dad was better than
Guy now, well I wasn't buying that at all. Lo and behold, suddenly it was summertime and I had all this freetime on my hands ... because I'm not going to watch
Surviving Suburbia and
CSI reruns and I'm certainly not going to go
outside! I decided to take advantage of the time to catch
American Dad reruns and see if the show got better. Fortunately for
American Dad,
Family Guy has been really hit or miss this past season with more episodes devoid of laughter than before.
Continue reading Is American Dad really better than Family Guy now?
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 11:08AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Interviews, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Futurama has gone through more frustrating cancellations than a United Airlines flight leaving Chicago's O'Hare Airport. No one knows that better than voice actor
Billy West and actress
Katey Sagal who respectively provide the voice, heart and soul of the show's two main characters, Fry and Leela.
But what has kept the show going is the camaraderie of the cast and crew. Everyone from the show still keep in touch in between other jobs and even have the occasional reunion from their regular crowded visits at ComicCon to smaller get togethers like when Katey said the cast got together to watch her last concert at the
MBar in Hollywood.
Most of all, they said they have the fans to thank for their next big reunion when
Futurama goes back into production. They both took a short time out of their busy schedules to chat about Comedy Central's two season order.
Continue reading Katey Sagal and Billy West on the return of Futurama
Posted Jun 21st 2009 6:07PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, American Idol, Celebrities, Host, Celebreality
Somebody has to stop
Ryan Seacrest. Please. I mean it. He's going too far.
Seacrest tweeted that he is talking with Lindsay Lohan about her own reality show. Presumably it'll be in the vein of Ryan's other reality star vehicles,
Keeping Up With the Kardashians and
Denise Richards: It's Complicated. Notice that I didn't say it would have the same quality as those other shows because if you've ever watched more than an episode, you know that quality is not a requirement. Manipulation, mugging and broad fake emotions are all that's necessary.
So,
Lindsay Lohan, heed my warning: stop talking to Ryan Seacrest. No good will come of it.
Continue reading Stop Ryan Seacrest for Lindsay Lohan's sake
Posted Jun 21st 2009 10:22AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Fathers' Day should be a time of deep reflection and appreciation for the man who brought you into this world, whether you asked him to or not.
Oh sure, the old man may seem like
the worst father of all time sometimes. He yells and screams. He gets on you for growing your hair too long because he knows he couldn't grow hair if he had a Chia Scalp. He constantly walks around the house in his underwear and then scolds you for not eating the sausage Mom made for breakfast.
But a few minor flaws doesn't mean that he's a bad guy. So go out and get him that witty card with the pipe smoking Dad on the cover, pick out a paisley tie that you'll never see him wear and give him a big hug to remind him
he's the best. Because he's your old man and he's not one of the seven bastard sons of hell below.
Continue reading Seven TV dads we're glad aren't ours
Posted Jun 18th 2009 2:33PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free, Dollhouse
Way back in April
we reported that Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters, creators of The CW's
Reaper, had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox and would most likely be leaving
Reaper behind. Now that The CW has officially canceled
Reaper to make room for its
upcoming slate of bubblegum teen TV, Fazekas and Butters are
joining the writing staff of Joss Whedon's
Dollhouse. The
Reaper duo will begin their
Dollhouse stint in season two, which kicks off Friday, Sept. 18 on Fox.
I have mixed feelings about this news. I'm glad that
Dollhouse nabbed these two obviously talented and funny writers, but I'm still bummed about
Reaper's cancellation. And while this might mean that
Dollhouse will deliver more smart, nerdy comedy in season two, that Friday night death slot still has me worried.
Continue reading Reaper creators join Dollhouse writing staff
Posted Jun 18th 2009 12:04PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: The Simpsons, Hardware, Reality-Free
Gadgets have always fascinated me. And it's not because of what you can do with them. It's what you CAN'T do with them. The day my microwave can cook my dinner, then feed it to me while it's cleaning my toilet, de-crumbing the toaster, and doing my taxes is the day my interest in gadgets dies.
The most impressive aspects of gadgetry are how much you can customize them to fit your taste and personality. Just a few years ago, having a Dilbert screen saver that didn't send your hard drive into an epileptic fit was the epitome of "personal" computing.
Now you can change the way it looks from every angle, the way it thinks, and even the way it talks.
TomTom unveiled a new voice skin for their GPS devices. Now Homer Simpson, the actual voice of Homer Simpson voiced by Dan Castellanetta, can guide you to locations and it doesn't have to be a dispensery of donuts.
Continue reading TomTom? Meet HomerHomer
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