Reno911-related stories
Posted Oct 14th 2009 4:00PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free, Comic-Con

It's great to see members of The State getting their due in Hollywood.
Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, founding members of the sketch comedy troupe, have been cracking me up since the early '90s when the State had its own sketch comedy show on MTV. They've been very productive since
The State was canceled in 1995, starring and producing Comedy Central's hilarious
Reno 911 and writing a number of films, including
Night at the Museum and
Balls of Fury. Now, the duo is bringing their twisted brand of comedy to NBC.
Lennon and Garant will write, produce and star in a
new multicamera comedy for the network, says
The Hollywood Reporter. The show is part of a talent deal NBC and Universal inked with Lennon.
Continue reading Reno 911 creators producing new comedy for NBC
Posted Jul 9th 2009 2:04PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Reality-Free

When I first wrote about the
cast changes for season six of
Reno 911!, a few readers were disappointed that their favorite deputies were killed in a tragic taco stand explosion. Clementine (Wendi McLendon-Covey), Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui), and Kimball (Mary Birdsong) all died, and were replaced this season with Deputy Frank Rizzo (Joe Lo Truglio) and Sergeant Jack Declan (Ian Roberts).
Clementine and Garcia were both part of the show since the beginning, and were often the most appealing characters on the show. The racial tension between Garcia and Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) was a fun plotline, and Clementine's undercover pot bust at a head shop was one of my favorite scenes. Kimball came aboard in season three, and had her adherents, as well.
Continue reading A second look at Reno 911!, season six
Posted Mar 30th 2009 7:02PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Casting, Reality-Free

One of my favorite things that
Reno 911! does is to weave in guest stars with little or no fanfare, and to just let them mix it up with the cast. I smile every time I see Patton Oswalt as a role-playing geek running, in full chainmail, from Dangle & Co. Or Paul Rudd as a Lamaze coach. Or Cheryl Hines as trailer trash (there has been a lot of trailer trash).
It's never a big deal, it's never announced to promote the show. It's just people who are good at what they do goofing off and having a lot of fun, which is what the rest of the cast is doing anyway.
Looks like the new season, which premieres Wednesday at 10:30PM, will continue that tradition. Here's a bit with Jonah Hill, uncensored.
Continue reading New cast members, same old Reno 911! - VIDEO
Posted Feb 19th 2009 11:04AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Saturday Night Live, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten

There is no better way to get inside a character's head (without resorting to charging up some power cutting tools and laying down some newspaper) than writing in a dream sequence.
Some of them, however, try to explain too much or cover too much ground and end up becoming the kind of dreams that keeps our Paxil dosage high and GlaxoSmithKline's stock price higher.
These are those mindfreaks.
Continue reading Eight of TV's weirdest dreams - VIDEOS
Posted Feb 10th 2009 2:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free

This story hits a little too close to home for me since I'm a native New Orleanian and have spent more time at Mardi Gras parades than most of the floats in the parade. So forgive my impertinence if things get a little too personal in this post.
The Krewe of Orpheus should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for
pulling their invitation to Carlos Mencia to ride in this year's parade. Then it should be immediately stripped for not having the decency to not invite him in the first place.
Here's how it works. Three of the biggest Mardi Gras parades called "Super Krewes" invite big name celebrities to ride in their parades the weekend before Fat Tuesday. No, Fat Tuesday is not the nickname people have for your mother's birthday. It's the actual Mardi Gras day.
Continue reading Carlos Mencia dee-dee-dee-listed from Mardi Gras parade - VIDEO
Posted May 22nd 2008 7:58PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free

"Don't get high on your own supply." --Thomas Lennon on how he doesn't have basic cable.
Thomas Lennon, the star and co-creator of Comedy Central's
Reno 911!, got to together with
Mahalo's Lon Harris to talk about basic cable, the how it's not gay to love Sting in
Dune, Christopher Walken's answering machine, and
Falcon Crest. He also dishes about the finale of
Reno 911! (currently in its fifth season), the
Upright Citizens Brigade, and
Balls of Fury. Oh, and he might mention something about
The State reunion.
Fans of Thomas Lennon and all things
Reno 911! will enjoy this interview. Lennon is genius! The video is after the jump.
Continue reading Thomas Lennon talks about the fifth season of Reno 911! - VIDEO
Posted May 21st 2008 1:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Cable/Satellite, Casting, Reality-Free

If Judy Greer was in tears about
Miss Guided not being picked up by ABC for the fall schedule, she can wipe her eyes and blow her nose because something else -- maybe better -- has come along.
Greer has been cast as the lead in HBO's Suburban Shootout. This is the same comedy that has already been announced with
Kelly Preston, Rachael Harris (
Notes from the Underbelly) and Kerri Kenney (
Reno 911).
The comedy pilot is being directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, best known for features like
Men in Black and
Addams Family (I'll be kind and not harp on
The Wild, Wild West), but on TV is one of the prime players behind ABC's
Pushing Daisies (as well as
Notes from the Underbelly which is the connection to Rachael). So, you see, Judy may have landed in a project that's bound for glory. Well, we'll see, but it does sound interesting.
Continue reading Miss Guided's Judy Greer gets a new gig
Posted Apr 29th 2008 9:40AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Casting, Reality-Free

Spike TV has
ordered six episodes of Factory, a largely improvised comedy revolving around four small-town factory workers who'd rather do anything than work at their boring jobs, according to a
Hollywood Reporter story. It will be the Guy Network's first original comedy series.
Set to premiere on June 29 at 10 p.m.,
Factory is directed, produced by, and stars Mitch Rouse (pictured), co-creator of
Strangers With Candy, the short-lived TV series that ran from 1999-2000, as well as the 2005 prequel feature film by the same name.
Rouse has an interesting list of credits. In addition to numerous feature films, he played Dr. Ryan Gibson on
According to Jim (come on, there must be someone out there who
watches this show), Fireman #1 on
Reno 911, and was a regular on
Exit 57, a mid-1990s comedy-sketch show.
Continue reading Spike gets its own comedy series
Posted Apr 2nd 2007 11:41AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S04E08) Yeah, I know the title of the episode isn't really "Episode 408," but the real titles never pop up until a few days after the show airs, at least not on the sites I check. If any of you lovely readers knows where I can find the actual episode titles, let me know in the comments. I'll give you mad props.
As a fan of Reno 911 since the very beginning, it's difficult for me to say this: the show isn't as good as it used to be. Of course, when a show is improvised like Reno, there are always moments of genius, but there are just two many instances of the same jokes, or gags you see coming a mile away. The opening scene with the bomb inside the bus would have been funnier had it not been obvious from the beginning that the bus was going to explode.
Continue reading Reno 911!: Episode 408
Posted Apr 1st 2007 4:57PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight
At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by two new episodes of The Amazing Race and a new Cold Case.
- ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7.
- NBC has a new two hour Dateline at 7.
- At 7:30, FOX has a new War At Home.
- At 8, PBS has a new Nature.
- Discovery has two new episodes of Planet Earth at 8.
- Also at 8: Food Network has a new Emeril Live, then a new Iron Chef America.
- At 8:30, FOX has a new King of the Hill.
- At 9, ABC has one of those Desperate Housewives "let's take a look back at some memorable moments" episodes. It's followed by a new Brothers & Sisters.
- Sci-Fi has a new Dresden Files at 9.
- At 9:30, FOX has a new American Dad.
- At 10, Lifetime has a new Blood Ties.
- At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.
Check your local TV listings for more.
Posted Aug 28th 2006 10:24AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Comedy Central, Reno 911!
(S04E07) After taking a week off for the William Shatner Roast, Reno 911! returns for the season finale, and we finally get to find out who it was that murdered Sheriff Chechekevitch with peanuts.
While the gang tries to figure out who did it, they also have to attend to the usually police business, which includes confronting a man at a carnival with a stage built into the front of his pants that hides what he refers to as an albino snake that "grows rigid in your grasp." Jones and Garcia can't see nor touch it though, because it's very sensitive to light and it's really more for women. The officers also answer a call from a pot dealer who's complaining about people trying to buy pot on a Sunday when he's closed. The officers threaten to arrest him for selling pot and the dealer threatens to arrest them for trespassing. When Garcia points out he can see the marijuana through the window, the dealer insists that's only ditch weed, and the good stuff is in the back with the cocaine.
Continue reading Reno 911!: The Investigation Continues (season finale)
Posted Aug 14th 2006 11:40AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Comedy Central, Reno 911!
(S04E06) Fans of Reno 911! know there's been a running gag since the first season in which Dangle always has his bike stolen from him in broad daylight, even when he tries to lock it to something. In the opening scene of this episode he thinks he's found a fool-proof way to catch the person that keeps swiping his bike: he uses a special mirror to hide behind a building and peer out at his bike. Unfortunately, just as he gets the mirror adjusted somebody zips by on his bike and grabs the mirror.
After the opening credits we get into the real meat of the episode, which begins with Sheriff Chechekevitch being hauled into an ambulance and telling Dangle to avenge his death. Chechekevitch also appeared in season two during a three-episode story arc when Jones and Garcia were being charged with murdering a man dressed as a milkshake. The deputies all love him, at least, they think he was pretty good for a Polish sheriff. Really, they've had better sheriffs.
Continue reading Reno 911!: Son of a Chechekevitch
Posted Jul 31st 2006 10:35AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Comedy Central, Reno 911!
(S04E04) After a pre-credit opening where the male deputies try to conduct a "panty raid" and end up face to face with a completely naked and pregnant Wiegel, we cut to the first real scene of the episode where a motivational speaker Dangle found on the internet gives the deputies some rather confounding advice, including this diatribe:
"I ask you, does the belt not go through all the loops? You all see yourselves as brilliant little pebbles just waiting for your code word. Well, what if your code word doesn't come, huh? Are you gonna sit around in your cruiser and wind up ejected from somebody's crazy physics package?"
More profound advice I've never heard. Let's move on.
Continue reading Reno 911!: Rick's On It
Posted Jul 23rd 2006 10:50PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Comedy Central, Reno 911!
(S04E03) Typically, an episode of Reno 911! will have some semblance of a plot, but the bulk of the episode will be random scenes involving the officers. This particular episode actually stuck with its main plot of the officers discovering a jet ski once owned by a deceased officer, and only veered from that plot a couple of times.
One of the best "extra" scenes involved Trudi going to Lamaze class, once again with Paul Rudd playing the instructor. The two become rather cozy in front of the class, with Rudd's character showing Trudi the proper way to massage her breasts to get them to produce milk, and ending with her bent over and him behind her for some inexplicable reason. I'm not positive, but I think right before the scene changes you can see Rudd actually starting to crack up. That's actually one of many great things about this show being completely improvised; if you watch closely there are a lot of scenes where someone begins to lose it. Pay close attention to Tom Lennon whenever they do their PSAs, because he's almost always on the verge of completely cracking up.
Continue reading Reno 911!: Jet Ski Blues
Posted Jul 16th 2006 11:30PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Comedy Central, Reno 911!
(S04E02) Paul Rudd is a funny guy, and he should really do more comedy. He appeared in this episode, albeit briefly, as an instructor in Trudi's Lamaze class who informs the women, "your vagina will be ripped in half." That's about all we hear about Trudi and her pregnancy in this episode, though she does have a funny conversation with Williams where Williams explains to her that a baby must be fed everyday and cannot, as Trudi assumes, just have food laid out for it like a cat. Trudi counters with, "If I knew you were going to judge me on my parenting skills I never would have introduced you to my unborn child."
Rewinding to the beginning of the episode, the deputies discuss new policies on when they can and cannot shoot at a person. One of the new rules is that they can only shoot after they've already been shot once. Trudi inexplicably asks if she can shoot people and chickens who come into her yard.
Continue reading Reno 911!: The Junior Bros.