Posts with tag Robin Williams
Posted May 14th 2008 11:04AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Television has often been a benchmark of current popular culture. Whether it's clothes, cars or furniture, people have always looked to TV to help them decide how to look and how to live. Here are ten great examples of how TV characters have "helped" us look our best.
Daisy Duke's Daisy Dukes (The Dukes of Hazzard)
No one knew it at the time, but when Catherine Bach slipped on those ultra-short denims, she was making an impression on more than the teenage boys who were watching. Years later, a brand new and very different generation embraced the Daisy Dukes, much to the delight of those teenage boys who were now old enough to know better.
Continue reading Ten great fashion statements on TV
Posted May 1st 2008 12:20PM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, House, Rescue Me, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, The Riches, Casting, Reality-Free
As AOL Television continues their look at the 50 Best TV Comedies -- Ever with their Top 10, we here at TV Squad are also looking at television comedy, but with a slightly skewed difference. Last week, we took a look at the Saturday Night Live cast members from 1996 to 2006 that made it to the big time. This week, we get a bit more serious.
There are those in the industry who say that it is easier to go from acting in a drama to acting in a comedy than it is the other way around. Yet, as you will see from the list we've compiled after the jump, there are plenty of comedic actors who have jumped from the world of comedy films, stand-up comedy, and television sitcoms into the more serious world of drama. In many cases they have had even greater success than they did on the other side of the tracks. There have even been instances where they stayed in the drama genre and never went back to being funny.
Continue reading 17 comedic actors who moved into dramatic television roles
Posted Apr 26th 2008 11:59AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Shark, Reality-Free

The failure of
Secret Talents of the Stars has had ripple effects on the CBS prime time schedule. With
Big Brother coming to an end and
Secret Talents unable to make it past one episode,
the return of Shark, which was going to come back on Tuesdays at 10 p.m., will now return on Tuesday at 9 p.m. for three broadcasts beginning April 29. Had
Secret Talents worked, CBS wouldn't be scrambling on Tuesdays.
The CBS Tuesday lineup for next Tuesday, therefore, will be
NCIS, Shark and a rerun of CSI. Then on May 6, it'll be
NCIS, Shark and
a CSI: Miami rerun. On May 13,
NCIS, Shark and a
Criminal Minds rerun.
What'll be interesting for
Shark fans -- and TV geeks in general like us -- will be to see exactly how well the James Woods legal drama performs with a strong lead in like
NCIS. Even the reruns scheduled to follow the three episodes are all strong support. Will this Tuesday hammock experiment be advantageous to
Shark, securing the kind of Nielsen numbers that will be a deciding factor in the show's renewal for next season?
Continue reading Shark gets a new timeslot
Posted Apr 9th 2008 7:45PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: American Idol, Reviewcaps, Contestants, Alumni, Performances, News and Gossip, Celebrity Commentary, Episode Reviews
(S07E29) Well, this is what you've all been waiting for, right? What's that? Finale? Yeah, I guess that'll be cool, too. But if you've listened to Ryan all season then you know TONIGHT is really what it's all about! If you're looking to find out who got eliminated by vote last night you're going to have to wait until tomorrow. But if you're looking for two-and-a-half hours of entertainment chock full of celebrities and song and charity, then you're looking for "
Idol Gives Back."
Last year's inaugural edition was very good, and
Kristin's report of the Idol Gives Back taping from this past Sunday was also very positive. We don't have any pesky (non) eliminations to deal with like last year, so just kick back, donate and enjoy. And, if you want, join us online and chat about it in real-time with other giving
Idol fans.
You can join the chat starting just before 7:30/6:30pm CDT by following this link. Look for the full episode review right here later tonight.Continue reading American Idol: Idol Gives Back 2008
Posted Mar 19th 2008 5:24PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, TV on DVD, Retro Squad, Standout Episodes, Episode Reviews
(S02E04) Originally aired on January 6, 1994
It's been named one of the top 100 shows of all time by Time. You can't have a conversation about cop shows without mentioning it. Stacked up against other classics such as Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, the Law & Order franchise, The Shield, and The Wire, it often meets and sometimes exceeds. It's arguably one of the top three police dramas ever made. And this was the episode where people really started to talk about Homicide: Life on the Street.
Continue reading Homicide: Life on the Street - Bop Gun
Posted Mar 18th 2008 8:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Law and Order, Celebrities, Casting

It feels like a sweeps moment -- a big name star guesting on a long-running show. But it's not set for sweeps. It is, however, a special occasion and a reason to do something festive. So, on April 29,
Robin Williams will make a guest appearance on Law & Order: SVU in part to celebrate the 200th episode of the intense NBC crime drama.
The Oscar-winning actor (for
Good Will Hunting) is no stranger to television, as we all know. Till the day he dies, he'll be Mork. Na-noo, na-noo. As an alien from the planet Ork, Robin Williams was catapulted from obscure comic actor to overnight sensation thanks to the Garry Marshall sitcom
Mork & Mindy. It was the beginning of a stellar career.
Continue reading Robin Williams to guest on SVU
Posted Dec 31st 2007 2:39PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Celebrities, Talk Show
I'm hoping this story is some horrible mistake. Maybe they mean British singer Robbie Williams?
But it looks like it's true. The comedian will open The Late Show with David Letterman when the CBS show comes back from its strike hiatus this Wednesday night. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Williams will talk really fast and make a lot of funny noises with his mouth, and maybe even do some impressions of foreign people. He's a genius!
Continue reading Robin Williams to open Letterman's first show
Posted Dec 4th 2007 3:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV Royalty, TV on DVD, OpEd

It must have been hard to put a set together for a show like The Tonight Show. It's not the type of show you can do by season (way too many episodes), and Johnny Carson was host for 30 years (1962-92). A set like this is bound to disappoint some fans. But you know what? The set is just individual DVDs that have already been released in another form, and now they're packaging them under the Definitive DVD Collection title. That might tick off some fans who already bought the discs, but the set is well-done and has a variety of material to recommend it.
Continue reading Heeere's Johnny, The Definitive Collection - DVD review
Posted Jun 18th 2007 6:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, TV Royalty, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show
Charlie Rose: Sam Nunn and Steven Bach
- The Daily Show: Steve Carell
- The Colbert Report: Toby Keith
- The Late Show With David Letterman: Mike Myers and America Ferrera (repeat)
- Jay Leno: Robin Williams, Chelsea Handler, and Big & Rich
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Evangeline Lilly and Joe Rogan (repeat)
- Tavis Smiley: Senator Chris Dodd and Mandy Moore
- Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Tea Leoni, Tyrese Gibson, and The White Stripes
- The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Avril Lavigne and Ioan Gruffudd
- Last Call With Carson Daly: Eric Roberts and Jill Cunniff (repeat)
Posted May 25th 2007 8:02AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Obituaries
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- Bud Molin: He was a film editor who worked on several TV shows, including the Sheldon Leonard-produced The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and I Spy, as well as projects with Carl Reiner, including the movies The Jerk, Oh, God, The Man With Two Brains, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. He also worked on I Love Lucy. Molin died in Rancho Mirage, CA at age 81. (That's him on the left, with Desi Arnaz and Dann Cahn.)
Continue reading TV Obits: Molin, Weber, Mazzone
Posted Apr 26th 2007 3:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, Celebrities
As most of you already know, Late Night with Conan O'Brien will be coming at ya from San Francisco for a full week starting this Monday, April 30.
There's a pretty cool list of guests lined up for the week, including Dana Carvey, Chris Isaak and Will Arnett. Of course, we'll also have to tolerate Robin Williams on May 2 (and he's listed as the only guest for that night, which is even more disturbing). Unless Williams miraculously figures out the difference between comedic improv and annoying self-indulgence before he appears on the show I'll be telling my Tivo to skip that episode.
Continue reading George Lucas and Tom Waits among guests to join Conan in San Fran
Posted Jan 20th 2007 1:03PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show

David Steinberg is back for another season of
Sit Down Comedy on TV Land. Six new episodes will air Wednesdays at 10PM beginning February 21st. Less of a kiss-ass than James Lipton and with more comedy chops than Terry Gross, Steinberg creates just the right atmosphere for his
Sit Down stand-up guests to reflect on their careers, lives and whatever else is on their fertile minds. Best of all, his guests aren't there to plug any products so an actual old school conversation can unfold. Remember those? You might see them on
Charlie Rose from time to time or on those
Dick Cavett DVDs Shout! Factory released last year. Too bad Steinberg's show is only thirty minutes long.
You can check out
Sit Down Comedy's guest line-up after the jump.
Continue reading Steinberg's Sit Down Comedy returns in February
Posted Jan 10th 2007 10:33AM by Brett Love
Filed under: ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, Grey's Anatomy, Music and Variety, Heroes, The Class, Awards

CBS put their regular programming on hold last night so they could show the
33rd Annual People's Choice Awards. Hosted by Queen Latifah, the show gives awards based on public internet voting. As that is the case, these awards track with the Nielsen ratings more than most. Case in point, the award for Television Comedy went to
Two And A Half Men. Top rated for a couple years now, but it can't seem to get any press unless Charlie Sheen is divorcing someone or hiring a hooker.
Most of the other television awards followed similar lines. The award for Best Drama went to
Grey's Anatomy. Best Actor was Patrick Dempsey (
Grey's Anatomy). Best Actress went to Eva Longoria (
Desperate Housewives). Best Competition/Reality show was, of course,
American Idol. Best Animated Show was
The Simpsons. The only real surprise came in the new categories. Best New Drama was
Heroes, which isn't a surprise, but Best New Comedy,
The Class? I didn't see that one coming. The television awards were rounded out with Ellen Degeneres winning Best Talk Show Host.
Movies and Music winners after the jump.
Continue reading People's Choice Awards winners
Posted Nov 27th 2006 7:29PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, HBO, Industry

Last week's
Comic Relief telethon raised $4 million for victims of Hurricane Katrina. It aired simultaneously on TBS, HBO and AOL. Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal headlined the Comic Relief telecasts of the 1980s to raise money and awareness about homelessness. The original Comic Relief stage shows raised about $50 million.
Did anybody watch
Comic Relief on November 18th? I caught a little bit of it but had to turn it off because A) Robin Williams is
no longer funny, and B) Dane Cook
isn't funny either. I was actually more interested in the on-location stories about the current situation in New Orleans than the performances by a long list of guest comedians.
Posted Nov 18th 2006 5:41PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has college football, California at USC.
- NBC has a new Dateline at 8.
- FOX has a new Cops at 8, a repeat episode, then a new America's Most Wanted.
- There are two new eps of Little People, Big World on TLC at 8, followed by a new Flip That House.
- Cartoon Network has a new episode of Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes at 8.
- At 9, HBO has Comic Relief 2006, with Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Maher, George Lopez, and more.
- Cartoon Network has four new episodes of Naruto, starting at 9.
- At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
- TLC has a new Trading Spaces at 10.
- Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 10.
- Also at 10: HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
Next Page >