Roseanne-related stories
Posted Oct 31st 2009 10:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
Like a stray dog that works his way into your heart, I think I've fallen in love with
The Middle. I didn't want to get so attached, because -- quite frankly -- ABC's track record for sticking with quality shows isn't so great. I'm still mourning
Pushing Daisies. But
The Middle is nothing like
Pushing Daisies, nor does it fall into the quirky, clever mode of other shows that ABC has been promulgating for years.
Ugly Betty is quirky.
Better off Ted is quirky.
Dirty Sexy Money was quirky. Quirky's the word.
Continue reading My Big Bang theory: The Middle's Brick is another Sheldon
Posted Oct 17th 2009 9:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free
I wasn't really prepared to like
The Middle. I had no expectations, really, because aside from knowing that it was
Patricia Heaton's latest sitcom, there had been very little scuttlebutt about it. So, when I tuned in, I expected the typical Patty Heaton I had seen for years on
Everybody Loves Raymond or the upscale version I'd watched on
Back to You.
Well, what a surprise when I saw her on
The Middle. This is a Patty I had never seen before, and I not only liked her character, I admire her performance.
Continue reading What Patricia Heaton is doing right in The Middle
Posted Aug 31st 2009 9:05AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Matt Williams has an impressive sitcom pedigree. He created the quintessential '90s sitcom with
Roseanne. Then, with Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean alongside, he struck gold again with Tim Allen's
Home Improvement. Now they're hoping lightning can strike twice (thrice?) with
another take on the traditional family sitcom for ABC.
Once a television staple, the family sitcom has probably never seen leaner days than right now. But with the multi-camera format making a comeback, there's no better time to test the waters. This time, the family will be a sports psychologist who works out of his home, along with his three kids and presumably a wife.
The big difference between this project and Williams' other two successes is the lack of an established comedian at the center of it. One could easily argue that both
Roseanne and
Home Improvement were just expansions of the stage acts of their respective stars. That was kind of a trend back then. Are you ready for a family sitcom in the vein of these classics, or has their time come and gone?
Posted Aug 4th 2009 3:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
I recognize that many celebrities are into the whole "controversy" thing in an effort to remain relevant, but Roseanne Barr took it one step further. She
dressed up as a baking Hitler and I think her cookies are supposed to be Jews. The fact that she apparently did it for a Jewish magazine called
Heeb makes me shake my head in wonder even more. Did someone there think this was a good idea, or were they just trying to create controversy?
Apparently, her photo did cause some controversy among the Jewish community, and Roseanne posted
a response of her own on her blog. Uh, yeah. This is a move that makes about as much sense as singing "The Star Spangled Banner" off key at a sporting event, something else Ms. Barr has done in her sordid past. If the Jews do, in fact, run Hollywood, then Roseanne may have just blacklisted herself.
Posted Jul 17th 2009 11:03AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Casting, Reality-Free
I don't even care what the show's about, I'm just stoked that
John Goodman is coming back to television. In the late '80s and '90s Goodman was all over my TV screen. He was every bit as essential to the success of
Roseanne as the titular star. His constant impromptu appearances on
Saturday Night Live ranked among some of its most memorable moments through the '90s. Plus, if he's back on television in a major way, maybe he can come back and host the show a lucky thirteenth time.
His new project is
The Station, a CIA-based FOX comedy produced by Ben Stiller. It's about a group of covert operatives in South America who are there to install a new dictator. Sounds weird. I don't care. John Goodman's in it.
Goodman is one of those actors who has natural comic timing, but also possesses a dramatic capability absent from many of his comedic brethren, thus allowing him to put depth into his roles. Plus, he's one of those actors who makes everything better and more anticipated just by being tied to it. Who doesn't love John Goodman?
Posted Apr 7th 2009 3:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Web, Game Show, Reality-Free
There are a lot of TV show set designs that I love, but I've never really given any thought to how put them together exactly. I used to assume they just drew up plans and/or blueprints with the measurements and all that and then the set designers and the rest of the crew would build the sets. I never once thought they were done this way.
On The Set has pictures of the original dioramas (those little models you might have built for a class back in school, though I never did) made for various shows over the years. These things are great! Check out the
Price is Right set above. The site even has more dioramas from the show, from different angles.
Continue reading The most awesome thing you'll see on the web today: TV show dioramas!
Posted Mar 23rd 2009 12:14PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Celebrities, Reality-Free
I had to pause for a second there when I typed "Barr." I don't do a lot of stories about Roseanne Barr so I'm not used to typing her name, so I had to think for a moment, is she called Barr again? There was a time there she went as Roseanne Arnold, and while she's obviously not going by that name again, I was wondering if she was still just going by the name Roseanne like she did for a while there. But it is indeed Barr again.
She hasn't done any regular prime time in many years, but the comedienne is
planning to make a comeback to the world of sitcoms in a new comedy that will be produced by Caryn Mandabach (who was one of the producers on
Roseanne) and will be written by Jim Vallely, who was a producer and writer for
Arrested Development,
My Wife and Kids,
The Geena Davis Show, and
Action.
Continue reading Roseanne Barr coming back to sitcoms
Posted Mar 19th 2009 1:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, Reality-Free
Damn, I wish I had thought of this.
Artist and writer
Dan Meth has created a series of cool pop culture charts at his web site, and the one on the right is a handy guide to sitcom homes. Sense a pattern? The shows in the top half all have kitchens on the left and living rooms on the right (how we see them via the camera angle), and the ones on the bottom have the living room on the left and the kitchen on the right.
I guess there are only so many things you can do on a sitcom, especially if it's filmed in front of an audience as many of these were.
Continue reading A handy guide to sitcom homes
Posted Jan 18th 2009 3:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Desperate Housewives, Scrubs, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The network that brought you
Family Matters,
Cavemen and is still bringing you the parade of unfunny that is
According to Jim wants to bring the sitcom back to its rightful throne on the airwaves.
ABC made a solemn vow to bring back more hit, half-hour sitcoms to the airwaves starting with the new TV season, according to
Variety.
The network's heads made their announcement at last week's Television Critics Association gathering.
Continue reading ABC vows to bring funny back
Posted Jan 15th 2009 7:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Casting, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
On CBS's
The Big Bang Theory, we've met Sheldon's mother. Emmy-winner Laurie Metcalf appeared in season one as a super-religious Texas mama who knows better than anyone how to get to Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Now, Leonard's mother is going to be introduced, and she's equally as accomplished as Ms. Metcalf.
Tony, Emmy and SAG award winning actress
Christine Baranski will be Leonard's mom, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. That's right, she's a brainiac.
Her specialty is research on the human brain, and according to Bill Prady,
Big Bang's executive producer, "There's the possibility that Leonard is the least successful in his family, that his parents always pushed him toward academic success." Sounds like a funny set up to me.
Continue reading Christine Baranski cast as mommy on Big Bang Theory
Posted May 13th 2008 10:34AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, My Name Is Earl, Ugly Betty, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Recently, the
AOL list of the 50 Best Sitcoms of all time got me thinking about
ten all time great sitcom sidekicks. Working on that list inspired me to look at the best in sitcom siblings -- ADULTS ONLY. The brother/sister relationship, brothers, sisters, family dynamics are great fodder for comedy. For my collection of the best, I've limited it to grown-up siblings only because there are some truly funny things that happen only among adults brothers and sisters that are unique and universal at the same time. After all, unlike the childhood years when kids are controlled by parents, adult siblings remain close and in each other's lives by choice -- and that has made for some wonderful situation comedy.
Niles & Frasier Crane, Frasier Two brothers, both psychiatrists, both opera buffs, both wine connoisseurs, both heterosexual despite evidence to the contrary. The Crane brothers were like two peas in a very funny pod, sparking each other in comedy, competitive and supportive at the same time. Making their brotherly friendship even funnier was the fact that their Dad, Martin, who was nothing like either one of them. What's even funnier is the fact that when
Frasier was originally spun-off from
Cheers, the writers didn't include the character of Niles. It was only after seeing an 8x10 of David Hyde Pierce, and how much he looked like Kelsey Grammer's brother, that they put him in the pilot.
Frasier would not have been nearly the hit comedy it was without the brother angle.
Continue reading Eight sets of memorable sitcom siblings
Posted May 12th 2008 9:39AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, CSI, Reality-Free
The
CSI/Two and a Half Men writers switch was a very clever promotion for CBS. Fortunately, the writers saw the opportunity to change places as more than just a publicity stunt. They really took the scripting seriously and came up with inventive episodes for each program. If this were a competition to see which team would deliver the better show, who would take on the task of writing winning TV in a genre not their own and succeed beyond expectations, the comedy scribes take the gold. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn's
CSI was pure genius, and if it were up to me,
CSI should submit it for an Emmy.
But first there was
Two and a Half Men. In an episode called "Fish in a Drawer" (and if somebody could explain what that title means, I'd be most appreciative), the story picked up after Evelyn married Teddy. In the teleplay by
CSI regular writers Evan Dunsky and Sarah Goldfinger, Charlie and Courtney check out of the reception for a little romp in his room upstairs only to find Teddy's dead bod on the bed. Talk about spoiling the mood. Teddy wasn't only a corpse, he was a corpse with his pants pulled down around his ankles and lipstick stains on his hoo-ha. The cops were called in, a detective who was a dead ringer for Marg Helgenberger -- played by redhead Jamie Rose -- had the vaguely Bondian name of Jagov, Sloane Jagov. Naturally, Charlie had to make a move on her. He couldn't keep his eyes off her cleavage.
Continue reading The CSI/Two and a Half Men writer switcheroo -- loved it!
Posted Apr 18th 2008 10:58AM by Jay Black
Filed under: OpEd, TV 101, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
There's no denying it: we're currently living in a utopia. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I get to live in the greatest country on earth during the greatest time to be alive. I think even the harshest critic of the current world order would agree with me when I say that there's not a single problem anywhere in the world that anyone is dealing with.
But how did we get here? What was the spark that spurred us from barely cognizant man-apes into the enlightened, elegant creatures that we are today? Look no further than that great black monolith sitting in your living room: your TV. Five VERY SPECIAL EPISODES that saved society after the jump...
Continue reading TV 101: Five VERY SPECIAL EPISODES that saved society - VIDEOS
Posted Apr 4th 2008 11:04AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
AOL Television has compiled a list of the
50 Best TV Comedies -- Ever, this week revealing numbers 50-41. Inspired by what they did, I've decided to list my favorite sitcom sidekicks, those funny foils that oftentimes make the star shine even brighter than you might have thought. Coming up with just a ten-pack hasn't been so easy. Many times, I'd look at a show and think, "No, it's more of an ensemble. There isn't one sidekick." Falling into that category were B.J. and Trapper John on
M*A*S*H. Neither were Hawkeye's sidekick, really (any more than Radar was). Same thing with
Friends -- they were all each other's sidekicks. Also, on
The Odd Couple, Oscar and Felix were equal; neither was a sidekick. Ditto
Two and a Half Men and
Laverne & Shirley. Also, because it's my list, I decided
not to include married couples -- sorry Rob and Laura, Ricky and Lucy, Archie and Edith.
Whew, after all that, here, in alphabetical order, are the ten I love -- within my own parameters! Feel free to comment with your choices, if your favorite isn't on my list.
Continue reading Ten super sitcom sidekicks
Posted Oct 15th 2007 6:06PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on DVD
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
- Absolutely Fabulous - The White Box
- Charlie and Lola - Vol. 6
- The Christmas Blessing (TV movie)
- The House Without A Christmas Tree (TV movie)
- Ironside - Season 2
- MacGyver - The Complete Series
- Masters of Horror - Season 1, Vol. 2 and The Damned Thing
- Medium - Season 3
- Mythbusters - Collection 2
- Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (UK) - Vol. 1
- Roseanne - Season 9
- Squidbillies - Vol. 1
- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - The Complete Series
- That 70s Show - Season 7
- Wanted: Dead or Alive - Season 3
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