Samantha Who-related stories
Posted Sep 13th 2009 10:00AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Scrubs, Reality-Free, Jane After Dark
Several DVD sets came my way this week, so I did some marathon viewing sessions for
Jane After Dark. I'm brand new to some of these, so you'll get the stark, raw newbie version. But I'll start with one I've watched since the beginning ...
Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete Second and Final Season. I really liked this show at the beginning. It had all the elements of a great series, including excellent actors (starting with Donald Sutherland, Jill Clayburgh, and Peter Krause) and intriguing storylines with rich people, sex, murder, and mystery. But by the time they got to season two, the storylines just seemed to fizzle out. I would love to hear your thoughts on why
Dirty Sexy Money didn't work. Crummy writing? Poor use of great actors? Too many characters to keep track of? Poor timing with the writer's strike occurring in the middle of its run, resulting in ten months between seasons?
Bonus features: Directing the Darlings (behind the scenes with director Jamie Babbit); A Total Knockout (a day in the life of Natalie Zea, who played Karen); Dirty Sexy Crafty (a featurette about the food on the set); Faux Pas (bloopers); deleted scenes.
Continue reading Jane After Dark: Sexy Samantha talking Greek in Scrubs
Posted Jul 23rd 2009 4:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 8, ABC has two new episodes of Samantha Who?- CBS has a new Big Brother at 8.
- At 9, FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance.
- USA has a new Burn Notice at 9, followed by a new Royal Pains.
- BBC America has a new Torchwood: Children of Earth at 9.
- Also at 9: Spike has a new TNA Impact!
- At 10, NBC has a new episode of The Listener.
- Comedy Central has a new Tosh.0 at 10.
- Bravo has a new episode of The Fashion Show at 10.
- There's a new Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on Showtime at 10.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Samantha Who, TNA Impact, The Fashion Show
Posted Jul 15th 2009 2:31PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Awards, Weeds, Emmys, Reality-Free
Let's be honest. There are really only four or five real contenders for this category, and most of them were nominated last year. But it's not like the talented Tina Fey (
30 Rock), Mary Louise-Parker (
Weeds), Julia Louise-Dreyfus (
The New Adventures of Old Christine) and America Ferrera (
Ugly Betty) don't deserve the recognition. They all fit the bill, and most of their shows were damn good this year.
I'd be happy to see any one of them go home with the gold on Emmy night. I'd also love to see some recognition for Christina Applegate's work in
Samantha Who?, a great show that got the ax earlier this year.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Posted Jul 10th 2009 3:27PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
Samantha Who? is going to be a trivia question one day.
What was the name of that comedy on ABC that got good reviews and pretty good ratings and people seemed to like it and then ABC canceled it? Of course, that could probably describe quite a few shows the past several years, but I think the cancellation of
Samantha Who? surprised a lot of people when ABC had
their upfront a couple of months ago. Now they're doubling up on episodes this summer.
Posted Jul 9th 2009 4:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 7, G4 has the 1000th episode of Attack of the Show.- At 8, ABC has two new episodes of Samantha Who?
- CBS has the season premiere of Big Brother at 8.
- At 9, Discovery has a Billy Mays tribute episode of Pitchmen.
- USA has a new Burn Notice at 9, then a new Royal Pains.
- Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
- At 10, NBC has a new episode of The Listener.
- Comedy Central has a new Tosh.0 at 10.
- Bravo has a new episode of The Fashion Show at 10.
- Also at 10: Showtime has a new Penn & Teller's Bullshit.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Big Brother, Billy Mays Tribute, Burn Notice
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 4:07PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
USA has a Burn Notice marathon all night (but no new episode).- Sci-Fi has a Twilight Zone marathon all night.
- At 8, ABC has a new Samantha Who?, followed by a new In The Motherhood.
- TCM has The Wizard of Oz at 8.
- G4 has a new X-Play at 8.
- At 9, FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance.
- Larry King Live broadcasts from inside Neverland Ranch on CNN at 9.
- Spike has a new TNA Impact at 9.
- At 10, NBC has a new episode of The Listener.
- Showtime has a new Penn & Teller: Bullshit at 10.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Samantha Who, Wizard Of Oz, The Listener
Posted Jun 25th 2009 4:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 8, ABC has a new Samantha Who?, followed by a new In The Motherhood and a Michael Jackson Tribute.
- Cartoon Network has a new Chowder at 8.
- At 9, FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance at 9.
- USA has a new Burn Notice at 9, then a new Royal Pains.
- TLC has a new American Chopper at 9.
- ESPN2 has a FIFA Confederations Cup soccer semifinal match at 9.
- At 10, ABC has Farrah Fawcett: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Legacy.
- NBC has a new episode of The Listener at 10.
- Showtime has the season premiere of Penn & Teller's Bullshit at 10 (two episodes).
- Comedy Central has a new Tosh.0 at 10.
- At 10:30, Current has a new Rotten Tomatoes Show.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Samantha Who, Burn Notice, American Chopper
Posted Jun 1st 2009 2:27PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free
ABC has
given an air date to
Samantha Who?'s swan song. The network will begin burning off the seven remaining episodes of the show Thursdays at 8 p.m. starting June 25.
As we mentioned last week, even a
petition set up by star Christina Applegate couldn't save
Samantha Who? from the axe. It's a shame. Applegate has turned into such a magnetic and charming comedic actor. Here's hoping she gets another shot at her own show or, like Jason
already suggested, a long-running guest stint on
HIMYM or maybe
The Big Bang Theory.
ABC is also making room on its summer schedule for the final eps of
Cupid and
In the Motherhood. The sole remaining ep of
Cupid, which shared the same fate as the 1998 show it was based on, will air June 16 -- if the NBA Finals don't make it to Game 6! (That's another slap in the face from the network to
Cupid creator Rob Thomas).
In the Motherhood's final three eps will begin airing June 25 at 8:30 p.m.
Posted May 26th 2009 3:04PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
First, it was Ethan Suplee petitioning to save
My Name Is Earl. Not to be outdone,
Christina Applegate set up a petition to save Samantha Who? after it got canceled by ABC last week. This could be a very worrying trend. Now any time a show is canceled, can we expect a big brouhaha online with some cast members setting up petitions or urging fans to send something to the networks? Then it slowly becomes standard operating procedure. "Somebody call the warehouse and tell them to make room for the bobblehead campaign, we're pulling the plug on
The Office."
The networks will start covertly spearheading the campaigns themselves to try and drum up fake publicity for their struggling shows. They'll "cancel" the show, fake up a massive petition and give the show a reprieve. "See how glorious and magnanimous are we?" In the case of
Samantha Who?, I don't see how a petition would help anyway considering it was an economic decision. "This is nice Christina, but I don't see anywhere on here how you're going to shave a million dollars off of each episode."
Posted May 19th 2009 5:02PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
Looks like Samantha Who? won't be making it after all. They were negotiating to
reduce costs on Christina Applegate's sitcom to try and keep it on the air, but apparently that didn't work out. I really thought quality-wise
Samantha was one of the stronger sticoms on the air. I can certainly think of quite a few that are still hanging in there that couldn't come close to matching it.
This does mean that Christina Applegate is available for other work now, though. What a revelation she's become as a comic actress. We've known she's had chops (and other assets) since her days as Kelly Bundy and even on *ahem*
Jesse she was charming, but she really came into her own with this show. I hope she doesn't stay absent from our screens too long. Maybe she could be the mother on
HIMYM? Or get together with Alyssa Milano on a new show and watch all the guys who grew up in the '80s and '90s squeal in unison like little girls. It wouldn't even matter what it was about, but I recommend something on a beach.
Posted May 15th 2009 1:03PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Samantha Who?, the little ABC-sitcom-that-could may be looking at a production overhaul if the network decides to stick with it into a third season. The big change would be shifting from the single-camera format it currently uses to a much cheaper multi-camera format.
How I Met Your Mother is an example of a show that uses the multi-camera format, albeit without a studio audience, to great creative effect, so
Samantha should be able to keep a lot of its quirky charm.
Cost cutting is a huge part of the network's plans this season as they mull over continuing with existing series. If
switching to multi-camera on Samantha Who? can save $500,000 per episode, it might be worth doing.
Samantha is one of those rare comedies these days that just works. It's funny without being provocative or shocking in anything it does. One could almost argue, but not very convincingly, that it's even good wholesome family entertainment ... with sex and alcohol and stuff.
Continue reading For Samantha Who? to make it, it may need a makeover
Posted Apr 17th 2009 11:08AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: The Office, 30 Rock, Chuck, Reality-Free, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory, TV Squad Ten
If we all lived in the box -- you know, the TV box -- life would be a hell of a lot easier. Taxes would be paid with ease. Mortgages would be managed. And even the lowliest job would be more than enough to maintain a respectable lifestyle, one that looks quite comfortable in fact.
Despite the grim economic news we hear every day, the characters on television have been able to survive -- indeed, thrive -- in some of the crappiest jobs in the universe.
An editorial assistant at a fashion mag, like
Ugly Betty, finds a way to keep a Manhattan studio apartment, and commute home to Papi in Queens. Running a gym is a breeze for
Old Christine, because she doesn't really work. And even without an income,
Samantha Who? is never without her Jimmy Choos.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Low-paying jobs that apparently pay great on TV
Posted Apr 17th 2009 11:08AM by Allison Waldman
10. Samantha Newly,
Samantha Who? - Real Estate
9. Christine Campbell,
The New Adventures of Old Christine - Gym Manager
8. Jim,
The Office - Salesman
7. Betty Suarez,
Ugly Betty - Editorial Assistant
6. Chuck Bartowski,
Chuck - IT Guy
5. Kenneth Parnell,
30 Rock - Page
4. Gary Barnes,
Gary Unmarried - House Painter
3. Susan Mayer,
Desperate Housewives - Children's Book Author
2. Adrian Monk (
Monk); Shawn Spencer (
Psych); Patrick Jane (
The Mentalist) - Police Consultants
1. Penny,
Big Bang Theory - Cheesecake Factory waitress/aspiring actress
Want to see the pictures or leave a comment? Click here.Posted Apr 9th 2009 4:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
- Sci-Fi has a Moonlight marathon all night.
- At 8, ABC has a new In The Motherhood, followed by a new Samantha Who?
- CBS has a new Survivor at 8, then a new CSI and the series premiere of Harper's Island.
- NBC has a new Office at 8, then the series premiere of Parks and Recreation, another new Office, a new 30 Rock, and then the series premiere of Southland.
- FOX has new episodes of Bones and Hell's Kitchen.
- At 9, TLC has a new American Chopper.
- Spike has TNA Wrestling at 9.
- At 10, A&E has a new episode of The Beast.
- Comedy Central has the series premiere of Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire at 10.
- At 12:15AM, Cartoon Network has a new Xavier: Renegade Angel.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Bones, Parks and Recreation, Southland, Krod Mandoon
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 4:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Late Night, Programming, Celebrities, Talk Show, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
- At 8, NBC has an ER Retrospective, followed by the ER series finale.
- CBS has a new Survivor at 8, then new episodes of CSI and Eleventh Hour.
- ABC has a new In The Motherhood, followed by a new Samantha Who?
- FOX has new episodes of Bones and Hell's Kitchen.
- There's a new Smallville on The CW at 8, then a new Supernatural.
- AMC has It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at 8.
- Discovery has two new episodes of Destroyed In Seconds at 8, then a new Treasure Quest.
- Also at 8: Nickelodeon has a new Penguins of Madagascar.
- At 9, Spike has a new TNA Wrestling.
- At 10, Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes.
- The Biography Channel has a new Chris Isaak Show at 10.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Bones, Smallville, CSI, Ace Of Cakes
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