For a lot of 'Lost' fans, the only numbers that really matter anymore are 5, 23, and 10 - May 23rd of this year, the Dharma Train finally pulls into the station and we'll find out once and for all whether the writers knew what they were doing.
It's almost a certainty that you're going to be disappointed. Had the show ended during its second or third season, I would have stocked up on flashlights, canned goods, and pornography to wait out the riots that surely would have followed some lame "not all questions are meant to be answered" kind of ending.
I'm not worried now because that kind of car-tipping passion just isn't there anymore. For most fans, this last season marked the moment when our relationship with 'Lost' stopped being a love affair and started being a loveless marriage.
Maybe it's because NBC needs programming, especially during the summer. Maybe it's because the network needed a companion to 'America's Got Talent.' But it does seem like 'Last Comic Standing' has become the 'According to Jim' of reality shows, doesn't it? The show just doesn't die, no matter how much NBC and its producers have tried to kill it.
The folks who brought us the genius idea of Jay Leno at 10PM has decided to resurrect 'Last Comic,' which they canned in 2008, for a summer run, according to Joe Adalian at The Wrap. Craig Robinson of 'The Office' and the forthcoming comedy flick 'Hot Tub Time Machine' has been tabbed to host.
At least the new host gives me hope for this new version. Robinson has a great comic presence, whether he's intimidating Michael Scott as warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin, or just doing his stand-up at a local club. He'll be funnier than Bill Bellamy and more confident than Anthony Clark, two of the show's previous hosts (Jay Mohr was the original host... and quite good).
BBC Worldwide and PBS have decided that it's time for a new 'Sherlock Holmes.' The 1984 series, which ran ten years and 41 episodes, had Jeremy Brett as Sherlock and is still widely regarded as the best Holmes since Basil Rathbone's incarnation in the movies, but after the success of Guy Ritchie's kinetic Robert Downey Jr. version last Christmas, the people in a position to make things happen are ready to give us a 21st century variation on Holmes and Watson and 221B Baker Street.
Thus far the casting is promising. Martin Freeman, who is best known as the British version of Jim in the UK 'The Office,' will play Dr. Watson. In the role of Sherlock, the actor chosen is named Benedict Cumberbatch. That's a great name for an actor cast as Holmes; it just sounds so British. But Benedict also has the look of a Holmes, and he was in 'Atonement' and was nominated for a BAFTA playing Stephen Hawking in a BCC drama.
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for: 'Bones,' 'Castle,' 'Chuck,' 'Glee,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Lost,' 'NCIS,' 'The Mentalist,' and 'The Office.'
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for: '90210,' 'Desperate Housewives,' 'Gossip Girl,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'House,' 'Lost,' 'NCIS,' 'Smallville,' 'The Office' and 'Ugly Betty.'
'Outsourced,' one of what seems to be many Indian-infused situation comedies inspired by the wild success of 'Slumdog Millionaire,' actually came to a theater near you long before NBC picked up the pilot.
The movie as well as the TV show is based on an American who finds himself running a customer service department for a novelty company. The trailer included below actually gave me a couple of good chuckles and some hope that NBC isn't picking up its one-millionth 'The Office' clone.
A couple of weeks ago, Kona wrote about the campaign to convince ABC to save Better Off Ted. Despite these grassroots efforts, the rating for Ted continue to be dismal and ABC probably has "cancel Better Off Ted" on the corporate to-do list.
That's a shame, because the more I watch of Better Off Ted, the better I think it is. Smart, funny, observant and surreal, Ted is an office comedy that makes deserves to survive. If more people gave it a shot, I think it would be a success. Maybe not a monster hit, but there aren't many of those in the sitcom field right now. Emmy winner 30 Rock is anything but a ratings hit.
While promoting his new, self-titled animated HBO show based on his podcasts, Ricky Gervais hinted that his boss character of David Brent may make an appearance on the American version of The Office. Gervais and his writing partner and co-creator Stephen Merchant have already been associated with the show, having written two episodes, including the pilot.
Can you imagine the sort of repartee between Michael Scott and David Brent? Would they be friends? Would they be enemies? Does anybody remember the bit from the Emmy Awards in 2008 when Gervais demanded he be given Carell's Emmy? I'm not even watching it right now and that bit still has me laughing hysterically.
Sure, NBC doesn't need the promotion right now what with the late night controversies going on, but soon Conan will be gone and Jay will take back The Tonight Show. They'll need a new event to get people excited about something on their network and this could be it (well, I don't know about everyone else but at least I'd be excited).
The major networks seem content to play it safe in 2010 by greenlighting more cop shows and hospital dramas. NBC recently renewed Mercy for a full season, and now ABC has picked up I-8-7 Detroit, a series that follows the exploits of Motown homicide detectives.
But there's a twist!
1-8-7, ABC's first drama pilot of the year, will be a mockumentary show. The detectives' lives will be seen through the eyes of a fictitious documentary crew, ala The Office or Modern Family(or Reno 911?). The show isn't touted as a comedy, but Variety says the drama will be tinged with comedic moments.
More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the funniest actors of the last ten years.
If you want to be a great comedic actor, you can never let on that you know you're being funny. Your character never knows what the joke is. That's why Rodney Dangerfield was a great, legendary stand-up comedian, and a fairly poor comic actor.
Everyone on this list excels at the comedic poker face. Steve Carell and Ricky Gervais, in their Office boss characters, don't know that most of the rest of the office is laughing at them. Or at least they don't understand why. Stephen Colbert, despite all of the attention The Colbert Report have received, may be the most underrated comic actor, because the character is so seamless, sometimes it's hard to tell it's a character. Shatner is a legend for playing campy with a poker face. And Neil Patrick Harris as a cad? A straight cad? Perfect.
Here are a few of our favorite comedic actors from the past decade, and may their characters never realize the joke's on them.
When Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Emmys, Dr. Horrible conveniently invaded for a moment, spreading webseries fear throughout the TV industry audience. It was a funny bit, serving mainly as a vehicle for some jokes about buffering and tiny screen sizes. Hopefully that made the TV people feel better, if only for a little while, because online video is showing no signs of stopping.
I know not much time has passed, but let's review the Christmas memories from some of TV's sitcom this past season because if you ask me, they were sort of all over the map. Someday maybe I'll hold one of these in my heart like the On a scale from one to ten, with ten being classic, there were none that will live on in the annals of TV history, but there were a couple worth writing about.
The Office
I found this entire episode a downer. The economy is in the toilet and we all know it. Heck, I don't know anyone who isn't worried about having a job in 2010. So we can feel for the fact that Dunder-Mifflin is hanging by a thread. But it's hardly hilarious fodder for a holiday half-hour.
(S06E13) After the cringeworthiness of "Scott's Tots," seeing an episode where Michael merely acts like a petulant child is almost refreshing.
But Michael's petulance had a purpose. Dunder Mifflin is in trouble. Office morale is at an all-time low. So, while Michael was still acting like a baby, he was doing it because he wanted to be the one to lift everyone's spirits. Still, it's funny to watch childish Michael, especially when we can see big ol' Kevin act indecisive while crushing Michael's lap.
I loved seeing Phyllis as Santa. She's right; she has the temperament, the figure, and she's got bad-ass Bob Vance to back her up in case anyone objects. And to think, at one time Phyllis Smith was a cheerleader for the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals.
It's the holiday season at Adult Swim, and its bizarre collection of Christmas specials mark the celebration starting tonight.
According to a network release, Robot Chicken gets the jingle bell rolling Dec. 6 at 11:45 p.m. ET/PT with Episode 71, "Dear Consumer." The show tunes in as "Thor celebrates Christmas in Asgard, and Santa adds 'Walter PPK' to the bad boy list.
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force Christmas Special premieres Sunday, Dec. 13 at 11:45 p.m. ET/PT -- sending The Aqua Teens out to record and release their own Christmas album -- after they steal someone's identity.
(S06E12) This episode had one of those "oh, this is not going to end well" vibes to it. And how could it not? Somehow Michael Scott got himself into a situation that transcended mere embarrassment. He made a promise that he couldn't keep, and it affected a lot of lives.
"Of all the empty promises I've made, this is by far the most generous," Michael said, and he was right. The whole time I was watching the Scott's Tots storyline play out, I was cringing, waiting for the moment of truth. But, surprisingly enough, things didn't turn out as bad as we thought. And for that, we have Erin to thank.
For a lot of 'Lost' fans, the only numbers that really matter anymore are 5, 23, and 10 - May 23rd of this year, the Dharma Train finally pulls into the station and we'll find out once and for all whether the writers knew what they were doing. 
Maybe it's because NBC needs programming, especially during the summer. Maybe it's because the network needed a companion to 
BBC Worldwide and 
While promoting his new, self-titled animated HBO show based on his podcasts, Ricky Gervais hinted that his boss character of David Brent 
The major networks seem content to play it safe in 2010 by greenlighting more cop shows and hospital dramas. NBC recently renewed 
More of our 
I know not much time has passed, but let's review the Christmas memories from some of TV's sitcom this past season because if you ask me, they were sort of all over the map. Someday maybe I'll hold one of these in my heart like the On a scale from one to ten, with ten being classic, there were none that will live on in the annals of TV history, but there were a couple worth writing about.
It's the holiday season at Adult Swim, and its bizarre collection of Christmas specials mark the celebration starting tonight.
(S06E12) This episode had one of those "oh, this is not going to end well" vibes to it. And how could it not? Somehow Michael Scott got himself into a situation that transcended mere embarrassment. He made a promise that he couldn't keep, and it affected a lot of lives. 
A Few Details About the New Conan Road Show
Katharine McPhee on Singing, Acting, and 'Community'
MacFarlane Takes on the Enemies of 'Family Guy' - PaleyFest Report
