AOL TV has a list of the top ten longest running TV shows. It's a great trip down memory lane or if your a product of gen-Y like me, it's a good history lesson. I knew one (just one!) show on that list. I thought The Simpsons would be first for sure. Turns out that show is number ten. At least I got one.
The Simpsons has been on the air since 1989 and is still running. AOL TV summed up the animated show's success: "Spawning multiple catchphrases, iconic characters and a 2007 hit movie, FOX's pop-culture cornerstone satirizes overall society." And to think, Jennifer Tilly (once married to Simpsons producer Sam Simon) didn't predict that the show would do well. I remember watching a documentary on poker of all things (Tilly is an avid player as is Simon). She said that she didn't see the allure of people with yellow faces.
My other guesses were even more off-base. The Real World! Friends! Seinfeld! Check out the rest of the list and see how you do.
The principals are signing new four-year deals in which the talent will receive substantial increases in salary. They had been getting $360,000 per episode and were looking for a bump up in that fee to $500,000 per. The negotiated compromise amount is about $400,000 per show. And as expected, instead of a 22 episode season commencing next fall, there'll be 20 shows in the year ahead.
Say it ain't so, Ho. Homey, that's is. According to Variety, even though Fox has given The Simpsons a renewal for season number 20, the voice talent that make the show have not been re-signed. Julie Kavner, Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright and Harry Shearer -- the actors who are as integral to the success of The Simpsons as the writers and animators -- are looking for a new deal. The group make approximately $360,000 per episode. They want a raise to $500,000 per. While that sounds like a lot of money -- and it is! -- when you consider how much Fox and company are making off The Simpsons franchise, like the new ride at Universal Orlando, the talent have every right to expect their piece of the pie.
Albert Brooks -- whose real name is Albert Einstein (and his brother is comic Bob Einstein, aka Super Dave Osborne) -- has been making people laugh for nearly four decades. I distinctly remember his bits on Love, American Style and his hilarious films on Saturday Night Live circa 1975.
Propane rules! Fox has renewed King of the Hill for a 13th season. The down home hilarity of Hank and Peggy Hill, their son Bobby and dog Lady Bird, will continue for another year, likely remaining in Fox's strong Sunday night animation lineup that includes The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad -- although that's only speculation on my part.
Creators Mike Judge (the voice of Hank and Boomhauer) and Greg Daniels (The Office) will continue at the helm, and all the usual characters remain. That means more of Kathy Najimy as Peggy, Brittany Murphy as Luanne, Pamela Adlon as Bobby, Johnny Hardwick as Dale, and Stephen Root as Bill.
Nothing like starting the second half of the season with a bang, even if it was only from a BB gun. I have to be honest, if Reaper wasn't already on my DVR's schedule, I probably would have forgotten to watch it. More importantly, if I hadn't been reminded by my blogging buddy Brett, I would have missed the review as well. Once again, technology has made me a better TV viewer.
I wasn't too crazy about Sock's hangup with his Mom's new husband. Am I the only one a little creeped out by the Oedipal implications? I guess that would help explain why Sock had that sex dream about Gladys a few episodes back.
Fans of comedy like myself waited with baited breath to see what their favorite talk shows would be like when they returned from the strike.
Dave Letterman, having made an interim deal with the WGA has settled back into usual comedy groove and Jay Leno, in all his scabby glory, has surprised millions by becoming even lamer than before. The one talk show host who stands out as really making an effort to please everyone is Conan O' Brien.
(S03E11) "Honk if you know someone on death row." - Sign outside of A. J. Johnson Prison.
It's too bad the WGA is on strike because somebody needs to write another sitcom for Craig T. Nelson. When Earl finally does get out of prison, I will truly be saddened by the warden's absence. Maybe Earl can get a job working for the warden after he gets released?
The more residents of Camden County and the surrounding area I meet, the more convinced I am that their drinking water is tainted.
It's not going to be Harvey Keitel or Geena Davis or Michael Keaton or even Rosie O'Donnell. The new person in charge on Criminal Minds is Joe Mantegna.
The CBS show hired Mantegna over the weekend, ending speculation over who would replace Mandy Patinkin, who has already left the show and will not be making anymore appearances. Besides classic movies such as House of Games and Bugsy, Mantegna costarred on the USA series The Starter Wife earlier this summer, was on the gone-but-not-forgotten drama Joan of Arcadia, does the voice of Fat Tony on The Simpsons, and made a poor substitute for Robert Urich when they made those Spenser movies on cable (nothing against Mantegna, he was quite good, it just wasn't Spenser, you know?).
No word yet on how they'll write out Patinkin or how Mantegna's character will join the team, though some episodes are already done and Patinkin's abscence will be explained in the season premiere.
I took my kids to see The Simpsons Movie this weekend. While it was their first time seeing the film, it was my second and I still enjoyed it quite a bit simply because it's a funny movie.
Because I have kids, I often go see a lot of crappy animated films based on cartoons. I've seen, Rugrats Go Wild, The Wild Thornberrys Movie and The Spongebob Squarepants Movie among others. For the most part, I enjoyed these films but they were little more than a longer version of the TV show. The Simpsons Movie, however, is much more
"C-SPAN After Dark": The Democrats and the Republicans had a lovely little sleepover to discuss Bush's Iraq policy and gossip about boys. I laughed a little too loudly at Jon's remarks about the Democrat's sad-looking "Let Us Vote" signs because, well, I guess I'm a sucker for font jokes. I'm pathetic like that.
John Oliver reviewed the all-night political play and successfully killed me by calling Barack Obama "the Moor" ("Alluring... Dangerously forbidden... And played out"). Oliver looked like he was about to crack as well. The rating system of five "bullets to the back of Lincoln's head" was also funny, in an awful sort of way.
Is it personal or political? The creator of The Simpsonssays there's no way the new British prime minister will follow in Tony Blair's footsteps with a guest appearance on the cartoon.
Geeks get treated pretty badly in the media. Thanks to the fact that most people who get above-the-line credit in Hollywood are anything but geeky, when a script calls for a socially maladjusted character, it's almost always a terrible caricature of true geek culture. For years little geeklings only had the likes of Steve Urkel to look up to and that's not right (believe me, Jaleel White, when the geek revolution comes, you'll be the first one guillotined).
The fact that I'm about to become the father of my own little geek-spawn has led me to start looking around the current TV landscape, looking for appropriate geek role models. I was surprised to find so many...
AOL TV has a list of the top ten longest running TV shows. It's a great trip down memory lane or if your a product of gen-Y like me, it's a good history lesson. I knew one (just one!) show on that list. I thought The Simpsons would be first for sure. Turns out that show is number ten. At least I got one. 
It took just a few weeks, but 
Say it ain't so, Ho. Homey, that's is. According to Variety, even though Fox has given The Simpsons a renewal for season number 20, 
One of the funniest guys in show business is coming to TV; and not just voices like he's done on The Simpsons. E! News has reported that 
Propane rules! Fox has renewed 
(S01E11) "Now, run, rabbit." - Sock
Fans of comedy like myself waited with baited breath to see what their favorite talk shows would be like when they returned from the strike.
(S03E11) "Honk if you know someone on death row." - Sign outside of A. J. Johnson Prison.
It's not going to be Harvey Keitel or Geena Davis or Michael Keaton or even Rosie O'Donnell. The new person in charge on Criminal Minds is Joe Mantegna.
I took my kids to see The Simpsons Movie this weekend. While it was their first time seeing the film, it was my second and I still enjoyed it quite a bit simply because it's a funny movie.
Please, 
"
Geeks get treated pretty badly in the media. Thanks to the fact that most people who get above-the-line credit in Hollywood are anything but geeky, when a script calls for a socially maladjusted character, it's almost always a terrible caricature of true geek culture. For years little geeklings only had the likes of Steve Urkel to look up to and that's not right (believe me, 
The Dharma Initiative wants you - VIDEO - Comic-Con Report
Forget the Knight Rider movie, say the series creators - TCA Report
Giveaway Monday: TV Funhouse
