If you've ever watched The Soup or Community, you know what a (hot) genius Joel McHale is. But while his scruffy mug tends to get all of the credit for the funny that The Soup constantly brings, I've got to give it up for the video editors on staff for this one.
Now that Jon and Kate is off the air, TLC is scrambling to figure out what mildly offensive reality concept it's going to use to win over America once again. Instead of coming up with an entirely new concept (because, let's face it: ideas are hard), The Soup posits that TLC is just going to combine all of their already successful shows into one.
TLC has decided to build their success on little people, tattoos, pageant kids, cake shows and folks who have way too many babies, so let's just cut the crap and give the people what they want. In this case, the people want Fertile Little Tattooed Pageant Parents Who Enjoy Baking.
TheSoup-related stories
Joel McHale presents TLC's next reality bonanza
What Michael P. is thankful for
Thanksgiving is the best time to reflect on the year and find out what one is grateful for. Like most people, I'm grateful for my family and our well-being, but I realize that it's the little things that can perk up a depressing day.Hulu
I cover a lot of reality shows and I found Hulu to be a great website for me to catch Glee, Modern Family, and Community without having to fill up my DVR. When Hulu gives me the option to play one long form commercial, I squeal, press play, and run to the bathroom to pee. When I get back Glee's preview is on. That show is better without either commercial or bathroom interruptions.
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Tosh.0 vs. Web Soup
I remember long ago in a cable land far away when a little show called Talk Soup started. It was clever, riffing on talk show shenanigans. We've come a long way since then, with clip shows blanketing the network. And then there's the Internet. On paper the idea of a web video iteration of The Soup, as it's now called, sounds solid enough, and G4 is a good place for it, but as Michael pointed out, Web Soup just isn't working.Even though G4 is the place for techie stuff and they handle web videos already, Web Soup still manages to feel outdated and stodgy. And Chris Hardwick, while funny when he fills in on Attack of the Show, is almost mind-numbingly not funny hosting Web Soup. But Chris Hardwick and the gang were not alone in exploring web videos on our TVs. Comedy Central threw comedian Daniel Tosh into the mix with the webbily titled Tosh.0. But which one, if either, is better?
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Too much Soup
I was a fan of The Soup back when it was called Talk Soup and was hosted by Hal Sparks (I'm too young for the Greg Kinnear and John Henson eras). I've become a fan of Joel McHale and appreciate his writing staff and his comedic timing. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think that Talk Soup would ever become a franchise like Law & Order, CSI, or NCIS.Soon four versions of the soup showed up on E!'s sibling channels: The Dish (on Style), Sports Soup (on Versus), Web Soup (on G4), and Celebrity Soup (the British version), but none can compare to the original. The Dish is funny for female oriented television as Sports Soup is for watching the most awkward sports shows. Web Soup feels like a hiccup in the thought process.
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TV's Joel McHale riffing with Rifftrax on Red Dawn
Actor, comedian and classically trained suit wearer Joel McHale has taken his talent for riffing to the next level. The star of The Soup and the upcoming NBC sitcom Community has joined forces with Michael J. Nelson's Rifftrax.com to provide a running comedy commentary for the perennial craptastic 80s classic Red Dawn. Nelson announced the guest commentary on the Rifftrax site and his Twitter blog earlier this week.
Rifftrax, for those who may not be familiar with the site and are therefore in no way cool, is the comedy website that provides downloadable MP3s of funny movie commentaries featuring the voices and talents of the minds behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 including Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. It is the only reason I still own all three Matrix films, that and the fact that my desk is missing part of a leg.
Continue reading TV's Joel McHale riffing with Rifftrax on Red Dawn
Chris Hardwick to serve up Web Soup
The producers of E!'s The Soup are creating a new show called Web Soup that highlights memorable moments in online video. Comedian and writer Chris Hardwick will host Web Soup, which debuts June 7 on G4.I'm not a big fan of The Soup. It's the kind of show I'll watch for a few minutes while flipping. But I'll give Web Soup my full attention only because Chris Hardwick is hosting. The guy's hilarious. He's been making crap watchable since the 1990s when he used to host Singled Out on MTV.
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The Soup spills on the sporting world
One of the long-time staples on cable has been The Soup (formerly Talk Soup) on E!. What started as a spoof of the various bizarre and goofy talk shows that permeated the airwaves throughout the '90s was reborn as a show that makes fun of all things television and pop culture now. Now the brand is seeking to expand to provide the same brand of satire and commentary to the sports world. Sister network Versus will air Sports Soup twice a week beginning October 14th, 2008. Of course, as with Joel McHale on The Soup the success of its new sister show will rest solely on the shoulders of its host, Matt Iseman.In looking at Iseman's Wiki entry, it looks like this show was originally branded After Further Review. I guess they thought associating it with an already successful show with a similar format would improve its ratings. The network is still trying to establish itself as a viable sports brand in the ESPN world. Adding a show like this might be just the thing they need to drum up some buzz.
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Style Network tries to make Soup
No doubt envious of all the buzz The Soup is getting, E!'s sister channel, Style Network, is planning their own version. Premiering August 16th, The Dish will cover more topics than The Soup including TV, celebrities, fashion and beauty. Here's the kicker though: The Dish is set to be hosted by Topanga herself, Boy Meets World's Danielle Fishel.Style executive VP Salaam Coleman sums up The Dish's appeal, saying, "What's great about The Dish is that it takes a not-so-serious look at the often very serious world of fashion and finds the comedy in celebrity lifestyle." Well yes, that would be great--in theory.
The problem is, this is a type of show that is very difficult to do well. You need a strong group of writers and a charismatic host. While The Soup may be the toast of the town now, it kind of sucked when it first aired. While two of The Soup's executive producers are behind The Dish, I'm not sure if Danielle is going to quite have the "pop" that this show is going to need.
Seth Green wants you to leave Chris Crocker alone - VIDEO
By now, you've probably heard about Britney Spears superfan Chris Crocker and his tearful pleas to leave poor Britney alone after her not so auspicious return to MTV's Video Music Awards. You haven't seen it yet? Well, click right here to view the video before you continue. Done? Feel scared? Wondering if that's a boy or a girl (it's a boy)? Even more scared? Now you're ready to continue.
As we live in a world of instantaneous ridicule, plenty of videos have gone up on YouTube and other video sties mocking Crocker. One of these comes from Seth Green, he of Robot Chicken and Family Guy fame (oh, and that show that featured a girl vampire killer. Her name was Barbara, Belinda, Beefy . . . I can't remember).
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NBC's version of The IT Crowd could be dead already
"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"It would appear that the adaptation of UK sit-com The IT Crowd might need more than Roy's famous reboot fix. According to reports, NBC is set to pull the plug on the midseason comedy. If you haven't been playing along at home, the show is to be a joint production between Universal Media Studios and Freemantle Media. It's an ensemble comedy, set in an IT department, starring Joel McHale (The Soup) and Rocky Carroll (Invasion).
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