TVSquad

Well, it only took them twenty-seven years (or however long its been), but the second season of The Upright Citizens Brigade is finally coming to DVD later this year (or so we assume, there's no official announcement yet). That's great news, but what's even cooler is that this Saturday, March 31, you can actually be in the audience for a live audio commentary recording for the episodes "Spaghetti Jesus" and "Supercool." All the information you need can be found here. The recording takes place at 8 p.m. at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles. Be there fifteen minutes early, or you'll be denied, sucka.

That leaves us with the third and finally season to look forward to. Hopefully it will be getting the digital versatile treatment sooner than later.

Thanks to reader bd, who sent us the tip after I found about the DVD but before I got off my lazy rump to write about it. I consider his e-mail the poke with a sharp stick I needed.

[via TV Shows on DVD]

PBS is taking the council of teens. Conor Reynolds, a member of PBS' Teen Council, wrote a short essay for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in which he talked about PBS' strategies to attract younger audience members. As you might suspect, their strategy is to go digital - offering clips of shows via YouTube or via free downloads on iTunes. It's a "hang out where the kids hang out" strategy that has, at the very least, attracted Conor Reynolds to show interest in the network. There is, of course, a major problem with this strategy. If we take the metaphor a little further, being the creepy, middle-aged guy hanging out where the kids hang out isn't going to do anything for your audience numbers.

The man behind the long-running America's Funniest Home Videos is developing a new game show/comedy for NBC. How can a show be a game show-slash-comedy? The show is a contest between comedians who perform for a live audience that determines which comedian wins $10,000. The show mics certain members of the audience and the amount of their laughter determines the winner.

Actually, the Japanese did this first. Their version was Theiromonea, in case you're storing up key words for future editions of Trivial Pursuit. The American version is going to be called Colloseum. It's going to be hosted by SNL alum Dean Edwards and British comedian Olivia Lee. Not sure when we can expect to see it on NBC, but it sounds like summer programming to me.

I've never been much a joiner. I wasn't on any sports teams in high school and I don't belong to many clubs or organizations. But I would join The Nancy Grace Fan Club and proudly wear their pin on my lapel before I ever "woo-hooed." (I think I've done it a couple of times in print, but only in a comical way.)

The woo-hoo. It's everywhere. It's not enough that Al Roker is standing in front of a crowd outside of The Today Show, the crowd actually has to do that long "wooooooooo-hoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" every time the camera is even remotely pointed in their direction. The same with the daytime and late night shows. Whether it's The Tonight Show or The View or (especially) Oprah, the crowd goes crazy when the star comes out or a guest comes on. I mean, they even do it on Emeril Live, whenever he throws in garlic or hot stuff. And they applaud on Emeril's show and he has a band, which I think is bizarre too, but that's a whole other rant.

I can't even understand how people do it physically. I can't imagine any situation where I would be puckering my mouth and making this loud "woo-hoo" noise with a bunch of other people, or alone. I would think that a real, deserved "woo-hoo" is a rare thing, and should be used in very few circumstances.

(S01E09) In this episode, the KHBX news team are given a timeslot early Sunday mornings to do whatever they want, so they decide to create a daytime talk show for reporter Kevin Beekin. Before all of that, however, they shoot a segment outdoors with a roadside clean up crew. Since the garbage on the road isn't "reading" on the cameras very well, they actually take garbage out of their van and throw it on the side of the road, much to the consternation of the woman in charge of the clean up.

There first plan of action concerning the new talk show is to discuss some ideas with a PR person. They mention things like interviewing John McCain while Kevin is sitting on an elephant, and Alan gets the idea to actually pull pranks on animals, such as putting kittens inside of a dog house.

This fall, the Fox Reality Channel will be airing a three-episode series titled My Bare Lady, which will take four female porn stars out of their usual element and place them on the London theater stage, where they will perform "legitimate" theater. The ladies will have only a short time to get their acting chops together for the performance in London's West End, where an audience will decide if they have what it takes.

Now, this seems interesting and all, but also just a tad condescending. The implication seems to be that porn is easy and real acting is difficult. In the interest of fairness, I think the "real" actors who train these women should themselves have to act in a porn movie. Memorizing your lines is one thing, maintaining an expression of eternal ecstasy while coated in honey and hanging upside down from a set of indoor monkey bars is something else entirely. And I speak from experience.

[via Chroma]

Even though it's not all that hip to admit this, I have no problems saying that I'm a fan of Ellen DeGeneres. I've enjoyed her comedy, which I can probably best describe as "stream-of-conciousness with detours," since she first broke out on TV fifteen years ago. I just love the way she goes off on her scattered tangents with this look on her face that just says "What? This is the way I talk." She's Sarah Silverman without the race humor and smugness.

I also like Ellen's talk show. Whenever I get a chance to watch it, I enjoy the interviews she gives the A-list stars that drop by, and I like the attention she gives the regular people in her audience. Unfortunately, I can't watch the show for more than five minutes at a time without changing the channel. Why? The freakin' over-hyper audience, that's why.