Jimmy Fallon actually has a lot of good regular segments on Late Night: Cell-Phone Challenge, Slow-Jamming The News, and especially that bit where he writes thank you notes to various people or things while the piano music plays. That's always funny (though it reminds me of something Craig Kilborn used to do...).
I also like the Random Object Three Point Shooting Contest, and last night he was challenged by Saturday Night Live's Jason Sudeikis.
[Watch clips and episodes of Late Night and other shows at SlashControl.]
basketball-related stories
What You Missed Last Night: Fallon and Sudeikis throw random things
Why can't Eva Longoria Parker get her own damn Heineken?
Look, I think that Eva Longoria Parker is hot just like every other guy, but I think she's completely out of line in the new Heineken ad (after the jump).Two guys get an upgrade to courtside seats, and when they sit down, they're given two Heineken Light beers by the server. Immediately, Longoria Parker, sitting next to them, asks if she can have one of the beers.
Continue reading Why can't Eva Longoria Parker get her own damn Heineken?
What's On Tonight: Pelham 123, In Plain Sight, Hammertime, True Blood
At 7, ABC has a new Jimmy Kimmel Live, followed by the Lakers/Magic game.- NBC has a new Dateline at 7.
- At 8, CBS has a new Million Dollar Password.
- The CW has the original version of The Taking of Pelham 123 at 8.
- Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, followed by new episodes of Next Food Network Star and Chopped.
- Also at 8: TCM has To Have and Have Not, then The Big Sleep.
- At 9, USA has a new Law and Order: CI, then a new In Plain Sight.
- HBO has the season premiere of True Blood at 9.
- History Channel has a new Ice Road Truckers at 9, followed by a new Expedition Africa.
- A&E has two new episodes of Gene Simmons' Family Jewels at 9, followed by the series premiere of Hammertime (followed by another new episode).
- Retro Television Network has two episodes of the 50s Mike Hammer show at 9, followed by The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
- At 10, Lifetime has a new Army Wives.
- There's a new HGTV's $250,000 Challenge on HGTV at 10.
- At midnight, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies.
Check your local TV listings for more.
What's On Tonight: Burn Notice, American Chopper, The Listener
- At 8, ABC has a new Jimmy Kimmel Live, followed by the Lakers/Magic game.
- NBC has a new I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here at 8.
- Cartoon Network has a new Chowder at 8, then a new The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
- At 9, FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance.
- USA has a new Burn Notice at 9, then a new Royal Pains.
- TLC has a new American Chopper (with Jon & Kate) at 9.
- TV Land has the season premiere of She's Got The Look at 9.
- At 10, NBC has a new episode of The Listener.
- Bravo has a new episode of The Fashion Show at 10.
- Also at 10: Comedy Central has a new Tosh.0
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Burn Notice, American Chopper, The Listener
What's On Tonight: Mental, Deadliest Catch, Real Housewives
At 8, ABC has a new Jimmy Kimmel Live, followed by the Magic/Lakers game.- NBC has the Penguins/Red Wings game at 8.
- TCM has High Noon at 8.
- At 9, FOX has a new Mental.
- Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
- At 10, FX has a new Rescue Me.
- Bravo has a new Real Housewives of New Jersey at 10.
- History Channel has a new Life After People at 10.
- There's a new Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern at 10.
- Spike has a new ECW at 10.
- Also at 10: MTV has a new Paris Hilton's My New BFF.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Mental, Deadliest Catch, Real Housewives
What's On Tonight: Smackdown, Flashpoint, Dollhouse, Head Case
At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by a new, two-hour 20/20.- CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Flashpoint and Numb3rs.
- NBC has two new episodes of Howie Do It at 8, followed by a new, two-hour Dateline.
- FOX has new episodes of Prison Break and Dollhouse.
- The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8, then a new episode of The Game.
- There's a new Washington Week on PBS at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
- MyNetwork TV has a new Smackdown! at 8.
- Nickelodeon has a new Penguins of Madagascar at 8.
- ESPN2 has the Magic/76ers game at 8.
- Also at 8: Cartoon Network has a new Secret Saturdays.
- At 9, History Channel has a new Patton 360.
- At 9:30, ESPN has the Rockets/Trail Blazers game.
- At 9:55, STARZ has a new Head Case, then a new Party Down.
- At 10, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.
- E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk shows.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Smackdown, Flashpoint, Dollhouse, Head Case
Are you the best baller in the country?
First of all, you should all be ashamed of yourself for thinking that title means anything but basketballer.Former NBA player Duane Causwell and producer Mark Skeete are looking for America's Top Baller. That's the (hopefully tentative) name of a new reality show that's in the works. A bunch of guys will compete to see who is the best amateur basketball player in the country. The winner gets a bunch of money, a sports agent, and their own sneaker. Of course, winning this show doesn't guarantee an NBA career, but I would imagine that if you win this show you're probably pretty talented when it comes to basketball so you'll at least get a tryout with some teams.
We have to come up with a better title though. How about Dribble! or Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Basketball Player? Or maybe Don't Forget The Lycra Shorts! I think The People's Court would be a good title, but that's already taken.
[via TV Tattle]
Costas drops HBO for more MLB Network
As anyone who follows sports on TV knows, Bob Costas is a baseball guy. He loves, loves, loves the National Pastime. Therefore, since NBC has not had major league baseball for years, it's been rough on Bob. He's managed to keep his love for the game alive with books and speeches and as part of his work for HBO. Well, now he's going to be doing a lot more baseball. Bob Costas is upping his commitment to the MLB Network, and leaving HBO. When the new baseball channel launched on January 1, 2009, included in the charter line up All Time Games, the rebroadcasting of vintage baseball games with Costas as the host.
Continue reading Costas drops HBO for more MLB Network
What's On Tonight: Deal Or No Deal, Christmas Movies, Benjamin Button
- HGTV has Christmas programming all night.
- SoapNet has old Christmas episodes of General Hospital all night.
- At 8, NBC has a new, two-hour Deal Or No Deal.
- TNT has the Cavaliers/Wizards game at 8, followed by the Mavericks/Trailblazers game.
- Comedy Central has Bad Santa at 8.
- Alton Brown makes cookies on Good Eats at 8, on Food Network.
- Nickelodeon has Christmas episodes of various shows starting at 8: iCarly, SpongeBob, Home Improvement, George Lopez, and more.
- Also at 8: Disney has Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas.
- TCM has Casablanca at 8, then The Big Sleep.
- At 9, Hallmark has the movie Our First Christmas.
- TLC has two Christmas episodes of Little People, Big World at 9.
- Lifetime has the movie A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride at 9.
- At 11, Lifetime has two Christmas episodes of Will & Grace.
Check your local TV listings for more.
After the jump, the late night talk show listings.
Continue reading What's On Tonight: Deal Or No Deal, Christmas Movies, Benjamin Button
What's On Christmas Day: Marathons, Movies, and Specials
Here's a quick guide to what's on Christmas Day, stuff to watch while you're opening presents, making snowmen, and eating way too much pumpkin pie. - HGTV and Food Network have holiday programming all day.
- TNT is showing Law and Order all day.
- TBS is showing the movie A Christmas Story all day.
- Nickelodeon and TV Land have Christmas episodes of various sitcoms and dramas all day.
- BBC America also has Christmas episodes all day long.
- At 7am, all of the morning shows (Today, Good Morning, America, and The Early Show) will have Christmas features, music, and recipes.
- At 8, Lifetime has a Golden Girls marathon.
- Sci-Fi has a Star Trek: TNG marathon at 8.
- Bravo has a Christmas episode of The West Wing at 8, then a Top Chef marathon.
Continue reading What's On Christmas Day: Marathons, Movies, and Specials
In Plain Sight: High Priced Spread
(S01E06) I thought this was one of the best In Plain Sights so far. It wasn't the case, it was the character, in particular Mary's. We got major character development from the leading lady, the key to what she's all about and how she's come to where she is. Episodes like this just make a show; they really do. In Plain Sight is about Witness Protection, yes, but it's more about Mary Shannon.
Mary doesn't go looking for this case, she's just bringing in her crap car for service. Her mechanic is Scott, who it turns out, was Mary's very first WITSEC client. Mary gave Scott and his 10-year-old brother, Chris, new lives after they witnessed a bookie murder another bookie.
Parenthetically, Scott invites Mary and Marshall to watch Chris play basketball at the university. The kid's got mad skills and is projected to be an NBA star, natch, but something's amiss. Chris is hitting up Mary for $3,000, which we learn is out of bounds for decade-long WITSEC clients.
Gallery: In Plain Sight: High Priced Spread
Continue reading In Plain Sight: High Priced Spread
Army Wives: The Messenger
(S02E03) Army Wives is the kind of show that's not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, metaphorically speaking. That's what this episode was in essence. The writers weren't afraid to deal with some core themes like faith, courage, fear and bravery.Time has passed since Amanda's death, but life is not returning to normal for the Holdens. Until Claudia Joy is able to begin to heal, Michael and Emmalin will be suffering, a point driven home in this episode by the messenger. In the guise of guest star Bill Cobbs, he's not real.
At least not real in human form; he's imaginary and only Claudia Joy can see and speak with him. This is very much a dramatic device to help her see that life goes on.
Gallery: Army Wives-The Messenger
Continue reading Army Wives: The Messenger
Jimmy Kimmel to air primetime specials
The late night comedian will be appearing during your primetime schedule. Starting tomorrow, Jimmy Kimmel LIve will run special half-hour shows each night that ABC airs the basketball finals. Special guests include: David Beckham, Edward Norton, Charles Barkley, Liv Tyler, Adam Sandler, Eminem, Shaquille O'Neil, Magic Johnson and New Orleans Hornets guard and 2008 MVP contender Chris Paul, among others. Out of the celebrities mentioned, I'm most interested to see Eminem. I haven't seen the Real Slim Shady on TV in awhile. He's always a good interview though -- all that contrived hostility and testosterone in overdrive. Who are you looking forward to seeing? Or is Kimmel's fabulousness enough to get you to tune in?
The schedule is after the jump.
Continue reading Jimmy Kimmel to air primetime specials
Joost to offer live streaming March Madness
Personal video recorders are changing the way people watch scripted television shows and movies. But for the most part people like to watch sports and other live events, well live. The odds of taping Lost and then walking down the street the next morning only to have the plot spoiled by a front page newspaper story are fairly slim. But that's exactly what happens if you record last night's basketball game with plans to save it until the weekend.
So while video on demand is absolutely the right business model for most online video, the ability to provide live streams of some content seems crucial. Now let's see how many people actually turn to Joost instead of, you know, a television set for their March Madness coverage.
[via NewTeeVee]
Saturday Night Live: LeBron James/Kanye West (season premiere)
(S33E01) "All-But-Certain-To-Be Next President" (Cold Open): This was a funny piece, but it didn't pack the punch I would have expected for a season premiere open. Oh! Hi, Darrell Hammond. Still here, huh? No, it's not a problem, man. It's just that you've been crashing here for a while and, well, you haven't really been doing much to contribute. And we've kind of been wondering when you'd be moving out -- Yeah, I guess your Bill Clinton voice is still pretty funny and I guess it'll come in handy some time in the near future. Okay, I suppose it's okay if you stay for a little while longer. Just try not to creep out the younger folks, okay? With the announcer not cutting in until about halfway through the cast, it must have sucked to have such a slip-up this early in the episode. Was that even Don Pardo doing the voices for the cast intro? At first, it sounded like someone doing an impression of him.
Continue reading Saturday Night Live: LeBron James/Kanye West (season premiere)
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
