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Eight sets of memorable sitcom siblings

FrasierRecently, the AOL list of the 50 Best Sitcoms of all time got me thinking about ten all time great sitcom sidekicks. Working on that list inspired me to look at the best in sitcom siblings -- ADULTS ONLY. The brother/sister relationship, brothers, sisters, family dynamics are great fodder for comedy. For my collection of the best, I've limited it to grown-up siblings only because there are some truly funny things that happen only among adults brothers and sisters that are unique and universal at the same time. After all, unlike the childhood years when kids are controlled by parents, adult siblings remain close and in each other's lives by choice -- and that has made for some wonderful situation comedy.

Niles & Frasier Crane, Frasier
Two brothers, both psychiatrists, both opera buffs, both wine connoisseurs, both heterosexual despite evidence to the contrary. The Crane brothers were like two peas in a very funny pod, sparking each other in comedy, competitive and supportive at the same time. Making their brotherly friendship even funnier was the fact that their Dad, Martin, who was nothing like either one of them. What's even funnier is the fact that when Frasier was originally spun-off from Cheers, the writers didn't include the character of Niles. It was only after seeing an 8x10 of David Hyde Pierce, and how much he looked like Kelsey Grammer's brother, that they put him in the pilot. Frasier would not have been nearly the hit comedy it was without the brother angle.

Gallery: Sitcom Siblings

Crane brothersFriends castFriends partyEverybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond brothers

Continue reading Eight sets of memorable sitcom siblings

I'm sick of everyone crying on The Biggest Loser

Mark and Jay KrugerBecause what I'm about to write may come across as sounding harsh and insensitive, let me preface all of this by saying that I love The Biggest Loser and have nothing but the utmost respect for the contestants and what they go through on the show.

In a world saturated with reality shows, The Biggest Loser is one of the few that still comes across as "real." You can't script a 100lb. weight loss.

With that out of the way, let me get to the point: I've had enough of these whiners doing nothing but hug each other and cry. The biggest culprits? The brothers, Mark and Jay. If tears contained calories, these two men would be skin and bones.

Continue reading I'm sick of everyone crying on The Biggest Loser

Osmonds to reunite on PBS next year

osmondsBob told you a couple months ago that a possible reunion was planned of Donny Osmond and four of his brothers (Wayne, Jay, Merrill, and Jimmy). Well, a bit more information has surfaced, and more siblings have been added to the reunion, including sister Marie and brother Alan, who was diagnosed with MS a few years ago.

I have no idea about ticket availability, but the brothers (and sister) are scheduled to perform at the Orleans Hotel Showroom in Las Vegas on August 13 and 14. This could be your last chance to ever see them perform together, so you should at least buy a fake mustache and pretend your a janitor and try to sneak into the venue. Or, you can wait until next March when the concert will air on your local PBS station.

Viewers say no to The Black Donnellys

The Black DonnellysIf the overnight ratings are any indication, NBC now has another drama they're not going to know what to do with.

The premiere of The Black Donnellys, taking over the Monday at 10pm slot from Studio 60, started off well, with 10 million viewers, but then it seems a lot of viewers didn't like what they saw and the number of viewers in the second half hour dropped to 6 million (though I think the rating was better than what Studio 60 has been getting).

It still amazes me that over 6 million viewers is considered a "failure," but I guess that's why I'm not a network exec.

It's not good when the premiere episode of a show starts losing viewers so quickly halfway through. I wonder what's up with Monday at 10pm. Is it the time slot? Are people worn out after Heroes? Is CSI: Miami that strong?

[via TV Tattle]

David Arquette to direct sister Patricia on Medium

Patricia Arquette Medium Brother-SisterHaving a terrific brother myself, I have a great affection for brother-sister teams. Together, they work past the boring notion of sibling rivalry to achieve greatness. Amy and David Sedaris on the New York Theater Workshop stage. Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko. John and Joan Cusack in just about every film either one of them has made. Now, another team is looking to make the list of great brother-sister working relationships. David Arquette will be directing big sis Patricia in an upcoming episode of Medium.

Patricia had this to say about the collaboration: "I was always a bossy little girl and being David's older sister I've bossed him around quite a bit. Now that he'll be directing me it will be payback time...I feel so safe with him. I think I'll be able to go to some of my darkest places." That's kinda creepy, but whatever, you work out those family neuroses. When you're done, maybe you could straighten those Baldwins out.

FOX orders Playing Chicken

chickenHere's an original idea: create a sitcom based around two brothers with different political beliefs. Make one of these men liberal and the other one conservative. Also, make sure the liberal is the intellectual one and the conservative is an obnoxious blowhard. Now, to try and distract from the complete lack of originality inherent in this sitcom, put the conservative guy in a wheelchair. See? He's not just some cookie-cutter stereotype, he's a crippled cookie-cutter stereotype.

Anyway, that's the gist of a new pilot called Playing Chicken that was recently ordered by FOX. Perhaps the show will actually make fun of these stereotypes rather than perpetuating the nonsense that all conservatives are obnoxious and all liberals are erudite snobs, so I won't judge too harshly until I actually see it. Actually, who am I kidding? I'm going to judge it quite harshly.

Reno 911!: The Junior Bros.

reno 911(S04E02) Paul Rudd is a funny guy, and he should really do more comedy. He appeared in this episode, albeit briefly, as an instructor in Trudi's Lamaze class who informs the women, "your vagina will be ripped in half." That's about all we hear about Trudi and her pregnancy in this episode, though she does have a funny conversation with Williams where Williams explains to her that a baby must be fed everyday and cannot, as Trudi assumes, just have food laid out for it like a cat. Trudi counters with, "If I knew you were going to judge me on my parenting skills I never would have introduced you to my unborn child."

Rewinding to the beginning of the episode, the deputies discuss new policies on when they can and cannot shoot at a person. One of the new rules is that they can only shoot after they've already been shot once. Trudi inexplicably asks if she can shoot people and chickens who come into her yard.

Continue reading Reno 911!: The Junior Bros.

Wayans want to build movie studio and theme park

wayans brothersWayans brothers Keenen Ivory, Damon, Shawn and Marlon are negotiating with city officials in Oakland, California to build a movie studio and theme park where an Army base once stood. The council gave the brothers exclusive rights to the site. They've already put down a $150,000 security deposit. Since the deal is still being hammered out, there's not much info on what the heck they plan to do with the land, though they're apparently considering building a luxury hotel and some high-end stores in addition to the movie studio and theme park. Hmm, sounds rather swanky.

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