The Jay Leno Show has taken a bit of a beating from viewers and critics, but my household has been watching, and we like the show. Sure, there are parts of it that fall a little flat (like, ok, The Real Housewives of Orange County bit last night; Jason didn't like it either), but overall, Jay's pretty funny no matter what he's doing, and we enjoy the show.
One of the bits we like is 10@10, the part where Jay gets celebrities on his screen and asks them ten questions about anything. In last night's episode, he caught up with Billy Crystal, currently in Philadelphia touring with his show, 700 Sundays.
The late night talk show process hasn't been refined in any major way since the early days of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Well there is Carson Daly's show, but I don't count that as a late night talk show ... or a show, for that matter.
You've got your monologue, your one or two comedy bits or sketches and banter with the band and the sidekick, throw in two or three guests, end with a musical performance and you're done. It's comedy by the numbers that works as long as the comedy is funny.
So it's refreshing to see Jay Leno and company retooling the format of the bit, even if the result still screams of the old show. It's also nice to see a show that knows and plays on Leno's strengths and weaknesses as a comedian and a talk show host with the skills of an NFL offensive coordinator, even if it sometimes feels as though that offensive coordinator works for the Detroit Lions.
AMC's Storymakersreturns this Friday with guests including Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, as well as film directors Nick Cassavetes and Judd Apatow. The show features a round table discussion with the guests and hosts Peter Bart, former editor-in-chief of Variety, and film producer Peter Guber.
I've never seen the show, but I'll definitely catch this Friday's episode. I can't wait to see what the dynamic is like between two great but very different filmmakers like Cassavetes and Apatow, and two pampered stars like Cruise and Diaz.
(S34E16) It was pretty obvious there was going to be at least two sketches with the Jonas Brothers. I called it! I mean, no one apart from the people in my apartment know I called it, but that doesn't change the facts or my sad sense of accomplishment. I had to tune out once they started singing (sorry, 15 year-old girls), but their skits were all right. Alec Baldwin did a fine job of hosting as well, though there weren't any particularly striking sketches. I suppose after doing something like "Schwetty Balls", just about everything else will pale in comparison.
Iconoclasts is one of those shows where I always say, "hey, that sounds kinda cool, I gotta watch that...when is it on again?" and then I promptly forget to watch it or even set my TiVo. But this year's lineup sounds like something that will make me remember.
The Sundance Channel show returns in October with these episodes: Bill Maher and Clive Davis; Jon Favreau and Tony Hawk; Venus Williams and Wyclef Jean; Stella McCartney and artist Edward Ruscha; Cameron Diaz and architect Cameron Sinclair; and Richard Branson and Desmond Tutu.
(S33E10) Considering the fact that Ashton Kutcher has hosted the show two times previous to this, I expected a lot more sketches that would let him cut loose and go crazy. We already know that he can be a decent host, and I felt like they didn't use him to his full potential. I also fully understand that I'm simultaneously talking about the importance of range and Ashton Kutcher of That 70s Show and Punk'd.
That said, this episode was mediocre, but at least it was consistently chuckle-worthy. There were only one or two sketches that were a bit painful to get through.
Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.
Today on TV Squad Daily:
Mindfreak's Criss Angel is doing damage control about his relationship with Cameron Diaz. Cameron Diaz doesn't need this kind of drama - she just wants to be friends.
The Apprentice is coming back? Was there a candy bar campaign I didn't know about?
Miss New Jersey received another package of blackmail photos, and won't talk about what's in them except to say they contain nothing illegal.
According to the New York Post, Criss Angel's wife, Joanne Sarantakos (Sarantakos is Angel's actual surname), is suing her husband for divorce, claiming that he kept their marriage a secret to help his career and make him more appealing to fans.
Their marriage was enough of a secret that I had no idea he was even married, though it's not as if I spend every waking moment keeping up with Angel's personal life. Still, whenever a girl was by Criss' side on Mindfreak, she was always just credited as "Criss' girl" as far as I remember.
CBS put their regular programming on hold last night so they could show the 33rd Annual People's Choice Awards. Hosted by Queen Latifah, the show gives awards based on public internet voting. As that is the case, these awards track with the Nielsen ratings more than most. Case in point, the award for Television Comedy went to Two And A Half Men. Top rated for a couple years now, but it can't seem to get any press unless Charlie Sheen is divorcing someone or hiring a hooker.
Most of the other television awards followed similar lines. The award for Best Drama went to Grey's Anatomy. Best Actor was Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy). Best Actress went to Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives). Best Competition/Reality show was, of course, American Idol. Best Animated Show was The Simpsons. The only real surprise came in the new categories. Best New Drama was Heroes, which isn't a surprise, but Best New Comedy, The Class? I didn't see that one coming. The television awards were rounded out with Ellen Degeneres winning Best Talk Show Host.
Joining the ranks of Frosty, Rankin-Bass' Rudolph and Charlie Brown's lonely Christmas tree is everyone's favorite ogre Shrek.
DreamWorks Animation SKG will be producing an original half-hour holiday special for ABC. The special Shrek the Halls will feature the voices of the entire original cast - Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas.
We won't be seeing holiday-themed Shrek on the air until 2007. Why? Well, animation done right takes time, but so does building a lasting franchise. According to DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg, the events of Shrek the Halls will pick up after the events of the yet-to-be-released third Shrek film.
I'm sure the Shrek special will be great, but can anyone really top a dentist elf, unhappy Yeti and misfit reindeer? Shrek is so postmodern in its sensibility that I'm sure it will be incorporating references to all the classic holiday specials anyway. It's the dawning of a hyper-referential pop culture Christmas.
Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria claims she's shocked that she was once again named No. 1 on Maxim magazine's seventh annual "Hot 100" list. Well, me too. I kinda thought Eva Longoria's flame went out this season (along with the buzz around DH). Maxim says the list is of women who have "a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding them, undeniable beauty and a promise of greater things to come."
Also on the list: Jessica Alba, Angelina Jolie, Stacy Keibler, Scarlett Johansson, Cameron Diaz, Kate Bosworth, Keira Knightley, and Christina Milian. Fellow Desperate Housewives Nicolette Sheridan and Teri Hatcher are also on the list: at numbers 48 and 73.
This is more of a movie thing, but there are enough current and ex-TV stars on this list to include here. Who are the best and worst celebrities when it comes to autographs?
Personally, I think that there are some celebs who are bad autograph signers, and then there are some celebs who don't sign for very legitimite reasons: they've been burned by autograph seekers in the past, autograph seekers can be pushy, they're sick of signing a dozen things that just show up on ebay, etc. But anyway, here's the list. The best include George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, and Matt Damon. The worst include Cameron Diaz, Teri Hatcher, and ... Alan Alda?!
The late night talk show process hasn't been refined in any major way since the early days of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Well there is Carson Daly's show, but I don't count that as a late night talk show ... or a show, for that matter. 
AMC's 
There are three things I know about Katherine Heigl. 
Iconoclasts
(S33E10) Considering the fact that Ashton Kutcher has hosted the show two times previous to this, I expected a lot more sketches that would let him cut loose and go crazy. We already know that he can be a decent host, and I felt like they didn't use him to his full potential. I also fully understand that I'm simultaneously talking about the importance of range and Ashton Kutcher of That 70s Show and Punk'd.
Egad.
Charlie Rose: Stephen Krasner and Azim Premji 
CBS put their regular programming on hold last night so they could show the 
Joining the ranks of Frosty, Rankin-Bass' Rudolph and Charlie Brown's lonely Christmas tree is everyone's favorite ogre Shrek.
Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria claims she's shocked that she was once again named No. 1 on Maxim magazine's seventh annual "Hot 100" list. Well, me too. I kinda thought Eva Longoria's flame went out this season (along with the buzz around DH). Maxim says the list is of women who have "a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding them, undeniable beauty and a promise of greater things to come."
This is more of a movie thing, but there are enough current and ex-TV stars on this list to include here. Who are the best and worst celebrities when it comes to autographs?
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
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