chris parnell-related stories
Posted Sep 18th 2009 8:38AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

(
S01E01)
"Oh god, with the curry again. This shirt smells likes Indira Gandhi's thong." - Archer
I should preface this review with something basic - I am in no way whatsoever an animation buff. I didn't watch a lot of cartoons as a kid and now that I'm a big boy, my Adult Swim knowledge stretches about as far as Aqua Teen Hunger Force with the occasional episode of Sealab 2021 tossed in. So... I guess I know a little. Enough to say that Sealab's mastermind Adam Reed definitely has a hit on his hands with his first stab at a half-hour show in FX's Archer.
So if you're looking for a treatise one why Archer's flash animation or cell-shaded stop motion freeze-frame whatever-it's-called is superior vs. parochial and clunky, then this is not the review for you. I'm basing my review on content alone and seeing as how Archer won't be back for its official premiere until January, we were very fortunately given more than enough to whet our appetites.
Continue reading Archer: Mole Hunt (series premiere)
Posted Sep 16th 2009 4:25PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Video, Animation, Adult Swim, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free

When FX initially picked up six episodes of its first foray into animated comedy, the plan for Archer was to pair it with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Since that greenlight, two things happened.
First, FX got trigger-happy and greenlit a whole bunch of other shows (from the likes of Louis CK and Don Cheadle). Second, and more importantly, according to FX it turns out that from start through post, it takes almost a whole month to complete one episode of Archer. With Always Sunny premiering this Thursday night at 10PM ET on FX, slotting in Archer's six eps suddenly became impossible. So the plan has changed. Instead of pairing Archer with Sunny mid-season, FX plans to launch its fantasy-football themed sitcom The League instead. However, if you were looking forward to seeing Archer, I've got some good news.
Continue reading FX quietly plans sneak-peek of animated Archer
Posted Mar 11th 2009 11:34AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free

The pilot casting is coming fast and furious now.
Chris Parnell has been cast in the new CBS comedy
Big D. He'll play a preacher who is the brother of a woman who moves back to her hometown of Dallas with her husband. Hopefully this doesn't mean that Parnell won't be able to reprise his role of Dr. Spaceman on NBC's
30 Rock. Too much Dr. Spaceman could be too much, but it's really great to see him every once in a while.
More pilot news after the jump...
Continue reading Dr. Spaceman gets a new show
Posted Feb 11th 2009 11:03AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten

To celebrate the release of
The Lonely Island's debut album "
Incredibad," we've compiled this list of the top ten
Saturday Night Live Digital Shorts. For almost four years, Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer have brought us these videos, and they've managed to keep us laughing and humming their tunes weeks after they've aired. We hope this countdown makes you feel just as
SNL-y in your digital shorts as when you first saw the videos, and if not, that's okay too. We're glad you're here anyway.
Of course, the rule is that they must have been prefaced by the "An SNL Digital Short" card to qualify. We know how much you love "
Virgania Horsen's Hot Air Balloon Rides," but it's not happening. Sorry.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Top SNL Digital Shorts - VIDEOS
Posted Oct 17th 2008 10:26AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

I liked it. I laughed. Sure. I also laughed last week, but I can't quite remember what was so funny. These specials are pretty forgettable, bleeding into my
Saturday Night Live memory and then dropping into the recesses of my mind. Again, I understand the need to jump on the debate coverage as soon as possible, but I honestly could have held on until Saturday. Or maybe they were worried that everyone would be sick of Joe the Plumber by then. Well... too late.
Continue reading Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (October 16, 2008) - VIDEOS
Posted Oct 10th 2008 8:28AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

Well, that was a little strange... and maybe a little unnecessary. All right, it was definitely unnecessary. I wasn't quite sure how they were going to work out these Thursday election specials, because even though they called it "Weekend Update Thursday", I didn't believe they were just going to show a twenty-some minute long "Weekend Update" segment. As it turned out, the special consisted of one cold open and the rest was "Weekend Update." This is where I got super-confused. Half of these jokes had absolutely nothing to do with the election, leaving me to wonder if there is anyone out there that could not have waited until Saturday night to hear the relevant jokes. I don't think anyone's going to forget the election or the economic crisis any time soon, let alone by Saturday.
Continue reading Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday (October 9, 2008) - VIDEOS
Posted Jul 23rd 2008 9:02AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Video, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free

With seven separate nominations in the Guest Actor and Actress categories, it's hard to believe that any
30 Rock guest stars were left off this year's list. The men nearly swept the nominees list for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, earning four of the five available spots. The ladies made up half of the Guest Actress category; not bad!
Still, a few brilliant and hilarious performances were left out. You can't argue with
nominations for Will Arnett and Elaine Stritch, but I'd swap one or two of the nominees with a few of my own favorites. Check out my list of overlooked
30 Rock guest stars after the jump. And yes, I left out
Jerry Seinfeld. Emmy got that one right.
Continue reading Eight 30 Rock guest stars that Emmy forgot - VIDEOS
Posted Apr 9th 2008 11:03AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, TV Squad Polls, Watercooler Talk, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free

TV Squadder
Paul Goebel reviewed the
series premiere of the ABC comedy
Miss Guided. He wasn't sure what to make of the show after the first airing and I must admit that I also had my doubts about this new comedy. Judy Greer is a joy to watch as guidance counselor Becky Freeley but the comedy was predictable and the cast way too beautiful to portray a real high school. However, I decided to stick with it and ended up enjoying the show's storylines and characters as well as the interview-like tidbits.
The series aired its season finale last week and is now awaiting ABC's upfronts to know if it'll come back next season or have to close the books. To help ABC make its decision, here are some reasons why
Miss Guided should be renewed.
Continue reading Reasons why I think ABC should renew Miss Guided
Posted Mar 19th 2008 9:22AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Episode Reviews
(S01E01) I'm not quite sure what to make of this show. It's hard to decide what I like and don't like considering that the show is really not that unique. For example, I've always been a fan of Chris Parnell but his work on Miss Guided pales in comparison to the stuff he does on 30 Rock. The same goes for Brooke Burns but if I had to choose, I'd rather see her in those jeans she wore on Dog Eat Dog.
Judy Greer is super funny. Her guest spot on Two and a half Men was brilliant in my opinion. So when she got her own show, I was interested to say the least.
Continue reading Miss Guided: Homecoming (series permiere)
Posted Sep 13th 2007 8:00AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Late Night, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, Talk Show
A sketch has surfaced over at FunnyorDie.com starring Conan O'Brien. It appears to be a sketch from the Saturday Night Live episode that he hosted in 2001. The sketch was cut from the live airing of the show and hasn't been seen until now.
While watching the sketch you get the feeling that it was something that he always wanted to do on his own show but could never fit it in. The premise is pure Late Night but the sketch is way too long and too involved to have worked on a talk show.
Continue reading Never before aired SNL sketch with Conan O'Brien - VIDEO
Posted Sep 12th 2007 11:01AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, 30 Rock, Casting
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Parnell is moving up in the television world from guest-star/recurring character to prime-time regular. He has just been picked to star in ABC's mid-season comedy Miss/Guided.
Guided stars Judy Greer as a former high school wallflower who returns to her alma mater as a guidance counselor. Parnell will play a fellow counselor. Whether he'll be a friend, enemy, lover, sprout horns, or channel Tom Brokaw (one of the characters he played on SNL) is unknown. What is known is that he'll be joining other cast members Brooke Burns and Kristoffer Polaha.
Parnell was part of SNL for nine years and was let go in 2006 during the semi-purge of the cast. This past season he had a recurring role as Dr. Leo Spaceman on the NBC comedy 30 Rock, where he shared the screen with former SNL buddies Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan.
Posted Sep 25th 2006 2:40PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Late Night, OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Music and Variety, Obituaries

As the rumors were flying around about
who was going to leave SNL, Keith and I were thinking about putting up a "The Five" post that went over the "Categories of former SNLers."
But it looks like the
LA Times beat us to it; writer Deborah Netburn
details the seven career paths most former
SNLers take. I'll admit she did a nice job. The only thing I really disagree with is her classification of
Johnny Dangerously as a disaster for Joe Piscopo. I happen to think that it was a very funny movie, and anyway, it was more a Michael Keaton vehicle than a Piscopo vehicle. The other thing she overlooks is: in which category would Chevy Chase fit? His career has been tough to classify, but it does seem like he went from the first category (superstar) to the second category (not funny) somewhere around 1987, doesn't it?
Anyway, what do you think is in store for Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, and Finesse Mitchell? Let me know in the comments.
[via
Mediabistro]
Posted Sep 20th 2006 2:15PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Saturday Night Live, Celebrities
Zap2It is reporting that Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell and Finesse Mitchell will not be returning to Saturday Night Live next season, and we'll assume that's true, though the only one we can be absolutely sure about is Sanz, who left a message on his MySpace page yesterday saying he would be leaving the show:
Hi my Dear fans and friends alike,
I have decided to not return to Saturday Night Live this season. I wish the best to everyone at the show and expect them to have a great season. It's been a wonderful eight years and I am grateful for all the friends I was able to make and all the great people I had the pleasure of working with. I want to give a big thank you to all my fans for your kind comments and well wishes. I look forward to making you laugh in the future, and hopefully not behind the counter at Burger King. Goodnight my dears!
XO,
H
Whether "I decided to not return" means he did this of his own volition or was coaxed to leave is for anyone to surmise, but the bottom line is that he ain't gonna be on the show no more.
Posted Aug 27th 2006 5:49PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Talent, Industry, Programming, Site Announcements, Web
In case you've missed it -- perhaps you were busy being depressed about the end of summer -- here are some highlights from the last week at TV Squad:
Breaking News
Discussions
The Five
Opinions
Retro Squad
Episode Reviews
Posted Aug 24th 2006 11:59AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Talent, Saturday Night Live

Despite
yesterday's report in the LA Times,
Saturday Night Live actor Horatio Sanz says he's still a member of the cast. He tells the
Chicago Sun-Times that he doesn't know "what the hell is going on" but he has no reason to believe he's out of a job. The LA Times says that Sanz, Kenan Thompson, and Chris Parnell are out. But,
TMZ.com says it's Sanz and Will Forte who are cut from the show. (
Will says he's staying, too) And the
New York Post says Maya Rudolph is considering leaving the show.
Lorne Michaels had better speak up soon.
[Via
Pop Candy and
TV Tattle]
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