TVSquad

We've mentioned a couple of times that an actual comic book was being developed based on the fictional Tek Jansen character created by the fictional Stephen Colbert, played by the real-life Stephen Colbert.

Tek Jansen is the hero of Colbert's science fiction novel, Stephen Colbert's Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Jansen Adventure. The comic series, created by Oni Press, will consist of five issues, with two stories in each issue (one of which is a continuing story stretching through all five issues). Entertainment Weekly has a look at the first "secondary" story, "Horn Like Me!" in which our hero disguises himself as a horn-headed Rombaron, a race of aliens who rule over the plain-headed Rombarons. The story, naturally, is a spoof of John Howard Griffin's book Black Like Me, though Jim Massey also points out the story owes a debt to The Sneetches, the Dr. Seuss story.

Comedian and actor Louis C.K. recently spoke with the AV Club about his career, including his latest stand-up special for HBO, and his short-lived HBO sitcom, Lucky Louie, an uncensored and often uncomfortably candid series shot like a basic sitcom, but without the restrictions of network TV.

I liked Lucky Louie. I didn't think it was perfect, but those moments I didn't like (stiff dialogue, some moments felt a little too forced) are common for all new shows as they work out the kinks and improve in subsequent seasons.

As Annie mentioned in her review, Don Rickles was on The Daily Show last night. I typically don't watch The Daily Show until the day after, because, at the old age of 30, I'm out like a light by 8:00 p.m., barely able to finish my bowl of oatmeal.

I usually skip over the interview segments of the show, but today I actual watched the segment with Rickles. I may be a fan of a lot of today's "alternative" comics (a term as meaningless as "alternative music"), but I also have a lot of respect and admiration for older comics such as Rickles. And it's genuine respect, not that fake respect you exude because they're old and society demands it from you. No, Rickles is a very funny and amicable gentleman, and even at the age of 81 the man is still as sharp as he ever was.

In order to promote his upcoming animated feature, Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld is creating twenty "minisodes" to be shown on both NBC and NBC.com.

Live-action spots for the film have already been made, but it's not clear if these "minisodes" will be more of the same or something completely different. I've placed one of the movie spots at the end of this post.

UPDATE: This event is invite-only. Sorry to burst any bubbles.

Do you live in Los Angeles and have the ability to see and hear? Also, do you like musical comedy? Good, then you should see about getting yourself some tickets to see a live preview of the upcoming HBO series Flight of the Conchords, featuring the comedic musicality of New Zealand's finest folksy music parodists. You can see a preview of the new series here. It kicks off June 17 at 10:30 on HBO.

Oh, wait, they also have live previews coming up in Philly and New York-y. Cool.

Flight of the Conchords (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement) bill themselves as "New Zealand's fourth most popular folk-parody duo." Their new series will focus on the two men as they try to make it big in New York City.

I've stuck HBO's promo for the series below.

Previously: Flight Of The Conchords Update - VIDEO

[via The Coming]

If you're a fan of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal comic book The Watchmen and also a fan of NBC's Heroes, you may have noticed a recent climax on the popular series was very similar to the end of The Watchmen. The NY Post has more information, though I must admit I didn't read the entire article because I've seen neither Heroes nor The Watchmen and I might want to catch the show or read that comic sometime. Unlike Isabelle, I like to be surprised.

Before he gets to the spoiler part of the article, Post writer Stephen Lynch says Heroes' use of the The Watchmen ending (I'll let you fans argue over how much of a "rip-off" it really was) may have cursed the making of the feature film, an idea that's been stuck in development hell for some time.

So, fans, have at it in the comments. I'll be sitting over here with my fingers in my ears and not paying attention to you.

This link is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Notice I didn't use the standard internet abbreviation "NSFW," because I didn't want some benighted person in an office thinking, "'Not Suitable For Winger?' That has nothing to do with me, I was never in that band, and I don't even like the song 'Seventeen.' Everything about that acronym tells me to click that link."

Ricky Gervais is a funny man, but you guys already know that. If you want to see him perform his stand up live, he'll be at the High Line Festival in New York City in May, so get your tickets. It looks as if they range in price from $46.00 to $66.00, which really isn't too bad.

This year's festival is curated by David Bowie and also features bands including Deerhoof, Arcade Fire, Air, and others. So if you like funny British people and hip indie bands you'll want to find the nearest car, knock out the owner, and drive that stolen car straight to New York City. Just don't drive too far or you'll end up in the ocean. Or something.

If you can't make it to see Gervais perform, you can always watch the hilarious clip I placed below from Gervais' stage show in which he explains Creationism to his audience. It's both funny and enlightening.

Does this really surprise anyone? Sanford and Son, Redd Foxx's sitcom from the 1970s, might be made into a feature film with Bernie Mac taking on the role of Fred Sanford popularized by the late Foxx. The film has been kicking around the studios for a few years now, and is currently at Sony. Nick Cannon is also slated to play Lamont Sanford, Fred's son.

I'm not a big fan of TV to movie adaptations, but I do recognize that sometimes they can work. The movie Charlie's Angels, which I found rather insipid, was at least based on three crime-fighting chicks, a concept that lends itself to a full-length movie. I'm just not sure how Sanford and Son could be stretched beyond half an hour, taking into consideration the show was essentially built around Foxx and his comedy. The show could have taken place in a bicycle repair shop and I don't think it would have made much difference. Unless some filmmaker out there has something truly amazing in mind for this flick, it seems better to just let it go.

I understand, I really do. You have a favorite actor, comedian, musician, porn star or whatever, and one night you actually find yourself face to face with them. Maybe it's after a show, maybe it's an autograph signing, or maybe you both happen to be looking at cookbooks at Target. You don't want to pass up this opportunity to meet someone who has provided you with years of entertainment, so what do you do?

I have to admit I hadn't paid much attention to the work of comedian Richard Jeni over the last few years, but when I was in middle school and his specials aired on Showtime, I thought he was one of the most hysterical comedians I had ever seen. This equation of his is one I still quote from time to time:

'God is love. Love is blind. Therefore, Ray Charles is God.'

That makes perfect sense to me, but what's always a little more difficult to figure out is why a person would take their own life. According to Jeni's family, who released a statement saying Jeni's career was going fine and that they believe his death was probably a suicide, spurred by Jeni's having been "diagnosed with severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia." No official announcement from the autopsy has been made yet.

You can read the full statement on Jeni's official site.

Chris Rock will appear on tonight's episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, hosted by the windy but still humorously self-deprecating James Lipton. The two-hour episode, like all episodes of Inside the Actor's Studio, will delve into Chris' childhood, his hopes, his dreams, and what his favorite swear word is.

I must say, I've lost my affinity for Inside the Actor's Studio over the years. I could get past Lipton making every person who graced his stage seem like THE GREATEST ACTOR OF ALL TIME, but now I just find it annoying. I'm sure this episode won't be much different, and it will test my endurance as to whether I can stomach Lipton long enough to listen to an actor and comedian I really admire. I found myself faced with a similar dilemma when Robin Williams was on Sitdown Comedy with David Steinberg: I made it about one minute into the interview before I had to turn it off.

The episode airs tonight on Bravo at 8:00 p.m.

I don't like Dane Cook's brand of comedy, but hey, I don't have to like everything. There are plenty of other comedians more suited to my palate on the comedy salad bar, so while I personally feel his "material" is all delivery and no punchline, it doesn't mean other people can't enjoy him with croutons.

CC Insider points to a funny satirical piece from The Onion about Cook's new HBO special, Burgasm, in which the young comedian riffs on Burger King's Texas Double Whopper for a full hour. In the article, Cook explains his plans for the special:

If you feel today's stand-up comedy scene is sorely lacking in references to having sex with black men, then switch on Comedy Central January 28 at 10pm for Lisa Lampanelli: Dirty Girl. Lampanelli is an "insult comedian" who follows the same basic code as Carlos Mencia: you can make fun as long as you attack everyone equally. I actually like her more than Mencia, though, and her appearances on the Comedy Central Roasts prove she can get down and dirty with the fellas just fine. She's already appeared on just about every comedy showcase on Comedy Central and is one of few white comedians to have appeared on Comic View on BET. Before she became a comedian, she was a writer for Rolling Stone and Spy.

Below is her segment from the William Shatner Roast. It's edited for TV, but still might not be safe for work.