The new season of Sesame Street is right around the corner and, while I normally wouldn't give it a second thought, I am unusually excited right now. No, this isn't a snarky rant about how I've been driven to children's TV because of the sorry state of grown-up programming. Sesame Street's 39th season, starting August 11th, looks like it has a lot of fun lined up not only for the pre-schoolers but parents as well. I already posted Feist's upcoming special take on "1 2 3 4", but I had no idea how many amazing guest appearances were coming. Just check out this star-filled highlight reel after the jump.Posts with tag elmo
Sesame Street is going to be awesome - VIDEO
The new season of Sesame Street is right around the corner and, while I normally wouldn't give it a second thought, I am unusually excited right now. No, this isn't a snarky rant about how I've been driven to children's TV because of the sorry state of grown-up programming. Sesame Street's 39th season, starting August 11th, looks like it has a lot of fun lined up not only for the pre-schoolers but parents as well. I already posted Feist's upcoming special take on "1 2 3 4", but I had no idea how many amazing guest appearances were coming. Just check out this star-filled highlight reel after the jump.Continue reading Sesame Street is going to be awesome - VIDEO
The Daily Show: June 19, 2008 - VIDEOS
"Baracknophobia": The irrational fear of hope is spreading, even among Barack Obama's own people. Obama campaign staffers sent away two women with head scarves because they didn't want to remind people at the photo op about the rumors of Obama being Muslim. Not as bad as the baby-punching, I must say, and at least he apologized."Guantanamo Baywatch": The Supreme Court ruled that prisoners in Guantanamo Bay can contest their detention before a judge. Some folks aren't too happy about this, what with their poor Mexican topiary managers having fewer rights and all. The managers are Mexican, by the way, not the topiaries. Senior Imprisoned Correspondent, Gitmo, stopped by to share his thoughts. Man, Jon Stewart is really no good with puppets. Every voice he does sounds like South Park's Jennifer "Taco-Flavored Kisses" Lopez.
Continue reading The Daily Show: June 19, 2008 - VIDEOS
The Daily Show: June 10, 2008 - VIDEOS
"Guantanamo Baywatch": Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other plotters of 9/11 have appeared at a military tribunal, at which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed represented himself. Somehow, the Daily Show writers managed to work in an entire "Elmo with a beard equals 'Gitmo'" joke that ran way too long. I'll admit that's the first time that I've ever laughed out loud at someone getting waterboarded, though. The best part was when Jon Stewart used Gitmo to wipe up the waterboard mess right before the commercial break.Continue reading The Daily Show: June 10, 2008 - VIDEOS
Sesame Street makes a deal with New Balance
Can you tell me how to get, how to get a pair of the New Balance Sesame Street sneakers?
That's right, the long-running PBS children's show has made a mega-deal with the shoe company to create a line of sneakers for infants and grade school kids. The infant sneakers will cost $43 (cough) and the grade school sneakers will be $65. The shoes will be available in major chain retail stores and the shoes will also be pushed during episodes of Sesame Street.
Continue reading Sesame Street makes a deal with New Balance
Men in Trees axed by ABC
I'd like to say I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. ABC has canceled Men in Trees. Despite being one of the genuinely sweet and funny comedy/dramas on the network -- one that's more rooted in reality than flights of whimsy and pretentiousness -- Men in Trees has struggled to find a home on ABC. It's been shuttled about from day to day, time slot to time slot, in and out of the line up so that it became a gypsy. How were you as a viewer to invest in the romantic adventure that Marin Frist was on in the wilds of Alaska when you weren't sure when the dang show was going to air? A failed attempt to put the show on Lifetime back in March spelled doom for the show. Gallery: Men in Trees - 5/5/08
Continue reading Men in Trees axed by ABC
Sesame Street launches a weekly video podcast
Sesame Street would like to be there for you parents when there is a learning opportunity out in the real world. Let's say your child is at the playground and isn't sharing. Or, she's having a fit while you're waiting in line at the grocery store. The Street wants you to whip out your video iPod (or other portable media device) and have Elmo give your child a lesson on all sorts of things. Or, at least distract her.Each week, Sesame Street will turn out a five-minute podcast that includes clips from old and new episodes. The episodes will each have a theme and will extend Sesame Street's focus this season on vocabulary and literacy.
You can subscribe to the weekly video podcasts here or in iTunes.
Kelli Williams joins Men in Trees
Ex-Practice star Kelli Williams will have an arc on Men in Trees this season. She'll play a love interest for Jack (James Tupper). The story is that Jack goes out of town for a spell to do some work and finds himself falling for a married woman, played by Williams. She'll appear in 5-6 episodes, starting with episode 7 this next season.Sounds a little bit like art is imitating real life here, with Tupper hooking up with his married co-star Anne Heche last year.
Also? Sounds like Justine Bateman must be leaving the show because the last time we saw Men in Trees (last February), Jack was dedicated to his relationship with Lynn.
Sesame Street lines up celebs for literacy
Season 38 of Sesame Street will premiere on August 13th with a focus on literacy. All sorts of celebrity guests will participate in a new opening segment called "What's the Word on the Street?" Each episode, a celebrity such as Jon Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres or Brian Williams will answer the question by giving a word and its definition. The goal is to expand early literacy skills such as vocabulary and rhyming. Other celebrity guests next season include Tina Fey, Anderson Cooper, and the New York Jets (sorry, Joel).Of course, Sesame Street also plans spoofs on popular television shows with skits such as A's Anatomy, The Amazing Alphabet Race and Meal or No Meal (I'm totally looking forward to that one).
James Tupper dishes about his relationship with Anne Heche
So... what exactly happened between Anne Heche and James Tupper? Their new series, Men in Trees, has a strong showing in ratings on Thursdays following Grey's Anatomy. It's a cute, if somewhat unremarkable show. But earlier this year, the two stars made headlines when their on-screen romance carried on off-screen. Why do we care? Well, in truth, we shouldn't care- but it is interesting because both of them were married at the time.James Tupper, who plays breathy Jack on Men in Trees, recently gave an interview to People magazine where he swears up and down that neither of them cheated on their spouses. He says their marriages were both over before they hooked up. It's like Brad and Angelina all over again - and we didn't believe them either, did we?
Of course, I hope that the love Heche and Tupper feel for each other is real, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't. In the interview, Tupper uses that line that all actors use when they fall for a co-star: "I've never met anyone like her." That's a red flag, if I've ever seen one. I think we hear that one from adults in relationships as often as we hear child actors say "I've worked for this all my life!"
Learn Along with Sesame on iTunes
If you have little kids in your home, either because they're your children or you just left a window open and some random kids crawled into your home and now refuse to leave, you might like to know that there are six free videos from the Learn Along with Sesame series available on iTunes. The segments include:
Continue reading Learn Along with Sesame on iTunes
Men in Trees: The Indecent Proposal
(S01E17) After feeling like we've been treading water over the last few episodes, this one really felt like the show started moving forward again. Jack and Lynn are getting married, Mai and Sylvia are planning a wedding, Sarah is moving on with her career, Annie and Patrick are meeting her parents, and Marin is having boy troubles of a different kind. I have to admit that I was getting a little tired of this show after last week but this episode was invigorating.
Continue reading Men in Trees: The Indecent Proposal
Men in Trees: Nice Girls Finish Frist
(S01E16) No, that's not a typo. The title of this episode is really a play on Marin Frist.
Well, I liked this episode a heck of a lot more than last week's. I think Marin had a very relatable problem. She couldn't get comfortable with Lynn and kept trying to overcompensate for it, making herself and everyone else uncomfortable in the process. She's one of those girls who wants people to like her and so she goes a little overboard in buying Lynn a really expensive, gigantic stroller for her baby shower. She also buys muffins and coffee for her contractors, who are walking all over her in renovating her home. She learned a good lesson in the end, but it was Lynn who had to force it upon her. She makes a good point: those two may never be comfortable with each other.
Continue reading Men in Trees: Nice Girls Finish Frist
Will Elmo return to the big screen?
Like many of you, I've been waiting since the 1999 film The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland for the little red Muppet to return to the big screen. Every morning I would wake up and check all the trade papers to see if li'l Elmo was ready to make his big screen comeback, and every day I was disappointed.
Actually, everything in that paragraph is a lie, though I did see The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland in the theater, along with my then three-year-old nephew and a theater full of little kids (they loved it). Muppet News Flash is reporting that a possible movie version of the "Elmo's World" segment on Sesame Street is in the very early stages of development. So early, in fact, that there's no guarantee the movie will be made at all. If it does get made, word is that it will put Elmo in a CG crayon-drawn world in the vein of Harold and the Purple Crayon or Chalk Zone.
I know parents and those of us who grew up with "classic" Sesame Street aren't especially fond of Elmo, but you can't deny the little guy has his fans. Also, it helps to keep in mind that Elmo is specifically designed to appeal to smaller children, not their older siblings.
Men in Trees: Take It Like a Man
(S01E15) It's men versus women this week in Elmo. I found it laughable that the two New York women (Marin & Jane) kept insisting that they were just like the men in Alaska. Their differences have nothing to do with gender, it has to do with where they're from and how they live their lives. It actually bothered me that these differences were portrayed as differences between men and women. And, Marin's problem with the "no strings attached" relationship is not a girl-only thing.Grrrrrr.
Continue reading Men in Trees: Take It Like a Man
Men in Trees: Bed, Bat & Beyond
(S01E14) Ok, first we have to talk about the elephant in the room. The big news this week regarding Men in Trees is that Anne Heche left her husband for co-star James Tupper. I knew they had some steamy chemistry on camera, but I guess that was for real. Sad, really. Their hook-up ruined two marriages-- Tupper's and Heche's. Knowing that kind-of made me bitter toward Heche this week and probably skewed my opinion of this particular episode.I think the storyline I liked the most this week was Patrick and Annie's. Derek Richardson (Patrick) does a great job playing stressed out. He doesn't breathe and makes me hold my breath as he's freaking out! Anyway, I liked this because Patrick and Annie became independent together, if that makes any sense. they're starting to figure out how to function as a married couple. I imagine this season will end with a wedding, a baby, and a Marin/Jack reunion cliffhanger.
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