TVSquad

Full disclosure: back in the day, Baywatch was a guilty pleasure of mine.

Having said that, I certainly don't want it to return, either as a TV show or a big screen movie or a video game or even a set of glassware. But I do like this Funny or Die video below, which shows the return of Nicole Eggert. Hey, she still looks OK to me!

[via TV Tattle]

Funny or Die has up an amusing clip starring a group of television and movie stars including Alyson Hannigan, Emily Deschanel, Kat McPhee, Minka Kelly and Jaime King in which they are at a slumber party together. One of them feels a lump on her breast and starts to panic. The issue gets resolved but not before the paparazzi show up to get some rather embarrassing photos of the group.

The sketch was co-written by King and Taryn Southern and is sponsored by Her Energy in support of breast cancer research. The entire six-part series is called "Tit for Tat." Let's hear it for amusing double-entendres.

Still, it's for a good cause and stars a plethora of television personalities (including the ever-cute Ms. Hannigan whom I've adored since her days on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), so it's worth a look even if you're just a perv who likes watching female celebrities grope each other. Video is after the jump.

This clip from Funny or Die had me laughing out loud several times. It's called Hostage: A Love Story, and stars Heroes' Zachary Quinto as a guy trying to rob a restaurant. It really throws the whole "crazed gunman takes a hostage" story for a loop. You'll see the ending coming, but it's still a very effective short film.

By the way, the police were called twice during the filming of this because they thought Quinto was a real crook.

I don't know how many of you caught the G.I. Joe movie this past weekend that is based on the cartoon and toy franchise of the 80's. I didn't, but even without seeing it, I think this sketch from Funny or Die called The Ballad of G.I.Joe is far better. Even the costumes are more accurate (if a little, but not much, cheesier).

Of course, there are quite a few television and movie celebrities making up the cast: Tony Hale, Olivia Wilde (pictured as the Baroness), Alan Tudyk and Julianne Moore, to name a few. And whatever you do, stick around for the end of the song to see a special guest star that SHOULD have been in the movie.

I remember watching the cartoon while I was a young lad, and it seems obvious that the creators of this cute sketch knew the show, possibly even more than the people who made the movie. Video is after the jump.

For those of you not quite familiar with Peter Serafinowicz, take a few minutes to get to know his work (or his Twitter, if that's what you're into, you social media nerd). He has worked on Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and his own programs, The Peter Serafinowicz Show and Look Around You (the first season is must-see). Fun fact: He also voiced Darth Maul. Double fun fact: He's married to Sarah Alexander, known for her various comedic roles in shows like Green Wing and Coupling.

So what happens when you take these two and throw them in with America's own comedy power couple, Will Arnett and Amy Poehler? Actually, I'm still not entirely sure after watching this video. See for yourself.

Those that have even half-paid attention to my Saturday Night Live posts know that I am not a huge fan of featured player Casey Wilson. In fact, I would go so far as to say I actually kind of dislike her on the show. I feel a great deal of familiarity when I watch her on SNL, because she acts the way I probably would if I ever made it onto the program.

Due to my intense, psychologically and emotionally crippling levels of self-loathing, this makes Wilson extra-painful for me to watch. Oh, those poorly timed glances at the camera, they are Casey Wilson's as much as they are mine.

Looks like the bad economy is affecting everyone, even crusaders who wear a cape, or at least used to. In this Funny or Die clip, the original Batman, Adam West (what, you thought it was going to be Christian Bale?) holds a yard sale outside of the Batcave and tries to sell people old socks and Baterangs.

Batman wore those socks!

Funny or Die has done it again. This time, they got Lindsay Lohan (former Ugly Betty guest star, among other accomplishments) to participate in a mock eHarmony ad in which she tries to find herself a date. At least, I think it's a mock ad.

The first thought I had watching the "ad" is how deep and gravelly her voice sounds. Some guys like that, but to me it's a symptom of too many cigarettes.

The video itself is pretty funny. I guess her only choice for career salvation is a self-mocking video on a comedy website. I note the irony of having a lesbian promote a website that historically been pretty conservative and unfriendly to the gay community. At least, I think she's a lesbian. She was dating a woman, but now I don't know. I don't read the gossip magazines.

Next, Funny or Die should do a JDate ad from Mel Gibson.

As usual, the video is after the jump.

Who knew this was George W. Bush in reflection week? I must have missed the memo. But when I tuned in to watch the HBO debut of Will Ferrell: You're Welcome, America, his take on President Bush since the end of this presidency, I couldn't help but recall that just a couple of days ago on Hard Ball, MSNBC's Chris Matthews was going at Bush's former press secretary Ari Fleischer hammer and tongs as Fleischer defended his old boss.

Don't these post-mortems usually take a few years to take place? But this post isn't about politics. It's about Will Ferrell, and my thoughts are mainly about Ferrell's show, which has a certain raunchy charm, which apparently offended quite a few people when it played on Broadway. All the raunch is still in place in the HBO version, so if you're curious about Bush's little George (allegedly), check it out.

I'm beginning to think that Jon Hamm is one of the funniest people on television. Maybe it's the serious, moody demeanor he displays on Mad Men that makes his comedy really stand out when he does it, but he's a funny guy. His episode of Saturday Night Live was one of the best in years, and he had a funny scene on 30 Rock. The Funny or Die video after the jump shows more of his humorous side.

That's Hamm as super villain Lex Luthor, asking the government for a bailout. Seems that Luthor and his corporation have lost billions of dollars trying to do various things to take over the country and/or get rid of Superman. The video isn't laugh-out-loud funny, but it's clever, and you can see bits of Don Draper in Hamm's portrayal of the bald bad guy. Oh, about that: it's an obvious wig that makes him look a little bit like Max Headroom in close-ups, but it's actually funnier this way.

The folks at our sister site Cinematical are working hard to give you news and reviews of the best -- and worst -- the silver screen has to offer. Here are some of their latest musings on the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything in between:

• So, if in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt starts off as a tiny old-man, why wouldn't he end up as a giant baby? Cinematical has the answer.
• When we were in high school, my friends and I got together with a VHS camcorder and made Scream 4. It was pretty amazing. What's weird is that even though we didn't get a film deal, Scream 4 is heading to theaters. Neve Campbell needs a job, people.
• Granted, I've missed a lot of movies in the theaters this year, but I still think The Dark Knight is one of the best films of the year. What do you think? Check out Cinematical's top 10 list.
• Hey, want to see something really creepy? Jerry O'Connell and his wife, Rebecca Romijn, are putting her maternity leave to good use by making Mystique and Me, a new Funny or Die video. It's quite funny and quite disturbing.
• As much as I enjoyed The Dark Knight, I don't think Maggie Gyllenhaal and Christian Bale had a ton of chemistry -- at least not enough to make it onto the Cinematical Seven's Best On-Screen Chemistry of 2008 list.

It looks like the Flight of the Conchords premiere shown exclusively online at FunnyOrDie.com and HBO.com drew 250,000 views in the first 10 days. The article doesn't say whether or not that represents unique views or the same person viewing it 250,000 times (where was Kristen Schaal during the past 10 days?), but it likely was the former.

It says a lot about the power of online buzz, given that the last season premiere had only 100,000 views (before Flight of the Conchords had mainstream popularity in the States). Fans like me have waited two years for the next season (which, I understand, was held up because the duo was busy writing new songs for the second season), and it was nice to be able to watch the premiere online in advance of its initial television broadcast. Other networks should follow HBO's pattern to generate buzz for their programming.

I received a couple of their albums for the holidays (better late than never). My favorite song of theirs is "Bowie".

Did you know that Paris Hilton is running for President? I know, I know, you haven't seen any commercials on TV and she hasn't participated in any of the debates and who knows if she even knows what the word incumbent means, but she wants to be the next leader of the free world. And she's asked the best fake President we've ever had for some advice.

That's right, Paris has asked Martin Sheen (aka Jed Bartlett) for advice on how to be a fake President if that day should come. At first Sheen seems rather confused at why he's talking to Hilton ("I don't usually come to this kind of party."), but he eventually gives her advice, including how to solve problems in the kitchen ("During my fake Presidency, the kitchen was always my favorite spot to solve the great fake issues of our time), and why it's harder to be a fake President today than it was when his first term started in the late 90s. Sheen is pretty funny: great delivery and he does it all with a mock seriousness. Also look for a cameo at the end by the highest-paid sitcom star on TV right now.

Man, Intervention is a downer. Between the alcoholism, the anorexia and the 8-10 per-day dust can huffing habits, it is really hard to watch that show and maintain a positive outlook on life. Luckily, Kristin Chenoweth, Broadway diva and effervescent star of Pushing Daisies, has found a solution to all that nastiness: a peppy song about the dangers of crystal meth.

Chenoweth has teamed up with Funny or Die to create her own episode of Intervention. It still has distraught family members confronting an addict in a nondescript hotel room, but instead of a laundry list of ways that Bob, a musician and a meth addict, is ruining his and everyone else's life, there's a peppy song about "Tina," the poor man's cocaine, that includes warnings about "waking up in a pile of your own urine and doo-doo."

The video is after the jump.

This one caught me a little bit by surprise. If you had told me the Funny Or Die guys were getting a TV show, I would have guessed Comedy Central, TBS, VH1, or something like that. Instead, HBO has ponied up the dollars to buy a stake in the company. HBO's interest is believed to be less than 10% of the company, but it also comes with an order for ten half hour episodes.

The deal came about thanks to the relationship built when HBO worked with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay on the upcoming series Eastbound And Down. It went well enough that the network was looking for more projects to work on with the group. It's unclear just what form Funny Or Die will take on HBO. Ferrell talks about keeping their options open, suggesting that it could be "... anything from a funny offbeat talk show to a maybe more-traditional-type sitcom to a show with puppets". The only clue being that they want to keep the new show in the same family of comedy as what they have presented on the website. An example of that comedy is embedded, after the jump.