TVSquad

Jay Mohr moonlights away from his regular gig on Ghost Whisperer to star as Gary Brooks in this traditional sitcom. CBS has paired Gary Unmarried with The New Adventures of Old Christine, which creates an interesting dynamic. First, you have Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a divorced woman trying to live her own life while dealing with her ex and their kid. Then you get Jay Mohr as a recently divorced man trying to live his own life while dealing with his ex and their kids.

In fact, this seems to be almost the same show, only from the ex-husband's point of view rather than the ex-wife's point of view. Husband is a bit more lax with the kids while mom is overbearing and a bit crazy. I do like that in this variation, the kids have more distinct and important personalities. In fact, Gary (premiering tonight at 8:30 PM ET) has a much wider cast altogether. Both spouses have new relationships and Gary's girlfriend has a kid of her own.

The show Ghost Whisperer is no stranger to major changes in its status quo. They wrapped up their first season by having Jennifer Love Hewitt's Melinda Gordon lose her best friend Andrea (Aisha Tyler), only to have to deal with her spirit to launch the second season. It made for an emotionally powerful episode and a tragedy that drove Melinda into that new year.

Michael Ausiello, who is generally pretty spot-on with his rumors, dropped a pretty big bombshell of some possible happenings early on in this upcoming season. Now I've already admitted on this very site that Ghost Whisperer is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I've had the joy of growing up with Jennifer Love Hewitt from her days on Party of Five and she's still just too gosh-darned cute to stop watching now. And dammit if the writers don't know how to pull the heartstrings in almost every episode, too. But now ... well, we'll talk about it after the jump.

First they changed the title from Project Gary to Gary Unmarried, and now we have another change coming to Jay Mohr's new CBS sitcom.

Ed Begley, Jr. has been cast as the therapist who treated Mohr and his ex-wife, played by Paula Marshall. The role of the therapist in the pilot was played by comic Larry Miller, who just did a guest turn on Burn Notice (maybe this will give him time for more appearances on that show).

... and I think it's a terrible idea. I have a small fascination with the titles of TV shows. They are never the total cause of a show's failure, but I do believe they can play a part. That's why my ears perked up this weekend when CBS ran a spot for Project Gary. At least, it looked like a spot for Project Gary, but my TV was now telling me it was for Gary Unmarried. What the heck is that?

It gave me a bit of deja vu. Suddenly I flashed back to September 2006 when I wrote a post about bad show titles, prompted by the name change of Let's Rob Mick Jagger. As you'll recall, that one became The Knights Of Prosperity, and things didn't work out so well. Not all name changes are bad. The CW changing Surviving The Filthy Rich to Privileged actually sounds like a good idea, but Gary Unmarried, no. I don't think the new name is going to sink them, but when combined with the fact that they didn't land in the safe harbor of the Monday night comedy block, I'm starting to get nervous for Gary.

In a move as big as his executive producing Living with Fran, Jamie Kennedy has decided to return to series television. In fact, Jay Mohr's loss is Jamie's gain. Jamie Kennedy has signed on to the CBS psychic drama Ghost Whisperer. It's not a guest role or a mini-arc, he's a regular. Yes, Jamie Kennedy will be a regular and will play a dramatic role. Okay, he'll try to play it straight. Perhaps this will be the ultimate Jamie Kennedy experiment?

Jay Mohr was the college connection with whom Melinda consulted on Ghost Whisperer, but now that he's getting his own sitcom on the networks, Project Gary, GW needs a new character to provide the same kind of insight. Jamie will play Eli, a college grad student.

I suppose most people would lead with the fact that Jay Mohr has signed on to Ed Yeager's untitled comedy pilot for CBS. After all, Jay does have that regular gig on Ghost Whisperer. In a nutshell, Mohr and Paula Marshall play a couple that has recently divorced, after fifteen years of marriage. The funny is scheduled to arrive as we watch Mohr's character try to juggle his ex-wife, their two kids, and his new girlfriend, played by Jaime King.

That's all well and good. For me though, the far more interesting bit is Paula Marshall's involvement. I find her career fascinating. She's been on a bunch of great shows. The Wonder Years, Seinfeld, Nash Bridges (don't laugh, Nash was very successful), Spin City, Sports Night, Just Shoot Me, Nip/Tuck, and Veronica Mars, to name a few. Yet, for whatever reason, whenever she gets a starring gig, it all seems to go to hell. See Cupid, Snoops, Hidden Hills, and Out Of Practice. I don't get it. I like everything she's ever done, but it just doesn't work. So, I don't have high hopes for this production. However, it does offer a thought. It's quite possible that Paula was all set to star in a great new show for Tim Minear. Unfortunately, the sheer power of their combined abilities to kill shows sent the series itself back in time, canceling itself before the idea even came to be.

On Thursday October 18th, I attended a blogger event for CBS at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. After waiting a surprisingly long time to clear security (all the while the security guard kept my driver's license with him), I finally started my tour of the Ghost Whisperer stages. Along with a tour of the show's set, the press event also included interviews with the executive producers, a sneak preview of the Halloween episode (airing October 26th), and a tour of the show's back lot (in the context of the Universal Studios R.I.P. experience). Completely unrelated to Ghost Whisperer but interesting all the same, we got a sneak preview of How to Survive a Horror Movie: All the Skills to Dodge the Kills and an interview with writer/director Seth Grahame-Smith.

(S05E09) Remember that story about The Doors? The one where Ed Sullivan told them that they could only be on his show if they changed the lyrics of Light My Fire? They agreed, but when they went on Jim Morrison not only said the original lyric, but emphasized it. The message he was trying to send to Ed Sullivan and the network was that no amount of television exposure was worth selling out his integrity.

Watching Last Comic Standing tonight made me wish that Jim Morrison was still alive. And a stand-up comic. And on this show. I'd bet he'd have had something to say about jester costumes....

Jay Mohr, comedian and sports fan, will be providing twenty-minute video segments for FoxSports.com this month. The series, called The Alternative With Jay Mohr, will mix remote segments, monologues and comedic sketches. Mohr will also pen a weekly column for the sports site.

Sports fans shouldn't be too surprised to see Mohr in this capacity. The comedian/actor, who currently appears on CBS' Ghost Whisperer, hasn't exactly hidden his love of sports, having appeared as a guest host on Jim Rome's Sirius Satellite Radio program, not to mention frequent appearances on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and NFL Sunday Morning.

Actors Jay Mohr and John Cho have both joined separate untitled comedy pilots for CBS.

Mohr's comedy pilot, from Will and Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, centers on two friends and writing partners, Mohr (the straight one) and Brian Austin Green (the gay one). The pilot is based somewhat on the professional relationship of Kohan and Mutchnick. Jessica Capshaw and Vanessa Lengies round out the cast.

Something isn't right in Sorkinland. In last Monday's episode, Matt Albie and Andy Mackinaw are feeling nostalgic. In a scene early in the show Andy asks Matt if he remembers his first office . . . the one that was so small that you could write on both walls if you reached your arms out with pencils in your hands. Matt mentioned that was his second office, and that his first was actually the floor in the middle of the hallway.

Now, the reason methinks something is afoot is because I just finished reading Gasping For Airtime, the excellent Jay Mohr autobiography that chronicles his two year stint on Saturday Night Live in the mid-1990's. In this book he talks about the dressing room that he had during his second season on the show. . . the one that was so small that he could take a pencil in each hand, stretch his arms out, and write on the walls. He also mentioned a conversation he had with SNL alum Mike Myers about his first office. It turns out that it was on the floor in the middle of the hallway.

Hmmm.

Tonight at 10 pm, comedian Jay Mohr will host an hour-long special on TBS to honor the military men and women overseas, and the USO. The special, The Comedy Festival Presents: A Salute to the Troops and USO, will feature comedic and musical talent including Louis C.K., D.L.Hughley, Kid Rock and Frank Caliendo, among others. Carmen Electra will also make an appearance, though I consider her like sort of like a sprig of parsley on the overall banquet that is this special: a nice aesthetic choice, but ultimately unnecessary. The special, which will take place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, will also pay tribute to the late Bob Hope, whose legendary USO performances spanned over sixty years. The Armed Forces Network will also receive a copy of the show. No word if Anne Margaret will show up or not.

(S04E11) Let's get the details of the first 88 minutes of the finale out of the way right now: Dat Phan stunk. Alonzo Bodden and John Heffron both showed why Season Two is considered to be the best LCS season. Jay Mohr is a funny guy, even though he is, as his boss Peter Engel said, "a big pain in the ass." Anthony Clark must have needed a lot of help during the six years of Yes, Dear, because the man can't even read off a cue card properly. Oh, and for some reason, the producers showed us a seance that wasn't good enough to make the initial cut during the Queen Mary phase.

Then we had sets by the two finalists, Josh Blue and Ty Barnett. Here's my question to Ty: where the hell was that material yesterday? The question becomes more relevant after jump, so keep reading.

Most fans of Last Comic Standing (I think there are one or two left) are aware that, while Jay Mohr is labeled as the show's "executive producer," the ex-host hasn't been involved with the show this year. He had a falling out with NBC over how Season Three was handled; NBC rushed a "Season 1 vs. Season 2" contest on the air, then cancelled the show right before the finale and never showed it, eventually shuttling that episode off to Comedy Central. So, because of the rift, LCS fans have had to put up with the shaky hands and zombie-like stare of host Anthony Clark all season.

But it looks like there has been a thaw in the frigid relations. According to Zap2It.com, Mohr will perform a stand-up set during the season finale on Wednesday, Aug. 9 (Now I realize how they're going to do this: They'll go from three to two on Tuesday, then announce the winner on Wednesday). The filler-tastic 90-minute finale will not only feature Mohr, but also sets by previous LCS winners Alonzo Bodden, John Heffron, and (gulp) Dat Phan. Hopefully, this will be a sign that Mohr will replace Clark for next summer's edition. That alone will improve upon what has turned out to be a sub-par season for the show.

Jay Mohr isn't going to be hosting the new season of Last Comic Standing, but he is coming back to NBC. This time he'll be starring in Community Service, a comedy about an arrogant New Yorker who travels to a small Ohio town to win back a girl. Unfortunately he doesn't win her affection, but he does wind up stuck in the town doing community service; hence the name of the show. Christopher Wiehl of Love Monkey plays a local cop and football hero. I'm going to file this under "wait and see." I like Jay Mohr, but he doesn't always fare well unless he's given the right show.