TVSquad

This was the second part of "Legend," the episodes that are acting as the NCIS spinoff starring Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. It looks like a sure thing for the fall, though CBS will make it official at their upfront on May 20.

What did you think of this two-parter? Can you imagine following O'Donnell and LL Cool J for as many seasons as you've followed Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly?

So ... what did you think of the first part of NCIS' big spinoff episodes? "Legend" is the episode that serves as the spinoff launch for a new series starring Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. Maybe this is the first step in an NCIS franchise, a la CSI. Let's hope not.

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.

Last year, Brett mentioned that Turner Classic Movies would be showing a retrospective on the life and career of actor Marlon Brando. Well, it's finally here, and you can check out the first part of Brando on TCM tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and the conclusion on Wednesday night at the same times.

The documentary features interviews with Al Pacino, John Turturro, John Travolta, Martin Scorsese and Cloris Leachman, among others about what it was like to work with a man many considered both a genius and one of the most difficult men in Hollywood to work with.

If you can find it, I also recommend Hearts of Darkness, a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now that also shows a glimpse as to what Brando could be like on set. Of course, by the end of filming on that movie I think everyone had pretty much lost their marbles.

The Hollywood Reporter has a review of the doc here.

If you've been enjoying the antics of Benny Hill on BBC America, I have sad news for you: the series is being removed from the channel.

The decision to remove The Benny Hill Show from the channel's lineup is just part of a new makeover that's discarding many older shows for newer ones. The channel hopes to give American audiences more modern shows instead of older fare such as Hill and Are You Being Served? and replace them with newer shows like Torchwood and Hollyoaks.

I must say, I never really understood the appeal of Benny Hill, though that certainly doesn't mean it was a bad show. Obviously, a lot of people liked the series, and how many of us can watch a scene shot in high speed and not start humming that goofy Benny Hill chase music?

I have to ask: will any of you miss Benny once he's gone? Or is he an artifact of an earlier age and no longer relevant?

[via CC Insider]

CBS is not only broadcasting a send-off to game show legend Bob Barker, they're asking fans to upload their own tributes to the soon-to-be-former Price is Right host.

That's why, in honor of his well-known pleas to help control the pet population, I'll be uploading footage of myself castrating a dachshund.

Anyway, on May 16 at 8:00 p.m., folks can tune in to a special nighttime showing of The Price is Right in which the winner will walk away with one million dollars. The following night, May 17, fans can catch the hour-long retrospective Bob Barker: A Celebration of 50 Years on Television. Some user-submitted videos will be featured during the special, and others will air during the final week of Bob's stint as host of the long-running program (no date has been given yet for Barker's departure).

Don Rickles, the premiere insult comic, will be honored with the first Pinnacle Award at the Comedy and Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado next month. The ceremony will include a screening of John Landis' documentary about the comedian, The Rickles Project. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Landis and Rickles.

Rickles got his start playing night clubs, later moving on to film and television. He appeared on several of Dean Martin's "Roasts" and was also the star of his own television series in the '70s, C.P.O. Sharkey, one of a few short-lived shows featuring Rickles (others included Daddy Dearest and The Don Rickles Show). Rickles also guest starred on several other television series, such as The Twilight Zone, The Addams Family, and Newhart.

Every generation produces its share of great comedians, but it's always nice to look back on history and remember those who helped pave the way for those who followed. Even if her comedy wasn't your cup of tea, you can't deny that Phyllis Diller was a pioneer, a woman who broke the mold and made it okay for women to forge their way in a faction of show business long dominated by men, and she did it with a tenacity and fearlessness that rivaled a majority of her male counterparts. She was cracking wise about being a housewife and mother long before comedians like Roseanne would tread the same path.

Today, Gregg Barson's film about Diller's final 2002 performance will be released on DVD. The film, titled Goodnight, We Love You, focuses on the days leading up to the performance, and includes reflections from comedy legends and younger comedians who worked with Diller, or were influenced by her comedy.

The DVD is also available through Netflix.

Almost a year ago, David Letterman let slip on the Late Show that he was only thinking of staying only two or three more years. Of course, his reps denied that he meant anything by that, nipping that speculation in the bud right away.

It looks like they were right.

Reuters is reporting that CBS has extended Letterman's contract until the fall of 2010. No terms were revealed. By the contract ends, Letterman will be (gulp) 63 years old, so it's no automatic that he'll extend his contract in '10. But you've got to wonder if by then CBS will be looking to go a little younger, as NBC did when they pushed out Letterman's mentor, Johnny Carson, who was 67 when he ended his run on The Tonight Show in 1992. The ironic thing is, by the time the contract expires, he will no longer be competing against Jay Leno, but against the man who took his place on Late Night, Conan O'Brien.

If you've missed the video for the late Johnny Cash's song "God's Gonna Cut You Down," you can watch it in all it's sucktackular glory here. No offense to Johnny Cash, who deserves every modicum of respect he receives plus a million, but this video is exactly what I thought it would be: a bunch of mediocre musicians and Hollywood stars emoting for the camera. Granted, we do have a couple appearances by venerable musicians like Keith Richards and Brian Wilson, but the whole "tribute video" concept just feels forced and ingenuous to me. And really, why does there need to be a music video for a Johnny Cash song, anyway? Cash's music is meant to be played on an old record player while you smoke cigarettes and drink whiskey until the woman who done left you disappears into that fog bank called memory. Everyone knows that, it's the first thing you're taught in elementary school.

Winnie the Pooh, the silly ol' bear of very little brain who first came to life in the 1920s in a series of books by A.A. Milne and later became a Disney icon and a permanent fixture in the subconscious of toddlers everywhere, was honored with a star on the Walk of Fame yesterday. According to reports, Pooh was also joined by Eeyore, Tigger and Rabbit. Apparently Piglet, Owl, Kanga, and Roo couldn't care less about their pal. Way to be supportive, guys. Geesh.

Pooh first hit the big screen in 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Over the next several years this was followed by about eighty-gajillion more movies, TV specials, videos and TV series such as Welcome to Pooh Corner, The Book of Pooh, and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He was originally voiced by the inimitable Sterling Halloway, who passed away in 1992. In subsequent years Pooh's voice was provided by voice actor Jim Cummings.