pope-related stories
Posted Jul 14th 2009 12:13AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

(S05E06) There's an old show biz line that goes, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard." Well, sometimes when dramas try a comic episode, it can be a little like death warmed over. Or a show can completely succumb to humor and forget the original genre entirely (you know that I'm talking about you, Mr. Monk). Fortunately, when
The Closer chooses to take a walk on the funny side, it usually hits the mark. This episode was a bull's eye.
It was also great to see
The Closer shine a light on J.K. Simmons. As Assistant Chief Will Pope, Simmons is great as Brenda's boss and the face of the L.A. cops in many tense situations, political and otherwise. A consummate character actor --
Juno, Burn After Reading, Spider-Man -- Simmons always brings a lot to the show. This episode was prime Simmons, with Pope the butt of the jokes and off his game, if you will. How else could a faux police detective named Dick Tracy dupe the chief?
Continue reading The Closer: Tapped Out
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 9:02AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, The Daily Show, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

"Blessed Week Ever: The Pope In America": The Pope wrapped up his visit to America with a few big final stops. First was
Mass in New York's Yankee Stadium, where heathens came in droves to see the Pope in his new Yankees mitre. He also
visited the Park East Synagogue to awkwardly stand next to the rabbi. Only on the
Daily Show could someone do coverage of the Pope's visit and work in a "Spy vs Spy" joke.
Continue reading The Daily Show: April 21, 2008 - VIDEOS
Posted Apr 16th 2008 10:21AM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, The Daily Show, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

If you've been having trouble touching yourself recently, it may be because the Pope is in the States. Because he doesn't really have anything better to do, President
Bush picked up the Pope from the airport. More coverage has been promised for Wednesday night, so I guess anyone that was expecting some in-depth Popewatch was sorely disappointed.
"House of Pain" (the alternate was "Itty-Bitty Torture Committee", which is so much better): To further creep out the entire country, Bush admitted that six of the top members of his administration have extensively gone through what is
considered torture. No wonder CIA Director George Tenet and company have freely and happily repeated that the government does not torture. Their definition probably stops just short of killing the interrogation subject. Asf for Condoleezza Rice's chuckle-inducing evasive maneuvering from that interview clip, it really shouldn't have been so chuckle-inducing.
Ha-HA! Sadist government.
Continue reading The Daily Show: April 15, 2008 - VIDEOS
Posted Aug 26th 2007 6:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Web, Celebrities
Did you know a person can be funny on television and the internet? It's true. Here's a few examples:
First, comedians Jim Norton (Lucky Louie, Tough Crowd) and Jim Florentine (Crank Yankers, Meet the Creeps) have a new series on Super Deluxe where they give super-brief commentaries on current events. The clips are not safe for work, or for most living creatures, but if you don't mind crude humor and lots of cussing, then check it out.
Continue reading Funny TV people doing funny Web stuff: Florentine, Norton, Besser and Katz
Posted Apr 4th 2007 11:36PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: OpEd, South Park, Episode Reviews
(S11E05) When this episode began, I figured eventually there would be some explanation as to why it is we color Easter eggs and why a rabbit hides them, some kind of explanation of these traditions and their pagan roots. However, by the end I was glad the story went where it did, because this was both the "worst" episode of South Park this season, and incredibly funny. I say "worst" because of all the horrible gags, like "The Hare Club for Men," and William Donahue's "double cross" that had me simultaneously cracking up and saying, "my god, that was a terrible joke."
Continue reading South Park: Fantastic Easter Special
Posted Sep 20th 2006 6:29PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Late Night, OpEd, The Daily Show, Comedy Central

A spinach recall is fair reason to do jokes about tossing salads. "Call some friends over, have some drinks, and toss each other's salads!" It's a matter of safety, people.
"
Papa Don't Preach": Jon did some nice coverage about the Pope's comments (and apology) regarding Islam. I'm going to have to try "I was just quoting a Byzantine emperor!" excuse some time in the near future. Senior Vatican City and San Marino Correspondent John Oliver elaborated on the situation. I thought the comparison of the popes to all the various James Bonds was fantastic.
Continue reading The Daily Show: September 19, 2006
Posted Apr 14th 2006 11:01AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Animation

MTV's decision to start airing an animated series in Germany called
Popetown which features a corrupt Vatican and a childlike Pope who bounds around on a pogo stick is
already catching flak from some Catholic groups. The series was created two years ago for the BBC, which
banned it at the last minute over fear of controversy. Now MTV has courted even more controversy with a print
advertisement for the new series which shows Jesus descended from the cross and laughing in front of the TV, crown of
thorns still on his head. Despite threats of legal action, the series will still debut in Germany, Austria, and
Switzerland on May 3.
Posted Apr 8th 2006 11:50AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, OpEd, Animation, Wonder Showzen
(S02E02) This episode of Wonder Showzen began with
Chauncey visited by himself from two minutes in the future. It turns out Chauncey's future self is a hundred times
cooler than Chauncey, so Chauncey sets out to build a time machine and travel even further back in the future (four
minutes) so he can be even hipper. But we'll get to all that in a moment.
I said in my last review that the "Beat Kids" segment wasn't my favorite, only because I don't think it
always works in the execution. Of course, that was before last night when they had a kid put on zombie make-up, dress
as the Pope, and interview people in front of a Catholic Church under the pseudonym "Little Dead Pope." Trey
Parker has been quoted time and again saying Cartman was his way of creating a character who could say things that
would get most real people burned at the stake. Wonder Showzen takes that concept one step further and
actually uses real children, which adds a whole layer of apprehension when you hear them say things to unsuspecting
adults like, "The Pope should go to Hell for promoting a corrupt system. High five!" Not many shows can make
you almost fall of the couch laughing while at the same time fearing for a child's life. They should have some kind of
award for that.
Continue reading Wonder Showzen: Time
Posted Jun 20th 2005 11:46AM by Chris Thilk
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, CBS
CBS will produce a four-hour TV movie on the life of Pope John Paul II after reportedly receiving the blessing of The Vatican. The biopic will follow the Polish-born pontiff from his early days through his 26 year reign as the head of the Catholic church. No doubt CBS sees a Pope flick as a safe bet for airing during an upcoming sweeps period and the movie will likely get some heavy promotion in the run-up to airing. While no casting has yet been done I can envision some people as being good fits for the lead role. I'm thinking Kelsey Grammer for some reason. Anyone else want to speculate?