TVSquad

Jim Biederman, the producer behind The Kids in the Hall, The Andy Dick Show, The Tom Green Show and The Whitest Kids U Know, is looking for a new comedy troupe he can mold into the next big thing. He's staging a contest through video sharing site Daily Motion, and you can get all the details here. Or, check out the video at the end of this post for an explanation, plus kittens playing with string.

Basically, if you have a comedy group, and you think you're funny enough for the big time, upload your videos and Mr. Biederman will watch and determine if you have what it takes to be part of his Great Sketch Comedy Showdown.

The April 4, 2007 entry on the "Couric and Co." blog on the CBS News site no longer includes a video essay on libraries, but rather an apology for omitting credit to a March 15 article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Of the Places You'll Go, Is the Library Still One of Them?" by Jeffrey Zaslow.

The blog contains video essays written by producers of the CBS Evening News and read by anchorperson Katie Couric and other contributors to the newscast. The producer who wrote the copy for this particular episode did not credit Zaslow's article, and was subsequently fired. Sandra Genelius, a spokesperson for CBS News, said the content was almost completely taken from the Wall Street Journal piece. The name of the fired producer was not released.

CBS became aware of the incident when an editor from the Wall Street Journal called to note the similarities between the article and the online video essay.

Steve Krantz, the producer who helped bring Marvel characters to the television screen, passed away due to complications from pneumonia on January 4 at the age of 83.

Krantz produced The Marvel Superheroes, a limited-animation series featuring The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Sub-Mariner. The series used artwork taken directly from the comic books, often from different artists so that the character designs would sometimes change within a single episode. Marvel Superheroes was a major influence on the graphic style of the Adult Swim series Minoriteam.

Krantz also produced the Spider-Man cartoon in the late '60s, and was also a producer for Ralph Bakshi's films Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic. Bakshi also worked as a writer on Marvel Superheroes. Krantz's other projects included developing series based on books by his wife, the novelist Judith Krantz. His son is 24 executive producer Tony Krantz.

[via Toon Zone]

Larry Charles, director of Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and a writer/producer for Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm is developing a new reality series for HBO centered on the life of rapper and producer Kanye West. According to Reuters, HBO has declined to comment on the untitled project.

Since I'm not a fan of reality TV in general, any new show with that label really has to prove itself to me in order to get me to watch it. I'm also rather indifferent to West himself. Still, having Larry Charles attached to the project does pique my interests somewhat, so who knows? All in all, I'm mildly curious to see how this reality series sets itself apart from the fold.

Salma Hayek, apparently hoping to duplicate the success of Ugly Betty, which she produced with partner Jose Tamez, is developing another telenovela, an untitled medical drama based at an Ivy League university. Joe Sachs, a writer and producer on ER, is also executive producing the show along with Hayek and Tamez.

Given the television industries knack for jumping on any bandwagon once it's proved there's an audience for it, one wonders what will happen if this new drama becomes as successful as Ugly Betty. It could be we're not too far away from a slew of shows all adapted from telenovelas and other foreign series. I saw a show on Univision the other day where a man dressed as a pink gorilla was chased by another man dressed as a baby. I think that would translate well to an American audience.

You'll notice the date on the press release I'm linking to is November 20. Sorry about the late post, but I got a little sidetracked by the holidays and then got sick, so just GET OFF MY CASE ALREADY!

Sorry about that, I must have some kind of chemical imbalance or something. I'll try not to lash out so much. Anyway, GSN is airing a special about Chuck Barris on December 10 at 8 pm titled Chuck Barris: My Life on the Edge. Many of us remember Barris as the host of the Gong Show, but he was also a producer for the show, not to mention for shows such as The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. In his own way, Barris pioneered what would eventually become a television staple: real people making asses of themselves for the amusement of both the home and studio audience. Barris also wrote a book, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, in which he claimed to be a CIA assassin while also working on his game shows. The documentary will feature an interview with the man himself, as well as George Clooney, who directed the film adaptation of Barris' book, and celebs such as Jamie Farr and Phyllis Diller.

Reality TV just isn't my cup of tea, and that's especially true if said reality program happens to be on MTV. However, because I love and each everyone of you like I would love my own step-children if I had any, I figured I'd hep you to Twentyfourseven, a new reality program that will chronicle the lives of seven friends trying to make it big in Hollywood. There's the film producer; the club promoter; the up and coming rock star; the musician and voice-over actor; the filmmaker; the actor; and the record producer. Oh, and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver.

Well, as I mentioned before, and what should be no surprise to anyone who watches the show, Prison Break will not be shot in Chicago during the second season. Instead, the crew is heading to Dallas, Texas to start shooting the second season starting in mid-June. Apparently they had also looked at Austin, but Dallas seemed to suit their needs better. Unlike Chicago, the people of Dallas know the show won't be sticking around beyond the second season, as story development will call for relocating to different cities. Garry Brown, a producer for Prison Break, has a home in the Dallas area.

Thanks to Radical Bender, who hepped me to this on my other post.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has an interesting article on the hit FOX series House, including interviews with actor Robert Sean Leonard (who plays Dr. Wilson, both friend and foil to the incorrigible Dr. House) and Katie Jacobs, the show's executive producer. Despite his character growing on fans, Leonard claims he wants to keep his role small so he has free time to spend with his wife. Ah, that's sweet. We also get some insight into Hugh Laurie, who plays the titular role. Apparently Laurie is very self-critical when it comes to his American accent. Personally, I think he does it flawlessly, which is more than I can say for Michael Caine.

Oh yeah, and a reminder to House fans that the first part of a two-part episode airs this evening.