robert guillaume-related stories
Posted Dec 30th 2008 10:02AM by Eliot Glazer
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Late Night, Programming, Video, Celebrities, Retro Squad, Reality-Free, Cheers

While
ABC,
NBC, and
CBS have historically remained in a cutthroat battle for viewers, each network has shared one common trait: come the season of network promotional campaigns, all actors
must be prepared to look absolutely ridiculous.
After the jump ... Remember this
pop cultural gem (video below) that gained traction on the Net not too long ago? The sheer oddity of the clip alone forces us to ask ourselves several questions: do these people all live together? Why is
Marla Gibbs dressed like an astronaut? Does
Bea Arthur do everybody's shoppingl? CAN'T
NELL CARTER JUST SIT DOWN AND REST HER FEET FOR A SECOND? (Seriously,
give her a break!)
Continue reading Seven retro network promos to leave you confused, delighted - VIDEOS
Posted Dec 5th 2008 9:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free

Last night's episode of
CSI, called
"Young Man with a Horn," was not only a nostalgic story of old Las Vegas, it was also a chance to feature some wonderful stars from TV's past.
There was Ralph Waite, John-Boy's father from
The Waltons; Robert Guillaume, the double Emmy-winning star of
Benson; and even the creator of
Laugh-In, George Schlatter. And the center of the whodunit was none other than an original Hitchcock blonde, Tippi Hedren, star of
The Birds and
Marnie.
Continue reading Did you catch the star power on CSI last night?
Posted Sep 10th 2008 3:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Video, Reality-Free

Fans of the short-lived ABC comedy
Sports Night were disappointed when the DVD set for the show came out in 2002. We were really happy that there was indeed a complete series set for the show, but there wasn't any extras in the set at all. No commentaries, no features, no interviews, no booklet. Some people even reported that the discs didn't work that well, that they would stop and start or freeze altogether on some DVD players (I have the old set and never had this problem). Fans were happy to have the show, but still wanted more.
Well, now we do. Shout! Factory has released a new 10th Anniversary set for the show, and all of the the extras that were missing in that set are here, and then some.
Continue reading Sports Night - 10th Anniversary DVD review - VIDEO
Posted Sep 2nd 2006 6:48PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Retro Squad, Sports Night
(S01E23) This is one of my favorite episodes of the show. It has so many great lines and exchanges that I really can't put all of them down here. It's the first season finale, and the way it ends, it almost seems like they weren't sure if the show was coming back and they wanted to end it in a very definite manner, with many plots tied up and the return of a beloved character.
Casey's son Charlie is coming to the studio, and he seems to have an odd relationship with his father. Meanwhile, Dana bought that camera she talked about endlessly in the last episode and wants to take a picture of the staff in their nice clothes to break in the camera, and Dan is still wondering if Rebecca will change her mind and come back to him.
Continue reading Sports Night: What Kind Of Day Has It Been?
Posted Aug 31st 2006 9:16PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Retro Squad, Sports Night
(S01E20) While Isaac continues to recover from his stroke in the hospital, Dana is in charge, and the network execs are putting a lot of pressure on her. Meanwhile, Rebecca might want to go back to hubby Steve, which doesn't please Dan too much, and Jeremy wants to break up with Natalie, because there are way too many things happening right now, including his parents breaking up.
Oh, and there's a bomb threat called in to the building.
Continue reading Sports Night: Ordnance Tactics
Posted Aug 31st 2006 6:37PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Retro Squad, Sports Night
(S01E19) It must be hard as hell to do an episode of a show where something bad happens to one of the characters that actually happened to the actor in real life. In this episode, we find out that Isaac had a stroke after returning from a vacation. Actor Robert Guillaume had a stroke in real-life too. It's a tricky thing for a show to write in a real-life incident into a show, but because of the way this show is structured - a seamless blend of comedy and drama - it actually works.
Before they find out about Isaac, the staff is getting ready for special March Madness coverage. They're working on a Saturday, Bobbi Berstein is coming in to co-anchor (which thrills Dan, since she still thinks they slept together in Spain), and Dan is wondering why Rebecca's ex-husband Steve is in her office. On a Saturday. He thinks it's like "Eli's Coming," the classic Three Dog Night song, that something bad is about to happen. But as Casey reminds him, the song isn't about that, it's about a womanizer. No matter, Dan still thinks it's going to be a bad day.
Continue reading Sports Night: Eli's Coming
Posted Aug 19th 2006 9:33PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Retro Squad, Sports Night
(S01E14) While Dan and Dana are having relationship problems (Dan isn't sure if he should ask out a woman that Natalie introduced him to in the elevator and Dana is worried that Gordon is going to break up with her because she works too much), Isaac is upset about a
Wall Street Journal article that says that station owner Luther Sachs isn't too happy with him (stemming from that on-air defense of the football players a few episodes earlier) and isn't sure if he can trust J.J., Luther's go-between.
Continue reading Sports Night: Rebecca
Posted Aug 13th 2006 7:15PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Retro Squad, Sports Night
(S01E12)
Isaac knows that one day he won't be in charge at the show forever (especially after embarrassing him by supporting the college players in the last episode) , so he wants to groom Dana to take over someday. But she doesn't even want to talk about it. He wants her to come to the monthly executive meetings, but she doesn't want to. He tells her not to tell anyone what they've talked about.
She immediately tells Natalie.
Meanwhile, Dan thinks it's time to get Casey back into the dating scene.
Continue reading Sports Night: Smoky
Posted Jun 8th 2006 7:54PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Retro Squad, Sports Night
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorites shows, in order, every week.
(S01E02) No one mixes comedy and drama better than Aaron Sorkin. I don't mean in that "dramedy" kind of way (ugh, I hate that term), I mean in a natural, realistic way. You saw it all the time on
The West Wing, and also on
Sports Night. It's in particularly fine form in this episode, one of my favorites.
Dan is in trouble with the network for saying in an
Esquire interview that marijuana should be legalized. Meanwhile, Jeremy puts together his first highlight reel, and Natalie tells Dana to show an interest in Casey now that he's divorced.
Continue reading Sports Night: The Apology
Posted Jun 3rd 2006 5:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Programming, OpEd

Here's a piece of advice: don't ever,
ever tune into TV Land on a Saturday when you don't have anything planned. If they're playing the right show, you'll get completely sucked in to the point where the sun will go down and you'll have never gotten out of your pajamas.
How do I know this? Because I've been watching the
Benson marathon since about 10 AM, and have barely switched away from it since. I was going to pick up dry cleaning and go out for a nice lunch, maybe get some writing work done. But here it is, 5:00, and all I've done is laugh my ass off at one of my all-time favorite shows (one I haven't seen in many years). God, Kraus was funny. And Benson's insults towards her and Clayton were legendary, and... oh, crap. I need to go out for dinner tonight. Guess I'll actually need to leave the apartment...
Posted Jun 1st 2006 7:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Retro Squad, Sports Night
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.(S01E01) Sports Night is the show that Aaron Sorkin created before
The West Wing. It didn't last very long (two seasons), but it has a lot in common with
The West Wing: intelligent writing, fast-paced dialogue, and a strong ensemble cast of smart, moral characters all working toward a common goal. In this case, that goal is getting out a nightly show on the CSC network. It also have several of the same behind-the-scenes people as
TWW, and a few on-camera people too.
Continue reading Sports Night: Pilot