The last time Opie got involved in a television show, we wound up with Arrested Development. Now he's hoping he can bring back the funny, maybe this time with ratings. FOX has picked up a penalty-heavy pilot commitment for Ron Howard's new multi-camera IRS-based sitcom.
Think of it as a classic workplace comedy modeled after the Taxi formula. And we'll have the added fact that the IRS is despised by the American public. And yet, at the heart of the show is a guy who genuinely thinks he's doing something valuable and important. Beyond this character will be the typical ensemble of wacky co-workers you'd expect.
It's oddly refreshing that this will be done in the multi-camera format; making a strong comeback of late. It's being proven that buddy and family sitcoms can still be funny in this format, so why not the workplace comedy? As much as I love The Office and 30 Rock, I could handle something more like Taxi or NewsRadio from time to time.
Maura Tierney, most recently on ER and now one of the stars of NBC's new comedy/drama Parenthood, is ill and will be going through a medical evaluation that will take several weeks. This means that the show will not start filming at the end of this month as originally planned. Instead, production will begin in September. No word yet on what exactly is wrong with Tierney.
Yup, there's an Arrested Development documentary, and the trailer is below. I didn't even know this film was coming out, but it looks like it's the ultimate drug for hardcore AD fans (at least until the movie comes out). Besides the cast and crew being interviewed, we also see comments from people like Andy Richter, Keith Olbermann, and many other fans.
It probably strikes some people as odd that a network would greenlight a show in 2009-2010 that's based on a movie from 1989 that was later made into a series in 1990 (one of the writers on that version was Joss Whedon). But this seems like a natural for a network family sitcom, and it least it has some good people behind it: producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, director Thomas Schlamme, and cast members Peter Krause and Maura Tierney. Could be worth checking out.
This leak appears to be unauthorized, but still pretty solid. It looks like the television remake of Ron Howard's 1989 film Parenthood has been picked up by NBC for next season. Peter Krause (Six Feet Under, Dirty Sexy Money), Maura Tierney (NewsRadio, ER) and Craig T. Nelson (Coach) are on board to star, and that's a pretty solid foundation right there.
The original Parenthood movie starred everybody who was anybody in the late '80s, including Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards, Jr. and Mary Steenbergen and Steve Martin. It was like Crash with an extended family, following multiple story lines that all ultimately connected.
If you're are sick of your TV remaking shows and movies every season, don't fret. Your TV has found a solution: remaking the stuff they've already remade.
NBC has given the big ol' emerald glo-stick to a remake of the movie Parenthood, a movie that they have already turned into a show.
The show is being produced by Imagine Entertainment, the Ron Howard company that produced and made the original movie. The network has asked for a pilot and former Friday Night Lights writer-executive producer Jason Katims will breathe life into it.
January 15th, 1974. It was on this cold winter day (cold, because it was pre-global warming) 35 years ago that the American public was introduced to Richie Cunningham, Fonzie, Potsie, and the rest of the gang of Happy Days. A simple family sitcom, the Gary Marshall-created program would change the face of ABC, as well as television, for the ten years it was on the air, as well as beyond.
Happy Days came at a time when the family comedy was going through an upheaval. Gone were the days of simple shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show. In its place were shows like All in the Family which turned the typical family comedy on its heels. With Vietnam, a poor economy, and Watergate all weighing down on Americans at that time, the introduction of Happy Days gave viewers a chance to remember and laugh at some simpler times.
I recall a time when Ron Howard was diligently trying to distance himself from the two television icons that made him famous: Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham (from The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, respectively). Now, thanks to Funny Or Die and in an effort to get his candidate of choice (Barack Obama, if you didn't know) elected, he is prepared to step back into those two roles. And to do so, he takes Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler with him.
I didn't really grow up with Andy Griffith, but it was quite the nostalgia trip to see Ron Howard and Henry Winkler as Richie and the Fonz again. Winkler seemed to just slip back into the character despite all the years.
This very important anniversary was actually a week ago today but I just realized it this morning as I was eating my Happy Days cereal and wearing my Fonz pajamas and Ralph Malph slippers.
September 20th marked the 30th Anniversary of the day Arthur Fonzarelli (aka "Fonzie," aka "The Fonz") put on his leather jacket and a pair of water skis and jumped over a cage filled with stock footage of a man eating shark. Of course, we know that the famous episode launched a very successful catch phrase and web site called "What choo talkin' bout Willis?"
After the jump, a video of that classic TV moment. I haven't seen an episode of Happy Days in years, but it was probably well on its way to getting away from the original intent of the show before this. But yeah, this scene is even more ridiculous than you remember it.
They're called Mayberry's Finest, and they are a line of "southern comfort food" based on the type of stuff The Andy Griffith Show's Aunt Bee used to cook for Andy and Opie (and anyone who was sick in town, like Clara): beef stew, mustard greens, and mixes for buttermilk biscuits and lemon icebox muffins. They're being launched at the Food Marketing Institute's convention in Chicago. Each package will be based on a character from the show and will include snippets of show scripts and episode info.
This could start a trend. How about a line of food based on Gilligan's Island (canned pineapple, coconut cream pie) or Survivor (bugs)?
OK, since all three of these guys have been on TV at one time or another, and I first heard about this on TV, I think it loosely can apply here. I just think this is cool:
When I was watching last night's Mets-Reds game on SportsNet NY, the camera showed Dennis Miller, Ron Howard, and Tom Hanks taking in the game, which was played in Cincinnati. The announcers mentioned they were taking a ballpark tour, and showed the massive luxury bus they were using. Well, this article confirms that. Turns out Hanks decided to take his buddies on a trip to seven parks to help celebrate his 50th birthday. They may not make all seven parks, it turns out, but they've already gone to three and will go to a few more.
Anyway, considering I try to go to a new-to-me ballpark every year (this year was U.S. Cellular in Chicago and Miller Park in Milwaukee), I absolutely love the fact that these superstars -- well, two superstars and Miller -- are doing this.
There's a small glimmer of hope that we'll all see the Bluths again, and not just in reruns on DVDs. In an interview with TVGuide, actress Alia Shawkat ("Maeby") confirmed that there is talk of doing an Arrested Development movie. She didn't say a lot--probably because the interview was actually about her role in an upcoming Lifetime movie--but she did say that creator Mitch Hurwitz is in talks with Ron Howard about moving to the big screen. That was all hinted at in the series finale when Shawkat's character tried to sell the rights to the Bluth's story to Howard.
Would you like to see an Arrested Development movie... or is it just plain over?
The last time Opie got involved in a television show, we wound up with Arrested Development. Now he's hoping he can bring back the funny, maybe this time with ratings. FOX has picked up a penalty-heavy pilot commitment for Ron Howard's new multi-camera IRS-based sitcom.
Wow, this sounds rather serious.
There weren't a lot of surprises at 
This leak appears to be unauthorized, but still pretty solid. It looks like the television remake of Ron Howard's 1989 film 
If you're are sick of your TV remaking shows and movies every season, don't fret. Your TV has found a solution: remaking the stuff they've already remade. 
January 15th, 1974. It was on this cold winter day (cold, because it was pre-global warming) 35 years ago that the American public was introduced to Richie Cunningham, Fonzie, Potsie, and the rest of the gang of Happy Days. A simple family sitcom, the Gary Marshall-created program would change the face of ABC, as well as television, for the ten years it was on the air, as well as beyond.
Bravo has a Project Runway marathon all night.
I recall a time when Ron Howard was diligently trying to distance himself from the two television icons that made him famous: Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham (from 
This very important anniversary was actually a week ago today but I just realized it this morning as I was eating my Happy Days cereal and wearing my Fonz pajamas and Ralph Malph slippers.
Now here's an interesting idea: 
OK, since all three of these guys have been on TV at one time or another, and I first heard about this on TV, I think it loosely can apply here. I just think this is cool:
There's a small glimmer of hope that we'll all see the Bluths again, and not just in reruns on DVDs. In an interview with TVGuide, actress Alia Shawkat ("Maeby") confirmed that there is talk of doing an Arrested Development movie. She didn't say a lot--probably because the interview was actually about her role in an upcoming Lifetime movie--but she did say that creator Mitch Hurwitz is in talks with Ron Howard about moving to the big screen. That was all hinted at in the series finale when Shawkat's character tried to sell the rights to the Bluth's story to Howard.
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