thomas lennon-related stories
Posted Oct 14th 2009 4:00PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free, Comic-Con
It's great to see members of The State getting their due in Hollywood.
Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, founding members of the sketch comedy troupe, have been cracking me up since the early '90s when the State had its own sketch comedy show on MTV. They've been very productive since
The State was canceled in 1995, starring and producing Comedy Central's hilarious
Reno 911 and writing a number of films, including
Night at the Museum and
Balls of Fury. Now, the duo is bringing their twisted brand of comedy to NBC.
Lennon and Garant will write, produce and star in a
new multicamera comedy for the network, says
The Hollywood Reporter. The show is part of a talent deal NBC and Universal inked with Lennon.
Continue reading Reno 911 creators producing new comedy for NBC
Posted Aug 14th 2009 1:30AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
In the Twitter era, where else would we get the news that
Comedy Central has canceled the long-running Reno 911 after six seasons. Lt. Jim Dangle (Thomas Lennon) tweeted that "
Reno 911 was canceled at 1:30 pm today," and even more tragically that he "won't be wearing the shorts again." Never say never, Lennon, there's always conventions.
That means, though, that the July 8th episode was the series finale. By any standards, 88 episodes is a good run for a series, but it's always a little disappointing when a long-running show like
Reno 911 gets canceled between seasons. It means that the creators will never get a chance to write an "ending" for their series.
Continue reading Hope you enjoyed that Reno 911 series finale in July
Posted Jul 14th 2009 3:05PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
TV bloggers get a lot of free DVDs to review. They range from the dull and drab to titles that some people would run over someone on the way to the movie store to get.
It's very rare, however, for anyone to get their grubby little hands on a title powerful enough to reverse the polarity of the universe and restore order to chaos. I managed to score that very thing a week before anyone could and I didn't have to sell my soul, my first-born child or any of my bodily objects to get it.
Continue reading The new State DVD: You'll wanna dip your balls in it!
Posted Jul 9th 2009 2:04PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Reality-Free
When I first wrote about the
cast changes for season six of
Reno 911!, a few readers were disappointed that their favorite deputies were killed in a tragic taco stand explosion. Clementine (Wendi McLendon-Covey), Garcia (Carlos Alazraqui), and Kimball (Mary Birdsong) all died, and were replaced this season with Deputy Frank Rizzo (Joe Lo Truglio) and Sergeant Jack Declan (Ian Roberts).
Clementine and Garcia were both part of the show since the beginning, and were often the most appealing characters on the show. The racial tension between Garcia and Deputy Jones (Cedric Yarbrough) was a fun plotline, and Clementine's undercover pot bust at a head shop was one of my favorite scenes. Kimball came aboard in season three, and had her adherents, as well.
Continue reading A second look at Reno 911!, season six
Posted Feb 5th 2009 5:02PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, Reality-Free
If you grew up watching MTV in the '90s, then you probably remember
The State. If you don't – and you're an American between the age of 30 and 35 – do a YouTube search for "I wanna dip my balls in it" and let the memories flood right on back.
I credit the irreverent MTV sketch comedy show with keeping me from slipping into a full-blown depression during my teenage years, aka the angsty, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains-drenched years.
The State ran from 1993 to 1995 and helped launch the careers of some of my favorite comic actors, writers and filmmakers, including David Wain (
Wet Hot American Summer,
Role Models), Thomas Lennon (
Reno 911,
Balls of Fury) and Michael Ian Black (
Stella,
Ed). All 11 members of the comedy troupe reunited recently to perform new material at SF Sketchfest in January. The
A.V. Club talked to State alums Wain, Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silver this week about the reunion and about their future plans. Among the things that came up in the interview was the status of that promised complete-series DVD.
Continue reading Hey MTV, I want The State on DVD already
Posted May 22nd 2008 7:58PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Video, Interviews, Celebrities, Reality-Free
"Don't get high on your own supply." --Thomas Lennon on how he doesn't have basic cable.
Thomas Lennon, the star and co-creator of Comedy Central's
Reno 911!, got to together with
Mahalo's Lon Harris to talk about basic cable, the how it's not gay to love Sting in
Dune, Christopher Walken's answering machine, and
Falcon Crest. He also dishes about the finale of
Reno 911! (currently in its fifth season), the
Upright Citizens Brigade, and
Balls of Fury. Oh, and he might mention something about
The State reunion.
Fans of Thomas Lennon and all things
Reno 911! will enjoy this interview. Lennon is genius! The video is after the jump.
Continue reading Thomas Lennon talks about the fifth season of Reno 911! - VIDEO
Posted May 24th 2007 12:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Music and Variety, Celebrities
Thomas Lennon, currently of the Comedy Central series Reno 911! and formerly of MTV's cult sketch series The State, was on the podcast Guys with Feelings recently to discuss all things Thomas Lennon. The podcast is a lot of fun, but to just hear the Tom Lennon portion, skip ahead to about 1 hour and 19 minutes.
Lennon talked about the upcoming ping-pong movie he wrote with Ben Garrant called Balls of Fury (trailer below), and about the fifth season of Reno 911! that just wrapped taping (also, he wishes his character, Jim Dangle, didn't have to wear those tiny shorts).
Continue reading Will The State reunite? Quite possibly - VIDEO
Posted Nov 8th 2006 11:31AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on the Bigscreen, Comedy Central, Reno 911!
Those of you who saw
Borat last weekend probably also saw the incredibly hilarious trailer for the
Reno 911! movie, called
Reno 911: Miami. In the film, the team goes to Miami for a law enforcement convention and then ends up taking over for the Miami PD. From Dangle's short shorts to Wiegel's trash-talking on the beach... you're gonna love it. Plus, the whole cast of MTV's
The State makes an appearance. The trailer is now up exclusively
on Australian Yahoo! and it plays kinda crappy on a Mac (where's the love, y'all?).
I'm getting conflicting reports about when it will be released:
Wikipedia says it's February 23rd, but
Whitney at USA Today says it's not until May 10. Unfortunately, the
Reno 911! fan site hasn't been updated in a year so it was no help. If you know a release date, put it in the comments!
*Update: Thanks, Whitney! The movie comes out in the states on February 23rd.
Posted Sep 26th 2006 3:42PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, MTV
I have never bought a television show from iTunes... until now. MTV's sketch comedy show
The State is now for sale only on iTunes (it's not even on DVD).
The State aired on MTV from 1993-1995. It was both weird and hilarious. The network essentially gave a bunch of college graduates free reign over their own show. It gave some of my favorite comedy actors their start, including Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, David Wain, Kerri Kenney and Thomas Lennon.
Season one is currently for sale, and it includes characters Doug, Louie, Barry & Levon... and $240 worth of pudding. According to
The State website, run by David Wain, MTV will release subsequent seasons if downloads are popular and the network may even decide to put the damn show on DVD already.
[Via
Pop Candy]
Posted Sep 13th 2006 2:34PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Web, Celebrities, Reno 911!
Sorry, I know Comic-Con has come and gone and we've all gone back to our boring, mundane lives, but I just found this great clip featuring Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of
Reno 911! and
The State talking about their upcoming ping-pong movie,
Balls of Fury. In the midst of a Q and A, a man approaches the mic and begins to chastise the two actors for daring to mock the game of ping-pong. I'm not positive, because it's difficult to get a clear look at the man's face, but I believe it's comedian Chris Tallman, perhaps most recognizable as the host of Comedy Central's short-lived series
Crossballs. But then, I could be wrong. Anyway, check out the video and see how real men handle hecklers:
Continue reading Unleash the Balls of Fury
Posted Jan 5th 2006 1:43PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd
Move over
Super Troopers, Comedy Central's
Reno 911! will be coming to a theater near you. Paramount
and 20th Century FOX are co-producing the flick, which is going to be called
Reno 911!: Miami. Oh, that's a
good title! Series co-creators Robert Garant, Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney, who also star in the series, are penning
the script, which is described as being largely improvisational. Kinda like the show. In the movie, the entire Reno
sheriff's department goes to a police convention in Miami during Spring Break (who's manning the station back at home?
who cares!), where a bio-attack is launched on their hotel. I wonder if they'll still bleep out the profanity and blur
the nudity, since it's shot in the style of a cops show. It starts shooting January 23rd in LA and Miami.
I
love
Reno 911! and I think I'll probably buy a ticket to the movie when it comes out. What do you guys think?
Can
Reno 911! translate to the big screen?
[Via
The Hollywood
Reporter]
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