Back in the day, Tina Fey aka Liz Lemon aka Sarah Palin was in her element alongside Amy Poehler aka Leslie Knope tearing it up on “SNL” with her weekend updates. The comic duo were sassy, sharp, and never missed a punchline. They represented a new prototype of feminist - they weren’t your mom’s brand of feminist whose extremist tendencies of either too traditional or too workaholic repelled you from the whole notion of “women’s lib.” Poehler & Fey proved that funny, smart, and confident with a hint of vulnerable could work and moreover, women could be successful at this shtick.
So imagine my disappointment this season as I watch Liz Lemon on “30 Rock” pathetically whining, mooning over past loves, and contemplating the concept of settling for the dreamy Michael Sheen over going at it solo. Her cynicism reaching new heights, Lemon’s once empowered femme drole is merely a shred of her former hip lady self. The compelling storyline involving Liz’s desire to adopt a baby (something many single, career-minded women in their late 30s might be able to relate too) which was ongoing for the past few seasons has all but vanished with her character shifting into more of a slapstick sidekick providing occasional comedic relief for the venerable Alec Baldwin. On a side note: Do I really care if Jack chooses Julianne Moore or Elizabeth Banks? Just bring Selma Hayek back! Note to network television: In case you didn’t notice from the ratings success of “Modern Family,” Latina relief is the only thing working on sitcoms these days…
On the other hand, Amy Poehler has managed to transform Leslie Knope, a rather plain yokel and no doubt the anti-Liz Lemon hipster chick into a comedic heroine by steering clear of the “SNL” footfalls of vitriolic NY-bred humor - the type of bagel humor that might have worked with “Seinfeld” 15 years ago but doesn’t do it for the iGeneration. In contrast to Liz Lemon, Leslie is kind and giving to a fault and like Liz, she is not without her ambitions and her desire to win at all costs. The difference is Poehler’s affable delivery - it’s her refreshingly candid demeanor that endears her to us and also at the same time represents a true shift in in what we want our female role models to look like.
Today’s Mary Tyler Moore doesn’t need to wear black, live in the 100- zip code, walk around all day muttering “oy vey” under her breadth, and sip soy lattes while dreaming up the wittiest retorts in preparation for their next rendez-vous. They can date park rangers, go hunting with the boys, and put it all on the line for a friend in need. They don’t need to arm themselves with sarcasm to shield themselves from being vulnerable or self-deprecation as a means to communicate with others for fear of actually conveying any shred of authenticity.
Today’s lady can be geeky, socially responsible, single, self-aware, and sassy. Welcome to the ’10s ladies. It’s a bold new world and you, too, can be cool in this one - even in NBC’s impossibly hip Thursday night line-up.
When everything is said and done, and the dust will settle, Al Roker will ask himself, “How did I get here?” It all started on Monday, when these two clowns whom I’ve never heard of before (Well maybe I have heard of them, but never on purpose,) Heidi and Spencer Pratt (A.K.A Speidi,) showed the entire nation how smart they really are while on TheToday Show. Roker, who seems to have something against idiots, threw a couple of punches, then wrote about it on Twitter. The couple, while going from one TV station to another, complained about how he treated them, now everyone is talking about it because it’s not like there is anything that are more important in our world then this, and the interview will surely make its way to The Soup. There you have it, Al Roker is in reality TV world. Next thing you know, will be the star of a show Called “Being Al Roker- The Life Of A Weatherman” which is actually not a bad idea!
Will Ferrell made a stop on the Today Show today to promote his latest flick, Land of the Lost. Ferrell has been fulfilling his various promotional duties - the press-related racket that comes with being owned by Universal and even made a stop earlier this week to baptize Conan’s new Late Show, and proclaiming himself honorary 1st guest. Ferrell’s memorable entrance on the show featured him sitting atop a sedan chair while 4 men in loincloths carried him and the chair.
But back to Matt Lauer and his visions of stardom.
Lauer was not on hand to interview Will Ferrell (that would be too gauche), but Meredith Vierra was and true to her ever-inappropriate, stick 2-feet-and-elbow-and-a-car-in-her-mouth ways, she simply talked about Matt Lauer’s cameo with little regard for Will or the film. Whether this was calculated or not, the whole interview was about Matt Lauer.
For those of you egging for a real Will Ferrell interview and what components it should entail, check out this Daily Showclip from 2000.
NBC canned “Medium” and the lovely Patricia Arquette only to have the show brought back to life by those silly “Ghost Whisperer”(s) over at CBS. Now all we need is Roma Downey to join the cast and we can exit stage right and proceed directly to heaven.
CBS takes death very seriously. In fact, all this repetitive ghost stuff makes me think that they just don’t know when to kill a decent storyline when they see it. In other words, get rid of J.Love and keep Allison Dubois.
As expected, Heroes‘ season premiere (HeroesVolume 3) picked up from where it stopped. But the show has been away for so long that I’m not sure it’s relevant anymore. Before the writers’strike, Heroes was one of the main reasons to watch prime time TV. When NBC stopped airing the show we had to find other things to watch instead, and we found. Medium, Dexter, Weeds, Mad Menand a few more showed that good TV can be done even without Hiro Nakamura. Heroes is still a decent and watchable show, and I was pleased that last night’s episode was more eventful then the last 10 episodes of the first season together, but I would lose the ridiculous countdown-to-the-event show. It’s not New Years.
The entire world will be amazed by the beauty of China, and exited with the beginning of the Olympics. I won’t. Not that I don’t like sports, nor was I born yesterday to this cynical-material world, but every day we discover more and more about how the Chinese government managed to pull this production on the backs of it’s poor people, the less I’m inclined to actually watch the games. NBC, who paid $894 million for the US broadcast rights, will show the Olympics no meter what. Here and there, we’ll see an item on the news that gently criticize the Chinese actions, but it disappears between Matt Lauer reporting for the Today Show, and Billy Bush getting a foot massage for $25 in Beijing.
Money talks, as the Chinese and we know, so what are a few million people whose homes were demolished in favor of a shiny stadium? Or a few millions more who are left to starve because they are not allowed to water their rice fields, comparing to Coca-Cola TV commercial?
So, I’m not so exited about the games. Maybe I’ll watch it a little bit, but no more than that.
According to an article in this week’s Newsweek, Israeli TV is quickly becoming the hottest commodity to hit Hollywood since Ben Stiller did his Derelicte schtick in Zoolander. Not to nuke the fridge here, but with acts like Yael Naim picking up steam in MacAir commercials and shows like HBO’sIn Treatment (B’tipul) managing to muster a modest, but staunchly loyal cult following, it’s not at all surprising that TV and film execs are looking to Israel to provide them with some much needed fresh and original programming. Have you seen NBC’s and ABC’s Summer programming? There’s not one show among the bunch that’s not reality TV.
It’s telling of Israel’s rising popularity and perhaps indicative of its viability as a fixture in the entertainment industry that network TV had followed in the footsteps of HBO and chosen to add and adapt an Israeli show, Mythological X, (about love, nonetheless) to their Fall roster. (To sneak a preview of The Ex-List, click here)Loaded, a FOX-produced show about dot-com millionaires is also slated to air in the Fall.
But aside from the creative, engaging story lines that Israel seems to have the capacity to deliver, why has Hollywood looked to another country to fulfill what seems to be a gaping hole in the U.S. entertainment industry at present? To quote Joshua Alston, “Israeli shows are cheap”:
“In Treatment” premiered new episodes five days a week over nine weeks. “We’re used to doing 12 or 13 episodes per season,” says HBO executive Michael Lombardo. “The cost-effectiveness of the show is what enabled us to take on this huge commitment of 45 episodes.
“The relatively low cost will allow U.S. networks to try out Israeli formats and give them space to find an audience. “In Treatment” premiered to sluggish numbers that would spell trouble for a pricier show. But it built steam by the end of the season, and performed well enough relative to its cost that HBO will launch a second season this fall.
What may be considered “shoestring budgets” by U.S. standards is fueling the passion and stamina of Israel’s entertainment industry and in turn delivering a premium product at a bargain rate. And as long as this translates to the end result being more Gabriel Byrne, then I’m one happy gal.
Meet the Press host and NBC political pundit Tim Russert died at 58 today of an alleged heart attack. He is survived by his wife, columnist and activist Maureen Orth and son Luke, a Boston College graduate.
Fans of Steve Carell got a double dose of Carell this week starting with an hour long season finale of The Office on Thursday night and winding down with a spectacular season closer to SNL last night. The highlight of last night’s episode being the clip below where Ricky Gervais, creator of The Office (the British one), introduces the faux Japanese version of the show. Kristen Wiig, always a crowd pleaser and Bill Hader, my own personal favorite SNL cast member did a smash-up job as Pam and Jim.
For those of you Office fans who can’t wait 5+ months to know if Michael really gets with Jan or if Dwight and Angela conceive a child from their amorous tryst (might happen with the storyline given actress Angela Kinsey’s pregnancy), NBC is cleverly offering fans some crumbs in the form of webisodes to be featured on their site mid-July. Most likely these mini shows won’t give us any insight into the cliffhangers we really want answers to (rumor has it these shows will focus on Kevin’s gambling addiction), but they might provide some much needed entertainment in a world of otherwise bland and unimaginative reality TV programming.
Lastly, be sure to catch Steve Carell in Get Smart this Summer. As a lover of Maxwell Smart and all things from Inspector Closseau to Gadget, the bumbling, idiotic detective routine rarely wears too thin, unless it involves ruining a perfectly good cartoon.
I like The Biggest Loser; in fact I think it is the only realty TV show worth watching. It actually helps people do something positive, and encourage others as well. Also, I was very happy to find out that the brothers Jay and Mark are from around here, right outside of Boston (Go SOX!!!) But GOSH, did you see how much they cry?
Is this the way to lose weight? Tears are heavy you know…
They give a new literal meaning to Cry Me A River… (It’s actually a song from the 50’s, written by Arthur Hamilton, and sang by Julie London. Sorry Justin, no hard feelings, but it’s not yours, like many other things…) OK you got my point.
The Celebrity Apprentice finale last night was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen on TV in a long long time. In fact it was so annoying, that I could not bring myself to watch more then five minutes, so I don’t even know who won, and I really don’t care. The one thing I am happy about, is that it was the season finale, and next week, instead of trying to avoid Trump and his stupid wannabe never gonna be kids, we are getting our Thursday back with My Name Is Earl, The Office and back. What a relief!!!
30 Rock will take a bit longer, but it’s a start.
It has been so long since Heroes was on, that I almost forgot what it was about. In TV like in nature there is no such thing as vacuum, and since the writer’s strike brought the production of our favorite shows to a complete stop, we simply got used to watch other things on TV. It’s a given, that there is nothing out there that can replace The Office, especially not TBS’ 10 Items Or Less. But the question we’ve been asking ourselves lately is: Is Allison Dubois is the new Hiro Nakamura? Is Medium the new Heroes? Or is it just a generic pain killer?
It’s kind of corny to repeat the same thing over and over again, but every day that goes by brings with him situations that make you think about The Office. Those little moments that of course are not as amusing as when they happen in Scranton, but still you stop and say: Hey, this reminds me of something from The Office… This guy looks like Kevin Malone… She is like Jen…
There is not much hope that we will get to see The Office or any other show if you come to think about it returning in the next month or so, and it is sad. But hey, at least we have Eli Stone played by Johnny Lee Miller tonight at 10/9c on ABC. Eli Stone is probably the best thing that happened on TV during the writers strike.
During the recent writers strike, we’ve been bombarded with TV shows that on normal days would never even be considered for American prime time TV or for any time actually. Now that the strike is finally over, and the writers are back at their desks, writing like there is no Mañana, and just before we are going to watch their recent creations, here are the four lowest levels of TV entertainment. Counting from worst to better:
Level 4: Reality TV: I know people are addicted to reality TV, and I understand that the desire to peak into other people’s lives might cause resistance to this post by those people. Nevertheless, Reality TV has the same features as Porn. Like porn it is being semi- directed, the participant are semi- actors, using semi- script. And the most important thing is: The viewers are convinced that they are watching the real thing. Well they are not.
Exceptions: One, The Biggest Loser. This show actually encourages people to take positive steps in improving their lives.
Level 3: Season long contests: This level is dedicated to some of the most watched shoes in the country, and includes but not limited to: American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, The Apprentice, and more. These shows are rubbish. The joy of looking at 3 judges, so full of themselves, criticizing and slaughtering the poor contestants who should have probably known better then to participate in the first place. Recent revelations regarding the new season of American Idol only emphasis how these shows are handled, by who, and for what purpose.
Exceptions: None.
Level 2: Substitute Game Shows: These are horrible, the worst of the worst. These shows were rejected by the networks, but still managed to film a couple of episodes. And just because something happened (like a writer’s strike,) they are being aired. Last night’s My Dad Is Better Then YourDad was and amazing example, in normal times, this show will not pass as a substitute for an infomercial. And don’t you start talking to me about Seinfeld, who started as a substitute, it wasn’t a game show.
Exceptions: None.
Level 1: Game Shows: There are all sorts of game shows, so excuse me for gathering all of them under one roof. Game Shows are what we watch when there is nothing else on, or when we are waiting for one of our favorite shows to start. It is often extremely boring, and may cause you to fall asleep earlier then what you had planed. But there are good sides to the genre: A. No need to follow up. You don’t need to wait a whole season to see who won. B: After a hard day, when your brains can’t take any more information, it’s a guarantee these shows will not make it harder on you.
Exceptions: One, Moment Of Truth. This show should not have been produced at whole, absolutely terrible.
I’m sitting here watching the intro to NBC’s latest wunderkind, My Dad is Better Than Your Dad and wondering how they managed to depict kids in such an evil light. These competitive, bratty kids actually make their dads look passive and somewhat sympathetic comparatively, but isn’t it meant to be the other way around? Showing how unlikable the parents are that spawn such annoying kids. Who hasn’t seen Willy Wonka?
Anyways, I’m just happy that an all new Medium is back at 10 PM on NBC. With the writers’ strike kickin’ it in high gear over the last few months, I grew to immensely enjoy the acting delights of Patricia Arquette’s silly little show. Call me crazy but knowing there is someone else who wakes up in trembling in a sweaty panic over their work makes me feel a little less alone.
Last night’s new episodes of 30 Rock, and the one of My Name Is Earl, were the exception that proves the rule. There is nothing to see on TV. With the writers strike going nowhere, we are stuck with a bunch of crappy reality shows, and with Jay Leno who writes his own stuff…
One might think, that with the lack of good TV, we would embrace different activities such as poetry or at least go to the gym, but the fact is that we just keep on starring at the screen and as usual being stuffed with shit. Only this time, the shit stinks more. Please come back writers, we need you.
As if I wasn’t watching enough TV, along came Dexter. Watching Monday night television is a complicated mission to accomplish. We watch NBC Chuck, and then Heroes getting less and less interesting while still just as addictive as before, not to mention Monday Night Football (especially if the Patriots ((12-0!!!)) are playing.) So you have to understand, that if it wasn’t for the esthetically designed On Demand button on the remote control, watching shows like Weeds, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Dexter on Showtime, would not have been an option for us. But since it’s there, and since we had a couple boring Tuesdays we started following the tales of a Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst, who also happens to be a serial killer, and goes by the name Dexter. Though it may not be the best show on TV, it delivers a great story. And while some of the dialogs are poor and boring, the main character’s monologue supports the plot’s development, and helps in maintaining the suspense. So I’m hooked, again, what can I do? It’s cold outside…
Brian Williams did a very good job as the host of Saturday Night Live. He’s got an excellent sense of timing, and together with a natural acting skill, he was very amusing. On the musical side, it was Feist, who gave an interesting and solid performance. During the show It was announced that next week musical guest will be Amy Winehouse. Well, It’s a whole week from now, and with our Amy… It’s still a long way to go, and you can never tell what’s gonna happen in so many days…
When everything is said and done, and the dust will settle, Al Roker will ask himself, “How did I get here?” It all started on Monday, when these two clowns whom I’ve never heard of before (Well maybe I have heard of them, but never on purpose,) Heidi and Spencer Pratt (A.K.A Speidi,) 
NBC canned “Medium”
The entire world will be amazed by the beauty of China, and exited with the beginning of the Olympics. I won’t. Not that I don’t like sports, nor was I born yesterday to this cynical-material world, but every day we discover more and more about how the Chinese government managed to pull this production on the backs of it’s poor people, the less I’m inclined to actually watch the games. NBC, who paid $894 million for the US broadcast rights, will show the Olympics no meter what. Here and there, we’ll see an item on the news that gently criticize the Chinese actions, but it disappears between Matt Lauer reporting for the Today Show, and Billy Bush getting a foot massage for $25 in Beijing.
The Celebrity Apprentice finale last night was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen on TV in a long long time. In fact it was so annoying, that I could not bring myself to watch more then five minutes, so I don’t even know 
It’s kind of corny to repeat the same thing over and over again, but every day that goes by brings with him situations that make you think about 
Level 3: Season long contests: This level is dedicated to some of the most watched shoes in the country, and includes but not limited to: 
Level 2: Substitute Game Shows: These are horrible, the worst of the worst. These shows were rejected by the networks, but still managed to film a couple of episodes. And just because something happened (like a writer’s strike,) they are being aired. Last night’s 
excuse me for gathering all of them under one roof. Game Shows are what we watch when there is nothing else on, or when we are waiting for one of our favorite shows to start. It is often extremely boring, and may cause you to fall asleep earlier then what you had planed. But there are good sides to the genre: A. No need to follow up. You don’t need to wait a whole season to see who won. B: After a hard day, when your brains can’t take any more information, it’s a guarantee these shows will not make it harder on you.
I’m sitting here watching the intro to NBC’s latest wunderkind, My Dad is Better Than Your Dad and wondering how they managed to depict kids in such an evil light. These competitive, bratty kids actually make their dads look passive and somewhat sympathetic comparatively, but isn’t it meant to be the other way around? Showing how unlikable the parents are that spawn such annoying kids. Who hasn’t seen Willy Wonka?
Last night’s new episodes of 30 Rock, and the one of My Name Is Earl, were the exception that proves the rule. There is nothing to see on TV. With the writers strike going nowhere, we are stuck with a bunch of crappy reality shows, and with Jay Leno who writes his own stuff…
As if I wasn’t watching enough TV, along came Dexter. Watching Monday night television is a complicated mission to accomplish. We watch NBC Chuck, and then Heroes getting less and less interesting while still just as addictive as before, not to mention Monday Night Football (especially if the Patriots ((12-0!!!)) are playing.) So you have to understand, that if it wasn’t for the esthetically designed On Demand button on the remote control, watching shows like Weeds, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Dexter on Showtime, would not have been an option for us. But since it’s there, and since we had a couple boring Tuesdays we started following the tales of a Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst, who also happens to be a serial killer, and goes by the name Dexter. Though it may not be the best show on TV, it delivers a great story. And while some of the dialogs are poor and boring, the main character’s monologue supports the plot’s development, and helps in maintaining the suspense. So I’m hooked, again, what can I do? It’s cold outside…
