Is It Actually The Next Best Thing

so folks, it looks like summer reality/contest show time is upon us. On The Lot premiered last week and we have season 2 of America's Got Talent and American Inventor arriving shortly. and don't forget Last Comic Standing is coming back and the new show Age Of Love starting soon. then there is the show that premiered last night on abc, The Next Best Thing: Who Is The Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? yes, it is one of the longest frickin' titles ever, but it is also a good show... so far.

that's right, i quite enjoyed it last night. sure, the best part of all these contest shows is the thousands-of-people-audition part where you see the good and the really bad (those first few weeks of every American Idol season are the only ones i actually make an effort to watch).

however, with The Next Best Thing, i actually enjoyed seeing the good ones as much, if not more, then the bad ones. the best part of the bad ones were the funny quips made by the celebrity judges: lisa ann walter, jeffrey ross (who does funny stand-up) and elon gold (who is actually very funny also, especially if all you recognize him from is that awful pam anderson show Stacked).

last night were the l.a. auditions and there were some great ones, like that guy who did sam kinison, al pacino and one other one. he was great. the lucille ball chick was really good also and the robin willimas and george bush that they let through were alright but not great. personally i thought the martha stewart women was scary good, but they sent her home.

so, while this is based on just the first episode, and i may have to amend my grade as the show goes longer and i see how it develops past the auditions, i have to say that i enjoyed it. it was different, funny, i liked the judges and i am going to tune in next episode.

grade: B

No More Super-Sized Shows At NBC

nbc has announced that they will no longer be doing any super-sized episodes of thier comedies. they still plan on having some hour long episodes of The Office, but no more 37, 40, 45, etc... minute ones.

this will be good news to all the fans of the shows that kept missing parts because the odd times would mess with their tivo's.

i think it probably also has something to do with the fact that the shows aren't huge rating hits like some of their old thursday night comedies. one of the goals of the super-size strategy is to keep people from switching over to another show so that by the time the episode ends it is already into the other networks shows so the viewer will just stay where they are.

this might have worked better when they were super-sizing shows with huge ratings like Friends, but unfortunately their current lineup of thursday night laughers aren't in that category (although they are still the two-funniest consecutive hours of tv ever).

R.I.P. Charles Nelson Reilly

i will admit it here (and i have said it many times on the podcast) i am a big fan of the game show network. and one of my favorite shows on gsn are the reruns of Match Game. especially the ones when richard dawson was still there.

anyway, i bring this up because perpetual panelist on the show, charles nelson reilly pased away five days ago and watching him on Match Game reruns is how i know him best. however, for all of you who are unfamiliar with him, or like me know him just from Match Game, he was a lot more accomplished then you might think.

Zap2It has a good article about the man and his carreer that you can check out to find out more about his acting, directing and his life.

Watch It Episode #39

The 'WATCH IT' podcast is a fun and informative (sometimes more so then others) audio podcast discussing television shows, news, opinions and whatever else comes up in the course of our humorous, combative and fun to listen to conversations...


subscribe to the podcast


listen to 'Watch It' podcast episode #39

NEWS: Idol finale, Pennington gets probation, Drive comes back for a couple hours, Rosie leaving early, House gets post-Super Bowl spot, Gay Robot, The Apprentice is over, Mary-Kate joins cast of Weeds, and more...

SHOW TALK: The Simpsons, Family Guy, On The Lot...

Listener email and comments

email: watchitpodcast at gmail.com

CHECK OUT THE LAST 5 EPISODES ON THE SIDEBAR OR HEAD ON OVER TO WATCHIT.LIBSYN.COM TO ENJOY EVERY EPISODE PAST AND PRESENT(or just subscribe and get them all right when they come out - it is all free of course)

On The Lot Picks Host And Judges

i would have thought that they would have done all this by the time the show aired, but according to this article at Zap2It, apparently On The Lot has just now announced who the judges and host will be. carrie fischer and garry marshal are staying for the season as judges, but the host of the first couple shows is gone and adrianna costa will now host the rest of the season.

because reality tv is cheap to produce, this is the start of the summer season and you have people like mark burnett and steven spielberg behind the show, i am pretty sure we will get a full season. however, the ratings have been pretty poor, which is too bad because it is actually a pretty good show from what i have seen so far. it has all the typical ingredients of the genre, but being a bit of a film maker myself i find it pretty interesting and exciting. basically, it is 'The Apprentice Goes To The Movies'.

Family Wars

hey Star Wars fans and Family Guy fans. now, like what happened for peanut butter and chocolate lovers many years ago, your two favorite things are coming together this september. for their season five premier, Family Guy will do a whole Star Wars episode with all the characters portraying characters from the movie (stewie is darth vadar of course).

the thing i found most interesting about this was that the episode has got full approval from lucasfilm. this won't be the first time they have payed 'homage' to Star Wars, but this will be a full hour-long episode rather then little bits.

The Simpsons Is The king

i know everyone is on the Family Guy bandwagon these days (and ya i think it is a funny show), but for me The Simpsons is still the king. it has been around all these years and is still making me laugh with great writing, silly jokes, sight gags and strong social satire.

it isn't the pop culture icon it was when it was at its peek audience wise, but i think people have just gotten so used to it being so good that they don't give it the credit it still justly deserves. case in point the season finally '24' episode last sunday. come on people, that shit was funny. i hear people talk about how the show isn't as good as it used to be, but that usually comes from people who aren't watching the show anymore, so how the hell would they know. did they see the homer gets a gun episode, or the 'Catch Me If You Can' parody? how about the 'kent brockman swears on tv episode' or the one where marge joins an online role playing game and homer becomes a soccer ref. and i can go on... the show is still top of the animated comedy heap. check that. it is right up there with the best sitcoms on tv, animated or not.

i know it just missed my list of top 15 shows on tv, but i have to say it JUST missed the making the list and that shouldn't be an indication that my feelings for the show are anything but good. and i can't wait for the movie.

grade: A

Randy's Jacket And Other Idol Thoughts

okay, i wasn't planning on writing about American Idol tonight, but i just turned it on and caught blake's 'you give love a bad name' (i think simon and randy were right about him being a little flat with the singing, but that beat boxin' was hot).

anyway, that's not why i am posting here. did you see randy's jacket? that thing is not good.

before i go: jordin is finishing up her 'fighter' song, and i have to say in my best simon cowell impression 'that was just ok for me'.

they are both going to have to do better...

i'm back: okay so jordin's second performance was great. that's what I expect from a finalist.

i'm back again: how bad were the other thousands of entries that that piece of mediocre junk won the songwriting competition?

LIST: Best Television Shows (currently on the air)

i always enjoy a good list, and with the tv season coming to an end i thought it would be an opportune time for a list of the best shows on television. i know a top 10 list is standard, but for this topic i went with a top 15.

with such a grand topic i did set a few rules for myself:

- the show has to currently be on the air, or have just finished it's season or be already renewed for another season (if The knights Of Prosperity really does come back then it has a great chance of making next seasons list).

- i had to have seen at least one full season of the show (this made the Tudors and The Riches ineligible, although they are already on my mind for next seasons list)

- i also had to have seen more then just the first season if the show is already in it's third or fourth season (that eliminated Nip/Tuck. i enjoyed season one but haven't got to the next ones yet. that also took Deadwood off the list)

- finally, i obviously had to have watched the show, and as i am only human with only so much time in the day, even with a dvr i can't watch everything. so here is a quick listing of shows that i just haven't watched yet, but from what i have heard they could have been contenders for the list: The Wire, Dirt, Entourage, Heroes, Big Love, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

i have written fuller reviews of some of these shows and i will link to those reviews for those series. now, let's let the listing begin...

1-Boston Legal
2-Rescue Me
3-Sopranos
4-The Shield
5-Scrubs
6-Battlestar Galactica
7-24
8-Lost
9-The Office
10-Friday Night Lights
11-My Name Is Earl
12-30 Rock
13-Rome
14-ER
15-Dexter

just missed the cut: The Simpsons, Weeds, Survivor,

Boston Legal Finale Delayed One Week

don't panic if on tuesday may 22nd at 10pm you turn on abc all excited about the season finale of the great Boston Legal only to see some second-rate celebrities dancing around on your screen. it will be okay. i promise. what you will be watching is the finale of Dancing With The Stars, but on tuesday may 29th (one week later) at 10pm you will get the Boston Legal season finale you were looking forward to.

if you were wondering why this was happening it is because abc has decided to add an additional episode of The Bachelor 'after the final rose' at 8pm on the 22nd which pushes the 2-hour Dancing With The Stars finale to 9pm-11pm taking over Boston Legal's spot.

no worries though, we just have to wait a week. and although i don't know anything about the episode, the show is so good i know it's gonna be great.

Drive Is Coming Back (Not Really)

sorry if i got all you Drive fans excited there for a second, but given the poor ratings the show had, there really aren't that many of you out there (i'll admit i was kind of one of the few. didn't think it was a great show, but was beginning to get interested in a guilty pleasure kind of way).

anyway, the point is that on july 4th fox will air the 2 hours of the show that they have left. i guess there were only 6 hours filmed and produced so far, and since we have already had the first 4 hours, we can now watch the last two. this is very nice of them and all, but the problem is that won't it just leave us hanging with more questions and such?

oh well. i guess that is all we are going to get so enjoy it.

Some Pick-Ups, Cancelled Shows And Other News

just some quick notes on a few things i've heard over the last day or so in my random web surfings and news listening.

very good news:
- NBC has ordered 25 episodes of My Name Is Earl and The Office which is up from the normal 22. there will also be five hour-long The Office episodes next season
- Scrubs renewed

bad news:
- Scrubs renewed for believed to be only 18 episodes
- Studio 60 canceled: while i had problems with it and it definitely wasn't up to the high-quality of sorkin's last couple shows (The West Wing, Sports Night) it did have some very good writing, it was improving and i was interested in seeing where it could go

i don't care either way news:
- How I Met Your Mother renewed by cbs: it's pretty funny whenever i watch it, but that is rarely
- Jericho canceled by cbs: i was into it for the first few episodes but i lost interest and stopped watching about a third of the way through the season.

Terminator Coming to TV

ever since seeing Terminator 3 have you been waiting for something to come along to fill in the story gaps between the second and third films? well, you are in luck folks, because it looks pretty good that next season the fox network will bring us The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
on my film podcast "filmed but not forgotten" last week i talked about the new T4 movie that is going to be made, so for any Terminator fans who thought that T3 was the end of the line, you have a lot more T to come.

check out the rest of the article for more fox at the upfronts news.

What The Hell Is Lisi Talking About?? And Earl Wins!!!

-she gave up on the game and wimped out and now she is making no sense asking cassandra about her water shoes and all the other stuff - even jeff probst looked totally confused. it was great.

other stuff from the jury questioning:

- cassandra had the opportunity to do well since she did do the least lying and cheating, but she just couldn't answer questions. she was like a politician always coming back to her talking point "i was there for people who needed someone to talk to and listen" blah, blah, bllah!!!

- i love how everyone gets all high and mighty when they are on the jury.

- i know they have to do the final vote reveal live so that the winner doesn't leak out, but i really wish they did it on the island. it is so much more intense with all the emotions running high and such. back on the sound stage months later when everyone is clapping and the players are all cleaned up just loses much of the intensity.

congratulations earl!!!

Dreamz Kept The Necklace

holy crap!! dreamz just kept the necklace. i mean literally just said "i'm gonna keep it" - as i write this they are voting. i have to admit, i thought he was gonna give it up. what a great Survivor moment though.

holy crap!! now he voted for yau-man after telling him earlier today that if he changed his mind and kept the necklace at least he wouldn't vote for yau. ok, i guess technically he never agreed to that, he just asked why yau thought he would change his mind, but come on.

the problem with what dreamz did is that he pretty much made it sure that he wouldn't get yau-man's vote in the finals. whereas if he had kept yau in (and he had won the tie-breaker) dreamz might have been able to get cassandra's vote. maybe. and also he wouldn't have looked as bad for keeping the necklace for any jury members that that means something to.

i understand that yau is strong though and all that, but i don't know if he would have had as many votes on the jury as they all thought he would have had.


ok, now a few other comments on the show so far:

- that whole going past all the voted-off player torches and remembering them is still the low point/cheesy point of every Survivor finale

- i'm not a fan of the three people in the finals thing they are doing now. call me a traditionalist, but it should come down to 2 people not 3. and on that topic, with 9 jury members what happens if there is a tie?

- what's up with rocky always doing that tough guy walk in up the stairs when they bring the jury in?

Watch It Episode #38

The 'WATCH IT' podcast is a fun and informative (sometimes more so then others) audio podcast discussing television shows, news, opinions and whatever else comes up in the course of our humorous, combative and fun to listen to conversations...


subscribe to the podcast


Listen To 'Watch It' podcast episode #38

NEWS: Lost till 2010, Shows on and off 'the bubble', Real Wedding Crashers done, Pressly has baby boy, New NBC dating show, Veronica Mars, Notes From The Underbelly renewed, Knights Of Prosperity might come back, A bunch of new shows, MTV Rapping With The Stars, Ty Pennington problems with the law...

SHOW TALK: Miami Ink, My Name Is Earl, Hasselhoff/America's Got Talent...

Listener Email and Comments and Voice mail

Chrystina's word this week: revamped/revampness (although that isn't a word)

CHECK OUT THE LAST 5 EPISODES ON THE SIDEBAR OR HEAD ON OVER TO WATCHIT.LIBSYN.COM TO ENJOY EVERY EPISODE PAST AND PRESENT(or just subscribe and get them all right when they come out - it is all free of course)

Shows Off The Bubble

so yesterday i talked about a bunch of shows that were 'on the bubble' and then today nbc and cbs announced a couple renewals.

cbs gave the go ahead to Rules Of Engagement and The New Adventures Of Old Christine.
- i don't care. neither show is that good

nbc has renewed Friday Night Lights
- this is great news for a great show

'Boogie Nights' Earl

it may just be my televison and movie geekness, but how cool was that little ode to Boogie Nights on last nights episode of My Name Is Earl?

when earl went to see how darnell and the kids were doing without joy he walked into a scene reminiscent of the scene in Boogie Nights when dirk and his two pals go to that drug dealers house to rob him - one of the kids is eating sugar off the table through a straw and the other one is tossing snappin' poppers around the living room. not only that, but to top it off perfectly the same song is playing in the background (i think it was Sister Christian by night ranger).

last week it was Rudy and this week Boogie Nights. great show!!

Shows On "The Bubble"

i just read a little article in variety about the nbc and cbs shows that are on 'the bubble' as far as being renewed for next season goes. check it out.

here is where i stand on the shows mentioned:

Close To Home: watched it a few times, thought it was ok, but don't really care what happens to it.

Friday Night Lights: one of the best new shows of the past season this better get renewed. nbc has been cancelling shows left and right this year and to have something of this quality is worth holding on to.

Jericho: i followed this one for about the first 7 or 8 episodes, and while i was somewhat interested in the story it just didn't hold me, and eventually fell off my dvr record list.

Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent: i used to watch the former all the time and the repeats constantly when a&e had them playing multiple times per day. now i don't catch the episodes as much, but it is still a quality show. i never got into ci but have watched it on occasion and enjoyed it (d'onofrio is awesome). i have a strong attachment to the original series and i really hope they bring it back. as for ci, i could go either way.

Scrubs: one of the best sitcoms of the last 20 years, this is such a smart and funny show and i really hope it comes back. i like the fact that abc is thinking of picking it up if nbc gets stupid and drops it.

The New Adventures Of Old Christine: your standard, average sit-com. wanda sykes is funny and the best part of the few episodes i have watched.

Wedding Crashers Cancelled

i have done a lot of complaining this season about networks cancelling quality shows before they have a chance to find the audience they deserve (Day Break, The Knights Of Prosperity, The Nine, The Black Donnelley's, Smith...), however, that is not the case with The Real Wedding Crashers.

yes, that's right folks, The Real Wedding Crashers is done. that's ok though, because it wasn't that good a show anyway (check out my full review of the show if you are so inclined).

i would love to tell you that nbc had decided to bring back The Black Donnelley's in the time slot (monday night at 10pm) but instead they are going to show episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent which will then repeat in the shows regular tuesday night slot.

Kat Heads Back To L.A.

on last nights season finale of Miami Ink, kat was let go by ami and headed back to los angeles. they are both pretty stubborn and everything just finale came to a head and that was that.

now, i know there is a lot of footage that we don't get to see, but for me it just seemed a bit harsh. i was surprised that they didn't sit down and try to talk it out like friends/co-workers, especially since she is so talented and i think the others liked her. i was also surprised that garver didn't do something. he is like the 'father figure' of the bunch and the one that they all look up to, and i think if he had sat them both down and mediated an actual adult discussion earlier, things could have gone a different way. maybe.

anyway, kat is gone and it is true that she seemed to miss l.a. and talk about missing it a lot, so this might be the best in the end. and for all you other kat fans out there you can look forward to L.A. Ink on tlc in the near future.

Extreme Makeover: Jailhouse Edition?

ty pennington isn't going to jail, but he did spend a couple hours at the los angeles county jail before posting $5000 bail after being arrested for suspicion of drunk driving.

he of course apologized (like celebrities are so good at doing these days when they screw up) and told Extra, "Under no circumstances should anyone consume alcohol while driving. I could have jeopardized the lives of others and I am grateful there was no accident or harm done to anyone. This was my wake-up call. I also want to apologize to my fans, ABC Television and my design team for my lapse in judgment and the embarrassment I have caused."

he has a court date set for june 4th.

FX Is All Set

fx began its life years ago as a run-of-the-mill cable channel showing 20th century fox movies and reruns of fox television shows (i'm talking about after the whole fx live and interactive thing before that). however, today it has created quite a line-up of original programming that is second to none (not even hbo).

i bring this up in the context of the network just having announced a second season pickup of both Dirt (haven't watched it yet) and The Riches (great show). not only that, but they have also set their schedule for the rest of 07-08 as far as their other shows go as well. - check out a few more details here.

Lost Sets An End Date

i really appreciate it when a show can end the way it is supposed to, the way the creators intended for it to end. Lost is going to get one such ending.

it has been announced that the producers of the show and abc have signed a deal that will keep the show on the air for three more 16-episode seasons. everyone seems happy with the deal and it means they can conclude the series the way they always intended which i am very happy to see, since it doesn't always end up that way (shows get canceled, initial creators leave a show, etc). the producers have said that from the beginning they saw the show as about a 90-100 hour series, and with the upcoming 48 hours they will end up with a total of 119.

yes, 16 episodes is a short season compared to the 20-24 that usually make up a network show, however, they will be presented in full blocks without repeats and/or season breaks. So, in 2010 all will finally be revealed.

Watch It Episode #37

The 'WATCH IT' podcast is a fun and informative (sometimes more so then others) audio podcast discussing television shows, news, opinions and whatever else comes up in the course of our humorous, combative and fun to listen to conversations...


subscribe to the podcast


Listen To Watch It podcast episode #37

NEWS: Tom Poston Died, Paris Hilton going to jail, DeGeneres injured, Modine Joining Weeds, Gilmore Girls canceled, British 'Peep Show' coming to America, Rescue Me returns in June, GSN salutes Bob Barker, Seymore Butts hates sleeves...

SHOW TALK: My Name Is Earl, The Real Wedding Crashers, Thank God You're Here...

"Interesting" Listener Email And Comments

Email: watchitpodcast at gmail.com

Chrystina's Word This Week: Peanut Butter

CHECK OUT THE LAST 5 EPISODES ON THE SIDEBAR OR HEAD ON OVER TO WATCHIT.LIBSYN.COM TO ENJOY EVERY EPISODE PAST AND PRESENT(or just subscribe and get them all right when they come out - it is all free of course)

What Does Seymore Butts Have Against Sleeves?

check out the deals on Family Business on DVD

adam glasser aka. seymore butts is one of the biggest and best producers, directors and distributors of adult entertainment around. while he has been in the business for about 13 years, his pop culture recognition has gone up quite a bit over the last few years with his reality show on showtime called Family Business, which follows him as he searches for love, raises his son and works with his family (his 60-year-old cousin and his mother both work with him).

it's a fun, often funny 'behind-the-scenes' show, and it does give you an interesting look into the adult industry that isn't the stereotype. it shows you that there are many normal, smart, non-drug addicted people in the business who love their families and are good people. sometimes it tends to feel really set-up, and by that i mean that some scenes almost feel performed just for the camera (not as bad as on The Hills though, so don't worry), but that doesn't take away from the show too much.

grade: B

anyway, so i was watching an episode of the show today and i noticed something that has been bugging me ever since i started watching the show... adam glasser hates sleeves! i know that is a bold statement, but if you have ever watched the show you must of noticed that the guy is always wearing tops with cut off sleeves. on the episode i was watching today, the crew heads to the caribbean to do promotion and shoot a movie. in the opening scene, adam is packing, and as the camera comes into the room he is folding a sleeveless shirt and putting it into a suitcase filled with other sleeveless/cut off sleeve shirts.

i don't know if adam was hurt by a sleeve when he was a kid, but for whatever reason they are just not a part of his clothing repertoire.

ER Is Strong And Healthy As Ever

ER on DVD

this week ER began its may sweeps with a wedding episode. the wedding episode is a sweep month classic, but not one that always gets me that excited. the ER one this week, however, was great. the surprise wedding factor, the touching vows, the a-bit-over-the-top rabbi, nilla and the 'shocking' end all made it one really good episode.

but, that is something i have come to expect from ER over the course of its 13 seasons (yup, they are in season 13 right now). i will admit that there were a few years there, around seasons 6 thru 8 that i didn't really watch the show much if at all, but i started getting back into it about 5 years ago and have been a loyal viewer ever since.

like Law & Order, ER has gone through many cast changes over the course of its run and like Law & Order it has remained a strong show. you would have thought that loosing george clooney and dr. green and all those original cast members would have meant the end of the show, but instead it has kept going and, for the most part, not missed a beat. goran visnjic as dr. kovac is really good and a strong presence on the screen. his character alone has gone through so much over the years and has remained interesting and real. the same goes for so many of the other performers and characters. then this season with the addition of john stamos things have just kept going.

with a show like ER that has been around for so long it gets easy to rely on an audiences long connection with the characters and assume that that will sustain the show. thankfully the writers haven't gotten lazy and have continued to develop interesting stories and situations, from the powerful and, for many, eye-opening episodes about the situation in darfur, africa to the goings on at the er.

the preview for next week's episode told us that stanley tucci would be joining the show as the new er chief (he probably still has all his doctor stuff for his quickly canceled show 3 LBS that aired 2 or 3 times earlier this season). looks like its gonna be good.

grade: A-

Desperate Houswives Review

Desperate Housewives - The Complete First Season
Desperate Housewives - The Complete Second Season

i have made references to Desperate Housewives in past posts but i thought it was time to write up an 'official' review and grade this puppy.

for me Desperate Housewives has gone through three stages which coincide with their three seasons how shocking)...

season one: the show becomes a breakout phenomenon. the show takes a darkly comic tone on the goings on at wisteria lane beginning on the day one of its residents (mary alice young) kills herself. what made the first season so much fun for me was the mystery of why she killed herself. each week, while we are also following the four main 'housewives' in their stories the show is also giving us clues as to what happened that led up to the tragedy. the problem was that at the end of the season we knew it all. the whole mystery that had brought us in and kept us watching was over. (A-)

season two: having finished with the mystery the show felt like it didn't really know what to do with itself and season two fell pretty flat. there were multiple new mysteries and story lines, but really nothing was as interesting as what we had been introduced to in season one. it was turning into a regular prime-time soap and losing the originality and flavour that had made it stand out in the first place. (C+)

season three: although i keep hearing rumours that they are going to give mary alice more screen time and do something with her character (yes, i know she is dead), that still hasn't happened and she is still relegated to her voice over observations about life and the people on wisteria lane (which are great by the way. maybe the best voice-overs on tv along with j.d. on Scrubs, but way ahead of meredith grey on Grey's Anatomy). anyway, so with mary alice in the background the show seems to have settled into its prime-time soap opera vibe with all the sex, death, mysteries and crazy plot lines that we have come to expect from these types of shows.

i wish they had kept up the underlying mystery from season one longer - for example: in Lost they have maintained an over reaching mystery about the island and why they are there since the pilot episode. sure they reveal new mysteries and solve others, but there is always that sense that the show is heading somewhere that we don't know yet. - it might not be totally fair to compare the two shows like that, but that is the sense i had for Desperate Housewives during season one, and i liked it.

I do like the show. it is a fun hour every sunday night, and although i personally would have liked to see them follow through more on what the show felt like in season one, the writing is good and they do seem a lot more comfortable with what they are becoming now then they were last season.

grade: B

The Two Funniest Hours On Television Ever

it is a bold statement, but i stated in a few podcasts and in a post a few days ago that nbc's current thursday night two-hour comedy block is the funniest 2 hour block of tv ever. there have been other very funny shows on television past and present but never on one night one after the other like My Name Is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs.

all four shows are original single camera shows (not filmed in front of an audience) that are consistently smart, sometimes touching and always funny. there are always multiple laugh-out-loud moments in each show every week. the humor on all four shows goes all over the place and varies from high-brow wit to fart jokes and even slapstick.

the acting is also great and it doesn't stop at just the stars of the shows. sure jason lee, steve carell, tina fey, zach braff and the other lead actors are great, but so is the actress that plays the latina maid on My name Is Earl, the todd on Scrubs and so many others.

nbc has had some great comedies on thursday nights before (Cheers, Seinfeld, Frasier, the Cosby Show, Friends, Will & Grace, etc), but they have always had to throw mediocre filler shows in between the good ones (Four Kings, Veronicas Closet, Coupling, Suddenly Susan, Jesse, etc). now there is no filler, just two-hours of high-quality comedy television.

i talked, a few days ago, about how scrubs might not get renewed for next season. i really hope it does, because it just wouldn't be right to break up such a beautiful thing just yet, especially since nbc announced plans to bring 30 Rock back strong next season.

Grades:
- My Name Is Earl: A
- The Office: A+
- 30 Rock: A
- Scrubs: A+

My Name Is Rudy

what a great My Name Is Earl we got tonight. i didn't have the laugh n' sniff card so i couldn't do that part of it, but the show was still great. in this episode earl gets a job as a loader at an appliance store but wants to become a salesman. the show does a whole 'Rudy'(like the movie) thing as earl tries to do what no docker has ever done before. not only that, but they had Rudy actors charles s. dutton and rudy himself sean astin there as well. very funny stuff, and the scene at the end when all the dockers come in to the bosses office one at a time just like the players did in the movie was great.

Who Needs A Tan?

the e! entertainment chanel has announced a new nonscripted show called Sunset Tan that will premier at 10:30 on may 28th after the premier of the latest Simple Life season.

the show takes place in a tanning salon and will follow the staff and clients. it sounds like Miami Ink but in a tanning salon and without talented artists.

two things caught my eye when i read the article about the show in variety today.

1) first was the fact that they called it a nonscripted comic sudser. no i don't mean their corny use of the word 'sudser' rather then soap. i am reffering to the fact that they are calling it a comedy. i love how these shows are all 'reality/nonscripted' and yet it can be a comedy or drama or something else i guess. this goes to show how important editing and 'writing' is on these reality shows with their ability to turn the show into whatever they want it to be really.

2) the second thing that caught my attention was the fact that The Simple Life is coming back for another season. are people really still watching that show?

Goodbye Girls

Get The Gilmore Girls on DVD

yup, the Gilmore Girls has been officially cancelled by the cw. i have never followed the show, but whenever i did catch an episode here and there i thought it was actually pretty good. nevertheless this current seaon will be its last.

the only thing that struck me when i heard about this was that given that the season is already pretty much done will they be able to end the show properly, which is something i feel very strongly about. i am thinking though, that since the possible renewal of the show has been on the fence for a while now that they had probably set it up so that they could end the show properly at the end of this current season.

a statment was released saying that they "promise to give this series the send off it deserves".

These Aren't Fake Wedding Crashers

i was going to post my review of The Real Wedding Crashers after watching the first episode, but after watching the episode i really wanted to watch the second one before putting my thoughts down on 'electronic' paper to see if my issues with the show still held true after another episode. now that episode two has aired (a couple nights ago) i am ready to go....

The Real Wedding Crashers is a hidden camera comedy show in which a group of five improv comics crash a wedding and hilarity ensues. see, now that actually sounds like a funny concept, but that isn't exactly how the show plays out.

what really happens for most of the show is that we see flash back punk'd type tricks that the crew played on certain members of the wedding party, like the best man, grooms friend, father of the bride, brides maid, etc... what the show does is put us at the wedding, show us these characters and then show us video of the trick they pulled on them.

now i will say that some of these tricks are pretty funny stuff, like when they tented the wedding hall and pretended that it was being fumigated for termites and spiders the day before the wedding. the 'crashers' are good at what they do and i like how they give a little wink to the camera at the end of each 'scene'.

while most of the show is made up of showing us how they 'crashed' each of the individual victims, there is some crashing that goes on at the wedding itself. like the wiater who takes the plates away before the people are even closed to being finished, or the 'date' that shows up in a wedding dress (that was very funny).

my issue with the show is that there isn't enough of the actual wedding crashing, and instead it is more like individual crashing with a little wedding crashing thrown in. at the end of the show the crashers go up on stage and announce that 'this wedding has been crashed' and everyone is seen laughing and being shocked (and happy that what had happend had been on purpose with the blessing of the bride and groom who are always in on it), but except for the 3 or 4 main people that they pulled pranks on it just doesn't seem like everyone else gets that 'crashed' and it all feels like a bit of a let down from the promised 'real wedding crashers'.

also,the show is too long at an hour and would be much tighter at a half-hour long, and they should decide what kind of show they want to be. not that nbc asked me, but this is what i think they should do (and actually what i thought the show was really going to be)...

they have to tighten it up: i say go all out and make it a half hour of just at-the-wedding crashing stuff. the performers are great, and when they do get the entire wedding involved in thier crashing it can be funny. As it is now, however, it is too long and just doesn't have enough to make the payoff worthwhile.

grade: C+