Month: February 2009 (Page 5 of 23)

Adam Carolla, Joel McHale to star in pilots

February 24, 2009 /

Los Angeles radio station 97.1 switched from an all-talk format to top 40, so Adam Corolla (who replaced Howard Stern when he moved to Sirius) was out of a job. It turns out that his unemployment only lasted about a day…

Carolla will star in CBS’ pilot Ace in the Hole as a family man who works days as a driving instructor, reports Variety. He’s re-teaming with former Man Show writer Kevin Hench on the comedy.

Joel McHale (right, host of “The Soup”) also looks to get into the sitcom game…

After being pursued by networks for some time now, McHale has finally settled on a project. He’ll star in Community, a comedy pilot over at NBC, as a lawyer who goes to community college after learning he needs more credits for a real college degree, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

As host of E!’s The Soup, McHale–a favorite around these parts–had been courted by networks as a talk-show host but instead was looking for an acting gig. If this works out, E! will have a heck of a time finding a replacement.

I’ve been watching “The Soup” for a while now, and there’s no doubt that McHale has talent. I understand the networks’ desire to give him a talk show, but he may use that as a backup plan if he can’t make it as an actor. The premise of the show — a lawyer who has to return to community college — does show some promise.

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, Humor, Stand-Up Comics, TV, TV Comedies

24 7.10: Death becomes her, and her

February 23, 2009 /

The only way tonight’s episode of “24” could have been more ludicrous is if it featured a special appearance by Ludacris. Scene after scene contained moments of jaw-dropping ridonculousness (yes, Will, I said it again), be it the dialogue – when Tina’s sister shrieked “You killed her!” at Jackie Bauer, I actually said, “Oh, fuck you” back at the screen – or the laughable attempt by Billy Walsh to frame Erika for everything. I’m actually sad that Erika is dead, because after she had the meltdown in the bathroom, I came up with the perfect nickname for her: Beaker.

Billy Walsh is a dumb, mother, fucker. He kills Beaker, and then shoots himself in an attempt to frame her for everything, without a thought about fingerprints, powder burns, etc. Nope, just toss the gun in her general direction, that should be enough to fool the freaking FBI. Can you picture Gil Grissom investigating that scene? He’d look at the Feds and say, “You’re joking, right?” And if I’m Dudley Do-Right, I don’t care what kind of yarn Billy spins for me; dude is the only living witness to a crime scene. Get his arm patched up, and send him straight to Interrogation Room A to make his “statement.” Don’t forget the pliers and a blowtorch.

Ah, but Beaker wasn’t the only one to bite it this week. Tina does something completely reckless and downright heroic by causing Ike Turner’s driver to crash. (I love how Jack was already pulling the trigger as he was yelling “Put your hands on your head!” at the driver.) Did anyone else find it strange, though, that Tina went from conscious to dead faster than it would take to actually shoot someone to death? Jackie gave up on trying to revive her almost as soon as she started CPR. She made this big scene – several scenes, in fact – about how she said she would protect Tina, yet you wouldn’t have known it from her half-assed attempt to resuscitate her. They should have had her go all Ed Harris in “The Abyss” on Tina. “Fight! Fight!” (*slaps Tina*) That would have been both awesome and fitting, since her character is experiencing all sorts of rage and conflict.

“Listen, baby, I love you for helping me betray our country, but there’s no way I’m leaving my wife for you. Have you seen her? She’s hot. And you talk like a muppet.”

So they kill Beaker and Tina, but First Daughter Olivia Taylor continues to live and breathe. If anyone is looking for proof on why life isn’t fair, there it is. The scene between her and Mommy Dearest was hilarious, with Olivia acting like a sullen teenager. For a minute, I could have sworn that Olivia was even holding her breath, and man, was I hoping that Madame Prez would call her on it. “You realize that I have the power to bring a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘You’re grounded,’ right?”

So the slap fight between Jack and Jackie didn’t end in rough sex, as one commenter predicted, but it actually ended better than that. Is there anyone who is on Jackie’s side of this debate? I know I’m not, and I loved Jack telling her in not so many words, “We have a shitty job to do, so suck it up or quit.” Are we supposed to take her declaration that she was prepared to shoot him as foreshadowing? Ah, who am I kidding. This show never follows up on any of the seeds it plants. Remember Jack’s “nephew” from last season?

This week’s Big Reveal is that the young punk running point on this whole campaign is none other than the assistant to Senator Blaine “my name is a major appliance” Mayer (henceforth known as Senator Red Forman). A brilliant move on the writers’ part, actually, since his boss already wants Jack Bauer behind bars. Still, you had to love the look on his face right before the final clock, when he realized that he was about to be in the line of fire. Hey, if you’re going to commit high treason against your country, be prepared to make some sacrifices.

My wife did not like the conversation between Tony and Jack on the steps. Tony seemed a little off to her, and I see what she means. Could they be opening the door for Tony to still be a bad guy? I hope not, for a couple of reasons, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. And as Inigo Montoya once said, I hate waiting.

Lastly, the selfish writing staff of “24” are getting stingy with the ‘Damn its.’ Only one this week (Beaker). Don’t they realize that people are playing a drinking game to their show? Come on, guys, do your job.

24, TV, TV Action

Heroes 3.17 – Let’s do right or let’s just say we’re through…

February 23, 2009 /

Last week’s “Heroes” ended with HRG taking a swig of his drink and, at least to the untrained eye (i.e., mine), his sudden wooziness made it appear that he’d been slipped a fast-acting mickey. Maybe he had been drugged…or, then again, maybe he was under the influence of Matt Parkman’s heavy-duty mental powers. It was hard to tell at the time. Whichever the case, the result was the same: the guy went down, and he went down hard. The next thing you know, he’s being dragged out by Parkman, Mohinder, and Peter Petrelli.

What we learn at the beginning of this week’s episode, however, is how this plan came into being. Unsurprisingly, it’s Matt who’s the mastermind of the goings-on…and, of course, I say “unsurprisingly” because he’s clearly royally pissed off about Daphne being taken down a few episodes ago. I had to laugh at how typically wishy-washy Pete was, though. First, he’s wondering about the issue of drugging him, asking Matt uncertainly, “Can’t you just read his mind and get what we need that way?” But ten seconds later, when Mohinder chimes in about his own issues with the kidnapping aspects, Pete confidently counters, “I don’t like it, either, but this way it gives us answers.” Damn, Petrelli, I’ve heard of getting with the plan, but that’s gotta be some kind of record!

In short, these three stooges (Mohinder, Larry, and Curly?) spiked HRG’s Scotch with a pharmaceutical agent that would enable Parkman’s abilities to penetrate all of Noah’s psychological training and get the answers they want about what’s going on with Nathan’s big governmental crackdown on America’s heroes.

What do they discover? Only the best chapter of the “Fugitives” saga to date…and, I feel comfortable arguing, the most impressive episode we’ve gotten in Season 3, period.

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Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Richard Roeper on the Oscars

February 23, 2009 /

Richard Roeper nailed all the major categories and was 21 for 24 in his predictions. He sums up the night in his latest blog.

Who knows if Mickey Rourke’s offscreen antics cost him the Best Actor trophy. More likely, Academy voters felt Sean Penn’s performance in “Milk” was more likely to resonate through the ages. Both actors played charming, doomed characters, but Harvey Milk was a real-life crusader, whereas the wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson was a fictional creation. We felt empathy for Rourke’s character, despite his self-destructive and self-loathing ways—but we felt inspired by Penn’s Harvey Milk. The roles themselves might have given Penn the edge.

I love Kate Winslet but I didn’t love “The Reader.” She was fine in a supporting role, but she was unforgettable in her much larger role in “Revolutionary Road.” Heath Ledger’s performance was Oscar-worthy. The tragedy of his death was reflected in the faces of all those talented actors who worked with him or knew him or simply appreciated his gifts. Penelope Cruz had a showcase role in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and she hit it out of the park. Like Dianne Weist and Mira Sorvino, she is also the beneficiary of a Woody Allen screenplay.

“Slumdog Millionaire” was the best movie of 2008 and one of the best 100 films I’ve ever seen. I’m thrilled for the film, the cast and of course for Best Director winner Danny Boyle.

As for the show: Hugh Jackman did a fine job in a couple of lavish and slightly wacky production numbers, and then he seemed to disappear in the second half, as is usually the case with hosts. I can’t imagine that he’d ever want to take on the job again. The ratings won’t be great, but the Oscars will still bring in more viewers than the Grammys and the Emmys combined. Until/unless they cut the ceremony to two hours and eliminate the broadcast of the “minor” categories, the numbers will continue to go down. When the viewers at home have never heard of the winner onstage, have never seen his film and have never heard of any of the people he’s thanking—that’s not timeless TV.

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