I’m not sure how I’m only just discovering the existence of this failed pilot now, but, in ’91, Adam West had a shot at comedy immortality with a sitcom that was written and produced by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel. Foolishly, NBC took a pass on the series, but after you watch below, I dare say you’ll wonder why. It’s one of those concepts that, while you sense it might not have held up for more than a season, that one season would’ve been the stuff of legend…
Author: Will Harris (Page 202 of 261)
Will is a member of the Television Critics Association and has written for Decider.com, the Onion A.V. Club, The Dissolve, Indiewire, Rhino.com, TV Week Magazine, The Virginian-Pilot, Popdose.com, and EW.com along with writing for Bullz-Eye.com and Premium Hollywood.
According to the fine folks at TVSeriesFinale.com, there are reports that Disney has recently completed a presentation pilot for a new “Muppets” series.
Again.
You might have heard the rumors awhile back about a contemplated series called “America’s Next Muppet,” which would’ve put the Muppets in a reality-styled show; well, apparently, a pilot was completed for the series in 2004, but it came to naught. This time, the presentation pilot – about ten minutes – pitches the idea of a “Muppets” miniseries which would be spot in mockumentary style, a la “The Office,” and would follow Kermit as he travels around the country to find his old gang and put together a new “Muppet Show.” Details are sketchy about the current fates of the various characters, but I laughed out loud at the suggestion that Fozzie Bear is now a solo stand-up comedian…after having spent a year as a staff writer for “Moesha.”
Come on, people. We’ve never needed the Muppets more than we do now.
And, y’know, not that we’re rushing you, but how about giving us Season 2 of the original “Muppet Show,” huh? We’ve been waiting for-freaking-EVER…!
Maybe it’s just because I’ve had a lot going on in my life for the past month or so, but it really seems like forever since the last new episode of “Heroes” aired; I almost feel like this should be the second season rather than just a continuation of the first. Wisely, the producers of the show made the decision to let a certain amount of time pass on the show as well…two weeks, to be precise.
Peter spends most of this episode in the hospital, where he’s been since almost immediately after his collapse at the end of Week 11, with his mother, his brother, and the object of his affection – that’d be Simone – variously standing by his bedside. He’s being barraged with reruns of the vision he had in episode 11, which eventually lead him to awaken, scream like a fucking banshee, then sneak out and decide that he needs to leave town for the sake of New York. (I laughed when he mused, “So they did the nuclear testing in Nevada, right?”) Before he can skip, however, he runs across a strange man – played by the 9th Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston – who possesses the power of invisibility as well as some possible mental problems.
Niki and Jessica are now battling each other constantly, to the point where they bounce back and forth. It’s solid acting by Ali Larter as she flips from one personality to the other – her freak-out when she can’t hug Micah is particularly fantastic – and it’s disconcerting enough just for me as a viewer that it was a given that she’d end up in a psych ward. Presumably she’ll sneak out quickly…but in the meantime, at least she got in that kick-ass episode-closer of a line. Meanwhile, D.L. apparently owes Mr. Linderman a favor despite having returned his money, which you know he’ll call in soon. I’m not ecstatic about the newly-minted subplot of Micah having problems at school, however; it seems like maybe they’re stretching things too thin.
Claire seems to be successfully pulling one over on her father, keeping him convinced that she did indeed have her memories wiped by Brother Voodoo. It seems risky for her to be meeting with BV on a regular basis…but not as risky, mind you, as her trying to rekindle her friendship with Zack. (Brother Voodoo does confirm, alas, that he cannot return the memories of those he’s wiped.)
So Sylar didn’t manage to escape after slaying Eve. We don’t get much of an impression that he’s capable of any sudden moves…but count on him making a major comeback much sooner than later.
Matt’s battle with Claire’s dad is really escalating, to the point where his association with the FBI is pretty much dead in the water. If he’s going to continue his obsession, it’s going to go badly, I feel certain…unless, that is, Brother Voodoo decides that it might be worth his while to bring Matt into his confidence. On a confidence-related note, surely it’s gonna bite Matt in the ass that he’s told his wife of his mind-reading abilities.
Hiro finally gets to meet the dinosaur while holding his sword aloft…except the dinosaur is in a museum, and the sword is a fake…but just when you think it’s gonna be a complete anticlimax, we get the reveal that the actual sword is in the possession of the elusive Mr. Linderman. It’s an interesting development that Hiro’s powers have declined dramatically over the past two weeks; the big question is, will the sword really assist him in getting back to full strength…? The conversation Hiro has with Nathan is hilarious, particularly the bit where Hiro can’t pronounce “villain” properly.
And the tension between Mohinder and Claire’s dad is palpable. I’m hoping we get more from Monider in the coming weeks; it feels like most of his appearances lately have been really short.
My last observation is that the segment with the new hero – the bit that was used as a tease to get people to watch the episode of “Deal or No Deal” that aired immediately before “Heroes” – felt tacked on. I mean, I’m curious about this chick, ’cause her powers are definitely cool, but it seemed like NBC demanded that the producers give them something for that teaser segment and they said, “Well, we don’t want to give away any of the ongoing plot points, so here’s a fresh one that people won’t really care about.”
But that’s just a minor annoyance. Overall, it was a damned fine return, “Heroes.” It’s good to have Must-See Mondays back.
…but, apparently, they do still hawk popcorn.
I’m sorry, but this is just creepy. It’s like the animated version of Colonel Sanders, but taken to the next, more disconcerting level.
Another posting to clean house of 2006 releases in this, the first month of 2007. This time, it’s a trio of DVDs that didn’t fit properly into my last posting, since those were / are regular weekly series.
Broken Trail: A 2-part Western – 184 minutes – that originally aired on American Movie Classics, starring Robert Duvall, Thomas Haden Church, and Greta Sacchi, among others. Not everybody enjoys a good Western, but make no mistake, this is a good Western. Then again, it’s not exactly the first time Duvall has been in the saddle (he was fantastic in Kevin Costner’s “Open Range”), and although he was still pretty much a nobody at the time, Church was actually in “Tombstone,” playing Billy Clanton. It also doesn’t hurt “Broken Trail” any that it was helmed by Arthur Hill, who also directed “Wild Bill” and “Geromino: An American Legend.” I mean, hey, who better to tell a cowboys and Indians story, right? Anyway, it might feel a bit long at times, but the performances and scenery make “Broken Trail” absolutely worth renting for fans of the genre.
The Hades Factor: Stephen Dorff and Mira Sorvino take you on a journey through a Robert Ludlum novel that, on occasion, feels much longer than 165 minutes. Blair Underwood, Colm Meaney, and Anjelica Huston are around to class up the joint a bit, but somebody should’ve done some serious streamlining; as it is, “The Hades Factor” is a drag.
Mrs. Harris: And I’m almost ashamed to admit that I feel much the same way about this made-for-HBO film starring Ben Kingsley and Annette Bening. It just did nothing for me, despite the fact that it won an Emmy. Sorry, I just found it to be a snooze.
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