Category: TV Comedies (Page 34 of 154)

Curb Your Enthusiasm 7.9 — The Table Read

November 16, 2009 /

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Larry David doesn’t care about transcending the real world for the sake of perverse comedy. (Note: I said perverse comedy. Larry is reaching into more unsavory realms this season.) Since the show is filmed like a home video and the characters speak like you and I, we as an audience often attempt to relate to the plots. Nevertheless, as much as we push to find the realism in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — as close as we get to thinking, I would do the same thing! — Larry can effortlessly shatter the correlation.

So, when Larry’s casting director casually informs him that her daughter has “a rash on her pussy,” we know we’re visiting another universe. As the episode carries on, Larry repeatedly receives text message from Emma, the little girl. Try as he may to end the correspondence, Larry is deterred by her persistence and cuteness. When Larry visits his doctor (because of a rash he likely got from Emma), we fully appreciate our view from home.

Doctor: Well, do you have any idea how you may have gotten this rash?
Larry: I’ve been seeing this nine year-old girl and she kinda has a rash on her pussy. Uh, I took her to lunch the other day and we had a fight. We made up and we hugged. It’s gotta be her.
(Larry receives a text.)
Larry: Yeah, that’s her now.
Doctor: Her.
Larry: She’s so cute. We text all the time. For a while we weren’t but we’re back on now, so…

The doctor tells his assistant to call the police. Larry’s performance in the doctor’s office was perfect and will go down as one of my favorite scenes from “Curb.” His maniacal laughter at the end over the closing credits is priceless.

Thankfully, this episode of “Curb” finally gets the “Seinfeld” reunion off the ground. We watch as the cast rehearses the fictional reunion. This was a true joy as the script actually sounded really funny. Of course, there are some problems on the set — problems similar to the ones the real Larry David probably encountered while shooting his old show. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander immediately question Cheryl’s acting credentials; Marty Funkhauser shows up uninvited and tells Jerry a filthy joke; during the table read, Jason Alexander molests a pen he borrowed from Larry. This all happens in the opening scene and unravels at a comfortable pace over the next 36 minutes. Yes, this episode is quite a bit longer than most. Since “The Table Read” is so focused on the construction of the reunion, the weaker storylines are excusable. This serves as a reminder that “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is indeed a show about Larry David. Thus, his disagreements with the maitre d’ and Emma were vital.

I’ve previously pointed out that Larry is in practically every scene from “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I closely examine those rare instances when he’s absent as the show briefly takes a detour from Larry’s brilliantly preculiar point of view. Although the scenes feel unhinged without his presence, they’re a breath of fresh air. With that in mind, Michael Richards and Leon deserve a bulk of the credit for making “The Table Read” a great episode.

We suspected Larry David would incorporate Richards’ mistake from three years ago, when Richards insulted an African American heckler during his comedy routine. I don’t know why I never thought Leon would get involved.

But I’m happy he did as the results were hysterical. In the opening scene, Michael tells Larry that he’s contracted the fictional Groat’s Disease. He’s worried that it will affect his performance. In response, Larry tries to set up a meeting with an accountant named Danny Duberstein, a longtime Groat’s Disease sufferer. Unfortunately, Duberstein has died from Groat’s, so Larry looks to Leon for help. He wants Leon to visit Michael and pretend to be Duberstein.

Later in the episode, Leon, dressed more like Louis Farrakhan from the Nation of Islam than a Jewish accountant, manages to convince Michael that he’ll be fine. It doesn’t take too long for Michael to discover that Leon is full of crap. Confronting Leon, Michael has every right to be angry, but he stops short of using any harsh insults because of his past. As various onlookers remove their cell phones to capture a potential meltdown, Michael departs in a frenzy.

Shortly after Michael Richards’ real-life scandal, he apologized on “Letterman” and spent weeks groveling in front of the African American community. That’s all but forgotten now and I don’t really know how people currently feel about this talented actor. Nevertheless, last night’s episode of “Curb” gave audiences a glimpse at the repercussions of Richards’ outburst. He can never screw up again and must always be on his toes. Isn’t that punishment enough? Given his willingness to skewer his own troublesome past on “Curb,” he’s obviously moving in the right direction. He has Larry David to thank for that.

Curb Your Enthusiasm, TV, TV Comedies

The Return of Bullz-Eye’s TV Power Rankings

November 13, 2009 /

Ever since the writers’ strike, the television industry has been in a state of flux. Most networks still can’t figure out what works from what doesn’t, while the current economic climate has forced others to simply give up. Whether or not “The Jay Leno Show” is a success for NBC is debatable, but by surrendering the 10 p.m. time slot, they’ve greatly decreased their chances of bringing in new viewers. We would be exaggerating if we said the decision affected Bullz-Eye’s latest edition of the TV Power Rankings, but our Winter 2009 list does seem suspiciously familiar. Still, it isn’t without its surprises, as a longtime favorite returned from an extended hiatus to claim the top spot, while buzzworthy rookies like “Glee” and “FlashForward” also made impressive Top 10 debuts. At the end of the day, however, the real winner is HBO, who walked away with three of the four top spots, thus reestablishing themselves as the best network around.

A few examples from the piece:


5. Glee (Fox): There isn’t a show on this list that we love and hate with the same enthusiasm that we have for “Glee.” It contains some of the best-drawn characters in Fox’s history (aspiring diva Rachel Berry, adorable germaphobe Emma Pillsbury, cantankerous alpha female Sue Sylvester), and the iTunes chart-burning musical numbers, lip synching aside, are deliriously fun. Imagine, then, if they didn’t make these characters jump through such ridiculous hoops. Will’s wife is actually going to take her fake pregnancy to term? Emma agrees to marry Ken, but only as long as they never tell a soul? (Those plot threads brought to you by Bad Idea Jeans.) Yet for each blunder the show makes, they come up with something as brilliantly funny as Finn’s technique for not climaxing (he thinks about the time when he hit the mailman with his car), or the drama queen freak show that is Sandy Ryerson (a pitch-perfect Stephen Tobolowsky). Getting Josh Groban to do a cameo as a horndog version of himself, meanwhile – and hit on Will’s drunk mother – was a moment of “Arrested Development”-style genius. Yes, it’s made mistakes, but “Glee” gets a spot in our Top Five because no other show on TV sports dialogue like “mentally ill ginger pygmy with eyes like a bush baby.” But man, it would be a wonderful world if they did. – David Medsker

15. Dexter (Showtime): Like “The Sopranos,” Dexter always has a theme that is explored within a season as a backdrop to the episodic progression of the show. Last season, it examined friendship within the context of Dexter’s secret world, and Jimmy Smits was brilliant as his first and only pal. This year explores the facets of intimate relationships, and balancing work and the rest of your life as it relates to it. Dexter (played with brilliant sincerity and conviction by Michael C. Hall) is struggling to find balance between his work as a blood splatter analyst, a new dad of an infant, stepfather to his wife’s kids, and his hobby of killing and dismembering other bad guys, while his entertainingly foul-mouthed sister Deb implodes the most stable relationship of her life when she sleeps with returning lover and retired FBI agent Frank Lundy. John Lithgow is also scary good as the Trinity Killer, the latest object of Dexter’s attention. When Trinity kills Lundy and wounds Deb while making it look like another killer’s signature, Dex is commanded by the ghost of Harry to seek revenge, making this season as entertaining as any in the past – no easy feat considering how consistently good this show has been. – R. David Smola

Honorable Mention – Cougar Town (ABC): Yeah, yeah, we know: the title’s a bit dodgy. But Bill Lawrence, who co-created the show with Kevin Biegel, has said, “The roll of the dice I’ve made is that the title is noisy and that people will be aware of this show.” True enough, though the fact that the series stars Courtney Cox would’ve probably done a pretty decent job of putting it on people’s radar, anyway. The pilot alone was strong enough to suggest that “Cougar Town” could prove to be the perfect series for female viewers who’ve outgrown “Sex and the City,” but with enough of a dysfunctional family element to fit perfectly into the closing slot in ABC’s new Wednesday night comedy line-up. Although the show continues to hone its comedic formula, the trio of Cox, Christa Miller and Busy Philipps clicked immediately (particularly the latter two, with their characters’ diametrically opposed personalities), and the relationship between the teenaged Travis and his man-child of a father rings true with its blend of unconditional love and complete embarrassment. Now that Jules’s fling with Josh is over, however, we’re curious to see who’ll be next on her slate to date — and how long this one will last. – Will Harris

Returning in 2010 – Lost (ABC): Here we are, folks. After five seasons of confusing viewers with one of the most elaborate mythologies on television, “Lost” is finally in the home stretch. Want to know what the heck that smoke monster really is? How about the weird statue? Heck, what about the Dharma Initiative itself? All will supposedly be revealed in the sixth and final season of one of the smartest, most fearless shows network television has ever bothered to offer. Of course, this being “Lost,” we still have something to bitch about – namely, that the goddamn Olympics will interrupt the show’s final 18 episodes – but if we’ve waited this long to determine the ultimate fate of our favorite island castaways, what’s a few weeks of curling and cross-country skiing? We’ve all had our issues with the way “Lost” has unfolded over the years, and the show isn’t the phenomenon it was in its first couple of seasons. To cop one of the fall’s most popular phrases, though, this is it – and if there’s ever been a serialized drama with the guts to stick the landing and make its finale truly count, we’re betting it’s “Lost.” – Jeff Giles

Check out Bullz-Eye’s TV Power Rankings in their entirety by clicking here or on the big-arse graphic you see before you. Also, be sure to check out the accompanying interviews with folks associated with the various shows, including David Goyer (“FlashForward”), Kurt Sutter (“Sons of Anarchy”), Jonathan Ames (“Bored to Death”), and Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”).

Did any of your favorite shows miss the cut? Let us know by replying below!

24, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Doctor Who, Entourage, External Entertainment, External TV, Friday Night Lights, Lost, Mad Men, News, Reality TV, Rescue Me, Sons of Anarchy, South Park, The Office, True Blood, TV, TV Action, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Reality, TV Sci-Fi

Curb Your Enthusiasm 7.8 — Officer Krupke

November 9, 2009 /

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They are really turning Jeff into a jerk. In the season premiere, Jeff slept with a mental patient named Bam Bam, played by Catherine O’Hara. Jeff has also alluded to other instances of cheating, indicating that he has probably been unhappy in his marriage with Susie for quite some time. “Officer Krupke” begins with Susie finding another woman’s panties in Jeff’s glove compartment. Understandably, she freaks out. “Curb” has toyed with this divorce angle for all of Season 7. I’m not sure whether Larry David is just using Jeff’s infidelity to create one-off story lines or if he plans to take his marital problems to a different level. I could see Jeff, Larry, and Leon all living together in Season 8 (if we even get another season). Also, this scene with Susie is one of the rare occasions when Larry isn’t on camera. As I’ve stated before, he is typically in every scene from an episode.

Larry is pants shopping at Banana Republic. Sounds boring, but these are the types of situations that Larry David weaves into comedy gold. While he’s trying on a new pair of slacks, the fire alarm goes off and everybody has to exit the building. Outside, he strikes up a conversation with a police officer with the last name of Krupke. Larry asks him if he’s ever seen “West Side Story,” as there’s a character with the same name. Larry sings a snippet from one of the songs: “Oh, Officer Krupke/What are we to do?/Gee, Officer Krupke/Krup you.” This Officer Krupke isn’t familiar.

Larry doesn’t want to wait two hours until the building is safe, so he makes his way to Jeff’s place. He’s still wearing the new slacks — which he never bought — and the tags dangling from the sides. Jeff runs out to stop Larry and inform him about the panties situation. Jeff has a completely ridiculous plan. He’s told Susie that those were Larry panties, saying that Larry finds them very comfortable. Larry is obviously stunned, but he’s willing to help out his idiotic manager and friend.

Inside the house, Larry greets Virginia and Dennis, some mutual friends. As they chat, Susie eyes Larry’s backside, trying to spot any peculiar movements. Larry doesn’t want to listen to the story of how Virginia and Dennis met, so he takes a walk down the block. He stops at a children’s lemonade stand a buys a glass. After reprimanding the children for the awful-tasting beverage, the kids yell at him to leave. He returns to the Greenes’ house where Susie blatantly inspects his crotch region. The mother of one of the children shows up and scolds Larry.

We cut to Cheryl waiting to audition for the role of George’s ex-wife in the “Seinfeld” reunion. Virginia enters the room and Cheryl is surprised to see one of her friends. Virginia is auditioning for the part as well. Despite the awkwardness, they agree to meet for lunch after they both have read for the part.

Turns out, Cheryl David is a pretty good actress. Jerry Seinfeld, Mark the casting director, and Larry (obviously) are all impressed. Unfortunately, Virginia is even better. After some dissent from Larry, they agree to give Virginia the part.

Larry returns to Banana Republic to both retrieve his pants that he left in store during the fire and pay for ones that he’s currently wearing. The salesman that helped Larry earlier informs Larry that the pants are missing. Larry thinks that, since the store lost his pants, he should be able to keep the pair for free that he was going to buy. I think that’s a fair exchange. The salesman doesn’t. Larry has had enough. He trudges through the exit as his pants beep loudly.

Cheryl is conveniently sitting outside of Banana Republic. Larry lets her know that the show is going with Virginia. Cheryl is disheartened, but happy for her friend. She tells Larry about her lunch with Virginia and Dennis. After a few glasses of wine, Dennis asked Cheryl if she would like to participate in a threesome with him and Virginia. We never find out her answer, but Larry still takes offense at the mere proposal. He marches down to Dennis’ office and accomplishes nothing.

Back at the Greenes’ place, Jeff and Larry discuss the panties situation. Jeff wants Larry to stop making so many effeminate movements because it’s just making Susie even more suspicious. He also tells Larry that Virginia hurt her neck and can’t do the part. Therefore, Cheryl has it. Larry is excited, but wants to find out how Virginia was injured. Was she in a car accident or did she go down on Cheryl in a threesome? Larry and Jeff go to check Virginia’s car. It’s undamaged.

Larry meets Cheryl for lunch to deliver the news. Obviously, she wants to know why Virginia backed out. Larry poses the idea to Cheryl that Virginia hurt her neck while going down on her. Repulsed, she leaves. Larry then gets a frantic call from Jeff. Susie is going to divorce him and he needs Larry’s help.

On his way over to rescue his friend, Larry drives by the the lemonade stand. He’s signing that song from “West Side Story.” Right when he passes by the kids and their mother he belts, “Gee, Officer Krupke, Krup you!”

At the Greenes’ house, Susie confirms that Virginia hurt neck in a car accident — she was driving Dennis’ car. Officer Krupke shows up, responding to a call from the mother by the lemonade stand. She said Larry cursed at them. While Larry is defending himself, Officer Krupke notices the security tag on Larry’s pants. (Apparently, he’s been wearing the same pants the entire episode.) Krupke doesn’t buy into Larry’s idea of a fair exchange, so he wants the pants. Larry, sensing an opportunity to get Jeff out of deep water, removes his pants in front of everyone. Guess what he has on underneath?

Susie: Oh my God. Jesus Christ. Who are you?
Larry: I’m Larry David. I happen to enjoy wearing women’s panties.

Ha! Perfect!

But why, oh why, did they include that final scene? Jeff is at Larry’s door and he’s in a neck brace. He needs Larry to tell Susie he was in a car accident. Too much?

I hope this evolves into a bigger story arc for Jeff and Susie. If not, all this time focusing on Jeff’s infidelity was kind of a waste.

Curb Your Enthusiasm, TV, TV Comedies

Lifelike Yogi

November 7, 2009 /

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Sometimes a news story falls through the cracks and, since I don’t have Lewis Black working for me, they just kind of stay there until someone points them out. In this case, the fine cinephile blogger Peter Nellhaus of the well-named Coffee, Coffee and More Coffee alerted me via Facebook that I’d missed this item on the possible casting of Anna Faris, Dan Aykroyd, and Justin Timberlake for an upcoming CGI/live-action adaptation of the really not all that classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon adventures of Yogi Bear. (Any fond childhood memories I had left were quickly erased by actually trying to watch one.)

Admittedly, this idea for a film kind of sets my teeth on edge, but at the same time, that’s how I reacted when I heard they were doing a new “Battlestar Galactica” TV show. The first was so horrible, why revive it? “To make it really good this time” turned out to be the answer. Ideas are just ideas, the execution is where it’s at, and this could be brilliant for all any of us know, though the immutable laws of the entertainment universe — and a seemingly less than inspired choice for the director — indicates that it has at least a 90% chance of stinking. I have to say that the idea of Justin Timberlake doing the voice of Boo-Boo does kind of make me smile, however.

Only time will truly tell, but I’m using this opportunity to present an ancient video for “Life Like Yogi,” the anthem of the long defunct, highly ironic Hanna-Barbara obsessed punk bank, Stukas Over Bedrock — a group whose mid-Wilshire home I used to sometimes hang out at a long, long ago — led by my esteemed fellow cinephile John P. Garry III. A real walk down Punksville’s memory lane.

Ursine bonus videos after the flip.

*****

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Actors, Actresses, Documentaries, External Entertainment, External Movies, Humor, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, TV, TV Cartoons, TV Comedies

Cartoon Network continues to push live-action content

November 6, 2009 /

Cartoon Network

Back in 2007, Cartoon Network made its first venture into live-action television with “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” The show finished up its fourth season in March and should return next year. Still, “Tim and Eric” is a sketch program at heart and very different than a scripted series with continuous story lines. Well, they’ve decided to take a risk by greenlighting “Tower Prep” and “Unnatural History.”

“These new series will offer our viewers a type of action-packed event entertainment not found anywhere else,” said Rob Sorcher, chief content officer of Cartoon Network. “We are looking forward to working with all of the great talent involved in these exciting new ventures, which we believe will be a powerful complement to our diverse and expanding array of original programming.”

“History” and “Prep” were both on Cartoon’s development roster announced last May at its upfront presentation to advertisers.

Here’s how Cartoon Network describes the two shows:

“Unnatural History” is an action-packed mystery series centering on Henry Griffin (Kevin G. Schmidt), a teenager with exceptional skills acquired through years of globe-trotting with his anthropologist parents. Shipped off to a high school in Washington D.C., Henry and his smooth-talking cousin Jasper (Jordan Gavaris) find themselves wrapped up in mysteries revolving around the national museum. The pilot was created and written by Mike Werb (“Face/Off,” “The Mask”), who will be executive producer of the series. Emmy-winner Mikael Salomon (“Band of Brothers,” “The Andromeda Strain”) directed the pilot. The series will be produced by Warner Horizon Television.

“Tower Prep” is an action thriller telling the story of a rebellious teen, Ian (Drew Van Acker), who wakes up one morning to find himself trapped at a mysterious prep school focused on tapping into the “unique potential” of its students. Ian forms a secret group with fellow students CJ (Elise Gatien), Gabe (Ryan Pinkston) and Suki (Dyana Liu) as they search for answers to where they are and how to get home. The pilot was executive produced and written by Paul Dini (“Lost,” “Batman: Arkham Asylum”), with Terry McDonough (“Breaking Bad”) directing. The series will be produced out of Cartoon Network Studios in association with Dolphin Entertainment.

Both are an hour in length, which should test the endurance of the network’s fans. Most of the network’s shows are only 10 minutes long, followed by a few commercials.

News, TV, TV Comedies

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