Animation
Promo trailer for Hallmark Channel’s new “Jingle All the Way”
Here’s a promo trailer for Hallmark Channel’s new holiday special Jingle All the Way that we told you about a few weeks ago, which premieres Nov. 25.
Articles by Jeff Pfeiffer
Documentary
Live Action! Our chat with Animal Planet’s Turtleman
By Jeff Pfeiffer If you missed the sneak preview of Animal Planet’s new series Call of the Wildman this past Sunday (I’m still disappointed it didn’t keep its original title, Turtleman of Wild Kentucky, but, hey, what do I know about the TV titling biz?), don’t worry. The series officially premieres in just a few days, this Sunday, Nov. 6, at 10pm ET/PT. And it’s a lot of fun, from what I can tell from the first episode. What sets it apart from similar shows in the “hillbillies-going-into-swamps-to-catch-dangerous-varmints” genre is the likability and personality of its main character. RELATED: “CALL […]
Comedy
VOD Spotlight: Mike Mills on “Beginners”
Sex, life, feeling, nature, magic is how the trailer for Beginners describes the film, based on writer/director Mike Mills’ (Thumbsucker) own relationship with his widowed father. “Beginners started when my father came out of the closet. He was 75 years old and had been married to my mother for 45 years. His hunger to completely change his life was confusing, painful, very funny, and deeply inspiring,” Mills writes.
Comedy
VOD Spotlight: “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
Yes, the world does have its serial monogamists. But for most of us, divorce and breakups aren’t easy. And for those out of the dating world for a decade or more, there are the uncertain and often inept attempts to reenter the social scene. That’s the position in which fortysomething Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) finds himself in the comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. But soon he has help starting over from expert lothario Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Carell and Gosling play well together and have admiration for each other’s work. The script was written with Carell in mind (Carell also coproduced […]
Drama
First look at new Starz drama “Magic City”
By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP Here’s a “first look” trailer for the new Starz drama Magic City, premiering on the network next spring and starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Christian Cooke, Steven Strait and Danny Huston. It looks and sounds great, capturing the feel of late ’50s, early ’60s Miami Beach, recalling similar introductory scenes from Goldfinger. But with The Playboy Club quickly canceled, and Pan Am not looking like it has smooth flying ahead, are audiences ready to give any other ’60s period piece except for Mad Men a chance? Featuring subplots including mobsters, racial […]
Action
VOD Spotlight: “Captain America: The First Avenger” gives Cap his proper film treatment
By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP Maybe it takes a certain national climate to do a Captain America film right. Since his comic-book origins in 1941, on the eve of America’s entry into World War II, the Marvel Comics hero has been the subject of a few filmmaking attempts that have not been very successful. He was in some 1940s cliffhanger serials, some dreadful 1970s made-for-TV efforts and a 1990 theatrical film that started with a good idea but came crashing down quickly, mainly thanks to its very low budget. But Captain America: The First Avenger finally gives Cap (played by […]
TV News & Program Updates
The CBS “Eye” eyes its 60th anniversary
Tomorrow, Oct. 20, marks the 60th anniversary of the iconic CBS “Eye” logo. First introduced during the network’s station breaks on Saturday, Oct. 20, 1951, the logo has gone on to become one of the most identifiable corporate symbols of any type, let alone among TV networks. In the Eye’s original animated incarnation, its center was a camera iris that opened and shut, and the first still version set the Eye against a background of clouds. Over the years there have been different colors and sizes of the Eye, but the design has remained unchanged. Ironically, a culture with little […]
Comedy
VOD Spotlight: Cameron Diaz is a “Bad Teacher”
Cameron Diaz has a history of playing edgy roles — consider the leggy beauty as the drab wife of a puppeteer in Being John Malkovich, for example — but rarely is she as unlikeable as she is in Bad Teacher. It’s one of the reasons she took the role of Elizabeth, a woman teaching only long enough to find the money for the breast enhancement that she is convinced will be her ticket to a better life. When she sets her sights on a wealthy and idealistic substitute teacher attracted to someone else, rivalries lead to over-the-top comedy. “You just […]
TV News & Program Updates
E! statement regarding Giuliana Rancic’s breast cancer diagnosis
Today, E! released this statement regarding Giuliana Rancic’s recent diagnosis of breast cancer: “On behalf of her E! family we are sending our love and support to Giuliana and applaud her for sharing her recent breast cancer diagnosis in the hope that it will encourage women everywhere to take necessary and preventative measures. Giuliana has chosen to talk about her breast cancer on E! News tonight [Oct. 17] prior to her lumpectomy later this week. We are grateful that thanks to early detection Giuliana is expected to have a swift and complete recovery.”
News & Current Events
BET networks cover dedication of the MLK memorial
By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP Originally scheduled to have been dedicated back in August until Hurricane Irene put things on hold, the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will finally be officially dedicated this Sunday, Oct. 16. BET, Centric and BET.com will feature a live, commercial-free simulcast of the dedication starting at 11am ET, hosted by BET News anchor Ed Gordon, correspondent Lola Ogunnaike and special contributor Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post. The event will feature an opening performance by Aretha Franklin and an address by President Obama to formally dedicate the memorial.