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Action

Academy Awards: What are the odds?

By Tom Comi It seems that you can pretty much bet on anything these days, which means there is money to be had if you think you have a good feeling about how the 83rd annual Academy Awards show will go down Sunday. Even if you aren’t the gambling type, the odds we found on the website bodog.com do give a pretty strong indication as to who will be walking away with the little, golden statuettes this weekend. Granted, there are always upsets, but suffice it to say that the somewhat predictable outcomes for most of the major categories could […]

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Comedy

Andrea Anders Remains Upbeat Despite Her Past Luck

Andrea Anders has been doing strong sitcom work for years. The problem is that not enough viewers have noticed, since none of her shows have made it as far as a third season. The unlucky streak began in 2004, when she was cast as Matt LeBlanc’s love interest — a role she would later take on in real life — in the Friends spinoff Joey. Two criminally underrated comedies, The Class and Better Off Ted, followed. “I was at a party recently,” the good-natured Anders recalls. “There was a casting director who was retiring, so there were a lot of […]

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Comedy

“Retired at 35” star to live-chat during tonight’s episode

During tonight’s episode of Retired at 35 on TV Land, star Ryan Michelle Bathe, who plays Jessica, will be doing a live-chat with fans. To participate, visit www.tvland.com/chat. In “Stuck in the Meddle,” David is tired of his mother butting in to his dating life, so he drums up a lie that eventually spins out of control. Retired at 35 airs at 10:30pm ET, and the live chat will run from 10:15-11:15pm ET.

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Awards Shows

Sarah Palin beats Snooki as worst female reality star at lighthearted Bennie Awards

By Jeff Pfeiffer Later this week, we’ll be talking about the Razzie Awards, the infamous and hilarious awards that serve as the anti-Oscars, honoring the worst in film from the past year. But this morning, we received notice of a similar award that was unfamiliar to us. The 2011 Bennie Award winners were announced. Only in their second year, the awards recognize the worst in prime time television. The awards’ name (and, presumably, the face seen on the award itself) are inspired by former NBC head Ben Silverman, the architect behind failed series such as Knight Rider, Kath & Kim […]

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Comedy

VOD Spotlight: “Due Date”

Right from the start it was a mismatch made in heaven. Writer, producer and director Todd Phillips loves working with creative comics skilled at improvisation. Though he worked had worked with Due Date star Zach Galifianakis, most notably on the hilarious comedy The Hangover, he’d never had that experience with Robert Downey Jr., who he calls “one of the greatest talents out there.” He knew Downey was looking to do a comedy and thought the actor would be perfect for the role of a husband trying to get home in time for the birth of his son. “The thing that […]

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Comedy

Lucci’s back for more “Hot in Cleveland”

TV Land has provided a pair of sneak peeks of tomorrow night’s episode of Hot in Cleveland. Soap legend Susan Lucci returns for Part 2 of her guest stint in “I Love Lucci,” where Victoria (Wendie Malick) prepares to carry on with her All My Children role after injuring her longtime rival. Meanwhile, Joy (Jane Leeves) seeks revenge on Michael E. Knight who pretended to be his own evil twin. Melanie (Valerie Bertinelli) agrees to sell her L.A. home, except for one crucial piece, and Elka’s (Betty White) quest to meet Robert Redford yields surprising results.

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Comedy

“Mike & Molly” Star Billy Gardell Reflects During A Return Home

If life were a football game, Billy Gardell would be sitting in the locker room, reflecting on the first-half action and getting ready to head back out and take the field. His highlights might include the hit CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, which, for the 41-year-old comedian, is the equivalent to a momentum-changing touchdown right before halftime. Another would be his hourlong Comedy Central standup special — appropriately titled Billy Gardell: Halftime — which premieres Feb. 5 and started this whole football metaphor in the first place. “I think when my 40th birthday hit, that’s what kind of rang true […]

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Comedy

Billy Ray Cyrus says he regrets “Hannah Montana”

By Tom Comi Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana brought smiles to children and parents around the world, but it apparently destroyed the very family that made it so popular. At least that’s the theory of Billy Ray Cyrus, who co-starred in the show with daughter Miley Cyrus and — in a very ironic twist — is best known for the 1982 mega-hit song “Achy Breaky Heart.” It’s hard to believe that a kiddy show full of laughs and music could lead to a topic so heavy, but Billy Ray said the program that premiered in 2006 was the beginning of the […]

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Comedy

Perry’s new show proves “Friends” cast still has clout

By Tom Comi As Matthew Perry’s new comedy series Mr. Sunshine premieres tonight on ABC, it really makes you marvel at how resilient and fortunate he and his fellow castmates from the hit show Friends have been over the years to keep getting work. Most actors from popular sitcoms are typecast and subsequently have trouble finding work. And you need to look no further than the cast of Seinfeld in which stars like Jason Alexander and Michael Richards have struggled to land steady jobs since leaving the show. But with the Friends cast, all of them have been fortunate enough […]

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Comedy

Music of Glee: Silly Love Songs

After a lengthy break, Glee‘s second new episode this week gives us a Valentine’s theme. Mr. Shue issues the group a challenge: Perform what you think is the world’s greatest love song. Oh, the possibilities – Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, The Righteous Brothers, Boyz II Men! What songs will they choose? The suspense is terrible. I hope it lasts. First up, Puck serenades – and more-than-slightly offends Lauren – with Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”. The song’s intro strains and fabulous harmonies tempted us until Puck’s odd, twanging voice and off-putting performance pulled us out with a yawn. Remember when Puck […]