Comedy Archives - Page 93 of 131

VOD Spotlight: “Life As We Know It”

February 8, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

Life as We Know It is a romantic comedy about a man and woman (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) who become guardian of their mutual friends’ baby when the parents are killed in an auto accident. The pair, now sharing their friends’ house, have nothing in common but a mutual dislike for each other and a love of little Sophie. Because of the limitations of filming infants and small children, identical twins are often used to play one very young character. With Life, the film’s creators found charming identical triplets — Alexis, Brynn and Brooke Clagett, born in May 2008 […]

“Raising Hope” creator, star talk about their show’s success

February 8, 2011 StayTuned Staff

Defying its wink-wink acknowledgment that shows about babies never last longer than one season, Raising Hope will be back for another go-round this fall. The clever, heartfelt FOX comedy about a young layabout who finds himself suddenly a single dad has filled the void left by creator Greg Garcia’s dearly departed My Name Is Earl, which also found much comedic gold in the plight of blue-collar (some would say white trash) oddballs. The cast includes newcomer Lucas Neff as Jimmy, with Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt as his daffy parents, and Cloris Leachman stealing every scene she’s in as the […]

Dana Carvey’s return to “SNL” is anything but special

February 7, 2011 Tom Comi

By Tom Comi I’m going to give Lorne Michaels the benefit of the doubt and assume that he never read the fine print in Dana Carvey’s contract almost 20 years ago. What other explanation is there for why Michaels would allow a former cast member with no recent success to host his beloved show? Carvey was funny when he appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1986-93, but he has been out of the spotlight since then with the exception of a few horrible movies (The Master of Disguise) and scattered appearances on the talk-show circuit. And because of that, all […]

Glee’s Jane Lynch: post-Bowl episode will be a blast … maybe literally

February 3, 2011 Lori Acken

By Lori Acken Speaking with journalists via conference call Thursday afternoon, Glee star Jane Lynch says that her character, cheerless cheer coach Sue Sylvester, will come through this Sunday’s post-Super Bowl episode with a bang … and possibly a whimper. Or a Sue Sylvester version of a whimper, anyway. Which pretty much means that rooms shall be demolished. Lynch called the upcoming “The Sue Sylvester Shuffle” episode — in which Mr. Schuester and Coach Beiste scheme to unite the glee club and and the football team, while Sue’s desperation to win cheerleading Nationals reaches dangerous levels — “a Glee episode on […]

Kathy Griffin puts “D-List” to bed

February 2, 2011 Tom Comi

It might be an understatement to say that comedian Kathy Griffin isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but the recent announcement that she will no longer be doing her series My Life on the D-List left me a little sad. And then I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the irony that a show about a bottom-of-the barrel celebrity would end its run because the celebrity decided it was time. That’s right, this wasn’t Bravo’s call to end the popular reality show; it was all Griffin. “It was a tough, because I think of D-List as pretty much my baby […]

Ryan Murphy of “Glee”: from bully advocate to bully

February 1, 2011 Tom Comi

By Tom Comi One of the great things about Fox’s award-winning show Glee is the platform it has provided for the topic of bullying, and a great deal of the credit for building that platform goes to creator Ryan Murphy. Unfortunately, Murphy has allowed the success of the show to transform him into both a bully and a hypocrite. You would think that a show of Glee’s stature would have musicians begging to have their songs covered. Whether it’s the cast arrangement of a song or the original version, viewers are downloading singles off iTunes faster than a Sue Sylvester […]

Fact or Fiction: The Lowdown on the Charlie Sheen Situation

January 31, 2011 Tom Comi

By now it is common knowledge that the hit CBS show Two and a Half Men will go on a 3-month break while star Charlie Sheen attends rehab, but what is not certain is the current and future state of the show. So in addition to wishing Sheen well in getting the help that he desperately needs, we here at Channel Guide also wanted to clear up many of the rumors that have been circulating lately. Fact: The show will remain the same when Sheen returns. Fiction: The name of the show will be changed to Two Guys, a […]

Surprise! Gervais lands temp job at “The Office”

January 25, 2011 Tom Comi

By Tom Comi The worst-kept secret in Hollywood was confirmed late last week when Ricky Gervais admitted that he will not only be making a cameo appearance on The Office next week but he will be playing the character he created for the British show of the same name. The episode is scheduled to air January 27 and will feature Gervais playing paper salesman David Brent, whose counterpart in the U.S. version is Michael Scott (portrayed by funnyman Steve Carell). Gervais told Piers Morgan on CNN last week that he agreed to make the cameo as an homage to Carell, […]

“Chuck”: From Nerd to Super Spy

January 24, 2011 Tom Comi

By Tom Comi Everybody has their guilty pleasures, and mine involves a super geek who is transformed into a super spy overnight. And it’s ironic that Chuck revolves around the protection of government secrets, because this show really Is the best-kept secret on TV. I realize viewers are reluctant to take on a new show several years in, but trust me that this isn’t like Lost or 24 where you can’t jump on the bandwagon mid-run. Here’s a CliffsNotes-like recap for those wanting to give it a try tonight (8 pm ET/PT on NBC).

Joan Rivers, Fox News and the blurring of news and entertainment

January 20, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

I’ve never taken any of the news networks too seriously, but Fox News Channel really blurred the line between news and entertainment not once but twice this week. First, controversial conservative host Glenn Beck compared himself to a comedian and a cartoon when Today Show host Meredith Vieira pressed him on some harsh comments he made on his popular show. His response when asked if he regretted them: “Anything I said in jokes, no. Ask Jon Stewart [the same question.] Ask The Simpsons. Comedy is comedy.” I’m not buying that Beck is any more of a comedian than Keith Olbermann, […]