“Why do I have to follow CNN on twitter? If I want to follow CNN, I can follow them on CNN!” — Jon Stewart, THE DAILY SHOW
Archives for June 2009
We’re So Excited: Jimmy Fallon Gets Saved By The Bell!
I’m so excited, I’m so excited, I’m so, I’m so… nope, still excited. Because after far too many years of watching certain ungrateful actors who shall remain nameless (cough*cough*DB*cough) shy away from the beloved characters and shows that are responsible for transforming them from a nobody into a household name, serious kudos must be given to RAISING THE BAR SAVED BY THE BELL’s Mark Paul Gosselaar Zack Morris for his hilarious (and eerily spot-on) guest appearance on last night’s LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON. Complete with shout-outs to Stansbury (the Harvard of the west!), a cameo by the original ‘Max,’ and a timely appearance by Zack’s now-iconic cell phone (clearly, someone missed yesterday’s iPhone 3GS announcement) Gosselaar not only showed fans what a good sport he as evidence by his level of commitment to the bit, but that his high school band Zack Attack! is like, so, totally, this close to breaking out. Those Roots (Fallon’s house band) better watch their back!
Tonight’s TV Addictions: June 8, 2009
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
GREEK (8PM ABC Family)
If BEVERLY HILLS 90210’s Emily Valentine taught us anything, it’s that “homecoming week float competition” and “heats up” should never be used in the same sentence. We’re just sayin’
WEEDS (10PM Showtime)
Picking up where season four left-off, a now knocked up Nancy Botwin continues to make life-altering decisions that make JON & KATE PLUS 8’s Kate look like mother of the year.
NURSE JACKIE (10:30PM Showtime)
If star Edie Falco’s Nurse Jackie thinks juggling patients, co-workers and a personal substance abuse problem is tricky, just wait until she has to RSVP to all those Emmy and Golden Globe ceremonies. Those dresses aren’t gonna pick themselves!
NEW & NOTABLE:
KATHY GRIFFIN (10PM Bravo)
Further evidence that there’s absolutely nothing real about reality television comes courtesy of Kathy Griffin — who after two Emmy wins and one Grammy nomination is still pretending she’s on the D-List.
Reviewing the Women of Summer: NURSE JACKIE, WEEDS, THE CLOSER, SAVING GRACE & HAWTHORNE
By: Aleks Chan
Summer television is all about the girl. Correction: all about the cable girls. Yes, cable has found itself a reliable refuge for film actresses to find work that is ostensibly of the caliber they are used to – thus Holly Hunter as a spry, hedonistic Oklahoma City detective, Kyra Sedgwick as a master interrogator, and Mary-Louise Parker as a suburban pot dealing widow. This month Edie Falco – whose film career is outsized by the grandeur of her work on THE SOPRANOS – and Jada Pinkett Smith – wife of Will and of The Matrix trilogy – join the throes as nurses predisposed to be snappy and impassioned to help their patients.
Our attention is first turned to simply suthun’ Kyra Sedgwick on THE CLOSER (returns tonight at 9 pm est on TNT), where she plays “Depewty Cheef Brendalee Johnson,” of the LAPD. If hadn’t already been implied, her character is from the south, which somehow demands such a drawl that half of what she says can hardly be taken seriously. Twice as befuddling is how Brenda is venerated for her ability to elicit a confession that holds up in court, because the cases are so easy, a children’s program with slimmer plot workings would be more challenging. In the fifth season premiere, the humdinger of a homicide hinges on street addresses. Other plot points of the season include Brenda’s cat falling ill, Lt. Provenza (G.W. Bailey) gets a girlfriend, and Mary McDonnell guest stars as a internal affairs officer. It has thankfully scaled back Brenda’s junk food addiction (I couldn’t handle another sensuous bite into a Ho-Ho), but by a fifth season, you’d think it would’ve have progressed to something more than outline of an actual TV show.
Say What? Your TV Quote of the Day
We Fix the TONY AWARDS in 5 Simple Steps
To borrow a line from 2007’s Tony® Award Winning Best Musical Spring Awakening, last night’s 63rd Annual Tony Awards were, “Totally F*cked.” Which is why this TV Addict thought he’d take the opportunity to vent after a weekend of blogging downtime courtesy of the server company from hell to rip the Tony’s a new one humbly suggest five suggestions that the Tony’s might wish to consider taking into account for next year.
Step #1 – Hire competent people: From the opening number that wasn’t quite audible (kind of a big deal, wouldn’t you say?) to being the one telecast of the year that now holds the distinction of having made the Tony Award Winning Billy Elliot look unwatchable, last night’s award ceremony was a technical train-wreck from beginning to end. Which is kind of a curious considering that the ceremony takes place in New York City, where you’d think, CBS might have been able to scrounge together a technical staff of behind-the-scenes experts to ensure the telecast didn’t look and sound like it was shot from ‘the team’ that did PS 142’s High School production of A Chorus Line.
Step #2 – Mandate interesting speeches: You know the only thing that is less interesting to the average television viewer than watching some guy you’ve never heard of (say, Matthew Warchus) win a Tony for Best Direction of a Play that you’ve never seen (God of Carnage)? Having to listen to him thank an entire team of people that mean absolutely nothing to anyone outside of Radio City Musical Hall and/or TalkinBroadway (The web’s preeminent theater discussion message board.) Which is why we’d like to see the Tony Award Winners save their thank-you’s for off-camera and plead with them to use their fifteen-to-twenty seconds of fame to deliver an interesting and inspiring arts related message that won’t have viewers reaching for the fast-forward button.
ARMY WIVES Report For Third-Season Duty
In these trying times, ARMY WIVES may be the perfect primetime soap for viewers looking to find a world where things make sense despite the fact that the one we live in often doesn’t. For the men and women who live on the active army base at fictional Fort Marshall, South Carolina, there are well-established rules in place and consequences must be paid by those who don’t abide by them.
It’s an oddly comforting place to be given the pervasive “anything-goes” culture that surrounds us.
Fall Preview 09: MELROSE PLACE
You’ve seen the commercials. You’ve heard the hype. Now there’s only one thing you want to know: Which of the new fall shows are worth watching and which should be avoided at all costs? In this continuing series, we give you the scoop on some of the most highly-anticipated shows of the season. Which will be the next GREY’S ANATOMY… and which will be the new JOEY? To kick things off, we check out The CW’s reboot of the camp classic MELROSE PLACE.
Why We’ll Watch: If there’s one thing you want from a good — not to mention potentially-great — primetime soap, it’s a killer story. MP kicks off with a great one when the body of original bad girl Sydney is found — where else? — floating in the apartment complex’s infamous pool. But never fear: Flasbacks keep her portrayer, Laura Leighton, alive and well while propelling the story forward. The great thing about this opening gambit is that it’s a payoff for fans of the original series without alienating the new, younger crowd the show is obviously courting. Talk about your win/win! Quicker than you can say “Peyton Place” we begin learning about the secret lives of the tenants-turned-suspects, including trampy PR exec Emma (with blonde bombshell Katie Cassidy stepping into the sexy stiletto heels formerly occupied by Heather Locklear’s Amanda) and troubled hunk David — played by Shaun Sipos — following in the footsteps of his bad boy dad, Michael (the devilsh-as-ever Thomas Calabro). As Ashlee Simpson-Wentz’ turn as Violet, there’s not much to say based on the pilot, although her final scene indicates there’s a lot more to the character than meets the eye.
TV Talk From Fellow TV Addicts
Each week the TV Blog coalition — of which theTVaddict.com is proud to be apart of — highlights some of the best TV news and views from around the web. For the latest news that’s fit to print, simply click the link below.
Review: ROYAL PAINS
By: Aleks Chan
Mark Feuerstein, bless him, can gravitate to his own brand of boyish affability regardless of the source material. He’s the definition of solid: as the producer of a low-rated news show in GOOD MORNING, MIAMI; as Toni Collette’s love interest in IN HER SHOES; as Sussana Thompson’s younger boyfriend on ONCE AND AGAIN; and as the Hamptons rent-a-doc on USA’s new dramedy (heavy on the “medy” part) ROYAL PAINS – the guy can’t help but be likable.
And perhaps that’s his problem. Too easily taken as “earnest,” he’s been playing the nice guy for far longer than merited. But what’s one more go, right?