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Ginnifer Goodwin to Star in Once Upon a Time

Posted on May 16th, 2011 by admin

As we’ve noted, fairy tales are going to be huge this year. Here’s one more fairy tale show coming soon to a screen near you: ABC’s Once Upon A Time, starring Big Love’s Ginnifer Goodwin. Once Upon A Time follows a woman (Goodwin?) “with a troubled past who is drawn into a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real,” according to Deadline. She’ll join costars Lana Parilla, who plays Mayor Regina/the Evil Queen, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin.

And solves crimes! No, that’s the other ten fairy tale cop shows coming out in the fall. And yet, I feel oddly certain that there will be a nosy sheriff or FBI agent trying to get to the bottom of this funny business. I’ll bet you ten dollars.

Tags: abc, big love, fairy tale shows, ginnifer goodwin, magic cop shows, once upon a time
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ABC picks up two comedies about manliness

Posted on May 13th, 2011 by admin

ABC is announcing their pilot pickups as I write this, and this is weird: they’ve picked up both the Tim Allen vehicle Last Man Standing, about a guy “fighting for his manhood in a world that is being increasingly dominated by women,” and the Christopher Moynihan-penned Man Up!, “a look at what it takes to survive as a modern man, as told through the eyes of three best friends and the women in their lives.”

So these two projects have a couple things in common. One: They both sound unbearable. Two: Everything else. There was even a time in its development when the Tim Allen project was also called Man Up. Far be it from me to question the wisdom of the American Broadcasting Company, but why do you think they’ve plunked two such similar shows onto the schedule? You’d think they’d just put their money on household name Allen, especially since that one’s written by 30 Rock alum Jack Burditt. I’d put my money on that one, if I wasn’t hoping so hard that they both die. “A world increasingly dominated by women”? Eff off, Tim Allen.

Tags: chris moynihan, jack burditt, last man standing, man up, manliness comedies, tim allen, tim allen abc pilot
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The Rememberer: No

Posted on May 13th, 2011 by admin

Dear CBS, The Rememberer? No. Sorry. Veto.

The network of whooshy close-ups of corpses was, of course, always going to pick up more crime procedurals this year. That’s their bread and butter. It has brought them fame and glory. But after a solid decade of churning out odd but brilliant detectives with murder-solving quirks – he can see lies! He’s a con artist! She talks to ghosts! – they seem to be scraping the bottom of the quirk barrel. That’s presumably why they’re reportedly close to picking up a pilot for the fall called The Rememberer.

No, it’s not a parody of The Mentalist. It’s a dead-serious crime drama about a woman who can remember every instant of her life – which, get this, is both a blessing and a curse.

So yeah, a few reasons why that is terrible.

1. The title. What, “The Rememberererer” wouldn’t fit on the billboards?

2. So what, she just remembers crime scenes really well? Don’t they have, you know, photographs of those? This talent only seems useful for murders that were committed in front of her preschool class or something.

3. Seriously, enough of these. They are interchangeable and no one cares about them but they get boffo ratings because they are just around, and people turn them on because why not. They are the snuggies of television.

So I would like to exercise my television veto. As a TV blogger, I’m pretty sure I get one of those. CBS, do not pick up The Rememberer, or else. If you do, you won’t like the consequences. I will write such mean things on this blog.

Tags: crime procedurals, ghost whisperer, lie to me, procedurals suck, the mentalist, the rememberer
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Ashton Kutcher to replace Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men"

Posted on May 13th, 2011 by Kathy Hulak

Image via Wikimedia

We’ve all heard about Charlie Sheen’s numerous rants against his boss and the producer of Two and a Half Men Chuck Lorre, which resulted in Sheen losing his job in March. If you haven’t heard about it, you need to get out of your cave, because media has been all over it ever since it happened. There have also been many names circulating as possible replacements for Charlie in the show: John Stamos, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Jeremy Piven, Woody Harrelson, Hugh Grant, and many more. As of yesterday, it seems that we have a winner, and it’s Ashton Kutcher.

Some skeptics still say that Charlie Sheen cannot be replaced in the show, and I agree with them, if the producers wanted to replace Charlie’s character with another actor. However, if they bring Ashton as a whole new character (which is what Lorre says will happen), the show has a potential to be very interesting. We all know and love Ashton from his role in That’s 70s Show, and it’s about time we get to see him on TV on regular basis. I think that his character could be just the refreshment that Two and a Half Men needs.

Although the news is not 100% confirmed yet, it seems like the deal is already made. It makes sense for the producers of the show, who could use Kutcher’s 6.5 million Twitter followers and other fans to boost up the rankings that have plummeted since the show has been airing re-runs. It also makes sense for Ashton, who’s movie career hasn’t been that hot lately. He seems excited about the deal, Tweeting “What’s the square root of 6.25?” The answer, of course, is two-and-a-half.

Tags: ashton kutcher, charlie sheen, Charlie Sheen replacement, chuck lorre, hugh grant, Jeremy Piven, John Stamos, Matt Dillon, rob lowe, that's 70s show, twitter, two and a half men, Woody Harrelson
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Posted on May 12th, 2011 by admin

Hugh Grant mugshot 230x300

Chuck Lorre and CBS executives are reportedly in talks with Hugh Grant to replace fallen star Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men. Deadline reported that they had offered him as much as $1 million per episode, though producers have since denied that the figure was anywhere near that high.

This is kind of genius. Hugh Grant has the same kind of bad-boy reputation as Sheen, but he’s not known for being difficult to work with on set. Plus he adds an intriguing frisson of class to the middle-of-the-road sitcom. I would totally check out an episode of a beHughed Two and a Half Men. But what does movie star Hugh have to gain from the job, besides boatloads of money? Cash is nice, but I’m not sure British people are allowed to do something so declasse. If he signed on, MI-5 commandos would probably have to raid Burbank and repatriate him by force.

Tags: charlie sheen, Charlie Sheen replacement, hugh grant, hugh grant two and a half men
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A look back at Hugh Laurie's comedy career

Posted on May 10th, 2011 by admin

Hugh Laurie A look back at Hugh Laurie's comedy career

Photo via Wikipedia

Hugh Laurie is best known to American audiences as the star of House, the long-running medical drama about a grumpy but brilliant doctor who cures desperately ill people by being mean to them. The show was just picked up for an eighth season, and its massive success certainly isn’t attributable to its writing (every episode basically boils down to “It’s lupus!” “No it isn’t!”), but to the charm and comic timing of Laurie.

Where’d he learn to toss off one-liners with such aplomb? Before he reached American shores, Hugh Laurie was a successful sketch comic in his native England. He and his best friend Stephen Fry had a sketch show on the BBC for five seasons. Here are a couple of my favorite sketches from A Bit of Fry and Laurie.

Hugh Laurie plays straight man as Stephen Fry expounds on the joy of burmie ownership:

Hugh spoofs Uri Gellar:

Fry and Laurie cover The Beatles, by way of the Chipmunks:

And finally, Hugh Laurie’s ode to our great nation:

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Hasta La Vista Arnold and Maria

Posted on May 10th, 2011 by Katie Hoos

Schwarzenegger vor Terminator 3 Premiere Hasta La Vista Arnold and Maria

Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California/body builder/The Terminator, and Maria Shriver, former broadcast journalist/Kennedy clan member, have announced their separation after 25 years of marriage. Maria has reportedly moved out of their LA mansion and has been spotted without her wedding ring for weeks.

The powerful political couple seemed to live a happy and supportive life together since their marriage in 1986, with Maria standing behind her husband’s 2003 gubernatorial campaign and Arnold backing Maria’s work with women-related charities and awards. But lately they’ve been living separate lives after Arnold’s time in office ended in January and Maria’s father Sergeant Shriver died just weeks later. Arnold has since been jet-setting around the world and is now attempting a Hollywood comeback, while Maria has reportedly vacationed in the Bahamas and took their son on an East Coast college tour sans Arnold.

Yesterday the couple released a joint statement confirming their separation, saying:
“This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship. We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and center of both of our lives. We consider this a private matter and neither we nor any of our friends or family will have further comment. We ask for compassion and respect from the media and the public.”

Is this marriage terminated? Did Arnold promise Maria he’ll be back? Guess this just proves that Democrats and Republicans will never get along and that the Kennedy curse is continuing into divorce court.

Tags: arnold and maria separated, arnold shwarzenegger, maria shriver, terminator
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Jonathan Groff returns to "Glee" tonight

Posted on May 10th, 2011 by Kathy Hulak

I don’t know about all of you, but for me Tuesday night is a Glee night. And for tonight’s episode, we have big news: Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) is back, and he sings “Rolling in the Deep” in a duet with Rachel (Lea Michelle). This episode is called “Prom Queen”, but rumour has it that he is coming back for more than just this one episode. The video spoiler of Rachel-Jesse duet is out there, and it is so good, that I can listen to it over and over again.

With only three episodes left of this season, we really don’t know what to expect. In the spoiler video we can see that Rachel refuses to take Jesse’s hand, but who knows what will happen later? Is she playing hard to get? Is she not going to trust Jesse again? Is she going to use him to make Finn (Cory Monteith) jealous? We all know that every last episode of every TV show out there ends with an unexpected twist of events, so I can’t wait to see how the drama of Glee unveils.

Meanwhile, when we are all waiting for that to happen, kick back and join me in enjoyment of this wonderful combination of beautiful voices:

Tags: cory monteith, finn hudson, glee, jesse st james, jonathan groff, Lea Michele, rachel berry
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Osama Bin Laden: The Target of Navy SEALS and Late Night TV

Posted on May 3rd, 2011 by Katie Hoos

Osama Bin Laden took center stage Monday night as TV funny guys Kimmel, Leno, Letterman, Cobert, Conan, and Stewart joked about the death of public enemy number one. What else does America do better than turn international news into comedy? After being the target of the American government for ten years, I think it is only fair that Bin Laden’s death be the target of American television. We’ve lived in fear for quite some time at the hands of this man, so now it’s time to celebrate by making fun of his demise. And no, it’s not too soon. Here is a recap of last night’s Bin Laden bash-a-thon from the kings of comedy.

Jimmy Kimmel comments on Bin Laden’s “respectful” burial at sea on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Jay Leno of The Tonight Show shows us some unseen footage of Obama’s Sunday night speech announcing Bin Laden’s death, where he is giddy with excitement.

David Letterman of The Late Show created a Top 10 List of Bin Laden’s most likely last words. Not only is he taking a stab at Osama, but he mocks Donald Trump, killing two birds with one stone.

Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report lets us know that we can now throw a long awaited “We Got Bin Laden” party after dusting off the 10 year old deflated balloons and moldy Bin Laden cake.

Conan O’Brien of Conan jokes about the recent Bin Laden news, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s involvement in the attack and Bin Laden’s Kinkos usage.

And Jon Stewart of The Daily Show compared Osama to an OC Housewife? And Spongebob Squarepants? And Macaulay Culkin? Yes, yes he did.

Let’s take the time to thank military special forces for putting an end to Bin Laden’s terrorism, as well as these late night TV hosts for making it okay to laugh at someone’s death.

Tags: Bin Laden death jokes, Bin Laden is dead, conan, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, jay leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel Live, jon stewart, osama bin laden, stephen colbert, the colbert report, the daily show, The Late Show with David Letterman, the tonight show
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January Jones: Who is your daddy?

Posted on May 3rd, 2011 by Kathy Hulak

January Jones January Jones: Who is your daddy?

Image via Wikimedia

‘Tis the season to be… pregnant! Mad Men star January Jones flashed her tiny baby bump during the Lakers game that she attended with her friend Jennifer Carpenter. She is now one of many soon-to-be celebrity mothers. Others include Kate Hudson, Natalie Portman, Christina Applegate, and Penelope Cruz. I guess we all know what these ladies asked Santa for on Christmas.

Jones’s Mad Men costar Aaron Staton thinks that she will be a great mother, and although she will need much advice on motherhood, a lot of these things come naturally. Jones announced that she will be a single mom, and she hasn’t revealed who fathered her unborn child, but we all know that it takes two to tango. So, who is the daddy?

Seems like Jason Sudeikis, Jones’s former boyfriend and a star of Saturday Night Live, could be the father, since their relationship petered out around the time of conception. But sources insist that he would step up if that was true. Rumor has it that Jones told Sudeikis that she wanted a baby, which turned him off, and the baby talk became a relationship killer. When asked about his ex-girlfriend’s pregnancy, Jason got a little tongue-tied (“I’d rather – yes, but no” – what?) which raises further suspicion that he might be guilty. So, did she get pregnant before the relationship ended, or did she go on the baby-daddy shopping spree afterwards? I guess time will tell. I am a little worried about her choice of men. Before Sudeikis, she dated celebrities such as Brandon Davis, Sean William-Scott, Jeremy Piven, and Adrien Brody. All of a sudden I find myself hoping that Sudeikis is indeed the daddy. For the baby’s sake.

Tags: Aaron Staton, Adrien Brody, Brandon Davis, Christina Applegate, January Jones, January Jones pregnancy, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Carpenter, Jeremy Piven, Kate Hudson, mad men, natalie portman, Penelope Cruz, saturday night live, Sean William-Scott, who is the father of January Jones' baby?
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