TV

Friday, November 20, 2009

Breaking: American Woman Doesn't Want to Be on Television

Posted by Mark Asch on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 3:11 PM

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Would you like The L to "weigh in" on Oprah Winfrey's decision to end her popular daytime television serial in which everybody takes turns talking about themselves?

It is very impressive, we suppose, that a person is secure enough in her employment and plans for the future that she can give 22 months' notice. I, too, had considered announcing that I would leave The Measure in September of 2011, to move to Copenhagen and pursue my long-term professional goal of living on government assistance while biking around drunk on Aquavit all day, but it'd be pretty presumptuous of me to expect there'd even still be a Measure in September of 2011, and not just an iPhone app that transmits Mike Conklin's withering dissections of indie-rock dinosaurs directly into your prefrontal cortex in bursts of 12 phonemes or less.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

(Mothers of) Three Huge Hip-Hop Stars Launching Talk Show

Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 9:49 AM

Dinner Table Discussions
Several hip-hop blogs reported yesterday that Aliyah Najm, Jacida Carter, H. Loraine Smith (pictured), the mothers of T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Ne-Yo, respectively, will be launching a talk show sometime next year on an unspecified network. Despite boasting an all-star roster of hip-hop matriarchs the show sounds boring as can be. According to Mama Pain: "Our vision is to be a premier talk show that delivers a creative and informative format that assists viewers in educating and solving challenging issues." And what could we call such a dull talk show? How's about Dinner Table Discussions? Yep, sounds fun, don't it.

Dinner Table Discussions will begin sometime next year, and feature the three moms' takes on current events, interviews and responses to viewer-submitted issues and concerns. The only way I would ever watch this show would be if it turned out that all the "submissions" were actually problems their sons needed help with. There would be the "What do I do if I'm convicted on a gun charge and going to jail for a year?" episode, or the "Someone more powerful than me thinks that my favorite gimmick is corny, do I confront him?" episode. That I would watch.

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Oprah to Save the Music Industry, the Rest of the World

Posted by Jon Blistein on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 9:03 AM

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Hey everyone, the music industry’s savior has arrived! No its not a ban on file sharing, or a decent subscription service, or a genuine attempt to get past all that soreness from when the RIAA decided to go crazy and sue everyone when Napster came out, thus cementing itself as just another mass corporation more concerned with its profits than the product it produces... Actually, it’s Oprah!

Yesterday, Variety posted an article on the pretty significant impact Winfrey has on the music industry. Basically it boils down to this: If Oprah can convince a whole bunch of people to spend their summer reading three Faulkner novels like she did back in 2005, she can help Michael Buble sell 132,000 albums in three days like he did in October. Hell, Warner Brothers actually pushed up the release date of Buble’s album to correspond with his appearance on Oprah. And if propelling Michael Buble to number one on the Billboard charts wasn’t enough to convince you, sales for Whitney Houston’s comeback album “I Look To You” jumped 77% after she was on the show, and Filipina pop singer Charice sold 60,000 singles after an appearance in September. I mean for the love of God, Journey was on her show in October, and their latest album—which (a) has been out for a year already and (b), holy shit, did you know Journey released a new album?—moved 10,000 copies the following week. In fact, according to Billboard’s “Maximum Exposure,” Oprah is now the second best way an artist can get their music out to the public, the first being an Apple commercial.

Continue reading »

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I Was on the Internet Today and Found This Clip of John Tesh Talking About Perfect Strangers

Posted by Jonny Diamond on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 2:19 PM

Some times you find yourself in a weird place. I'm not saying I'm depressed, but today I found myself browsing through clips from beloved 80s sitcom Perfect Strangers. You know, the one with Balki and Cousin Larry as the odd couple? Yes, you do. And then I found this touchingly earnest 1992 Entertainment Tonight look at THE END OF PERFECT STRANGERS, FOREVER in which Bronson Pinchot says the following, in regards to co-star Mark Linn-Baker: "We've been through stuff we couldn't even explain to anybody else... There was so much that went on between us that was never spoken." And then he almost cries. And then I went to John Tesh's blog, and I almost cried.

I'm pretty sure I need a hug right about now.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Why Are There No Women Writers on Late Night TV?

Posted by Mike Conklin on Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 2:52 PM

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We're at that time of day on Friday when I begin to look back at the events of the week to see what I missed, and one of the stories I kept ignoring until just a few minutes ago is this one from the Times, about the lack of women writers on late night television shows. Jimmy Fallon has three women on his staff, The Daily Show has two, and Jimmy Kimmel and The Colbert Report have one each. The most striking number, though? Zero, which is how many women writers are on staff for Letterman, Leno and Conan combined.

Some people cite a disproportionate number of male applicants for the jobs, while another points out that this isn't likely to change as long as the majority of the hosts, whose sensibilities writers are trying to match, are men, a theory bolstered by the fact that t five of the ten writers for Chelea Lately are women. But then again, you really mean to tell me any old moron, male or female, isn't capable of churning out the kind of jokes Jay Leno uses on your grandparents every night?

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

That Asshole Homophobe From the Miss America Pageant Stormed Off Larry King Last Night

Posted by Mike Conklin on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 5:41 PM

Carrie Prejean, the hateful former Miss America contestant who thinks gay people shouldn't be allowed to get married and that they'll probably burn in hell for all of eternity, was on Larry King last night to promote her new book, which she has named Still Standing in hopes of calming the nerves of anyone who thought she may have been knocked down for good after falling victim to such horrible crimes as not winning a fucking beauty pageant. Anyway, she gets pissed at Larry for asking a perfectly reasonable question, then does that thing that really stupid people do where she just keeps repeating the same phrase over and over again, in this case, "Larry, you're being inappropriate." [Videogum]

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Monday, November 9, 2009

Mad Men: Now What the Hell Are We Supposed to Do?

Posted by Lauren Savit on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 1:10 PM

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Well kids, the season is over. And I have to say that it was excellent. And that I hate Betty and/or January Jones. And I kind of like Pete (!). And I will always forever in my heart love Joan. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, so before I get into last night's action I just want to thank a few people—Mike for letting me do this in the first place, Ben for sometimes editing slash adding fun links. My Gram for answering a never-ending stream of ridiculous '60s-related questions, and Roger Sterling for being all around awesome. Now, onto the show!

Continue reading »

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Taylor Swift Does Saturday Night Live, Kanye Does Not

Posted by Mike Conklin on Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 10:27 AM

This video will probably be taken down in about three minutes, so enjoy it while you can. It starts off dumb, then gets a little better, then gets awesome. Then the rest of the show was mega shitty, except for a skit at the very end, featuring Fred Armisen as Randy Newman and T-Swift as Shakira.

Oh, here's that one too...

Continue reading »

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

SNL Promo Features the First of Many Taylor Swift/Kanye West Jokes

Posted by Mike Conklin on Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 3:17 PM

Seriously, you're not actually gonna go out on Saturday night, are you? What? Oh yeah, I totally am too... I was just kidding.

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On 90210, N.E.R.D. Premiere New Member and Song Appropriately Titled "WTF"

Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 10:10 AM

A while back I mentioned that N.E.R.D. had auditioned and selected a fourth member for the group, a female vocalist named Rhea who, you know, can actually sing on key. Well, they premiered the young lady and the new track "Radio (WTF)" off their forthcoming record Instant Gratification (dropping sometime in 2010) during an appearance on a recent episode of 90210. The one-minute snippet of song starts off pretty slow and boring then ratchets up to an enjoyable mix of rock and call-and-response hip-hop. The performance is interspersed with what are surely deeply meaningful and implication-laden glances between annoying-looking 90210 characters who don't seem to know what to make of N.E.R.D., which is as it should be. WTF indeed.

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Mad Men: In Which We All Watched in Awe While They All Watched in Awe

Posted by Lauren Savit on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 4:29 PM

Mad Men season 3 episode 12
Hello, everyone. I'm back from my admittedly poorly-timed hiatus, but I learned two very important things these past couple of weeks: food poisoning and the ALCS will indeed keep me from Mad Men. But it wasn't like I missed too much—well, beside the revelation that Putnam, Powell and Lowe plans to sell Sterling Cooper.

Oh, and the fact that Betty discovered Don's secret drawer of evidence and he had to come clean about the whole stealing a dead man's identity thing. Also, Joan hit Dr. Asshat in the head with a vase, so he joined the army. Would it be too crass of me to say I hope he goes to Vietnam and dies? In light of last night's long awaited episode focusing on the JFK Assassination, yes, it probably is.

Continue reading »

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Betty Draper and the Other Guy from 10 Things I Hate About You to Host SNL

Posted by Mike Conklin on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 9:05 AM

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I assume you've kept your calendar clear for this week's episode of Saturday Night Live, which will feature the one and only Taylor Swift doing double duty as host and musical guest because she's so much more talented and likable than everyone else and you would never in a million years miss it. You're gonna want to stay in next week, November 7th, as well, now that word has come that Mad Men's January Jones is scheduled to host an episode that will also feature the music of Black Eyed Peas, who will probably perform two very bad songs, then proceed to sell 50 billion records the next day. You're free, encouraged even, to leave your house the following week, when Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosts and the Dave Mathtews Band performs. [Entertainment Weekly]

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Friday, October 30, 2009

The Best Day of the Year: Halloween on The Today Show

Posted by Mike Conklin on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:23 AM

So, like, I'm definitely not the only one who looks forward to seeing what Matt Lauer and the rest of the Today Show cast is going to dress as for Halloween, right? Yeah, I didn't think so. This year? Star Wars characters! You really have to watch the whole clip. It's long, but it just gets better and better, or at least more and more awkward, as it goes on, culminating with Meredith Vieira telling an Ewok not to grab her ass. Other highlights include Hoda doing a Yoda voice, Kathie Lee doing a C-3PO voice, and Al Roker not being dressed as Lando Calrissian.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Cookin' With Coolio, the Book!

Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 2:25 PM

Cookin with Coolio
Though it was probably the most entertaining web-based cooking show ever, Cookin' With Coolio, which ran for a few months last year, was never all that helpful when it came to teaching viewers how to actually cook a dish. The weird fusion of cooking show and hip-hop video was especially heavy on the latter, making it nearly impossible to follow an actual recipe.

Still, if you ever wondered how to make Coolio's Fork Steak (a chunk of beef so tender, he claimed you could cut it with a fork), or his Westside Tilapia, a new book will make the whole process much clearer. Cookin' With Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price by "Coolio the Ghetto Gourmet" hits bookshelves on November 17 and will feature those recipes and more, as well as additional content, like a chapter entitled "How to Become a Kitchen Pimp" and another devoted to cooking "Pasta Like a Rasta," which is something I've been attempting for years with only limited success.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Joanna Newsom and Andy Samberg? Really?

Posted by Mike Conklin on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 10:49 AM

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Does this make you like him more or her less? Discuss. (Perhaps worth noting: while trying to type the word discuss a second ago, I actually typed the word disgusting.)

[Zimbio]

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Monday, October 26, 2009

Sex and the City Becomes Stage Serial Cedar City Falls

Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 4:30 PM

Cedar City Falls
The Times interviewed four of the ladies behind Sex and the City over the weekend about their new stage serial Cedar City Falls, whose fourth episode runs tomorrow night at the Cell Theater (at 7pm and 9:30pm) before moving to Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo for the next four episodes every Tuesday in November. The soap-y comedy about the residents of a small Midwestern town marks Liz Tuccillo, Cindy Chupack, Elisa Zuritsky and Julie Rottenberg's first collaboration since the end of SATC in 2005, and features a rather impressive cast of TV and theater vets, as well as a strong set of guest stars (just like a real TV show!).

The relatively bare-bones staging of the serial—for which all the actors are donating their time and the $18 admission is very affordable given the talent assembled—makes you wonder what the writers want to do with this series. Could this be a way of audience testing a new show, the beginnings of a years-long live soap, or just some friends trying out a new format for the fun and challenge of it?

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Friday, October 16, 2009

The Office Shows Us the Proper Way to Make a Gay Joke

Posted by Mike Conklin on Fri, Oct 16, 2009 at 10:11 AM

The best part of last night's episode of The Office (which was refreshingly free of the honeymooning Jim and Pam, by the way) involved Kevin trying to explain to Oscsar, who's gay, why they would have very different experiences were they to be put in jail. Someone should tell young hollywood types that this is how you write jokes about homosexuality—where the stupid person winds up looking stupid, and not like someone to be envied by a bunch of hateful frat boys.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Brooks Brothers' New Mad Men Suits Practically Sell Themselves

Posted by Lauren Savit on Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 1:02 PM

Mad Men suit by Brooks Brothers
For all you Mad Men fans out there who want to live more like Don and crew, but don't think sexually harassing your secretary is the way to go, Brooks Brothers has the perfect solution! Partnering with AMC and Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant, Brooks Brothers has created a suit inspired specifically by the classic looks of Don Draper and Roger Sterling.

According to ArtsBeat, the suit goes on sale next Monday (October 19) and is available until November 8th (air date of the season 3 finale!), so for those of you who are planning to dress up as Don and Betty for Halloween (and have a generous budget, as the suit will run you about a grand) you're in luck! Unfortunately, there's still no word on when the Trudy Campbell Hat Line or Salvatore Romano Tie Collection will hit shelves.

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Monday, October 12, 2009

Mad Men: Of Love Letters, Late-Night Calls and Closets

Posted by Lauren Savit on Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 3:53 PM

Lee and Sal Mad Men
I feel a bit ambivalent about last night's episode of Mad Men. On the one hand, the action was kind of clunky and predictable (believe me, I called some of this stuff back in August, but on the other I think my mild disappointment with the events unfolding made me notice some really small, yet absolutely amazing details that I'm usually too preoccupied to really notice.

But first, the plot: Conrad Hilton has taken to calling Don in the middle of the night, waking the entire Draper clan and sending Don to the office at 5am. I can't wait to be an eccentric millionaire. As Don heads to work he spots Miss Farrel jogging (I didn't mention it in that week's recap, but it did come up in that episode how she's an early morning jogger) and is all about giving her a ride, in more ways than one. Miss Farrel acts all coy, so he just drives up to the house where she's renting an apartment. This will be important later.

Continue reading »

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Adbusters Can't Get Their "Subvertisements" on the Air

Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 3:09 PM

Beloved (Canadian!) culture-jammers Adbusters have been trying to pay networks to play their new series of TV spots that they've cutely dubbed "subvertisements", but so far there are no takers. FOX reportedly turned them down and MTV is ignoring their queries, proving once again that the revolution will not be televised, even if it's willing to pay for ad time. Here, then, is the first of Adbusters' awesome as-yet-unaired subvertisements, "Commercial Breakers" (music by Remano Eszildn, motion graphics by Alex Kurina):


(Design You Trust)

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