It’s odd: I don’t like “American Dad,” I’m never going to watch “The Cleveland Show,” and it’s been years since I’ve cared about “Family Guy,” yet I don’t really mind Seth MacFarlane. He can go ahead and get wealthier than the Mormon church off of bad TV shows, but he’ll never get my bile pumping like Leno or reality TV.
That said, this College Humor video really nails how lazy he’s been with creating new shows. The believability of the talking animals here is especially on point, from French cat to Nazi hamster to right-wing anteater to hip-hop pterodactyl and beyond. Saaaaaayyyy… hip-hop pterodactyl? That reminds me of this. If you don’t think bear-o-dactyl’s awesome, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.
One month ago, I set the over-under on episodes of Kelsey Grammer’s “Hank” that would air at 5.5. Collect your winnings if you took the under, because ABC has canned it after five episodes (and one Great Pumpkin preemption).
The show is filming episode 10 and will stop production after wrapping that episode. ABC… has no immediate plans to run the remaining five segments. [The Live Feed]
In slightly higher quality cancellation, Fox has axed Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse,” which had low ratings but a small and nerdy fan base. Unlike “Hank,” Fox will air the second season’s remaining episodes. Whedon and the nerdy fan base are sad. Whedon wrote:
I’m off to pursue internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about.
Gosh, when he puts it that way, I don’t even feel bad for him. I kind of wish I were rich and fired.
Wanda Sykes’s new late-night show debuts tomorrow on Fox, and although I’ve never particularly liked her comedy, I have to admit that my curiosity’s piqued. Why? Because even though she’s an unattractive black gay woman and I’m a handsome white ladykiller, we can at least agree on one thing: booze. Well, booze and being attracted to women. But let’s stick to booze for the purpose of this post.
Sykes will conduct a discussion similar to Bill Maher’s, but not as serious or confrontational. The panel will sit at a bar, complete with cocktails.
“I’m not going to work this hard and not be able to drink,” she told critics via conference call this week. “I want you to feel like you’re hanging out at my spot, seeing my friends.” She’ll sip vodka and club soda since, “If you spill it, there’s no problem with wardrobe.” [Denver Post]
I don’t know. I can’t convince myself that I’ll enjoy watching Sykes, but I definitely appreciate her drinking on television. At the very least, it’ll be better than “Mad TV.”
Japanese game “Brain Wall” (nicknamed human tetris) started as a component of the TV show Tunnels’ Thanks to Everyone [Seriously?] and has since been adapted in 38 more countries. We need to replace every show on TLC with this.
You know what the maddening thing is? There was an American version of the game, Hole in the Wall, which was pulled from the Fox lineup after the first episode and replaced with episodes of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? [THR]. Last night, there were three hours of new episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos on ABCFAM, but we only get one episode of American Brain Wall? Not cool, guys. Not cool.
More awesomeness inside:
“It looks like you’re writing an abortion joke. Can I help?”
“Family Guy” creator/star Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein (who voices Lois Griffin) were supposed to do a special on Fox called “Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show” sponsored entirely by Microsoft’s Windows 7, but the computer giant has backed out due to the racy content of MacFarlane’s and Borstein’s jokes.
“Almost Live Comedy Show” was announced earlier this month as part of a major marketing partnership Microsoft had sealed with a wide range of News Corp. properties to promote the launch of the computer giant’s Windows 7 operating system. As part of the deal, “Almost Live Comedy Show” was set to run commercial-free, with Microsoft marketing messages built into the special instead.
But that was before Microsoft execs attended the special’s taping Oct. 16… For most of the special, MacFarlane and Borstein made typical “Family Guy”-style jokes, including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest. [Variety]
What a surprise! Who could have expected that the writers for “Family Guy” would write the exact kind of jokes they always write? Couldn’t they have told some more Macintosh jokes?
Oh, corporate executives, don’t ever change. “What do the kids like? We need to look hip and edgy! … WHOA! That’s hip and edgy! There’s no way we could do that. We might get letters from Christians.”
The Emily-versus-Zooey Deschanel civil war will have a chance to rage on in the Warming Glow comments once again, as E! news has reported that the younger, indie-er actress will guest star with her wonderfully-bosomed big sister on the Fox hit.
“I do know that Emily’s sister is going to be on the next episode, which is exciting,” [David Boreanaz said]. “I think she’s going to play Emily’s cousin. It’s a whole relationship thing that’s going on now with us and it continues to grow and grow and get crazy.”
Frankly, this whole battle over which Deschanel sister is hotter is tearing our comments section apart. Let’s allow cooler heads to prevail and settle this once and for all: I would make out with either Deschanel sister. And if it helps heal these wounds, I’d even do it with both at the same time. Um, so if any Fox representatives are reading this, please pass that along to the Deschanels and have them get back to me, because… ya know… *gunfingaz*
