Take Your Banter and Shove It

07.27.11 Written by Matt

Last night’s “Daily Show” picked up on something I’d never noticed before: CNN anchor Don Lemon has zero patience for the banal banter about human-interest stories that he and other anchors are supposed to engage in. Lemon appears to be one of those old-fashioned “journalists” who are interested in “reporting” “news” — and not, say, going along with a stupid story about how Hogwarts would be more expensive to attend than Harvard:

Female reporter: “…more than $43,000 — and that’s only for one year. Tuition is actually the biggest chunk. Just to send your kid off to become a wizard, it’s gonna price you right out of the ballpark, I’d say.

Lemon: Okay. I say it costs zero, because it doesn’t exist.

The whole report (below) is pretty great, and it almost makes me want to watch CNN. Like, if I had any interest in the world beyond finding new pictures of corgis, Don Lemon would be my news person of choice.

Read the rest of this entry »

12 Comments TAGS: , , , , ,

TV’s Most Memorable F-Words

07.08.11 Written by Josh

Ever since 1965, when theatre critic/known sado-masochist Kenneth Tynan uttered the word “f**k” on “BBC-3,” one of George Carlin’s seven words you can’t say on TV has been, well, said on TV. It’s an easy word to overuse, and it’s only used effectively in two situations: 1) in an unexpected live moment, and 2) by skilled professionals. My current favorite cuss artist is Susie Greene on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which returns to HBO this Sunday for its eighth and possibly final season. Played by Susie Essman, Greene has unleashed numerous toxic tirades at her “fat f**k” husband, Jeff, and his “four-eyed f**k” client, Larry David, since the show began in 2000. In honor of Susie, and for all those who don’t mind dropping an F-bomb (I’m sorry for using that phrase, I really am) every so often — or constantly if you’re on one BBC comedy — here are ten great moments of the F-word on TV.

Read the rest of this entry »

21 Comments TAGS: , , , , , , ,

Louis C.K.: Why Farts Are Funny

06.29.11 Written by Matt

Louis C.K. is making the late-night talk show rounds to promote the second season of “Louie” on FX, and last night’s stop was “The Daily Show,” where he broke down why farts are funny. Ordinarily, explaining a joke saps it of humor, but Louis does a great job of defending the inherent humor of farts from the people who claim they’re too lowbrow. He doesn’t name names, but he’s clearly talking about people who write for Slate, read the New Yorker, discuss foreign cinema at parties, travel to Europe more than America’s National Parks, and/or have a diploma from Swarthmore. In Louis’s words: “You don’t have to be smart to laugh at farts, but you have to be stupid not to.”

Video below.

Read the rest of this entry »

15 Comments TAGS: , , , , ,

Warming Glow Interview: Rob Riggle

06.06.11 Written by Matt

During the third day of his peyote trip, Riggle finally saw Ultimate Party Dog

Rob Riggle is a rising star in comedy: the Marine Corps Reserve lieutenant colonel was a featured player on “Saturday Night Live” for one year (2004-05) and a “Daily Show” correspondent from 2006-08 before landing scene-stealing roles in several comedies, most notably as a taser-happy cop in The Hangover. He left “The Daily Show” after signing a talent holding deal with CBS that led to a recurring role on “Gary Unmarried” and the starring role in “Home Game,” a comedy pilot that didn’t get picked up this spring.

Presently, Riggle is in New Orleans filming 21 Jump Street (in which he’ll play a villain against Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum), and he can also be seen this summer in Larry Crowne and Adult Swim’s “NTSF:SD:SUV.” He took a few minutes last Thursday to talk about his career and promote the AXE Dirtcathlon, a web series he’s hosting for the relaunch of the shower gel’s brand.

NOTE: The interview has been edited for length and clarity, mostly to disguise the fact that I’m incredibly awkward on the phone, have poor interviewing skills, and often can’t muster subject-verb agreement when speaking. For example, here’s the unedited transcript of how the conversation started:

Read the rest of this entry »

13 Comments TAGS: , , , , ,

Jon Stewart Killed It

05.03.11 Written by Matt

Jon Stewart’s first “Daily Show” after Osama Bin Laden’s death didn’t disappoint. With the first ten minutes of last night’s show, Stewart — accompanied by Photoshops that “Daily Show” staffers must have been working on since the news broke — took great angles on everything from Obama interrupting “The Celebrity Apprentice” to the pronunciation of Abottabad. And, much like he did in his first show after 9/11, he found a way to end his monologue with a sincere celebration of freedom.

Watch the videos below. It’s way better than whatever you’re supposed to be doing at work.

Read the rest of this entry »

7 Comments TAGS: , , ,

[avatar]
Welcome to Warming Glow.
| Register
Follow Us