Category: Entertainment Talk
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How should TV shows reference their pop-culture peers?
To its credit, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has not exactly tried to reinvent that which cannot be reinvented. Still, for all it has done fine with of late, there are areas where it could have hit higher marks. While its two latest episodes took up trite concepts, the execution was fresh in some spots.…
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American Experience: 30 years of placid, pensive pauses
PBS’ American Experience began its fourth decade by recollecting an obsolete entertainment entity. The irony could not be starker. “The Circus,” a two-part episode spread over last Tuesday and Wednesday, premiered 17 months after its subject shut down. The resultant emotional wounds in Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey devotees are still fresh. That much…
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Conan, Michael Palin overdue for a crossover
Times were much simpler for Conan O’Brien when he last had Michael Palin on his show. Palin, who rose to fame in his native Great Britain as the youngest member of Monty Python, made four appearances on NBC’s Late Night during the O’Brien era. In September 1997, he was coming off Fierce Creatures, his second…
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School of Rock holds up by sticking to serious fun
Dewey Finn (Jack Black) does not need Horace Green Prep as much as the other way around. How quickly School of Rock establishes that twist is as refreshing as it is perplexing. Dewey is simply engrossed in his music-oriented dream, to a point where he exasperates others. Because of that, his saga is little more…
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall keeps getting better
The masterminds behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall can take delayed secondhand satisfaction in Bill Hader’s Emmy triumph. The co-creator and title player on HBO’s Barry, Hader was named outstanding lead actor in a comedy series Monday night. It was his first solo Primetime Emmy victory and first for a live-action performance. (He previously shared in South…
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The Dragon Prince: New decade, same expectations for Ehasz, Volpe
Surprisingly, it has been 10 years since Avatar: The Last Airbender aired its final episode on Nickelodeon. Now producer Aaron Ehasz and director Giancarlo Volpe have reunited to create a show that could rival its predecessor. This Friday, Netflix will unveil the first season of The Dragon Prince. Ehasz and Volpe helm the program as executive producers.…
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Common threads between Anchorman 2 and D2
Wasn’t it Anchorman 2 where someone told the protagonist, “Everyone wants to be something bigger”? No, that was Don Tibbles speaking to Gordon Bombay in Mighty Ducks 2. But if Freddie Shapp had said the same to Ron Burgundy, the line would have fit just as well. That common thread between the Anchorman and Mighty…
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McCain was a perfect cameo for Wedding Crashers
One week before John McCain passed away, the Paramount Network happened to screen his lone theatrical film appearance. Not all TV airings of 2005’s Wedding Crashers leave in McCain’s uncredited guest spot, opposite James Carville. Some channels file that under the throwaways when condensing the presentation to accommodate commercials and whatever is airing next. But…
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10 ideas to emulate Shark Week
Critical bumps aside, Shark Week commenced its fourth decade on Discovery this past Sunday. Handfuls of athletes and crossing-over TV personalities highlight the laypeople in the event’s 31st observance. Among 28 windows of programming over eight evenings, the network pledges riveting fact-based insights and conservation education. The summertime institution is filling a public-relations prescription after a…
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What other Nick classics should reboot?
Hardly anyone can keep up with the rumored and confirmed Nickelodeon reboots. Most dispatches from the nostalgia department mention only the latest revivals. This week, the Hollywood Reporter’s Lesley Goldberg focused on Viacom’s bold Rugrats announcement. In the next two years, the groundbreaking Nicktoon will end its longest hiatus with a new season and film…