About.com TV Comedies

'Andy Barker, P.I.' DVD Review

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:55:39 +0000

This week sees the DVD release of all six episodes of the short-lived but much-loved 2007 NBC series Andy Barker, P.I., which starred Andy Richter as the titular accountant-cum-private eye, and was co-created by Conan O'Brien. Read on for my review of the DVD.

Poor Andy Richter never really got the success he deserved after leaving Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and watching Andy Barker, P.I. (which was co-created by O'Brien himself), you really see what a missed opportunity that was. He's such a likeable, fun performer, and he brings great humor to his role as the world's nicest guy, who gets a strange thrill out of solving sordid crimes by sheer force of decency. Read the rest of the review ...

Image courtesy of Shout! Factory

'Andy Barker, P.I.' DVD Review originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 03:55:39.

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News Bites: 'Whitest Kids,' David Lloyd, Syfy

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:35:20 +0000

A few bits of news from this past week:

IFC has renewed horrible sketch-comedy show The Whitest Kids U'Know for a fourth season, which will begin January 19. The episodes have been expanded from 15 minutes to 30, which is terrible news for fans of humor, but good news for people looking for torture material, I guess.
Veteran sitcom writer David Lloyd, whose resume is like a rundown of the greatest sitcoms of the last 30 years (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Cheers, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, Taxi, Wings, Frasier), passed away last week at age 75. Lloyd's most enduring legacy may be his writing of the infamous Mary Tyler Moore episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust," in which the characters are unable to contain their laughter at the passing of the titular clown, and for which Lloyd won an Emmy.
Syfy has decided to get in on the TV-comedy action, picking up the live-action/animation hybrid Outer Space Astronauts, which will debut December 8. The show stars creator Russell Barrett as an inept spaceship captain and was, according to a press release, produced entirely in Barrett's basement, co-starring his friends. Filmmaker David O. Russell is on board as an executive producer.

Photo courtesy of IFC

News Bites: 'Whitest Kids,' David Lloyd, Syfy originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 03:35:20.

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Preview: 'Super Dave's Spike-Tacular'

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:01:57 +0000

The Pitch: Bob Einstein returns as Super Dave Osborne, the inept stuntman who was a Showtime and Saturday-morning-cartoon star in the late '80s and early '90s, in this four-episode series. Super Dave does the same thing he's always done, getting horribly injured in ridiculous stunts gone awry, with the added element of a fake "reality" show that follows him as he prepares for his daredevil feats.

Verdict: This show really feels like the relic of another era, and not in a good way. Super Dave is the kind of dopey, inoffensive caricature who's right at home on a Saturday-morning cartoon, but his one joke has really worn thin over time. There's a bit of nostalgic amusement to be had here, but otherwise it's pretty forgettable.

Airs: Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Spike TV

Premieres: Special preview tonight at 11 p.m. EST; regular premiere November 17

Photo courtesy of Spike TV

Preview: 'Super Dave's Spike-Tacular' originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 07:01:57.

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Networks Get Sitcom Ideas From the Internet

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:48:28 +0000

I suppose, given that we have sitcoms based on movies and books on the air right now, it makes sense that TV networks are now looking to websites for new comedy ideas. In the last week, two online concerns have been optioned for comedy pilots, one from an established comedy-creating enterprise, the other from some dude on Twitter. In the less surprising announcement, Comedy Central is teaming up with The Onion for a show based on the fake-news site's sports video segments. Turning two-minute videos (which often feature jokes that get old after one minute) into a half-hour series is going to be a tough task, but if the show can open up beyond lampooning sports commentary, it could work. Then again, the last show Comedy Central picked up based on online videos was the atrocious Secret Girlfriend.

More unlikely is the story of Jeff Halpern, creator of the Twitter feed S*** My Dad Says, which has been optioned by CBS for development as a sitcom. Halpern's Twitter feed is a collection of amusing things uttered by his crotchety 73-year-old dad, which basically means that CBS just paid money for the rights to a character type that's on half the sitcoms in existence (the acerbic old man). Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan will executive produce, and chances are anything remotely edgy about the Twitter feed will get sanded into typical CBS blandness (starting with the title).

Meanwhile, About.com TV Comedies Guide is a great idea for a sitcom, right?

Image courtesy of Comedy Central

Networks Get Sitcom Ideas From the Internet originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 04:48:28.

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ABC Axes 'Hank'

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:51:54 +0000

In a move that should surprise no one, ABC has canceled the terrible, poorly rated, savagely reviewed Kelsey Grammer sitcom Hank after just five episodes. The writing was clearly on the wall last month, when the network renewed all three other sitcoms in its Wednesday-night lineup, and left Hank conspicuously out. Ten episodes have been produced, and the network has given no indication that the remaining five will ever air (although there's a good chance they'll surface on some lonely summer night). For now, repeats and specials will fill Hank's 8 p.m. time slot, but surely one of ABC's comedy pilots in development will eventually find a home on Wednesdays; hopefully something that's a better fit with the off-kilter single-camera comedies that air afterward.

Oh well, at least the show is still nominated for a People's Choice Award.

Photo courtesy of ABC

ABC Axes 'Hank' originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 02:51:54.

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People Choose Same Old Stuff

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:25:01 +0000

Not to sound like an elitist snob, but I don't really put much stock in the People's Choice Awards. The nominees chosen by bored people wasting time on the Internet do not exactly reflect the best, most creative, most interesting works of art and entertainment. Plus, they're pretty much always the same. The nominees for the 2010 People's Choice Awards (airing January 6 on CBS) were announced yesterday, and The Office, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Desperate Housewives (really, still?) are nominated for Favorite TV Comedy. Alec Baldwin, Charlie Sheen, Jim Parsons, Neil Patrick Harris and Steve Carell are nominated for Favorite TV Comedy Actor, and Alyson Hannigan, America Ferrera, Amy Poehler, Eva Longoria Parker and Tina Fey are up for Favorite TV Comedy Actress.

Some of these shows are good, and some of these people are talented, but it really is just a list of stuff people could remember while they were voting. The Favorite New TV Comedy category, meanwhile, just nominates half the shows on the air (Accidentally on Purpose, Brothers, The Cleveland Show, Community, Cougar Town, Glee, Hank, The Middle, Modern Family). That's every new network comedy, plus one dramedy (Glee). Talk about meaningless.

Check out the equally uninspired nominees for TV drama, and head to the People's Choice Awards website for the whole list, and to vote for your favorites (or the ones you hate, just to throw things off).

Photo courtesy of NBC

People Choose Same Old Stuff originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 06:25:01.

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'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Goes to ... TV Guide Network?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:40:48 +0000

We've had some interesting repackaging deals for TV comedies to go to basic cable lately, with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia reruns headed to Comedy Central, and 30 Rock reruns to Comedy Central and WGN America. Now comes the strangest of them all: HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm will start airing second-run episodes in February 2010 on the TV Guide Network.

Yes, the channel that tells you what's on the other channels has been slowly de-emphasizing its listings, and focusing more on actual programming, of which Curb will now be a part. I don't know if people realize that you can watch this channel for actual programming yet, or how shows will fare even with smaller versions of listings covering part of the screen. Regardless, this seems like a kind of lame home for the edgy Curb, which has already also been sold into broadcast syndication. The show will move to TV Land once the multi-year TV Guide deal ends, which seems like a slightly better home but is still not quite the right fit. I guess Comedy Central fell asleep on this one.

Photo courtesy of HBO

'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Goes to ... TV Guide Network? originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 04:40:48.

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Watch New Viral Videos From 'The Office,' 'Sunny in Philadelphia'

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:13:33 +0000

New receptionist Erin (played by Ellie Kemper) on The Office has become quite the partner in crime for Mindy Kaling's pop culture-obsessed Kelly, and now the two have put together a pop group called Subtle Sexuality, whose music video "Male Prima Donna," along with two short webisodes about its creation, can be watched on the NBC website. It has nothing to do with any particular Office episode, but it's amusing on its own, and features more of Kelly and Ryan's depressingly codependent relationship.

This past week's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia featured Mac and Dennis devising the brilliant novelty item known as the Dick Towel, and now those curious about this useless, crass bathroom accessory can go to its official website for a hilariously pathetic commercial (warning: kind of explicit) and, apparently, the chance to order your very own Dick Towel. If anyone buys one, please illuminate us in the comments.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Watch New Viral Videos From 'The Office,' 'Sunny in Philadelphia' originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 08:13:33.

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'30 Rock' Conquers the World (Except Germany)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:30:30 +0000

Things are going pretty well for NBC's acclaimed sitcom 30 Rock (although honestly I've found the current fourth season a little disappointing): This week, 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin and onetime 30 Rock guest star Steve Martin were named as the hosts for this year's Academy Awards (airing March 7, 2010), which is a somewhat odd but intriguing pairing. Oscars producers have been trying to shake things up with their hosting choices, and pairing two actors together who aren't known as a team is certainly an unexpected way to go. Martin has hosted solo before, but will his deadpan style mesh with Baldwin's more over-the-top personality? Will they do comedy bits together, or alternate the spotlight? It'll certainly be interesting to watch (and probably give a big boost in visibility to 30 Rock).

The show could probably use the help in Germany, where it debuted as the flagship show on a new cable network with a 0.0 rating, meaning it pulled in fewer than 5,000 viewers. Granted, the show is already available on DVD and online in Germany, and aired on a fledgling channel still struggling to find an audience, but that still isn't good news for potential worldwide success for the show, which does have a lot of U.S.-specific cultural references and humor.

If Germans like James Franco, maybe they'll be pleased that the increasingly odd actor (who just signed on to a two-month stint on daytime soap General Hospital apparently as part of some performance-art project) will be guest-starring on 30 Rock, playing himself, getting into a publicity-generating manufactured romance with Jane Krakowski's Jenna Maroney. Sounds like just the sort of weird project Franco himself would pursue these days.

Photo courtesy of NBC

'30 Rock' Conquers the World (Except Germany) originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 06:30:30.

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Comedy Central Gives Nick Swardson His Own Show

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:08:47 +0000

In continuing with its tradition of giving every popular stand-up comedian his or her own showcase series for at least one season, Comedy Central has announced that Nick Swardson, perhaps best known to Comedy Central viewers as rollerskating gay prostitute Terry on Reno 911! (he's also a frequent Adam Sandler sidekick), will have his own six-episode sketch series sometime next year. Swardson's stand-up special, Seriously, Who Farted?, premiered on Comedy Central last month, and you can get an idea of his comedy style from that title. The show doesn't really sound like it will have a new approach other than to let Swardson do his thing; whatever happened to building a sketch-comedy show around a group of people? I don't think Comedy Central has had a troupe-based show since the end of Upright Citizens Brigade, and I kind of doubt Swardson will be able to carry a whole series on his own.

Photo courtesy of Comedy Central

Comedy Central Gives Nick Swardson His Own Show originally appeared on About.com TV Comedies on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 02:08:47.

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