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Television
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haters
More on the Furious Scrubs Debate
Man, people are just hating on my fun little hospital comedy! "[J]udging by the season just completed, 'Scrubs' may have been best left out to pasture: Here is a show perpetually pleased with itself and running dry on innovations. J.D. (Zach Braff) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) continued their non-consummation. Turk (Donald Faison) and Carla (Judy Reyes) continued their hungry sexuality. A baby failed to truly mellow Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), and a girlfriend failed to sandpaper the rough edges off the Janitor (Neil Flynn). More »
New Classic
One More Thing
Yeah, yeah, I know, Zach Braff gets on people's nerves. But, know what? Scrubs is still one of my favorite sitcoms ever! And this week I was all mopey because I believed the lies NBC was spreading that Thursday's episode was the "the final Scrubs" when actually it's just moving to ABC. So, here is one of my all-time favest Scrubs gags. What's yours? More »
jackie warner
Sponsor Drops Workout Over 'Negative Icon'-Gate
Jackie Warner, star of Bravo's Workout and lesbian fantasy girlfriend to straight women everywhere, is in trouble for being mean on the show and getting called "a negative icon to the gay community." In response to complaints from Warner's former fans, salty green water purveyor and Workout sponsor Gatorade is ending its relationship with the program. The sports-drink giant told the angry mob: "We have notified Bravo we no longer wish to be associated with The Workout and will be pulling our commercials. Furthermore, we will not renew our sponsorship of this program in subsequent seasons." But wait! A new sponsor has stepped forward! More »
battlestar galactica
Battlestar Galactica: Killfest!
What happened this week on The Sci-Fi Channel's space disco Battlestar Galactica? I dunno. I was blotto and thinking about Smurfs. But I took notes, as always. There was more shooting than usual, which is always nice. After the jump, spoilers! Maybe! More »
Downsizing
Yet another auteur filmmaker is making the jump to television (well, HBO). This time it's the brilliant Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, the lovely final segment of Paris, je t'aime) who will be directing (and exec-producing) for an idiot box series. The show, unfortunately, is something called Hung, and is about, sigh, a well-endowed man muddling through middle age. Well, at least half of that is familiar territory for Payne. [Variety]
Yet another auteur filmmaker is making the jump to television (well, HBO). This time it's the brilliant Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, the lovely final segment of Paris, je t'aime) who will be directing (and exec-producing) for an idiot box series. The show, unfortunately, is something called Hung, and is about, sigh, a well-endowed man muddling through middle age. Well, at least half of that is familiar territory for Payne. [Variety]
jackie warner
Workout Star Called "Negative Icon"
Jackie Warner, the personal trainer star of Bravo's reality show Workout and popular fantasy girlfriend of straight women, is facing a fan backlash for acting rude on the show. They're calling for a boycott! Apparently she fired a guy named Peeler (rudely), and now she's being branded as a "negative icon to the gay community." Harsh! Shouldn't that type of forceful condemnation be reserved for, you know, Perez Hilton? [LA Rag Mag]
advertising
You Will Watch 'The Mole' Whether You Know It Or Not
Is ABC trying its hand at subliminal advertising? Check out this network lead-in for The View, with its brief flash of a teaser ad for another show. It may not be quick enough to qualify as "subliminal" technically (if you know the formal threshold, please comment), but it makes ABC's point: be prepared for an ad to flash unexpectedly in front of your eyes at any moment! Click to watch.
advertising
Do We Really Want Better Ads?
MTV Networks is having its upfronts today, where it pitches its new season to advertisers. The network is also trying to sell sponsors on its "podbusting" techniques—i.e., making commercials that are like mini-shows in themselves. The theory, of course, is that making ads more like regular programs will defeat the almighty Tivo, with content so compelling that you cannot help but watch, slack-jawed, as the hypnotic 60-second Mountain Dew Bourne Ultimatum spinoff flickers before your eyes. They're so entertaining! Way better than boring old regular commercials. In one sense, this is corporate America trying to give us what we want. But do we really want better ads? More »
hannah montana
The Kiddies Are Abandoning Miley Cyrus!
Hannah Montana, the kids' show starring exploited teenager (or, alternately, picture-posing strumpet) Miley Cyrus, ran its first new episode in two months last Sunday. And the ratings were down 24%! Could this be the end for our hero—done in by Annie Leibovitz, Vanity Fair, and a child-unfriendly wave of bad publicity? More »
bob stokes
Weather Channel Anchor Accused Of Being Leering Dirtbag
Weather Channel anchor Bob Stokes is being accused by a former on-air colleague, Hillary Andrews, of being a sexually harassing, stalkerish jerk. For an extended period of time. Andrews says that Stokes harassed her predecessor out of a job, and then began harassing Andrews even harder, constantly hitting on her and asking her inappropriate questions; i.e., "Will you lick my swizzle stick?" Andrews is now suing Stokes, and two highlights from her court documents are below, describing some of Stokes' conduct. Also, a bonus clip: a colleague forgetting Stokes' name, on-air. Maybe she blocked him out of her mind. More »
television
How Blogs Helped New York TV
There are rumors afoot that Ugly Betty, the ABC dramedy set inside a gay person's head, will shoot its next season on location in New York. This makes perfect sense. An insider at the show says it's cheaper to shoot on location (really?), but here's our theory: these days, what with the internet at all, it's also a great marketing strategy. Look at a show like Gossip Girl, which is constantly showing up in tabloids and on, um, gossip blogs when they're filming around town. Free publicity! A cigar-chomping network executive's dream! Even a show like 30 Rock, which isn't exactly tabloid fodder, surely benefits from a few sightings once in a while. Shooting on location also offers a sense of immediacy just that isn't there on a studio backdrop (or green screen) or in a script written in a faraway writer's room. More »
comedians
Jordan Carlos Wants A Real Job
Jordan Carlos, the comedian we once touted as a possible candidate for the Saturday Night Live Barack Obama impersonation position (Lorne Michaels didn't agree, obviously), is getting tired of being pigeonholed as a black comedian without a steady job in television. Although he does have that gig playing Stephen Colbert's black friend. He's been on the NYC comedy scene for years now, and he feels he's not getting the respect he deserves. Specifically, he's a little peeved that the NBC show 30 Rock ripped off his own character idea, and that the Daily Show is one big exclusive white person club! More »
public relations
Mocking Fox News "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
Rich Jernstedt, the chief marketing officer of the massive PR firm Fleishman-Hillard, emails us to explain why, exactly, someone at his firm had the bright idea of mocking Fox News as a nasty, bedbug-infested den of disease, and offering Fox guests a free de-lousing in order to get publicity for a pest control client. Rich, Rich, you don't understand: we're with you on this one. Fox News is a nasty, bedbug-infested den of disease. And we like to see a PR firm uncharacteristically attack a powerful media outlet. We're hoping for a full-on war here! But, reading between the lines of Rich's email, it sounds like Fleishman has done some serious groveling since its CEO got mocked by Fox on-air in retaliation last week. His full email about "our friends at FOX," below: More »
advertising
New Optimum Online Ad Trades Reggaeton For Suburban R&B!
Optimum Online commercials: they are now their own genre. A specific category at the Grammy Awards, a spot in the Olympic Games, and a bust on Mount Rushmore are reserved specifically for the psychedelic, grating ads that this strange company produces. The original "Reggaeton-Jet Ski-Lifeguard" spot was an over-the-top classic after only 17,000 exposures per person in the Tristate area; the follow up spot, all shiny, kinetic, and Hype Williams-esque, expanded the motif. Now there's a new one in circulation, and it shifts the setting to suburbia, with a sort of knockoff Gwen Stefani character whirling through a household with backup dancers, and the odd appearance of an old lady who is also a race car driver. Philosophers, break out your thinking caps. The full ad is after the jump. More »
scandals
Liberal Hillary Clinton Won't Get Tough On Miley Cyrus
At long last, the mainstream media stops its glad-handing of Hillary Clinton and pins down her position on the most important issue of our time: Vanity Fair's scandalous Miley Cyrus pictures. Clinton reveals that Cyrus is a "great kid," and vows that this should be a "teachable moment" for parents and children alike. Good work, ET! Then she gets interrogated about her position on Barbara Walters' affairs, her workout routine, and how great her last interview with ET really was. Why the deafening silence on these issues, Obama? Video of the interview is below. More »
buzz bissinger
Shouty Sportswriter Is Sorry For Yelling
Buzz Bissinger, the excellent sportswriter and blog hater who made himself a very unpopular man very quickly by becoming unhinged and cussing out nice-guy Deadspin editor Will Leitch on TV last week, has had some time to think about what he did. And he's sorry now. First his wife told him he looked bad. Then everybody else did. "I started reading emails sent to me. The majority were predictably vindictive — dickhead, horsefucker, douchebag, windbag, ugly, stupid, etc. But what struck me far more is that many of the emails were smart, not laced with personal invective, and made cogent points about sports blogs and the Internet." He has perhaps now learned a valuable lesson, or three! More »
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