The strongest part of the new Hangover III trailer is how heavily it focuses on Zach Galifianakis. I am pleasantly surprised with some of the new reveals. It would be too easy to create the same film for the third time. I am not saying this couldn’t still be the case, but I will admit that the third installment of the franchise has the opportunity to do something different. That is refreshing.
Even more entertaining, Part III seems to rely heavily on the Alan character. Considering the comedic genius of Zach Galifianakis, this will pay off in spades. Following the death of Alan’s dad, we can see that he has gone off the deep end. He no longer takes his prescribed medication, and his once tolerable antics are out of control. I loved the Tab commercial while burying his father. What can I say? Sex sells.
So it’s agreed that the Wolfpack needs to come together, and take Alan to a center where he can get the help that he needs. Then, all of a sudden, John Goodman shows up and demands they bring Mr. Chow to him. He keeps Doug as collateral, of course. The journey spans across several exotic locations so the boys can locate, kidnap, and return the elusive Chow. I wasn’t too excited at first, but I can honestly say that I am now. This new trailer has opened my eyes to the comedy trilogy.
As CBS will tell you themselves, quite often and with a bit of smugness, they are “America’s Most Watched Network”. I struggle to see how that is possible given that all their shows seem to be the same – either a predictable crime procedural or a predictable sitcom – but apparently people like predictability because CBS sits on top of ratings and has done so for years. They have a lot of pilots in production, a lot is typical CBS fare (I wonder if Chuck Lorre has naked pictures of Les Moonves somewhere, or he’s just made a deal with the devil that somehow the free world will love his crappy shows) but there are a few that look to be somewhat promising.
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I’m choosing to believe that this one will be better than the typical crime procedural. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I am. After NBC decided not to go forward with a Dwight centered spin-off of The Office, Rainn Wilson has found himself on CBS playing an “overweight, offensive, irascible detective as he tries, and fails, to change his self-destructive behavior.”
Based on a Swedish series of crime novels,THR has said that the show would take place in Portland which will be interesting to see if they make the city a character itself. Hart Hanson, creator of Bones, is behind this project which is promising. No matter how crappy Bones has become, it started off quite strong and was also based on a series of novels so he’s in familiar territory. Not only that but any show that has Dennis Haysbert is one I will watch.
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If you aren’t watching Raising Hope on Fox, well then you need to remedy that, immediately. Greg Garcia’s show about a man who finds himself a single dad raising his daughter while living with his parents is easily one of my favorites. Add in My Name is Earl and Yes, Dear and it’s safe to say I’m a Greg Garcia fan. So you can only imagine my excitement when I saw he was developing not one, but two pilots this year. They both have potential and some pretty big names attached.
The premise of the unnamed project looks to have similar plot points as Garcia’s Raising Hope given that it’s a grown man living with his parents. This time, however, it’s Margo Martindale (who is perhaps one of the greatest character actresses ever) moving in with her recently divorced son, Will Arnett while her husband, Beau Bridges, moves in with their daughter Mary Elizabeth Ellis who you probably know as the Waitress from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Add in Michael Rapaport and this is a great looking cast.
One has to imagine that Will Arnett is primed to have a commercially successful show. We all know that Arrested Development is a genius show, but his 2010 sitcom, Running Wilde, was also really good but sadly was canceled after one season. Up All Night had potential but has crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. Is this Will Arnett’s time? We’ll have to wait and see.
If Super Clyde doesn’t get picked up and CBS instead opts for another mindless crappy formulaic sitcom, I might cry. I have a feeling I’ll be joined by quite a few Anglophiles and Potterheads.
Ron Weasley is possibly coming to TV and I couldn’t be happier. Rupert Grint stars in the title role of Garcia’s Super Clyde playing the fast-food worker who decides to become a superhero. Everything in that sentence sounds awesome. If I needed more reason to want this show to make it to air, I’d find it in Stephen Fry. Yes, Stephen Fry. That Stephen Fry.
This show is a fangirl’s dream come true!
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Speaking of My Name is Earl and all things Britain, Jason Lee is returning to network TV in a remake of the British crime drama, Second Sight. I’ll admit that I really didn’t think anything of this pilot until I saw the logline.
[quote]Based on the British crime drama, the gothic psychological thriller follows a detective who is suddenly afflicted with an autoimmune virus that causes him to hallucinate about subjects in his subconscious. He soon learns that catching killers depends as much on insight as eyesight.[/quote]
I have not seen any of the British version so I can’t attest to how successful this premise is, but it certainly sounds different and promising. Perhaps a bit of Medium mixed with Ghost Whisperer with a bit of Memphis Beat added in for good measure. Set in New Orleans, much like Backstrom I imagine the city will be a star as well.
Michael Cuesta is behind Second Sight and if his work on the re-imagining of the Israeli show Hatufim (Cuesta is an executive producer of Homeland) is any indication, the production value of Second Sight should be rather high. He’s also worked on this little show called Dexter that has a few fans so he’s no stranger to big shows.
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Lie to Me, Awake, Commander-in-Chief, Lord of the Rings, Ringer
That’s just some of the shows and movies people involved both in front of and behind the camera of The Surgeon General have on their resumes. Given how much I like each of those shows and movies, I imagine that my knowledge of the Surgeon General is going to go beyond this episode of West Wing.
We have to hand it to Jason Issacs who resisted the urge to burn NBC to the ground after his show Awake was canceled. I don’t think anyone would have blamed him as it was as close to a crime as you can get without actually committing a crime. Now he’s moved on over to CBS and is in the lead role as the top doctor in the country, the Surgeon General. His chief of staff is being played by one of my favorites, Kathryn Morris. She’s done a few things here or there but has mostly been unheard of since her show Cold Case went off the air in 2010.
Both Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings obviously) and Mike Colter (Ringer) are listed as doctors but their roles aren’t any more specified than that.
From Samuel Baum, who created Lie to Me, The Surgeon General looks to be like most other political shows but instead of the President, it’s the Surgeon General. Will this be enough to make it seem like a fresh and unique show? Well Rod Lurie is directing that pilot and he did a pretty nice job making a show about the President seem new when he was an executive producer of the canceled before it’s time, Commander in Chief, so chances are good.
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BUFFY IS BACK!!!!!
Okay, well sort of. Sarah Michelle Gellar is back at least. After spending a year over at CW with Ringer (a show people should have stuck with as it got much better as it went on), Gellar is teaming up with a little known actor/comedian named Robin Williams for a workplace comedy about a father/daughter run ad agency.
If Gellar and Williams weren’t enough to pique your interest (seriously?) then some of the other cast will. Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine) will play the agency’s art director and James Wolk (Political Animals) has signed on as a copywriter.
Of course having big on-screen names is great, but having TV royalty behind the scenes is even greater. David E. Kelley might not have hit gold with Harry’s Law but one has to imagine that Crazy Ones will find an audience pretty quickly, even if they are people who are just looking to finally have something to fill that Just Shoot Me! void in their lives.
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So there we go! A somewhat varied group of prospects that hopefully will see the light of day. If for no other reason than perhaps we can see something else besides Big Bang Theory and NCIS promos on the network. That would be a refreshing change.
It’s been 15 years since Vince Vaughn last graced the SNL stage and after this week’s show, one has to wonder why it’s been so long? I actually loved this episode as weird as it was, and boy was it was weird.
Unlike last week’s press conference with Kim Jung Un, this week’s with Pres. Obama (Jay Pharoah’s imitation is getting better each time out) and two senators discussing gun control was actually funny. Even if it wasn’t funny, those wigs were enough to laugh at. Bill Hader has a lot of forehead going on there. A lot.
The monologue was a little odd and different but I liked it. I can’t tell you why, but I did. The interaction with the audience, the fact it wasn’t musical, how very “Vince Vaughn” it was, it all worked for me.
Bill Hader’s wig in the cold open was just a preview for the awesomeness that was HBO presents Al Pacino Accused Murderer Biopic Series. Between Phil Spector and the Menendez brothers shouting “Tequila”, I was rolling. Hader’s Al Pacino impersonation is so good that that it isn’t hard to see why they often bring it back. I do wonder when Pippy Longstockings found the time to not only go to law school but then go on to pass the bar and actually become a judge – that is one amazing ginger!
The Weather Channel’s show, Stormy Skies might be the best sketch I’ve seen in a long time. I’d be really okay with The Californians being laid to rest and Stormy Skies becoming a recurring thing. I had tears from laughing so hard. They had every stupid weather man cliche – the time and temp, the standing outside in torrential downpours for no logical reason, and Aidy Bryant as the person who decides it’s their big chance to get on camera behind the weather reporter was a highlight. I just can not tell you how much I loved this sketch. Needs to happen again, please.
I have a feeling that “History of Punk – The Bizarros” has been sitting on a shelf for awhile just waiting for this week. With good reason. Whatever your opinion of the former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher was, you have to admit that the pre-recorded bit was pretty good.
Of course whenever you have anything even remotely close to The Sex Pistols it’s going to be awesome by default. I do think they did a good job treading the line between trash talking and paying homage to a very controversial figure.
By the time we got to “Short Term Memory Loss Theatre”, I started to wonder if this was actually the Bill Hader show, hosted by Bill Hader, starring Bill Hader. Not that it’s a bad thing, he just was a very strong presence in every bit of the show so far. This sketch was a good example of what made this episode so good; new sketch ideas, not necessarily based on current events or pop culture references, that are actually funny more than they are strange. It seems like that has been lacking a bit in recent years. I don’t know if it’s because it’s been so long since Vince Vaughn had a huge movie so they didn’t feel as if they could spoof it like they did with Les Miserables, The Avengers, and The Hunger Games but whatever it was, it worked. Of course Bill Hader breaking is always funny. Enter Landlord!
So there are rumors floating around that Seth Meyers is leaving. First his name was included in the running for joining Kelly Ripa on her morning show. Then it was that he was going to be taking over for Jimmy Fallon when he moves to The Tonight Show. I can see him leaving but what I can’t see is who will fill his seat on Weekend Update. I can tell you who it can’t be and that is Kate McKinnon.
Whether she intended to or not, she is quickly becoming one of the best “guests” on Weekend Update. I think I say this every time but I just can’t get over how entertaining she makes these stories of ridiculous people. A woman claims to be raised by monkeys? Let’s get Kate McKinnon on that one. And she nails it! Now if she would only get a bit more comfortable not relying on cue cards so much, things would be perfect.
Have I mentioned that this episode was a bit weird? There was just a feeling about the show in general that was just different and the Junior High Prom sketch was the embodiment of that feeling. As awkward as it was, I still really liked it. Not to mention, more Aidy Bryant! I always get excited when I see her get more airtime. Of course let’s not kid ourselves, the real winner of this sketch was those sweet dance moves. Well that and Nasim Pedrad’s face as Vince Vaughn throws punch on her telling her to “Make better decisions.”
I would like to thank SNL for completely ruining my life. Now every time I hear that theme music, I will start singing ‘babababababasketball”. Life ruiners. Of course then I will think of Dave Tesh with his little hammer and I will laugh so maybe my life isn’t as ruined as first thought.
The night closed out with this happening. As if it couldn’t get any weirder or more awkward they brought back “Last Call if for Lovers” and we all cringed with delight.
Overall, this was a fantastic show. I really wasn’t expecting much which might have played into it but seriously, I loved it. I’d go so far as to say it might have been one of my favorites of the season so far. The writing seemed to be fresher instead of feeling like they had to fit the host into certain sketches and there weren’t a lot of recurring sketches which is refreshing.
Of course it’s that time of year where everyone goes on hiatus again for a little bit so no new episode until May 4th when Zach Galifianakis hosts.
Of course whenever you have anything even remotely close to The Sex Pistols it’s going to be awesome by default. I do think they did a good job treading the line between trash talking and paying homage to a very controversial figure.
Grizzly Bomb 