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Television's Amusements of the Week (10/13-10/19)

Most weeks, a handful of amusing moments from TV shows stick out at me. Sometimes these moments are intentional; many times they're not. Regardless of their intent, here are five that caught my eye last week.

1) Silas Goes Greek (The Vampire Diaries)

The flashback styling on The Vampire Diaries never fail to amuse me, but Silas's ancient Greek style might take the cake for funniest costuming yet. Forget the outfit; the curls alone would have earned this moment a spot on the list.

2) Mellie's Drunken Monologue (Scandal)

 

 

I love Mellie in just about any form, but drunk Mellie might take the cake. With just one scene in which she celebrates her continued ability to make her "puppet husband dance," the bouffanted first lady stole the show.

3) Julia's Nightmarishly Hideous Vest (Parenthood)

 

Sometimes when I'm cold, I'll wrap a blanket around myself as a makeshift poncho. It's not a good look, and yet it's still 10 times more fashionable than this sartorial monstrosity. I know Julia's supposed to be in a rough place on the show, but this vest needs to be burned with fire.

4) Sarah's Gummy Bear Scheming (MasterChef Junior)

 

Don't be fooled by the cute exterior of MasterChef Junior's youngest competitor Sarah. As she enjoyed the perks of a challenge win, safety and a massive container of gummy bears, she explained to Gordon Ramsay her plan to make Jack think she's his friend so it will be "that much easier to wipe him out." She then called Jack over so she could drop a gummy bear from above as a sign of good will.

 

 

 5) The Return of Jessie Spano (Dancing with the Stars)

 

 

I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so ... happy that this actually happened. Last week Elizabeth Berkley reenacted her iconic caffeine addiction scene from Saved by the Bell on Dancing with the Stars, and it was everything I wanted it to be.



What television moments amused you last week? Chime in with a comment below.

Early Previews of Fall 2013 TV Pilots

For the past several television seasons, a number of shows have released their pilots online prior to the shows' actual premiere dates. These pilots tend to sporadically pop up over a period of weeks. So to make things easier for you, I'll be keeping a running list of the 2013 fall pilots you can preview before their television premieres.

Early Pilot Previews

• Trophy Wife
• Watch on Hulu
• Watch on ABC
• Back in the Game
• Watch on Hulu
• Watch on ABC
• The Goldbergs
• Watch on Hulu
• Watch on ABC 
• Welcome to the Family
• Watch on Hulu
• Watch on NBC
• Ironside
• Watch on Hulu
• Watch on NBC
• We Are Men
• Watch on CBS

Bonus

You can also watch The Mindy Project's second season opener a week before its premiere date Tuesday September 17th.

• Watch on Hulu
• Watch on Fox

"Breakfast at Tiffany's"

Trailer 

 

Opening Scene

 

Closing Scene

Transmedia Storytelling Article

For those who are interested, here is a link to Henry Jenkins' "Transmedia Storytelling" article he penned for MIT Technology Review. 

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/401760/transmedia-storytelling/

"YMCA" as performed by the Lord of the Rings characters

Whoever edited this video must have had a lot of time on their hands!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVx6_5J7Ymw

More Br Ba

Since the focus seems to be on Breaking Bad, I though that I would toss this out for everyone. Breaking Bad just feels right in so many ways - maybe it is due to the five-act structure.

The West Wing: NBC's Cavalcade of Stars

I am reviewing Janet McCabe's book on The West Wing for my final paper, as well as finishing watching the final episodes of the series on Netflix. Even before Sorkin and others left the show, it has been remarkable to see who has appeared over the years in regular or guest appearances, beyond the ensemble cast of Bradley Whitford, Dule Hill, John Spencer, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Rob Lowe, Janel Moloney, Joshua Malina, and Martin Sheen.

Some of the Hollywood heavyweights and welterweights I have spotted:
Stockard Channing
Elisabeth Moss
Mary-Louise Parker
Gary Cole
Marlee Matlin

Lily Tomlin
John Goodman
James Cromwell
Adam Arkin
Alan Alda
Jimmy Smits
Kristen Chenoweth
Glenn Close
Matthew Perry
Christian Slater
Timothy Busfield
Milo O'Shea
William Fichtner
Teri Polo
Oliver Platt
Mary Kay Place
Clark Gregg
Mark Harmon
Connie Britton
Terry O'Quinn
Ed O'Neill
Ted McGinley
Hal Holbrook
James Brolin
Taye Diggs
Edward James Olmos
Jane Lynch

O.K., so maybe I had to consult IMDb to confirm/learn the names of "What's his face?". Playing "Name That Actor" can become maddening while watching the show itself. My point is that there is so much triangulation happening of really smart, savvy actors with other movies and television programs on The West Wing. This show must have been quite a draw for actors working a decade ago in Tinsel Town. A corollary can be found with Grey's Anatomy. When the curtain slides back on the patient du jour in the exam room, the audience never knows which famous or vaguely familiar face will appear (replete with makeup to look like they have a goiter protruding from their necks). Speaking of Grey's, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.), the chief of surgery, shows up on The West Wing as the mayor of Washington, D.C., arguing for school vouchers--as a Democrat.

Who said the variety show with the parade of famous faces is over in this era of television? Seeing multiple Oscar nominees and winners on the list, I have to think of Amy Poehler's joke as host of the Golden Globes Award Show (along with Tina Fey):

"Only at the Golden Globes do the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of television."

Apparently she is not a fan of The West Wing, where it happens weekly.

Best to Worst 'Trek' Films According to Fans

Fans polled at (I think?) the country's biggest Trek con vote Kahn #1, Into Darkness #13, and Galaxy Quest #7...

Can't argue much with the top 7, though I'd shuffle them around just a bit. IGN's full coverage here.

"Breaking Bad's" "Star Trek" Scene Animated

Read all about how the scene came about here (on Vulture).

"'Breaking Bad' Returns to Its Biggest Ratings Ever"

Read it on Vulture.

Who's laughing now?: The use of laugh tracks on broadcast television last season

Laugh tracks have their fair share of critics. They're often derided as outdated, obnoxious and even insulting to the audience's intelligence. Yet it's hard to argue that they're a relic of the past when the highest rated comedy this past season, The Big Bang Theory, heavily features one. Given these conflicting sentiments, I thought it would be interesting to examine the use of laugh tracks on television last season.

Before I get to the laugh track breakdown, I'd like to make a few clarifications about the data I used. First of all, I only examined live action comedies on the big five U.S. broadcast networks. Second, the shows used are from the past 2012-2013 TV season (including mid-season shows that aired at least one episode), not from the upcoming 2013-2014 season. Finally, by using the term "laugh track" I'm referring to both canned and audience laughter.

Here's a chart demonstrating the split between comedies with laugh tracks and those without them.

Next, here's a separate graph for each network's breakdown of comedies.

Here you can see the number of each type of comedy each network has.

This is a representation of how the 11 shows with laugh tracks add up by network.

Finally, here's the list complete list of comedies used for data.

Some Observations: 

• With 11 laugh track shows and 23 non-laugh track shows, just under a third of the comedies had laugh tracks. If anything, I'd probably have expected a slightly higher number of laugh tracks. I'd just assumed that several of the shows I haven't watched, such as Animal Practice or The Family Tools, had them.

• CBS is known for its use of laugh tracks, but I hadn't realized that all of their comedies last season used them.

• In fact, both FOX and CBS are in the extremes when it comes to laugh tracks. CBS used a laugh track in all of its comedies, and FOX didn't use one in any of theirs. NBC and ABC are more mixed, leaning towards no laugh tracks.

• I was surprised to see that The CW had no comedies, either with or without a laugh track, on its line up. 
  
  
  
  

Lost Jerry Lewis film resurfaces

Apparently rare footage of Jerry Lewis' unreleased film The Day the Clown Cried has surfaced on YouTube. Considering that Lewis has publicly stated his utter disdain for the film on numerous occasions and has vowed to never let it see the light of day, the clip will most likely be taken down, so you might want to check it out now while it's available! The footage and article can be viewed at http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/watch-long-lost-footage-jerry-lewis-infamous-day-170821965.html  .

Zen Pencils on Roger Ebert

For those of you unaware, Zen Pencils is a website that takes famous quotes, poems, and blurbs and creates a story around them in the form of a comic. I recently came across this one and have been meaning to share it. Enjoy.
Zen Pencils on Ebert

After the show is the after-show — TV networks look to capi­tal­ize on biggest hits--Washington Post.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/after-the-show-is-the-after-show--tv-networks-look-to-capitalize-on-biggest-hits/2013/08/08/bf5b5674-febe-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html

Below is a snippet from this article.  Social media strikes again!!--Margaret

“‘Breaking Bad’ has been blowing up in terms of social media for the last couple of seasons, and as we roll to the last date, we had a goal to make it as big of an event as possible,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s executive vice president of original programming, production and digital content, who added that the half-hour show will follow a similar format to “Talking Dead.” “This seemed like a great way to do it.”

After all, when people watch a TV show, “they don’t want to go and watch anything else — they want to talk to their friends and the social media world about what just happened,” said Michael Davies, whose Embassy Row productions is behind both AMC companion shows, as well as “Shark After Dark.”

Happy Birthday, Erwin Schrodinger!

Google's doodle today celebrates Schrodinger and his cat. Many happy returns on his 126th birthday....

Sunday silliness from my Despair.com daily calendar:

"It's up to us to produce better-quality movies."---Lloyd Kaufman, Producer of Stuff Stephanie in the Incinerator and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.

For more wonderful demotivational sayings, go to Despair.com!

Lost Orson Welles Film Discovered

Courtesy of © A.M.P.A.S.

It has been reported that a long-lost but now recovered Orson Welles film has been discovered in a warehouse in Italy.  The movie, Too Much Johnson, was Welles' last film he directed just before Citizen Kane. The film is now nearly completely restored for viewing.  For the full story go here.

Lower Your Expectations

Earlier this evening our family headed to the Carmike Cinemas to catch a flick since both of our kids happen to be staying with us (a rarity). Tomorrow we move our daughter back to school. She just realized she will be a junior in college (actually a second-semester junior), so the future angst has kicked in. Our son was called about a job interview in Ohio on Tuesday, so it seemed like tonight was our last chance to catch a movie together.

Admittedly, at the end of her first full week of teaching, my wife was more keen on the popcorn than my choice of movie. I had glanced at a review, but only knew Rob Corddry was in the picture, an actor whose name I knew but I couldn't recall why. I also saw Maya Rudolph's name, so off we went.

The film, The Way, Way Back, was a delight. I had no idea who shared top billing in the film. Allison Janney is terrific, channeling her inner Kathie Lee Gifford. Steve Carrell plays against type. Annasophia Robb is understated (for once). Toni Collette (The United States of Tara) shows the vulnerability and codependency of failed relationships. The main character, a gawky fourteen-year-old boy named Duncan (Liam James, who just turned 17), undergoes a transformation--but one still fraught with nuance. He doesn't become an entirely different personality, as in many a teen movie.  He is inherently believable. The greatest cameo is by the actor Jim Rash (the obnoxious dean on Community) as a loser named Lewis who mans the Lost and Found booth. He is quirky without being over the top (for once).

The outstanding performance is by Sam Rockwell as Owen, a washed-up entrepreneur running the kind of 1980s-era trashy water park that kids hang out at in places I have grown up. His banter is witty. In many ways, he transforms scenes into screwball comedy, delivering bits at breakneck speed. We laughed out loud at him several times. His character is endearing as well. In many ways, he was a male Lorelei Gilmore in this role.

O.K., now that I have talked up the film, you won't go into the movie with zero expectations as I did, but I hope you'll still see it. The overall vibe is affirming and honest. And, surprisingly, we all left smiling. As my previous posts have proven, it is rare for us to find a movie we all can enjoy. Maybe we should lower our expectations more often.

The Era of the TV Anti-Hero

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/08/09/lead-dnt-breaking-bad-mad-men-anti-hero.cnn#/video/bestoftv/2013/08/09/lead-dnt-breaking-bad-mad-men-anti-hero.cnn I saw this video today on CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper. Why do we root for the bad guy? Please copy and past if you would like to view.