Brad Trechak
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Obama Would Face Off With Jon Stewart But Not Stephen Colbert?
According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, President Obama would happily appear on 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' but is hesitant to appear on 'The Colbert Report'. Gibbs further explained that "I have yet to see a politician best Stephen Colbert in an interview on his show."There could be another reason for the President's opinion given the different context of the two shows. Jon Stewart presents himself in a pretty straightforward fashion. He finds contradictions in public figures and makes them more obvious. Colbert's humor is more subtle and requires an understanding of satire and irony.
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Introducing the New 'Tonight Show' Logo
For those of you hoping for a last-minute reprieve of Conan O'Brien, you are way too late. To prove it, NBC has developed a brand-spanking-new logo for 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.' What's old is new again.
The show has posted the new logo on the website of the now-defunct 'Jay Leno Show,' ironically. You can also see construction of the new stage and some of the workers holding a coffee cup in the background. The new logo is after the jump.
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'American Idol' Contestant Ousted Over Criminal Record
Ladies and gentlemen, remember that if you plan on appearing on the biggest reality show on television, be sure that you don't have an arrest record. Apparently, one of the 'American Idol' hopefuls named Danielle Hayes was ousted because she has had, among other things, a DUI, theft, driving with a suspended license and marijuana possession.It's not that big a deal, particularly if she isn't a repeat offender. 'Idol' is likely just afraid of tarnishing its squeaky-clean family-values image, particularly if she ended up getting to the finals or even close to them. Given how drugs and booze are usually associated with the music industry, perhaps they should just let her go directly into the final round.
This is a show that made William Hung and Sanjaya into stars. How could they not let Ms. Hayes audition? At the very least, it would lead to some good drama.
Syfy Teams With Roger Corman for 'Sharktopus'
It's a match made in heaven. Roger Corman has teamed with SyFy to bring us the schlock science-fiction TV movie 'Sharktopus'. The movie is being billed as the SyFy version of the movie 'Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus', a title that abandons all pretense of subtlety, like 'Snakes on a Plane'. Roger Corman has made his reputation on cheap, low-budget science fiction movies (including 'Little Shop of Horrors' and 'Death Race 2000'). SyFy (formerly the SciFi Channel) has set up its Saturday nights with the same concept. It would be surprising if that night didn't simply becoming another 'Roger Corman Presents'. At least people would then know what to expect.
Or, to make it even cheaper and show the same quality of movies, just show a Roger Corman movie every Saturday night. Who doesn't get the occasional hankering to watch the 'Black Scorpion' movies? Perhaps SyFy should also contact Troma and make the circle of sci-fi B-movies complete.
'Cash Cab' iPhone App Review
A little while ago, we mentioned that 'Cash Cab' was being released as an app for the iPhone. I couldn't resist picking it up and writing a quickie review, mostly because I was once a contestant on the show. Honest.The game itself is pretty cool, particularly if you like trivia. It simulates riding to various NYC touristy locations (Empire State Building, South Street Seaport, etc.) while being asked questions. This is different than the live show which uses bars and restaurants.
Sadly, the game does not offer cool 3D graphics of Ben Bailey. It does, however, ask various trivia questions while simulating a cab ride. There is a map showing your current location and length of time to your destination, so there is a time limit. Like it's live counterpart, the game also allows a shout out and to phone a friend, but the friend has to be selected from one of the built-in friends within the game.
There is a free version of the game available in the iTunes App Store if you want to try before you buy. Due to my personal connection, I decided to splurge the $2.99. My only regret in my experience playing both the live game and the one for the iPhone is that I forgot to tip the cab driver for a great journey.
WWE Will Have Its Own Network Soon
World Wrestling Entertainment will soon have their own cable network. That's what you do when you own one of the hottest properties on cable television. Ask Oprah. Of course, Vince McMahon has been wanting this since last year. Given their dominance of pay-per-view, it's surprising that they don't have their own PPV network as well. Or maybe they do and my information is outdated.This makes sense. WWE owns millions of hours of wrestling footage from the last six or so decades from the various properties it's acquired. They could have all kinds of wrestling shows on their network, including either 'Raw', 'Smackdown', WCW, ECW ... the list goes on. They could even have retro 80's shows for old fogies like myself. For reality television, they could show reruns of 'WWE Tough Enough', or have new seasons of the show. Eventually Channel Drift will kick in and they'll have shows like Doctor Phil but with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
Whatever happens, I can rest in the comfort that my cable company will never have this network. It's too good for them.
'Smallville' - 'Warrior' Recap
(S09E12) Tonight's episode provided a reason towards why Clark eventually puts on the costume. Ironically, it revolves around George Lucas. Apparently, despite having superheroes, the 'Smallville' universe has the Metropolis Comic Con (to go along with such ones as the San Diego Comic Con and the New York Comic Con). The episode takes the opposing opinion of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons from their 'Watchmen' comic that a universe populated with actual heroes would lose interest in heroic comic books.When one thinks about it, the 'Star Wars' references make sense. It was the success of the first 'Star Wars' movie that led to Hollywood's interest in science fiction and fantasy that led to the first 'Superman' movie. Irony of ironies.
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Which Shows Are on the Endangered List?
We're hitting that time of year when the fates of television shows are decided. The Hollywood Reporter has posted their list of potentially cancelled shows as well as a probability score of renewal next to each.
While it is not surprising that 'Smallville' is given a high probability of renewal, it is somewhat disturbing. The show has become extremely different since its move to Fridays, focusing more on the geek factor than the teen angst. It's come a long way from the 'Buffy'-clone it started out as. If anything, The CW should cancel the series and go immediately to a spin-off Superman series, perhaps called 'Metropolis'.
It's also a good thing that 'Chuck' has recovered from its precarious perch and become a ratings winner for Monday night. What can I say? I like the show.
So what do you think of THR's list? Is it on the mark? Are the critics crazy? Sound off in the comments.
Betty White Facebook Campaign Picking Up Steam
Is it possible for Betty White to become any more popular? She's been famous in every era of her adult life. Now the Facebook campaign for her to be the guest-host on 'Saturday Night Live' has reached 188,000 cyber-signatures.Whether people remember her from 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' or 'The Golden Girls' (or even 'The Golden Palace') or her Super Bowl Snickers commercial, they want more Betty. While it's unlikely Lorne Michaels will do anything with 'SNL' that he doesn't want to do, this could be a publicity boon for the show. On the other hand, the public is very fickle when it comes to this sort of thing.
Can the 88 year-old actress even handle the stress of a rehearsal week followed by a late-night live show? Filming a commercial or a clip for '30 Rock' is one thing, but this would require a level of energy she may not have anymore.
Now where is that Facebook campaign for Abe Vigoda to guest-host 'SNL'?
Conan's Contract Really Did Promise Him 11:35
There have been arguments for and against, but a revelation from The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Conan O'Brien's contract for 'The Tonight Show' did specify the 11:35 time slot. It's good to know that Conan did, in fact, learn from David Letterman's mistakes.The only leg NBC had to stand on was the belief that Conan's contract did not specify the time. It didn't, but only in a 2004 amendment to an original 2002 contract (which makes it a seven year wait, not five). It was assumed by all parties that the amendment supporting the wording in the original article. NBC, being evil, tried to take advantage of this. Truth was the first casualty of the Second Late Night War.
We all knew that Conan had integrity. The fact that he kept quiet about this particularly contract details only proves it more. Wait until he gets another show on a different network (Fox?) and then we'll have a Late Night War of a different level. Or maybe he could try to remake 'Lookwell'.
Alison Brie On Shifting Between 'Mad Men' And 'Community'
Richard Hatch Still Ticked About Being Thrown Back in Jail
TV 101: 'American Idol' and the TV Truth Gap
