Posted Jan 8th 2010 1:15PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Weeds, Emmys, Reality-Free, Nurse Jackie
When I first heard the title of Laura Linney's new show for Showtime, I thought it was going to be something salacious. Well, I was wrong. It's about cancer. And now
Showtime has greenlit The Big C, placing an order for 13 episodes.
The title, actually, is altered from the original announcement. Instead of
The C-Word, it's now
The Big C. Linney's character is a wife and mother who is diagnosed with cancer and her life is dramatically altered.
That sounds like a simple -- perhaps obvious -- situation. However, cancer is something that has touched nearly everybody's life in some way and
The Big C should have instant universal appeal.
Continue reading Laura Linney's The Big C gets Showtime pickup
Posted Jan 2nd 2010 10:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, 30 Rock, Weeds, Reality-Free
More of our best of the decade coverage, which started on Tuesday. You can read the other posts at the link above. Here, we talk about the women who made us laugh the most during the decade.
Since Lucille Ball, television has been a bastion of funny ladies, and the '00s were no exception. Like Lucy, many of the women on this list played second fiddle to no one. And those that weren't the stars of their own shows managed to steal the scene anyway the moment they got in front of the camera.
The '00s will probably go down in television history as one of those decades where the sitcom sputtered and almost died -- again! But it's alive and well now, with an amazing turn-around in 2009. But, as this list proves, it was never truly in danger. Throughout the decade these women provided plenty of laughs in both the hour and half-hour formats, proving that as long as we want to laugh, there will be brilliant actresses around to crack us up.
Here's our list of the top funny ladies of the decade:
Continue reading Best TV of the '00s: Comedic Actress
Posted Dec 16th 2009 8:40AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S02E02) Most people have trouble separating their work life from their life life. But if you're employed by Veridian Dynamics, your work life
is your life life. Always and forever.
So, like Linda in this episode, forget about writing that children's book you've been talking about for years, because the company owns the rights to anything you create -- even stories about lemurs that look like unhappily married scientists. And, like Ted, don't bring your daughter to the company day care service. You'll just end up milking her for inside information about the latest round of layoffs. Oh, and like poor ol' Lem, never ever do it with a company lawyer on company time, unless you can afford $300 an hour.
Continue reading Review: Better Off Ted - The Lawyer, The Lemur, and The Listener
Posted Nov 4th 2009 10:02AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Ask TV Squad, Weeds, Reality-Free
The "
Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in
TV Squad's APB Podcast.
To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them to asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about
Ghost Whisperer,
How to Make It in America and
Better Off Ted.
Continue reading Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
Posted Sep 1st 2009 2:54AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E13) "Women are strong ... until they fall apart." - NancyIt was zingers like the above quote that filled the season five finale of
Weeds. I'm sure there were more, but I dozed off about three minutes into the show. Honestly, I'll check out the first few eps of next season, but at this point, I'm not committed to reviewing the entire season. It's no fun for me, and certainly no fun for you guys, if I'm covering a show I'm just not into. I really hope it improves enough to make me giddy, but I'm not holding my breath.
Nothing about this episode grabbed me, and for that, I'm sad. From the massage therapist that Pilar sent for Nancy ("Don't make me sit on you") to Doug's lame one-liners ("Wanna lick my crystal balls?"), it just wasn't there. I expect a season finale to be filled with eye openers, plot twists, and a fantastic ending that makes me cry that it's over and yearn until the day it starts again. Sorry, it simply wasn't there.
Continue reading Weeds: All About My Mom
Posted Aug 30th 2009 11:02AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Video, Weeds, Reality-Free
The season five finale of
Weeds, "All About My Mom," is coming up Monday night at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime. Kevin Nealon will be hosting the finale to promote his upcoming comedy special,
Kevin Nealon: Now Hear Me Out, which airs Friday, Sept. 4, at 9:30 PM ET/PT on Showtime. Get a sneak peek
here.
While I haven't been all that crazy about this season of
Weeds, there have been a few standout episodes, and I'll miss the show. Something about the crazy life of Nancy Botwin and her clan continues to draw me in, even during what I consider the weaker seasons.
Throughout season five,
TV Squad readers have been debating whether the show is still good, or whether it should take its final bow. After "Ducks & Tigers,"
Collin said, "It is time to cancel this disaster. Whoever thinks this is a comedy should have their head examined." After "Distinctive Horn," however,
Matthew Fleigle noted, "So far this has been one of the best seasons of
Weeds."
Continue reading Preview of the Weeds finale - Is it time for the series to end?
Posted Aug 25th 2009 2:43AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E12) "I could use a little more snakebite on my lips." - DeanHmmm ... what to say about this episode? I kept waiting for something to jump out at me. Some fun witticism from Andy or Doug, or anything really. But it just wasn't there. At this point, I'm just glad there's only one episode left, and hopefully, they can do a major reboot and gain back a lot of the viewers who've left. As many of you have commented this season, what's really lacking is any sort of empathy for Nancy. She just seems lost and twisting in the wind.
Continue reading Weeds: Glue
Posted Aug 18th 2009 3:19PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E11) "If you don't climax, the terrorists win." - Andy to Audra, after the anti-abortionists start throwing stuff through her windowThis is probably my least favorite episode of
Weeds so far this season. I know some of you haven't been digging this season at all, but I've been hanging in there, holding out hope that it'll end on a high note, and even loving an episode
here and
there. But aside from a few Andy-isms, I wasn't really feeling this ep much.
Continue reading Weeds: Ducks and Tigers
Posted Aug 11th 2009 5:01AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E10) "No one is fine around you." - Silas to NancyWell, at least Nancy is starting to have some feelings for her sons again. I guess. I'm not alone in my thought that she seems to have lost the motherly gene she had at the beginning of the series. I dunno ... maybe she never had it to begin with. But since hooking up with Esteban, it's gone out the window -- until it slapped her in the face when Shane took a bullet meant for her.
Now she's all hyped up about Silas getting out of dodge and backpacking around Europe. Except she doesn't realize that it's too late for Silas. He's already grown and running his own illegal enterprises -- a skill he picked up from her. I know it's a TV show, but after the childhood these kids have had, they're pretty much ruined as far as having any sort of normal life.
Continue reading Weeds: Perro Insano
Posted Aug 4th 2009 3:50AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E09) "Night farts happen, especially since I've been dieting." - Andy to Nancy, about sharing a bedThe THINGS you see on
Weeds! Sometimes I don't know whether to be amused or shocked, so this week, I chose a little of both. The sight of Andy suckling Nancy to ease the pain of her swollen breasts ... well, that just never would have occurred to me after I had my babies and found myself in that situation.
And I'm standing by my feeling that Andy goes above and beyond what's called for in a brother-in-law. Then again, suckling the breast of the woman you love probably isn't that much of a stretch for him. But swallowing the milk is a whole other story.
Continue reading Weeds: Suck n Spit
Posted Jul 28th 2009 5:06AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E08) "I've come to reclaim my territory, Superfly." - Nancy to Andy, who's turned her room into a 1960s crash pad First of all, for some reason, I find Alanis Morissette completely annoying as the doctor. I don't know if she's just boring or whether it's because she was mean to Andy: "You're unemployed, you're closer to 40 than 30, you drive a car from a TV show, and your greatest recent accomplishment was beating the upside-down kill screen in Ms. Pacman."
The only upside of her and Andy's date is that it got him to shave that ridiculous Geico caveman beard off. I really appreciate seeing his face again.
I also love the little vignettes at the beginning of each ep with the opening credits. Tonight's featured a file drawer with a "Weeds" file and a "Jenji Kohan" file. I also picked out a "Power of Attorney" file, which came into play later in the episode.
Continue reading Weeds: A Distinctive Horn
Posted Jul 21st 2009 3:16AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S05E07) "We have to get the fuck out of here right now. These people bludgeon innocent golfers for sport." - Shane to NancyOh my gosh. There were so many funny scenes and quotes in this episode of
Weeds, I don't even know where to begin. Let's start with Shane, who surely is the smartest kid on TV right now. When Nancy had him look up the mysterious woman (Zuzao) in Esteban's life on Wikipedia, Shane's translations were spot on:
- Sole heir to a vast telecommunications company: "media manipulator"
- On the Board of the Mexican Stock Exchange: "inside trader"
- Philanthropist: "tax evader"
I mean, really. I'm not sure how old Shane is -- I'm sure one of you will tell me -- but that's darn smart for a kid of any age.
Continue reading Weeds: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Posted Jul 15th 2009 4:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Awards, Weeds, Emmys, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
When it comes to the Primetime Emmy nominations, there are scads of terrific supporting performances to choose from in the comedy field. The difficulty is narrowing it down to just six actors and six actresses (which is better than last year's five each). Maybe the Emmys should take a page from the Academy Awards and double the number of nominations -- this year's Best Picture will include ten noms. That's not going to happen, but that doesn't mean my wish list discussion can't mention all those worthy comedy performers.
Last year's comedy winners,
Jean Smart for
Samantha Who? and Jeremy Piven for
Entourage, were both multiple winners. In Jean's case, it wasn't all for the same role, but Jeremy has been pulling a John Larroquette/Don Knotts in this category. (Larroquette and Knotts dominated this category; the former winning for
Night Court from 1985-88, while Knotts won five times for
The Andy Griffith Show from 1961-67). My wish list would start by shaking things up.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Supporting Categories - Comedy
Posted Jul 15th 2009 2:31PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities, Awards, Weeds, Emmys, Reality-Free
Let's be honest. There are really only four or five real contenders for this category, and most of them were nominated last year. But it's not like the talented Tina Fey (
30 Rock), Mary Louise-Parker (
Weeds), Julia Louise-Dreyfus (
The New Adventures of Old Christine) and America Ferrera (
Ugly Betty) don't deserve the recognition. They all fit the bill, and most of their shows were damn good this year.
I'd be happy to see any one of them go home with the gold on Emmy night. I'd also love to see some recognition for Christina Applegate's work in
Samantha Who?, a great show that got the ax earlier this year.
Continue reading Emmy Wish List: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Posted Jul 15th 2009 10:05AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Dexter, Ratings, Weeds, Reality-Free, True Blood
For a while there, it looked like Showtime, with buzzworthy shows like
Californication, Weeds and
Dexter, was dominating headlines and getting all kinds of praise. In response, their ratings were rising. Meanwhile, HBO had struggled to replace
The Sopranos,
Deadwood and
Rome when all three left the airwaves in 2006-07. New "big" shows like
John From Cincinnati and
Tell Me You Love Me failed to make waves with audiences.
Really, it was
Dexter that started swinging the ship toward Showtime, and in so doing, brought attention to the rest of their lineup. With HBO floundering, Showtime saw an opportunity and took full advantage, offering bold new entries. Apparently there's an audience that looks almost exclusively for premium cable original programming. And everything was going so well ... until HBO managed to snag a piece of America's current fixation on vampires.
Continue reading Poor Showtime: It looks like vampires are putting HBO back on top
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