TV Talk

"NBC released its new, pretty damn incredible all-network singing spectacle "Brotherhood of Man" video just in time for the Super Bowl yesterday. It's notable on several fronts: [...] it maybe, just maybe means broadcasters are once again open to the idea of giant, networkwide image campaigns in which all of its stars get together to shill for their supper." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"From the late seventies until the early nineties, the big networks regularly forced their actors (and even news anchors) to assemble each summer to participate in what was called a "mondo" shoot. All hands were on deck to sing (and dance) the praises of CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox. These campaigns featured specially written songs meant to tell viewers just how awesome the network was ("ABC:... more... - Andrew C (✓)

"38.) The Return of Jenny Now Georgey M has found the man of her dreams and settled down with a family, it's time for her to get back out there. Petey D's daughter has just finished filming on the excellent second series of White Van Man (airing later this month) so she must be looking for some extra income to support her current hubby (whatever happened to him?). Ideally she would come back in a story called The Doctor's Granddaughter, where it's revealed she is..., Amy's mother! Dun~dun~duuunnnn!" - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"If you are a comedy nerd who still mourns Arrested Development, who watches every live-action show on Adult Swim, and who's addicted to comedy podcasts like Comedy Bang Bang, there's a cabal of performers you can't escape. (Not that you would want to. There's a reason they keep getting the work.) Many of them have a shared background in the Groundlings or at the Upright Citizens Brigade theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Many of them also pop up in ensemble comedies like My Idiot Brother and I Love You, Man. It's a group whose members' reliable good taste means that, when you see them guesting on sitcoms, it assures you that you're consuming the right shows. And now, a mathematical investigation into who among this group of actors makes the most sitcom appearances -- as well as which sitcoms employ the most of them -- has refined a mess of data into a snapshot of the truly most valuable actors AND the most unmissable TV comedies." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

2 hours of.... living dead air *badoom-tish* - Johnny from iPhone

...once football season ends, I can deal without TV, but once the Fall returns, I'm a sucker for it... sigh - .LAG liked that

I think that's amplified by that show. What's the point of 'teaching a lesson' to someone who doesn't need it ;) - Johnny from iPhone

...well that's the thing: is this show a tongue-in-cheek jab at the 1%, or is it a sly reminder to the 99% who their economic benefactors—their bosses/feudal lords—are? I'm not sure which angle is right. - .LAG liked that

"We're really doing this thing. Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely and I are off writing the new season of ARRESTED to premiere on Netflix in 2013. The original cast is back. There are offices and parking spaces. We're shooting this year. I wish I could give more specifics but, for the moment, even the schedule is being kept under wraps. But it's happening and it's great to be back with my pals from the show. More later as it becomes okay to release further details..." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I might actually sign up for Netflix if/when this happens. - Andrew C (✓)

"And here is the point that many of us still have difficulty understanding: Pretending to not see race ignores the experiences of people of color and the racism they do sometimes experience. Race-blindness is a well-meaning assertion of a white worldview, one where race is never an issue." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"In a clumsy effort to avoid racist portrayals, many TV shows and films have decided to make all black characters superhumanly virtuous or placed them in positions of authority. [...] This virtue, they think, will distract us from the fact that all the main characters, the ones allowed to be truly human with successes and faults and a range of emotion, are still white. TV is still a white world, one where racism exists, but in small amounts that allow us all to sleep easily." - Andrew C (✓)

"Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue has dismissed suggestions apparently made by husband Steven Moffat that the program will return in 2012. The showrunner was supposed to have said on Friday (January 20) that a third series of the BBC drama - which concluded last Sunday (January 15) - would air later this year. Sherlock S02E03: 'The Reichenbach Fall' © BBC / Hartswood Steven Moffat, Executive Producer and Head Writer of Doctor Who © BBC Moffat also apparently claimed that scenes showing how Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) survived his rooftop plummet in series two finale 'The Reichenbach Fall' had already been filmed. In response to the comments, Vertue has taken to Twitter and clarified that a 2012 Sherlock return is "sadly unlikely". "Sorry to be a killjoy but @steven_moffat didn't actually mean S3 of #sherlock would tx before end of year," she wrote. "I think that is sadly unlikely." Moffat has, however, said that fans will not have to wait "that long" for the next series of... more... - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"The British drama series "Sherlock" has been renewed for a third season, the show's producers said. The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as contemporary London sleuths Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Since both actors have been busy lately with their film careers, the show's future was unclear. But the BBC said "Sherlock" co-creator Steven Moffat confirmed its renewal on Twitter Sunday night. "Of course there's going to be a third series -- it was commissioned at the same time as the second," he said. The BBC said no start date has been announced for Season 3, but the the show is expected to begin airing again next year." - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"But it wasn't the coarseness of the humor in Whitney and the debut of its toxic twin, Are You There, Chelsea? that offended. It was the cynicism. Both shows have been unfairly written off as "old-fashioned" due to their multicamera filming style and dependence on creaky tropes like laugh tracks and casual racism. [...] The sour venom that runs through both Whitney and Chelsea is thoroughly contemporary, a shallow nasty streak that mistakes shocks for laughs and phony conflict for comedy. Pairing the two is like spiking lemon juice with vinegar, and the scheduling only makes the insult worse: no matter their morals, no family should be forced to endure television this bad." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I haven't had any interest in those shows. - Derrick

Heather and I thoroughly enjoy Whitney....last weeks episode being among our favorites. - Chris Topher

Wow. Frank Darabont's plans for the s2 opener of Walking Dead would have been AWESOME. Too bad AMC fired him. - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

The season so far has kinda sucked, but I would say you should watch the midseason climax, if nothing else. It actually paid off some of the otherwise pointless meandering. (I realize that could just be my rationalizing why I'm sticking with the show, aka sunk cost fallacy.) - Andrew C (✓)

Next week real looks good. - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"Hey, go make sure the coast is clear, because we're going to tell you a secret: Some of us have already seen all of the second season (and the Christmas special to boot). Yes! Through various means, some Downton-hungry fans of the Yankee persuasion have gained access to the episodes and already gobbled them up and drank down the Christmas special as a delicious digestif. So, from those of us who basically live in the future and know all about the world which you are about to experience, let us give you two points of advice on how to best enjoy the second season of Downton Abbey." - edythe from Bookmarklet

"Roku, maker of competitively priced set-top boxes that stream Web video on TVs, is introducing a new device it thinks will offer a simpler option for Internet connectivity than some “smart” TVs. Today, the company is unveiling plans for its Roku Streaming Stick, a flash-drive-sized dongle that plugs into the back of television sets to enable the same streaming capabilities as a Roku box. The Streaming Stick will deliver HD streaming video and feature Wi-Fi capabilities, a processor and upgradable software. The Stick won’t require any cables or a separate remote. It will, however, work only on TV sets with HDMI ports that are enabled for Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL). Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said the company plans to continue making Roku set-top players. But as the television industry shifts more toward smart TVs that connect to the Internet without use of an additional device, Roku wants to be the solution that TV manufacturers look to in the interim" - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

"It's very confusing being in a theater watching the filming of a TV show in which an actress playing an actress is having a fantasy of playing a character in a stage musical about a movie star in a movie musical." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"So, for the sake of that disappointed, "of course it is/they are..." feeling you get when you see the Beatles at the top of a best bands of all-time list, I didn't include the two NBC sitcoms and the FX whatever-it-is. There has to be at least SOME intrigue." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

I am really looking forward to this airing on New Years Day. - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

I cannot wait. - m9m, Crone of FriendFeed

Justin Halpern created "Shit My Dad Says" (twitter feed, book, and TV show) and then wrote on "How to Be a Gentleman" the following year. "What you may not know when you're watching your favorite TV show is that many of the writers on that show most likely worked, at some point in their careers, on a show you absolutely hated, a show that made you question the intelligence of the network that was airing it, a show that felt as soulless and forced as a Kardashian wedding. Lots of talented people work on shows that just don't work, and our show was no exception. " - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"GANSA: Here's a kind of a cool thing. We borrowed the idea from them, we changed the idea, and then in the second season of the Israeli show, they borrowed from us in how we changed the show for American television. And we're going to borrow from their Season Two to help us. So it's like this crazy circular - it's really very cool." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

(I am so curious to hear how Homeland differed from its original.) - Andrew C (✓)

"then I thought about it some more, and realized I was succumbing to the same kind of thinking that makes it impossible for, say, a great comedy to get any kind of Oscar traction. We're just hard-wired to think of drama as "better," even as we're also aware that comedy is harder to execute than drama is. Is the genius of "Arrested Development" somehow lesser because it's ultimately silly? I don't know." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"I think we have a bias towards great dramas not just because they're more serious by design, but because they seem to hit us on a visceral level. [...] But overwhelming joy is a visceral reaction, too, and that's the feeling I get these days watching "Parks and Recreation." Yes, it can be a gut-bustingly funny comedy [...] and that alone is an impressive achievement. But what puts "Parks and Rec" over the top for me is the sheer level of happiness it creates in me as I watch it." - Andrew C (✓)

HBO has posted a 2 minute vignette on the production of Season 2. - Bluesun 2600 from Bookmarklet

(in comments:) "If I can make a TV-to-NBA analogy, The Walking Dead is TV's version of Vince Carter; it has the right look and clearly has the potential, but it constantly blows it in big moments and then pretends it's injured in order to deflect blame." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"Hey, guys! Have you ever wanted to watch a show with two lead characters are a pair of ineffectual, flailing fools, easily bamboozled by their terrifying, remorselessly cruel daughters? Well, even for you guys, I think there's probably something better out there for you." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

The show is pretty good. The title sequence is truly outstanding. - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"somehow, despite this awful system, the networks have sponsored what amounts to a modern sitcom renaissance. While cable has all the ambitious dramas, with a few notable exceptions [...] it's the networks that make the best, funniest, and often the most original half-hour comedies--a category that includes not merely the unimpeachable top dogs ("30 Rock" and "Parks & Recreation"), but also many skilled and lively second-tier options, including the warm and hilarious "Happy Endings," "Raising Hope," "Modern Family," the unheralded but excellent "The Middle," the appealing new "Up All Night," "The Office" (currently on the upswing), "How I Met Your Mother" (on the downswing, but with a solid history), and "Cougar Town" (which is also on hiatus, but I'm in denial about that)." - Andrew C (✓) from Bookmarklet

"None of these shows are "Community"--"Community" is its own thing, the brainchild of Dan Harmon, an auteurist weirdo so obsessive (and admittedly self-destructive) that his commentaries on the second season posted on the AV Club are as engaging as the show itself. I want Harmon to get to keep making his show, but I'll be grateful whether he does or not. Because if I can get three (or... more... - Andrew C (✓)