Tuned InTelevision
FX’s Justified, coming off a second season that was one of the best things on TV in 2011, returned last night with an episode that included new nemeses, an icepick-wielding adversary and some old-fashioned Western shootistry. If …
Tuned InReview
I got to watching Glee late last night, and before I fired up the Tivo, asked my Twitter feed its verdict on the episode. “The best in a while,” came the answer. Also: “The worst in a while.” This being Glee, not only did the …
Tuned InTelevision
Deep within a pretty fascinating New York Times profile last week of Eddie Brill, the comedy booker for Late Show with David Letterman, gave his explanation why the show booked only one female standup in 2011: “‘There are a lot …
Tuned InTelevision
When a major Broadway musical gets ready to launch, its producers will often take it on the road and show it in previews before it officially launches. NBC has taken a similar approach with it’s musical-about-a-musical (that may …
Tuned InNews Media
As we’ve known for a while, Stephen Colbert‘s satirical run in the South Carolina GOP Presidential primary has one minor hitch: you can’t vote for him. That is, the filing deadline to get on the ballot has passed, and the state does not allow write-ins. The ballot is locked. But last night, Colbert announced on the Report that he’s found …
Tuned InReview
Even before Fox debuted Fringe in 2008, the series suffered under the unfair question of whether it would be the next version of its producer J.J. Abrams’ Lost. Once the show aired, it was quickly clear that the show had no such …
Tuned InTelevision
Performance, like politics, has a lot to do with setting expectations. Ricky Gervais’ hosting performance at last year’s Golden Globes was incendiary partly for its content–acid jokes about Scientology, corruption and Robert …
Tuned InTelevision
A while ago, Tuned In Jr. needed to look up a fact for homework, so he went on Google and looked it up. Within a few minutes, he had the information he needed, and as is my wont in such situations, I said in my best Tennessee Tuxedo voice: “Phineas J. Whoopee, you’re the greatest!”
Tuned In Jr. asked what I was talking about, and I …
Tuned InReview
Spoilers for the season 6 premiere of 30 Rock below:
One of the best set pieces in the pilot of 30 Rock had Jack Donaghy, meeting Liz Lemon for the first time, give her a withering rundown of her personality, habits and …
Tuned InTelevision
Last night on The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert announced that he would give in to the cries of “Carolaniacs” and put his name forward as a candidate for President (or “President of the United States of South Carolina”) in his native state for the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary. (The popular outcry, oddly enough, exists not just in his …
Tuned InReview
Judging from the reports of my TV-journalist brethren at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, yesterday was Casual Racism Day, brought to you by CBS. First, a panel for new hit 2 Broke Girls devolved into a …
Tuned InTelevision
So ABC had its turn to present at the Television Critics Association press tour yesterday, and recently installed network head Paul Lee addressed the question that I’m sure you were dying to hear answered: “So yeah, Paul, how …
Tuned InNews Media
If the all-night toss-up call in the Iowa caucuses was a nail-biter, last night’s New Hampshire primary was—what’s the opposite? A nail-grower? Each network news division called the race for Mitt Romney at 8 p.m. ET on the dot (after hinting at the non-surprise outcome beforehand). So what was left to keep viewers around on a …
