Joel Keller is a freelance writer from New Jersey. He used to be an IT guy, but decided that writing about Gilmore Girls was more fulfilling. His writing has appeared in Jane, New Jersey Monthly, The New
York Times and Radar, among other publications and websites. He hopes he can write off an flat-screen TV as a tax deduction.
(S06E09) There was so much comedic potential in this week's episode, that I ended up coming away from this one unsatisfied. It played out as essentially two mini-episodes, and while the second one was better than the first, neither was particularly funny.
Michael Scott is always funnier when he produces cringe-worthy moments via his cluelessness. Cruelty just doesn't suit him well, and the only time it really works for him is when he's dressing down Dwight. What I was expecting to see during his and Helaine's double date with Pam and Jim was some blissful obliviousness on Michael's part and seething anger on Pam's part. What we got was a Michael that was about as cruel as he's been to anyone in quite some time.
We've got a new e-mail address for the podcast! If you have any questions or suggestions about the 'cast, please e-mail us at tvsquadpodcast [at] google [dot] com.
This week, actress Linda Purl joins me, Jason Hughes and Kona Gallagher to talk about her guest starring stint as Pam's mom on The Office -- she's on tonight's episode, by the way. She also chats about her long acting career (remember her during the waning days of Happy Days?), her work with the California International Theatre Festival and her current success as a touring lounge singer.
After the interview, which is about 30 minutes, Kona, Jason and and I talk about the following:
(S01E07) For the first half-dozen episodes of Cougar Town, legions of watchers have been wondering along with me what would happen when a) Courteney Cox remembers she's not playing Monica Gellar anymore and dials it down a notch and b) the ensemble starts melding with each other a bit more. Well, we seemed to get that in this episode, and it made for a funny and engaging half-hour.
Do I still have issues with the show? Sure. But this episode was the best sign I can think of that Bill Lawrence and company are going to get the show on a funny footing by the end of the season.
(S05E06) The thing that always amazes me about this show is that how Old Ted is perfectly content to tell his kids about all the tawdry things he or Barney did back in those heady days of the mid-to-late-'00s, but every so often he realizes who he's talking to and substitutes a clean term for a dirty term. I'd imagine this inconsistency is done on purpose by Bays/Thomas and their writers; why have Old Ted pull back on his stories unless there's a laugh to be had?
This is how we got the references to "sandwiches," for instance. And this is how we got the running joke about bagpipes tonight. I liked how it was just a joke in the background and didn't really reference any major story. The major stories, though, were both pretty funny this week.
Something about the syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire seems off this season. It might be the gimmicky "Tournament of Ten" that they've been building towards; it starts next week. Or it might be the bumped-up money tree they've instituted, paired with tougher questions; now it's easier to get the first safety level (now $5,000) but much more difficult to get to the second (still $25,000).
But what might also be off is that the producers have been mixing in some very young contestants into the show, and when they're on, the program screeches to a halt.
Why? They're too young. Even if they're the most book-smart kids on the planet, their knowledge of pop culture and historic events goes back maybe ten years, and those questions are a large part of the stack most contestants get.
Today I made an executive decision and gave the podcast an oh-so-creative name: "The TV Squad Podcast." This was after we recorded it on Tuesday, so I still refer to it by its old APB name. If you have any suggestions, let me know at tvsquad [at] gmail [dot] com.
In this episode, Late Show writer Bill Scheft joins me, Danny Gallagher and Kona Gallagher to talk about his new book Everything Hurts. Of course, there's lots of good behind-the-scenes info about what it was like to work at The Late Show, especially on how the events of the past month affected the staff and the show's writing, including the monologue.
He also tells some funny stories about being canned from Sports Illustrated (and spawns a new catchphrase), feeding lines to the guy who played Mike Singletary and more. It's 45 minutes of fun.
After the interview, Kona, Danny and I give our picks of the week. Run time is 1:03:02.
(S01E06) I've been trying to figure out why I'm not connecting with Courteney Cox and her Cougar Town alter ego, Jules Cobb. It's not just about Cox overacting her role; if that were the case, I would have gotten tired of Monica Geller at around season five of Friends. No, it was something else, something that I couldn't put my finger on.
But after enjoying the male side of the show more than the female side for the second week in a row, the reason has become clear: I might be the wrong gender. I'm neither getting nor caring about why Jules has so many issues with dating young'uns or the process she has to go through as a "woman of years" in order to do that.
What's ironic about that is that I had problems with the pilot because it felt like it was too frat-boy sounding. So maybe I don't know what I want out of this show. It's not the first time that's happened.
Every year, there's a show that's on the top of viewers' "You mean that's still on the air?" list. Whether the show was good or not, it was one that hung on in obscurity for years and years, getting just enough of an audience to keep it going. You know the shows I'm talking about: The Facts of Life. Wings. Yes, Dear. Matlock.Just Shoot Me. George Lopez. King of the Hill. JAG. Heck, even the great Scrubs was at the top of this list for many people for awhile (still might be for some).
But for the last five years or so, the reigning champ of that list was According to Jim, both because of its inexplicable longevity and its questionable quality. Now, with Jim Belushi's vanity project finally gone, it looks like another show has taken its place: FOX's 'Til Death.
The network just doesn't want to let the show die. Every time the show is in a low-rated slot, the network moves it to one that's higher-profile in an attempt to boost ratings. Case in point: the Brad Garrett sitcom will be replacing Brothers on Sundays at 7, starting January 10, after football's regular season is over.
I have to admit that, when the Yankees are in the playoffs, most of my regular TV watching gets obliterated. Thankfully, DVRs and online TV sites (and, in the mid-'90s, VCRs) help me catch up. For instance, even though I have to review Cougar Town, I'll likely won't watch it until tomorrow morning, on either ABC.com or Hulu. Why? World Series game one, of course. Nothing, not even the Yankees being behind 22-0, is going to tear me away from FOX at 9:30, when I should be watching Cougar Town on ABC.
Which leads me to something that I've been wondering lately: Didn't networks used to program more reruns against the World Series? Tonight, NBC has a lineup of new episodes, as does ABC (except for Charlie Brown in Hank's slot, for understandable reasons). Tomorrow, all three of FOX's competitors have new episodes.
As my Thursday afternoon time slot to interview Tracy Morgan came closer, I knew I was in for an interesting twenty minutes. As most people have seen and heard over the years, interviewing Tracy is an amusement park ride that even Busch Gardens couldn't conceive. He's blunt. His emotions rise and fall quicker than a roller coaster. And you never know what he's going to say.
When I got to talk to him, he had been interviewing all day in support of his surprisingly emotional and inspirational memoir I Am The New Black, and he was tired. But there was a lot of stuff I wanted to ask him about, only some of which involved his well-publicized smackdowns of SNL co-stars Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan. There was also his criticism of David Israel and Jim O'Doherty, the creators of The Tracy Morgan Show, and just the general details about his rough upbringing in the Bronx and Brooklyn in the '70s and '80s. Tracy didn't disappoint.
So, buckle up folks, and get ready for a fun ride. Audio and a transcript is after the jump.
We've got a new e-mail address for the podcast! If you have any questions or suggestions about the 'cast, please e-mail us at tvsquadpodcast [at] google [dot] com.
(S01E07) For the first half-dozen episodes of Cougar Town, legions of watchers have been wondering along with me what would happen when a) Courteney Cox remembers she's not playing Monica Gellar anymore and dials it down a notch and b) the ensemble starts melding with each other a bit more. Well, we seemed to get that in this episode, and it made for a funny and engaging half-hour.
(S05E06) The thing that always amazes me about this show is that how Old Ted is perfectly content to tell his kids about all the tawdry things he or Barney did back in those heady days of the mid-to-late-'00s, but every so often he realizes who he's talking to and substitutes a clean term for a dirty term. I'd imagine this inconsistency is done on purpose by Bays/Thomas and their writers; why have Old Ted pull back on his stories unless there's a laugh to be had?
Something about the syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire seems off this season. It might be the gimmicky "Tournament of Ten" that they've been building towards; it starts next week. Or it might be the bumped-up money tree they've instituted, paired with tougher questions; now it's easier to get the first safety level (now $5,000) but much more difficult to get to the second (still $25,000).
Today I made an executive decision and gave the podcast an oh-so-creative name: "The TV Squad Podcast." This was after we recorded it on Tuesday, so I still refer to it by its old APB name. If you have any suggestions, let me know at tvsquad [at] gmail [dot] com.
(S01E06) I've been trying to figure out why I'm not connecting with Courteney Cox and her Cougar Town alter ego, Jules Cobb. It's not just about Cox overacting her role; if that were the case, I would have gotten tired of Monica Geller at around season five of Friends. No, it was something else, something that I couldn't put my finger on.
Every year, there's a show that's on the top of viewers' "You mean that's still on the air?" list. Whether the show was good or not, it was one that hung on in obscurity for years and years, getting just enough of an audience to keep it going. You know the shows I'm talking about: The Facts of Life. Wings. Yes, Dear. Matlock.Just Shoot Me. George Lopez. King of the Hill. JAG. Heck, even the great Scrubs was at the top of this list for many people for awhile (still might be for some).
As my Thursday afternoon time slot to interview Tracy Morgan came closer, I knew I was in for an interesting twenty minutes. As most people have seen and heard over the years, interviewing Tracy is an amusement park ride that even Busch Gardens couldn't conceive. He's blunt. His emotions rise and fall quicker than a roller coaster. And you never know what he's going to say.
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
