January 4, 2007
The nominees for the Screen Actors Guild awards were announced today and, as always, prove to be a nice barometer of who really deserves these end-of-the-year acting nominations. Since SAG is comprised of actors, there is no group more qualified to dole out acting awards than them. Therefore, I trusts these awards and nominations more than any other acting nominations.
This is not to say I don't disagree with some of their choices. I do. My biggest qualms actually come from their film nominees, but we won't get into to that. The nominations in each TV category are after the jump, with commentary.
January 2, 2007
Finally.
After a month of holidays, egg nog, and more Snoopy and Ralphie Parker than one knows what to do with, we're finally back to normal. January is upon us, 2007 has begun its tyrannical, 300-plus day reign, and our favorite TV shows will no longer bludgeon us with repeats. Tomorrow, January 3rd, brings the return of a couple of our favorites, as well as two brand new shows.
After that, the flood begins, and over the next month virtually every original program will air new episodes. A full list of the returning dates for most every show on television is after the jump.
December 21, 2006
According to TVSquad, CBS is making a change to their vaunted Monday night comedy line-up, starting early next year. Adam Sandler is producing a new comedy, entitled Rules of Engagement that will take over the 9:30PM ET/PT time slot, momentarily taking the place of The New Adventures of Old Christine. Rules of Engagement will premiere on February 5th, the day after the Super Bowl.
The show stars Sandler's pal David Spade, alongside Patrick Warburton of "Seinfeld" fame. It involves men and dating and marriage. Pretty typical sitcom territory. I wonder how much Sandler is actually involved. Say what you want about Mr. Sandler, but he has pretty unique comic sensibilities, and they could make for an interesting sitcom.
September 21, 2006
Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap and Enterprise will appear as "The Handsome Stranger" / "Jeff" in two episodes of CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Christine agrees to go on a date with a man she meets while visiting her ex-husband's girlfriend New Christine. Later, when Ritchie's school is holding Grandparents' Day and Christine's parents can't go, Jeff attends instead at New Christine's suggestion. Christine is taken aback to learn that Jeff is actually a grandfather, and has second thoughts about continuing to see him.
The first episode, entitled "The Answer is Maybe" airs September 25.
September 11, 2006
Fall 2006 Returning Shows Rank: 16
Much is made of “The Seinfeld Curse� and how all the ex-Seinfeld actors have yet to come back with a successful show since “Seinfeld� ended. People act like this is surprising. It is not. It is as predictable Jerry finding a random flaw in his girlfriend. The creative team behind “Seinfeld� was a perfect combination of genius that will never be seen again on TV. Both Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld are Hall-of-Famers, whose unique sensibilities mixed perfectly. The supporting cast were universally excellent, but without great material, it doesn't matter how good you are.
Now, where Michael Richards and Jason Alexander have failed wildly, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is succeeding with The New Adventures of Old Christine. Fresh off an Emmy win for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, Louis-Dreyfus is showing that there's nothing wrong with the Seinfeld actors; they just needed the right role. In this case, the role of “Old Christine� was as far removed from Elaine Benes as possible. Divorced mother with a heart. The New Adventures of Old Christine isn't "Seinfeld" (nor will it ever be as good); but it's nice and different and pretty funny.
-Oscar Dahl
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