11/9/2007

Bullz-Eye’s back with their latest TV Power Rankings!:

NBC may not be King of the Nielsen Ratings just yet, but we know good television when we see it, and the Peacock has returned in full force with a dominating presence that includes the top three shows and five of the top six. HBO, on the other hand, is experiencing the opposite, with the departure of “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome.” Add to that the fact that our list features a whopping 10 new entries — five of which are freshmen — and you’ve got one heck of a Power Rankings shakeup. Much of this has to do with so many shows being on hiatus until next year, but whatever the cause, it’s nice to see some much-needed change to a usually familiar lineup. And, hey, don’t miss the list of our favorite shows which are currently on hiatus (and are therefore ineligible for the Top-20), our farewell to “The Sopranos,” and our stable of Honorable Mentions.

Check out the list here, then come back and let us know how we did…or if we missed any of your favorites!

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7/22/2007

Best moment from the TCA Awards…?: When David Chase took the stage to accept the Television Critics’ Association Heritage Award for the cumulative run of “The Sopranos,” he said that he’d considered making a comment about the meaning of the finale of the series, then decided against it, but he did offer a very telling anecdote about the first time he ever saw “Planet of the Apes.”

“When the movie was over, I said to my wife, ‘Wow, so they had a Statue of Liberty, too!’ So, uh, that’s what you’re up against.”

Other Chase one-liners from the evening:

* “Here’s another clue for you all: the walrus was Paulie.”
* To critic Alan Sepinall, from The Star-Ledger, in Newark: “Would you explain to these people that it’s very possible to be sitting in a restaurant in New Jersey and everything just stops?”

Chase, by the way, wasn’t the only winner tonight:

Individual Achievement in Drama: Michael C. Hall (”Dexter”)
Individual Achievement in Comedy: Alec Baldwin (”30 Rock”)
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: “Planet Earth” (Discovery Channel)
Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming: “Kyle XY” (ABC Family)
Outstanding New Program: “Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials: “Plant Earth” (Discovery Channel)
Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “The Sopranos” (HBO)
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: “The Office” (NBC)
Career Achievement Award: Mary Tyler Moore
Program of the Year: “Heroes” (NBC)

To bookend this posting with “Sopranos”-related anecdotes, Alec Baldwin accepted his award for his performance on “30 Rock” by telling a story about how he actually changed management because his new managers told him that they could get him on “The Sopranos.” A year later, there’d still been no meeting with David Chase…but an encounter finally came about rather accidentally. Baldwin was in NYC, on his way to a meeting about some charity work he was going to do, and due to an error, he ended up at the Four Seasons Hotel rather than the Four Seasons Restaurant. He made a mad run from one place to the other, ending up at the restaurant drenched in sweat. Upon meeting his party, he apologized and made a dash to the men’s room, where he promptly removed his shirt and stood topless as he held the shirt in front of the hot-air dryer…and who should walk in?

Suffice it to say that Baldwin never made it onto “The Sopranos.”

(Chase’s version of the story: “All I thought was, ‘Omigod, that’s Alec Baldwin, the famous actor!’ I didn’t even notice he wasn’t wearing a shirt!”)

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7/13/2007

TCA Press Tour: A few random photos from the HBO party:

James Gandolfini seemed like a nice enough guy, but after several seasons of “The Sopranos,” you can’t help but feel like he might slug you if you ask him the wrong question.

Larry David was extremely approachable…so approachable, in fact, that he was constantly surrounded by reporters with tape recorders, trying to get a good sound bite out of him.

For the boys back home: I had a nice “Entourage” moment with Kevin Dillon, who was a very cool guy, but, sorry, I had to yank the pic because I didn’t realize it’s frowned upon for TCA members to take shots with the celebs. It’s probably something to do with maintaining distance between professional writer and professional fanboy, and I get that. But, anyway, a shout-out to my new friend, Steven Chupnick, managing editor of JewReview.net; he and I stood around and talked w/ Kevin about the show, how it’s progressed, and what it’s like with Matt Dillon as your brother. (No way I’m transcribing that now. You’ll have to wait ’til I’m back and can get more caught up!)

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7/13/2007

TCA Press Tour: HBO, Pt. 2: Okay, it’s still 6:54 AM here, but, damn, I feel a hell of a lot better after just a few hours sleep. As such, let’s go ahead and take a look at those HBO panels from yesterday:

As You Like It, Kenneth Branaugh’s latest Shakespearean adaptation:

Branaugh found it very easy to cast Kevin Kline in the role of Jacques, it seems. “(He has) vast Shakespearean experience, as you know, a brilliant dramatic actor, a very, very funny man, and is, in life, intellectually curious. And as with all funny men, I would say - without trying to tell my friend who he is - a kind of disposition to a certain kind of melancholy and philosophical introspection. But I just thought he was a great actor.”

Kline’s response? “I disagree.”

Kline isn’t the only American in the production; he shares that honor with Bryce Dallas Howard…even if she doesn’t see it that way. “I would have to say that Kevin Kline is almost like an honorary Brit when it comes to Shakespeare, (whereas) I felt like a little bit of a cowboy,” said Howard. “Like, it’s, you know, a little rough with the language, and I didn’t really have a lot of confidence with it, initially. But under the guidance of Ken, and everyone else that was involved, I allowed myself to just enjoy the experience and do my best. But it was definitely initially intimidating, perhaps being an American, but even more than that, just being someone who is literally at the start of my career. I haven’t had as much experience as I would like to.”

The role of Orlando is taken by relative newcomer David Oyelowo, who had a serious attack of nerves when he discovered that A) he had to go to Branaugh’s house to audition, and B) he had to audition with Branaugh. “You were reading the other lines,” he said, turning to Branaugh, “and my saliva just turned to sand. I mean, there I was, auditioning with Henry V, Iago, Benedict, Coriolanus…and it just…I mean, you probably won’t remember this, but the lines…they just completely went out of my head. You were so gracious; you just went, ‘Okay, let’s do that again…’”

Tell Me You Love Me: Okay, I suck, but during this panel, I took the opportunity to finally check into my room at the hotel and unpack a little bit. I’m sure it’s gonna be a great show - there’s a lot of sex, if that helps convince you any - but I hadn’t had a chance to catch any of the episodes yet, so I didn’t have anything to ask, anyway.

Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq:

This documentary, hosted by James Gandolfini, takes a look at the effects that the war has had on soldiers who’ve been wounded during the fighting; it tries not to make a specific political statement, but, of course, the revelations on the screen make it an instant anti-war piece. Gandolfini was in attendance, but he dodged just about every question he was asked about his own opinions on the war (he didn’t even want to answer questions about the experience of interviewing these soldiers had changed him, so insistent was he that the focus remain on them); fortunately, the soldiers themselves were not so hushmouthed. I mean, they reinerated that it wasn’t a political film, but, for instance, US Army Sgt. Jonathan Bartlett got in his jabs when he said, “All the political stuff in the interview, it was all taken out, because it’s not the point,” then added, “Bush has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to veterans. He doesn’t…I mean, we’re numbers to him. We’re tools. He doesn’t care. He has no idea.” Meanwhile, however, US Army Sgt. Bryan Anderson said outright, “I don’t have any political views,” so it varied from person to person. Ultimately, though, it was US Army First Lt. Dawn Halfaker who said it best when, after being asked what she’d tell a potential Army recruit if they walked in the door right now, responded, “I’d tell them to watch this documentary.” It sounds like a promotional cop-out, but, no, trust me: “Alive Day Memories” will turn a lot of heads.

Curb Your Enthusiasm:

Easily the funniest panel so far…but what would you expect when Larry David, Jeff Garlin, and Cheryl Hines get on stage together? It was hilarious from start to finish. David never hesitated to call a schmuck a schmuck, at one point yelling at a reporter who had accused him of just playing himself, “I’m portraying you, schmucko! That’s you, too, not just me! I’m Jesus Christ! I’m sacrificing myself for the betterment of humanity!”

David also laid out a picture of his childhood which, if he was kidding (and you like to think that he was), was funny. “Nobody told me to believe in myself,” he declared, “and even if they did, I wouldn’t have believed them. So I never believed in myself. I suppose I have to now to some degree, but, believe me, it’s still not that easy. My mother said to me, ‘You’re not special. You’re not special, Larry.’ She begged me to take a Civil Service test to work in the post office. That was her dream for me: to work in the post office, deliver the mail. And I thought, ‘You know, maybe she’s right. That’s not such a bad job.’ But I didn’t take the test, and, I don’t know, I was funny, and one day, somebody said, ‘You should be a comedian.’”

After fielding several questions in a row, David issued an executive order that he wouldn’t answer any more questions until someone asked something of either Garlin or Hines. Both immediately begged off (Garlin: “Nobody has to ask me shit”), but David was insistent. Finally, one reporter attempted to break the stand-off by observing, “So, Jeff, you, uh, got a new hairstyle?” Garlin was stunned. “Oh, shit,” he said. “That’s what they came up with.”

Personally, my favorite moment was…well, it was when I asked a question. I asked Garlin, “Jeff, if there hadn’t been a sixth season of ‘Curb,’ would we be seeing you in ‘Daddy Day Camp’?” And, boy, did I get an answer…

“No,” he said, matter-of-factly. “They didn’t offer me enough money. And to be in a sequel to ‘Daddy Day Care,’ you need to be paid a lot of money. They offered the job to me, and I laughed. It was just not enough money. I’m very pragmatic, you know. It’s, like, you’ll do certain things because…like, ‘Curb’ is the greatest job I’ll ever have because I’m being paid well, and I’m doing, I’m involved with good work. I made a movie that’s coming out in September and that movie, called ‘I Want Someone To Eat Cheese With,’ I got paid by taking out a second mortgage to pay my bills. That’s how much I got paid. So if I’m going to do something like ‘Daddy Day Camp,’ I must get paid a great deal of money, because there’s no joy in that.

And in conclusion…

Reporter: One last question. Why do you…
Larry: Two? Why do you get two?
Jeff: He’s…
Larry: No, fuck this guy. There’s a lot of people here. (To reporter) Shut up. That’s enough from you.

Like I said: hilarious.

Flight of the Conchords:

Unfortunately, the transcript of this one wasn’t available as of last night. I’m hoping it’ll be there today. But the guys were funny. They did not, however, sing any songs. Damn.

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6/13/2007

If you hated the final episode of “The Sopranos”…: …just imagine how bad it could’ve been if it were on a major network.

Can anyone think of anything else that would’ve been different…?

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