The Seth MacFarlane Domination Continues

Seth MacFarlane is taking over TV. He's got Family Guy and American Dad on Fox. He's appearing in person on FlashForward. And now, with last week's premiere of Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, he's got 3/4 of Fox's Sunday night line-up. Only The Simpsons stands in the way of the animation block becoming "Seth MacFarlane night."

But with Cleveland's second episode airing tonight, I thought it was worth taking a look at MacFarlane's second attempt to clone Family Guy. Like American Dad, Cleveland attempts to replicate Family Guy character-by-character as much as possible. There's Cleveland (here taking over the Peter role), his high school crush (Lois), his overweight son (Chris), her daughter (Meg), and her too-mature-for-his-age young'in (Stewie). Plus a talking bear, a redneck, and a preppie white guy who lives with his mom as Cleveland's three friends.

Essentially, it's Family Guy with a few racial and geographical adjustments. And while the pilot didn't exactly make me laugh, it was still miles above American Dad (also true for any other scripted show on TV). I will say that the Family Guy trademarked cut-aways seem to be getting more desperate and less logical with time. It's starting to feel like amateur improv, where they don't actually know how to complete the joke after the set-up. I'm starting to think South Park may be right that the show is written by manatees.

Truth is, Family Guy was a show I LOVED when I was 13, but I outgrew its sense of humor a couple years ago, so Cleveland's not really aiming for me as its audience. But if you like Family Guy and can tolerate American Dad, you'll probably enjoy it just fine. And if nothing else, it's got a pretty good theme song:

Mad Muppets

The long-anticipated Sesame Street spoof of Mad Men has arrived. Take a look:

As far as spoofs go, this one wasn't all that Mad Men specific. The only actual character in it was Don, and he said far more in these 2 minutes than he generally says in any given one hour episode.

On the other hand, the take-off on the opening credits with the silhouette slipping on a banana peel was genius, and you have to give props to a kids' show that features the line, "Good work, sycophants." Also "Watch the suit."

All in all, just goes to show that Muppets are awesome.

Happy Birthday, Zandervision!

Well everyone, today (September 23rd) marks the one year anniversary of when I first started Zandervision. 241 posts since my initial introduction later, a lot's changed. A year ago I was underemployed, living in a smaller apartment, and in full-out election obsession mode (that post came mere days before the first debate). But what hasn't changed is it's premiere week, which means there's plenty of entertainment to be covered (note that I said the same thing about Heroes then that I did 2 days ago. At least I'm consistent).

So happy birthday Zandervision. Gifts will be accepted in the form of hits and/or comments.

But in case you were concerned I would post without anything entertainment-related, have a look at this:

Tonight's Glee may have been my favorite yet. It was also probably the least musical, but I'm not holding that against it. The whole "Single Ladies" dance craze was from months ago, yet somehow Glee found a way to still make it funny, and multiple times. Sorry I couldn't find a clip of the football team doing the dance in unison, cause that already ranks as one of Glee's best moments.

There were plenty of non-Beyonce gems as well. Sue Sylvester now has a segment on a local news show, where she imparts such grand advice to Ohio as to bring back caning (Yes we cane) and to fill the land with litter (so garbage men will have jobs). I'm already calling next year's Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy for Jane Lynch. Plus, we got to learn more about two less often featured Gleeers, Kurt (who had a sweet coming out to his macho dad) and Tina (who I don't think has had a line before but got to sing).

I'm still somewhat confused about this Cabaret production, seeing as Rachel seems to be the only person actually in the cast. But I do know a guest appearance from Kristin Chenoweth next week can only mean good things. So while I can't speak for its long-term potential, I will say that at this moment, Glee wins the battle of the high school shows over Gossip Girl any day.

And the Award for Awesome Goes to NPH

What's nice about the Tonys is how little the actual awards matter to the show. Sure, the winners are likely to get a big boost at the box office, so it certainly matters to them. But when a good portion of the awards weren't even broadcast (including real awards like best book of a musical), you know that's not the main focus.

No, like host Neil Patrick Harris said in his off-prompter opening, the Tonys are all about getting a taste of what's out there on Broadway, and figuring out what of the year's offerings is worth ponying up the cash to go see. I admit to not having too much of a vested interest in who won this year, having only seen Hair and Guys and Dolls, but I still feel like this was kind of a weak year. I mean, if Billy Elliot's doing that well, there can't be anything too great out there, right?

So the performances had some good and some bad. On the good side, I now definitely want to see Next to Normal, as the number they performed proved they earned that win for best score. And Hair had probably the most fun number of the night, as they danced and thrust all over audience members just like in the real show.

But too many shows seemed so determined to pick a big production number that they didn't pick a good song. Sure, watching Christopher Sieber dance on his knees was cool, but was that song really the best Shrek could do? And if West Side Story's main selling point is the bilingual nature of this production, why pick a song where the only word is "Mambo?" Billy Elliot's number was admittedly pretty cool, but it did nothing to convince me there's anything beyond dancing in it.

Of course, the reason I actually watched the Tonys this year wasn't for the singing, the dancing, and the Bret Michaels, but for host NPH. While he did an excellent job keeping things moving and tossing in a joke from time to time, I still wanted more. I get that non-Oscar awards shows try not to waste time, so the host isn't supposed to get long moments to himself, but why couldn't they just spend less time on the straight plays (I probably should care about them, but I don't)? I mean, why get NPH if they don't let him sing!

Well, it turns out I was wrong on that last point. Since my DVR cut off right before Billy Elliot was called best musical (like that was any surprise), I missed the single best part of the entire show: NPH's closing number. So for anyone in a similar situation (or the 99.999% of America who didn't watch), enjoy:

The Return of Feel-Good TV

Sorry everyone for the prolonged hiatus. I'm not quite sure where the month of May went, but 7 posts in one month is completely unacceptable. I've got a ton of movie reviews I owe you, and there's a bunch of stuff happening in TV the past few weeks as well, but I'd like to start with a show that makes me smile like none other.

I'm talking of course about Pushing Daisies, which returned for its final (tear) three episodes this past Saturday, burned off by ABC not only during summer season, but on Saturdays. Really, they have more pressing things to put on every other night of the week? But while I'm sad I've now only got two episodes left, this past week reminded me of everything I'll be missing.

The facts were these: While the episode did not continue with the December cliffhanger that Ned's father is back and eating pie at the Pie Hole, it did provide everything a good Pushing Daisies episode needs. Wacky place of work for the murder to occur? Check. Rapid-fire dialogue filled with puns and alliteration? Double check. But what made it a great episode: Olive singing Lionel Ritchie's "Hello."

From the window display murders to the escaped-from-jail non-kidnappers, I felt happy the whole time I was watching. Sad that ABC can find room in its heart for bubble shows like already-aired-its-series-finale Scrubs, probably-has-a-lower-audience Better Off Ted, and who-really-watches-this-crap Private Practice but not for something as joyful as Pushing Daisies. Hard to see what show could possibly fill this niche.

Or is it?


I haven't managed to write about Glee yet, which had a sneak-peak pilot after the penultimate episode of American Idol a few weeks ago, but if any show will cause me to check my cynicism and just enjoy this fall the way Pushing Daisies has, this one gets my vote.

It's essentially High School Musical meets Election. An idealistic young teacher (Broadway's Matthew Morrison) with a crazy wife (Nip/Tuck, Heroes, everything's Jessalyn Gilsig) takes over the school Glee club, bringing together various typical high school misfits, one diva (Spring Awakening's Lea Michele), and one athlete. Plus Jane Lynch steals scenes as the cheerleading coach.

The Election part comes in as voiceovers are given to the teacher (who's essentially the Matthew Broderick character), the diva (a musical Tracey Flick), and the athlete (Chris Klein in Election crossed with Chris Klein in American Pie). It's also got just enough of a satirically comic bent that you don't dismiss the show as overly cheesy. As for the High School Musical part, it's very sincere and has a lot of singing.

Don't let that turn you away though. Casting Broadway actors means they can actually sing, and for now the sincere / funny ratio is nicely balanced. Plus, Kristin Chenowith is going to come on as recurring, helping to fill the Pushing Daisies void even better! Until creator Ryan Murphy pulls a Nip/Tuck and makes everything way too extreme to watch, this should be a worthy addition to a pretty weak fall schedule. Still not convinced? Watch this:

Unconventional Wedding Songs

Those of us who are still watching Scrubs in its 8th (!) season know we're basically just doing it out of loyalty. Not that the show is at all bad or unpleasant to watch - I'm not talking like Heroes or Grey's Anatomy level of loyalty - but we won't exactly be sad when the series finale airs in a few weeks.

But I think tonight's Bahamas-set episode stands out as a cut above the rest of the season. Was it funnier than the typical Scrubs episode? Certainly not. Is it because the interns all took the week off? Well, that could be part of it. Still, I'm gonna say it's this segment right here (which will probably be removed from youtube by morning):



Who knew "Hey Ya" could be so pretty when played on acoustic? I think it made a montage that would otherwise seem cheesy (it was, after all, a collection of "I love you"s) instead seem sweet. I guess that means that, even in its final season, I still care about all these characters. Suck on that, Alias season 5.

Recession TV

In an odd coincidence, two of my favorite comedies this week featured a major character starting his own company after being laid off (or in The Office's case, stupidly resigning). Now, I'm surprised it's taken The Office this long to acknowledge the economy, seeing as how the British show revolved around redundancies (such a nicer word for lay-offs). But in the battle of the recession-set comedies, I give the prize to How I Met Your Mother.

Even before the writers knew about the market crash, this season of HIMYM has been all about unemployment. The season started out with Marshall unemployed, moved into Robin's near deportation after quitting her job, and now it's Ted's turn, laid off after his Goliath National Bank project was canceled due to, you guessed it, the bad economy.

But while the show's had plenty to say about unemployment, last night's episode showed it had even wiser things to say about how to keep your job. Watch and learn:



This storyline had the biggest laughs of the night, but I think it's because it made an odd kind of sense. Who would fire "the food guy?" So all you i-bankers out there fortunate enough to still have jobs, best think about what kind of "guy" you want to be. If you need help, there's always the wolverine claws.


But back to my original point: Mosbius Designs vs. The Michael Scott Paper Company. Both tackled similar themes - unpreparedness, fear of failure - but I still found Ted's venture funnier. I think part of it is that all Ted needs to continue being an architect is clients. While as for Michael, I kept asking "where is he getting the paper from?" Also Ted is a fairly responsible guy, even if occasionally "douche"-prone and procrastinating. While Michael is....Michael Scott.

I guess what it comes down to is that while both shows have one foot planted in reality, HIMYM seems better able to spin that relatibility into humor, while in The Office, it's sometimes just sad. Plus, Ted didn't drag anyone into his company the way Pam is trapped in Michael's. Except for PJ. But he had his break-up/firing coming. I may have more faith in Mosbius Designs than the Michael Scott Paper Company, but both proved relevant TV can still be funny.

The Moment We've All Been Waiting for...

The Obamas picked a dog!

Padma Lakshmi: Queen of Silly Commercials

Ok, this was another TV Tattle link today, but it was just so silly I had to share. I promise, after this one I'm done for today.

Muppetstar Galactica

Thanks to a link off of Tv Tattle:



Given my acknowledged love of both Muppets and Battlestar Galactica, I had to share this. Coming the same week as Jason Segel delivered his script for his planned Muppet movie, it may be a bit easier being green after all.

Bringing Stephen Colbert to Urban/Suburban Hip Hop Settings

Having done some Colbert Report catch-up today, it seems I missed a fairly hilarious rap battle between Stephen Colbert and RNC chairman Michael Steele from last Thursday. Colbert's rap is at the 2:30 mark. Steele is at the 4 minute mark. Enjoy.

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Conservative Rap Battle - Michael Steele's Response
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Colbert certainly got some good jabs in there. My personal favorites are "Your beats are so fat you could call them Rush" and "Your game's a dying moose and I'm Sarah Palin." But there's no question here that the battle belonged to Steele, ending with "Those numbnuts on Capitol Hill can blow me." If he really talked like that, maybe the Republicans wouldn't be where they are today.

Fight Night: Jon Stewart vs. Jim Cramer

Tonight's the night. After over a week of attacking each other indirectly, Jim Cramer will sit down with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show tonight.

To catch everyone up, TV Guide has a good blow-by-blow of how this feud went down, complete with video. But if you don't feel like clicking, here's where the feud began:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

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Rick Santelli clearly had no idea what his cancellation would begin. From there, it went to a New York Times piece picking up where Jon Stewart began, Jim Cramer's angry rebuttal, more attacks on The Daily Show, and more defenses from Jim Cramer on various morning shows. But tonight they will meet at last.

Now, the other night I had a discussion with my friend who disapproves of Jon Stewart's actions. He thinks Jon is taking Cramer's words out of context and is putting his personal message above his role as a comedian. But Jon proved years ago that his job is to point out hypocrisy, in politics sure, but even more so the media. Remember his war on Crossfire? He got the show canceled!

But I will admit that this whole media battle feels a bit like a stunt. Daily Show is no longer just commenting on the news, but actually now part of the news. And I'm sure that's not unintentional. Even someone as low-key as Jon Stewart is probably enjoying the publicity.

Still, where's the harm in the smartest show on TV getting some buzz from those who wouldn't otherwise watch it? And fabricated or not, the whole fight has been pretty damn entertaining. So however you feel about the whole battle, you'd still best watch what's sure to be a must-see half hour of TV.

Kenneth the Governor

Saw this on Foote Steppes (great political blog) and had to share it.



Still not having seen the Republican response, I was skeptical when I heard of the Bobby Jindal/Kenneth the Page comparisons. Then having seen clips on Daily Show, I realized it was soooo true. If he really is the Republican party's only hope, I'm right now calling a 2016 race between Bobby Jindal and Alec Baldwin. And nobody messes with Jack Donaghy.

And the Best Cursing Award Goes to...

Milk!

Awards Daily has a pretty amusing compilation of all the swearing, cursing, etc. from all of the best picture nominees. There may be some spoilers if you haven't seen the movie:



Biggest takeaways: Not much swearing in The Reader or Benjamin Button. Slumdog uses the word "slumdog" a lot. And Milk is easily the funniest one to watch.

Prime Minister Pooh?

Yesterday I tried to make sense of the Israeli election, feeling that it's been somewhat under-reported in this country. Well not anymore, now that it's been covered by the only news show worth watching. Jon Stewart may not have figured the situation out any more than I have, but he does compare Ehud Barak to Winnie the Pooh. And Wyatt Cenac may just have figured out why Israeli elections lend themselves to disorder. Give it a look:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Indecision 5769 - Jews or Lose

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Dick in a Box or Space Olympics?

When they're good, Andy Samberg's Lonely Island digital shorts on Saturday Night Live can be the only reason worth watching. When they're not, you get "Space Olympics," an unfunny, nonsensical video from the season premiere. So where does last night's "On a Boat" fit into the scale? Dick in a Box or Space Olympics?



No question here. That's Space Olympics material, all right. Being on a boat is not inherently funny, and repeating that statement for a few minutes doesn't make it funnier. They can't all be gems.

At least Seth Myers' Weekend Update is still good. Funniest part of last night's SNL for me was his "Really?!?" segment regarding the whole Michael Phelps/pot smoking non-controversy. Take a look:

Failed Coup Jumpstarts BSG

Any fears that Battlestar Galactica would ride off quietly into the sunset in its final season were firmly put to rest, as the most recent two-parter, about Felix Gaeta and Tom Zarek's attempted coup of the Fleet, ranks among the series' best. BSG often slips into a bit of a malaise midseason, with forgettable episodes like the workers' strike. With Roslin abandoning her job to depression and Adama happy to retire with her, this season could have fallen bad. All it took was a little "revolution" to get everyone back in action.

The drama worked so well because of how easy it was to hate the two head conspirators. You would never have expected Gaeta to emerge as a major character, always quietly doing his job. But in just a few episodes, he changed from background drone to the kind of whiny, sniveling weakling that you wanted to slap everytime he feigned authority. The more he tried to justify his actions, the more you longed to see him shoved out an air lock.

Zarek, on the other hand, was always a compelling villain. His suits, his title, and his switch to Roslin's side on New Caprica fooled us into thinking he could be good. But this time the former terrorist showed his true colors, especially in ordering the massacre of the Quorum. Loved Zarek's expression, as it seemed his hurt feelings over the Quorum's failure to support him led him to the decision. Still, the Quorum has always been such an annoyance that they'll hardly be missed. There's one way BSG makes 24 look like MSNBC - it's the only show that makes democracy seem like a stupid waste of time.

While this episode may have been Gaeta and Zarek's send-off, to me the episode belonged to President Roslin (Mary McDonnell, this is your Emmy submission). Her speech to Zarek after he tells her Adama is dead, well, I think we're gonna have to watch that:



Seriously, how awesome is President Roslin? No more jogging around Galactica for her. Zarek may be a cold-blooded killer, but even he was left speechless. 24's President Taylor's got nothing on her.

This was also a recharging episode for Adama, whose anger gave him a really good reason to go on fighting. His snarl as he threw his admiral pin at Gaeta and his refusal to play along with Gaeta's "field trip to justice" showed a side of Adama we haven't seen in seasons. Watching him storm through the ship with his ragtag group of loyalists to retake control of Galactica made for an ultra satisfying end to the whole ordeal.

Other characters moved forward because of the fight. Baltar, super excited to discover a new look to his fave Cylon model, could have happily stayed in bed with his sexbot. But for once, he actually thought of something other than self-preservation. He admitted his scorn for his "fan club," but still chose to come back for them (even if the ship was restored by them). Romo Lampkin also got to do the right thing after awesomely killing a guard with a pen by helping Starbuck carry Anders to Cottle.

As for Starbuck, she finally got a break from all of her Earthbound drama and got back to kicking ass. Last week, she and Apollo got to play like John McClane in Die Hard by taking on Gaeta's army all by themselves. This week, she also got to be human again when Anders was shot, clinging to him when the rest of the team moved on. Nice to see Starbuck still cares about her husband, Cylon or not. But what happaned to him? Did he make it to Coddle?

Tons of drama over the past two episodes by focusing just on the human end. Next week we go back to the sci-fi with the return of Final Cylon Ellen Tigh. Maybe that will mean some more screen time for characters like Helo, Athena, Anders, and Caprica 6, all stuck in the brig the past two weeks. Like Lost, BSG seems to be profiting from the end date. If the remaining episodes are as strong as the first four, this could be BSG's best season.

Jon Stewart Should Be a Film Critic

If my repeated attacks on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button aren't enough to keep you away, then maybe one from Jon Stewart will. It took me ten paragraphs to explain what was wrong with the movie. It took Jon Stewart about 20 seconds. Further proof that he is the most reliable source for...everything.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Intro - Slumdog Millionaire

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Best Resume Ever

Last night's How I Met Your Mother provided a useful lesson on how to get a job, courtesy of guru-of-all-things Barney Stinson. Instead of qualifications or experience, all you need is some quality time with Final Cut. If you're having trouble getting a job, perhaps a look at Barney's resume will show you what you're doing wrong:

Top 5 Super Bowl Trailers

The best part of Super Bowl commercials is an early look at all the summer's big movies. Here are five of the more notable Super Bowl trailers.

Land of the Lost



Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, and Anna Friel of Pushing Daisies doing the Jurassic Park thing? I'm in.

Star Trek



Interesting how they continue to downplay the Star Trek part in favor of the young cast and the action. Since I've never seen Star Trek, that works for me.

Monsters vs. Aliens



I didn't get the 3-D glasses, but this appears to be about an alternate universe in which Stephen Colbert became president and installed Jack Bauer as head of the military. With GOB, Dwight, Seth Rogen, and Paul Rudd also in the voice cast, it's got to be funnier than what was in the trailer.

GI Joe



No idea how this relates to the original action figures, but I'm curious to see Dennis Quaid as an action hero.

Up



Ok, Pixar didn't give any new footage for this trailer. But since the Year One spots looked kind of disappointing (though with Jack Black, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd, and Harold Ramis directing, it's gotta be better than it looks), Angels of Demons still looks like The Da Vinci Code, and Transformers is...Transformers, Pixar's winning out.