US TV

An archive of articles about US television programmes and production.

Thursday’s “how I met your smurfs” news

4 March 2010 Rob Buckley Post a comment

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US TV

A Saturday Night Live Presidential Reunion: Jim Carrey, Dan Ackroyd, Will Ferrell, Chevy Chase and Dana Cavey together at last

3 March 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Blimey, how many generations of Saturday Night Live stars can you get into one, not-especially funny political video? At least three – or is it four? – since here we have Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, Jim Carrey, Dana Carvey and Will Ferrell recreating their famous SNL impressions of Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr and Bush Jr respectively (what no Bill Clinton?).

It’s all to raise awareness of Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and is directed by Ron Howard, so don’t expect big yucks. But Jim Carrey certainly still has what it takes, as does Chevy Chase. After the jump, you can watch a “making of” video and an extended scene with Dana Carvey.

Continue reading “A Saturday Night Live Presidential Reunion: Jim Carrey, Dan Ackroyd, Will Ferrell, Chevy Chase and Dana Cavey together at last”

What Spartacus reminds me of: Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata

3 March 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

So, I’ve been catching up with Spartacus: Blood and Sand again after temporarily abandoning it after episode three. It’s not changed a huge amount, although surprisingly, not only have they finally introduced a couple of gay characters who get up to things in as much explicit detail as the m-f and f-f pairings, they’ve actually started moving away from female nudity in favour of mostly male nudity. Would you Adam and Eve it? It’s also got a little bit more interesting, and a little bit more intelligent, even if the swearing is still as pervasive as ever.

But while watching it, I finally realised what the shooting style reminded me of: Peter Brook’s adaptation of ‘The Mahabharata’. Shown on Channel 4 in 1989, this was a six-hour mini-series version of his nine-hour stage play and focused on the epic battle between the Pandavas (representing the good side) and the Kauravas (representing the bad side) depicted in the Hindu epic poem.

See if you agree: here’s a trailer for Spartacus: Blood and Sand – ignore the fight scenes, since they belong to a completely different aesthetic

…and here’s a few clips from The Mahabharata. You can get it on DVD from Amazon, by the way.

US TV

What if Community had a Friends-style title sequence?

3 March 2010 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Community is of course one of the funniest new shows on US TV this season, as you may recall from my third-episode verdict and initial review. Naturally, it’s not been purchased by any UK broadcasters, but that’s another story – you can always try TV Dome instead.

But what about its title sequence? Does this say funny to you?

It’s nice, but funny? No.

You know what had energy and verve? The Friends title sequence, that’s what. So how about if Community had the same title sort of title sequence as Friends? Huh? Huh?

[via]

Much better, huh? BTW, doesn’t Gillian Jacobs who plays Brita on the show have the cutest Twitter avatar in the whole world…

Gillian Jacob's Twitter avatar

…as well as a strange obsession with old Saturday morning . I follow her just to find out what weird stuff I’ve missed out on…

Events

White Collar web chat with Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay tonight

3 March 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

wc_webchat3.jpg

Just in case you’re in the US – or live in the UK are something of a night owl/sky lark (or some kind of bird that gets up early) – I thought you’d like to know that USA Network is hosting a live video webchat with Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay tonight at 7pm ET/6pm CT (which would be 3am UK time, if I’ve done my sums right). In case you don’t know, they’re the stars of USA Network’s White Collar, which is going to be shown by Bravo in the UK.

The webchat is going to be on the USA Network web site, and to keep yourself entertained until tonight – or to find out what White Collar‘s like – my review is back here. Or there’s this here YouTube video.