Chuck It

I got a chance to watch NBC's new spy "dramedy" show Chuck last night. Well, I wish I could I say I watched the whole thing, but I could only stand it for about 20 minutes. If you aren't aware of the premise, the story follows Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, pictured middle), a geeky yet oddly attractive guy who unwittingly receives an e-mail from his ex-roommate-turned-CIA-operative that contains loads of secret government information. Naturally, a dozen U.S. agencies want the information retrieved, so they send out Major John Casey and Agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, pictured left) to do the job.

What really bugged me about this show was how long it took for an actual story to develop. I understand with pilots a lot of setting up is necessary to start the series, but this took way too long. I was waiting for a plot for 20 minutes and never got one. Also, NBC has really been pushing for this as a "dramedy", but the "comedy" part of that never really surfaces. The stereotype of the geek that is socially awkard yet is somewhat-attractive has been done so many times that it begs for redevelopment. Unfortunately, Levi delivers more of the same, although I do feel like he was given little to work with. I would love to see him in something else as I do find him to have some sort of strange appeal. My friends at work tell me that he is-- in fact-- a new hot commodity in Hollywood. But until he finds a better role, I recommend skipping out on Chuck.

Sneak Peek: Cavemen

This Fall, ABC rolls out a new half hour sitcom based on a television commercial. From the start, this show is going to have to have to work harder than most to create viewers and if we hadn't seen a preview, we certainly would have passed Cavemen without a second thought.

But surprisingly, a program created from an insurance advertisement has turned from horrible idea into brilliant television. Cavemen creator Joe Lawson, the same man behind the commercials, was signed to ABC to write the pilot in March of 07' after the runaway success of the adverts. The original cavemen were at first meant to star, but instead the show now features Bill English as main caveman Joel, comedian Nick Kroll as caveman activist friend Nick and seasoned actor Dash Mihok as the goofy brother Andy.

The show follows the exploits of the three twenty-something cavemen as they deal with relationships, in-laws and at the heart of it all, racial stereotyping. The pilot takes place at the country club of Nick's fiance, where a western themed bbq is being held. Joel, Nick and Andy are stopped at the door when they are not on the list and from there, hilarity ensues as all three characters are roped into fulfilling the racial stereotypes equated with cavemen, such as clubbing people and wild sex. The writing is clever and the characters immediately likable from the beginning. The stand-out performance comes from Nick Kroll as the outspoken friend as he sweet talks the older gentlemen at the club, including Joel's future father in-law and in the opening scene, dominates the dialog as he points out how the caveman weather guy dresses up and dances for the camera.

Overall, Cavemen is an intelligent social commentary about the persistence of racial issues in America. It tackles racism with grace, brilliance and remarkable humor. Cavemen premieres Tuesday, October 2nd, 8pm.

The Emmy's... Even We Didn't Watch

Instead, we were watching Monday Night Football on Sunday night.

We were happy to see however that many of our favourite shows and stars won. Below are the ones that we care about:

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

JEREMY PIVEN as Ari Gold HBO Entourage


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

TERRY O’QUINN as John Locke ABC Lost


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

JAIME PRESSLY as Joy Turner NBC My Name Is Earl


OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

KATHERINE HEIGL as Isobel “Izzie” Stevens ABC Grey’s Anatomy


OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART COMEDY CENTRAL


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

RICKY GERVAIS as Andy Millman HBO Extras


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

SALLY FIELD as Nora Walker ABC Brothers & Sisters


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

AMERICA FERRERA as Betty Suarez ABC Ugly Betty


OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

JAMES SPADER as Alan Shore ABC Boston Legal


OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

30 ROCK NBC


OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

THE SOPRANOS HBO

Jon Stewart + Oscars = Awesomeness

I realize I am about 6 months early on this one, but according to early reports, Jon Stewart will be hosting the 2008 Academy Awards, which will take place on February 24.
I gotta say, first of all, I am tad surprised about this one since Ellen Degeneres did such a phenomenal job this past year, but I am also pretty stoked, because I have such a crush on this little man and I'm glad to see that he will be back to host. In a tux. Lookin' smooth. Awwww yeah.

Why should I care what Perez Sez?

I don't find Perez Hilton's website particularly interesting or brilliant, but I can't help but be amused by the fact that on his VH1 special "What Perez Sez about the VMAs", he asked Pharrell, "Who has the bigger dick, Kanye or 50?" Now THAT, my friends, is some serious celebrity journalism.

He also has great convos with Simon Cowell, Pete Wentz, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, Michael Buble, Eve, M.I.A., Mika, and Amy Winehouse. Plus, a reasonable amount of the show is dedicated to shamelessly mocking Avril Lavigne.

Overall, his show is far superior to his website. He still annoys me a tad, but I'd watch his celebrity interviews again. He beats the shit out of Mary Hart.

I loves me some Cash Cab!

Can we all agree that Cash Cab is the best trivia show on TV? Okay, maybe I am a tad biased since I live in New York City, and I have now officially made it my goal to be a passenger in the Cash Cab... but still, this show kicks so much ass.

If you haven't seen it, check out your local listings. It's usually on for an hour in the late afternoon/early evening on the Discovery Channel.

You'll thank me later.

Simpsons season 1... Brilliant or unwatchable?

I'll be the first to admit that I am a shamelessly geeky fan of the Simpsons. I can tell you the last names of Moe, Apu, or Krusty the Klown's Rabbi father. And thanks to the advent of DVR, I usually have no less than a dozen episodes on my list of saved shows. I remember watching the show when it first came out, and I haven't grown tired of it yet.

I was a tad apprehensive, however, when I learned last week that my local Fox affiliate would begin airing the series in it's entirety; one episode per day starting with the very first... Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire. (You know, the one where they acquire Santa's Little Helper.)

You see, since I was about Lisa's age when The Simpsons began airing in 1989, I was a tad too young to really appreciate it as anything more than a silly prime time cartoon. (Although, admittedly, I did think Bart was super cool, and I did go so far as to choreograph my own dance with my neighborhood friends to the song "Do the Bartman" off the Simpson's first album. I did, however, not go so far as to own a t-shirt that said "Don't Have A Cow Man." I had some class as a child.)

It wasn't until my teenage years, and what I consider to be the glory days of the Simpsons, that I really started to appreciate the show for how amazingly brilliant it is. (Or at least how brilliant it had become.)

Looking back now on the episodes of season 1, I see a completely different show from what we have come to know and love, and certainly very different in terms of humor and aesthetics as what recently appeared on the big screen. The voices just aren't quite right, the animation is sloppier, and it's majorly lacking in the scathing social commentary it has become so famous for.

That being said, it's almost worth watching just as a history lesson. It's not that great, but it's interesting to see the beginning of the great empire. Plus, in only a few weeks, they will be showing the Monorail episode. And I'm sure I'll appreciate it even more than ever before.