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19 Sep 2011 01:00

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Culture: Emmy recap: Big winners, big surprises, big last-minute switches

  • Two modern classics win big — again: With the lovably wry Jane Lynch at the helm, the Emmys proved both entertaining and greatly rewarding to TV fans who have been in a bit of a television renaissance in recent years. The Emmys themselves haven’t been doing so great lately, but Lynch’s performance may be just the kick in the pants the show needed, with small touches proving as memorable as the recorded skits (above is one of those, the intro skit). The two biggest awards went to shows with differing routes to the top — both perennial winners, but one bagged way more awards. “Mad Men” won just one award (for Best Drama Series), while “Modern Family” won five (Best Comedy Series, both supporting actor comedy awards, Best Directing and Best Writing). Other highlights:
  • winners Some highlights: “Friday Night Lights,” which ended its run this year, won two awards, and “Masterpiece” miniseries “Downton Abbey” scored four. Meanwhile, “The Daily Show” won for Best Variety Show for a record ninth year. Whoa.
  • surprises The maligned miniseries “The Kennedys” won an award for Barry Pepper’s Bobby Kennedy; it was so unexpected that he skipped the show. And Melissa McCarthy, on a hot streak, won Best Comedy Actress for her “Mike and Molly” role.
  • losers Sadly, Steve Carell goes his entire stint as star of “The Office” without a single Emmy. And critical all-star “Boardwalk Empire” only scored a single award tonight — for Martin Scorsese’s direction — despite many nominations. source
  • » The best highlight? Not even on the show: The opening clip we posted above could’ve been even better if Fox hadn’t put the kibosh on it. See, it originally starred Alec Baldwin, and had a plot that made light of News Corp.’s phone-hacking scandal. They had to ditch it at the last minute, proving one thing: In a pinch, Leonard Nimoy makes a passable Alec Baldwin.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 00:49

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U.S., World: Jon Stewart’s words of inspiration from a soldier in Khandahar

  • We cooperate and we fight as hard as we can, because there will perhaps be disappointment but there will be no shame.
  • A specialist in the 655th TC, writing to Jon Stewart • In a letter Stewart mentioned on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.” Stewart used the episode to pay tribute to the soldiers fighting overseas after he paid a visit to Khandahar this past weekend. After displaying several t-shirts that he had promised to wear, he read some of his observations and thank yous. Stewart then read this quote from a letter from a young specialist, from one of the nicest letters he’s ever received. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 17:25

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Tech: Google’s eyeing Hulu, or reasons they might be getting too big

  • then Back in 2006, Google purchased then-fledgling YouTube for $1.65 billion — its biggest purchase ever at the time. The service has grown massive over the years but has struggled bringing major content creators like Viacom on board — a huge bummer for fans of “The Daily Show” in particular. In fact, Viacom sued YouTube to get them to remove the clips.
  • now Hulu, a service started in part as a major studio reaction to YouTube’s viral growth, is now in talks with Google, who may buy the company out — and in the process, get the lucrative content deals that have eluded YouTube over the years. (Microsoft and Yahoo are also eyeing the service, by the way.) Will we finally see “The Daily Show” on YouTube again? source
  • » We don’t know how to feel about this: While we appreciate the fact that Google might make “The Daily Show” happen on YouTube with a buyout like this (though Viacom has pulled their shows from Hulu in the past), if it actually happens, it runs directly into a wall of regulatory scrutiny — as Google’s been feeling the heat lately. While YouTube and Hulu aren’t the only games in town (hi Netflix and Vimeo), together they’re big enough that it would deserve some regulatory scrutiny if it actually happens.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 May 2011 00:36

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Politics: True story: Bill O’Reilly loves him some Weather Girls

  • Stop attacking The Weather Girls, they’re one of my favorite groups. … yeah, I love them.
  • Bill O’Reilly • In the process of a highly entertaining verbal spar with “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, O’Reilly let this bit of info slip. It’s worth mentioning that Stewart wasn’t attacking The Weather Girls so much as using “It’s Raining Men” as an example of non-literal songwriting, but let’s be honest, that’s of less interest than imagining Bill O’Reilly jamming out to the high energy, synthesized tones of their hit single. Big ups to Martha Wash! Down with C+C Music Factory! source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 May 2011 15:52

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Politics: Maddow wants the media to stick to the facts on bin Laden’s death

  • There’s going to be plenty of time to score political points on this. Osama bin Laden is going to be dead forever. Osama bin Laden is never coming back.
  • Rachel Maddow • Discussing attempts in the news media to tilt the facts of the Osama bin Laden raid to suit certain political themes, in her appearance on The Daily Show last night. Maddow is spot on in this analysis, for a very good reason — it’s demonstrably obvious that news agencies since bin Laden’s death don’t have a conclusive, clear view of exactly what went down. This is borne out by the wild conflicts and discrepancies in reporting various details of the operation since word broke on Sunday. Maddow, to her credit, has done two episodes of her show post-bin Laden, and both were earnestly refreshing in acknowledging that waiting for verifiable fact is more useful than rushing to make the story sound cooler, or fit into a political narrative. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jan 2011 10:50

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World: VOA’s “Daily Show”-styled “Parazit” strikes chord with Iranians

  • See this clip right here? It’s from a “Daily Show”-styled program for the Iranian market called “Parazit.” The show, created by Voice of America and tough to come by unless you have an illegal satellite, nevertheless has a huge fan base – over 200,000 Facebook followers and thousands more YouTube visitors. And, considering the country, the tone of the show isn’t nearly as lighthearted as “The Daily Show.” “We have to walk a fine line,” said Saman Arbabi, one of the show’s DC-based hosts. “We come from that generation of kids who got up in Iran and protested the government. We share their politics, so we echo their voice.” But that doesn’t mean they don’t get a kick out of making fun of Ahmadinejad. “His bloopers are fantastic,” he said. The show is so popular that Iran has had to create an anti-“Parazit” show which reportedly isn’t as funny. Awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Oct 2010 22:05

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Culture: The Daily Show’s three most popular episodes Obama-related

  • 3.58M the number of people who watched Obama (the candidate) on The Daily Show back in 2008
  • 2.92M the number of people who watched his wife Michelle on the show a few weeks later
  • 2.84M the number of people who watched Obama (the president) on the show last night source
  • » And we must point out, kids: Jon Stewart did a hilarious intro before he introduced Obama last night. But the conversation went on so long that it never aired. Fortunately, Comedy Central was able to introduce us to the joy that is “Keeping the President Waiting.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 Oct 2010 10:36

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Politics: Obama’s headed to “The Daily Show” for totally calculated reasons

  • The President hasn’t been shy about going to the places where people are getting their information and trying to make his case. And I think that’s what he’ll do on the show.
  • White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs • Admitting that Obama’s reasons for going on “The Daily Show” are a last-ditch effort to build some momentum going into the midterms. Which, let’s face it, there are much worse ways to do that. We just wish it wasn’t so calculated. In other Jon Stewart-related news, TBD has a pretty entertaining takedown of all the media pundits who have been freaking out over “The Rally to Restore Sanity” and “The March to Keep Fear Alive,” many of which are along the lines of “omigodhe’sgonetoofarthistime” screeds. Use your heads, guys. It’s no worse than any other rally. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Sep 2010 10:21

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Culture: Mark your calendar: Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart’s dueling rallies


  • “Rally to Restore Sanity” Great angle for a rally on Stewart’s part. Perhaps this might inspire a bunch of reasonable people to make a pitch for political reasonableness. On October 30th, we expect to see no “Don’t Tread on Me” flags.

  • “March to Keep Fear Alive” “People should book their hotel rooms now or their children might turn gay!” That’s some pretty stellar fearmongering there, Stephen Colbert. OK, who wants to go? Julius has a couch with your name on it! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

07 Jan 2010 11:25

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Politics: “The Daily Show” looks for the “Good Old Days,” can’t find it

  • Are the “Good Old Days” gone? In response to Fox News talking heads going on about how we’ve lost our innocence, “The Daily Show’s” John Oliver tried looking for said innocence, and wasn’t able to find it. Decade by decade, he found that it was just as bad. Freaking hilarious. Depressing. And awesome. All at once, guys.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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