Agent Carter was a show I liked earlier this year, that I didn't think would be back, but it looks like ABC's giving it another shot, premiering Season 2 with a two hour episode on Jan 5th. Peggy Carter and Jarvis are back, this time for some adventures in Hollywood and I'm looking forward to it- it's actually the best network show based on a Marvel property that they've done.
Bill Murray Plans His Party in 'A Very Murray Christmas' Trailer
I still don't know what exactly this movie, special, show or whatever it is, is doing, but seeing Bill Murray in anything kinda makes me smile, and since it was written by him and Sofia Coppola, hopefully it won't be too terrible. Their last collaboration was Lost in Translation after all, although this looks nothing like that film. It drops on Netflix on December 4th.
RECAP: SNL 11/14 "Elizabeth Banks"
SNL has the somber task of putting on a show the day after the tragic attacks in Paris, and they responded with a very moving and classy opening tribute from Cecily Strong. It may be the most memorable part of the episode though, as Elizabeth Banks gives it her all, but the skits, as usual, suffer from subpar writing.
COLD OPEN: A short, sweet and lovely tribute from Cecily to the people of Paris, both in English and in French (which she obviously speaks fluently). It strikes the perfect note on a sad day for the world.
MONOLOGUE: Elizabeth Banks (who I'm calling Liz, just because it's shorter) comes onstage for the first singing monologue in a while, as she decides to warble Flashdance, What a Feeling! while "directing" herself in camera shots as a nod to her burgeoning career as a director of the Pitch Perfect movies. It's alright, but the camera guy actually flubs some of the movements, funnily enough.
ARON'S LIST: An ad for Vanessa hiring handymen off a site that disperses registered sex offenders- this one's kinda amusing, one of the better ones of the night.
BLACK JEOPARDY: I wasn't a huge fan of this sketch the first time they did it- it's just Liz as the clueless white girl not getting the "black" clues, but there is a couple of good jabs at Bill Cosby and Tom Brady. And I also like the ending Tupac joke, but the skit is way too long.
FIRST TIME I GOT HORNY 2: Another music video from the girls, this one about the first celebs they felt that feeling "down there" for- it's funny, but I keep getting distracted by the fact that every celebrity is from the early to mid-90's, and not all these women are the same age, or the right age for that to match up. It just seems like they wanted to reference random 90's people like Hanson and the Menendez brothers.
STUDENT THEATRE SHOWCASE: Ugh. The artsy, faux outrage liberal students are back with their senseless performance art piece- this sketch has always been way too long and the joke is getting old now. I think I'm done with it. Like, forever. Don't bring it back, guys.
UPDATE: Lots of jokes about Trump, Jeb, Carson, Sanders- they can safely go after Trump now that he's not on the show, I guess. Pete comes on to do a bit on the transgender bathroom ballot issue in Texas, and that's okay; Kyle comes on as Bruce Chandling, which is painfully awful (man, never bring that character back); and then Kate as Olya again, which works, as always. Colin and Michael are just so bad at the forced banter though- they still need to be replaced and I'm not going to stop saying it.
ADVENTURES OF YOUNG BEN CARSON: This is sort of a weird way to go after all the recent Ben Carson lies, showing him as young guy in the 60's pretending to stab people- Jay is pretty funny as Carson himself, although to be fair, it’s not hard for anyone to do an impression of that guy. They ought to bring him on Update, probably.
THE BUREAU: Bobby is a walk-on extra for a TV cop show who didn't know he was going to be playing a pervert- it's a fairly mild bit and I almost forgot this skit even happened.
UBER FOR JEN: The once or twice a year skit from writer Mike O'Brien shows up tonight, as he plays an uber driver who ignores Liz's directions, then befriends her, then does it again to his next customer- it's slightly clever I guess.
GHETTO: Oof. This one's bad. Liz, Cecily, Sasheer and Vanessa are all elitist, upper class women with annoying vocal fry complaining about things being "ghetto," but Liz actually lives in the literal ghetto. I hate that voice. I can’t concentrate on anything else when I hear it.
So, that was it. It was a little below mediocre tonight, but Elizabeth Banks was game, although sometimes she blended into the skits so well that I forgot she was hosting- I guess she didn't exactly stand out completely. But this was probably better than last week, so I'll give it a C. Next time it's Matthew McConaughey and Adele, so hopefully they pull off a good Thanksgiving episode. See you guys then!
The Pfefferman Family is Back in Teaser for 'Transparent' Season 2
Yay- one of very favorite shows of last year is finally back for its second season, coming out December 4th on Amazon. Even the teaser makes me smile, as the nutty and dysfunctional Pfeffermans attempt and fail to come together for a wedding picture. Can't wait- if it's even half as good as it was last year it'll have no problem making my top ten list again.
Marvel's Jessica Jones is a Mess in the Latest Trailer
Jessica Jones is getting closer, guys. The season drops next Friday on Netflix, and the new trailer shows off more of Jessica, her anger and booze issues, David Tennant's Kilgrave, and Mike Colter's Luke Cage. I'm getting more excited with every new clip I see.
RECAP: SNL 11/07 "Donald Trump"
Well here we go. In the face of all the protests and boycotts, Donald Trump comes back to host SNL for the second time, and pretty much gives new meaning to the term "low energy." Frankly, it was no better or worse of an episode than usual though, at least by SNL standards.
COLD OPEN: Larry David is back as Bernie Sanders in the MSNBC democratic forum- he's good and funny, but boy that was fast. I guess he really liked his own impression of Sanders last time around.
MONOLOGUE: Trump comes out looking pained frankly, joking about his feuds and how he can take a joke, Taran and Darrell Hammond bring out their own Donald's- Darrell's is the superior. Larry David shouts that Trump's a racist from offstage, joking about the "bounty" for protesting live- well, the protests were legitimate, considering Trump's decision to actively stoke racism and xenophobia, even if it is all an act, so I'm not sure it's in particularly good taste to joke about it, but there 'ya go.
WHITE HOUSE 2018: Trump is president with Cecily as Melania, reveling in his success in all areas, also joking about how he can just make everything better by magic (odd thing to make fun of himself for if he's serious about trying to win). Ivanka shows up to brag about the White House interiors (to zero applause) and Beck appears as president of Mexico to bring a check for the Wall- this sketch is BAD, really bad. Oof. The audience is eerily silent in this one too- I guess the prospect of an actual Trump presidency is too frightening to giggle about, even in jest.
BAD GIRLS: The female cast members lead a video for bad girls doing mildly annoying things in public but bragging about their rebel nature- eh, kinda funny but goes on too long (no Trump in this- are they purposely trying to use him as little as possible?)
LIVE TWEETS: Trump "live tweets" a sketch where Cecily and Taran are at an Italian restaurant- he insults both of them on twitter, and Kate when she shows up as the restaurant owner. It's really not funny though, which is ironic, since Trump keeps tweeting about how not funny it is. They do go to a joke about Trump tweeting that Kenan is Kenyan and hiding his birth certificate, which is fucked up when you think about how Trump really DID that to Obama and it wasn't much of a joke then. Ick.
DRAKE: Jay mocks Drake's dance moves with a cameo by Ed Grimley! Hi Martin Short! Wish you were on the show- Trump dances here too for a second. It's kinda funny.
UPDATE: Jokes about Jeb Bush's dying campaign and Ben Carson being a liar; Michael jabs Trump hosting the show once, but hey, the show's still letting him host, dude- can't really hold your head up high on that one. Leslie's back as the relationship expert- real tired of that, while Che and Jost's new thing is to try harder to interact and make fun of each other- is that better for Update overall? I don't know- it still seems hostile to me. Drunk Uncle shows up as Trump's biggest fan- yay!- so it gets to end on a high note.
BAR BAND: Kenan leads a band performing in a bar (he likes these, doesn't he- it's reminiscent of What's Up With That), with Trump on the "laser harp," complaining about the long solos for each band member. Trump is really stiff and unfunny, no wonder they don't want to use him much. He's mostly just awkward in these skits.
MR.CROCKER: embarrassing family dinner with Beck playing music with himself singing and trying to get a record deal in front of his daughter's date- Trump is the music producer recruiting people for about three seconds. Weird.
SIA: They do a weird skit with Kenan as Toots, the last guy who was the music guest when Trump hosted in '04, needling Trump about giving him his number- why are they doing this? "Toots" tries to make him choose him as a running mate before Trump finally intros Sia. Odd.
PORN STARS: The show tries to go out on a high note with a classic that almost always works- this time the porn stars do a paid advertisement for Donald Trump for president in 2016, so they can live in his hotels. Vanessa and Cecily are still funny here, with Bobby coming on as Ronald McDonald Trump (his Trump is better than Taran's- why didn't they have him do the official Trump impression?). Then the real Trump shows up to NOT approve the message.
Okay, so now that it's over, my opinion is that this episode was in no way worse than a typical middling SNL episode, and anyone who says it's the worst thing they've ever done is only really saying it because they object to Trump hosting on moral grounds. They might be right there, and he certainly wasn't funny and appeared very awkward with the audience helping out as little as possible, but he was hardly onscreen and I liked exactly three skits- the porn stars, the Drake dancing, and Drunk Uncle. So I give it a C-. Maybe I should grade them lower for having him on in the first place, but there it is. Elizabeth Banks takes the stage next week, so hopefully the writing will be a little better for her. See you guys then!
Larry David didn't seem too jazzed about Donald Trump's appearance last night
First Promo for NBC's 'The Wiz Live'
Okay, this could be a total disaster, or a big hit, or maybe even both? After last year's Peter Pan Live flop, NBC is going for it again with a production of The Wiz, and they certainly attracted a starry enough cast, so maybe people will tune in for this? These kinds of shows always inspire a certain kind of morbid curiosity in me, but I have to admit I never even saw the old movie version of The Wiz.
AMC Teaser for 'Preacher' Series
This show was based on a cult graphic novel and adapted for AMC by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen of all people. Despite that, I actually think it looks kind of good? I don't trust these guys with non-comedic properties, fair or not, but Dominic Cooper looks pretty compelling in this teaser. I may check this out when it premieres next year- it's been ordered for ten episode season.
2015 People's Choice Awards TV Nominations
As always, there are at least a million categories for the TV nominations at the People's Choice Awards, and I can't say I agree with many of them, aside from the Outlander love- right on, people. The rest is a big pile of meh this year.
Favorite TV Show
The Big Bang Theory
Game of Thrones
Grey’s Anatomy
The Voice
The Walking Dead
Favorite Network TV Comedy
2 Broke Girls
The Big Bang Theory
Mike & Molly
Modern Family
New Girl
Favorite Comedic TV Actor
Andy Samberg
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jim Parsons
Johnny Galecki
Matthew Perry
Favorite Comedic TV Actress
Anna Faris
Kaley Cuoco
Melissa McCarthy
Sofía Vergara
Zooey Deschanel
Favorite Network TV Drama
Empire
Gotham
Grey’s Anatomy
How To Get Away With Murder
Scandal
Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
Jesse Williams
Justin Chambers
Scott Foley
Taylor Kinney
Terrence Howard
Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
Ellen Pompeo
Kerry Washington
Sara Ramirez
Taraji P. Henson
Viola Davis
Favorite Cable TV Comedy
Baby Daddy
Faking It
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Real Husbands of Hollywood
Young & Hungry
Favorite Cable TV Drama
Bates Motel
The Fosters
Pretty Little Liars
Rizzoli & Isles
Suits
Favorite Cable TV Actor
Adam DeVine
Christian Slater
Eric Dane
Kevin Hart
Taye Diggs
Favorite Cable TV Actress
Ashley Benson
Hilary Duff
Lucy Hale
Sasha Alexander
Shay Mitchell
Favorite Premium Cable TV Show
Girls
Homeland
Masters of Sex
Shameless
Veep
Favorite Premium Cable TV Actor
Dwayne Johnson
Joshua Jackson
Justin Theroux
Matt LeBlanc
Nick Jonas
Favorite Premium Cable TV Actress
Claire Danes
Emmy Rossum
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Kristen Bell
Lisa Kudrow
Favorite TV Crime Drama
Bones
Castle
Criminal Minds
NCIS
Person of Interest
Favorite Crime Drama TV Actor
Jim Caviezel
LL Cool J
Mark Harmon
Nathan Fillion
Shemar Moore
Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress
Emily Deschanel
Lucy Liu
Mariska Hargitay
Pauley Perrette
Stana Katic
Favorite Network Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show
Arrow
Beauty and the Beast
Once Upon a Time
Supernatural
The Vampire Diaries
Favorite Cable Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show
American Horror Story
Game of Thrones
Outlander
Teen Wolf
The Walking Dead
Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor
David Tennant
Ian Somerhalder
Jensen Ackles
Misha Collins
Sam Heughan
Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress
Caitriona Balfe
Emilia Clarke
Ginnifer Goodwin
Jennifer Morrison
Lady Gaga
Favorite Competition TV Show
America’s Got Talent
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing with the Stars
MasterChef
The Voice
Favorite Streaming Series
House of Cards
The Mindy Project
Transparent
Orange Is the New Black
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Favorite Daytime TV Host
Dr. Oz
Ellen DeGeneres
Rachael Ray
Steve Harvey
Wendy Williams
Favorite Daytime TV Hosting Team
Good Morning America
Live! With Michael and Kelly
The Talk
Today
The View
Favorite Latenight TV Host
Conan O’Brien
James Corden
Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Kimmel
Stephen Colbert
Favorite Actor In A New TV Series
Chace Crawford
John Stamos
Josh Peck
Rob Lowe
Zachary Levi
Favorite Actress In A New TV Series
Emma Roberts
Jamie Lee Curtis
Lea Michele
Marcia Gay Harden
Priyanka Chopra
Favorite Animated TV Show
American Dad!
Bob’s Burger
Family Guy
The Simpsons
South Park
Favorite New TV Comedy
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Dr. Ken
Grandfathered
The Grinder
Life in Pieces
The Muppets
Scream Queens
Truth Be Told
Favorite New TV Drama
Blindspot
Blood & Oil
Code Black
Heroes Reborn
Limitless
Minority Report
The Player
Quantico
Rosewood
Supergirl
Wicked City
Fred Thompson 1942-2015
Former senator and longtime Law & Order actor Fred Thompson passed away today at the age of 73. Thompson was an attorney who had a long career in Washington and served in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1994 to 2003. He also ran for president in 2008, if you remember that campaign stint, but as an actor he was known for appearances in movies and television, most notably Law & Order from 2002-2007. He appeared on the spinoffs Trial by Jury and SVU, and his movie career included roles in No Way Out, The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard 2, In the Line of Fire and Baby's Day Out. He died of a recurrence of lymphoma.
