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TV Junkie: TV Execs Need To Invest In Originality; D&D Edition of 'Community' & Chris Elliott Tonight
In tonight's superspecial Dungeons & Dragons episode of "Community" (NBC at 8pm) - we will witness several incredible transformations, for instance, Ken Jeong's Professor Chang appears to morph into a Drow elf (above). Who will wield a Vorpal sword +3? Who will carry a Bag of Holding?
In tonight's superspecial Dungeons & Dragons episode of "Community" (NBC at 8pm) - we will witness several incredible transformations, for instance, Ken Jeong's Professor Chang appears to morph into a Drow elf (above). Who will wield a Vorpal sword +3? Who will carry a Bag of Holding?
An Open Letter To Network Execs: Please effing stop it with the series re-boots. "Hawaii Five-0" and "V" have been ok so far but now we are hearing about the relaunch of "Beavis & Butthead" and "Dallas." Series relaunches, movies-to-TV and TV-to-movies, and remakes of foreign (usually from the UK) series, are the boring safe bets that the studios are making and while it might be ok to have one or two examples of that in a season, it's my opinion that we are now overrun with them and it's got to stop. There are plenty of writers and showrunners with original ideas all over this country (with a high concentration in LA, of course) - give them a chance. The networks would make more money from original ideas and lose less if the show flops, they invested this way.
It's this situation that makes Showtime's "Episodes" so timely and hilarious, which is why I've been recommending it: UK showrunners are brought to US to supervise the transformation of their beloved and award-winning series into American garbage. We need to laugh at something to stave off the depression caused by boring and awful relaunches and remakes. The networks need to either invest in original ideas or pay into debit cards so that critics and reviewers like me can fund a Zoloft prescription and predilections for single malt Scotch and top shelf bourbon (hmmm, we're almost out of The Balvenie Caribbean Cask and Black Maple Hill 16 yr).
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Speaking of booze and TV, no one (industry or viewerwise) has confirmed my sighting of a bottle of Drambuie on "Parks and Recreation" and a bottle of Bushmills on "30 Rock" on the 20th of January. Were we overenjoying our own cocktail that evening?
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In a "yeah, that's gonna last" move, Charlie Sheen plans on returning to production of "Two And A Half Men" at the end of this month. Sure, years of substance abuse and out-of-control behavior can be "cured" in a few weeks, that's the ticket. This is where both Warner Brothers Television and CBS need to step in and say that there won't be any production happening. It's up to them to shut it down. I feel badly for the people who work on the show, but those people have known for years that their lead actor has serious problems and that something like this was bound to happen. Would they feel better if they finished this production run and Sheen died a week or so afterwards? Because the way this is playing out, it's not going to end well.
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It's Thursday so this means comedy will be out in major force. In addition to the NBC 3 hour block, which prominently features the aforementioned Dungeons & Dragons-themed "Community" (NBC @ 8pm) (see vid clip at end of post), we will have another excellent episode of "Archer" (FX @ 10pm) and the series launch of "Eagleheart" (Adult Swim at 12am/Midnight) starring the incredible Chris Elliott making what we hope is an amazing and triumphantly successful return to TV.
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The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: "Community," "Perfect Couples," "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," Conan (Lisa Kudrow, actor Mike O'Malley, Interpol performs), "Eagleheart," Fallon (Dana Carvey, Minka Kelly, Ricky Martin performs)
8:00pm The Big Bang Theory CBS - Sheldon takes acting lessons from Penny in hope of becoming a better teacher; Koothrappali fantasizes about his friend's girlfriend.
8:00pm Community NBC - Advanced Dungeons & Dragons When Jeff worries about loner ``Fat Neil,'' Abed suggests they invite him to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons; Pierce, upset after being excluded, forces his way into the game.
8:00pm The Vampire Diaries The CW - Johnathan Gilbert returns to Mystic Falls; Stefan reaches out to a conflicted Tyler;
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8:30pm $..! My Dad Says CBS - Ed becomes extremely jealous when a millionaire (Lee Majors) tries to win Rosemary's affection; Vince and Bonnie's former boss (Missi Pyle) attempts to make amends.
8:30pm Perfect Couples NBC - Julia puts Dave on a strict diet after learning he has high cholesterol; Vance tries to curb Amy's spending; Leigh suggests Rex build a man cave.
9:00pm The Office NBC - Jim is forced to abandon Michael at a gas station after receiving an emergency phone call; Erin, Dwight and Holly (Amy Ryan) search for Michael; Pam's art inspires a captioning contest that appears to offend Gabe.
9:00pm Royal Pains USA - Hanks examines a teenage music prodigy; Evan overhears a private conversation.
9:30pm Parks and Recreation NBC - Leslie plans to bury a time capsule that summarizes life in Pawnee; Andy asks Chris for help winning April back.
10:00pm Fairly Legal USA - Kate is assigned to mediate between a high school football coach and angry parents.
10:00pm 30 Rock NBC - Jack hopes to impress Kabletown's owner; Liz tries to help Avery hide her pregnancy from a competitive co-worker (Vanessa Minnillo); Tracy and Jenna have a hard time sharing a gift from their new bosses.
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10:00pm Archer FX - Malory hatches a Ponzi scheme of her own and the ISIS employees must try to stop it.
11:00pm Conan TBS - Actress Lisa Kudrow; actor Mike O'Malley; Interpol performs.
11:35pm Late Show With David Letterman CBS - Radio host Howard Stern; Naughty by Nature performs.
11:35pm The Tonight Show With Jay Leno NBC - Actor Jeff Bridges; actress Dianna Agron; Bobby Long performs.
12:00am Eagleheart Cartoon/Adult Swim - Series Premiere. Starring Chris Elliott
12:00am Lopez Tonight TBS - Actress Rachel Bilson; actor Billy Gardell; OK Go performs.
12:05am Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC - Reality-TV personality Kim Kardashian; game-show host Alex Trebek; One EskimO performs
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12:35am The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson CBS - Actor Matt LeBlanc; technology columnist David Pogue.
12:35am Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC - Comic Dana Carvey; Actress Minka Kelly; Ricky Martin performs.
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