George Lopez failed to capture the urban voice — unlike Jimmy Fallon
As Eric Deggans notes, the young urban audience Lopez was trying to capture has already been grabbed by Fallon. "Lopez's program never really jelled," says Deggans, "forever flailing in an attempt to make its host look hip, cutting edge and uproariously funny — too often failing on all three counts." But, he notes, "if anybody is articulating a new blend of cultures for late night audiences, it is NBC's surprise success Jimmy Fallon, who regularly taps house band The Roots and a few other contributors of color to create a compelling pastiche of Millennial style for the few college kids who aren't watching Jon Stewart or Adult Swim." PLUS: What should TBS do with Lopez's timeslot — make it a home for comedy nerds?
TCM announces a month of horror, a Stephen King doc, a holiday films doc
"A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King" will kick off a month-long festival of classic horror throughout October. In December, TCM will air "A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas," a documentary on holiday movies.
Meet "SVU's" Dominique Strauss-Kahn
"Die Hard 2" actor Franco Nero, whom John Huston discovered, will play a fictional DSK in "SVU's" ripped-from-the-headlines episode.
Spencer Pratt is the No. 2 most-hated person in America, after Casey Anthony
A new poll also found Jon Gosselin, Levi Johnston, Heidi Fleiss, Howard Stern and Paris Hilton to be among the Top 10 most-hated people in America.
Larry David: Feminist hero?
Women's bodies are usually portrayed on TV as either being sexy or yucky, says Elissa Strauss. Larry David, on the other hand, treats women's bodies with respect. "Yes he is arrogant and frequently offensive," she says, "but somewhere amid the solipsism and general buffoonery there is a man who treats women's bodies and issues with a level of maturity, respect and a rather refreshing matter-of-factness rarely seen on television."
Ricki Lake gets engaged
The 42-year-old Lake describes her fiance as "a nobody, but he's somebody to me."
Can AMC cut its way to prosperity?
AMC is still making money as it tries to cut down on costs on shows like "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead." Yet, as James Poniewozik notes, something has got to give: "AMC is competing on HBO's ground in terms of Emmys and buzz; but it does not have anything like HBO's billion-plus programming budget, and it has to get by on ads and relatively paltry carriage fees, not subscriber ducats."
"Louie" Season 2 has been just plain brilliant
"What's so distinctly compelling about this season of 'Louie' is how everyone seems to collectively realize that what (Louis) C.K. is doing is not only cool," says Chuck Klosterman, "but also authentically artful and unnaturally profound. There's no debate over its value because there’s no contradictory position to take."
Kirstie Alley writing her 2nd book
"How Men Have Influenced My Life" is due out in July.
"Russian Dolls" stars are mostly not from Russia
"The problem?" says Linda Stasi, of Lifetime's "Jersey Shore" knockoff, debuting tonight. "Most of the 'Dolls' seem to be from Ukraine — not Russia. Seeing how Ukraine is the largest contiguous country in Europe (yes, Europe) with a population of 46 million, it's tough to mistake it for Russia — no? It's like calling all Hispanics Puerto Rican." PLUS: "Dolls" is surprisingly charming.
[Permalink]