The partyThe party in and of itself has to be one of 30 Rocks finest and most manic moments Lets just get that out of the wayWhat I loved most about the party is that after allllll the setup that with all of the rumoredsupposedabsolutely fabricated guests the brilliant writers of 30 Rock didnt event attempt to take us to the party in real time There was no way it could live up to the promise Nor did they just cut to Jack and his distressed hair and merely refer to the bash as being crazy Rather the way we only got fleeting almost Lost-like flashbacks to the insane bizarre freaky and at times completely out-of-character shenanigans was genius A veritable feast for comedy-lovers eyes and I would reckon one of the most replayed-on-TiVo segments of the TV season I myself watched it at least four times at varying speedsThat said nothing I can type here can begin to recap the party So let me just evoke a few images and then well move on with the rest of the re
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Al Gore by Heidi Gutman/NBC Universal Photo
Is NBC's 30 Rock at risk of going the way of stunt-casting addict Will & Grace? A piece in USA Today reveals that in addition to Edie Falco's upcoming three-episode stint (first reported by TVGuide.com), no less than former vice president Al Gore, Friends alum David Schwimmer (as an out-of-work actor, natch), Steve Buscemi (as a PI hired by Jack), Meredith Vieira and Carrie "I Now Guest-star for a Living" Fisher have been booked for appearances during Season 2. America's paper also reveals details on Falco's previously unspecified role: She's playing a Democratic congresswoman from New Hampshire who hooks up with... Jack?!As for 30 Rock's season-opener, airing tonight: as funny as it is — and it is funny — dare I opine that next week's episode, for me at least, was even more howl-worthy? Will Arnett slays me.
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Gotta give props to the first question. Positing the former vice president as someone who has weathered firestorms, the reporter asks what Britney Spears might learn from Gore. "I kinda figured the first question would be about Britney Spears," he played along, before eluding the topic like a seasoned politico. "My partner Joel Hyatt and I are just incredibly grateful to the Academy for this Emmy."If you thought Current.tv had swept the country like wildfire, you ain't seen nothing yet. "We have other things in the works," Gore teases. "On Oct. 15, we're launching Current.com. We use Current.tv to connect with thousands of content creators, and then we put it on real TV in 52 million homes. But Current.com is the next step in state of the art." My goosebumps have goosebumps!Call me woefully unhip for not recognizing her or her shtick, but some old lady "correspondent" from The Tonight Show crashes the room and asks Gore if her cookie-baking negatively impacts the environment. Gore, ...
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10:03: Seacrest asks Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos to stop shanking the seat fillers. This is just sad.10:04: Hiro from Heroes is introducing Tom from MySpace. This show just gets odder and odder. A voiceover is telling us about pods. I think it's an ad for this Current website? Did I get that right? It's no Facebook, but it must be somethin', 'cause now Al Gore is on stage and getting a standing O. I'm not entirely sure anybody else knows what the hell is going on, either; they just like Al.10:07: Al's wife looks a lot like Jane Fonda, only without so much plastic surgery. Al looks sorta sweaty. How far away was he seated? Or was he a victim of the solar panels on the red carpet?10:07:30: Joely Fisher is pulling off pastel yellow. Not easy to do. But she's another victim of too much spray-on tanning. Brad Garrett compliments her dress by saying she "just made Charlie Sheen's to-do list." Why isn't he hosting this thing? Heck, why isn't she?10:09: Time for one of those random sor...
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On July 7, NBC Universal and its myriad stations (everything from NBC to Telemundo) will air Al Gore's Live Earth concerts, featuring Madonna, Kanye West, Shakira and about a bazillion other musical acts.... MTV is bringing back its acclaimed Unplugged series this summer with performances by the Police, Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, Mary J. Blige and John Mayer. Oh, dare I hope Jessica will join him on stage for a duet of "Your Body Is a Wonderland"?.... USA Network has bought the broadcast rights for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for $28 million.... Angel exec producer David Greenwalt has been put in charge of the CBS drama Moonlight, about a private eye who... wait a second! A private eye who just happens to be a vampire? If he starts dating a slayer, Joss Whedon should so sue.... The CW has ordered up 13 episodes of Eight Days a Week, a new comedy from Will & Grace's Sean Hayes. In it, pop tart Christina Milian and Dancing with the Stars' Mario "I Was Robbed!" Lopez pla...
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Hello, all. It's been another great week for The Office and the Office drunk. I'm the redhead at the corner desk. Wild week. Not the typical Meredith-takes-her-top-off wild. Just interesting-and-jam-packed wild. The Office has now crossed a new threshold: An SNL parody! That is a milestone. Rainn Wilson hosted this past week and kicked some major ass. He is one of the most talented actors who I will ever work with. The Office sketch in the opening was pretty cool. Lorne Michaels was more like "Lorne Michaels Scott." No Meredith, but that's OK. (It could have been a guy in drag. I love drag, but I am sure it would have been subpar drag.) Anyway, as a comic actress who has had my own SNL "almost" story, I was really happy to see the Office opening. When I was in Chicago in 1991, I was touring with Second City and I did a show called The Miss Vagina Pageant (directed by Jill Soloway, a writer-producer from Six Feet Under) at the Annoyance Theater, and Lorne Michaels came to see it and ...
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Question: I just finished watching the conclusion of Spike Lee's Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. I know that it's really too soon to be thinking about next year's Emmys, but after seeing this documentary, I just wanted to say that it has "Emmy winner" written all over it. I totally agree with your review of this doc. It was poignant and eloquent, and Spike Lee gave it the right tone of voice. It made me wish that Lee had shown this in the theaters, in which case I think it would give the Al Gore global-warming doc a run for its money come Oscar time. What do you think its chances are for an Emmy? There is no way that a TV documentary can win an Oscar, right? Anyway, as a native New Orleanian, I just wanted to say that Spike Lee truly did a great job.
Answer: HBO has won a number of Oscars for its nonfiction programming, but I think the rules are that in order to qualify, it would have to air theatrically before going to TV. And while Levees did get ...
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