Ant and Dec by Chris Chavira/ABC
Cheers to ABC for taking a chance on Wanna Bet?. The quietly endearing reality show, in which celebs wager on whether contestants can pull off stupid human tricks like squeezing an entire marching band inside a van, was flailing on Monday nights after the shockingly DOA High School Musical: Get in the Picture. So the net moved it to Tuesdays after the surprise summer hit Wipeout. Even if this doesn't save the show from obscurity, I wouldn't be surprised if its hosts, Ant and Dec (the charming comic duo imported from Britain's Got Talent), eventually become stars stateside. Anybody wanna bet? • Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
read more
England was funny. I like the U.K.'s dry, sarcastic wit. Now some people... well, let's be honest, all people wonder about Buddy and how he made the night round. Well, people, there are some things you don't see, and you didn't see Buddy come in and hand us his comedy manifesto. If you have a manifesto, I'm with you. Never piss off a psycho with a manifesto, that's my motto. Besides, he called ANT "Francis," which gave me and Kathleen something to laugh about the rest of the tour. Matt was probably my U.K. favorite; the little guy is funny.Minneapolis was the hardest city to pick from. All the comics were great. Well, maybe not all of them, but there were more great ones than we could advance. Next year I hope some of them have the money to fly to Australia, where the pickings are slim. I loved the way Doug Benson came back and parodied a high-energy Doug Benson. That kind of thing is a true comic move. Which brings up another topic: experienced comics. Many people are blogging, e-m...
read more
So now you've seen L.A. It's the first city we held auditions in and I think Kathleen, ANT and I were just figuring it out as we went. It was fun as we got the hang of it. Oh yeah, this is a blog, I'm supposed to give inside stuff.Iva La'Shawn was the first to fool us. She was funny during the day, then went totally blue that night. Sean Rouse was so dark and funny we had him doing jokes for us that we knew would never make TV. Dan, the guy with the rock and the stick... I thought he was bad until I saw some of the others. If I had known how weird some of those people were, I would have given him a second chance. I think we had some L.A. homeless people who saw a line and just figured there was food at the end of it.On to Australia, the land of not funny. Well, that's not true: Fiona is hilarious, Gina was funny and I loved the guy who drew the inside-out cat. There were more train wrecks down there than you can imagine. I'll tell you the best things about Australian comics: I got t...
read more
So here we go, the first episode of a new season of NBC's Last Comic Standing [Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET, starting June 13] is coming up. It's kind of fitting that the first episode will be set in New York, the land where dreams are made and broken.I guess I'd better reintroduce myself. I'm Alonzo Bodden, Season 2 runner-up, Season 3 winner and Season 5 talent scout.I've done it all on Last Comic Standing, except host. I wanted to host but they hired Bill Bellamy. After watching Bill, I see I have a lot to learn about hosting. He's great. He's bringing a whole new energy to the show, and he looks good in a suit.The other talent scouts are ANT and Kathleen Madigan. Kathleen is hilarious and she really knows comedy. When we did Seasons 2 and 3, she wasn't featured enough, the reason being that it wouldn't challenge her. We all knew how funny she is, but now you guys get to see it. I love Kathleen and all her voices, characters and whatever else goes on inside that little red head of hers....
read more
Ant and Dec (aka Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly), who are huuuuuge across the pond, have been tapped to host Wanna Bet?, an ABC variety- and game-show pilot in which everyday people wager they can tackle extraordinary stunts, Variety reports. In the U.K., Ant and Dec have fronted such reality fare as Pop Idol, I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
read more
Although stand-up guy Corey Holcomb was eliminated from Last Comic Standing seven days ago, he'll have a chance to get back into the competition in tonight's wild-card episode (9 pm/ET on NBC). But for a real cliffhanger, TV Guide Online turns to the self-aggrandizing lady-killer's personal life: Will his significant other give him a chance to get back in her good graces after she sees this interview? Read on, and draw your own conclusions.
TV Guide Online: In your final head-to-head with Alonzo and John, you came down pretty hard on the fairer sex. Do you think maybe that cost you the female vote?Corey Holcomb: Nah, I don't think so. On The Apollo Comedy Hour, [the emcee] just walks over [to the contestants] and says, "Clap if you like this guy. Clap if you like that guy." I just think that system works better than [Comic's computerized] voting. It's not like the audience is voting if somebody comes back [after a commercial break] with a v
read more
In last week's episode of Last Comic Standing, flamboyant funnyman Ant's hopes of winning the title were, ahem, squashed. (Cheap humor, yes, but we're on a budget, folks!) Not only that, but the former Unhappily Ever After costar had been portrayed as the most conniving queen bee since Joan Collins doffed her Dynasty shoulder pads. Yet, as TV Guide Online chatted him up just prior to this week's show (airing tonight at 9 pm/ET on NBC), we realized that he was the one Ant with whom we'd prefer to picnic than nitpick. Read on and decide for yourself: Doesn't he seem like the sort of fellow who's less likely to stab you in the back than to pat you on it?
TV Guide Online: Ant, to this day, I can't figure out why you were so scheming. Your final set was killer; you've got the goods!Ant: You thought I was scheming? I wouldn't call it scheming. I would call it having a great time and living the reality [TV] experience — the strong sur
read more