Well, this one was pretty much what I expected — some really bad Anna Nicole Smith impersonation (not that there’s really a good Anna Nicole impersonation) and a few murder suspects in the form of “fictionalized” versions of the late Playmate’s various hangers-on. And, of course, a little limoncello for taste.Having seen all of “Bombshell,” I feel exactly the same way I did seeing the clips last week: There was just no reason this episode needed to be made. I don’t think Criminal Intent viewers are big tabloid-news followers (i.e., they probably don’t care who the father of Anna Nicole’s baby was) — and if any of you actually are, then this was just a rehash of yesterday's news. Basically, a no-win proposition for all concerned.So how in the name of all that is criminal and intent did they manage to attract not one but two decent guest stars to this mess? OK, three, if you count Kristy Swanson, but she was on Skating with Cele...
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Who's doing what this pilot season? Says Variety and the Reporter:• Erika Christensen (Six Degrees) and David Cross (Arrested Development) have joined CBS' I'm in Hell, playing Jason Biggs' love interest and the devil, respectively.• American Idol alum Lisa Tucker is Born in the USA, on Idol producer 19 Entertainment's half-hour sudser for Fox.• Billy Brown (Dirt) has been cast on Fox's Company Man.• John Heard (Prison Break) has joined ABC's Cavemen.• Janina Gavankar (The L Word) is on board the CW's Dash 4 Cash.
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Law & Order: Criminal Intent will ring in May sweeps with tales ripped from the real-life headlines of February sweeps. On May 1, Tate Donovan will guest-star as a married astronaut whose affair with a colleague goes south when someone turns up dead. Then on May 8, Kristy Swanson plays a stripper turned model and — sorry, this particular one is just so shameless — widow of an elderly billionaire, whose son dies under mysterious circumstances, and then later so does she. David Cross (Arrested Development) plays the partner and lawyer of Swanson's ill-fated bombshell.
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The Academy Awards are on tonight, so Fox scheduled two Family Guy repeats. From 9-10 pm/ET tonight I switched back and forth between Oscar coverage and Family Guy, so this post will be about both. Right before I hit the Fox pre-set button on my remote, they had just handed out the first Oscar of the evening. It only took almost 30 minutes. And what a first award it was! Art Direction. Riveting! I couldn’t hit the button fast enough. I love movies and although every year I rant and rave about the Academy Awards, I watch. It’s a televised gaper delay. The clock turned 9:00, and I moved over to Family Guy. The first episode provided one of the best sight gags this season: Joe’s legs floating to the surface of the beer vat every three seconds. And the idea of messing about with the opening credit sequence was inspired. During the first commercial break I switched back over to the Oscars. Alan Arkin won Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine! Now that made me happ...
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Michael Cera, Arrested Development
It's been a bittersweet week for Arrested Development fans. We got to see the cast reunited at the Emmys, though everyone knew a win for Fox's dearly departed comedy was a long shot. Then Season 3 was released on DVD this week, but for many, this, too, is a reminder of the show's premature demise. To ease our pain, TVGuide.com called Michael Cera (aka painfully awkward teen George-Michael Bluth), who was back at home in Toronto and has apparently recovered nicely from AD's cancellation.
TVGuide.com: Um, do you know that Warrant's "Cherry Pie" plays on your phone line before you answer?Michael Cera: Yeah, I get a lot of calls from people who hang up right away after hearing that, thinking they've called some weird wrong number. I
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Question: Love your column. While I am saddened by the apparent cancellation of Sons & Daughters, I am hardly surprised. The first time I saw it, I said pessimistically to myself, "This is an Arrested Development rip-off," but as the shows went on, I had the same thought, only in a more positive light. I normally love David Cross, but his character on AD always seemed a little forced to me, whereas Jerry Lambert (Don on S&D), playing seemingly the same role as Cross, was pure comedic gold. I think he was the most underrated character on the show, with every line superbly understated, and every selfish act completely hilarious as opposed to grating. The cancellation's timing is the only thing that really bothers me. Anyone who saw the fate of AD surely could've predicted the eventual outcome for S&D, but why would ABC hype it so much and bring it in for mid-season, just to show only a handful of episodes and then suddenly cancel it? Why even put it on the air? Did ABC think that America ...
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There's a way to go out with dignity. And then there's Fox's way of cutting Arrested Development down to size.
In the same week that WB proudly announced it was retiring 7th Heaven after a remarkable 10-season run (far from the top of its game, but still a key player), Fox once again whittled AD's episode order to its lowest number yet, from 18 last season to a mere 13 this year. Since September, only five episodes have aired, two back-to-back in a dismal Nov. 7 showing that sealed its doom (and that of Kitchen Confidential, which to date has only aired three times).
Both AD and Kitchen will return in December to burn off some of the remainder of their abbreviated seasons, but it will be the proverbial last gasp for one of TV's most innovative and ce
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