I learned a very important lesson from The Class this week. Ladies don't like the "Girl Twirl 3000" stripper pole on their anniversary. Who knew? You think it would be OK for me to get one for my fiancée as a wedding gift, though? Certainly, I'd get her something romantic for the one-year, but the wedding is lovey-dovey enough already so I think I the pole would be fine at this juncture. Wouldn't you agree? (I'll have to make sure she doesnt read my blog this week so it doesnt spoil the surprise.)For the last two weeks, the promos for The Class have been talking about getting to know Duncan and Nicole better, so it was about time we were allowed to. I finally felt like this week was about Nicole and Duncan more than anyone else. You know, the more I get to know Duncan, the more I really dont believe how he could be single and living with his mother. Here's a good-looking, funny, sentimental guy, and he spends time watching his mother work out in her bathing su...
read more
Aww, poor Richie. Wait, I started last week like that, too. Seems like I could do that every week now. I think that even though technically Jason Ritter would get top billing in the show, Jesse Tyler Ferguson has hilariously become the one to watch. I'm drawn to the character because he's not perfect. There's a little bit of Richie in all of us except for the running-people-over and smashing-into-stores thing. He's found the love of his life, and everything he's doing is making it more complicated to be with her. But we've had two interventions now. First, Lina basically saved him from overdosing on pills and now she's saved him from well, sitting in a convenience store. I'm hoping that every four episodes or so, Lina isn't going to have to save him from something else, but maybe that's the route the producers should take. Some of the funniest moments: Holly broadcasts that Richie is in the car and has "erratic behavior," and the shot goes back to him frantically...
read more
Awww. Poor Lina. Poor Richie. Oh man, poor Ethan and his eyes.Richie just can't seem to win here. Isn't it bad enough Fern makes him miserable at home and now she ruins his love life, too? And she didn't even know she was doing it. Now that he's essentially homeless you can't help but feel sorry for him. He did lie to Lina, but the magnesium and water speech was sweet, and he definitely does need her. But you certainly can't blame Lina for dumping his ass, either. What a sad turn for this story line in an otherwise hilarious episode. I guess now we'll get to see the 110 embarrassing things he does to win her back, though. Duncan's mom showed back up finally and blew the cover off his relationship with Nicole. I'm sorry, but why would you put yourself in a situation like that? His mom saw Nicole stay over that one night and now he brings her loud mouth to dinner with Nicole's husband. Smooth move. At least Yonk's too stupid to be angry. It can't be long though before Duncan makes a s...
read more
For our first jaunt into the blogging world of The Class, let's play a little game. It's called, "Where they were, where they are now, and what I think" or WTWWTANAWIT for short. Sorry, it's a work in progress. Seriously though, since we're jumping in the middle, we'll do a quick recap. And then I'll tell you where I'm at, so you can get a feel where I'm coming from. Where they were:Ethan Hass (Jason Ritter)and Kat Warbler (Lizzy Caplan) have become good buddies. They hang together a lot, and you just know sooner or later they are going to kiss. But right now, she likes pushing him to his limit. Where they are now: Kat apparently likes pictures of body parts that are unattached, or simply gross. She shows Richie a picture of a buttock which he rightfully points out "you rarely see them out alone." Ethan finally told his date that he wasn't Dan Slutsky. And he still thought he'd get to keep her! Ha. What I think:Ethan is growing on me. I didn't liked the character at the start, but s...
read more
Question: What happened to Reno 911? I saw about three episodes during the summer and have not been able to find it on the schedule since then. Is it ever coming back?
Answer: For some reason, this show fell off my radar this summer (I blame a very busy TV summer), but according to my records, seven episodes aired in July and August, and seven more are scheduled to air in April to round out the fourth season. Even better news: Comedy Central has OK'd a fifth season. Those crazy cops are back in business ...
read more
Question: If CBS' The Class breaks all of the sitcom rules, why is the cast entirely Caucasian? FYI to CBS and David Crane, non-Caucasians also can be lecherous, kooky, neurotic, etc. And while I'm on the topic of race, how interesting would Psych be if Dulé Hill played the psychic and James Roday played the uptight best friend?
Answer: David Crane was challenged on this very subject during his Q&A at the critics' press tour, and he apologized for the oversight. Honestly, though, if I were doing a show about my own third-grade class, it would also be monochrome, with no minority representation. I'm not proud of it, but that's the truth. Maybe Jason Ritter's character just happened to go to an elementary school like mine. But of course you're right. It is a blind spot on many network shows. As for Psych, the role reversal might have been refreshing, especially if nothing were made of the ethnicity of the lead. But given how well Psych turned out, and how much chemistry there is betwee ...
read more
Fresh Diet Raspberry Snapple? Check. Fully charged Dell laptop? Check. Leftover Vicodin from last year's root-canal crisis, just in case? Check. OK, let's do this, people. EXECUTIVE SESSION 9:08 am: I spy Eye president Nina Tassler embracing a reporter prior to walking on stage. Is that ethical? Oh, wait, this is coming from someone who reserves judgment on a show until after the tie-in swag is delivered.9:14 am: Stop the presses! In her opening remarks, Tassler drops a bombshell: "It's [been] a "really great year at CBS for us!" 9:22 am: With no major controversies swirling around CBS, the initial questions lobbed at Tessler are decidedly tame. Where's a good Big Brother scandal when you need one? Speaking of which, did anyone watch the live video feed last night? Maybe someone got stabbed, and we don't know it! (Hey, a guy can dream.)9:29 am: Things may be picking up. Citing the demise of Fox's Reunion as an example, a reporter asks Tassler if she's worried that viewers might thi...
read more
Numbers' David Krumholtz is joining Michelle Williams in Woody Allen's next film, set in Paris.... Speaking of Brokeback babes, Kate Mara (now a nutty CTUer on 24) is Mark Wahlberg's love interest in The Shooter.... Queen Latifah is a Welfare Queen in a fact-based story about a woman who scammed the welfare system.... Will Smith is attached to star in the action-thriller Greenbacks.... Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst will make his feature directorial debut on the indie The Education of Charlie Banks, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter and Chris Marquette.
read more
Joey has lost his gal pal: Per the Hollywood Reporter, Andrea Anders has left the shelved Friends spin-off to join Jason Ritter on CBS' The Class. Also, Jay Harrington (aka Desperate Housewives' Dr. Ron) has been cast on CBS' Capitol Hill comedy Sex, Power, Love & Politics, and Wendy Raquel Robinson has been tapped to star in UPN's (CW's?) Girlfriends spin-off, tentatively titled The Game.
read more
Jason Ritter, aka the late John Ritter's son and Joan of Arcadia's big brother, has joined the cast of the CBS comedy pilot The Class, in which half a dozen friends from the third grade are reunited at a party (thrown by Ritter's Ethan), then see their lives continue to intersect.
read more