Cheers & Jeers

Cheers & Jeers: Louie Visits Ricky Gervais' Office

• Jul 7, 2010 07:46 AM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Ricky Gervais

Jeers to Ricky Gervais for committing comedic malpractice on Louie.

The increasingly lazy British cutup—witness the low-effort, low-impact HBO cartoon of his podcasts, The Ricky Gervais Show—treated his guest role as Louis C.K.'s doctor... read more

Cheers & Jeers: Everything's Not Jake on The Bachelorette

• Jul 7, 2010 04:52 AM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi

Jeers to Jake Pavelka for flying off the handle on The Bachelorette.

ABC cut its snooze-worthy footage of Ali Fedotowsky giggling her way through Portugal 40 minutes short to get to the good stuff: the first sit-down between... read more

Cheers & Jeers: Navi Rawat Fizzles on Burn Notice

• Jul 2, 2010 12:01 PM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Navi Rawat

Jeers to Navi Rawat for throwing a wet blanket on Burn Notice.

USA's summer spy caper has been firing on all cylinders in Season 4, charged up by the addition of Coby Bell as charming comrade-in-arms Jesse Porter. But the action comes to a screeching halt every time the Numb3rs alum shows up... read more

Cheers & Jeers: The (James) Franco Regime Rules!

• Jun 30, 2010 06:07 PM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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James Franco, General Hospital

Cheers to James Franco for achieving the impossible: getting me to watch a soap opera.

I hadn't dialed up a daytime drama since my brief, inexplicable high-school addiction to the recently snuffed-out Guiding Light, but I caught a bit of James Franco's bizarre turn as nutso performance artist Franco on General Hospital last fall, and I tuned back in to see his return.  He didn't disappoint: Resurfacing in Port Charles as a... read more

Cheers & Jeers: Reggie Watts Up!

• Jun 30, 2010 03:55 AM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Reggie Watts

Cheers to Reggie Watts for lighting up the small screen.

The incandescent comic/musician — who's like the love child of Zach Galifianakis and Jack Black, plus a giant Afro — tore down houses as the opening act for Conan O'Brien's just-concluded "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour." He made his network debut on O'Brien successor Jimmy Fallon's Late Night and performed one of his breakout tunes, "Big-Ass Purse," in TBS' recent special Team Coco Presents: Conan's Writers. Too bad ... read more

Cheers & Jeers: A Less-Than-Fox-Worthy Opener

• Jun 29, 2010 01:15 PM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Craig Kilborn

Jeers to The Kilborn File for an underwhelming first guest.

We know Craig Kilborn's return to TV after a six-year absence is only a six-week run on six Fox affiliates, but couldn't he do better than... read more

Cheers & Jeers: Entourage's Nick Off the Old Block

• Jun 28, 2010 12:16 PM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Nick Cassavetes and Adrian Grenier

Cheers to Entourage for getting Nick Cassavetes back in front of the camera.

In the HBO comedy's otherwise-lackluster season opener, the big surprise was the actor-turned-director's formidable ...
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Cheers & Jeers: Third Watch What Happens

• Jun 25, 2010 12:00 PM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Kim Raver, Jason Wiles

Cheers to the cast of Third Watch for finding a second career wind.

NBC's 1999-2005 cops-and-rescue-workers drama never got the respect it deserved... read more

Cheers & Jeers: Not-So-Hot in Cleveland

• Jun 24, 2010 10:44 AM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Hot in Cleveland

Jeers to Hot in Cleveland for stranding a quartet of Golden Girls with tin-plate material.

TV Land's new sitcom stars four actresses with more than a century of small-screen experience combined: Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. Too bad the show's jokes... read more

Cheers & Jeers: What's It All About, Alfre?

• Jun 23, 2010 06:49 AM ET


• by Bruce Fretts
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Alfre Woodard, Memphis Beat

Jeers to Memphis Beat for saddling Alfre Woodard with another one-note role.

The 14-time Emmy nominee (she's won four — for Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, The Practice and the HBO film Miss Evers' Boys) has lately been wasted in throwaway authority-figure parts on subpar shows like Three Rivers and My Own Worst Enemy. TNT's new cop dramedy is no exception, as Woodard's by-the-book boss mostly stands around scowling at Jason Lee's maverick Tennessee detective... read more